Prayer Challenge
28 Days of Prayer
- Enjoy God through prayer
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
Devotional
This summer, I took my son on a Father/Son retreat with Fairhaven. We went rafting down a river, experienced ziplining together, and enjoyed some good food and ice cream. It was a great experience! But my favorite part of the retreat was just being able to spend some one-on-one time together. We were able to read Scripture together, share our struggles in conversation, and pray for one another. It was a joy to connect as father and son!
Our Heavenly Father desires the same with us – to hear our struggles, listen to our worries and fears, and then provide encouragement and peace through prayer. Spending time in conversation with my son was not a duty; it was a delight.
God doesn’t want us to look at prayer as a duty to fulfill but a delight to experience.
I love what David expresses through his psalm. Taking delight in the Lord means that our hearts find peace and fulfillment in Him. To delight in God is to get to know and experience Him more, to experience all of His grace, goodness, and peace.
The idea behind this verse is that when we rejoice or “delight” in the eternal things of God, our desires will begin to parallel His, and we’ll never go unfulfilled. We will find true satisfaction in the things of God vs. the things of the world. (Matthew 6:33)
In other words, when we delight ourselves in the Lord, His desires become ours.
Where can you make room for God today and experience His presence and power in your life? To realize that going to Him is no longer a duty, but truly a delight.
Experience joy in God through prayer today, and allow your desires to be realigned with His!
Heavenly Father, Forgive me for allowing my time with You to become more like a “duty than a delight.” You just desire to spend time with me – to love, encourage, and guide me. I choose to delight in You today, to find satisfaction and contentment in You alone. I give you any desire that is not of You – any sinful temptation, any fear or worry, any bitterness or animosity towards someone else. And instead, I ask you to replace it with a desire of love, forgiveness, peace, or courage. I pray that You will realign my heart’s desires with Your desires. Just as Jesus said in the garden before the crucifixion, “Not my will, but Your will be done.”
Parent Prompt
What are things that you enjoy talking about with your family? How can you talk to God about the same things? Do an activity that your whole family enjoys together. During this time, focus on modeling to your kids how you can bring God into your time and conversation together. Pray and ask God that your desire for prayer will grow.