by Georgia Brown | Jul 11, 2023 | LO Library, Prayer
PRAYER: What? Why? + Where do I begin?
Don’t know what to say when you go to pray?
I get it. I’ve been there too.
But really, it’s as simple as can be.
I’ll get you started.
Just say…
“Hi God, it’s Me…”
In a time where we are in need of prayer more than ever… I honestly think we so overcomplicate it.
Maybe it’s just me, but have you ever felt not equipped? Like when you’re asked to pray out loud, or when you tell someone you’re gonna pray for them… but you totally forget, andddd it never happens?
Yeah. I’ve been there too.
As intentional as we are with keeping up with the newest social media trends (like Treads LOL) or making sure we keep our nails filled, our hair touched up, or all caught up with our favorite shows…
We should be all the more intentional with what trullyyy matters most.
Loving God.
And loving His people.
And with Loving God AND people… How can we love someone we don’t even spend time getting to know? We’ve gotta interact with them! We have to know what’s going on in their lives, by sharing what’s going on in ours, alongside knowing what they like, + what they don’t. & this comes from a little time + vulnerability + intentionality!
IF IM HONEST…
Before having a true friendship with the Lord, I only came to God if I was in a pickle, or reallllyyy wanted/needed something.
I never came to just… hangout.
What about you??
Friend, if you grew up in the Church, or even you’re a new believer of Jesus, PRAYER is such a churchy word that is so very commonly thrown around. But have we never stopped to really think about what PRAYER is?
In its simplest form…
Prayer is… a two way conversation between YOU & God.
Where you actively participate in sharing your life with Him while also listening to Him through His Word, and by His Spirit.
Prayer is… a miracle! Where you break through the natural and step into Heavens Hotline, having direct access to The Creator of the universe. Your Heavenly Father.
SoooOoOOo why should we pray?
Let’s be honest. We NEED help. Heaven is home, but here on earth… it’s a little crazy. As we know, allllll sin and fall short of the glory of the Lord, so we making mistakes is a part of the journey. Some mess-ups are private. Some become more public than others. Some are small. And some are way bigger than others. And as we try to navigate this adventure we call, “life” well, we need something greater…SOMEONE greater to help us.
REALITY IS…
We have a Heavenly Hope.
We have someone who understands.
Jesus.
As Jesus walked this earth as our perfect example, showing us that He is the Way the Truth, and the Life, and that no-one can come to the Father except through Him… Jesus displayed His Kingdom here as He walked with His homies, (the disciples!) As they journeyed from town to town—they. saw. it. all. From the blind seeing, to the deaf hearing, to demons being legit cast out, to 5 fish & 2 loaves feeding 5,000 people… they saw what was impossible, become POSSIBLE right before their very eyes because of JESUS.
The Savior of the World. The One who walked with them, talked with them, taught them… but also then hung on a cross for them, and rose three days later.
Oopppps, I hope I didn’t spoil the story for ya (LOL!)
We serve this Risen Savior!
BUT! Out of ALLLL the incredible things He did while on earth, there was only ONE THING the disciples actually asked Jesus to teach them…
Nope, it wasn’t to do a miracle, or multiply food.
The disciples actually wanted Jesus to teach them HOW to pray.
In Luke 11:1-2 we read about this…
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come…”
I love that it doesn’t say IF.
Not, “if you pray”
But WHEN.
As God’s girls, we SHOULD be praying. We SHOULD be talking to God to strengthen this friendship with Him!!
SISTERS + FRIENDS.
When I got real with God, He got real with me.
And I hate to say that it had to get to this point… but something happened to a friend.
When I was in college, one of my besties told me she had gotten taken advantage of at a party. I was devastated. As we sat on the couch, I froze. I didn’t know what to say, or do.
At this point in my walk with Jesus, I didn’t even feel confident enough to pray out loud over someone, so… I just gave her a big hug.
As I made my way from the living room back into my little shoe box of an apartment, I remembered a movie I had recently seen. Maybe you’ve seen it. It’s called, “War Room”. It’s about how a prayer strategy saved a hurting family. This precious older woman faithfully prayed in her closet. Up until this point in my life, I did NOTTTT have a walk in closet. But here, in this tiny apartment, I did.
Somehow my feet made their way into the closet, and I shut the door. And I sat. & ever so brokenly, I called upon the Father with such honesty. I was so sad I couldn’t really do anything to fix this situation. I needed someone higher. I needed Him. I needed Heaven. I needed God. So I wrote a prayer out for this friend on a notecard, and then I stuck it on the wall. Then after my sleeves dried my tears, I got up.
And everyday since then, I have prayed in my closet.
I’m no longer in college, nor living in that apartment, but praying in brokenness on the behalf of another believer built my relationship with Jesus deeper.
I pray our hearts would be broken and built by what breaks & pleases His.
And we find out what He loves and what He doesn’t through spending time with Him in His word, and in hanging out with Him. HONESTLY coming.
I never thought I’d have the chance to share my very own prayer journey with you. Honestly sis… that wasn’t on my radar. But GOD, am I right?!
I am so excited to share with you my VERY FIRST devotional, “Hi God, it’s Me: 20 Days to a Stronger more Powerful Prayer Life” releases ONE WEEK FROM TODAY everywhere books are sold!
The most important thing to me is your relationship with Jesus.
Keep on talkin to Jesus. He wants to hear from you.
You’re His girl!!!
Love ya so much,
-GB
by Georgia Brown | Nov 4, 2022 | Life Advice, Relationships
When holding onto a relationship longer than you feel Gods hand upon it, whether we realize it or not, we’re saying, “I know whats best for me”.
Sure, the signs are still there, from the more consistent arguments and the continuing of compromises, but the more you place band-aid excuses over their bad behavior—you start to believe the lies the enemy is allowing yourself to speak. We hold out from letting them go insisting…
“they will change”
“they just need a little grace and space”.
“You don’t know him like I do”
“Well, when things are good though, they’re really good”.
And I can’t speak for you, friend, but as I’ve said these very things from my own lips, and from my experience,
I was loosing…me. For a season, I thought I had lost, ME.
Where I once was being treated like a princess held with the upmost respect, somewhere along the way I became the one to reinforce our physical boundaries. And what was once shinny, and I would dare to say—STILL IS, in his eyes became familiar. And that respect turned into complacency.
& this was the beginning of my hardened heart.
The walls began to be built as the trust, purity, and respect were slowly being torn down…in turn, tearing ME down.
For you it may have been overnight, but for most of us, I believe it’s a slow fade. Step by step. Moment by moment. Compromise by compromise. Where once good intentions were spoken, the actions lived out contradict what was said. And the very things that were said, have now been questioned, and once again, we’re back in the garden with the enemy making us doubt, “did God REALLLYYY say?” Thus birthing sin. And that sin…bringing forth DEATH.
No, not the death of lighting striking us dead on a bright summers day, but the death of our joy. Our light. Our purity in the way we see the world.
And one day, with eyes wide open, you find yourself crying out, “how did I get here?!” As you desperately try to remember the stranger starring back at you in the mirror.
I’m not upset at you, sister. I’m not in the slightest pointing a finger at you, shocked or full of judgement that wow, you’ve gone too far. Because girl. If ANYTHING, that finger should be pointed at me. Because I have gone too far.
And for YEARS. I mean Y E A R S I have kept this TRUTH to myself. Sure, my mom found out and that horrified me (to say the least). & my dad, too, was brought into the conversation by my mom, and although it felt like I could take my next breath as it was now in the light, I still felt…used. Dirty. Broken? Too Far gone?
It breaks my heart that for our sisters that do feel stuck in that relationship, or less than because of what they’ve done or what has been done to them, they feel they have to stay quiet. absolutely quiet. That no-one can find out. & more girls that we probably will ever know are silently suffering.
Like me, you may have known better…but it was head knowledge. NOT the heart knowledge, of fully understanding how overwhelmingly LOVED you ALREADY are by the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, where you don’t have to “prove” your love.
Girl—I pray you find freedom from your Father in this—
Going too far is not the unforgivable sin.
Beloved, you are NOT what you’ve done or what has happened to you.
Today, RIGHT NOW, in this very moment you can come and lay it all before His feet and cry as many tears as you have stored up in that heart of yours, telling Him you’re sorry, and you want to come home. You can be done with where you’ve been, and be fully loved and known by Him alone.
Maybe you just need someone to see you. So I say to you, sister—you’re NOT broken, too far gone, or damaged goods. And If there is any hope I can share with you, it’s that God did it for me… and He will do the same for you, too.
I was asked to continue my post, “to the girl who’s no longer with the one she thought she would marry…” but as I began to type—this is what came out of my heart.
I’ve actually not shared… anywhere…. that I’ve gone too far, physically.
But today, here with you, resting in the presence of my Father who has redeemed me, not just from somethings—but ALL things because He is not a halfway healer, it’s freeing.
So to the girl who is no longer with the guy she thought she would marry—
Take this time to heal. Allow God to show you who you are in HIM, and remember that little girl He created, and loves so much.
To the girl who is still with the guy she knows she shouldn’t marry—
In your weakness, God is your strength. Lean on Him, and lean into the nudges the Holy Spirit is showing you. You will never regret being obedient. And I will leave you with this—if he never changed, would you be fine?
& to the girl who feels unseen, unloved, and views herself as damaged goods— well, to put it plain sister… these are all lies from hell, that couldn’t be farther from the truth of the GOSPEL OF JESUS.
You are seen.
You are loved.
In Him you are forgiven
And through Christ, you are REDEEMED.
It’s time to take these broken pieces from the chapters in your story you’ve tried to white out or rip out entirely, and lay them before your Father. And as He takes all things, and turns them for your good, and His glory—I dare you to be so brave to believe Him at His word and watch Him do a miracle in your story. And YOU are loved with an everlasting love.
When letting go of a relationship you no longer feel Gods hand upon, whether we realize it or not, we’re saying, “God knows whats best for me”.
by Georgia Brown | May 3, 2022 | Life Advice
Hey sweet sister! It’s an honor, sincere joy, and privilege to spend a few moments with you today!
I hope your week is off to a great start and that the little things are making you smile. I pray that with each new day you’ll see it as a new opportunity to keep going and to keep trying.
But what about those days where you can’t seem to turn that frown upside down? That even when the sunshine is hitting your skin, it just can’t seem to sink in.
You’re not alone.
I’ve been there.
If I had it my way, you & I would be at the cutest little coffee shop as our hands were being warmed by a mug. We’d quickly go submarine deep into a sweet conversation about life and all it’s been throwing our way.
But since the Lord is keeping us both busy right where we are, I’m honored to share this screen with you today:) I’m sending you a big air hug as we speak! I pray you feel the Fathers warmth upon your soul like the coziest blanket today.
Today I just wanted to share with you a few scriptures & simple suggestions, sister to sister, on how to CHOOSE JOY on a HARD DAY.
We don’t really think about it, but my gosh, we have so many choices thrown at us within a 24 hour window.
The choice to hit snooze.
To cook over ordering takeout.
The choice to stay in & do the assignment over hanging out with friends.
The choice to exercise.
The choice to go to Church after a late Saturday night in college.
The choice to prioritize your marriage even though the toddler age is a handful.
There are a lot of choices we subconsciously walk in without even realizing a decision was ever made.
Surrrre, Your steps may be small, but as you keep putting one foot in front of the other in the same direction you’ll end up somewhere!
So where do you want that to be?
Where do you want your heart and mind to be when life, emotions, & circumstances out of your control are thrown your way?
The only thing we can control is our ACTIONS and REACTIONS.
So it’s not IF, but WHEN these things come your way, how are you going to respond?
God’s word says that, “our words are an overflow of our heart”. (Luke 6:45)
So whatever is in there, is gonna come out.
My stars, I get it. When the to-do list isn’t getting done, she gets asked out and you’ve been single forever, you just broke-up when your bestie got engaged, the pregnancy announcements keep being posted when heaven just gained your angel baby, it’s more than “difficult” to see the light when the clouds seem to only follow you.
…I’m sorry things have been hard.
Our Father sees you. Your pain. Your season, sorrow, and situation.
But even here, He wants you to know that your words have POWER.
LIFE & DEATH to be exact. (Proverbs 18:21)
Imagine your heart is a garden, and your words are seeds. Friend, you can either grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.
Choosing JOY may not always look like a smile, but those lips can speak life.
On a hard day, speak kindly to yourself. To others. Your spouse. kiddos. Siblings. People in the office or in line at the store. (Or even to your own heart when you’re in standstill traffic!)
1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.
They may not see those dark storm clouds over the soil of your soul… but your Father does.
He sees you & hears every prayer. Psalm 3:4
Not only can you choose joy by speaking life, you can also plant yourself in life giving environments.
Sisters need support.
Oh I know… it’s much easier to binge that show and grab that rocky road pint out of the freezer with no regrets, but the enemy would much rather see you isolated and alone.
Choosing JOY on a hard day means choosing to let people in.
You don’t have to do this alone.
You were never meant to!
So whatever season you’re in today, I want you to know you’re special, loved, chosen.
You’re not just wanted, but needed.
Today is a good day to CHOOSE joy.
Speak life.
& let people into your season.
Love your freckle faced friend forever,
Georgia Brown
