Tag Archives: spiritual formation

Trust In The Lord

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Prayer - Proverbs 3:5-8 - Trust In The Lord - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Prayer – Proverbs 3:5-8 – Trust In The Lord – Growing As Disciples

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8 (NIV)  

Trust Me

What would my life look like if I was not leaning on my own understanding? What would I be doing differently if I trusted you with all my heart? How do you know when you are leaning on your own understanding? When I try to figure everything out by myself that is a clear indication that I am leaning on my own understanding. What would you do if you decided that you were not going to try to figure everything out by yourself? I would ask you for help. I would ask for your wisdom. I would rely on your guidance. I would meet with you in prayer and listen more attentively to your voice. How would it help you to rely on my insight and guidance? I would not take so many missteps. I would not make so many mistakes. I would not so often go where I should not go or do what I should not do. I would better know your will. I would better walk in your ways. My life would have greater focus and a clearer direction. I would not bounce from one thing to another.  I would be more able to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. Is that what you want? Yes, in every way I want to live the life that you are calling me to live. That is very good. 

So, will you meet with me in prayer? Will you ask for my help? Will you ask for my wisdom? Will you seek my guidance? Before you answer my questions, I want you to consider what answering them affirmatively will require of you. I know the answer to that question. Let me hear your answer. If I am to rely on you and ask for your help, then I will need to let go of my pride. I must not be wise in my own eyes. I must not think that I have the answer to every question. I must not think that I can solve every problem.  I must learn to come to rely on you. I must give myself entirely to listening to you. I must learn to trust in you with all my heart. No longer will I rely on myself. That will be very good.

What will happen to you when you trust me with all your heart? I will no longer be in charge. I will allow you to lead my life. I will hear from you as I ask for your help. You will guide me. You will guard me. You will direct me on the path as I follow you. Following you will lead me away from evil. Following you will bring your health and healing and wholeness into my life. No longer, will I live under the anxiety and stress and pressure of trying to rely on myself. I will be able to recognize and acknowledge and give thanks for your activity in my life. Yes, you will. That will be very good.

Lord, often I have tried to figure things out on my own. I have relied on my own understanding. I would like all that to change. Instead, I will prayerfully trust in you with all my heart. Help me to recognize and acknowledge your activity in my life so I can follow you. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Prayer – Proverbs 3-5-8- Trust In The Lord – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

At Work In You

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Transformation - 1 Thessalonians 2:13 - At Work In You - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Transformation – 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – At Work In You – Growing As Disciples

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NIV) 

Are You Listening?

Are you listening? Would you say that you are a good or poor listener? That depends on who is talking. I’ve been told that I am not that great of a listener. Why is that? My attention span is not real long. I get bored easily and become quite distracted. There are plenty of times that I would rather be the one talking than the one listening.

How about listening to me, how well do you listen to me? That’s a good question that is hard for me to answer. Why is that? I don’t think that I’m a very good judge of how well I listen to you. I know that I can become impatient and not wait to listen to all that you have to say to me. Listening to you is a commitment that requires real discipline. What do you mean by that? It is very easy for me to race through life and never sit down to take time to listen to you. I’ve hardly ever been able to hear you speaking to me over the noise and busyness of my life. I’ve found that you usually speak with a quiet voice in moments of stillness that I spend with you in your word. You never seem to shout out to me over the noise of the crowd. There have been many times when you have brought my life to a complete stop so that I could hear from you. How have you liked that? Not much, those “complete stops” of yours are usually pretty uncomfortable. Is that an understatement? Yes, it is. I would rather listen to you attentively in the first place. I’m not complaining though, those “complete stops” of yours, although painful, have gotten my attention and helped me to listen to you. Yes, they have.

How will you know if you are really listening to me? I suppose the real judge of my listening will be how well I put into practice what you are asking of me. If I follow and obey you then that seems like a good sign that I have listened to you. Yes, it is.

Is listening to me becoming easier or harder for you to do? At one time I thought I had so much to say. It was much harder to listen. Now, I hunger and thirst for you and your word. It is my joy to hear, accept, receive and believe all that you are saying to me. Why is that? When I’m really listening to you I know that you are working in and through my life. Yes, I am. I welcome you to do anything and everything in and through me that you have in your plans for me. So, here I am, listening attentively to you. Yes, you are.

Lord, thank you for helping me to receive, hear, accept, and believe your word. Your word is transforming who I am and all I do. It is my delight to allow your word to be at work in me. Use me to proclaim your word to others so it can be at work in them. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional study guide click here:

Transformation – 1 Thessalonians 2-13 – At Work In You – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                               Copying not permitted                                                               http://www.GrowingAsDisciples.com