Practice

As I was cleaning today, my sister Jenn said something to her oldest son, Josiah, and the words sunk in deep. She said, "If you want to get better at something, then you need to practice." Words I'm sure we've all heard from parents and teachers and coaches, but today, the Lord used those words to change my thoughts.
Jeremiah 33:3 says this: "Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. "
A couple more verses came to mind as I begun dusting off the self in this quiet consolation with God: "But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7) and "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12b).
Call, exercise, work out... all those words involve you our participation and action. So many times I think about my desires. Oh, how my thoughts can be filled to overflowing with fantasies of all I long to be! I have prayed, "Lord, I want to do great things for you. No matter the risk, use me. I want to go where you say go, and stay where you say stay, and do what you want me to do. I want to do big things for you." I know God answers those prayers but often, when He opens the opportunity, I find myself inhibiting my ability by listing the reasons why I am ill-equipped.
Practice.
Practice means to do or perform often, customarily, or habitually; to perform or work at repeatedly so as to become proficient. (thank you merriam-webster.com! :)
So, I have a question for you: What do you want to be? What do you desire to do? Are there things you want to do for God that require risk?
I know what I desire to do. I have asked of God, and He has faithfully answered. He's shown me things in which I did not know. What a faithful God!
Today I was challenged, along with my nephew Josiah, to practice what I want to do. Can I challenge you too? You are God's precious workmanship; you are His poem and He'll put down the pen when your last breath is taken, but for now, He desires to write a beautiful story. Let's not inhibit Him! Practice what you desire; I'm going to practice too. Let's be children of faith that take our Daddy at His word. As you climb upon His lap, hear him say "tell me, what do you want to be?" know that He is fully equipped to hear you and show you His plans. If you first mess up or fall short, H'll be there encouraging you, lifting you up and helping you.
Psalm 138:3 says, "In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul."
"If you want to be good at something, then you need to practice." What a good lesson.