Many people you pass by today are in the midst of a 40 day spiritual exercise. And no, spiritual exercise is not some kind of oxymoron.
Right now, countless "high church" folks (Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, etc) are observing the season of Lent: a 40 day observance of fasting and prayer. The biggest thing Lent is known for is "giving up" something. Most protestants don't observe Lent (we would fall into that category), yet most protestants recognize the value of spiritual exercise, or spirital discipline.
As you look ahead at your life, "at what" are you looking? Many times, looking ahead has more to do with getting past some negative in order to do what we really want. You know the "God, if you'll just get me past this, then I can..." prayer? (yeah, I'm with ya)
We can sometimes be like the little boy who "gave up" fighting with his brother for Lent. Half way through, his father asked, "So, how's it going, son?" to which the son replied, "Great, but man, I CANNOT wait for Easter!"
Spiritual exercise is doing something different in your life to give God room to share something new with you, so when you emerge YOU are different.
Get it? God already has all things under his control - we don't need to pray for 'things'. Our prayer is that we - individually and collectively - will walk steady in his grace and trust in him. He alone is God and he is true to his Word.
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