Tag: faith

Posted on in Psalms

Psalm 70

Hello, my Praying friends. 🙂 My good intentions of praying over the two Psalms daily, six days a week, finally ended when I went away for a few days. For five weeks, I was faithful to my simple routine of reading one Psalm and journalled my prayer. Then, I did the same process with the second Psalm. Sometimes, I readjusted my need to slow down, but I never ceased being in God’s word.

As I transcribed a previous prayer from my journal ahead of time for my next post, it still bestowed a reflective mindset on God’s word. There are months between writing that prayer in my journal and the time I transcribed it for publishing. When I read through my personal prayer, I often changed and added more thoughts. The Spirit will teach us when our mindset is to please and glorify Him. Never stop reading His word, and if you’ve to change your habitual routine, do so, but keep reading and praying over the Scripture.

Let’s Go Pray!

“Great is our Lord, and abundand in power; His understanding is beyond measure” ~Psalm 147:5

O God of our soul, Deliverer of our life, the ONE who gives us freedom, peace and joy. Hear our plea for deliverance from those who oppressed Your people. Give Your people courage and strenght to endure this wild fallen culuture. It reminds us of the similarities of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. Everyone does what is rigth in their own eyes. They call evil, good. And good, evil. Let those who shamed us be “turned back and brougth to dishonor,” those who delight in hurting teh poor, needy and innoncents.

Haste, O God, to deliver us before all our fears failled in dispair. Protect our daughters, sons, and families from oppression of those who run this world like they were the right hand of a Phareon, a king with no regards for Your laws, precepts, and rules. Let our voices called upon You, O God, all the way to heaven with plea of devine delievrance. Let Your people repent from turning their back on You from many generations. Revive our hearts so that we have a zeal for Your Word. Have mercy on us.

“O Lord God, without the pardon of m sin I cannot rest sastified without the renovation of nature by grace I can never rest easy, without the hopes of heaven I cannot be at peace. All this I have in the Son Jesus, blesed be His name.” ~ Exerpt from Valley of Vision

“May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You! May those who love Your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

Things I’m thankful

  • God delivers us from personal and international oppression.
  • I’m rejoicing and glad, knowing God will return.
  • He has won and conquered this world
  • He saved two of my children

What I learned about God

  • His divine justice never failed
  • He will deliver us at his own perfect time
  • He’s our helper
  • He’s our Saviour
  • Swift deliverance will come—not a few minutes, an hour, or a day later, but right on time according to His will.
  • We can come with our supplication to God with confidence
  • We find joy and gladness in worshipping Him

What have you learned or been grateful for when you read Psalm 70?

All is well with my soul. Praise God always.

Posted on in Romans

Romans 13

Governing Authorities

13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Oh Lord of heaven, how shall I subject myself to institutions and authorities contrary to Your laws and statutes. You appointed many who are evil and cruel to rule over us and do not fear You so that our faith may be tested and stand under the trials. Forgive me when I failed to seek refuge and trust in You. Help me to serve you in all times and situations. Give me wisdom and understanding of Your will.

“But this purpose of God is frustrated as long as we are content to say it is perhaps because my prayer is not according to His will that He does not hear me. Oh, let’s not throw the blame for our unanswered prayers on the secret will of God, but reconize instead our own praying amiss. Let that Word, Ye ask and receive not because yet ask amiss, be as the lantern of the Lord that searches heart and life to prove that we are like those to whom Chirst gave His promises of certain answers. Let’s believe that we can kjow if our prayer is according to God’s will. Let’s yield ourselves unreservedly to the Holy Spirit as He teaches us to abide in Christ and to dwell in the Father’s pressence, and we shall soon understand how the Father’s love longs that the child should know His will and should know that He bears the petitions which we ask with confidence. This is the confidence that we have in God, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us. “

With Christ in the School of Prayer- Andrerw Murray

Love 

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

I cannot love on my own, but through Christ Jesus, I’ve learned to love. Holy Spirit, guide my steps and heart to seek Your word more faithfully.

“Love does not wrong to a neighbor, therefore Love is the fullfilling of the law.”

Prayer written in journal April 14/23

Let’s Go Pray!

Resource

Posted on in Romans

Romans 5

Standing in God’s Grace

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

O God of glory, we’ve peace with You through Jesus Christ. We’ve obtained our faith in this grace. You poured upon us. We rejoiced in our sufferings and pains, knowing that it builds our character and confidence. You’ve poured Your love into our hearts through the Spirit, so we responded to the call of grace. We stand in Your unmeasurable grace, and we no longer live in the flesh, unwanted and cursed, but now live in Christ, bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Reconciled to God

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

O Father, You’ve shown us your love by reconciling us by sending Jesus Christ for the ultimate sacrifice of redemption for our iniquity. Your Son Jesus’s atoning sacrifice for our sins saved us from Your wrath (1 John 2:2). With thanksgiving, we praise the Father for reconciling us to Him through His only begotten Son. Christ has appeased once for all the wrath of the Father. Those who believe in the Son of God are saved in Him. Our righteousness isn’t our own but of God. The Perfecter of our faith.

The Free Gift

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, many more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

O Father, forgive us for sinning against your will by not trusting and obeying. The free gift of grace should abound in our life, and recognize it can only come from a holy God. Give us an understanding of the simplicity of the gospel. Not fearing to share the truth about who Jesus Christ is and what he has done for us. Your abundance of grace had spread like wildfire over the entire world. Your promises of sanctification, hope, and righteousness are at work in us by Spirit, guiding our daily steps in the right direction.

One Act of Righteousness

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Your beautiful act of righteousness gives us joy, knowing in my heart and mind it abounded all the more for our benefit and salvation. Our hope is secured in Your glorious hands. Our eternal life has begun on this challenging journey and will end in glory with You in heaven.

Let your marvellous shine in our hearts and minds, remembering all you’ve done for us.

Let’s Go Pray!

Resource

Posted on in Personal Reflection

Reflection: Abide in Him

Be Filled with the Knowledge of His Will

Wow, are we already at the end of another year! If you’re like me, making new resolutions or goals by January isn’t your thing, then don’t! I never project resolutions because they never lasted or were simply forgotten before the end of the month. Instead, my starting points are in two specific months in the year: September and December. I won’t go into all the details, but let’s say September is an excellent time to sum up all outdoor or indoor summer projects, and I was happy to jump into the fall-winter ones. So nope, I don’t get caught up in new resolutions, but I set goals where I want to be with my attitude toward life in general and how I will grow spiritually in a manner pleasing to Him.

 “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Colossians 1:9-14

December is a month for reflection on what I have learned from Scripture. How did Christ’s wisdom help me to build up and be rooted in my relationship with Him and other believers? How has the word encouraged me? How does practicing the word affirm my faith? Has this blog reached at least one person who wanted to be more with Him in prayer and His Word?

As I flipped through the pages of my prayer journal, I was encouraged by all the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of God’s word he so patiently taught me this year.

Praying Over Scripture: Romans

Praying over the Book of Romans taught me it was doable by simply reading and praying over a short section. If you’re wondering how to pray over one of Paul’s letters when there are many sound doctrines and teachings to be had. Then, study the letter first and then pray over it. That’s what I’ve done. I’m learning the book of 1 John and Colossians and may pray over it. God’s word will always be an excellent place to guide any believer. You cannot go wrong when seeking His promises, purpose, and rules for your life. It’s ALL good.

I was saved in 1995 and studied, read, and heard many sermons on the Book of Romans. But if you’re a new believer and unfamiliar with praying over a letter rich in sound doctrine and truth, keep praying over the Psalms. I used the acronym ACTS and underlined in green: God, Christ, Holy Spirit (any reference to God). His promises are highlighted in yellow and underlined in red.

The ESV Bible was purchased in 2020, and I’m using it primarily for bible studies, reading, and sermon note-taking.

Praying Over the Psalms

There is no going wrong if you pray over the Psalms. They are encouraging, comforting, and a pure joy to know that God is victorious and reigns in all situations. This past year, I read the psalm outline to understand the context of the Psalms.

Recently, I’ve used an older ESV bible to pray over His attributes. This idea originated from Sisterita Club by Jessica Jerris. I’ve kept my prayer book simple by adding only His attributes. (Eternal, Spirit, Just, omnipotence, love, immutability, self-existence, righteousness, transcendence, omniscience, immanence, mercy, holiness, goodness, grace, sovereignty). This is my time alone with God; my blog will not share those prayers.

Inductive Bible Studies

Besides wanting to be more in prayer with Him, I wanted to develop a good understanding and knowledge of how to study Scripture in an inductive way that was simple enough to comprehend the historical background and overall message of the book I wanted to learn. God heard my plea to Abide in Him (John 15:7). Amazingly, I found remarkable, reliable resources and even signed up for an online women’s group that teaches how to do it.

The workbooks are cheaper if you can purchase the download. I’ve done with many of them. But on occasion, I’ve purchased the paper workbooks through Amazon. To make it enjoyable, I added stickers or coloured with colouring markers. I’ve used affordable line notebooks, too.

The books I’ve studied in 2023 are Nehemiah, Ezra, Esther, Romans, 1,2,3 John (in progress), Colossians (in progress) and Not of this world (verse mapping). Memorization was a bit more pleasant as I kept it focused on a topic(not of this world).

I’ve kept all my present studies worksheets in an older binder decorated with crafty paper and stickers. You don’t have to be super talented in your craftiness (like me); don’t compare yourself to a super-talented crafty person. I desire to Abide in Him, not overkilling my time in drawing and crafting.

Let’s continue learning from Him!

Resources