Prepare a Place for God's Spirit
Here’s an article I wrote for the Help Club for Moms. I love being challenged to write for this powerful ministry - I always learn something new when I press into God for others!
“True freedom never comes until we fully realize that we don’t need to struggle to get from man what God freely gives us: love, acceptance, approval, security, worth, and value.” Joyce Meyer
My family recently moved into a larger, more child-friendly house. My toddler zooms around our property with newfound courage. He goes a little faster and plays a little harder within the safe parameters of our fence and strategically set-up home.
Dear friend, this is a beautiful picture of living in freedom! God’s Word tells us, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17b). My son learned to play freely within the carefully prepared parameters we put in place for him. Likewise, your freedom is found within the loving boundaries of your Heavenly Father, who prepared a way for you through His son, Jesus.
You probably know what it’s like to prepare a home for a child. You take dangerous things out of reach and make good things easily accessible. You put essential items within arms reach and make plenty of space for moving around. You take great care in creating peace-filled environments for rest.
Mama, you can do the same thing in your own life to make the voice of God more accessible as you go throughout your day. God is teaching me in a very busy season of life that, no matter what is going on around me, I can prepare my life for His voice like I prepared our home for my children.
Remember sweet friend, if you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God’s Holy Spirit is alive in you. You have full access to Him and His mercies every day! You just have to practice turning your heart, mind and spirit toward Him before anything or anyone else!
Here are some practical ideas on creating space for God’s Spirit in your busy life:
Remove dangerous, distracting or unnecessary things.
Pray and ask God if there is anything deterring you from hearing His voice. Perhaps it’s looking at social media or checking messages before you read your Bible, or using negative language in your home. For me, it was over-complicating mealtimes and adding too much cooking and cleaning into our schedule. I was getting tired from the less important things and missing out on what God had for me.
Decide on what is essential, and plan for it.
What stirs in your heart as you think about drawing close to God? Focus on one thing now, and you can add more later. You might feel led to memorize a Bible verse, try a Mom Tip, read a chapter of your Bible every day, write in your journal, take communion or listen to a worship song. I was struggling to find a time to pray with my children, so I created the “7 o’clock Prayer” time. I serve them breakfast at 7am each day, and we pray and eat together!
Ask God – even if that’s all you have time to do.
I hate to admit that, when I am unsure in my parenting, I often think, “I need to sit down and pray about that sometime”, and then go to the Internet in the interim. I’ve committed to say a quick prayer right where I am instead. Recently, I’ve silently prayed, “Help me know what to do about my toddler’s sleeping,” during another long night in the nursery and, “How much time should I be spending with my teenager in the evenings when I need to get my work done?”, when I fall into bed exhausted and unaccomplished. I’ve found that God’s generous Spirit has given me creative ideas and inspiration just as quickly and freely as the prayers I’ve prayed to Him! He is so kind!
Let’s Pray:
Jesus, thank You for preparing the way for me so that I have unlimited access to You. You are all I truly need. Father, I confess that I get distracted, give in to temptations, or seek counsel from others instead of You first. Forgive me for putting other things in Your place. I am returning my heart to You in this moment. You are the one, true God. I pray for heaven’s wisdom. Show me how I can prepare my life to be filled by You and led by You at all times and in all things. Amen.
With Love,
Kacy and the Help Club for Moms Team