Praying the Scriptures Over My Husband's Lost Car Keys

Yesterday's #prayingthescriptures verse from my Advent devotional Jesus, Light of the World...Praying the Scriptures through Advent was found in Psalm 139:12, and that is what I want to share about today.

"Even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You." -Psalm 139:12

Little did I know that in just a few moments of finishing my devotional time with this Scripture that I would be praying it over my husband's lost car keys!

Yes, really!

Let me share the story with you...

Yesterday afternoon my husband realized he had lost his car keys when he needed them to put 2 bags of clothes in his car to take to the Goodwill. He has one of my Pampered Chef Simple Additions bowls that he keeps his wallet and keys in that is on my kitchen counter. When he went to grab them from where he always keeps them...they were not there!

We turned this house upside down looking for his keys...even digging through the trash. 

I finally stopped us and said we need to pray. 

I held my husband's hands and prayed about those car keys that were hidden in the darkness to our natural eyes. 

It went something like this...

Heavenly Father, we come to You right now and ask that You would bring to light Phil's car keys that are hidden in the darkness to us. We are told in Your Word that even the darkness is not dark to You Father, and You know exactly where those car keys are at this moment because even darkness is as light to You. We pray that You would help us now to find those keys. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen! 

After praying my husband went to his rain jacket that was hanging in our laundry room and found his keys in one of the pockets! We had been searching for 30 minutes at least before I stopped us to pray! 

He had been wearing that rain jacket Sunday afternoon when he had gotten home from going to a friend's house who had given us their entertainment center for free. He had unlocked our house door, put the keys in his rain jacket pocket, and went back to our friend's truck to help unload the entertainment center. He had totally forgotten that he had slipped them into the pocket of his rain jacket!

When he pulled out those keys I could not hold back the tears. We held each other and I prayed and cried tears of joy as I thanked God for answering His Word that I had prayed and for caring about something so small as lost car keys.

God is faithful to answer His Word when we pray it back to Him...even for lost car keys!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

How Long, Lord? (Blogging Through the Bible)

Have you ever felt like God has forgotten you?

Left you in your wilderness for too long?

I have.

It's a difficult place to be.

Today we see in Psalm 13 David pouring out his heart to God.

There have been wilderness times in my life where I have poured out my heart to God in prayer as David did in our Bible reading today.

¹ How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?    -Psalm 13:1-2

I can feel the desperation in David's cries of "How long?".

I've prayed desperate prayers like that in the dark moments of my life.

-In the struggles of marriage years ago.

-In the darkness of a miscarriage.

-In the three month back-to-back deaths of loved ones in my immediate family.

-In the devastating diagnoses of Aspergers Syndrome, OCD, and ADD for our son.

How long, Lord?

Then, in the middle of my desperate prayers with burning tears flowing freely...

...a gentle whisper calms my heart.

I will never leave you, nor forsake you. {Deuteronomy 31:6}

 

Then, with a renewed sense of God's unfailing love - even in the wilderness times of my life - I can carry on because I know God loves me no matter what challenges or heartbreaks I may have to face in this life.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.   -Psalm 13:5-6

Trust, rejoice, and sing because of God's unfailing love in the salvation that He is so good to provide for me.

This truth is what we must hold on to as we patiently wait for the deliverance of God in whatever wilderness situation we find ourselves in.

-Trust in God's unfailing love!
-Rejoice in your salvation!
-Sing the Lord's praise because He has been good to you!

So the question shouldn't really be "How Long, Lord?", but more importantly we should be asking ourselves,

"How Will I Wait?"

With an attitude of trust, rejoicing, and singing?

I hope so...how about you?

Whatever we choose to focus on during our wilderness moments will determine how we are waiting.


***Here is my S.O.A.P. for Psalm 13***


Monday, December 8, 2014

Psalm 13

Scripture: Psalm 13:1-2, 5-6
¹ How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?   

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.    

Observations: I can almost feel the desperation of David’s prayer. He repeats “How long” four times as he pours out his heart to God in prayer. But then we see a shift at the end of David’s prayer as he sets his focus on three things: 1) his trust in God’s unfailing love, 2) rejoicing in God’s salvation, and 3) singing the Lord’s praises. 

Application: Have you ever felt like God has forgotten you or that He’s left you in your wilderness for too long? I have, and it’s a difficult place to be. But there is beauty in the wilderness experiences of our lives too. It’s during those times that I have poured out my heart to God in desperation, crying out for Him to move on my behalf or the behalf of a loved one. It’s during those times that I have clung to the promises of God that I have hidden in my heart as we see that David did in this Psalm. Times that also have drawn me into His Word searching for truth and answers to the cries of my heart. These times are where I have experienced some of the deepest spiritual growth ever in my Christian walk. For that I am so thankful.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the wilderness experiences of my life that You have used to draw me in closer to Your heart. Thank You for the gift of Your word that I can hide in my heart to give me strength to walk through the valleys of this life, fearing no evil because of Your comfort that I find in Your word. Help me to trust in Your unfailing love no matter the circumstances of my life, to rejoice in the joy of my salvation knowing that it is eternal and this world is not, and to sing Your praises knowing that as I do my attitude will be transformed to walk in the victory that is mine as Your child even in the valleys of this life. I pray and ask this all in the faithful and life-giving name of Jesus. Amen!

***Here is the reading plan for this week***

I'll see you back here on Wednesday for another Blogging Through the Bible post!

Walking in His Grace, 
Laurie

Trust, the Word, and Refining Fire (Blogging Through the Bible)

I love how Psalm 11 and 12 tie in together for me in our readings from Thursday and Friday. I'm a day late sharing this post because I spent most of Friday to take time to soak in the Word of God...particularly the two verses that stood out to me from these two chapters. Never be in a rush when it comes to your time in God's Word. Meditate on it throughout your day, and let God speak to you as only He can.

My heart is filled with thankfulness to God as I've contemplated how trustworthy He is.

He is my strong tower that I run to when this world starts to weigh heavily on me. I honestly don't know how people go through this world without God. His unfailing love and protection have been with me through many a trial. I don't know how I would make it without Him!

Not only is He my strong tower that I can run to, but He has also given me the gift of His Holy Word, the Bible, as a lamp to my feet and a light to my path in this dark world. His words are pure, faithful, and true! His words are a purifier of my soul as I daily read the Bible to discover the heart of God. They refine me so that I can reflect the beauty of Jesus in my life.

Trust God.

Read His Word.

Let His words refine our hearts.

Reflect Jesus.

And by doing all of this...

May we draw others into a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Amen.



***Here are the rest of my S.O.A.P.s for this week***



Thursday, December 4, 2014

Psalm 11

Scripture: Psalm 11:1
In the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?

Observations: Our trust is in God alone. We do not need to flee to any other source for comfort or for justice in whatever trials we may face. We can trust God to be faithful during the trials of our lives.

Application: In times of trouble, take refuge in the Lord God alone. Trust in His unfailing love and protection.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, it is to You I run when I face the trials of this life. Help me to keep my eyes focused on the truth of Your Word concerning me as I face the valleys of this life. May I always keep my trust in You alone for my deliverance. In the saving name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Friday, December 5, 2014

Psalm 12

Scripture: Psalm 12:6  
The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Observations:
The words of the Lord:

1.     Pure –We can rely on the words of the Lord. They are true and faithful.

2.     Like silver tried in a furnace –Silver is purified of all its dross (“unwanted material that is removed from a mineral to make it better”) by passing it through the fire until it becomes entirely pure.

3.     Purified seven times – Seven is the number of perfection or completeness in the Bible.

Over and over again in the trials of my life, God’s words have been proven true. Not only am I being refined in the trials of this life, but the Word of God is continuously being proven as faithful and true.

Application: The words of the Lord are perfectly pure…no falsehoods, no deception, and no flattery. I want my speech to reflect to others that I follow Jesus. I want people to see His reflection in me with the words I speak. 

Psalms 19:14...Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that my words would be filtered through the power of the Holy Spirit living in me. Help me to be mindful of the thoughts I think which lead to the words I speak. May the words I choose to speak bring honor and glory to Your name. Thank You for Your words that are true and faithful – words that never return void. Help me to walk in Your example so that others will be drawn into a personal relationship with You. In the life-changing name of Jesus I pray. Amen! 


Have a great weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday for another Blogging Through the Bible post.

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

 

Discovering Calm Confidence in Your Prayers of Desperation (Blogging Through the Bible)

Psalm 10 is titled A Song of Confidence in God's Triumph Over Evil. It begins with David's desperation over the seemingly inactivity of God against the works of the wicked. David lays out before God all of the wickedness that prevails before his eyes.

David's prayer of desperation becomes one of confidence in the sovereignty of Almighty God. David knows the kindness of God toward the helpless who are committed to Him. Once he shifts the focus of his eyes back to this truth about God, he recognizes that God does indeed see the wickedness of the evil against those who are helpless and that He will come to their rescue.

I've prayed many prayers of desperation that have ended in tears of thankfulness as I've reminded myself of the truth of who God is. In times of trouble, we can easily get our eyes off of who we know God to be...especially when the wicked seem to prosper in their way. But we must do as David did in Psalm 10, and turn our eyes back to who we know God to be as we go to Him in prayer. This is how we can discover a calm confidence in our prayers of desperation.

We must remember that this world is not our home. As the days of evil grow darker while we wait for the blessed return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we must remember what Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-7...

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

This is what David did and he is able to end his prayer of desperation with a calm confidence that God would prevail against all of the wickedness going on. The peace of God was able to guard David's heart and mind as he turned his eyes back to who he knew God to be.

May we be faithful to do the same!


***Here are my S.O.A.P.s for Psalm 9 and 10***

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Psalm 9

Scripture: Psalm 9:10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Observations: We know God’s name by experiencing His character through the highs and lows of our lives. Our trust in Him grows as we experience the faithfulness of the attributes He shows Himself to be in our lives. We know that God does not forsake us because we are in relationship with Him.

Application:

1.)   We must know His name. –Have a personal relationship with God. Also, there are many books on the different names of God that can help us to grow in our understanding of the character of God.

2.)   We must put our trust in Him. –Remember His faithfulness in times past for the strength needed for trusting Him in whatever we face today.

3.)   We must seek Him. –Spend time with Him DAILY by reading the Bible and talking to Him in prayer.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, how glorious is Your name in all the Earth! Thank You for Your faithfulness to me. Help me to be mindful of Your presence in my life. Give me eyes to see how You are moving on my behalf, and help me to remember these things so that my faith and trust in Who You are will not be shaken in times of trouble. My heart’s desire is to know more of Who You are so I ask that You would continue to daily draw me into Your Word where I can soak in all of the truth of Your character. I pray and ask this all in the wonderful name of Jesus. Amen!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Psalm 10

Scripture: Psalm 10:1, 14, 17-18
¹Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble? ¹⁴ But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, to repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. ¹⁷ Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,¹⁸ To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Observations: At the beginning of David’s prayer we see his desperation for God to act. He goes on to list all of the evil of the wicked against the helpless who are committed to God. We see a shift in David’s prayer from one of desperation to one of calm confidence as David remembers what he knows to be true of God.

Application: The Lord brought to my mind Philippians 4:6-7 which is my application for today. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your peace that surpasses all understanding. As we bring our prayers of desperation to Your throne, may You give us a calm confidence in Your mighty hand to work all things together for our good. I pray that we would walk in fruit of the Spirit of Your peace, for it truly does guard our hearts and our minds, as we bring all of the worries and cares of this world to Your faithful hands. Help us to remember the truth of who You are as we walk through this dark and evil world. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen!
 


Here is this week's reading plan if you'd like to join me.

I'll see you back here on Friday! Let's keep our eyes on Jesus and who we know Him to be as we travel through the rest of our week.

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

 

Jesus, the Light of the World! (Praying the Scriptures through Advent)

During the month of December I am taking a journey through Advent with my sweet friend, Candace Crabtree over at His Mercy is New using her Advent devotional Jesus: Light of the World Praying the Scriptures through Advent. Starting today, I'll be posting here every Tuesday and sharing with you about my time in the Scriptures that focus on light as I seek to keep my eyes focused on the True Light of the world - Jesus - during this Christmas season.

In Genesis 1:1-3 we read about the creation...specifically the creation of Light.

The definition of light (noun) is: the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.

The creation of light in Genesis points to a greater spiritual truth of Jesus as the Light of the world. We are told in 2 Corinthians 4:6:

For God, Who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It's our understanding of Who Jesus is that invades our dark, sinful hearts with the light of salvation that comes through Jesus Christ alone. The light of Jesus makes the darkness of sin in our lives visible to us so that we can repent of it. Once the light of His saving grace penetrates our hearts and brings us to repentance, we come face-to-face with His love and His mercy in the forgiveness of our sins.


***Chime In***

How has the light of Jesus penetrated your heart?

Is there an area of your heart that you've tried to keep hidden? Surrender it to the Light of Jesus today dear friend and receive His forgiveness!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

Bible Reading Plan for December (Blogging Through the Bible)

Wow, can you believe we are already in the month of December?! This month as we seek to keep Christ in Christmas, let's be sure that we don't become so busy that we neglect to spend time in the Word of God. Please join me as we continue to read in the book of Psalms in December.

We will read in Psalms until December 19th when we will break for Christmas until January 5th. Courtney Joseph, over at Women Living Well, home of Good Morning Girls, has some exciting things planned for us in the New Year, so stay tuned to her blog for more details. I'll also be sure to keep you updated here at Grace-Filled-Moments too.

Here is a bookmark for your Bible that you can print off for our reading this month:

Here is this week's reading plan:

Today we are reading Psalm 8. What were your thoughts on this Psalm? Please share with me in the comments below.



Monday, December 1, 2014

Psalm 8

Scripture: Psalm 8:4 What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

Observations: As David contemplates God’s creation, he questions why God is mindful of man and why He visits us.

Application: With this being the first day of December, it seems fitting that we are in this Psalm. God, the Creator, is mindful of us. When I look into the night sky and see all of the stars shining bright, I do feel tiny in comparison. I understand what David is saying as I stare up into the never-ending reaches of the night sky. It’s amazing that God created every single star that I gaze up at, and then to think that He is mindful of me. He knows my weaknesses and loves me anyway. He visits me every time I open up His Word and commune with Him in prayer. 

God visited the world in human flesh as a babe in a manger in order that He might save His creation – you and me – over 2,000 years ago. This first week of Advent we focus on the hope we have that Jesus will visit us again to take us home with Him. Hallelujah!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for being mindful of me and of my need for a Savior. You loved us all so much that You sent Your precious Son Jesus as a babe in a manger, to live in the flesh a perfect life, and to die for our sins so that our broken relationship with You could be restored.  You were mindful of us and did not even spare Your only Son. What amazing love! Thank You, Jesus, for willingly laying aside Your glory to come to Earth as a babe and for laying down Your life to save mine. Thank You for the hope we have of Your glorious return. While we are waiting for that blessed day, may we be intentional to look for Your presence in our lives and to spend time daily in Your Word and communing with You through prayer. It’s in the hopeful name of Jesus I pray. Amen!


I'll see you back here on Wednesday for another Blogging Through the Bible post!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

  

***During the month of December I will be doing an Advent study using Jesus: Light of the World, Praying the Scriptures through Advent by my sweet friend, Candace Crabtree over at His Mercy is New. I will be blogging about my time in the Scriptures that focus on light, what God says about light, and praying through the Scriptures that I'm studying as I seek to turn my heart toward the True Light of the world...Jesus...the real reason we celebrate Christmas! I hope you'll join me here every Tuesday beginning tomorrow for Praying the Scriptures through Advent.