We need to hear both Jesus’ voice and His heart. Doing that requires a particular posture of our own hearts. A verse that is dear to me is Proverbs 16:1.

The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. -Proverbs 16:1(NKJV)

Most translations have the word ‘plan’ rather than ‘preparations.’ Yet the Hebrew word means to arrange or set up, thus I think preparations is the better translation. Imagine inviting someone over for dinner. My wife prioritizes having everything ready before guests arrive, which means I need to have the same focus. So, there is a plan for the meal but most of the work is preparing more than planning. The table is set, the house is cleaned, and the food is ready, everything is prepared.

"  Depending on our church background and experience we may have different views or understandings of what constitutes holiness. Thus, it seems we should begin with defining the term holiness before relating it to prayer.

      In my experience holiness was generally presented as related to behaviour, a list of do’s and don’ts. While there are do’s and don’ts in scripture, our behaviour is to flow from our heart attitudes.

“There has been much teaching in recent decades on our position in Christ and our relationship with Him. What I have never heard discussed is the difference between positional authority and relational authority. We all have a measure of positional authority by virtue of our relationship with Jesus. However, more importantly we need to develop relational authority. This idea developed in me over time through my leadership work in various roles.”

“Ever wonder what happens to your prayers that don’t appear to be answered? I want to answer that question to encourage us to persist in the place of prayer as we enter a new year of opportunity. One of my friends has commented more than once, “Prayers have no shelf life.” I think the same is true of prophetic proclamations. Yet if that is true we need to look at where they go. So on to a story.