“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

“Hearing God is not all that difficult. If we know the Lord, we have already heard His voice—after all, it was the inner leading that brought us to Him in the first place. But we can hear His voice and still miss His best if we don’t keep on listening. After the what of guidance comes the when and how.” Loren Cunningham,  Is That Really You, God?: Hearing the Voice of God

• Come away with your precious Savior and friend, Jesus! He loves you more than you could ever know. Prepare your heart to stretch as you consider today’s Faith-Filled idea!
• Read Psalm 36:8-9 and write verse nine in your prayer journal.

Prayer = Intimacy with God

I once heard a man describe his experience with prayer by comparing it to throwing spaghetti against a wall to see what sticks. I can understand why he would feel that way. I’ve prayed to God for jobs I didn’t end up getting and spent many sleepless nights begging for Him to supernaturally put my babies to bed so I could please…just…get…some…SLEEP! If that’s how you feel right now, hang in there, mama, you’re doing awesome! In times like this, God can seem really far away.

After reading today’s key verse (John 10:27), this “spaghetti prayer” metaphor seems more distant than the intimate experience of hearing my Shepherd’s voice. Since God’s Word is always more trustworthy than my own feelings, I have to ask myself, “In the midst of laundry, cooking, and crying babies…does my life exhibit the joy of intimacy with the Lord?” I will confess: lately, it hasn’t felt that way. I have lost my temper. I have struggled to be patient and kind. So then, I must conclude, I have not been listening for the voice of the Lord in my life.

God has seen me struggling. But when I bring this to Him, He doesn’t scold me. He reassures me that He wants more than my repentance or performance; He wants me to know what’s going on in His heart towards me. I want to ask him to fix me, but He wants to tell me I’m already made new. He doesn’t want to spend our time together talking about my failures, inadequacies, and the things I think I lack. He’s already taken care of all that. He just wants me to listen so He can build me up.

So what is getting in the way? When I believe the lie that He is disappointed with me, shame will prevent me from hearing the tender encouragements His Spirit uses to bring comfort. So here I go again, surrendering to His grace.

God created each of us uniquely, so He will most likely not speak to you in the same way that He speaks to me. He may speak through Scripture, a circumstance, a ‘still small voice’, a song, or a metaphorical mental image to name a few ways. Being a mom is a tough job, and in order to thrive, we desperately need God to give us wisdom and speak encouragement to us throughout the day.

Mother Teresa explained it like this:

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”

Prayer is simply, and solely, intimacy with God. There is no formula for results; we must learn to easily recognize His voice. Our relationship with God will not flourish as a one-sided conversation.

There is no lack in Him, for He is the creator of abundant life, and He is waiting to take us on the adventure of a lifetime.

Blessings and Love,

Brynne

Questions to Ponder

• What does Genesis 2 say about God’s original design for our relationship with Him at the beginning of creation?
  – Notice the imagery of the rivers of Eden in verses 10-14.
  –An in-depth topic search will reveal the four rivers were meant to bring abundant life to humankind.
• What does John 4 say about our interactions with God here and now?
  – What does Jesus’ interaction with this woman say about our worthiness to enter into a deep relationship with Him?
• Read Revelation 22:1 and contemplate an eternal relationship with God.
  – Consider how our relationship with God will increase in the courts of His temple in our eternity with Him in heaven. He has good things planned for us sisters!

Faith-Filled Ideas

“Faith minus vulnerability and mystery equals extremism. If you’ve got all the answers, then don’t call what you do faith.” Dr. Brené Brown

Looking at the life of Jesus, I see that God is deeply mysterious and relational in nature. Like any relationship, in order to discover what we don’t yet know, we need to spend time with Him!

Today’s Faith-Filled Idea is to make a plan to go on an adventure with God. Get your responsibilities covered in advance as an act of Sabbath and set off on a treasure hunt with the Holy Spirit. Get in your car and ask Him where to go, what to do, who to speak to (or not speak to), and pour your heart out to Him. Maybe He’ll take you on a hike and remind you of How much He loves you. Maybe He’ll take you to care unexpectedly for a stranger in dire need. Trust that the leading in your heart is from God and allow Him to interact with you in a fun and practical way. You may not understand what you’re doing, but it will increase your faith. Soak up the treasures you uncover with the Lord along the way!

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Brynne Gluch

Brynne is married to her answer to prayer husband, John. They have a biological firstborn daughter, Eden Joy age 2, and an adopted son, John Charles “Trey” who is almost 1. They are her life’s delight!

Brynne’s life is living proof of the transformative power of God’s grace. She has a fiery drive to chase after Him with her whole life and has continually been humbled by the unconditional love He has for us.

Latest posts by Brynne Gluch (see all)

• Joyful Obedience - October 14, 2023
• “The Challenge of Environment” - July 7, 2022
• Prayer = Intimacy with God - October 24, 2021