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Are you looking for an April 20 prayer to read and reflect on? We provide a guiding Bible verse, prayer questions, and example prayer for the day below.
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Bible Verse for April 20
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)
Prayer Reflection for April 20
We were about halfway through our weekend prayer retreat when she said the wildest thing:
“When I was trying to seek God, I was so determined to hear the still, small whisper of His voice that I woke up at 3 am each day.”
What?! I was thinking. There is NO possible way I could do that.
And in the normal Leanna fashion, she read my mind and said “I know some of you are all thinking there’s no way I could do that. But the Kingdom of God is upside down.”
Then, this amazing woman of prayer, who was the creator and leader of this amazing prayer retreat, went on to explain more about the Kingdom of God. She told us how as we put God first, things that the wouldn’t make sense in the world or seem backward and upside down, make sense in God’s kingdom. For example, if someone is over-tired and overworked and not getting enough sleep, it wouldn’t make sense to wake up at 3 am. But when she did, other parts of life started to fall into place.
So I became intensely determined to do just that. So when I returned home, I set my alarm to 3 am each day. I’m normally an early riser, so how hard could waking up two hours earlier be?
So Day One came, and I woke up at 7. Much later than normal. Definitely not 3 am. My alarms never turned on, so I blamed the enemy and got up and prayed, and then moved on with the day.
Then, Day Two came. I woke up at 3 am. It was a miracle!
Until I turned over, started to pray, and fell back asleep. Oops.
Day Three and Four were very similar, but I was still determined. On Day Five, I got the closest I could. I woke up at 4:30 am and got to pray for about 30 minutes. Suddenly, all three of my kids decided it was going to be the day that they would all wake up early for different reasons.
I don’t know if I had ever felt so defeated in my life. I was trying so hard, and it wasn’t working.
Or so I thought.
What my human brain forgot about was the intention that Leanna had. She wanted to hear God’s still, small, voice so she sought out God in a way that went against the world. She sacrificed something to be able to hear God.
While trying so hard to get to a 3 am wakeup hour, I forgot that I was also trying to seek God. I thought I was failing, but my intention was there too. I wanted to hear God, and I kept showing up for it. Even though my sleepiness and other parts of life got in the way, I was still trying to seek Him first.
And He showed up BIG TIME.
He didn’t show up in a magic-genie type of way. All of my prayers weren’t answered immediately. But I could feel Him more. I could face the day with less anxiety and be able to give my worries to Him more.
Things from God can never be perfectly formulated into words. It is near impossible to explain the joy He gave me when I sought Him more. It wasn’t an overwhelming joy, but a calm and serene peaceful joy that allowed me to live more like Christ. Words cannot do it justice, the only thing I can do is recommend that others try it sometime.
But I will tell you this: when we seek first the kingdom of God, it will always stretch us. But the results of being part of God’s kingdom are always worth it.
Reflection Question: What is one way you can work on stretching to seek God first?
April 20 Prayer
Dear Lord, Help me to live a Matthew 6:33 lifestyle. I want to seek you first before anything of this world. That way, I’ll have you in me as I face the day, and I can be a faithful servant in everything I do. I ask this in Jesus’ powerful name, Amen!
Resource of the Day
Want to go to a prayer retreat yourself? I am so thankful for Leanna and the Whisper Gathering. It has truly changed my life. The Whisper Gathering will be in Rathdrum, Idaho this September, and again in Mississippi in 2024. Email leanna@leannahollis.com for more information.
