Intentional Growth
Intentional growth is my desire to develop well-rounded in my spirit, soul and body. Intentional progress comes through cultivating my heart to delight in the Lord, worship Him and to pray.
My two Scriptures for 2022 are:
Matthew 7:7-8 NASB
- Ask, and it will be given to you
- Seek, and you will find
- Knock, and it will be opened to you
- For everyone who asks receives
- And he who seeks finds
- And to him who knocks it will be opened
Psalm 37:3-5 NASB
- Trust in the Lord and do good
- Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness
- Delight yourself in the Lord
- And He will give you the desires of your heart
- Commit your way to the Lord
- Trust also in Him, and He will do it
Intentional Delight
Webster defines delight as “a high degree of pleasure, or satisfaction of mind; to have or take great pleasure; to be greatly pleased; delight is more permanent pleasure than joy, and not dependent on sudden excitement.”
Delight in His Presence
Spiritual delight is finding great pleasure in God’s Presence. There is nothing quite like sitting at His feet and allowing Him to pour His love into the very depths of my being. And to commune and fellowship with the Lover of my Soul is truly satisfying.
Delight in His Word
My spirit and soul delight in His Word. I enjoy listening to audiobooks and this month, I listened to several audio-Bibles.
- The Passion Translation: The New Testament (With Psalms, Proverbs and Song of Solomon). Published and narrated by Brian Simmons on June 22, 2018. Length: 36 hours 23 minutes.
- Letters from Heaven by The Apostle Paul (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy). Published and narrated by Brian Simmons on August 29, 2016. Length: 2 hours and 41 minutes.
- Acts of the Apostles (Dramatized). Published by Your Story Hour on December 11, 2008. Narrated by Carole Pezet and Stanley Hill. Length: 6 hours and 39 minutes.
Delight in Celebrating Life
My intentional choice of eating well, drinking water and doing 10k steps a day has emerged well this past month. Because we have several birthdays in January and February, we enjoyed: cheesecake, carrot cake, double chocolate cake and blueberry cake. Though we don’t usually eat cake, we enjoyed celebrating and loving on special family members.
Intentional Worship
Worship Him with My Spirit
I enjoy worshiping God with all my heart and spirit. I can do this alone or in a gathering with other Believers. Worship is an attitude of the heart.
Webster states worship is “to honor with extravagant love; to adore; to reverence with supreme respect; to pay divine honors to the Supreme Being, consisting in adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving and the like.”
I re-visited Kari Jobe’s music album, Majestic. Her desire to worship, adore and honor the Lord is evident as she pours out her heart to Him in song.
Worship Him with My Soul
Digging deeper into worship, I invested in several audiobooks. Matt Redman has a heart of worship, a longing for God to be exalted, and a yearning to lead others into pure worship of God because He is worthy of our praise.
- Blessed Be Your Name (Worshiping God on the Road Marked with Suffering). Published and narrated by Matt and Beth Redman on December 31, 2008. Length: 1 hour 38 minutes.
- Finding God in the Hard Times (Choosing to Trust and Hope When you Can’t See the Way). Published by Matt and Beth Redman on April 19, 2016. Narrated by Reed Walker. Length: 1 hour 48 minutes. [This is actually the same book as Blessed Be Your Name with a new narrator]
- Indescribable (Encountering the Glory of God in the Beauty of the Universe). Published and narrated by Louie Giglio and Matt Redman. Length: 2 hours 6 minutes.
- Mirrorball (Living Boldly and Shining Brightly for the Glory of God). Published and narrated by Matt Redman on August 23, 2011. Length: 2 hours.
Worship Him with My Body
Posture affects our heart worship. Whether we humble ourselves by bowing or laying prostrate before Him; raise or clap our hands or spin our entire body around – our heart expresses its love for the Lord of lords and the King of kings through our bodily expressions.
Intentional Prayer
Prayer (Spirit)
I am so thankful we have a Living God who hears us.
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Psalm 34:12 WEB
We can come before Him with confidence.
“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” ~Hebrews 4:16 NASB
Prayer (Soul)
“The Lord is near to the heartbroken and He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).” ~Psalm 34:18 AMP
“He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.” ~Psalm 102:17 WEB
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.” Psalm 145:18 AMPC
We can pour out our heart before the Lord and know that He hears us. We can listen to His still small voice, know His guidance and receive His direction.
Prayer (Body)
“And My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” ~2 Chronicles 7:14 NASB
A friend and I met and prayed for our families, our cities, our state and our country. We had a wonderful two days of fellowship and prayer, and we trust the Lord did hear our prayers, is forgiving us (people, government, etc.) and is healing our land.
Intentional Enlargement
Intentional enlargement came through cultivating my heart to delight in the Lord, worship Him and to pray. I’m so thankful the Lord is expanding and enlarging my heart for delighting and worshiping Him. And what a joy to partner with Him and with others in prayer!
Intentional Blessings
May “the Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” ~Numbers 6:24-26 NASB
Recommendations:
3 Ways to Hear the Voice of God 3 Ways to Hear the Voice of God – Strength with Dignity
God is Worthy of Praise, Glory and Honor God is Worthy of Praise, Glory and Honor – Strength with Dignity
Praying for the Nations Praying for the Nations – Strength with Dignity
Worthy is the Lamb Worthy is the Lamb – Strength with Dignity
References:
Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Amplified Bible, Classis Edition (AMPC) Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB 1995), copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
World English Bible (WEB) by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from http://www.webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary
Bible Gateway Blogger Grid Member #bgbg2 #BibleGateway
I’m joining The One Word 2022 group. If you would like to join us, Lisa Burgess has sign up information here: Want to Join a Group for Your One Word 2022? (lisanotes.com)
26 thoughts on “Intentional Delight, Worship and Prayer”
I love this! It is so encouraging, and I will be returning later for a little reminder.
I’m so glad you were encouraged, Liv!
This makes the third blog post this week with an emphasis on delight. Maybe God is trying to tell me something. 🙂 Somehow, though we know better, we can fall into a pattern of dos and don’ts and forget that Christianity is about delighting in Him. So often God calls me back to that first love, that reminder that Christianity is a loving relationship with Him.
That’s so good, Barbara! He is so kind to continually woo us to Himself.
Oh Girl! I love this post, it is resonating with me!
I love all the delighting you touched on in this post because I feel exactly the same way!! Everything in my relationship with Jesus is such a JOY! And I want MORE!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
I love this, too: Delight in His Presence – Spiritual delight is finding great pleasure in God’s Presence. There is nothing quite like sitting at His feet and allowing Him to pour His love into the very depths of my being. And to commune and fellowship with the Lover of my Soul is truly satisfying.
Beautiful post sweet sister!! Blessings to you, xx Donna
Yes, Donna! There is nothing like being in His Presence!
What beautiful insights into your self and your intentional relationship with God. I love how music can inspire so many different kinds of praise! I’ll have to check out some of those books by Matt Redman.
Matt Redman’s audiobooks were encouraging to me this past month and I hope they encourage you, Anita, when you have a chance to read them.
This is a wonderful piece. I especially liked that you included Intentional Enlargement-thank you! I believe this to be so important.
I’m glad you were encouraged, Jan! It seems to take intentionality to grow and enlarge as a person.
I love the breadth and depth that you’re going with your word. There’s so much to be explored in our Lord with just one word spreading in many directions!
It is amazing how He leads us with our One Word, Lisa. It is above and beyond any expectation or understanding we possess when we begin our journey with our One Word. It just seems to bloom and grow each month.
Wow, what a beautiful post to revisit. I want to be intentional in what matters, and your words have helped. Thank you for sharing with Grace & Truth Link-Up. Maree
I’m thankful He leads and guides us, Maree!
Lisa, I love the personal nature of your post. I enjoyed reading about how you brought intention to the various areas of your life resulting in delight! “Unintentionally” I found the same result this month while pursuing intentionality in loving God and others.
One of my favorite verses is Psalm 37:4, and it was a delight to read how you lived that out this month!
I’m thankful that when we delight ourselves in Him, He satisfies us, Donna. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, He is answering the desires of our heart to know Him, be known by Him and for Him to be known through us. And that comes through His LOVE and delighting in Him. He was so kind to lead us this past month in intentionality and resilience! May the Lord continue to bless you and encourage you, friend.
I like how you give so many ways to delight ourselves in the Lord. There is no one way. We have such variety and options.
So true, Theresa! It’s all about our heart’s delighting in Him not the specific way the delight takes place.
Lisa, I love your insights and encouraging words here about intentional delight worship, and prayer.
I’m glad you were encouraged, Paula! We both are moving forward this year with intentionality.
Intentionality is vital to achieving any goal !
Well done!
Yes, intentionality helps us move forward in growth. Thank you, Barb!
Such an inspirational and encouraging post!! Thanks so much for sharing at the Exploring World Religions Linkup 18 so that we can better understand each other through our religion, faith, or beliefs. Pinned.
I’m so glad you were inspired and encouraged, Dee!
CONGRATS Lisa! Your post is FEATURED at the Exploring World Religions Linkup 19!
Thank you, Dee!