Hi, everyone. As we are still in January we continue to wish you a Happy New Year! I pray God’s favor, peace, and awareness is over each of you. May each of you draw closer to God’s will and purpose for you this year. I pray for breakthroughs on your prayers from years past for which you still wait for answers. Always remember thankfulness for answered prayer as God shows His favor and grace on each of you. I declare and decree God’s miracles for each of you. Get excited. Expect a miracle!

As we start this new year, I am impressed to talk about love. 1 Corinthians 13 is known by many as the love chapter of the Bible and is a great place to turn to learn exactly what love is and what love isn’t. We can help the poor or be busy doing amazing things for God and impress everyone around us. Doing the right thing isn’t always love. Without love, these types of gestures become old and tiresome to where we lose interest and quit. When we are using our heart and passion to do something, then this is love. Love is God’s will for you, and He will give you the strength you need to perform any task and overcome any obstacle. Always give God the glory in your achievements because He is the One who gave you what you needed to achieve in the first place.

Now let’s go in another direction with love. I have spoken of forgiveness before in a few of our letters. Love forgives… always (Colossians 3:13-14). From experience, unforgiveness is like carrying a bowling ball around with you. Every time a certain name or incident comes up, so does an ill feeling of that issue. Instead of carrying that weight, go before God and ask Him to help you forgive that person or circumstance with whatever love is in you. Let it go! Start this new year in God’s peace and walk lighter. You may even see a smile you haven’t seen for a while on your face.

Another facet of love is unity. Love and unity stand together as one. There are numerous scriptures in the Bible that encourage us to be together as one – Acts 4:32, 2 Corinthians 13:11, and 1 Corinthians 1:10 to name a few. There is strength in unity. In fact, unity in prayer invites the presence of God. If we add love to the mix, then we are praying with both the presence and the power of God and will move mountains (Matthew 18:19-20).

We all have mountains we have prayed for – unsaved loved ones, health issues, financial problems, separations, and the list goes on. When we pray as one, we pray in agreement with one another. It’s not one person praying in one direction and another praying in a different direction. We come together as one for the same purpose, praying in agreement with one another.

When Cherie and I pray, we pray as one. She may be praying for someone and I agree with the words she prays. We may not instantly see or hear an answer to our prayers, but in God’s timing, He often makes it known that our prayer has been answered. I have come to realize all prayers that align with the will of God are heard. No prayer is in vain (1 John 5:14-15, Psalm 55:16-17). Don’t quit or give up. When you become discouraged, that’s what two or more are for. Others can encourage you and pray when you no longer have the strength to pray. We need the strength of each other as we fight to bring down those mountains.

There are so many ways to pray. Simply stated, praying is just talking to God, just like you would talk to someone standing in front of you. The main thing to remember is to pray from your heart. Your heart is where your passions lie. If you pray from your mind or always pray down a list, this could become a religious ritual or even an idol, focusing on checking off our list rather than focusing on God’s heart for the different situations.

So love, unity, and prayer – three great ways to start your year. I encourage you to lean into these this year. Make love the foundation of all you do. Purpose yourself to live in unity, even with those you disagree with. And pray in love and unity, in agreement with others, with your heart for God’s will to be done regarding moving those mountains. Then watch those mountains move!

Cherie and I pray and expect breakthroughs and miracles for many of you!