Author Archives: Rick

Regular Prayer

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“When you pray to God regularly,
irregular things happen on a regular basis.”
Mark Batterson, “Draw the Circle”


Friends, this is where most of us mess up.

How many of us pray on a regular basis?

I know people who pray regularly. I know prayer warriors. I look up to them. They have incredible stories.

Find the prayer warriors around you. Ask them about their practice of prayer. Ask them to tell you their stories. Be amazed and encouraged by them.

And then go do the same!

I don’t know about you, but I learn best through repetition. While I don’t want to encourage prayer simply because you want to continue repeating a habit, I do want to encourage the forming of the habit of prayer. Not out of need to check an item off a list, but out of a deep desire to learn and come closer to God through daily conversation.

My point here is we need to develop the habit of setting aside time to have a conversation with the Father. He wants to hear from us, and he wants to speak to us. Developing the habit of daily speaking and listening will undoubtedly help us hear clearly the words he has for us.

Do you want to know exactly what God the Father saying to you? Develop the habit of conversing with him. The more you commit to the habit, the better you will understand the language he’s using.

 

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In a few weeks I’ll begin posting about some of the tools to use to learn the language of prayer and better develop the habit of prayer. I invite you to subscribe so you don’t miss out.



Acquiring a Prayer Language

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I was (am) horrible at learning foreign languages. I tried German in high school, and Spanish in college. I passed, but I don’t know how. I think the Spanish prof in college was simply ready for me to be finished. You know, put me out of my misery.

Now I’m jumping back in! It is time to once again acquire a new language. This time though, I have a better chance of success. I have a deep down desire to learn this language to the best of my ability.

PRAYER LANGUAGE
Trying to acquire a prayer language can seem as daunting to some people (or more) as acquiring a language like Spanish, or German, or Mandarin.

It takes work.

It takes consistent study.

It certainly takes a desire to master the language.

In his book, “Draw the Circle – The 40 Day Prayer Challenge,” Mark Batterson states, “Acquiring a prayer language is as arduous as learning a foreign language.” (p.224)

Wow. You know what? He’s right. For someone like me, who struggled with languages, this statement could be daunting. It could be all it takes for me to stop trying.

But I won’t.

There is a much bigger benefit to learning this language. And the God of everything wants me to learn it! He wants me to struggle through the learning and the halting conversation. He wants me to spend the necessary time to learn the words. He wants me to spend the time needed to understand the words He is speaking to me. Nothing was ever said about it being easy.

The words, “Lord, teach us to pray,” were uttered by Jesus’ own disciples. If they needed instruction in how to learn the language, we certainly do as well.

The depth of our conversation and relationship can always grow deeper and closer. I believe our desire to grow closer to God is the most important factor in mastering this language.
As I journey forward, I hope you will join me in learning this language.
Be well.

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In a few weeks I’ll begin posting about some of the tools to use to learn the language of prayer and better develop the habit of prayer. I invite you to subscribe so you don’t miss out.

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Hedging My Bet

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What exactly does the phrase, “hedging my bet” mean? The phrase is an idiom. It means to protect yourself against a loss or making the wrong choice. It gives one a path to keep from making a solid commitment.

Here’s an example with which you will all be familiar:

“Forecasters were hedging their bets about the storm, saying that it could bring lots of snow, or it could head away from us.”

Yep. Every weather forecast.

How does this idiom apply to me? I’ve spent the past year hedging my bet. But, what bet?

At the start of 2016 I bet on myself.

For a couple of years I knew God was calling me to leave my sales job. During 2015 I finally figured out what it would look like. I understood God wanted me to write and speak. He wanted me to share my story, and the stories of others.

At the end of 2015 the decision was made. On Monday, January 4, 2016 I would leave my 18 year career in automotive sales and management. I would become a full-time writer and speaker. Plans were made in order to make a go of it. The bank account was properly funded.

And then I hedged my bet. I took the leap into self-employment with one foot in the wrong place.

God called me to write. God called me to speak.

I felt I needed something else. I put one foot solidly in the world of voice over/acting. For a good chunk of the year both feet were there at the same time. This is how I disobeyed God and hedged my bet.

Please don’t get me wrong. The world of voice over and voice acting is a very viable way to make a living. I have some great friends doing it daily. But I wasn’t supposed to be there.

If I had spent the hours upon hours and days upon days practicing the crafts of writing and speaking instead of voice over, I probably wouldn’t have needed to take a sales job in August.

I hedged my bet. I hedged the bet God placed on me.

I didn’t fully grasp the belief and confidence he had (has) in me.

A very good friend of mine told me there is one thing keeping me from succeeding in the space I wish to be. There’s one thing other people have, and it allows them to be successful. The great news is I can have that one thing too.

That one thing is belief.

I need to simply believe in myself. I need to believe in full the call God has placed on me.

My “Word of the Year” this year is, “BELIEVE.”

I’ll let nothing stand in my way this year. I won’t hedge my bet. I will believe.

Have you ever “hedged your bet?” 
Do you struggle to believe in the calling God has placed on you?