God Answers Prayers, Big and Small/Day 14

January 14, 2014 by Mary

Day 14

Congratulations, you have made it through two weeks…praying and journaling for 14 days! Give yourself a pat on the back! I don’t know about you, but I find myself looking forward to the assignments each day, as I know they are going to stretch me and by completing each page, I am digging into God’s word through the suggested scripture memorization. I find myself holding onto these nuggets of truth throughout the day. I know that this is a God thing, but…. I also find each assignment appropriate to what is happening in my world each day.

In this assignment, we pray to ask God to make us confident enough and vulnerable enough to express our sadness to him and others, through tears. Many of us put up a strong front and never show our emotions in this way, but tears are healthy…I always say that they are a form of prayer. When we are able to release our emotions through tears, God hears our prayers and is already in the process of our healing.

Write a statement as an affirmation today, about allowing yourself to express your emotions through tears.

Scripture Memorization:

1 John 5:14-15

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Give Thanks Today That God Answers Prayers, Big and Small.

God is the Almighty and He will take down any Goliath we are facing.

My Reflections:

While I was preparing the assignment this morning, I received a prayer request that could affect the course of the lives of my nephews. I began to pray and cry out to God to circle them in prayer and His assurance. At that moment, I decided to utilize this journal to it’s fullest. I printed out a photo and the scripture for today’s assignment and taped them onto the pages. I needed to see the faces of my nephews to fully comprehend what it was that I was asking God for, in prayer.

Begin to personalize your workbook today. Write in it, draw pictures, take photos, write additional scripture that comes to mind while you are praying, use stickers…do whatever it is you feel compelled to do to make this your own private and wonderful prayer space—a holy space and prayer memory album.

We get the most out of our prayers when we personalize them because we have emotion attached to them. There is no right or wrong. This journey is between you and God. He knows what is going on in your life. Express it honestly on the pages of this workbook and see how He moves.

God answers prayers, big and small.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Don’t have the workbook? It’s not too late to start.

You can purchase it here:

hopefilledliving

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Isaiah 26:3/Day 10

January 10, 2014 by Mary

We have made it to Day 10 of our study! Congratulations!

Our study today is about being at peace with unresolved issues in our lives. Most of us have some unresolved issues…those things that linger in the corners of our mind and bubble to the surface when we least expect. However, God’s desire for us is to be at peace with unresolved issues– to live in the peace and presence of the moment. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

God wants to give us His peace, a peace that transcends all understanding. When we have the peace of God, our lives can be turned upside down and inside out and yet…we have peace. His peace is described in Hebrew as Shalom. Knowing our value and the omnipotence of our Creator, we can live with a Shalom peace…a holy, biblical, sacred peace.

Though wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee…Isaiah 26:3

Though you may be having difficulties in your life, though you may have some unresolved issues, let the word of God bring you peace and lay your issues to rest.

Write a prayer to God today—releasing all of your unresolved issues to Him.

Recite the following scriptures:

Philippians 4:7

Isaiah 26:3

Reflect on what these promises in God’s word mean to you.

In your journal, describe a mindset built on (Shalom) peace.

My reflection on the assignment today:

We all have unresolved issues.
I can walk in the peace of Christ.
I can build a spiritually healthy arsenal through scripture memorization, which will help me through difficult seasons.
Writing my prayers and completing the exercises each day helps me grow closer to God, builds God confidence, helps me lay things to rest and builds my spiritual strength.

May the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus!

On Wings Like Eagles/Day 9

January 9, 2014 by Mary

In our study today….Day 9….we look at the scripture out of Isaiah, They will soar like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Our prayers and petitions in the assignment today are to ask and rely on God, our Heavenly Father to renew our strength. The focus in our affirmation is to learn to release our daily burdens to God, as He will help us through whatever trial we may face. He gives strength to the weary…He will not grow tired or weary…

God never grows tired or weary and he has an understanding that we cannot fathom. His word says, He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. What wonderful assurance that while we are weak and powerless–our strength can be renewed!

If you have purchased the 101-day workbook, your assignment today is to write out the scripture: Isaiah 40:28-31 in the “Reflections” section of day 9. While you are writing, take a moment to breathe the words into your spirit. This is your scripture memorization for today.

Write a prayer…releasing your cares and burdens to God. Pour your heart out on the page. He is a God who will not grow tired or weary…his understanding…no one can fathom. Nothing you have to say will shock God. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength!

Once you have completed your worksheet for today, take some time to process your thoughts. Ruminate on the scripture verses today.

Caring for Yourself/Day 8

January 8, 2014 by Mary

Day 8

Caring for yourself is just as important as caring for others

In our prayers today, we are confessing that we are often so caught up in the work of caring for others that we mistreat our own body by neglecting to nourish it with the things it needs to be healthy and to work optimally for us and for the Kingdom.

Our affirmation is a commitment to take small steps toward taking better care of our bodies and meeting our own physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

My reflections:

If we understand that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, why do we mistreat it by failing to do what is necessary to be well, to the best of our ability?

After praying about the reading and exercise for today—I began to think that lack of good self-care is a result of our own inner judge…

Love, Accept and Forgive Yourself

One of the most difficult tasks for some of us is learning to love, accept and forgive ourselves over what we deem are our faults, failures and shortcomings. Often, we tend to examine these things as if under a microscope, which only serves to magnify the things we are unhappy with– in and about ourselves to an unhealthy proportion. Why is it easier to find fault than to praise ourselves?

We can never fully accept or understand others until we learn to embrace our own being and learn to love, accept and forgive ourselves. Perhaps it is time to think about this and how your own inner judge became so powerful in your life.

You do not belong to yourself…for God bought you with a high price. That is profound! When we lack forgiveness—toward ourselves, we neglect caring for the temple of the Holy Spirit. Is there an area in your life where you lack forgiveness? Do you have self-loathing? Low self-esteem? Well, here is what the bible has to say about the way we see things:

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. Matthew 6:22

When our perception is clear, our whole body will be full of light. Let us focus today upon taking better care of our own physical, emotional and spiritual needs– being mindful of the way we see the world and ourselves. Let us focus upon seeing others and ourselves through the eyes of God.

So you must honor God with your body.

Take some steps today to honor God with your body. Begin by writing three steps that you can begin in the next thirty days.

Give God praise and thanks for second chances. Write him a love letter today.

Keep Speaking Your Dream/Day 4

January 4, 2014 by Mary

Keep Speaking Your Dream

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

God says in his word that when we delight in him he will give us the desires of our heart. When we seek our happiness, joy and pleasure through Christ…our hearts are satisfied. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. Psalm 63:5 When we are in Christ, reading, praying, living his word our lives are blessed and hearts satisfied fully– as with the richest of foods.

Let us be faithful in speaking our dream, living our vision, remaining diligent in our prayers and petitions to our Creator, as David exemplifies in the writing of the Psalms. As we transform our hearts to his– doors and windows of opportunity open. As we speak and pray over the dreams we have for our lives, may our hearts and our vision meld into that which God has for us. We were made for Kingdom living.

Perhaps you have been constrained by labels others have given you in life. You have a great vision for your life, but those labels keep you from fulfilling the greatness that God has planned for you. As we praise him (with singing lips my mouth will praise you) and take delight in him (he will give you the desires of your heart) he will renew our minds. Think positive, elevated thoughts…God did not create you to live in oppression, he created you to thrive. Like the little engine that could…as we keep speaking our dream we are speaking good over our lives and a positive outcome.

My reflection on day 4:

Yesterday, we discussed that our dreams could be spiritual, emotional, social, physical, intellectual, or financial. My goal is to write an affirmation for each of these areas:

My Spiritual Affirmation:

My Emotional Affirmation:

My Social Affirmation:

My Physical Affirmation:

My Intellectual Affirmation:

My Financial Affirmation:

As I complete each affirmation I will search my bible for scripture to tie into the affirmation.

Example:

My Spiritual Affirmation: I will follow through and complete this 101 day journey toward spiritual wellness because I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

I will repeat the daily affirmations throughout each day… allowing them to penetrate my spirit and give God the opportunity to create in me a confident, hopeful heart.

I will take captive every thought that is not of God because I want to breathe and speak good things, Kingdom things over my life.

I will work to fill my 101 Prayers and Affirmations workbook by pouring my heart out to God on each page. I realize that I am the only one who can do the work and transformation requires me to draw inward for God’s wisdom.

I am committed to following through on this journey…and excited to see the outcome in my spiritual life.

I will continue on the journey on April 1^st with the next workbook, understanding that I am shaping this into a daily discipline.

I will continually praise God for the good things he has planned for me and for helping me find purpose, meaning and significance in my life.

I will take delight in the Lord and he will give me the desires of my heart.

Scripture Memorization:

Psalm 37:4

Psalm 63:5

Philippians 4:13