The No-Longer-Common Prayer

How to Make Statements About the Person You Want to Be

Because this is a faith inspired set of web-posts, I’d like to end it with a faith based act.  Some might recognize this as a prayer, others a faith confession, and the remainder can consider these, statements of affirmations.

Your life is shaped by the words that come from your mouth.  There’s no denying that. This is a law and there’s nothing that can change this.  With that being the case, we can choose to use this law to our advantage. We can make statements about ourselves that we’d like to see ourselves become.

There’s an ancient text which says
“…even God calleth those things which be not as though they were.” – Paul, The Church Planter  

Because God has called things to be something they are not, so must we.  This too is a “holy” (unlike-we-think) characteristic of God, whom we should model.

The No-Longer-Common Prayer
I call this “The No-Longer-Common Prayer”.  Let me give it to you in full, then I will pick it apart to end this series with a burst of excitement as you say these aloud and even repeat them daily.

Note: Every time you see “We are”, you can replace it with “I am.”

We are a cut above.
We are 1st class.
We are persons of excellence.
We are exceptional.
We are weird.
We are starting a new normal.
We are uncommon.
We are like no one else.
We are new creations.
We are holy.
We are no-longer-common.

I hope you became more excited and energized as you recited those lines to yourself.  If not say them again until you do. Now let’s pick it apart.

We are a cut above.
There’s no room for us to be a cut below or a cut like every other cut.  You’re meant to rise above normal. You’re meant to soar like an eagle. If you study eagles you’ll know that eagles don’t fly in packs.  You will also know that if you come across another bird while you’re soaring, (in the words of Myles Munroe) it must be another eagle.  If you’re running into another species of birds that can only mean one thing.  You’re flying too low, so fly higher. You are a cut above.

We are 1st class.
These are words I heard roll off of the lips of Joel Osteen.  When he said these words, it was like something exploded on the inside of me.  These words connect to this message of “no longer common”. These words represent our placement in life.  For too long we’ve been holding back our gifts and acting like 2nd class citizens when in fact we’re 1st class.  It’s time to respond to the world like a 1st class person.

We are persons of excellence.
Excellence simply means we excel.  We must excel in every area of our life.  We must excel in our homes, in our work, in our relationships, in our recreational activities, in our interactions with others, and in our spirituality.  Often people will stop me and say how much they admire the way we (Pamela and I) carry ourselves. What they are saying is we notice that you are people of excellence.  It’s time to excel.

We are exceptional.
Think about what it means to be an exception.  When everyone else is making C’s, you’re exceptional because you’re making A’s.  When others have marriages ending in divorce, you’re an exception because your marriage of 25, 30, 40, 50 years is going strong and getting better everyday.  When others are lost in grief due to the passing of a loved one, you’re the exception who celebrates that you did life and did it well with the one you loved.  You are exceptional.

We are weird.
Craig Greoschel, author and pastor of Life.Church, wrote a book called, “Weird”.  It’s easy to not be weird. All you have to do is be normal. I declare today that you are no longer normal.  That makes you weird. You have uncommon habits, weird. You have uncommon morals, weird. You have uncommon discipline, weird.  You have uncommon ambitions, weird. You have an uncommon vision, weird. You have an uncommon mindset, weird. You have uncommon ideas, weird.  You are weird!

We start a new normal.
Steve Blair, staff pastor of Church of the Highlands, delivered a message where he spoke these words; and another moment of enlightenment occurred in my spirit.  These words led me to do something everyday that’s not common, normal, or natural. I have a habit that says I must put off something old (common) for something new (uncommon) everyday.  Each day I practice starting my new normal with uncommon practices. It’s time to start a new normal.

We are uncommon.
These words are all you need.  Uncommon means you’re not going to be a casual, like everyone else.  You’ve decided to be a stand out. You’ve decided to set the pace. You’ve decided to be the 1st one across the finish line.  You’ve decided to be that person who never gives in, up, or quits. You are uncommon.

We are like no one else.
Author Dave Ramsey is known for making this quote.  “Live like no one else so that you can later live like no one else.”  His reference is pointed towards his passion of financial freedom. I believe these words are much more than that.  They are words that will liberate you in every area of your life. You can live like no one else.

We are new creations.
George Matthews, pastor of New Life Interfaith Ministries, built his ministry on 2 Corinthians 5:17.  It reads…

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – ‬‬bible.com/1/2co.5.17.kjv 

I like the way this scripture says old things pass away and you become new.  Ordinary people can’t relate to this experience; it’s uncommon. When your life takes a turn for the worse, and you’re able to pick up the pieces and build a new and better life, you’re a new creation.  When you’re able to look at all the things in your life that’s not working and replace them with new things that are working, you’re a new creation. You can let the old things pass away and pick up new things, you’re a new creation.

We are holy.
The Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I [God] am holy.”‬‬

I once thought this was a strange phrase until I realized it was a command more so than a statement.  We get to be “holy” because The One who made us is and we are made just like Him. You too, whether you feel like it or not, are “holy.”  What are you waiting on to act like it?

We are no-longer-common.
The above phrases sum up what I mean when I use the words “no longer common”.  It’s all of these statements and corresponding actions that produce a life and person that is no longer common.

I invite you to join me in speaking these daily statements aloud over your life, your family, your marriage, your relationships, even your work.  Let these words ring loudly in your life and if you do you will begin to notice that your life begins to produce results that are not common to man.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of messages, “Holy Is Not What You Think.”  We have so much more in store for you. Share this with your friends as we begin a new chapter of messages next week.  Thanks for visiting nolongercommon.com

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