This week I’m taking a vacation for a few days by myself. My goal is for this to be a retreat of some kind to think about what I want to do in my ministry this year. My ministry however is not near as important as my relationship with Jesus. Many times my prayer life is for others and yeah there is a lot about me. The things I am now praying for are because they are things that I am lacking. With that being said, the following are the things that I am praying for during this time of rest and relaxation. 

1. To grow in my love for people. - God is love. I can easily see the temptation to become frustrated, lose my temper, give up on or even ignore certain people. Lately I’ve been reminded of the magnitude of love and patience that God has for me. I often forget that I am a primary beneficiary of God’s grace and love. 

2. To be motivated by God’s love. - I have been reminded of the great depth of the love of God. As the verse goes, “the love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.” To me it seems that the love of God cannot very well be described except through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Like a child who lives in peace and walks in joy in the presence of his father, so I want to be a child who lives and walks in the presence of his father. 

3. To die a minister. - I’ve been asking “God, is this because of pride?” Do I want to stay a minister because so many quit? I guess overall I want to be fruitful in my ministry. And if God calls me to leave the ministry, my prayer is that it is because God has called me elsewhere. 

4. To rid me of my pride. - My selfishness has begun to peak lately. Not only that I often think of myself. What’s best for me? My money seems to have a grip on me lately. I think and worry about bills, I become selfish when it is time to give. I want to give out of a gracious and worshipful heart. When it comes time to eat or spend on me, I have hole in my pocket. 

5. To be bold. - I am not very bold. A lot of times I think of that verse in Proverbs 17 “A truly wise person uses few words.” However, I feel I never say what I need to say, when I need to say it. My prayer then is not only boldness, it is wisdom as well.

6. To always love my wife. - Since I married Kate, there is no one I’d rather be with, there is no one I’d rather share my life with, I love her. Aside from the love of Jesus, Kate is the greatest thing I have ever had. I want to always lead and love my wife in a way that honors Jesus.

7. To be a facilitator of rest. - There are some people that when you are around them you just feel at rest. It’s like you get a taste of what it is like to be in the presence of Jesus. That is what I want to be. 

8. For my students to know Jesus. - I love my students. It has been my privilege to be involved in Jr. High and High School students lives. Not only that but, watching them grow in Jesus. Seeing them become followers, to live with the blindfolds off. My prayer is for them to know Jesus. To see that he is truly life in a dark and hopeless world.

9. To walk with God. - Genesis recalls Noah being a man who walked with God. As a man who is selfish with his time, and who keeps a loving God constantly waiting, I repent. I want to be a man who lives as if his Father is next to him the whole time. I want to grow in my obedience to his word, to love his word. To have a heart that hungers and thirsts after righteousness. 

To God, if in any of this I have had a motive of pride or “this will make me look better” attitude, I ask you to weed it out of me. Hear my requests, Father. Daily bring me to my knees. May my heart be pure so that I can see you. May the way that I love and treat people be a testimony to a man that knows you. May I always realize that without you I can do nothing.  

Your Son,
Tim