Pray First – Forget

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:12-13

Devotion

Philippians 3 is surely one of the most read chapters in the New Testament. Midway through, we read the familiar verses about Paul’s desire to lay hold of the reason that Christ laid hold of him. The picture of an athlete straining and stretching toward a goal is the contest. There are two parts of coming to some realization of Christ’s purpose for us. 
 
Philippians 3:13 says, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended: but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead." It is interesting that forgetting is a key part of understanding the plan of God for our life. We get the reaching and pressing forward, but do we forget?
 
As we choose to pray first this new year, one thing we need to do is to forget. We use the word as an excuse for why we did not do something – “I forgot.” At other times, we use the word because we truly did not remember. It is interesting that forgetting the past is coupled with reaching forward.
 
Paul used the word to cover his past successes, failures, life before Christ, life after conversion, joys, and sorrows. He could not, nor can we remove the past. He determined, however, not to allow his past to unduly impact or influence his spiritual outlook or future. Whether the past is good or bad, he encourages us to settle it, put it in its rightful place which is the past and move forward. We carry lessons with us, but the baggage needs to be left behind. Imagine if Paul constantly reviewed his past as a persecutor of Christians, travelling city to city to arrest men and women and consent to their imprisonment or death. He would have been paralyzed and of no use to the Lord’s work. 
 
Friends, forget and reach forward in 2024!
 
Perhaps we should memorize part of Jeremiah 31:34, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Prayer

Lord, thank You for forgiving me, saving me, and calling me. I will forgetthe past and strive in these days to be all You created me to be. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, amen.

Reflective Questions

What do you need to forget? Are there sins you need to repent of? What do you need to let go of and let stay in 2023? Have you submitted everything over to His hands? What do you need to bring into this new year? What do you need to grab hold of? How can you best move on?

Practical Life Application

Take out a journal and write down everything you want to leave behind in 2023. Then, rip out the page and toss it in the trash. Forget what you need to forget and ask the Holy Spirit to allow you to move on. Set new goals. Write Bible verses on sticky notes and place them around the house for daily reminders of God's faithfulness to and love for you. Pray desperately for heart change and repent. Have hard conversations. Ask those who you have wronged for forgiveness in person and face-to-face. Make amends. Let go. And take heart!