Although controversial to some, I credit evangelist Joyce Meyer with the jumpstart to my transformation from “baby Christian” to a maturing one. Why? The day I broke down and said to God, “Why am I still so unhappy? Why can’t I experience joy and peace in my life?” He admonished me and asked, “What have you really done?” Yes, He really did say that, out loud, twice. I landed on my knees and asked Him to direct me. I knew that I hadn’t been “all in.” My first step was to go and buy a devotional. As I stood in front of the many books I prayed, “God, tell me which is the one I need right now.” And that’s how I ended up with Ms. Meyer’s book, Power Thoughts.
“Power Thought: My thoughts are not hidden from God. I know I can change with His help.”
Joyce Meyer, Power Thoughts Devotional: 365 Daily Inspirations for Winning the Battle of the Mind
The reason it spoke to me is that it focused on that tiny part of me that ends up ruling everything about my life – my thoughts. At the time, I proudly wore a badge of pessimism. I was constantly outraged, angry, hurt or sad. And yet on the outside my life was truly blessed. I needed to attack the devil living inside my head with the power of God (Psalms 139:23).
Words are extremely powerful. They can hurt and heal. They can tear down and build up. They can cause fear and joy. With words we can complain or comfort. And what is prayer but words?
I’ve been challenged to create a list of statements about my life as God sees it (Isaiah 55:8). It’s not a list of what I’m like right now. It’s not a New Year’s resolution list. It’s a list of prayers, based on the Word of God, of what I will be and have in my life with God’s intervention.
Power of Positive Thinking – Mayo Clinic
“Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.
If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you’re likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.”
This may sound a bit “new age” – and it’s true that a list of positive changes in our lives that we decide to just talk about may never come to fruition. But as Christians we have the transformational power of prayer at our fingertips (James 5:16). And our challenge will be to not only listen to the Holy Spirit for guidance but to then pray daily those changes.
It is not so true that “prayer changes things” as that prayer changes me and I change things. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man’s disposition.
Oswald Chambers
So, get out a new sheet of paper and join me as we create our transformation list January 11-29. A transformation into mature Jesus followers. A transformation into the people God truly wants us to be. Because up until now, what have you truly done to walk fully in the life He wants for you?
emboldened.net 