Father, May I?
I am a mother of 5 crazy, homeschooling children ages 10 & under, wife to an amazing man, and daughter of the King of the Universe!I enjoy reading, making my kids laugh, cooking, all things natural, learning to play guitar and dusting off my piano skills.One day I hope to run again, but until then I’m learning patience.
- Back to the Basics! - February 24, 2020
- Blessing Others with a Valentine’s Day Heart Attack - February 10, 2020
- Are You Willing to Be Humiliated? - December 9, 2019
It’s May! Five months have already flown by. I look at my “To Do” list that I jotted down and planned out at the beginning of the year and only a fraction of the items are crossed off. At other times in my life, I would have been frustrated beyond words by this, but not this year. This year and the past 9 months have taught me, once again, how we plan our paths but God determines our steps (Proverbs 16:9). When we humbly ask “Father, May I,” our steps fall in line with God’s will and he may lead us away from even the good things we have planned so that we can follow him in a better way.
This May, I encourage us all to reflect on some basic “Father, May I’s” of this life that will keep us in step with God’s will for our lives! These are a few that have been on my heart.
Father, May I Walk Worthy
No matter what happens to us circumstantially, may we glorify you, our Father, through our words and actions and not allow Satan to even think he is taking our hope and trust in you away.
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way:
bearing fruit in every good work,
growing in the knowledge of God,
being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and
giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
– Paul (Colossians 1:9-13. emphasis added)
Father, May I Live Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a three way street. Many times we only want to make it two, but it is three. Forgiveness flows from God to us, from us to God, and from us to others.
Do we live like we are forgiven and redeemed by a righteous savior or do we take this for granted? May we treasure this forgiveness and not take it for granted, but instead live a life that honors the savior who rescued us from our sins.
We typically understand the side of forgiveness that flows from God to us, but what about the forgiveness that flows from us to God. Of course, God does not need our forgiveness, but some of us have held a grudge against God because of the circumstances of our lives and so we need to break this barrier down by recognizing that God is holy and in order to receive His forgiveness, we must accept His forgiveness wholeheartedly and forgive ourselves for holding the circumstances of life against Him.
Then there is the side of forgiving others. We do not have to hold ourselves in bondage to the actions of others by waiting for the one who has hurt us to seek forgiveness. No, they do not have to see our forgiveness for us to forgive them. There may be people in our lives that do not even know they have hurt us, but instead of carrying this hurt around so that it taints our vision of their every action and brings bitterness to our hearts, ask God to help us forgive those who have hurt us. Jesus in essence says that if we choose not to forgive someone, we are then choosing not to be forgiven ourselves! I want to be forgiven, don’t you? Father, may we pray our hearts out that we will willingly forgive others.
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
– Jesus (Matthew 6:14-15)
Father, May I Be Fruitful in You
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is the fruit of the Spirit. Many times, we try and try to bear these fruits on our own but that’s impossible. It is only through Christ’s Spirit being active in my life will this fruit even be awakened in my heart and actions. May we stay connected to the true vine and allow the Spirit to guide us so that we can bear fruit in accordance with your will!
Father, May I Be Spirit-led
Acts is one of my favorite books of the Bible because surreal things happen. One moment Phillip is sent to share the good news with the Ethiopian and then after baptizing the Ethiopian “the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away…”
Philip, Saul/Paul, the other apostles, and so many others allowed the Spirit to lead them. They don’t stubbornly hold back but let the Spirit lead them at full speed! They followed the strangest of commands in order to be obedient and honor God with their actions. We may not be whisked away suddenly, but we will be called out of our comfort zone. Father, when you call us to act Lord, let us immediately take action and not wait around wanting someone else to take your call.
There are so many “Father, May I’s” that our heart might be asking and where God might be leading.
What are the “Father, May I’s” that are calling on your heart?
