Thank You, Lord, for Your boundless love for me. You promise me in this verse that my ultimate source of HOPE & ENCOURAGMENT is from You through Your grace. Help me to remember this promise always. And help me to live into the HOPE that only You can provide, rather than putting my hope in the things of this world that will only lead to disappointment.
Your HOPE is not fickle or fake; it is not limited or dwindling. Your HOPE is filled with Your deep love for me; filled with the promise of eternal life with You, as a result of the death and resurrection of Your one and only son Jesus on my behalf. Your HOPE reminds me that I am free from the chains of my sin through Your forgiving mercy and grace. Your HOPE gives me comfort and encouragement knowing that I am seen, known, and worthy as Your created child. Your HOPE promises that I am never alone through the mountains and valleys of my life. Your HOPE is true…lovely…reliable…steady.
You, Lord, are my Guide and source of strength. You, Lord, are my Provider and Leader. You, Lord, are my Savior, Comforter, and HOPE-giver! Amen and Thank you, Jesus.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER:
Where have you placed your hope in the past besides our God?
What were the results?
Did you find these sources to be reliable and trustworthy? Why or why not?
What are the changes you are able to make in your life to move your hope to Jesus and the One True God?
Abba, Father, You are LOVE. And through that love you are full of mercy and grace for your creation – mankind. Lord, You gave me the freedom to choose You and obey You OR I may choose to follow someone or something else. Serving someone else may be serving myself – chasing what I think will make me happy, doing what I want to do when I want to do it. Or, I may choose to serve other idols by trying to find something, buy something, or do something to make me happy, prove my worth, or earn my way through good deeds.
Lord, thank you for this clear message that I am saved by YOUR mercy and grace…only. I am broken and I am a sinful being. There is NOTHING I can do to earn my way into a perfect eternity with you when I am an imperfect being on my own. I have nothing to brag about. Yet my present and my future are not lost because when I choose You and Your Son as my Savior, then Your grace, mercy and forgiveness saves me.
Lord, help me remember that my salvation is in You. My path to eternity with you is my CHOICE. It is my choice to follow you and accept Your Son, Jesus, as my Messiah and Savior. The sacrifice of His life on the cross, the blood He shed for me and my sin, and the glorious rising from death to conquer sin for ALL, forever, is the way to eternity. Jesus is my Way to eternity. Jesus is the path to complete wholeness. Jesus is my joy.
“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.
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