Patience with Yourself in Growth - Your Nightly Prayer - June 23rd

Angie Grant

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Your Nightly Prayer

Patience with Yourself in Growth
Your Nightly Prayer
by Angie Grant

TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” - Psalm 34:19

SOMETHING TO PONDER

I am not a runner, but boy am I impressed with runners! They don’t just wake up ready; they train for months! Their journeys include sore muscles, early mornings, running in the rain, days they want to quit, and maybe an injury or two along the way! Training sounds exciting- I’d love to be able to say, “yeah, I’m training for that marathon.” It just sounds like you’re somebody, doing something great! But training really is full of resistance.

In Psalms 34:19, the psalmist says, “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from all of them.” Just like that runner, he encounters difficulty in the process of something great, something he is trying to accomplish! He runs up hills to build strength, and long runs build endurance and stamina. In the same way, our lives aren’t promised to be easy, just like this verse. The assumption is that there will be many hard moments. But the Lord delivers us! And just like that, when runners have hard runs, there is no coach who removes those parts of the trail; he coaches them through them!

Isn’t that what God does with our run? Our lives? He adjusts our plans when necessary through that still small voice of the Holy Spirit. He encourages us to keep on going! And no pain we go through is ever wasted. We get into trouble when our eyes are only fixed on the finish line! So much growth and stamina occur before that. Take time to note all God shows us in the valleys, and we will appreciate the mountain tops more readily! We are hard on ourselves as we train for life! But just like a runner, we don’t focus on the whole race at one time. We look at the next step, the next breath.

So how do we live this out? We let go of comparison; everyone’s journey is different. We trust the process even when we have questions, and we keep moving forward. And when our journey (and we’ll have many!) ends, and we cross one of many finish lines, we will look back and see the things that we couldn’t see in the middle. The hills in our story that gave us supernatural strength, the hard seasons that deepened our faith and dependence on God, and we will realize that the race of life shapes us into the plans and purposes God set out for us. Be easy on yourself, God is up to something good as you trust Him with your run.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Jesus,
Thank you for the race that you have set before me! Help me to learn to be patient with myself and to trust you with the race you’ve set before me. I desire to focus on my race one day at a time, depending on you to lead and guide every step of the way until you come.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

Am I looking only at the finish line, or giving myself grace?
What can I do today to combat comparison?
What areas have I given up on because I’ve been too hard on myself?

Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Westend61

Angie Grant Angie Grant is passionate about helping others become the best versions of themselves—whether in family life, ministry leadership, or in supporting schools and educators. She’s all in! Her greatest joys—besides Jesus and her husband, Stan—are the four who call her “Mom” (three biological and one through the gift of adoption). An even sweeter title? “Lolli” to her five grandkids.

Angie holds a degree in Child and Family Studies and currently serves on the staff at Cloverhill Church, where she and her husband have been leading for over 25 years. She is the Executive Director of Cloverhill Christian Academy, located in Midlothian, Virginia. Angie is a dedicated advocate for foster children and families, and also serves as a Trust-Based Relational Intervention Practitioner, offering support in her community and beyond. In addition to her roles in church and education, Angie contributes her insight and leadership as a board member for Families First and the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services.

How does she do it all? With purpose and passion—as a coach in family life, ministry, and schools, Angie brings experience, empathy, and a heart for helping others thrive.

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