“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
One of the many goals on my prayer list is that I would be able to get the woods next to my house totally cleaned out. Years of neglect and several winter storms and hurricanes have left them filled with dead wood, fallen and standing. Much of the cutting I am going to have to hire out because the patch is filled with widow makers; But since I have yet to become independently wealthy I can’t leave it all to the tree cutters. So when today’s temps rose almost to freezing I decided to take a step of faith and start cleaning out what I could. Into the woods I tramped saw in hand and after about an hour I had accumulated a sad little pile of wood for burning. It doesn’t seem I have even touched the patch.
And that is today’s lesson.
Prayers don’t always come to pass over night and while they are supernatural in scope they aren’t magic. There is much in this particular prayer request I am going to need God’s help with. I need his guidance and provision (particularly with all the other financial things I am praying into); But part of praying hard is learning where I need to partner with God and to put my own shoulder to the plough.
If you intend to walk in the miracle you can’t stand still!
Today’s quotes:
“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”
Reinventing the We'll 
Wow, did the spirit move in today’s service! Praying hard and praying through with both feet out of the boat. Thank you, Lord for watching my back in this battle for I know you already won the war! Hallelujah for VICTORY is ours! A-men!
It was a powerful service Deb! God is with us all through the battle.
I love the Lorimer quote, Pastor J–and now, a totally non-spiritual question: what’s a “widow maker”? God bless you and the fam–love, sis Caddo
Large standing dead trees that tend to be unpredictable when they fall thus increasing the threat of death by tree. I won’t be touching them. I’ll be calling in the experts.
Thank you for teaching us from your own lessons, Pastor J, and God bless you!
I am learning and getting so much out of this time.
>> “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”
I love Lorimer’s quote, but – in practice – I’ve found it a little different. I might not get up in the morning with determination, but I find that when I ‘get up’ from my early morning time ‘alone’ with God, I have the required determination, and then, because He guides and undertaskes through the day, I go to bed with satisfaction and thanksgiving and praise.
Amen Angela! Even when the day doesn’t go as I have planned, if it goes as He has planned I am satisfied!