My 2019 Word of the Year

I know a “Word of the Year” isn’t some new thing and I know that a lot of people do it. I like sharing my word of the year on my blog because I find it’s another way I can share and connect with you in a more personal way. I share my word of the year each year and it’s amazing how the words are always the right fit for the right time. Last year, my word was “Focus” and it’s amazing how when I chose the word at the beginning of the year (or, rather, the word chose me)… I thought focus meant something totally different than what it really ended up meaning.

I thought I was supposed to focus more with work.

Focus more at home.

Focus on the task at hand and not take on too many projects.

Nope. None of those things.

What I didn’t know was that God was telling me to focus on HIM… because 2018 was the year everything would feel like it’s caving in on me.

And this year, my 2019 word of the year came to me in OCTOBER. I knew what my 2019 word was going to be right away and the word wouldn’t leave me alone.

This year, my word is “Pray.”

It might seem like a simple word… a basic word… but when put into practice, prayer can be so difficult, and challenging, and freeing, and connecting, and encouraging. Prayer is the way in which we have the opportunity to communicate with our creator.

I get so caught up in worrying about if I’m saying the right words or praying the right prayer or if my prayers are long enough or whatever. I get caught up and then I get overwhelmed and I panic and then I just don’t pray.

And God laughs.

He doesn’t need my fancy words. He doesn’t need me to set a timer and pray for a specific amount of time. He doesn’t need me to even list off in a bulleted fashion all the things I need / want / have to pray for.

He is such a good God that He literally already knows my prayers before I’ve even spoken them. (Matthew 6:8). God has even been so gracious as to tell us literally how to pray. (Matthew 6: 9-13).

I grew so, so, so close to the Lord in 2018 through reading His word and listening to worship music and just crying out to Him when I felt like I was hanging on by a thread. And I have felt Him calling me to grow in this area of my life. I don’t know what exactly He has in mind… I have no idea what my word of the year will look like in practice at the end of 2019.

Sometimes it can be really scary and vulnerable to say our prayers out loud. I’ve been writing them out in my Write the Word journal (Cultivate Prayer), and already it has been transformative.

Giving myself the freedom to just sit and write whatever is on my heart at the moment is all God wants. He just wants to hear from me. He just wants to hear from you. 

He is your Father, after all.

And what does a loving Father want from His child? Connection. Conversation. Time spent together.

So this year, my prayer is just to quit second guessing myself and just… pray.

What about you? Do you have a word of the year? If so, what is it?