Dear Readers,

Finally we have gotten a little rain in this area of the country. We are all rejoicing here, even for the small amount and believing for more of it. It’s these small blessings that we thank God for. I feel like I am always coming to Him with my requests and petitions with what I need, others needs and the wider community. But when do we come to Him just in thanks?

Last night as I lay in bed listening to my husband’s even breathing while he slept and the rain hitting our tin roof, I realised that I was listening to my two favourite sounds. Obviously one of these is a new sound to hit my top 10 list. I find it comforting to listen to, knowing that he has gently drifted off to sleep. The other has always been in my top 10. My previous home had a tiled roof so I really had to listen to know if it was raining or not. However, whenever we went to visit Grandma, with her tin roof, I loved to lie in bed and listen to the rain or even went so far as to mute whatever program I was watching on television.

The songs that I have included in this month’s list have really inspired this letter and reflect a huge part of my heart.

First of all, thanking God, declaring his goodness and promises. There is so much power in proclaiming everything that he is. Redeemer, Saviour, Defender. There is so much to be thankful for and yet I find I don’t name what I’m grateful of enough. Just this week I have felt a shift in my spiritual walk as I’ve been declaring his awesomeness.

For the past four months, since the wedding, I have felt a bit distant from God, like I’ve just been going through the motions. But this week there has been a lot going on in our little home and I’ve been processing it all in the quiet darkness of night, as I listened to my husband’s chest rise and fall. I thought and prayed about everything before going to sleep. When I handed it all over to God I found great rest and peace. Since giving it all over to Him I have felt this shift inside. The best way to describe it is I feel like I’m waking up. It’s like I’ve been dragging my feet everywhere I’ve been going but I feel a bit more purpose now. Purpose for what you may ask? I’m still waiting for the answer to that but the drive has come so the reason can’t be too far away.

I have always known that there is power in prayer but have never been disciplined enough to follow through with it consistently. Life gets busy and I forget. But when there is a personal need prayer is constantly on my tongue. I’m not going to preach what to do because I’m still working out how to get prayer drilled into my daily routine. But I have found that giving thanks seems to be rolling off my tongue all the time at the moment. Thanks for the rain, thanks for my husband when he does the little unexpected things for me, thanks for provision when I didn’t know I needed it, even thanks for the roof over my head and a car park when I go shopping. It’s just bubbling out of me and from there little things pop into my head to pray for; people, situations, needs, they slowly trickle into my thoughts. I am hoping that this keeps being the normal for me as I go about my day.

Prayer life doesn’t have to just be an hour set aside every day when we come to God with our list. I think it’s more valuable if our prayer life is constant throughout the day.

For me it’s like living each day with Jesus, my best friend; God, my heavenly Daddy; and the Holy Spirit, my counsellor, next to me during every minute, sharing in every experience and ready to hear what I think, listen to my concerns and give me comfort, advice or their shared joy for that very moment I’m in.

In saying that though, I definitely believe that there are times when we need to fall to our knees and cry out to God. There are occasions when we need to spend an hour or more, giving Him our full attention to go after and press in for a breakthrough. It also depends on the season we are in and how we interact with God. What helps you to feel his nearness? It’s important to be able to identify the season we are walking in now. If you’re not sure ask God to show you, then listen and look for his guidance as he reveals it to you.

Another area that I am passionate about is being positive and not giving up on yourself. So often these days I find young people, and even adults, talking themselves down, being negative about a situation and loosing hope. Just as I said before about how it’s so powerful speaking the name of Jesus, it’s also powerful speaking words of truth over yourself.

When you say and hear these truths over yourself your spirit shifts. If you persist you will find that the untruth you once believed has been replaced with truth and you will be walking with your head held high because of a new confidence God had destined for you.

The Bible is full of these declarations, for example, “We are more than conquerors,” (Rom 8:37), “We should be called children of God,” (1 John 3:1) and “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind,” (2 Tim 1:7).

So remember, pray about everything (Phil 4:6-7) and keep building yourself up. God has great plans in store for you!

God Bless,
Jane Bishop