Living Life on Purpose - Part 1

What is purpose? As a noun, purpose means "the reason for which something is done, is created or for which it exists." As a verb, it signifies 'what one has as an intention or objective' (i.e., aim, plan, design, etc.)

Most Christians ask or are seeking to find out why God created them, to what aim and for what purpose. Some believe that being saved means having a place in eternity. This is not the case, however. We have been saved to be living witnesses to Jesus Christ! We are on this earth for a reason. God created us on purpose (verb) for a purpose (noun). He deliberately made us and planned for us. Jeremiah 29:11 states, "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." His intentions for us were clear from the beginning (Genesis 1:26:28).

As stated earlier, we tend to ask what is our purpose, why God made us. The reality is that we should be asking what God's purpose is for us. God has blessed each and every one of us with gifts and talents to be used to accomplish His will for our lives: to be witnesses for Him. The gifts and talents we have are to be used as platforms to give glory to His name. For example, I love to create visual graphics with inspirational, motivational, or scriptural messages. I do this during my devotional time because as a visual person, I feel I can use these images to draw others to the work of God. Other types of gifts include leadership skills, giving, hospitality, administration, and so forth. All of these are natural born gifts to be used for God's glory.

There is so much to share about living life on purpose. I will continue with this topic in my next post. In the meantime, here is my latest inspired piece. It is a mixed media art on canvas, "When motivated women get together amazing things can happen." Enjoy!

Fervent Prayer

God seeks our attention; our undivided attention. He doesn’t need our coming to Him for drive-by prayers. He wants that when we pray to Him, that we do so in a reverent and respectful way. Our prayers to God should not be for what He can give us or what He can do for us. No, our prayers should be for His Will for our lives, that we would desire what He wants for us!

Fervent prayer is constant prayer. It is a prayer that is heartfelt and comes from the depth of our soul. It is prayer such as uttered by Hannah (read 1 Samuel 1:1-9). Fervent prayer is like latching on to something you want badly and not letting go until you get it, constantly asking or nagging someone consistently until they give you an answer.

This is the type of prayer we must pray. The prayer uttered in this manner should leave us feeling weak and spent, but afterward, it will strengthen us for our journey. 

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16.