FREE PRINTABLE INFOGRAPHIC: 5 WAYS TO PRAY FOR GOD’S WILL AS YOU CONSIDER GOING OVERSEAS

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It was a big “aha!” for me when I realized God wanted me to do his will even more than I did.

I used to think I needed to be alert for the smallest sign, the slightest indication of what He wanted. Wasn’t that being surrendered? I thought. But for me, I was a bit afraid of missing the signs. I ended up traipsing around on spiritual eggshells, deciphering some Christian version of the tea leaves.

It was reading Psalm 23–overlaid on John 10, “[His sheep] know his voice”–when I realized God knows how to get my attention. Just like I know my mom’s voice or my husband’s voice when they’re out of the room, I know what God generally sounds like; what he says. In fact, if someone asks me about what my husband would think about a certain issue, I can tell them fairly confidently what he would say–though I’ll still run it by him, and I don’t want to speak for him without talking with him. (It was the Israelites who went by circumstances alone, ignoring the need to seek God, and made a contract with the Gibeonites–who were actually their enemies [Joshua 9]. So I don’t seek to run on gut instinct alone.)

WHY DOESN’T HE JUST MAKE IT OBVIOUS, FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE?

Praying for God’s will as you consider the crazy-cool chaos of an overseas adventure can feel like the stakes are high. Wouldn’t it just be easier to read, say, some writing on the wall? But God delights, I think, in us seeking him. In being with him to know his mind, his heart for the nations and our own families. In Scripture I see him longing for us to come near him, rather than just robotically comply.

I’ve written before of a friend of mine who needed God’s wisdom desperately before beginning a new non-profit. He committed to 40 days of fasting and prayer. At the end of this time, everyone wanted to know whether God told him what he needed to do. He explained God hadn’t. But in drawing so intimately close to God, he now knew what he should do.

In light of that, we’ve compiled 5 prayers to draw you nearer to that beating, bleeding heart of God’s, and trust that he’ll make his desires for you and your family known in perfect timing.

PRINT ‘EM HERE.

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Go. Serve. Love

After seven years on staff with Cru, Janel and her husband packed up their family of six to--yup, Go. Serve. Love in Uganda with Engineering Ministries International (EMI). EMI focuses on poverty relief and development, providing structural design and construction management for Christian organizations in the developing world. After 5.5 years there in East Africa, Janel and her family recently schlepped back to the U.S., where they keep working on behalf of the poor. She writes and loves on her family from Colorado. You can find more of her ideas for practical spirituality and loving each other at AGenerousGrace.com.