Day 17 of 30 — Trust God's Plan Over Your Own

Good morning, guys. Welcome to day seventeen of the thirty-day prayer challenge. I’m really glad you’re here with me. I’m thankful for what God is doing in us as we keep showing up and seeking His face. Prayer is the key to your spiritual walk and your spiritual life—there’s just no substitute for it.

Today I want to take you to a passage that’s probably familiar to a lot of you, and honestly, it’s one of my favorites. It’s Proverbs 3:5–6:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

lean not to your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will direct your paths.”

That’s a powerful word right there.

The Lord is calling us to trust Him with everything we have—all our heart, all that we are. And then He says, “Don’t lean on your own understanding.” Now, we all have things we think are best. We all have feelings about what we should do, what makes sense, what seems right. But ultimately, God has a plan for your life. He has a way that’s right for you. And part of growing spiritually is learning to lean into God’s plan instead of clinging to our own.

Then He says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”

And this is where a lot of people misunderstand it.

So many times we pray things like, “God, help me in this decision,” or “Lord, bless this venture,” or “God, help me with what I’m about to do”… but if we’re honest, we already made up our mind. We already decided. We already know what we’re going to do—we’re just asking God to put His stamp on it.

But when Scripture says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him,” it’s not saying, “Hey God, I just want You to know You’re included.” That’s not what it means at all. It means to get to know Him. To become acquainted with Him. And not only that—it means to actually give Him control. To give Him charge.

Here’s the truth: God has a better plan for you than you have for yourself. And trusting God is not just believing He exists. Trusting God is giving Him control of your plans and your life.

Today’s Challenge: Pray Before You Decide

Here’s my challenge for you today: pray before you decide, and invite God into it.

If you’ve got a decision in front of you—something about your family, your job, your future, a choice you’ve got to make—don’t just pray about it as a formality. Invite Him in, and by that I mean: give Him charge. Give Him control.

Before you decide, wait on the voice of the Lord. Wait on the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And believe that God is going to give you direction.

Today’s Reflection Question

What is the decision that you need to seek God about right now?

I want to encourage you—label it. Write it down.

Before you take your ten minutes of prayer today, write it down:

“God, here’s the decision about my family…”

“Lord, here’s the decision about my job…”

“God, here’s the choice I need to make…”

Then put it before the Lord.

There was an Old Testament king named Hezekiah who did something just like this—he wrote it down and spread it before the Lord. He sought God’s face, and God gave him great success.

So come on—write it down and say, “Lord, here it is. Here’s my decision. I’m inviting You in to have control. Give me a prompting. Give me Your voice. Lead me and guide me.”

And if you do that with sincerity, God will come in and lead you as you lean into His understanding instead of your own.