Make No Decision without Prayer

Presently, I am reading Elizabeth George's book, A Woman After God's Own Heart. I have read this book in the past and picked it back up recently to re-read since I enjoyed it so much and learned a lot from it before. This book is full of practical ways to cultivate a heart that is pleasing to God. Going through it this time, I am gleaning new things from it and will post other lessons and thoughts from this book later.

I just finished the chapter entitled, "A Heart Committed to Prayer," where George explains how "regular, daily, unhurried time in prayer" is a must in order to be a woman after God's own heart. George discusses 7 blessings that a person will experience as they cultivate a heart of prayer: 1) A deeper relationship with God 2) Greater Purity, as sin is confessed during prayer 3) Confidence in making decisions 4) Improved relationships 5) Contentment 6) God-confidence 7) Partaking in the Ministry of Prayer. Wow...investing time in prayer to God produces great returns and is obviously worth our investment.

While all 7 blessings are of great value, the one that really jumped out at me was #3, confidence in making decisions. I tend to be an indecisive person and a person that makes the decision making process rather long. (At least I recognize this about myself though, right?) Anyway, I usually take so long in making the decision because I want to make the Best, or right decision. So, when I saw # 3, I was eager to read on and challenged by what I read. George states that she follows and encourages the reader to follow the "Make no decision without prayer" philosophy.

When this approach to making decisions is adopted, we are guarded from "rushing in and committing [ourselves] before consult[ing] God." She further explains this by writing: "As the events on my calendar approach, I feel no dread or fear or resentment; I don't wonder, 'How did I get myself into this?...I wish I hadn't said yes'! Instead I experience a solid confidence --confidence in God--and the excitement of anticipating what He will do at these events."

Following this approach for every decision will ensure that our decisions are not made by how we "feel," but rather by what God would have us to do. This approach makes so much sense to me and I am excited about applying it to my life. What an awesome blessing we gain by spending time talking to God.