More of Him, less of me

One thing my friend, Jodi, and I have been saying for several months, is that we need to pray more. Amen to that sister! The other morning she said, "we need to pray!" So, we stopped what we were doing and took time to pray. We prayed over our day, over our time, and over our year. Jodi started the prayer and I finished it. One thing that came up in both of our prayers was, "Lord, we need more of you and less of us. Help us to get out of the way so you can work." When we finished I decided that need to be our theme for the year. And here we are.

A few years back, about this time of year, the Lord was really pressing on me to get more committed to my prayer routine. I had every excuse in the book. My number one being, "I have three little kids, I have no time to devote to prayer!" Guess what, He wouldn't take that excuse. With a sigh, I headed over to my book shelf to see what I had on prayer.... 

I found a book that a close friend had gifted me about a year ago, titled "Whispers of Hope" by Beth Moore. It's a 10-week daily devotional focused on prayer. The book begins with the acronym PRAISE for prayer, and each day includes a verse and commentary from Beth, as well as a space to jot down your prayer for each letter. 

P = praise

R = repent

A = acknowledgement 

I = intercession

S = supplication

E = equip

Here I am, begrudgingly obliging the Lord at His request, simply because He wouldn't leave me alone. I completely understand how Moses felt in Exodus 3. I remember writing down my thoughts in the book, which were no better than simple Sunday School answers, and while writing I was thinking to myself, "This is just so dumb." But then something switched. About halfway through the book I had to get a separate notebook for journaling my prayers. From there it took off, my prayer life had met a new height. I have several notebooks full of prayers that I have journaled. The journaling helps me to stay focused. I have another friend, one who I call my prayer warrior, who has an old computer keyboard that she types out her prayers. Whatever you need to do to stay focused, do it.  

Prayer is essential. God is omniscient,  meaning He knows everything. He knows what we are going to ask for before we ever ask for it, so why pray? For the same reason we wait for our kids to come and ask us for their needs. There is a blessing in being in need, recognizing it, and coming to the Lord and engaging with Him about our needs. There is also blessing to when we need to struggle for what we ask like the persistent widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18. God is working to create in us an attitude of gratitude. We are never really as grateful for what we have if it comes easy. 

Here is my P.R.A.I.S.E. For 2025:

P: I praise the Lord for who He is. I praise Him for all He has entrusted to my care.

R: That my desires decrease so His work may increase. 

A: I have nothing that He does not want me to have, and I have all that I need. I can do nothing apart from the Lord and my work is to do the will of my Father in heaven which is written in His Word, and I have all the help I need through His Holy Spirit. 

I: That He will bring riders and auditors to our clinics that He wants there, whether it be 1, or 20. I pray also that He will ready the hearts and minds of those who come to receive that which it is He wants them to receive. 

S: I ask for wisdom to teach and instruct His Word through the horse.

E: Lord equip me with all I need to bring to each clinic that which is necessary, nothing more, nothing less. 

Relating this to horsemanship, consider the concept of less of you and more of Him like this: You have a horse you've chosen as your partner, it's an excellent horse, and you cherish it like your own child. Suppose you need to work together to cut a specific cow from the herd. As you approach the herd with your horse, you spot the cow you need to separate. However, your horse has a different plan and either 1) targets the wrong cow, or 2) heads in the opposite direction. Your thoughts don't align, and you can't accomplish the necessary task. The horse is unaware of the ultimate goal because it's just a horse. Similarly, with the Lord, we don't know the final outcome. We understand how the story ends through His prophecy in Revelation and throughout scripture, but we don't know the exact means to achieve it. We don't know which cow needs cutting or which heart He will heal through us. How often have we missed an opportunity because we refused to yield to His will and followed our own agenda?  

Just as we want the horse to relinquish all its thoughts, desires, and will, the Lord desires us to do the same. In reading "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he highlights that we must deny ourselves in the same manner Peter denied the Lord during His crucifixion. "I do not know the man you speak of!" This signifies putting to death the old self, the flesh. As the horse must submit to our guidance, we must submit to the Lord's will.

"Not my will, but Yours be done."

One last note of wisdom to share. When spontaneously praying in the barn, don't pray with Hank the horse.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,

May His face shine upon you in 2025,

Greta