As my daughter Geneva and I are making plans to complete hiking the last part of the Peninsula Section of the 911 km Bruce Trail, August 7-15th, there are several considerations. We need to ensure that the distance we are intending to travel each day is reasonable. The camping supplies that we take with us will be a necessary means of sustaining our strength. Even when we think everything is all in place, we have to be prepared for changes in weather or changes on the route of our trail that will require adjustment. Sometimes there are new landowners and so as a result trails can get rerouted. In similar ways, it is necessary to be prepared for the unexpected when we are walking by faith on our life journeys. If we are convinced that we know what is best and that we have everything all figured out, then we will not be open to God rerouting us. It is important to be willing for God to guide us each day as we move steadily towards our destination of heaven. When we are desiring to walk daily steps of obedience with our Lord then each new day is a time to check in with God and to invite God to keep us on the path that He has for us. We commit ourselves to walking God’s way when we pray and invite His best plans for us. We can read this encouragement from Scripture found in Jeremiah 29:11, 12, “11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” God does have good plans for us and it is both wise and necessary for us to pray for direction and to be prepared for God to refine and reroute where our journey takes us. It is only as we are in regular communication with God that we can be well prepared to reroute and to change our plans to go where God wants us to go. Please plan to join for WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow August 2nd at 1 pm when we can pause wherever we are and pray the prayer below.
Praying for an ongoing commitment to pray for God to lead and guide us as we seek Him and His best ways for us, Pastor Lola
Thank you grace filled God for Your plans for us motivated by Your extreme love for us. We do believe that You have good plans to give us hope and a future. Please forgive us for the occasions when we become so insistent that things come into place our way. We consider it an act of faith to keep coming to You and in our approaching You to confirm if anything needs to change in us. Is there anything You want to show us? Are there any things we are holding tightly to that we need to release? Please forgive us for having a tendency to devote time and effort to selfish pursuits. Instead, we want to want what You want and to believe this is best for us. Our God, we want to seek You with all of our hearts. We thank You for Your promise that when this is our pursuit that we will find You. We think of the times that we have our plans all in place and have not consulted with You God. We want always to be looking to understand the ways that You may engage in Your rerouting that will be in keeping with Your wise purposes. We also realize that sometimes we are praying for someone else and can only imagine one path for that individual. Our prayer is humble and sincere asking that You will show each of us step by step what You already know is the route of Your choosing. Please protect us from the danger of not looking carefully for Your confirmation of where we are to go. We pray that we will take the time to discern Your will for us. We are thankful that You do not leave us to manage our direction by ourselves . For every today, You are God and we place ourselves in Your loving care. In this crucial matter of living to please You and to follow Your plans to give us hope and a future, we look to You for Your generous grace. We continue to recognize how much we need Your grace in the unfolding of our lives. When the goals and plans we have for ourselves, are not Your plans for us, please reveal Your truth to us. Please at the same time give us courage to obey and to welcome Your plans for our lives. When we have grown tired of the hard work and effort of seeking You and living in obedience to You, please remind us that seeking You is our best choice. We have learned that there is blessing in staying on the path that You have for us. Thank You God for Your loving consideration of all our needs and the needs of those whom we love and pray for in the plans that You are establishing in and through our lives. The road is long and we do not want to give up. Our God we look to You to lead us and to walk with us all the way. We give You praise that this is just what You promise to do. In the Name of Jesus our Saviour and Guide .AMEN.