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From Pray Magazine | Praying Your Life into Order Spiritually
The growth of our spiritual lives will never outpace our intentional commitment to prioritize it every day. Our spiritual development impacts every other area of our lives—and we cannot delegate that growth to anyone else.
During my college years, over Christmas break, my brother asked me to build a barn for him. He is a much more gifted carpenter than I, but he was trying to help me out. I needed the money. But building barns was neither my passion nor within my skill set.
I accomplished the task, but in a few years the barn began to lean and eventually became unsafe. My brother would have been better off building the barn himself than delegating something to me I could not properly do.
Just as my brother should not have expected me to build a barn, you and I cannot expect someone else to build our spiritual lives for us. No one else can construct our daily walk with God. It has to be intentional, purposeful, and personal. Each one of us is accountable to do it ourselves.
The wisest decision we can make each day is this: I will walk with God today. What the Bible says about Enoch has always challenged me. This statement is simple yet profound: “Enoch walked with God” (Gen. 5:24, esv). Could God write this about your life and mine today? If not, why not? What stands in our way? Who is standing in our way?
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Pray Magazine: Introducing the New Magazine of the National Day of Prayer
I am excited to introduce the new magazine of the National Day of Prayer: Pray. This quarterly resource is just one tool we are using to mobilize unified public prayer for America. Through this resource, you can learn about how prayer impacts lives, find practical applications, and inspiration for your own prayer life.
From the editor:
In this issue, Dr. Ronnie Floyd writes about the wisest decision you can make: I will walk with God today. Getting our lives in order spiritually allows us to prioritize God’s work in our lives.
Dr. Tim Clinton invites us to pray through our relationships—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the questionable. When our relationships are in order, we will naturally be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading because our thoughts are not as consumed with turmoil. And Rachel Cruz points out ways to order our finances, avoiding financial disasters and stress that can distract us and cause our prayer lives to become ineffective for the Kingdom.
Go here to find out more and subscribe.
Here are some sneak peeks from this issue’s articles:
We face all kinds of distractions when we pray: sleep, our kids, our own racing thoughts. But I think some of the biggest hindrances to our prayer lives include intense, enduring struggles—especially in the area of finances…. It makes sense, then, that this stress over financial worries can also result in an ineffective prayer life. – “Praying Your Life into Order Financially” by Rachel Cruze
How you do—or don’t do—relationships can affect your prayer life for good and bad. And, in the same way, I believe the health of our prayer lives can affect our relationships. – “Praying Your Life into Order Relationally” by Dr. Tim Clinton
The wisest decision we can make each day is this: I will walk with God today. What the Bible says about Enoch has always challenged me. This statement is simple yet profound: “Enoch walked with God” (Gen. 5:24, esv). Could God write this about your life and mine today? If not, why not? What stands in our way? Who is standing in our way? – “Praying Your Life into Order Spiritually” by Dr. Ronnie Floyd
When I’m at my healthiest, I think and pray less about my own ailments. My mind has a higher capacity to think about other things, which allows me to pay more attention to other people, listen well, empathize, and even spend more time praying for other people. – “Praying Your Life into Order Physically” by Rachel McMichael
Days after our family’s personal loss, our nation faced a much greater tragedy. With my heart still fragile and bruised in my own pain, I watched the scene unfold on the afternoon news. Long lines of teens fled the school building in Parkland, FL, with arms raised to the sky as a gunman went on a rampage, devastating countless lives. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the horror. – “Six Biblical Prayers When Tragedy Strikes” by Stacey Pardoe
Now is the Time to Pray,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
President, National Day of Prayer
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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the Senior Pastor of Cross Church, President of the National Day of Prayer, and founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry.
To request an interview with Dr. Ronnie Floyd
contact Gayla Oldham at (479) 751-4523 or email gaylao@crosschurch.com.
Visit our website at http://ronniefloyd.com
Follow Dr. Floyd on Twitter and Instagram @ronniefloyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.