Real TalkSample

DAY THREE: Defining Our Deepest Desires

As far back as I can remember, I always knew that I wanted to get married and be a mother one day. While ten-year-old me may not have understood what the Bible says about singleness, marriage, and family, I knew that marriage was something I longed for, something close to my heart.

When I started dating my prayer was, “Lord if it’s Your Will, let me continue to walk in what You have placed before me, and if it’s not I pray that You would take it away and protect me.”. Every day I found myself falling more and more for Him, not knowing the outcome, but trusting that the Lord would move and direct my path.

I’ve always been told how important it is to pray for the Lord’s Desires to be my desires, but oh the freedom that was found in explicitly naming my desires to the Lord! This doesn’t mean that I demand the Lord to fulfill it exactly the way I want, but it has drawn me so much closer to Him. Naming my desires helps me to put my whole heart on the table, for the Lord to see every part of it and hold it gently in His Hands, for He knows what's for my good better than I ever could.

Explicitly naming our desires before the Presence of the Lord can feel so vulnerable, which it is! Emily P. Freeman in her book "The Next Right Things" says, “When I honestly admit what I most long for in the presence of Jesus, I can more quickly accept when it doesn’t work out. I can talk to him about it, admit my heartbreak, and receive what he has to give in place of it.” The Lord wants us to draw near to Him, giving Him our desires, building up our trust in His Goodness no matter the outcomes or circumstances. Maybe that’s what He’s calling you to today, to name the desires of your heart and to lay them at the Feet of Jesus.

Reflect on Mark 10:46-52. Think about how Jesus isn’t overwhelmed by our desires. In fact, he invites us to name them as He did with Bartimaeus. Spend some time writing down the things you desire, and then pray and surrender those to the Lord.

Pray: Lord, You care so deeply about Your children: our thoughts, desires, fears, tears, all of it. Lord, I no longer want to hold onto my desires. The more I do that the more I clench my fist on the idea of what I want to happen. God, I sit here with open hands and a heart that longs to be closer to You. I admit the fear and even the discomfort that may come with sharing my desires with You. I pray that as I give these things to You, that I will remember to give thanks for met desires and to hold to hope in the unmet desires. God, You are King, Lord of All, and You are a Friend. I pray that my trust in You will grow more than what I could’ve ever imagined. In Your Name I pray, Amen.