What Shall I Do?

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’…and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (33)But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:31-33

God has laid this passage of Scripture on my heart over and over again for the past few weeks. My grandmother used to pray for a year verse for the upcoming year that would anchor all prayers and guidance from God. Through her journals I witnessed them coming alive on paper. Back in 2007, I started praying in the same manner and each year have also been given specific verses. I know that verse 33 is my 2011 Year Verse. I was able to see the first fruit of that realization yesterday.

I have a friend who is going through a separation. She certainly has a basis for their parting but the husband doesn’t want it. It has been tenuous at best with much anger, bitterness and hurt. She talked him into going through mediation instead of separate attorneys to avoid additional polarization between the two of them for the sake of the children. We had a circle of people praying leading up to the mediation for both parties. The mediation went great and remained peaceful and calm throughout, providing a fair and mutual agreement for all parties. I asked her how she prayed specifically and she named the following prayer items:

For God’s presence to be in that room;
For God to soften both her heart and the heart of her husband;
For God to comfort both parties during this meeting;
For God’s wisdom in this arrangement.

This woman sought the things of God first and foremost instead of praying for her wishes. She didn’t approach God with a wish list of what she needed to live on. She sought the things that she knew were more important than the logistics of the meeting. She prayed for the higher things placing her husband’s comfort at the top. We should not worry about the things of this world for when we are seeking ‘first His kingdom and His righteousness all things will be given to us as well.’