I feel like at the start of this year has been a real ‘new start’. I’ve never been into ‘new years’ and didn’t start the year making any resolutions or grand plans. 

I did, however, ask for God to bless me. I asked for this year to be the year of Abundant Blessing. I wrote a little about this at start of January which you can read. Yet I think it’s interesting what has been happening as a result.

This has happened in ways such as taking responsibility for my health, eating better and seeing the benefits. In my marriage working hard to put it as a main priority, to be kind to my husband and not to turn off the notification of ‘date night’ but actually date him and I love falling in love with him again and again.

The most rewarding  thing has to be my faith. My faith has grown-not my belief in ‘if there is a God’ but in the the God I know answering my prayers. 

I went to a bible study the other week where we saw the story of a woman coming to Jesus who needed a miracle and she just stated the problem with her sick daughter and said ‘Help’. As I read the gospels I see that when people came to Jesus with a problem they actually didn’t tell him what to do. They just presented him with the problem-and waited to see what He would do.

I think I had become stuck on a treadmill at the same speed of just asking God for answers to my prayers-in the detailed way I thought it should be done and if it didn’t happen my way then I was disappointed. Rather than learning from how people did it when they knew fully that Jesus was there before them..

The friends who brought the paralysed man on his bed and broke through the ceiling to present him to Jesus. Then waiting to see what he does. (Luke 5.17)

I guess when the disciples saw Jesus heal Peters mum (Luke 4.38) and then people brought to Him all who were sick and by touching them Jesus healed as it states in the word of God ‘he healed every one of them’ . The faith must have grown yet they didn’t then come and give details for other sick people telling him ‘she has the same problem and that boy had so do it like this and it’d be best like that’ they just brought the sick knowing that with one touch He could change everything.

Jesus says of the soldier in Luke7.6 that this man has ‘the greatest faith I have found anywhere, even in Israel’ So what had this man done to warrant such an amazing statement ? He recognised the authority of Jesus – He saw how BIG Jesus was and trusted that He didn’t even need to come to the soldiers house, “You only need to command it, and my servant will be healed. I,too, am a man under the authority of others and I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier to ‘Go’ and he goes, I tell another ‘Come’ and he comes, I say ‘Do this’ and my servant does it.” 

This Officer understood the power of Jesus. The power than means He is all knowing, all authority in heaven and on earth is His and so all He need do is command something to happen and it will. 

I need to remember the power of my God. Today my pastor had a man and a boy do the ‘fall back onto me’ trust excersise. The boy would fall onto his Dad because he trusted the size of him- the dad wouldn’t fall on the boy! 

I need to not reduce Him down to my level of understanding. The word says He can do immeasurably more than we could ask, think or imagine! Yet so often I know I think my strategy/plan for solutions are best. 

I am gaining back faith to move mountains…because it is not me that moves the mountain it’s my God who made each one-in a day! 

This is just one area of life where I am changing but in such a good way. I feel joy is growing as my prayers are being said not out of fear or disappointment but with faith.

That if I don’t know what to pray I bring it to Him and simply ask for help! My friend for example, when it can feel too much- I’ve just brought them to Jesus feet and said please touch this situation, and I am waiting to see what He will do. With full assurance that the same Jesus who walked streets healing and loving people all those years ago, hears me today and He has an answer far better than I could hope for or create myself.