It was hard. At first. It was early in the morning and still dark outside. And yet, with sleepy eyes, I was excited about the prospects of starting a new journey of faith. You see, when I offered a friend of mine to join me on a Prayer and Bible devotion programme, she suggested to meet at 5:30 AM for our daily phone catch-up. I won't call myself an early bird; still, I agreed; now I'm so glad I did.
The programme in a nutshell
over the past week, I witnessed the power of 1-2-1 prayers according to Matthew 18:20 NKJV "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20 (NKJV). Every day, through God's grace, my praying partner and I meet early in the morning to share our learning and encouragements based on a 40-day praying and Bible Study experience. (The one we follow is by Dennis Smith - "40 days prayer and devotions to revive your experience with God. A powerful, empowering Bible devotion and Prayer Programme.)
I believe it's one thing to commit time to pray and study the Bible each day on our own (don't get me wrong; quiet time alone with God is essential to our spiritual growth and emotional wellbeing). And, it's something else to do it daily with an eager companion for a fixed time (e.g. a 15-20 mins daily catchup over 40 days). Being able to invest in somebody else's needs and pray for them (and stop our all-to-frequent whingeing, navel-gazing, i.e. my needs, my wants and my desires) is truly powerful. It's a whole new level of blessings accompanied with new awareness and peace. Sharing and interceding for a prayer partner and their family in live communication is a type of "spiritual philanthropy," i.e. when we freely and graciously donate our time, attention, prayers to somebody else, when we get the focus off our "poor-old-self" for a change, to lift up someone else before God is a blessing in itself.
Is this is you?
Maybe you, too, have been praying for a renewed, revived, thriving spiritual life.
Maybe you have been longing to be uplifted emotionally and mentally.
Maybe you have been waiting for somebody who would earnestly pray for you and pour out their mustard-seed size faith when presenting your case before God.
Well, if this is you, I would like to encourage you to find a Prayer and Bible study partner. And, oh... before you grab your mobile phone and recruit your best friend, take a moment to pray about it. God will reveal the best match for you. (He might even surprise you, the spiritual companion God wants for you right now might not be the one who first comes to mind) .
Benefits of 1-2-1 prayers and devotions
Now allow me to share with you - based my fresh experience - some of many blessings, benefits and advantages attached to early morning 1-2-1 Bible devotions and intercessory prayers. This list is not exhaustive.
A better sleep routine: early morning forces me to go to bed earlier to get enough sleep and feel refreshed. It's a challenge most nights, but I am getting there by God's grace. My alarm clock has become redundant now. My body-clock gets into a new pattern as if God wakes me up even before the alarm starts. Bliss!
Relationships revived: our plan requires participants to create a list of people they want to pray for. So far, we've seen how God opened doors. So, just imagine how family relationships could be restored, churches, communities could be revived as the result of daily intercessions.
Emotional wellness: feeling revived to complete the mundane daily tasks.
Accountability - I know somebody expects my call in the morning, expects me to pray for them.
Physical well-being: After the daily catchup, I feel energised to do my morning home workout, jog or brisk walk early in the morning. I really struggled to find time until now
Increased knowledge by being intentional about reading the devotion and searching and meditating from the Bible.
Spiritual wellness and improved time management: putting God first in the day in huge is my biggest building block of the day on which the ones rest: family, work, home etc.
Holistic enrichment: your prayer partner will share with you their perspective and learning from the devotion as well as their testimony. It's so uplifting!
I can list some more benefits, but you get the point. And please, don't take my words for it. Experience it!
PS: I have to say that I started the programme during the school holidays, it gave me time to adjust my morning routine before the rush of morning school runs.
Prayer is vital at UPLIFT Ministries
At UPLIFT Ministries, I would advocate the need and benefits for women, sisters to get together in 1-2-1 prayer or in even in small groups, to ring-fence a particular time for prayer and study of with a trusted prayer partner. Your physical, mental, emotional being will be benefit also greatly. The time you invest daily with God and your fellow sister will bring you high dividends and blessings.
An invitation
If you are looking to bring your spiritual life to the next level wish and are still looking for someone to pray for you and with you, please know that I would be delighted to partner with you. Just get in touch. (And should you would choose an early morning slot for our daily catchup, that will be fine with me. Really. My body clock has now adjusted to this new pattern. I am one of the early birds now - chirping about God's greatness and grace. Praise Him!)
Much love and blessings.
Have a fruitful and blessed week.
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