I Needed This Today

This was yesterday's "Prime Time with God" mailer (though I just got around to reading it this morning). It was something I needed to hear, right when I needed to hear it, so I thought I'd share in case anyone else out there happened to need to hear it today too.

Today's Prayer
Dear God, I know you are able...able to move mountains, to speak creation into existence, to heal the sick, save the lost, to meet every need I have. I commit myself to you. I pray for all the people around the world, plagued by turmoil, wars, illness, lack of basic needs, insecurity and fear, and addictions that enslave. Lord, You alone know best how to meet these needs and solve these dilemmas. I pray that You would intervene, that people would be drawn to You, and that You would give them rest and healing, safety and security, a sound mind and a hopeful future. I pray that you would help me to see who you want me to minister to today and offer a hand of fellowship, a ray of light, or whatever You want to offer through me. Thank you, Lord, for meeting my needs. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

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Discovering Your Purpose
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
01-05-2009

"You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something" (Psalm 139: 15). (Msg)

If you are going to discover how God wants to use your life and work, you must know why you were created. If you start trying to determine your purpose in life before understanding why you were created, you will inevitably get hung up on the things you do as the basis for fulfillment in your life, which will only lead to frustration and disappointment.

First and foremost, God created you to know Him and to have an intimate relationship with Him. In fact, God says that if a man is going to boast about anything in life, "boast about this: that he understands and knows me" (Jer. 9:24). Mankind's relationship with God was lost in the Garden when Adam and Eve sinned. Jesus' death on the cross, however, allows us to restore this relationship with God and to have an intimate fellowship with Him. The apostle Paul came to understand this when he said, "I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself" (Phil. 3:10, THE MESSAGE).

Establishing this relationship with God is vital to understanding your purpose. If you don't have this relationship with God, you will seek to fulfill your purpose out of wrong motives; such as fear, insecurity, pride, money, relationships, guilt, or unresolved anger. God's desire is for you to be motivated out of love for Him and to desire to worship Him in all that you do. As you develop your relationship with God, He will begin to reveal His purpose for your life. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord" (Jer. 29:11).

Today, ask God to help you discover your unique purpose.