The last 2 weeks of Revival Camp devotionals have really hit me. It’s making me look closely at myself & the things I need to change. There are aspects of my life that are far from where they should be as a Christian; aspects of my life that definitely need healed before taking steps in any direction. It’s a really jarring and unpleasant experience: being made to examine bits of your personality & actions that you’d rather not acknowledge. But it’s also sort of comforting to know that you’ll always be a work in progress no matter how introspective you are. :)
While studying Week 3 of the Revival Camp devotional, we talk about Kavanah.
“In Jewish culture, Kavanah is defined as a prayer with great intention or focus. This type of prayer moves beyond rote prayers to crying out to God.” -Tonya Hamilton, Revival Camp Week 3
Our assignment for this week was to write a focused intentional prayer to the Lord in our journals & suddenly I became very aware of the quality of my usual prayers. Truthfully, I was horrified.
Prayer for me has become more or less habitual. This is both good & bad. Good because it means that I pray so often almost as a reflex & without really realizing I’m doing it. Bad because it means the thought & intention behind them has been lacking. I suppose I always think “God knows what I’m about. He knows what I’m thinking & knows the intention of my heart so there’s no need to make a commotion of prayer.” And it’s true: you can pray anytime, anywhere, as discreetly & quickly as needed. He knows us. But we also OWE IT TO HIM to give Him focused, uninterrupted, dedicated prayers too!
How could I be so careless in letting this slip through my grasp? To think to yourself “I pray all the time! I’m a good Christian!” isn’t enough! We need to be devoting real time & concentration to the Lord in our quiet times. (And the 2 minutes before bed when you fall asleep in the middle of your prayers doesn’t count! haha) Not taking time to submerge ourselves in deep prayer & time alone with Him is selfish.
In my time of quiet prayer to Him, I reminded myself that if I prayed like this as much as I worry all the time, I wouldn’t need so much reassurance about my future. I would feel more confident in the fact that God is carrying out His plans at that very moment. It’s something we all know to be true, but seeing it written down is still a helpful reminder.
So I wrote a prayer in my journal. A simple prayer that I’d like to share with all of you in case you’re struggling with what to write or don’t know how to start. If you need the words to say to the Lord, feel free to borrow mine. It’s nothing fancy or super poetic, but it was focused and honest and real:
“Dear Lord, I sit here contemplating Kavanah wondering if I ever give you that type of focused prayer & I’m sure the answer is no. I already know I need to pray more & worry less. If I prayed as much as I worry, I wouldn’t need as much reassurance about my future. Your plans for me are better than anything I could dream for myself. You are my Wonderful Counselor & my salvation so I am on my knees praying for guidance, strength, and grace. I am so very thankful to you for every blessing in my life. Amen.”
<3 Elaine
Illustrated Faith Revival Camp printables | Illustrated Faith Happy Camper digital set by Elaine Davis | Illustrated Faith His Love stamp set by Gina Lideros (retired) | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Blessings or Lessons mustard yellow ink pad | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Yes & Amen olive green ink pad | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Wordfetti Black stickers | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Say It Colorful stickers | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Mini Olive You alpha stickers | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Homespun alpha stickers in Practice What You Peach | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Homespun number stickers in Practice What You Peach | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Whatever is Lovely Treasures & Text stickers | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd .25 pen | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Date it Stamp | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Whatever is Lovely patterned paper in Lovely | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Names of God stamp set | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd acrylic block | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Amen washi tape | Prima click alpha stamps | Prima Chalk Edger ink pad in Fall Leaf
Thank you so much for sharing Elaine! You are such a blessing!!?
This is a wonderful reminder and something I was just pondering this morning before I saw this post in my email. Thank you!
I love everything about this Elaine ?