The year that was ahead of us 364 days ago is now behind us.  Can you believe it?  We’re starting the year of our Lord, 2022, whether we’re ready for it or not.  The next twelve months are before us, and though we cannot know all the details, we can know that there will be highs and lows, ups and downs, predictable circumstances and the unpredictable, and more importantly, behold–a steadfast, faithful God walking with us as we navigate through it all.  Day by day. Week by week. Month by month.  He is present.

How are you preparing?  Usually by now I have my family and ministry goals written down and my calendar ready, but something has happened . . . life has happened!  And it has for you as well, I can imagine. Busy-ness has happened.  Sickness has happened. Crisis has happened.  Responsibilities have happened. The reality of life a broken-world has happened.  Along with the great and the glorious of this life on earth comes the pain and the pining.

As I’ve spent some time in deep reflection, it has brought me to a peaceful conclusion:  This year I’m content to prepare for one thing.  Call it my word for the year. Call it my focus. Call it my theme. My mantra.

It’s simple.  It’s actually, prayer.

God is calling me to pray.  This call is not some grand vision that He’s given me to present to others as a ministry project, it actually comes out of a place of personal seeking.  In His loving, sovereign nature, He has led me to this place of pursuing Him deeply in every part of my life—the spiritual, physical, mental and emotional.  Friends, this has been hard work!  And it will continue to be.  I welcome it because . . .

When Jesus said, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind . . .’” (Luke 10:27), He had our whole being, our whole personhood, in mind.  That’s because He knew we’d need His power and His presence in every single area of our lives. The call is really to seek Him first for our emotional, spiritual, physical and mental well-being.  And this process is girded in prayer.

Your goals for 2022 are just around the corner.  Maybe they are physical in nature—you have a new workout or way of eating in view. Perhaps you want to focus on your mental health—creating space for new learning or relaxation.  Maybe it’s your emotional well-being and for that, you’d like to grab a Christian book or a friend to help talk you through things.  Perhaps spiritually, you know that now is the time to really grow in your knowledge of God’s Word and get grounded in it. 

Whatever your goals are, whatever mine are, I believe that each of us would agree that the only good and perfect starting and ending point for 2022 is prayer.

Would you like to come along with me?  We can walk this road with Jesus together. Seek Him in our own quiet times of prayer and have a little bit of accountability and encouragement along the way.  Work our way through some truths that will help us to live out that verse Jesus gave us, that verse that encompasses every single part of our well-being.  I’m inviting you to join me in this year of prayer.

HERE’S HOW IT WILL WORK:

I’ll be using a Prayer Journal each week to offer my personal requests to the Lord and to reflect upon His Word in thought and in practice. Each week has its own Scripture, short devotional, and areas to reflect, offer thanksgiving, write down prayer requests, record answered prayers, etc. It’s simple and practical yet focused and purposeful.  You can purchase the same journal here, at this amazon link.

From the ministry page here, I will be posting a weekly note from the journal or a video to share my heart and my own focus for the week.  As I seek His wisdom in all areas of my life, I’ll bring some of those truths to the table for us to contemplate and comment on.

Lastly, I would encourage each of you to personally do this together with a friend or a small group of friends.  Text them the link to the journal right now, and ask them to join you on the journey of  journaling through prayer in 2022. 

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.” ~ Jeremiah 29:12