Just As You Are

Online Book Study

Chapter Two – Make the Move

March 11, 2019

In order to live life to the fullest, you will need to muster up  some courage. In chapter two I shared with you all the firsts that would follow Shane’s death, as well as a challenge that would inspire a spark in me, and later fan into a flame.

The challenge, to get up early every morning and spend time in prayer. I soon found prayer was as necessary to me as breathing was to live. When a person prays, they become connected to God; when one prays for others they become connected to the world and cannot help but realize there is more to life than our self.

In Luke 5:15-16, “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Even Jesus took time away from His important ministry to spend time with His Father to pray. Jesus gives us an example of the importance to find a quiet place to pray.

I mentioned I sold cosmetics and became a sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics. During my sales director training, we had the privilege to be trained by Mary Kay herself. During her training she instructed the importance of getting up early and spending the first part of the morning with God. She invited us to set our alarm early in the morning to give God the first part of our day in prayer. I have to admit I was not excited about the challenge, however I admired Mary Kay, and thought if she said it was important, I should at least give it a try.

When I returned home to my family, I set my alarm to get up 15 minutes before my family got up. I grabbed a cup of coffee, a devotion and gave God the first 15 minutes of the morning. It seemed hard at first to do it every morning, but eventually it become the best part of my day. Even now, I still set my alarm to get up early and spend time with our Lord.

Here are four simple steps I found to keep in mind when it comes to prayer.

• P – Pause. – Too often we rush through our prayer time as if it were an item to check off on our to-do list. In order to turn our individual prayer time into a conversation with the Lord, we must BE STILL and give God time to respond.
• R – Remember Who God Is. – As you pray, remember that you are speaking to the Creator and King of the Universe. He is almighty and powerful so expect great and glorious things from Him. Make sure to give Him praise and thanksgiving.
• A – Ask Him for Help. – Keep in mind that we should all strive to become righteous and holy like Jesus. As we pray, we should ask the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts to desire the things that are pleasing to God.
• Y – Yield Control of Your Situation to Jesus. – Trust God’s goodness and His timing by truly offering Him control of your circumstances.

If you would like to add more to your weekly study, here are some Scripture verses to read: Psalm 37:7, Colossians 1:16, John 14:13-14, Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:6-7 .  This week I have chosen Psalm 86 to pray throughout the week.

Please remember to share in the comment on one of the study questions presented at the end of Chapter Two below. We will have another drawing for all those who share in the comments section.

God desires to connect with you.

Lisa

Chapter Two – Making the Move Discussion

1. When did God lead you outside of your comfort zone and what did He do in your life as you stepped out in faith?

2. Is God calling you out of a comfort zone right now? How is He doing this? What is holding you back from your step of faith?

3. As you step out, what is a verse you could commit to memory to help you during times of uncertainty?