Yesterday, I finished the first final exam of my MFT program. It felt great. I felt prepared and everything made sense. The day before, I got some excellent results about my reading students--yes I moonlight as a reading teacher each day for those who don't know and according to the results, I'm not half bad lol--another instant high.
What I am finding though, is even though I wake up ready to take on the world most days, by the afternoon I'm pretty much toast. I'll get another glimpse of happiness or a moment of peace only then to be knocked down again. Why are days like this? Can't we just stay in our own happiness/positivity bubbles? Not really. So, I think I need to start having midday prayer. This is one practice I think I'll borrow from Islam. Did you know in Islam, it is mandatory to pray 5 times a day? Now I definitely pray a lot of quick prayers throughout the day but really hitting the pause button 5 times a day to pray and really talk to God--now that is powerful. Side note: I love learning about other religions. Y'all know I love Jesus but I'll borrow practices/pray with anyone. Anything that brings me closer to Christ is a win.
Anywho, I think afternoon prayer is my solution for remaining centered and not let my days get derailed. I saw the prayer below a while ago. I think this is a great way to start my afternoon prayers for the rest of this year and into probably next year to.
Dear Lord,
Give me what it is that I need to completely fulfill your purpose, so that you won’t have to find anyone else to do your/the work assigned to me. Order my steps. Allow me to hear your voice clear. Strengthen me to love harder and forgive people and their past. See yourself in me. I know you aren’t a forceful God but father I give you the permission to force me into your Will when it seems like I’m drifting away from you. Force me back into the right position, even if it hurts. Sometimes I want to respond to people and their ignorance/heartlessness but I understand that it may be a waste of every ounce of time, as well as, having nothing to do with helping me to get into heaven. As I grow and mature I learn that there are so many other things to life that have such greater value. Having the “heaven mindset” also helps me to prioritize better. I do want your will.
-Kierra Sheard (
You can read Kierra's full prayer here.)
I pray this prayer for each and every one of us. We are working, striving, struggling, and triumphing every day. It is hard...no one every talks about how hard it is...so I pray that the Lord keeps us all everyday. We already have everything we need to win inside of us--we just have to remember to let it out.
