Distractions and Peace (Thirty Days To Greater Fruitfulness, Day 1)

This blog has been temporarily overtaken by my Thirty Days To Greater Fruitfulness Challenge.  You can find out more by checking out the Introduction.

So I’m checking in to report on the Day 1 of Thirty Days to Greater Fruitfulness.  The time that I was able to sit in front of the Lord and actually wait on Him has been difficult.  Any of you who have tried to pray for longer than you normally would can probably indentify with this situation.  You want to take time aside and listen to Jesus but as soon as you set down, your mind starts thinking about the latest show you watched or something left unfinished at work.  That was my day.

If you’re taking the challenge and went through what I went through today, do not loose heart.  This is extremely normal.  And while we recognize that trying to wait on the Lord and listening to Him can be difficult at first, the harder thing to do is to really believe that what we’re doing at this stage counts.  The dry, mundane, distracted times of prayer actually are building something inside of us.  God sees what we’re doing and counts it whether we feel super connected or not.

On the fruitfulness side, I haven’t seen a whole lot of what I call obvious fruit.  No one came to know Jesus today, no one repented of their sin, I didn’t heal any sick people.  But just like the distractions, I kind of expected this to be how this thirty days started.

However, I did notice today that my heart was full of more peace than it normally would be.  I had a crazy day at work.  It was the sort of day that makes postal workers go…well…you get the idea.  But through it all, I had this peace that kept my heart at rest.  I was more attentive to the Lord’s presence and that was extremely helpful.

The other thing that I noticed today that was different than other days is that the motives of my heart are becoming more clear.  This is a good thing, because it’s giving me a chance to repent and clean out some junk that should have never been there.  I’m also beginning to see a few situations the way I believe the Lord sees them and I think that will bear fruit later, even if it’s not bearing fruit right now.

Part of this journey is learning that fruitfulness doesn’t come over night.  So if you’re in the same place I am, don’t give up and don’t be discouraged.  The Lord is working internally, and some times that takes time.

If you’re taking the challenge, leave a comment in the post below and let us know how it’s going.  Or, if you’re blogging on your own site, drop us a link so we can check it out.  Thanks for going with me on the journey.

Join us on the “Thirty Days to Greater Fruitfulness” experiment.  For the rest of September we are spending 30 minutes in silent prayer listening to Jesus and then acting on what He asks us to do.  Then we blog about the changes that are occurring in our lives through the marriage of listening and obedience.  It’s not too late.  If you’re just checking out that experiment feel free to jump in.  And if you want more information, you can check it out here.

Photo Credit: Calendar by Adreanna Moyer Photography