Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

Ordinary to Extraordinary Prayer: Warm-up

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Do you have a dedicated time each day to sit quietly with God and read His Word? If not, maybe you’ve been wanting to begin, but just aren’t sure how or when to go about it! Over the next few weeks, I’ll walk you through several things that have worked for me. It may be a great starting point for you, until you get into a regular habit of meeting with God. We are each fearfully and wonderfully made, and blessedly unique, so you may have to change things up to suit your personality.

Your prayer time with God is your spiritual exercise. As with any exercise, there has to be a warm up. I’ve found three main areas help me get ready for my time with Jesus:

 

Warm up place

First, decide on a time and a place that you will meet with God. I find mornings work best for me, even though I am NOT a morning person. It is a wonderful beginning to my day, and I don’t get sidetracked with my never ending to-do list. You know, like laundry and cooking supper!

Begin the warm-up of your place the night before. Tidy up your prayer area. I like to have my area as neat as possible. When things are nice and orderly, I won’t be distracted, mentally putting away that book, or filing that bill. I’m kinda OCD like that.
Another thing I do the night before, is set the coffee pot. When I am ready to settle down in my special spot, I grab the coffee that is already brewed (in a favorite mug, of course), and head into my prayer room. If you have a favorite candle, light it up! Make this a special time, something you will look forward to each day.

Finally, have all your resources in one place. Mine are in a pretty basket by the sofa. My little basket overflows with my Bible, prayer journal, and pens. I use my favorite colored pens, because you never know what kind of mood you’ll be in, or if you’ll want to Pray in Color or do some scripture mapping!

You can buy a pretty journal to record your prayers, or just use an inexpensive composition notebook. I use loose leaf paper, and store the pages in a binder. At the end of the year, I take my pages out, and tuck them away in a pretty storage box in my closet. I have about eight years of journals in that box. One day, my grandchildren will be able to read how I prayed for them.

 

Warm up your mind

Sometimes, I will have a “to-do” that I can’t get off my mind. Usually it’s a work related item that will need attention as soon as I get to the office. I jot these little things in my prayer journal, laying them out before God. I put them on His altar, releasing them from my mind.

Scripture is a great warm up for your mind. Have a reading plan (we’ll go into more detail next week about God’s Word). But also have some go to scriptures to ignite your prayer time. Invite the Holy Spirit to teach and lead you.
Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10

 

Warm up your heart

The most important heart warm up is confession. Beth More once said that before she ever begins her prayer time, she falls on her face before Almighty God, acknowledging her sins to Him. Whether or not I am physically on my knees or face before Him, my heart is pouring out to Him. Mentally and spiritually I am telling Jesus: “I messed up yesterday. My heart and motives were wrong. Forgive me, Lord!”
“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;” Acts 3:19

Be open with God, bringing everything to Him. Confess, repent and return to Jesus. Refreshing will come as you spend time in His presence.

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Keep trying until you find what works for you. Remember to give yourself grace. But do start! Today is a great day to begin a habit of meeting with the Lord.

Next week we’ll discuss reading scripture to move our prayer times from Ordinary to Extraordinary. In the meantime, I have a list of “7 Scriptures to Ignite Your Prayer Time“. Click Subscribe for Updates (top right) to receive this free gift!

Grace be with you,

Stop, Slow, Listen

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Sheets of rain pelted the windshield Friday while I was driving home from work. The wipers could barely keep up. I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles were white, trying to navigate the slick, muddy road.

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I traveled this road every weekday, and yet I didn’t recognize the landscape. The wall of rain obscured my vision. Out of nowhere, a bold, red stop sign appeared! Rather than hitting my brakes and skidding dangerously in the muddy mess, I tapped the brakes lightly…slowing, slowing, and then rolled through the stop sign. Checking my rearview mirror, I expected to see nothing but a continuous gray-brown blur of rain and mud. Instead I saw bright, flashing blue lights…

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The rain continued into Monday – and so did my bad luck –  making the errands I was running for work oh, so unpleasant. I raced out of the warm, dry office, in a hurry to get  back as soon as possible. Rushing down a quiet side road, I checked my rearview mirror. Tears stung my eyes. Flashing blue lights – for the second time in three days! What is the problem? There’s no stop sign. This road is just a quick short cut. Quick. Oh, QUICK…oh, NO!

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A few days later, fretting over the amount I would be paying for the tickets, I felt the Lord gently nudge me.

“Ellen, there’s a lesson to be learned here.”

“Um, Lord, do You mean OTHER than the obvious one of not running stop signs and speeding?? Cause I got that. I’m stopping. I’m slowing. Got it.”

“Ellen, when you spend time with Me each morning, do you just roll through the scriptures? Do you speed through your prayer time with Me?”

“Ummm yes, Sir. Many times I do…”

In her book “Your Beautiful Purpose,” Susie Larson says “Have you ever found yourself going through the motions in your prayers? Saying one thing while thinking about another? I know I have. I have so much scripture stored up in my soul from years of praying God’s Word, I can instinctively pray Scripture with my mouth and run through my grocery list in my mind. And this is not a virtue!”

Are you present in His presence?

Like Susie, there are times that I am just going through the motions.  However, through the traffic ticket fiasco, the Lord impressed a few things on my heart to help keep me focused. I hope they will help you, too!

  • STOP each day and spend time with the Lord. Pause long enough to consider Whose presence you are in, and Who it is you are praying to. Be fully available to Him.
  • STOP if a passage touches you or quickens your spirit. Read the passage again…and again. Ask yourself “Why did this Scripture have an impact on me?” Let His words sink in.
  • SLOW DOWN and see if the Scripture that stirred your heart is one you need to pray, perhaps for a friend or family member.
  • SLOW DOWN, don’t speed through your prayers.  Enjoy your time with the King of Kings. Don’t just check it off your to-do list.
  • LISTEN to what God is saying to you through His Word.

Am I always successful at this? No! But I am more aware. And what if I find my mind wandering? I stop, slow down, and become present in His presence.

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10 (NLT)

Photos by John Chauvin