It’s December. Days are ticking away until Christmas and the beginning of another year. If this month follows the pattern of the previous eleven, it will go fast! I love the season from Thanksgiving to the New Year because of all the joy, traditions, fun, and family that it comes with. But because I love to plan and because I like to start the year off on a good foot, I always carve out some space in this busy time to focus on what happens beyond December 31.
During this time I decide on a Bible reading plan for the year and what version I plan to read. The past few years, I’ve chosen a word and Bible verse to focus on in addition to my read the Bible in a year plan. But this year I’m going to be doing something a little different.
I’ve decided to read my She Reads Truth Bible again in 2019 and use the reading plan that it has in the back to guide my daily reading {it usually is two Old Testament chapters, two New Testament chapters per day and you read Psalms and the New Testament twice}.
However, instead of focusing on one word for the year, I’m going to focus on prayer in general. I’ve been very burdened about my prayer life recently and the importance of asking God FIRST. So I’m going to focus on praying for specific people or things on certain days of the week. Of course there will be a certain amount of flexibility and some things I will pray for everyday, but hopefully this will help me to remember things like our government leaders, the persecuted church, etc.
I’ve also seen on Pinterest calendars for praying for your kids or spouse everyday for a month but being more specific than, “Please help little Johnny obey” or “Help my husband communicate better.” I want to incorporate some of these specifics - things like my children’s salvation, wisdom for my husband as he leads our family, good friends and influences for my kids. I believe when we are specific in our prayer requests we see how much God has already blessed us with and what he is already doing in certain circumstances.
2018 has been quite the year for our family. God blessed and went before and worked out so many things in ways we could never orchestrate on our own. I’m excited to see what I will learn, how God will stretch me, and what he has in store for our family in 2019.
Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash