Wednesday Encouragement

Happy Wednesday, friends. I thought I'd share some things that have been inspiring to me this week—some the Lord revealed to me as I was praying and some things are just things I always say and share with people. I hope you're encouraged by reading this blog post.

I was talking with two different friends recently, at seperate times, when this very Scripture or thought was brought up in our conversations. One friend who works in a very challenging work environment has these Scripture cards that she has at her desk where she works each day. She does this to share with others and to encourage her own self in her harsh work environment. I think it's a brilliant idea to do that kind of thing and is why I bought her the Scripture cards for her birthday. She is also writing down verses that jump out to her in her journal and I do that very same thing.

I do this for two reasons: one is so that God's Word will be hidden in my heart. For me personally, the more I write out the Word of God, the more I remember it and can easily recall the Scripture. I'm not as good at the addresses as I used to be, but thanks to Google, I can always easily find the reference. The second reason is because I journal for the same reason I write on this blog—to remember. Remembering is Scriptural and in the Old Testament, I always love the passages where someone lays down a stone somewhere specific; so that they can remember what the Lord did for them. The other friend I was talking to about was telling me about how she is learning to pray Scripture, which is also something I love to do myself. How do I pray Scripture, you wonder? First off, to pray Scripture I need to know Scripture! Again with the writing out of all the verses. The second way I do this is very simple: I just take a verse like this one above and I might say something like, "Lord, help me to hide Your Word in my heart so that I won't sin against You." You get the gist. 

*I told my friend on this day when we talked on the phone that a great resource for this is a book called Prayer Portions by Sylvia Guinter. My friend Denise enlightened me on this book years ago at a Bible study I used to attend. I've never forgotten it and it's made a huge impact in my prayer life.

Something the Lord gently reminded me of yesterday in prayer was this statement that I keep thinking of: Have I prayed about something as much as I've talked about it to someone? I've had a few really frustrating moments so far this week (Thank you, 2020!) and I spent some sweet time confessing it all to the Lord in my prayer time. The verse I thought of as I prayed was this one:

If it's something taking up space in my mind and heart, it's worth confessing to the Lord in prayer. He is so good to us, for those of us who know Him and love Him and He bears our burdens for us. I say it all the time—He is such a good Father. I honestly cannot fathom how someone who doesn't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior makes it through life. I know they must be miserable and fearful/anxious every second of their lives. Life with Him is hard—thanks to 2020, we can all attest to this, but life without Him? It would be impossible. I don't say that lightly and I know so many people who don't know Him, but I pray for them every single day, that the Lord would send someone to minister to them where they are and that they would respond to Him in obedience. 

The funny thing about prayer is that it's instant, at least it usually is when I pray. Just yesterday I was getting dressed and listening to worship music and I just started confessing all these thoughts to the Lord. Worship music helps me in my prayer life, also and I will mention again that you should go find me on Spotify. I am allboys-us. Just search that somewhere on the app and check out some of my playlists. My favorite one is Worship 2020 that I created on my own and the songs make me feel really close to Jesus. After I prayed, I instantly felt lighter in my heart because I truly transferred the weight of what I was bearing to the Lord, who gladly bears my burdens.

I didn't actually mean for this whole post to be about prayer, but I know there's a reason for that, so I pray this reaches who it needs to reach and that you're encouraged and inspired in your prayer life. It's so simple, friends, there is nothing complicated about prayer. I think too often we make it so much more complicated that what it really is, but I just picture Jesus right beside me at my kitchen table and I talk to Him like He is my best friend. I pour it all out to Him, because He knows what is on my heart and in my mind, so why wouldn't I just confess it all to Him in prayer? Prayer is the most underused and underrated tool we have in our spiritual arsenal. I say 'spiritual arsenal' because there is a spiritual battle going on ALL AROUND US. Ephesians 6 talks about this, I encourage you to read it for yourself. One way we can be suited up in our spiritual armor is by praying and the best way to fight that battle is in prayer. A consistent prayer life is evident by the peace you see someone walking in. That's not to say we don't all slip up in this area every so often, we do because we're all human. But you'll know when your prayer life is lacking, because you will have an intense lack of peace. I promise you this is true, I have experienced it so many times. Just pick back up with today and start praying again. It's so simple, but here is how I pray: I like to use the acronym ACTS—Adoration (praising God for His attributes), Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication (praying for others).

Well, thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all.