Pause, Pray, God Be Present in this Place

Pause, breathe… Pray… In obedience, take a step forward and speak… Place my trust firmly in God.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my word for this year. How, somewhat reluctantly, I accepted the word “step” as my guiding word. I’d been hoping for a less challenging word, something that wouldn’t take me so far out of my comfort zone. “God, what about something like peace or rest? Those sound like great words.”

God wants us to step out of our comfortable, into reliance on Him in our uncomfortable.

“Alright, I’ll take ‘step’ as my word, but can you maybe ease me into it?” 

Only three weeks into the year and I’ve just taken the first big step. I spoke this weekend at a women’s conference in Nocona, Texas. I spoke about discovering Sabbath rest, about experiencing God by walking a labyrinth, about finding stillness and rest with God.

I’d been incredibly nervous the day before. Most of the words I’ve already shared here on the blog, but speaking them to a hundred women seemed another thing entirely. As the conference team laid hands on me in prayer that afternoon before I spoke, I could feel God saying, “you’ve got this, I’ve got this.”

The opening night of the conference was moving and full of moments where I saw God so visibly at work in the women there. Not because of anything I said, but because He was in the room with us. I wasn’t as eloquent or as engaging as the main speaker the next day, yet somehow God was able to take even my amateur words and use them that night to touch hearts.

God can use any of us to do His work. Even me. Even you.

The first “step” of my year and it was a big one. A real challenge to step into a role I’m not used to playing, yet what unbounded joy I felt as I was up there watching God at work throughout the room. Watching a room of women from over a dozen different churches come together as one. A myriad of worship styles and faith experiences, some just dipping their toe into the faith journey and others far along the path with God – yet all raising their voices as one to the Great I AM.

Our theme was “Be Still” and we talked about how to find more stillness and Sabbath rest with God. We experienced a number of different ways to “be still” with God, different techniques for prayer. Interestingly, I was already working on a blog series for Lent about prayer before I learned this was our conference theme, so what a blessing to use my research for both projects.

Coming soon: New blog series on Prayer and Finding Stillness with God

Starting on Feb. 18th, I’ll be launching a new series on Prayer for the season of Lent. I’ll be tackling questions about prayer and sharing more than 20 different techniques for prayer. I’ll even have printable prayer cards you can use as references. (I have a stack of these cards on a ring and I’ll flip through them during my prayer time to remind myself of different ways to connect with God.)

If you’re interested in learning more about finding rest in God, discovering new ways to connect with God through prayer or just want to dive deeper into what prayer is really all about, then I hope you’ll join me throughout Lent. I’m excited to see what God has planned in this next step!

Sharing with: #RaRaLinkup, Testimony Tuesday, UNITE, The Weekend Brew