My Morning with God

My Morning With God

Better Together: The Blessing of Community

Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10, 12 (KJV)

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow… and a threefold cord is not quickly broke.”

The morning we gathered on the beach for My Morning with God, the waves were moving steadily, the breeze was gentle, and the beauty of creation seemed to invite us into God’s presence. But as meaningful as it was to meet with God beside the water, I realized that the blessing was not only in the setting. It was in the women standing beside me.

We had come together for a prayer retreat, but God was doing more than giving us a peaceful place to pray. He was reminding us that we are stronger when we walk together. As we prayed, shared our hearts, exchanged ideas, encouraged one another, and enjoyed fellowship, God used our community to refresh, strengthen, and sharpen us.

There are some things God will teach us in our private prayer closet, and there are other things He will teach us through community.

This past week, I had the beautiful opportunity to attend a women’s prayer retreat. We prayed together. We shared our hearts, our ideas, and our businesses. We laughed. We learned. I even learned how to make candles! We enjoyed water aerobics, fellowship, and precious moments together.

But one of the most meaningful experiences for me was having My Morning with God on the beach.

There is something special about meeting God near the water—the sound of the waves, the morning air, and the beauty of His creation reminding us that the same God who commands the seas also orders our steps.

And yet, what made this experience even more meaningful was that we were not experiencing it alone.

We were women gathered in community.

God Never Intended for Us to Do Life Alone

Ecclesiastes tells us, “Two are better than one.”

Sometimes strength looks like independence, but sometimes strength looks like having enough wisdom to recognize that we need one another.

We need women who will pray with us.

Women who will encourage us.

Women who will celebrate our victories without competition.

Women who will listen when our hearts are heavy.

Women who will share wisdom, ideas, resources, and experiences.

And women who will remind us who we are when life causes us to temporarily forget.

Community is not competition. Community is connection.

When godly women come together, something powerful happens. One woman’s testimony becomes another woman’s encouragement. One woman’s knowledge becomes another woman’s lesson. One woman’s prayer becomes another woman’s breakthrough.

Proverbs 27:17 reminds us, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”

Sometimes God sharpens us through the people He places around us.

There Is Ministry in Fellowship

At our retreat, ministry didn’t happen only during prayer.

Ministry happened while we talked.

It happened while we shared our businesses and dreams.

It happened while we learned something new.

It happened in the water.

It happened over meals.

It happened through laughter.

And it happened on the beach during My Morning with God.

That reminded me that Christian community isn’t confined to the four walls of the church. God can minister to us around a table, beside a swimming pool, while making a candle, walking along a beach, or sitting beside another woman who simply needs someone to listen.

Hebrews 10:24–25 encourages us to consider one another and to provoke one another “unto love and to good works.”

That’s what healthy community does.

It makes us better.

A Special Thank You

I want to give special honor and appreciation to First Lady Shataun Diggs of The City Worship Center for creating space for women to gather, pray, learn, laugh, share, and simply enjoy one another.

Sometimes leadership is not about standing behind a microphone.

Sometimes leadership is creating an environment where other people feel safe enough to open their hearts, share their gifts, discover something new, and build genuine relationships.

Thank you, First Lady Shataun Diggs, for helping cultivate that kind of atmosphere.

Who Is in Your Community?

This week, I want you to think about the women God has placed in your life.

Who strengthens you?

Who challenges you?

Who prays for you?

Who can you call when life gets difficult?

And perhaps an even greater question:

Whose community are YOU strengthening?

Don’t only look for someone to encourage you. Become an encourager.

Don’t only look for someone to pray for you. Become an intercessor.

Don’t only look for someone to support your dream. Ask God whose dream you can help support.

Because when women stop competing and begin connecting, we become a force for the Kingdom.

We pray together.

We heal together.

We learn together.

We build together.

We laugh together.

We worship together.

And when one of us becomes weary, another woman reaches over and says,

“I’ve got you. We’re going to keep going.”

That’s community.

That’s sisterhood.

And that’s Kingdom.

Morning Prayer

Father, thank You for the gift of community. Thank You for the women You have strategically placed in our lives. Teach us to recognize relationships that You have ordained and help us nurture them with love, grace, wisdom, and prayer. Remove jealousy, competition, division, and comparison from among us. Teach us to celebrate one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, and build one another up.

Lord, make us women who create safe places for other women to grow. May our homes, churches, businesses, ministries, and gatherings become places where Your presence is felt and lives are strengthened.

Thank You for reminding us that we were never created to walk this journey alone. Bind us together in love, purpose, and faith, because Your Word declares that a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Morning Reflection

Who are the women God has placed in my life for this season, and how can I intentionally strengthen those relationships?

Today, reach out to one woman in your community and simply tell her:

“I’m grateful God placed you in my life.”

— Catherine Pickett, RN Certified Coach

My Morning with God