Thanks to our new youth director, Edgar Ruiz, I have another acronym to share. This one is a simple model when praying for God’s purpose and direction.

F – Fill me with Your Spirit

E – Empower me

E – Embolden me to be your witness

D – Direct me

GO- Go before me

Jesus revealed to his disciples in John 15:5, “He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit. Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” Praying in this manner places me in a position of abiding by keeping me from organizing my days and hoping God will come alongside me as I attempt to do what I think is good. This prayer reminds me that my strength, power, and direction all proceed from abiding in Jesus. If God is not leading the way, it is far better to wait than to make my own way in my own strength.

Moses understood this as he pleaded with the Lord in Exodus 33:15-16, “If your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. …Is it not by Your going with us that we may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”

Waiting is difficult. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Father to send the gift He promised, the Holy Spirit. For the disciples as well as for us, waiting on the Lord may be the difference between cowering and courage, being a wanderer or being a witness. In his message, Edgar observed, “The presence of God is what sets us apart.”

Lord, please fill me, empower me, embolden me, direct me and go before me so that my life is not filled with ordinary accomplishments, but extraordinary fruit-bearing.