Impressions for 2023

Following are some impressions I felt as I prayed about the year 2023.

Impressions for 2023

In a one-word summary, the impression is righteousness. I don’t want to take this for granted. I want to know everything there is to know about it, and I want my life and the church to be abounding in it.

1. From Fallow to Furrows

Hosea 10:11-12 is an urging for righteousness. He uses the imagery of preparing a field for sowing — harrow, plow, and break up the fallow ground. When a field is cultivated, it breaks up hard ground, eliminates weed roots, and creates furrows for seeds. 

As we do this in our hearts, we prepare a way for the Lord to sow his word and kingdom in us — from fallow to furrow.

Flip back to Psalm 65. David is praising the Lord because he answers us in righteousness —  he sends the rains that fill the furrows and softens the ground to crown the year with bounty to overflow the wagons with abundance. 

I want an overflow of righteousness in my heart. I am praying for the church to be a womb–fertile ground–for the word and work of the Lord in this hour.

Scriptures: Hosea 10: 11-12, Psalm 65:9-13, Isaiah 40, and Matthew 13

2. Come Ready to Eat

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be satisfied — Matthew 5:6

There is a difference between sitting down at the table from being hungry for what’s on the table. Whet our appetites, Holy Spirit, for rich food (Isaiah 55)!

Let this be a year we push past obligation and religious duty and get to the point where we are hungry for the Lord to speak, move, hear our cries, and change us.  Let this be a year that we come ready to eat what he has prepared for us.

It will take humility — willingness to admit our need for him and his word. 

Let this be the year that we push past filling our souls with fluff and the delicacies of the world that do not satisfy — to see they are broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13).

I am praying for an increased hunger in my life and in the body of Christ. Come to the table ready to eat and long for everything Jesus is and brings, so much so that our flesh faints for him.

Scriptures: Matthew 5:6, Isaiah 55, Psalm 63:1-3

3. Proximity / Friendship

Don’t just be at the table, be the one reclining with Jesus. Be the one leaning on the beloved. Be the one close enough to hear the secrets he breathes.

The friendship (or secret) of the Lord is with those who fear him. Psalm 25

I’m not satisfied with how close I’ve been with the Lord in the past. I have to get closer.

My prayer is simple. “I want to be your friend, Jesus.” And I echo it for the body of Christ, that we are friends with our heavenly bridegroom.

(In part, this stirring came while listening to the Gripped Podcast.)

Scriptures: Psalm 25:14-15, John 13:21-26, Song of Songs 6:16, 8:5

4. Speak God’s Truth Back to Him

“Speak God’s truth back to him.” I heard this phrase twice in one day from two different people. It has stuck with me, and it feels important for this year.

The first time was in reference to prayer, and the second was to worship. So many Psalms and people’s songs in the Bible resound who God is and what he has spoken. These declarations are prayer and worship.

The only way we can speak God’s truth back to him is to engage with the Word. We have to make room for him. Our whole bodies need to feast on his word and presence and turn it back as prayer and worship. It strengthens our spiritual legs, it protects and defends against falsehood, and it is a light to our feet. 

Scriptures: Psalm 119:105, Ephesians 6:10-20, John 1 & 14 

It’s going to be a good year as we grab hold of the Lord. Amen!