Thankful Thursday ~ Praying God's Word

“Have we taken time to inscribe God’s Word on our hearts so we have a framework of verses to construct our prayer in the time of need?” Priscilla Shirer

Day 5 in Week 3 of Jonah Navigating a Life Interrupted is all about prayer. When we are refocusing our hearts & minds on God prayer is one of the most basic & one of the most important areas we need to focus. Prayer is the foundation of our communication with God.

In Jonah Chapter 2 we learn 3 lessons on prayer: the pattern of prayer, the passion of prayer, and the posture of prayer.

·      A lesson in repeating:

Woven throughout Jonah’s prayer in verses 2-9 are references to passages from the Book of Psalms.

      Jonah 2:2 – Psalm 30:3

      Jonah 2:3 – Psalm 42:7

      Jonah 2:4 – Psalm 31:22

      Jonah 2:5 – Psalm 69: 1-2

      Jonah 2:7 – Psalm 18:6, Psalm 77:11-12

      Jonah 2:9 – Psalm 66:13-14

Do you pray the Word of God? When we pray the Word of God we actively participate with Him; we breathe in His Word, we absorb His Word, we live His Word. But to pray the word of God we must know His Word.

Do you take time to read & memorize His Word?

This question convicts me as I write it. Over the past month I have committed to memorizing a chapter of the Book of Psalms. In fact just a few weeks ago during my quiet time I prayed through the chapter as I prayed over a very difficult issue my family is facing. But, in the busyness of life I have slacked off and fallen very behind in memorizing. Today I will commit to beginning again.

·      A lesson in crying:

Jonah passionately cried out to God.

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.” Jonah 2:2

He was in the depths of despair in the belly of the fish and had nowhere to turn but to God. As he cried out, God heard his plea and answered him.

Have you ever passionately cried out to God? I’ve shared with you before that there have been many times I have cried out to God. God knows our pain. He knows our sorrows. He knows our concerns. We just need to be honest & lay them out before Him.

He wants to help us all we need to do is ask.

·      A lesson in gratitude:

“But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good Salvation comes from the Lord.” Jonah 2:9

Jonah was still sitting in the belly of the fish. He had spent 3 long days & nights stranded and there was no end in sight. But, he chose to trust that the Lord would rescue him and thanked him for the deliverance that he knew would come.

Whether you are in the beginning of a storm or the middle of a storm trust that God will deliver you and thank Him for that deliverance. You might not know how to thank Him but find one thing you are grateful for. Even if its just one thing today then hold tight to that one thanks. And tomorrow, find one more thanks and then another and another until you are through the storm.

When we trust and thank God through a storm He brings us through on the other end stronger than when we entered the storm.

What do you have to be thankful for today?

Continuing the Joy Dare of Thanking God each day #1091 - #1099

·      Worshipping through tears & joy

·      Having my son lean over in church & say, “This preacher is awesome!”

·      God’s healing touch

·      Thanking & trusting God that He will get us through a difficult time

·      Bright sunny mornings

·      Making changes even when we don’t want to

·      Baby snuggles

·      Great hit by my little girl in her first softball practice

·      Watching birds build nests outside my window

In His Calm,

Mary

Thankful Thursday ~ the gift of prayer

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you…” 1 Samuel 13:23a

Flowers, cards, gifts, love notes, chocolates, date night all tell us it’s Valentine’s Day. How do you and your husband celebrate Valentine’s Day, or, do you celebrate Valentines’ Day?

At the very beginning of our relationship my husband & I agreed we wouldn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. It’s not that we don’t celebrate our love for each other b/c we do many times throughout the year. It’s just that when we were poor college kids we didn’t have the money to get caught up in the expense of celebrating Valentine’s Day. Now, 19 years later we are still very aware of the expense that many people put into Valentine’s Day but we choose a different way to celebrate our love for each other.

One of the ways I celebrate my love for my husband is to pray for him. A few years ago as I read through the book The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian I wrote a series on Praying for our Husbands.

Praying for our Husbands - As Spiritual Leader

Praying for our Husbands - His Responsibilities

Praying for our Husbands - Intimacy & Affection

 

When I pray for my husband I give him one of the best gifts I can ever give him. Each day he faces challenges. When I pray for him I help give him the strength he needs to face those challenges.

Do you pray for your husband daily? Would you take some time tonight over dinner or after the kids have gone to bed and ask him how you can pray for him? You will be amazed how much your prayers will mean to him.

As I concluded my series on praying for our husbands my husband Jeff shared what it meant to have me praying for him. You can read his perspective here.

Are you unable to ask your husband how you can pray for him? Stormie Omartian’s book The Power of a Praying Wife is a great resource.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

·      Thank God for the ways your husband blesses you.

·      Ask God to give him the strength to make the right decisions.

·      Ask God to guard his heart & mind from the temptations he faces everyday.

·      Ask God to strengthen him to follow the path God has laid before him.

·      If he is an unbeliever pray that he will open his heart to God’s Saving Grace.

As you pray for your husband pray also that you will be the Godly wife God has called you to be. Seek His will & direction for your marriage.

Is there a way I can pray for you? I would be honored to pray for you and your marriage. Leave me a message telling me how I can pray for you.

Continuing the Joy Dare #1060 - #1065:

·      Another year celebrating the life of my husband

·      A life that is lived 100% to honor & glorify God

·      A Man after God’s Own Heart

·      A faithful husband

·      A father who loves his children & desires to raise them according to God’s Will

·      A loyal Friend

Taking the Joy Dare of counting 1000 gifts with Ann at A Holy Experience 

In His Calm,

Mary

Intentional

 Intentional...

In January as I thought & prayed about what my "One Word" challenge was going to be this year God led me to Intentional - deliberate & purposeful.

The focus on being intentional has led me to be more deliberate & purposeful with

• my prayer life for my husband, my family & for my self
• praising God for Who He Is
• focused attention on friendship
• and making memories and living in the moment with my family.

As I have spent the summer focused more on my family I have not posted as frequently as I would have liked. But the memories, laughter & fun with my kids and husband have been what we needed.

The kids will be going back to school during the next two weeks. As I prepare them for school I will also be praying for what God has in store for The Calm of His Presence. I want to be Intentional here too. I want this little corner of the blogging world to be a source of Calming reassurance in your crazy day.

So until my posts become a bit more regular again I pray that you will feel God's Calming Presence in your life and that you will know HIS TRUTH!

In His Calm,

Mary

Feeling His Mighty Presence

“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,

that the mountains would tremble before you!

As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil,

come down to make your name known to your enemies

and cause the nations to quake before you!

For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,

 you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.”

Isaiah 64:1-3

Oh the Holiness of God! The amazing, mighty strength of our Lord Jesus Christ was felt and experienced in prayer & song Tuesday night as we lifted up a Concert of Prayer for Revival through Just Give Me Jesus Augusta.

Thunder roared and lightening flashed as Stephanie Seefeldt led us in “flashes of lightening, rolls of thunder” from Revelation Song. The Holy Spirit filled the Sanctuary as nearly a thousand voices sang praises, lifted hands, bowed on knees and whispered prayers for a turning of hearts and lives to the Son of God.

As Rev Kris Key led us in prayer she reminded us that, “The Great I Am, your Father God, has called you to pray and listen, to know HIM, to hear the Cry of His Heart for revival that we might pray as though our lives depended upon it. We must have an urgency to stay on our faces before God because our children, our children’s children are at stake. God is calling the church, followers of Jesus Christ to humble themselves and pray.”

Will you join us in praying for Revival? Today we begin 40 Days of Prayer as we lead up to Just Give Me Jesus Augusta. You can sign up to receive the 40 Days of Prayer email from AnGeL Ministries by emailing the Just Give Me Jesus Augusta office at jgmjesusaugusta@gmail.com. If you have been receiving the weekly Prayers and Praises then you will automatically receive the 40 Days of Prayer email.

Dear Lord, we praise you and thank you for displaying Your Glory as we pray for Revival. May we as your people humble ourselves and pray and seek Your face. Forgive us and help us turn from our sin. May you hear our cries and heal our hearts and our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). Bring Revival to the our city. Bring Revival to our country and bring Revival to the World. In Jesus Name We Pray, Amen.