2026 THEME — “SEEING LIFE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”
February – Seeing Giving from God’s Perspective
As a church family, we step into Missions Emphasis Month with gratitude, focusing on Seeing Missions from God’s Perspective. This season reminds us that what may feel like simple, faithful obedience is actually powerful in God’s hands. Through Faith Promise giving, the Lord is quietly working far beyond our sight. We’ll be encouraged by hearing from Brian Busby of Calvary Children’s Home, who will testify to how those gifts are bringing hope and stability to children’s lives. It’s a fresh reminder that God takes what is given in faith and multiplies it for eternal impact.
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
From a believer’s lived experience, prayer matures from something we schedule into something that quietly carries us. It becomes less about finding the right words and more about staying sensitive to God’s presence throughout the day. Prayer no longer begins and ends with folded hands, but influences how we listen, decide, and respond before we ever speak. What once felt occasional grows instinctive, guiding us through ordinary moments and unseen pressures. In time, prayer shifts from asking God to bless our plans to trusting Him to shape our lives, until communion with Him becomes the atmosphere we live in.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
From Asking God to Change Things to Letting Him Change You
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” — Romans 12:1
Many of us begin our prayer lives focused on outcomes. We pray for circumstances to shift, people to change, and pressures to ease. God welcomes those prayers—but He never intended them to be the destination. From His perspective, prayer is not primarily about rearranging our world; it is about transforming our hearts. Mature prayer moves from request to surrender, from negotiation to obedience. The deeper work of prayer begins when we stop asking God to fix everything around us and invite Him to shape everything within us.
The Shift from Control to Consecration
Early prayer often sounds like a list of needs and desired results. We ask God to remove obstacles, correct others, and smooth the road ahead. While those prayers are honest, they can quietly reveal a desire to remain in control. Romans 12:1 calls us higher—not to a better prayer list, but to a surrendered life. Presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice means we place our will, reactions, habits, and plans on the altar. Prayer becomes powerful not when we persuade God, but when we yield to Him.
God Changes Us Before He Changes Outcomes
God is far more concerned with who we are becoming than what we are escaping. Many prayers feel unanswered because God is working deeper than the surface issue. He may leave a circumstance in place long enough to refine our faith, humility, patience, or trust. When prayer matures, we begin asking different questions: What are You teaching me? How do You want me to respond? Where do I need to obey? Transformation often precedes deliverance.
Surrender Creates Space for True Power
Surrender is not weakness—it is alignment. Just as metal cannot be reshaped by force but yields when placed in fire, the heart is transformed when it rests in God’s refining presence. Prayer gains authority when we stop resisting God’s process. When surrender replaces striving, peace replaces pressure, and obedience replaces anxiety. God does His greatest work in hearts that are fully yielded, not tightly clenched.
God does not ask us to pray harder—He invites us to surrender deeper. Mature prayer moves from “Lord, change this situation” to “Lord, change me in this situation.” When we place ourselves fully in His hands, prayer becomes less about outcomes and more about obedience. And in that place of surrender, God’s transforming power flows freely.
Warfare Prayer: Father, in Jesus’ name, I lay down my need to control outcomes and defend myself. I present my life—my will, my emotions, my reactions, and my plans—as a living sacrifice unto You. I resist the enemy’s lie that surrender is loss, and I declare that obedience is my victory. Shape my heart, align my desires, and refine my faith until my life reflects Your will. I choose trust over striving and surrender over fear. Amen.
Daily Challenge: Identify one recurring prayer request today. Instead of asking God to change the situation, pause and pray: “Lord, what obedience are You calling for here?” Then take one small step of surrender in response.
WEDNESDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Aston Savage – Grady Hospital – Prayers Needed
Amy Garner’s Dad
Bentley Smith – Broken Leg
Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers
Joni Oberhage
Linda Mays
Myles Elliott
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Brando Echarte
Debbie Foskey
Don Franklin’s Daughter, Darlene, Son, David
Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards
Gloria Young – Hip Replacement
Jake Jenkins
June Cronan
Jean Partee’s Sister
Kim McClain’s Daughter, Amanda
Deon Lotter
Doris Loyd
Nancy Brown
Annette Ford
Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Angela Bryan’s Sisters
Ann Stanley
Danny Jarrard
Darlene Wiggins
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
Gayle Sparks
James Burnette
Jessica Headrick
John McClain’s Mother
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey Bateman
Kim McClain’s Mother
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda
Lee Cronan
Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom
Lonzo Christian
Lori Blount’s Mother
Mary Williams
Mary Williamson – Dana Jackson’s Mom
Mrs. Franklin
Nora Allison
Ron And Johnnie Barry – Friends Of Ashton & Glenda Bateman
Scott Lanier
Scotty Nix
Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Steve Michaels
Tom Witcher