Kathy Branzell
So that with one mind and voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:6
What is on your mind right now? Are you thinking about work, marriage, your children, a relationship, health, an upcoming event, money, politics, a decision you need to make, a loved-one who is far away or even serving in the military? Maybe your mind is not filled with deep thoughts at this moment, only a few distractions or daily stuff like, “What am I going to fix for dinner?” I have learned that when life seems shattered or my thoughts are scattered, my greatest strength, shield, and solution is to unite with God through prayer. I am going to ask you to pinpoint whatever it is that is on your mind and pray about it right now. Just pause for a moment and whether it is a praise, a word of thanks, a need, a decision, or even a deep situation that needs a miracle; lift it up to God right now.
Now, how do you feel? I pray that you know how deeply your heavenly Father loves you, but even more, I pray that you would make up your mind right now to allow God to be glorified in whatever circumstance you just lifted up to Him in prayer. It may surprise you that I use the word, “allow.” We do not usually think of the creation allowing its Creator to do anything – we submit to Him. The truth is that Christ is supreme; all that exists was knit together and is held together by Him, but as humans, we tend to keep a close watch or even a tight grip of control on all that concerns us. We may pray about it but then we continue to worry, or even impatiently manipulate or facilitate what we think needs to happen in order to achieve our desired outcome. Acts 2:42-43 describes the early Church as being continually devoted to the teaching of the gospel, connecting with fellow believers, prayer and the sense of awe that they felt. God is glorified through our prayerful trust and awe of Him.
What causes us to doubt? Where is our hope? Where is our strength and peace? Have we lost our faith or focus in the supremacy of Christ. Have we forgotten how AWESOME He really is? In his book, Christ is All! A Joyful Manifesto on the Supremacy of God’s Son; David Bryant writes, “Only in the supremacy of God’s Son can we recover ALL the hope we are meant to have.” We must keep Christ on our mind, taking every thought to Him, praying His Kingdom come and will be done in our lives and on earth, as it is in heaven. As followers of Christ we must share one another’s burdens in prayer united in the determination that above all, He would be glorified. We must understand the amazing truth of what it means to know He hears our prayers, and with supreme love and power, He acts in perfect time and wisdom. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are so much higher than ours; therefore we can only find peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control by fervently focusing on Him and therefore allowing Him to bring these from root to fruit in our lives. When our nation seems scattered and our world is shattered, the Church must unite in prayer.
Many things may divide us but unity can come in the inspired biblical truth that we are children of the sovereign, loving, supreme God. Imagine what the Church, America and the world would look like if we devoted ourselves with one mind, to pray faith-filled prayers and live awe-filled lives inspired by the supremacy of Christ! Let’s unite to pray this way!
- Kathy Branzell, Director of Partnerships
So that with one mind and voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:6
What is on your mind right now? Are you thinking about work, marriage, your children, a relationship, health, an upcoming event, money, politics, a decision you need to make, a loved-one who is far away or even serving in the military? Maybe your mind is not filled with deep thoughts at this moment, only a few distractions or daily stuff like, “What am I going to fix for dinner?” I have learned that when life seems shattered or my thoughts are scattered, my greatest strength, shield, and solution is to unite with God through prayer. I am going to ask you to pinpoint whatever it is that is on your mind and pray about it right now. Just pause for a moment and whether it is a praise, a word of thanks, a need, a decision, or even a deep situation that needs a miracle; lift it up to God right now.