As I was praying for this year, the Lord gave me a word, which is something I don’t usually do. The word He gave me is “intentional.”
I thought this would be easy… but wow, I was wrong.
It starts with being intentional in my time with the Lord, but it doesn’t stop there. He wants that intentionality and that time with Him to seep into every area of my life: my thinking, my health, what I read, how I speak, memorizing Scripture, and who I choose to pour into.
The first Scripture I chose to memorize this year was John 15:4 (NLT):
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
This verse has become an anchor for what intentionality means to me and what I want to make sure I’m practicing daily. Remaining in Him is why this year isn’t about changing everything all at once. It’s about daily, intentional choices.
Each month, I focus on a different goal, but every goal flows into the next because it is a daily practice, not a one-time decision. This month, my focus has been on the Lord—building up my prayer life and memorizing Scripture. It has to start with Him. If we want fruit in our lives, we have to remain in Him with all of it.
Remaining doesn’t happen by accident. The fruit we produce doesn’t come from good intentions; it comes from staying connected. Abiding requires daily, deliberate choices to stay close to Jesus—not just in quiet time, but in how we live every moment of our lives.
As we remain in Him, God is at work in us—pruning, shaping, and making us fruitful. Each time we spend time in His Word, repent, and choose His ways over the world’s, we are experiencing His pruning. I am seeing this in my own life as I intentionally spend time with Him, memorize Scripture, and follow His guidance, and I will continue to see it each month as I intentionally set goals to follow Him. These are the ways He is pruning me so that I can bear even more fruit.
As John 15:1–3 reminds us:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You have already been cleansed by the word I have spoken to you.”
Remaining in Him isn’t always easy, and pruning isn’t always comfortable, but it’s part of how we grow, how we produce fruit, and how our lives become intentional in every area.
