DON’T OVERLOOK THIS. TRUST THE PROCESS…
In my time with the Lord today, I began with a simple prayer, “Jesus, I want to spend time with you, and I don’t know what you would like that to look like.”
HONESTY AND AUTHENTICITY. Start there.
Then I went on to invite him into an area of my life that the Enemy has been attacking me through again recently. “Jesus, I have been feeling really insecure lately, and it’s impacting my relationship with you. I surrender my insecurities to you and ask you to heal my hurts and cover my wounds with your blood. Holy Spirit, I surrender to you and give you the authority to powerfully work through the areas that I feel weakest in to show your glory.”
SURRENDER. Hand over your pride, your will for how you expect God to move in your life, and humbly allow yourself to be a servant of the Most High King… regardless of what that looks like to others.
In my morning prayer time, I thanked God for the strength and flexibility of my body which allows me to do yard work, follow my daughter around a golf course, and to care for my home and family in every way I can. As I age, my body aches, pains, and muscle tightness often make sleeping difficult and moving suddenly can be painful, but I thanked him for what I have been given and what he is doing through this body of mine that is being used for his service. Seeing what I have rather than what I am lacking helps me live in abundance rather than lack and glorifies God because I am more grateful.
VULNERABILITY. As we love and know him more, we desire his will, not ours. Even when we struggle, we look to God to grow our character and guide us to deeper understanding of his ways.
After my prayer time, I opened my Bible to wherever I was led to, and in the area that I may view as random, Holy Spirit taught and guided me. I love learning and writing, but I was trying to read and listen rather than formulate a devotional for the Facebook kingdom.
Pause there… Holy Spirit is redirecting me to share this with you.
LISTEN. I am reminded that I prayed for one more thing as I had opened the Bible this morning. I always pray for understanding before I begin to read, and that my eyes and ears will be open to seeing and hearing what Holy Spirit has to teach me. As I did that, I heard the birds, traffic outside, the coffee pot brewing coffee, and something else… STATIC in my ears. It was the kind of static when you are straining to hear if someone is in your house late at night, the static you hear when you know someone is whispering something important in the room next to you that you’re not supposed to hear, and the static you hear when you’re hiding from danger in a closet trying not to make a sound.
DO YOU HEAR ONLY STATIC? If this is for you, Holy Spirit wants me to guide you through the process of healing the static in your ears that came from surviving a past involving abuse and trauma so you can hear God’s voice speaking to you. Every time the static starts to deaden your ability to hear, just thank Jesus that he is your Healer and that you have been given the ears to hear. Ask him to touch your ears with his healing hands and offer your ears in service to him. Speak to your ears words of gratitude that they have been created to hear, and release them from any bondage to the past. Remind yourself aloud that you are now safe and your ears don’t need to strain to hear any more. Place your hands over your ears and slowly breathe in the peace of Jesus. Thank him for covering you with his blood and releasing you from the effects of the past, and thank him for sending Holy Spirit to speak clearly to you.
What the Enemy had meant to destroy you has been redeemed by Jesus, so your ears no longer need to strain to listen for danger because the Lord is your protector and safety. Your ears no longer need to strain to hear, because God gives you the ears to hear his voice each day as you seek him.
PREPARATION AND PROCESS. When you sit down to spend time with the Lord, it should always start with a conversation to reconnect, just as it would happen with any personal intimate relationship with a treasured friend. We often forget that, thinking that reading the Bible or a devotional book is sufficient or more important than a prayer conversation.
I was going to write about what he revealed to me today in Mark 8, but it seems that for today, encouraging you to desire deeper conversations with Jesus is enough. Holy Spirit wanted me to share my process of how my devotional time with the Lord begins so that you may better prepare for deeper faith. Before opening your Bible to wherever he is leading you to in that moment, may this bless you in your journey of faith.
My prayer conversation never sounds the same from day to day, but it always contains the components of gratitude, honesty, and surrender, the same way you might enter into a conversation with a friend that you are excited to see, trust completely, and respect that they have words of wisdom to guide you. May you be blessed abundantly through your prayers and time in the Word, and may your maturing faith help you look more like Jesus every single day!
Don’t skip your prayer conversation before opening the Word, and don’t skimp on this important part of the process or rush it along. Don’t overlook the “Hello! It’s so nice to see you again! What’s new?” part of your time with Jesus. As my wise friend Tracy often tells me, “TRUST THE PROCESS.”
(Originally posted on May 28, 2026 on Facebook)