Thoroughly Prepared

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – May 20, 2017

So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters.  The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.  Nehemiah 2:9

It is very hard to over-prepare, as most people do not struggle with over-preparation. One’s temptation is to neglect the real need of being thoroughly prepared. When you rush ahead of God, you expose yourself to the nagging details you could have intentionally prayed about and thought through. Pride tends to shun preparation, as it assumes too much and prays too little. When you take the time to prod those areas you are unsure of, you discover insights that are invaluable to success. If on the other hand, you go off half-cocked with a Pollyannaish naïveté, you are an excellent candidate for disappointment, or even worse, failure. Irresponsible assumptions are foreign to faith because faith thoroughly prepares on one hand and humbly prays on the other.

Preparation also includes the involvement of others because you will not accomplish big things for God by yourself. Jesus didn’t. He called the Twelve to join Him. He has also placed people in your life whose hearts have been inexplicably moved to join you in this God-created opportunity. Let them in and do not be intimidated because they possess skills and experiences you don’t. Instead of lamenting the different backgrounds, personalities, and skills that surround you, celebrate them. A well-rounded variety of relationships and resources bring strength to the whole. A true team is diverse, and a secure leader accepts diversity as a key ingredient in the recipe of success.

“Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people” (Isaiah 57:14).

So unfetter your team from the fear of failure by giving them the freedom to try new things and to test long-held assumptions and methods. Help others prepare by removing obstacles. A team—thoroughly prepared—produces. Prayer is the most potent part of your preparation. You cannot pray too much about your methods and motives. Pray for God to be glorified and for His will to be done. Pray for His provision and resources. Pray for relationships you have yet to enter into that will become critical alliances in your God-sized project. It is through prayer that you persevere in preparation.

Change occurs primarily in the person praying. Their faith expands and so does their patience. Their love elevates, while their vision grows. In a phrase, their character receives an extreme makeover. Prayer is the crowning jewel of thorough preparation. Prayer gives you courage to speak boldly and the wisdom to know what to say and how to say it. Prayer holds you back when you need to wait in silence. Prayer is preparation, as it aligns you with the Almighty’s agenda. Thorough preparation is your friend. God does not waste preparation; He blesses it. Therefore, be thoroughly prepared following through with the plan with abandonment and gusto. Weave prayer throughout your preparation as if it were an intricately woven quilt, and then watch God work. Thorough preparation positions you to be used by God.

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