21 Days of Prayer – Make Room for What Matters

Hey Access Church, welcome to our very first ever 21 Days of Prayer podcast.

Over the next 21 days, we've got wonderful devotionals written by our staff just for you.

And we're gonna read these to you.

We're gonna give you an opportunity to connect with God together with hundreds of people in our church as we seek the face of God together.

The theme for this new year is Make Room, and I'm excited to see what happens as we make room for God.

Day one is my devotional.

The title is Make Room for What Matters.

And our key passage today is from Proverbs 8, verse 17.

Proverbs 8:17

Solomon said, Those who seek me, talking about God, those who seek me diligently, they will find me.

Here's the hard pill for some people you have time for what matters to you.

It's true, no matter how busy or responsible you are, there's always time for what matters to you.

If you value family time, you'll orient your schedule around that.

If getting to the gym matters, you'll get up early or stay up late to make it happen.

If you're like me and you love football, no matter how good or bad your team is, you'll make time to watch the game.

Today we're kicking off an initiative of 21 days of intentionally making room for what, or better yet, who should matter most.

Experts say it takes 21 days to create a new habit.

So let's do that together.

Let's create a habit of spending time pursuing God.

If you're a Christian, my assumption is that time with God is something you'd like to do regularly, but it's easy to drift.

Most Christians don't fall away from God in one moment.

It happens gradually.

One missed prayer, one rushed morning, one neglected moment in his presence at a time.

The enemy doesn't need to destroy you, he just needs to distract you.

So here's why we must make space for God a priority.

God meets people who make space for him.

Your daily time with God is a delight, not just a religious obligation.

It's your lifeline, it's your anchor, it's your soul's oxygen.

Let me give you three big reasons it'll be worth it.

Number one, it aligns your heart with God's.

The word of God is not just informational, it's transformational.

In Psalm 119, verse 105, David said, Your word is a lamp to my feet.

Psalms 119:105

A lamp doesn't light the whole path, it just lights the next step.

That's why daily time matters.

God guides you one step at a time.

Number two, it renews your mind to become like God's.

Romans 12, 2, Paul says, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Did you notice that?

He says that we're going to be conform or transformed.

The rest of the verse says, then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

I don't know if you paid attention, but our minds are either being conformed or transformed, but in either case, they are being formed into something.

Think of all the things that constantly form our minds.

We've got news, social media, work stress, family, friends.

Making room for God's presence transforms our mind to become more like God's.

It's the first step in knowing God's will for our life.

Hear this.

This transformation is not a moment, it's a habit.

Let me say that again.

This transformation is not a moment, it's a habit.

Number three, it gives you the spiritual strength you need.

You cannot fight a spiritual battle with a spiritually depleted soul.

The reason many believers get overwhelmed is simple.

They are spiritually dehydrated.

Just like physical dehydration causes fatigue, spiritual dehydration causes discouragement, confusion, and temptation.

Time with God changes everything.

So I challenge you, make this a priority.

Give God the best of your time every day, not the leftover time if you have any energy left over.

We form our habits, and then our habits form us.

What if this year, as we kick off 2026, we allowed our habit of making room for God's presence to transform us into the people God's called us to be?

Let's pray together.

God, give us the wisdom to pursue you.

Help us to reorient our lives around your presence.

Forgive us if we've drifted.

May we be the kind of people who don't just know about you, but who actually know you.

Thank you that the time that we spend with you transforms us into the people you've called us to be.

May we become more and more like you, Jesus, as we develop the habit of making room for you.

We thank you for that in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Friends, thank you so much for joining us on day one of 21 days of prayer.

So excited you're taking time and making room for God in this season.

I challenge you.

No, I double dog dare you to go all in with God for 21 days and let's see what He does in and through our lives.