As a pastor, the temptation is huge to “fix” people. They have a problem. They lay it out to you. You fix it.

It is incredibly interesting to me that Jesus never “fixed” Peter. He let Peter know that Satan had asked permission to sift him as wheat, and Jesus said he would PRAY for Peter (Luke 22:31-32).

As I “resolve” to be more apprenticed to Jesus in this new year, I want prayer a deeper part of my life. It is my joy to lift people up before the Lord. It’s not about saying, “It’s all I can do.” It is saying, “It’s the best I can do.”

There are great “programs” that offer “steps” to help, but it is the work of the Spirit that is the deepest and best work. That gets stirred up through prayer.

The call this year is to deepen my own prayer life. May I lift people up. May I lift problems up. May I see God come down!

It is HIS Kingdom. Not mine.