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Thanks for checking in for the final post for our 2025 Matthew 6:5-15 study!
Last Week’s Work
LESSON(S) LEARNED
I reviewed my notes from the last six weeks and came away with this: while temptation and trials are inevitable and part of God’s plan to grow my faith, I’m not expected to battle them alone. He commands me to ask for His help! From other studies I’ve done, I can see it’s part of a bigger strategy that also includes renewing my mind and wielding the sword of the Spirit like Jesus did. I’m so grateful for this model prayer!.
CONVICTION
Here, the Spirit asked me to consider how I am succumbing to temptation when I should be following Jesus’s commands and moving forward anyway, all the while relying on Him to supply the discipline to not give up. This week, I felt convicted about the book (yes, the same one I’ve talked about for years now!). I finished a full-length rewrite earlier this year but quietly laid it aside (again!). I believe the Spirit is now prompting me to make certain changes to the format and get it ready for release soon.
CORRECTION
Though it might seem a stretch, the passage from this study that corrects me is v6: But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. In context, Jesus was counseling us not to practice our faith in ways that show off how pious we are. I think that’s because, by doing so, we negate the praise that God alone deserves (v9), heaping it on ourselves and tainting our Christian witness.
This week, though, the Spirit helped me recognize a related manipulation the evil one has used to quash my mission to help women go deep into God’s Word with DISO. It’s self-doubt that surfaces each time I resolve in my own strength to publish a book about this process. In my mind I hear him whisper, it’s not ready! What will people think of you, Jen, if you publish a book that isn’t perfect? Everyone will know you’re not qualified to share this. It’s better not to risk it.
But God’s Word says when I pray, He will reward me. And He has!
ACTION PLAN
This morning before I finished this post, I laced up my walking shoes and started listening to one of my favorite podcasts (Your Best Writing Life with Linda Goldfarb). The episode featured a publication format I didn’t know about: short-form e-books. As I listened, I began to consider different ways to get my project started again. Then I realized, as Matthew 6:8 says, God knew what I needed before I even asked Him! Thank You, Father! This time, my plan is to stay alert to the evil one’s temptation to abandon the book project. When (not if!) I hear those doubts in my mind, I plan to ask God to help me ignore the whispers and lies and listen for help determining the next step to take. With God, all things are possible to [her] who believes (Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23)!
Our Next Study
Join me next week as I kick off the fifth study in my Restoration series featuring Luke 15:11-32, the parable of the Prodigal Son. Hope to share more with you then!