This post is one in a series of posts called “Glimpses of God” which I am writing as part of the Write31Days blog challenge. You can find the other posts here: 31 Glimpses of God Blog Challenge (#write31days)
Yesterday God provided several glimpses of Himself at work in my life. What continues to blow me away is that He doesn’t have to! He owes me nothing. I deserve nothing. But yet in His great love and grace, He chooses to let me see these precious breath-taking glimpses of His majestic glory in the middle of my everyday tasks.
I could write for hours and still not be able to fully describe how God touched my heart yesterday. He revealed deep hidden truths to me, feelings I had buried deep down, but that needed to be dealt with. He provided a miraculous answer to prayer. He made it clear that He is in control of my book and its future.
But the glimpse I want to highlight today is something that I believe will help you see more of God’s presence in your life too. If you desire to become more aware of God’s extraordinary glory in the midst of your ordinary days, I urge you to start with your prayer life. Since attending a prayer workshop at my church, I have begun praying the Scriptures. You guys, this is a spiritual game changer! Praying like this is changing everything for me. And praying like this yesterday brought me to my knees in worship. The way God spoke to me through His Word left me breathless and forever changed.
Praying through the Scriptures, specifically the Psalms, goes like this:
- Choose a Psalm
- Read the first verse (ex: “The Lord is my Shepherd…)
- Use that verse to prompt your prayer (ex: God, I ask you to be my Shepherd today. I need you to guide me and lead me as I make this important decision. Lead my family. Keep our eyes fixed on you. Help us to trust you….)
- Continue reading one or two verses at a time and using those verses to prompt your prayer.
I did this yesterday with the 29th Psalm.
I have had a little bit of interest in my book; however, there is absolutely no guarantee that this will go anywhere. In fact, I feared yesterday that it may be over before it really even began. I was chanting: Your horse, Your story, Your girl all day, but fear and anxiety were beginning to creep in and set up house.
Knowing that God was the only One to evict them, I went to His Word. I decided to pray the Psalm that corresponded with the date. Guess what that Psalm is about. It is all about the eternal glory of the powerful Almighty God. As I prayed that Psalm my heart was stilled and the interlopers were removed from my mind.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders….The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic….the LORD sits enthroned as King forever.
Try praying with prompts like that and still holding onto fear! God is in complete control. He created everything. Everything! The horse, the people in my story, the people reviewing my story, me…He created it all and so who better to control the outcome of whether or not this story is published? Nothing is too hard for God. And if He is more glorified through my book not being published, then that is His right as well. He is my King and He deserves my praise no matter what my circumstances or outcomes.
I sat there praying this Psalm becoming more and more encouraged. Then before reading the last verse, I prayed something like this:
“God, you are my King and I worship you. But Lord I need strength right now. Please give me the strength to glorify You no matter what happens with my book, and please fill me with Your peace so that I can rest in Your will.”
Then I read the last verse:
“The LORD gives strength to His people; the LORD blesses His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11
Um…wow! I could only hold my Bible and allow tears of gratitude to streak down my face.
God’s got this. All of it.
So my friend if you are looking for a fresh word from God; if you are desperate to see a glimpse of His glory – grab your Bible, find a quiet place and spend some time praying His Word. There is nothing better you could do today.
And if you would like to learn more about this prayer method, I have included a link to the prayer workshop I referenced. The workshop was put on by Don Whitney. All three sessions are wonderful, but if you only have a limited time I would watch the second session where he does a step by step how-to demonstration.
http://www.pray.org/media-resources/prayer-conference-2015/
See you tomorrow,
Jen
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