A Call to Bear Fruit

Welcome to Pray! You Whore, a blog that invites you into my personal journey of repentance, reconciliation, and redemption through Jesus Christ.

Recently, the Lord has been challenging me.

If I'm honest, He knows exactly how to get my attention.

I've always loved a challenge.

Give me the fourth quarter with ten seconds left.

Give me the impossible assignment.

Give me the deadline that requires an all-nighter.

For much of my life, I confused pressure with purpose. I found myself procrastinating until the last minute, making excuses, and believing I performed best under stress.

The Lord has been showing me that obedience is better than urgency.

This morning He led me to Matthew 21:43:

"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."

That verse felt like a loving wake-up call.

Not condemnation.

A call to action.

Chosen to Bear Fruit

When we place our faith in Jesus Christ and surrender our lives to Him, He begins transforming us from the inside out through the work of the Holy Spirit.

That transformation isn't always comfortable.

In fact, it often feels like loving correction.

Hebrews reminds us that the Lord disciplines those He loves.

I've experienced that discipline firsthand.

Not because God is angry with me.

But because He loves me too much to leave me where I am.

Jesus says in John 15:16:

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last."

Those words remind me that my life has a purpose beyond my own ambitions.

The Lord is my Shepherd.

My Coach.

My Provider.

My Counselor.

He continually calls me back to obedience whenever I begin drifting toward my own way.

Can God Trust Me?

Starting something new is exciting.

A new business.

A new relationship.

A new opportunity.

The excitement comes easily.

Faithfulness requires discipline.

The Lord has been asking me a difficult question:

Can I trust your word?

God's Word never returns void.

His promises never fail.

But what about mine?

Do I finish what I start?

Do I follow through on the commitments I make?

Sometimes.

But the Lord is teaching me that "sometimes" must become "faithfully."

He isn't looking for perfection.

He is looking for faithfulness.

Mercy Before Sacrifice

As a single mother of two boys, resting does not come naturally to me.

I am constantly moving.

Planning.

Working.

Solving problems.

Waiting quietly on the Lord often feels harder than working.

Yet He continues teaching me to slow down.

Hosea 6:6 says:

"For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings."

God is not impressed by busy lives that ignore His presence.

He desires hearts that know Him.

He values relationship over religious performance.

That truth has changed the way I think about obedience.

Abide, Then Bear Fruit

Matthew 21, the Parable of the Tenants, reminded me that God looks for fruit in the lives of His people.

Fruit is not something we manufacture through striving.

Fruit grows naturally when we remain connected to Christ.

Jesus teaches this clearly in John 15.

When we abide in Him, His life begins producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control within us.

That is the fruit He desires.

It's Happening For You

After my baptism, a woman shared words that have stayed with me ever since.

She said,

"It isn't happening to you. It's happening for you."

I have carried those words with me.

So often we become comfortable identifying as victims.

But Christ did not die merely so we could survive.

He died so we could become new creations.

Every challenge becomes an invitation to grow.

Every hardship becomes an opportunity to trust.

Every season of discipline becomes evidence that our Heavenly Father is still shaping us.

Hebrews 12:6 reminds us:

"Because the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son."

Discipline is not rejection.

It is love.

Ninety Days of Becoming

The Lord has placed a ninety-day season on my heart.

Not as a way to earn His love.

But as a season of intentional surrender.

Prayer.

Fasting.

Rest.

Scripture.

Obedience.

These spiritual disciplines create space for God to continue sanctifying my heart.

Throughout Scripture, God's people regularly set apart seasons to seek Him with greater focus.

Not because rituals themselves changed them.

But because those acts of devotion helped align their hearts with God's will.

That is my prayer.

To become a woman whose life reflects Christ more and more each day.

Your Kingdom Come

The Lord has given me one clear assignment during this season.

Rest.

Trust Him.

Finish what He has asked me to begin.

Become a woman whose words match her actions.

Remain faithful in the ordinary.

Every day I return to the prayer Jesus taught His disciples:

"Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew 6:10

That is my prayer.

Not my kingdom.

Not my plans.

Not my timeline.

His Kingdom.

His will.

His glory.

May my life bear fruit that points people back to Him.

XOXO

K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple & Sanctified

Prayer Works!

Connecting hearts through the power of prayer.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matthew 22:37-39

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