“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
~Psalm 37:4 (ESV)
PRAYING SCRIPTURE:
Abba Father. What does it mean to “delight myself” in You? When I am delighted in other things or other people, I want to be with them, learn more about them. I want to comfort and encourage the person with whom I am delighted as well as be comforted and encouraged by them.
This is also true for me when I think about being delighted in You…When I delight in you, I want:
To spend time with You… time in prayer, worship and praise.
To spend time in your Word… learning who you are.
To have community with You all day.
To spend quiet moments in solitude to ponder your promises.
To celebrate Your presence in my life.
To lift my voice in song to You, Lord.
To journal, meditate on and remember all the ways You have revealed Yourself in my life.
To express my gratitude for Your love and sacrifice.
To express my gratitude for who You are
To express gratitude for answered prayers whether the answer was YES, NO, or WAIT.
To extend to others the same love, service and forgiveness you have shown me.
Lord, when I think about the 2nd half of this verse… “He will give you the desires of your heart”… help me remember that this does NOT mean You will give me anything I want. But it does mean that when I do “delight myself in the Lord”…in YOU…my desires will be transformed and realigned with your desires. I will want to share of your redemption and restoration for humanity through Your healing power, Your great love, Your generous forgiveness and Your servant’s heart with those around me and around the world. I will want to be more like You in my thoughts, words, generosity, forgiveness and service. When I respond to You and Your will, You will be faithful to complete a good work through me. Amen and Thank You, Jesus!
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
~Romans 8:28
PRAYING SCRIPTURE:
Lord, You know me so well! You know all my strengths, weaknesses, gifts and hang-ups. You know this because You created me. You molded me like clay in the Potter’s hand. You shaped, carved, and perfected me with Your own hands and from Your own image. It makes me wonder in awe how You do that for each of us and every being You created is unique and gifted and planned for purpose. With so many people in the past, so many living, and so many yet to come, You are creating and creating and creating. While at the same time, You hear our prayers and watch over all of us. You promise to never leave us. Amazing! You are a mighty and powerful God.
Lord, as apostle Paul wrote to us in Romans, “…all things work for Your good.” You are in CONTROL, Lord. I am living a lie if I think I have control. My trust is in You. You have a grand plan for Your creation and a specific plan for each of us. Even when I make the wrong choice You are able to work it out for Your good and the good of Your creation. You are able and willing to redeem our stories. Thank You, Lord, for Your guiding hand in my life. Amen.
Praying…what does it mean exactly? Is there a method to prayer? How do I do it and what do I say? Is there a right or wrong way to pray? I know God is not a vending machine where I only come to Him when I want something. I know he wants a relationship with me and I with Him. But sometimes I wonder, “Am I doing it right?” Or, “Does He hear me?” Or, “How do others pray?” Or, “Is there a better way?”
I know I have asked these questions of myself. So if you are also asking them…just know, you are not alone.
So what is PRAYER? Simply put it is time and communication with God. So what is communication? It is giving, receiving, and sharing information. It is a two-way path between me and God….between YOU and God.
What I love about prayer AND find very difficult, is that it is not just me talking to God. God wants and will respond to me too. BUT, I have to be silent and listen. I have to pause and let Him lead me. He wants to lead and love on all of us. He wants a relationship with all of us through His Son Jesus. We need to pause and listen for the still small voice, the gentle whisper, of our loving Father. (1 Kings 19:11-13)
ACRONYMS FOR PRAYER:
I have seen suggestions on acronyms to remind us of the different areas of prayer such as ACTS, PRAY or CHAT:
A – Acknowledge God and His sovereignty.
C –Confess my sin
T – Offer Thanksgiving and gratitude
S – Supplication or asking humbly/earnestly for something
P – Praise
R – Repent
A – Ask
Y – Yield
C – Confess
H – Honor
A – Ask
T – Thanks
All of these are great and are also very similar. Any one of them can help as a guide for our prayer time.
SCRIPTURE JOURNALING AND PRAYING SCRIPTURE
In addition to these helpful reminders, I have recently been reintroduced to another form of prayer that has touched my heart and replenished my soul. And that is by “praying scripture”. Back in the day, I used to do this but for whatever reason I stepped away from scripture journaling and praying scripture. At the beginning of August 2023, I received emails, heard podcasts, and read books that all pointed to this method. I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to go back to the Word of God in my quiet time to pray. To use God’s very Word of Truth to be the foundation of my prayers. And to write them out…putting pen to paper.
Pen-to-paper seems like such a slow method of journaling these days, but I found it to be dramatically healing and life-giving. By slowing my mind and thoughts through the process of writing, I am able to use the rhythm of the flowing strokes not only to process my thoughts but also to process and reflect on what God is telling me through the Words of scripture. To process the lessons and the promises and the wisdom He is providing to me.
DAILY LITTLE MIRACLES
I am also shocked by the timeliness of the passages to my life. I have often asked, “How did you know I needed to hear this, God? Your Words were a salve to my soul.” I am experiencing my own little miracles through this process by receiving direction, counsel, and wisdom for the very trials that are in my life or dominating my mind. The Word itself allows me to feel closer to God in those moments when it feels like He is speaking directly to me through His Word.
I CAN’T HELP BUT PRAISE HIM
But it is not just direction or wisdom for my life, the scripture also points me to praise and thanksgiving for God’s character, love, mercy, faithfulness, promises and love. I am able to see Him act in the lives of those found in the Word from thousands of years ago. I see His love in action and the love of His followers to others in need. I see His followers serving others and Him in their actions even when they too are suffering. Praying through the scriptures has linked me to those who came before me as I realize their words are my words; their thoughts are my thoughts; their cries are my cries; and their words of praise are my words of praise for our Savior Jesus and the love he has for me.
FUTURE BLOG POSTS
I will be sharing some of my prayers with you in future posts. Prayers that have flowed from my heart through my pen to the paper that have touched me deeply and allowed my soul to be soothed by the messages. I hope they are a stimulus for you to pull out your Bible and use it as a prayer tool.
PRAYER
Abba Father, You are a gracious and merciful God. I am in awe that You desire a relationship with me. You are the Creator of this world, the sun and the moon, the stars and the galaxies, the animals, plants, and crawly-things. Yet even with all of this You created man-kind in Your image. You created me. AND You want a relationship with me. Thank You, Jesus, for the love You have for Your creation. Thank YOu for the examples I have in Your Word of Your love, your promises, and your wisdom. Help me lean on You for my decisions. Help me praise You for Your love and glory. Help me act for You as a servant to those around me. Help me use Your Word as a tool for communication with You. Amen.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
Are you using Scripture as a tool for prayer currently? If not, are you willing to try?
How has God spoken to you through the passages of the Bible?
What is your favorite scripture that seems to speak to you ever time you read it?
I would love for you to share your experiences as you use scripture journaling and praying scripture as a tool for communication with our Lord and Savior. Please share in the comments below or send me a private email to stacy@stacyturley.com.
In my mid-30s I was in prison. This was not a prison made of concrete and metal bars. It was a prison made of flesh and bone…skin and appearances. It was the prison of my own body. My prison was a struggle with body image, comparison to others, and eating disorders. I was not alone in my prison. I shared it with my own personal demon. A cellmate I called The Beast. I felt isolated, alone, ashamed and suffocated. I was scared, overwhelmed, and threatened by The Beast. Unfortunately, The Beast was my own mind, my own demons, and a lie from Satan that took on a physical form in my mind. The Beast felt like a being living in me that would take over my mind and body to “make me” do what I knew was wrong when I wanted to do what was right. I felt powerless. I felt like no one could help me; no one understood me; and I could not help myself. My inner demon kept me confined in my mental prison.
GOD’S PROMISE:
In the gospel of Luke, there was a man who also had a demon living in him. (See Luke 4:31-37) The passage describes the demon as an “unclean demon”. To be unclean according to the Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia is “to be contaminated in a physical, ritual or moral impurity; denotes profane or desecrated.” The word desecrate means to violently disrespect or violate. The man with the unclean spirit was being violated and tormented by this disrespectful and immoral demon. I imagine the man felt very similarly to how I felt…powerless, alone, isolated, and ashamed of his behavior. The man may have done things he did not want to do because the demon “made him” do it. BUT…now here is the miracle…Jesus healed the man with a demon! Jesus does not heal him over days, weeks or months. It wasn’t with a drug or physical therapy. In v. 35 the scripture states the demon “had thrown him down in their midst and came out of him, having down him no harm.” (John 4:35)
BUT HOW did this happen? What made the demon leave the man? JESUS! Jesus rebuked the demon!
Ok…what does that mean that Jesus “rebuked” him. Did he say, “You bad boy.” Or “you should not do that.” Or ,”If you don’t stop, I will put you in time-out.” No…when Jesus rebuked the demon, Jesus said, “Be silent and come out of him!” (John 4:35) and that is exactly what happened… in that very moment. The man was completely healed. The demon left. The prison was torn down. The man was free. And the man was unharmed.
OUR TAKE-AWAYS:
In summary, what are we able to learn from this story:
Jesus has the power to silence demons.
Jesus has the power to protect us from the demons and free us from the prisons while leaving us unharmed.
Jesus has the power to set us free from our personal demons and prisons.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me(the Messiah), because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent Me to announce release(pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,and recovery of sight to the blind,to set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),19 to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”
This man likely felt like his body and mind were taken over by the demon, The Beast. Oh, how I relate to this story. BUT, Jesus freed the man; Jesus freed me; and He is able to free you too!
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR YOU:
My Sweet Circle. The good news and victory is that Jesus has the ultimate authority and power over our demons. Jesus is able to free us from our prisons. Our demons and prisons are not all the same…they may be addictions, body image issues, comparison to others, greed, power, etc. In summary, our prison is sin. However, Jesus loves us even in our sin. He created us, loves us, and desires to be in relationship with us. He DIED for us to take on our sin as His own. He offers us grace, mercy and forgiveness. Let loose of the chains, break free from the prisons, and ask for His forgiveness! Be free!
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
What is your prison or demon? What do you struggle with?
How has this demon impacted your life?
Do you want to be free?
PRAYER:
Abba, Father. You are our protector and chain-breaker! You are our conqueror over the beasts and demons in our lives. Free us, Father. Crush the enemy and remove these temptations from our lives. Free us from our prisons. And protect us in the midst of our trials. Lord, you are our Savior and we rest in your loving arms through the forgiveness you offer through Jesus. You provide the balm for our souls. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.
On Monday, I was sitting at one of my favorite coffee shops and I heard a song on the cafe’s sound system. It was peppy…and wiggly! (My dear husband teases me about my “wiggle songs”. I can’t help but wiggle when the tune is just right!) I thought to myself, “I LIKE this song! …Hmmm…I think I know this song!?” After the band began singing the words, it struck me that I did know the song. But from where? Who was this singing? How do I know it??
Then they got to the chorus, and I KNEW:
“So I am thankful that I’m incapable
Of doin’ any good on my own.”
YES!!! I do know this!! And it was a blast from the past! Thankful by Caedmon’s Call. This song was released in 1999!!! I was a mom of two toddlers then. Now I am empty nester. But it seemed like yesterday when I heard that song for the first time. I wiggled then and I still wiggle now. I was so excited to hear it in the café after so long that not only did I wiggle in my chair but I SANG OUT LOUD!!! No kidding. I feel like I should apologize to anyone sitting in that room with me that day. I was overjoyed to hear it and even more so that it reminded me of the power of gratitude, worship and glorifying God. And it is by GRACE that I am saved…not by my own works. For our Lord knows, that my works are not enough. I am only enough through Jesus.
I was giggling in my seat and knew I had to share it with you!
If you have never heard the song, click HERE for the YouTube video. And here are the words for those who want to know what they say. I also added links to the scripture references that the song is based on. Enjoy!!
You know I ran across an old box of letters
While I was baggin’ up some clothes for goodwill
Imagine you know I had to laugh that the same old struggles
That plagued me then are plaguin’ me still
I know the road is long from the ground to glory
But a boy can hope he’s gettin’ some place
But you see, I’m runnin’ from the very clothes I’m wearin’
Thank you, Lord, for this unexpected blessing. When out of nowhere, you know what we need to hear and know what will bring a smile to our lips. When we are not afraid the sing out loud and wiggle in our seats over your mercy, glory and love for us. We are not righteous on our own but only through the redeeming love of our Lord and Savior and the sacrifice He made to redeem us from our sins. Thank you, Jesus.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
What makes YOU wiggle? What songs build up so much joy and connection in your soul that you can’t help but move and SING!!
What songs make you feel closer to your Maker?
Maybe it’s not a song…but a poem, a scripture verse, or a quote. What would it be?
Please share your “moving moments” in the comments below. You never know, you may bring a wiggle or a smile to someone else who may need it today!
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