Pray First

There is just something about the beginning of a new year that feels extra exciting, isn’t there?

New year. Fresh start. Clean slate….and for me… A brand-new planner.

I love that sacred moment where I sit down with a warm cup of coffee or afternoon tea, a set of beautiful erasable pens (because writing in permanent ink feels a little too rebellious for me) and the confidence of someone who truly believes this will be the year my planner stays calm, organized, and beautiful. I start by mapping our life out intentionally. I dream. I plan for my family. And I begin color-coding like my life depends on it, because if I’m honest, with our wild schedule… it kind of does.

The new year means fresh goals, fresh expectations, fresh possibilities…
And if I’m being honest, it also brings a whole lot of pressure.

You see, somewhere between color-coding January 1 and February 1, my excitement turns into stress. My heart rate rises as I start adding all the things I need to do, all the places I have to be, and all the goals I’m determined to accomplish. I struggle to try and fit everything in and before I know it my clean, beautiful planner turns into a frantic mess of chicken scratch coupled with a side of frustration, disappointment, and the desire to just walk away from it all.

Anyone else been there?

The other morning during my quiet time, I stumbled onto a story about a man preparing for a major journey, but instead of spiraling over logistics, timelines, and “Did I remember everything?” Ezra did something completely countercultural.

He stopped.

Ezra 8:21 says: “There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.”

Ezra was leading God’s people back to Jerusalem. The walls had already been rebuilt, thanks to Nehemiah for stepping up and being THE MAN, and now we find Ezra helping the people return to a place full of promise and purpose with hopes and dreams of rebuilding all that had been broken.

This was a fresh start in every sense of the word, and now more than ever it was time to bust out their new planners and carefully laid-out strategies to accomplish their dreams.

But before plans were made and bags were packed…. before any of the kids in the back seat asked, “Are we there yet?”, Ezra called the people to fast and pray.

Why?

Because Ezra understood something I know, but am still trying hard to learn:

Prayer isn’t meant to be our last resort.  It’s meant to be our first response.

I think Oswald Chambers said it best when he said, “Prayer is not preparation for the work; prayer IS the work.”

Ezra didn’t want confidence that rested in his own planning or ability to organize a plan, more than his confidence in God’s plan. He wanted their steps to be crystal clear, and declared to everyone following him that if God wasn’t going with them, they’re not going anywhere.

So they fasted.
They prayed.
And they waited on the Lord.

(Ugh….that waiting part is often the hardest for me. Sometimes praying, and fasting, and WAITING on God to move, trusting and believing He will fells really, really hard)

But Verse 23 tells us:

“So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”

What a challenge for us to carry into a brand-new year.

Before we rush into January determined to do more, try harder, and be better, what if we all took these first few days and did what Ezra did? What if we paused long enough to say, “God, we don’t want to go anywhere You’re not leading. We don’t want to build anything You’re not blessing.” And then we set down those color-coded pens and patiently waited for His response.

Fasting and prayer aren’t about impressing God or twisting His arm to do what we want Him to do. They’re about positioning our hearts. Maybe it’s time to start off the year by fasting and praying for God to move.

Fasting strips away distractions and reminds us where our strength actually comes from, because as much as a I hate to admit it, it’s not my color-coded planner.

This year will bring new opportunities, new challenges, and new assignments. Some of us are stepping into things we’ve prayed for. Others are stepping into things we never saw coming. But every single one of us needs the same foundation.  We all need a life completely anchored in prayer.

So, as we begin this year together, let’s choose to Pray First.
Not as a checkbox.
Not as a last-minute ‘Hail Mary’.
But as a daily posture.

Let’s be women who start our days on our knees so we can stand up and walk forward with confidence. Let’s be women who fast not because we think we should, or because ‘everyone else is doing it’, but because we’re desperate for more of God.

So before you close your planner today…
Before you try to organize your life into neat little checkboxes…
Before you commit to one more thing, sign up for one more thing, or promise yourself this is the year you finally get it all together…

Pause.

Ask yourself this question:
Am I asking God to bless my plans, or am I brave enough to let Him lead them?

Because I’m learning that a full calendar does not equal a faithful life.
A productive year does not always mean a prayerful one.
And the truth that often stings the most is that just because I’m busy doesn’t mean I’m building what God asked us me build.

This year, let’s all decide to let prayer go first.
Before the emails.
Before the meetings.
Before the goals.
Before the hustle.

Let’s let prayer be the voice that sets the direction, not the thing we squeeze in when everything else is already decided.

May this be the year we stop running ahead of God and start walking with Him.

Pray first.
Trust fully.
And let’s watch God do what only He can do.