Did I ever guess I would be finishing up my last few months of high school on my back porch through my chromebook? No, definitely not. Did I ever guess it would come this fast? No, not at all. God is big on taking your expectations and throwing them out the window. I believe in these times there is so much room for growth. Which I am in desperate need of. I want to grow. I want to be found on my knees in the shadow of his robe. I want to constantly have the joy of salvation flowing from me. These are not things that come naturally. I want to wake up every morning prepared to pick up my cross however that may look. There are certain things I have been praying for every day. I wanted to share a few and tell you why I pray for them. 

     First of all, I always ask God to throw my sins as far as the east is from the west and to wash me white as snow. This comes from psalm 103:12 and psalm 51:7. Forgiveness is not something God asks us to earn, which is hard for me to wrap my head around, but also something that I will be eternally grateful for. Another thing that I pray is that I am slow to speak, slow to anger, and quick to listen. I am someone who can talk on and on forever. Recently, I have realized the importance to listening. In each relationship I have, I realized when I sit back and listen, I am so much more blessed than if I spent the whole time talking. Something I didn’t know about until recently was the prayer of Jabez. It is 1 chronicles 4:9-10. It is truly a hidden gem. It reads, “He was one who prayed to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from harm, evil, and temptation.’ and God granted him his request”. I feel that there is so much power in this prayer. When I first heard it, I thought it was strange to ask to be blessed. What did it even mean to enlarge your territory? This prayer is not expecting that God is just going to bless you because you are a follower, it is directly acknowledging that God is the giver of blessinga and there is a pile of them waiting for you to ask. As far as enlarging your territory, you are asking that God expand your heart, soul, and mind, and allow His love to overflow onto the others around you. While in Jabez's time he was likely asking for more land, in our time we can ask God to break down physical and metaphorical boundries. Asking Him to fill me with His spirit of wisdom is very important to me. This was very commonly seen in the beginning of the bible with Moses. I long to be wise. (exodus 31:3 & ephesians 1:17) I ask that He doesn’t allow my heart to be dulled by the world, but rather always prepared to meet Him. This comes from Luke 21:34-36. I ask for him to restore my joy in His salvation, which comes from psalm 51:8 & 51:12. For those of you who don’t know, I have a tattoo on my left arm. It says ‘agape’. It is greek for ‘brotherly love’ This took years of thought and consideration. It is a daily reminder to me of how deeply loved I am by the Father, and also, how I should love each brother, sister, and neighbor I come across. I pray that God allows me to be a vessel of His agape love to each and every person that I encounter, even when it is hard. Lastly, I pray that God breaks my heart for what breaks His. Each day, I long to grow to be more like Him. This means Him giving me eyes to see through Him, ears that hear what He hears, kind words, and a heart that breaks when His heart breaks. 

     If you made it this far, thank you. I hope that you find yourself saying some of these and you begin to see God move in your life in extraordinary ways. Remember that you are the sons and daughters of the King! I love each of you dearly. Have a blessed day!

     If you have any questions, comments, or would like to share some of your favorite prayers you can call, text, or dm me :)

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