How to pray when life is hard

Sometimes life can hit us with many blows. As I sent this prayer to one of my beloved this morning I realized I should post so others can take hold and pray it, too.

My beloved friend, when Greg and I were in the worst season of our lives, I realized I had forgotten how to praise God. So, I began a journey of studying the prayers in the Bible. I called it Redeemed to Praise. As I studied the prayers, I realized that lifting came when praise was lifted up, so I decided to fast for 40 days of asking God for anything. Instead, I simply praised Him for what I know about Him. This became my soul talk and prayer walk. 

Watch and pray...

Father, You are the Great I AM. You are the Great Physician. You are my present Help in my time of need. You are my hope, my shield, and my deliverer. You give sustenance and endurance. In You am resilient. 

You are my immeasurably more and way maker for You make all things possible because You are my provider.

This is what I know!

In these I give thanks. In these I give You praise!

I am so glad I am Your child and that when I seek You, I will find You. Thank you for the truth that when I knock You answer. 

I am Yours, and You are mine. You are the Prince of Peace, and because of Jesus, I have the Prince of Peace in me. 

Your Holy Spirit resides in me. I love that He alone guides me in all truth. He is my helper who comes alongside me, assists me, and helps me. Thank you! You know my needs, my wants, my desires, my hopes, and my dreams. You see my pain, my suffering, and my agony. 

You understand what is happening in my life, and You promise that if I seek to fulfill Your purposes You will use it for good. You also promise that if I commit something to You, You will grant me success. 

I recognize this as true. Your success, not man's is the safest place to be. Truly, I would rather stand one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. 

In this I give You my praise and thanksgiving. Here, I am LORD, I am Yours. I trust You because Your peace surpasses all understanding and in you it is mine to take hold. 

Thank You for all of these truths. I rest in them.

 In Jesus' name, amen

This season became my daily habit. I would much rather praise God than ask God because when I praise Him for what I know about Him I am choosing to believe Him and trust Him. 

This season radically changed me and I believe it did others because the LORD inhabits the praises of His people.

Obedience Builds Hope

Sometimes hope is born through obedience. We don't like the idea that our obedience will birth hope. Especially, when our heart is broken. Sometimes, we beg for the miracle, but it doesn't come. In some situations the miracle is found in the person who keeps moving forward doing the right thing even when it hurts. Consider Joseph. He modeled obedience that builds hope.

Maybe you are in a situation right now that requires obedience and it is not easy. Ask God to help you take the steps of obedience that will build hope. 

It may not be easy but taking courage and moving forward like Joseph did in marrying Mary is what gave us the Hope of the world. 

Who will grow in hope today because of your obedience? Do not be afraid. Take your steps of faith in o evidence knowing God has plans that we may never see but will give hope to many.

The Christmas Story: The Angel Visits Joseph

Christmas: Being Seen Gives Hope

Listen to the story: Mary Visits Elizabeth

Do you ever feel unseen? There is something powerful that happens in us when we are seen. Hope rises. I love that God gave Mary the truth that her cousin was pregnant so that Mary would go see her. This would be someone she could tell what is happening inside her that might understand.

Upon arriving, Elizabeth's baby leapt in her womb because he knew who was in Mary's womb. Talk about miraculous sight! That moment confirmed what Mary had seen and heard from the angel. It gave her hope.

When I feel unseen or unheard I feel despair? Do you? We are created to know and be known.  

The moment Elizabeth saw Mary she was very specific in her words, "You are blessed among women..." As I reflect on how Elizabeth made Mary feel seen, I realize that she was very specific about what was important to Mary in the moment. This may not be what this story intentionally teaches, but this is the power of story unfolding. I see a leader, an aunt, speaking hope to someone in need of hope. She was quick in letting Mary hear her words of encouragement. I see this and I think I can do that! 

How can I speak to someone in such a way that they know they are seen? 

When the Spirit of God is at work in us, He will give us the miraculous in the moment, too. It may not be as dramatic as John the Baptist type moment leaping in the womb, but it will come in giving us insight in what to say.

Father, show us how to help others be seen and find hope!

Do you ever feel afraid?

Do you ever feel afraid?  Do you ever feel like your enemy has the upper hand? Psalm 27 is David's Psalm of Hope in the face of enemies. Notice that David only spent a few verses declaring what his enemy was doing, but spent the rest of the Psalm focused on holy soul talk. David spent more time reminding himself about the character of God. 

Do you see how David speaks often of God as His dwelling place? Why? Hope knows where to dwell. Hope does not dwell on the enemy. It acknowledges the reality before God and then focuses on the character of God. Hope is a choice of focus. 

What character traits of God do you need to focus on today? Which ones do you need to lift up in praise? Will you choose God confidence? 

I sure hope so because this the sacred place where Hope is born.  

Shalom y'all!

Have you ever felt forgotten by God?

Have you ever felt forgotten? Have you ever felt forgotten by God? In Psalm 13, we can see the very real and raw emotion of David, the man known for being after God's own heart, as he expresses the emotion of feeling forgotten by God. Yet, as we read David's Psalm we discover a pattern that we can follow in our place of despair that will transition us to hope. 

David's transition takes place when he begins asking God for help. He knew he needed to be real about the pain, feeling, or emotion, but he choose not to stay there. He chose to seek God, proclaim God's character, and give God his praise and worship.

I love learning from the Psalmists. I learn that it is ok to be authentic about our suffering. But, I realize that in order to move from despair to rejoicing I must choose to seek God and choose hope.

Have you ever felt that despair? What helped you to transition to hope?  Are you willing to use this Psalm of Hope to give you a pattern to pray through? 

I know in my life that it has been the habit of choosing to praise God's character that has moved me from despair to hope. This prayer pattern has been one of my core strengths. I figured if it was good enough for David then it is good enough for me. Shalom y'all.

Christmas Story: The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary

https://youtu.be/Tgt3ieXv-yw