Worship Archives - Page 2 of 29

4 Tips to Help You Count Your Blessings

March 1, 2018 by Tracey 4 Comments

Ready for some real-time authenticity and confession?

This has been a week of negative thoughts. Feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and envy roll around in my mind. I stew on them, work up a little anger – or self-pity, depending on the moment. I know that I need to “take those thoughts captive.” I can even quote a Bible verse for each sin that’s tempting me to walk its way.

Have you ever had an hour – or maybe a day – like that? Our focus narrows to ourselves and we wallow in the pit of unhappiness.

There’s no better time to count our blessings.

I’ll admit, that’s not been my first response. But I see some encouragement in Deuteronomy 26. Here we find Moses instructing the children of Israel regarding giving a tithe back to God when they begin to prosper in the Promised Land. In verse 11, he describes the delights which await them.

“And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house….”

That Scripture teaches me several valuable lessons.

When you least feel like, you most need to do it.

1. Recognize every good thing.

In other words, count our blessings. I’m still writing in my 1000 gifts journal – I’m up to over 8,500 of them! And some mornings I can list five or six gifts/blessings from the previous day without hardly thinking about it. Other days, I struggle to come up with two. It’s not that God is “better” to me one day than He is the next. It’s that some days (too often!) I don’t recognize the good things.

2. Realize from whom every good thing comes.

It is God who gives me each one of them. There’s no fate involved, no luck that brings them, nor, though I love the word, any such thing as serendipity. Remember James 1:17?

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

God is always good, and any good thing we receive comes from Him.

3. Rest in His provision.

God always provides. Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” So while I’m noticing the good things that God’s given in the past, I can trust that He’ll continue to bestow good things in the future.

And while we’re resting, let’s enjoy the good things. Yes, one day we might have more, but let’s be content with what He’s supplied today. As we live in contentment, we can also take great pleasure in the good things we have now.

4. Rejoice in every good thing.

Rejoice means to feel or show great delight. I know that I haven’t been doing much of that this week. I lost my joy.

Joy in my spirit, reflected on my face, is a way of witnessing to others – including my children – that my God is good. He has given me so much, beyond just meeting my needs. Like we enjoy blessing our children, I believe God likes to provide pleasures just for our enjoyment.

As I think about Moses’ command, I remember a part of the story that was still ahead of them. What else was going to happen in the Promised Land? There were going to be battles.

The Canaanites weren’t just going to lay down their weapons and surrender their land. Yet in the middle of working hard to gain victory, the Israelites were going to be surrounded by so many good things! In the same way, as I battle my thought life this week, God continues to surround me with blessings in abundance. How thankful I am for His faithfulness!

For what “good thing” are you rejoicing today?

Just a Fancy Way to Say We Need to Learn to Wait

February 21, 2018 by Tracey 4 Comments

Were you a fan of spelling bees in elementary school? I was. We’d line up in two rows on opposite sides of the classroom. The teacher would call out a word to the first person in line. If you got it right, you went to the back of the line. If you missed, you went back to your desk and sat down. I didn’t always win, but I usually made it through the first few rounds!

My younger daughter follows in those footsteps, and enjoys competing in spelling bees at the state fine arts competition. Helping her study the extensive lists makes me realize how many words there are out there that I’ve never heard of. I have a hard enough time pronouncing them, and certainly couldn’t spell them correctly, especially under pressure!

While listening to Jamie Ivey’s podcast The Happy Hour last week, I learned another new word. I think I could have spelled it, but had no clue what it meant.

The word was “liminal”, and it was used in the phrase “liminal space.” Jamie’s guest explained what it meant, but I wanted to dig into it a little more. Here’s what I found at inaliminalspace.org

“A liminal space is the time between the ‘what was’ and the ‘next.’ It is a place of transition, waiting, and not knowing.”

Ah, that I can understand. Alan Seale also explains the term well.

“The liminal space is a waiting space. You could land here for any number of reasons. Perhaps a particular event or circumstance has interrupted the life you were living and now everything is up in the air. Or maybe something is unfolding around you that will have a significant impact on your next steps, yet you have no control over that circumstance and its timing. Or perhaps you are clear about your next steps, yet somehow you sense that now is not the time to take those steps. And you don’t know when the right time will come.”

So I’ve been in a liminal space before and didn’t know that’s what it was called! I realized that there are a few ways this relates to the Bible truth of waiting on the Lord.

The term is liminal space. Just reminds me I need to learn to wait on God.

A liminal space is a waiting space.

Oftentimes, in our minds, waiting means there’s not much going on. It’s just downtime, with no action taking place. Yet just as we talked about last week, even when we don’t see outward progress, God is at work. So even in a season of waiting, much can be accomplished in our lives.

As I looked up Bible verses about waiting, I noticed how many of them are in Psalms. After all, David knew about waiting. Samuel crowned him king while he was just a shepherd boy. Even after he grew older, he was forced to wait again while a jealous Saul chased him down and tried to kill him.

He could advise us with confidence, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14)

A liminal space is a transition.

Are you facing a transition in the near future? It could be a first child starting school, a last child starting school, an empty nest. Maybe it’s a move or a job change or just an adjustment to your daily schedule.

There can be a little bit of fear in transitions. Transitions typically mean change, and that can make us uncomfortable! Yet it’s often in the transition times that we grow. If everything always stayed the same, we’d be stagnant. We wouldn’t develop new skills, or expand in different areas of our life.

So when we’re in those transition times, let’s rely on God to help us through the changes. As the verse below says, let’s find our hope in His Word.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.” (Psalm 130:5)

A liminal space is the in-between.

Impatience can grow in the in-between We’re pretty much finished with one thing, but aren’t quite ready to move on to the next thing. We just want to hurry through the in-between.

This is a good time to remember Psalm 37:7. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him…”

God has so much to teach us in the waiting spaces, the transitions, and the in-between times. It may feel like nothing’s happening. Yet God’s timing is always perfect.

“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

God is faithful to reveal the next step when He has prepared us for it. Until then, we wait, we listen, and we trust, expecting our good God to guide us each step of the way.

“My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.” (Psalm 62:5)

We Don’t Have to Do the Work Ourselves

February 16, 2018 by Tracey 4 Comments

Are you watching the winter Olympics? Our daughters check the television each night to see which events are on, so we usually get caught up in the competition for a little while.

I happened across this funny tweet from @HarlanCoben (whom I know nothing about beyond this tweet) a few nights ago.

Me: I’ve never watched luge. I know nothing about it.

Me 20 minutes later: Turns 9 through 12 are really the key to victory. He’s taking them too high. Why doesn’t he listen to me??

Sporting events often bring out the “armchair quarterback” in all of us! We’ll talk to the television, and “helpfully” instruct these highly trained athletes who’ve worked for years to get to this level. I mean, it’s like we know how they should go into that jump so that their triple salchow isn’t underrotated!

These Olympians have put incredible amounts of practice time and effort into preparing for the Olympic games. It’s been their “work” for many years. And while most of us won’t ever perform on that stage, there is something more important that we are called to do.

It won’t put us on a gold medal platform, or land us any lucrative endorsements. But God has a work for each one of us. And it will take a lifetime for that work in and through us to be refined.

Let’s look at Hebrews 13:20-21.

“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus…Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

The best part about the work God has for us to do is that He will do it in us. According to the Geneva Study Bible, the word “perfect” in this verse actually means fit or suitable. In other words, God is the one who makes us suitable for His work. He equips us with what we need for the job ahead of us.

I like what Barnes said in his commentary about the above verse. “Paul prayed that God would fully endow them with whatever grace was necessary to do his will and to keep his commandments…” Whether it’s my marriage, my parenting, my career, or my ministry, I can’t make myself fit for it. Only through Jesus and His Holy Spirit continually working in us can we live “wellpleasing in His sight.”

The work of the Holy Spirit is gradual and progressive. Maybe you think, “God’s not doing much with me now. I do the same thing every day (whether that’s go to work or do laundry or drive carpool).” Yet even when we don’t feel like His Spirit is working, when we’re not seeing how He’s growing us, we can know He’s faithful to be dong it. He’s equipping us for what’s to come.

It reminds me of Philippians 1:6. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Because God does the work, I can’t take credit for it. All glory goes to Him. When I’m a more patient wife or mom…when I’m bold enough to talk to my neighbor about my faith…when I find that last little bit of endurance I need in a difficult situation… it’s God who deserves the glory and praise.

God is the ultimate orchestrator of all that has to do with us. He will give us everything we need to live for Him, and will energize us to do the work to which He calls us.

You Can’t Do Both at the Same Time

February 8, 2018 by Tracey 3 Comments

Back in the day, I was a first grade teacher. I enjoyed introducing six-year-olds to basic concepts in the classroom. Teaching them to read was my favorite job. Even if students had already started reading in kindergarten, they usually blossomed that next year.

These days I still get to interact with that age group on Wednesday nights at church. A couple of weeks ago, I was helping two little boys memorize the following verse.

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings.” ~Philippians 2:14

“Murmurings” and “disputings” are some big words when you’re six, so I tried to explain the verse. I told them it basically meant they should do everything without complaining and arguing. Then we talked about some examples of what that would look like for them.

Did they always obey dad and mom without arguing? Did they ever complain about what they were given to eat for supper? We had fun talking through some possible situations they might be in that would present opportunities for them to choose whether or not to argue or complain!

Talk about a basic concept – and a simple, direct command! It’s not only to first graders, it’s also for me!!

This is one of those verses that doesn’t leave any wiggle room for our current mood or situation. “All things” means all things. It doesn’t mean we get a pass for complaining if we’re tired or our child just made a big mess or the driver in front of us won’t go any faster.

Complaining doesn’t seem like a serious sin. Yet this quote from Joan Chittister helps us realize what an effect it can have in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

“Complaining is the acid that shrivels our souls and the soul of the community around us as well.”

What a word picture! I don’t think any of us want acid pouring over our souls, causing them to wrinkle and shrink. And most of the time, complaining doesn’t just affect us individually, but also whoever’s around us. After all, we’re usually complaining to another person, not just talking to ourselves!

When it comes to arguing, I’m usually one to avoid personal confrontation. But do I ever argue with God? If I feel Him convicting me of sin, do I immediately confess, or do I debate with Him (or within myself) over whether or not it’s really that bad? If I’m going to follow the command in the verse above, I need to do whatever’s in front of me without arguing or complaining.

One of the best antidotes for complaining is revealed in this quote from E. M. Bounds.

“Gratitude and murmuring never abide in the same heart at the same time.”

We can’t be simultaneously thankful and complaining. It reminds me of another one of those direct command verses.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” ~1 Thessalonians 5:18

There it is again. Just like we’re to do “all things” without complaining and arguing, so we’re to give thanks “in every thing.”

We get to make the choice every. single. day. Will we complain or will we give thanks?

I know that way too often, I choose the complaining, often without even thinking about it. Wouldn’t it be neat if our default setting could be gratitude? I think it can be, with the Holy Spirit’s help. And I’m thinking I need to post 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in a prominent place to remind me daily that God’s will is for me to choose giving thanks.

Is Gentleness Really a Big Deal?

February 6, 2018 by Tracey 5 Comments

As I realized which fruit of the spirit we’re going to look at in February, I was a little underwhelmed. I mean gentleness just doesn’t sound very exciting.

I can get behind love, joy, and peace! Those sound like big fruits that I can experience in my life in a lot of helpful ways. Even longsuffering seems so far beyond my reach at times that I can get excited about seeing how the Holy Spirit is going to produce it in my life.

But gentleness? That would be an easy one to overlook. It also seems like something I should be able to muster up on my own without the Holy Spirit’s help.

So what exactly is gentleness? The dictionary defines it as “the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered.”

I love the use of the word “tender” there. When I think about God’s gentleness with us, His children, I recognize how blessed we are that He is tender toward us. His concern, sympathy, and compassion are always present.

And as I think about that definition a little more, I have to ask myself if gentleness is actually part of my life. Do my words and actions reflect kindness? Am I mild-mannered? In other words, not given to extreme emotions. I’ll just say that I live with two teenage girls, so I know what extreme emotions looks like!

Yet 2 Timothy 2:24 commands us to be gentle.

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient…”

As always, whether or not we’re producing a certain fruit of the spirit is often displayed first at home. Odd as it is, it often seems that we’re more considerate of strangers than our own family members. And because I usually have ample examples of how I failed to demonstrate a fruit of the Spirit, here’s one for gentleness.

A couple of weeks ago, I needed to address a situation with one of our daughters. It was only a minor issue, but I was a bit worked up. (Can you say extreme emotions???) I walked into her room ready for a confrontation. My tone and my words were harsher than they should have been. And after it was over (sadly, instead of before), I realized that I could have accomplished the same thing – actually probably a better outcome – if I’d had a kind tone and gentle words.

In fact, don’t we all respond better when we’re spoken to with gentle words? Even when confrontation needs to happen, we can still approach it in a gentle manner.

Note Jesus’ gentleness found in one of my favorite New Testament stories shared in John 8:1-11. The Pharisees bring before Him a woman caught in the act of adultery. After her accusers leave the scene, convicted about their own sin, Jesus says to her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” He addresses her sin problem, yet offers compassion and forgiveness.

I want the gentleness of Christ to shine through when I interact with others. I found this quote at Focus on the Family. “It [gentleness] is a tender, compassionate approach toward others’ weaknesses and limitations.” So this fruit of the spirit will allow our hearts to be tender to the hurts and burdens of others. We will speak the truth kindly and with love.

So, upon further examination, I think we’d agree that gentleness is a powerful fruit. May we allow God’s Holy Spirit to let it show forth in our lives as we deal with our husbands, children, and all of those around us today. Let’s pray that our lives will be marked by the same tenderness and compassion that Jesus showed.

You Can’t Measure Hard, and You Can’t Measure Grace

January 30, 2018 by Tracey 6 Comments

There’s an abundance of hard things in the world around us. People we know and love are struggling or suffering in one way or another. Then there are our own personal trials we must work through.

There’s the hard of a job loss and limited income. There’s the hard of a family member getting a cancer diagnosis. There’s the hard of infertility, a wayward child, a physical limitation, or an unexpected tragedy.

I remember the hard of carrying a baby in my womb – a baby that kicked and moved A LOT – and knowing that she’d never live to grow up. There was the hard of random cashiers asking when you were due, not knowing what that date would bring for you. That was my hard in one season of life.

But what about a mom who’s lost her teenager in a car accident? How about the wife whose husband of 56 years just passed away? We all have hard, and there’s no point comparing.

‘Cause just like you can’t measure hard, you can’t measure grace.

Whatever’s hard for you and I today, God has the grace to get us through it. We don’t have to handle hard on our own.

We can't measure the hard things all around us, nor can we measure God's grace.

He tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that His grace is sufficient. Sufficient means enough to fully meet the need.

Isn’t that amazing? His grace isn’t going to fall short. My situation’s not going to be the one where there’s just not quite enough grace to cover it. A lack of heaven-sent grace to keep me going is not a problem I have to worry about. He will provide the grace I need today, tomorrow, and for every day in the future.

That verse also tells us that His strength is made perfect in weakness.

Relying on our own strength when we face difficulty is often our default method. But, if you’re like me, you know that doesn’t get us very far.

Instead, we can choose to admit our weakness, our lack of ability to handle the situation, and allow God to supply us with His strength. What a trade – my weakness for His strength!!

So whatever’s hard for you today, take it to God. Know that His grace is there for you. Admit your weakness. Lean into His strength. Let Him be glorified, whatever the outcome. And give Him thanks for His always sufficient, immeasurable grace.

“Hurry up, and Bring the Bill” ~ Not My Finest Patience Moment

January 26, 2018 by Tracey 5 Comments

So last week we talked about being longsuffering. I briefly mentioned longsuffering’s close relative, patience. (I like the distinction between the two I once heard – that longsuffering relates to how you deal with people, while patience is how you deal with things or circumstances.) Since I had a glaring real-life example of lack of patience in the past week, I thought I’d dig into this topic a little more.

Let’s lay some groundwork, like checking out this dictionary definition of patience – “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” If I could master that, I think I’d be much closer to spiritual maturity!

I’m guessing that patience isn’t a natural reaction for most of us. With our busy lives, getting things done and at as a fast a speed as possible is of primary importance. So with that introduction, here’s my latest story of patience run dry.

Last Friday night, after our daughters’ basketball game, they headed off with friends to a birthday party sleepover. My husband and I decided a nice dinner was in order, so I went online and put us on the wait list of a nearby restaurant. We still had a bit of a wait when we arrived, but got a table after about 20 minutes.

It was already late and we were hungry. And the wait to get our food was probably one of the slowest we’ve ever experienced. I don’t know if most of the kitchen staff had already left or what the issue was. As we waited for our meal, the restaurant started clearing out, so it’s not like they were overrun with customers any longer.

Overall, other than complaining to my husband (which I did repeatedly) (and it’s not like that doesn’t count as impatience!) I thought I held it together pretty well. Until dessert. Yes, we wanted dessert, and made sure to order it even before we finished our meal in hopes that it would arrive by the time we were done eating. Yeah, not happening.

Finally a guy brought our dessert out. As soon as he set it down on the table, I asked if he could have our server bring our ticket as quickly as possible. It was way past my bedtime and I was ready to go home! I’m sure he sensed my frustration. At least she did take care of that quickly, but I had already lost my patience with the whole experience.

Of course, I was convicted about this later, and had to ask forgiveness. I wish this was an out-of-the-ordinary story for me, but sadly, it’s not. That’s just a little thing, one of those daily examples that you might can relate to.

But how about when we’re facing a real trouble or prolonged suffering? How impatient are we to get through whatever situation the Lord has us in? Instead of waiting on God to teach us a lesson or work out a solution for His glory, don’t we just want Him to hurry up and deliver us?

Little circumstances or big ones, our struggle with patience is often about timing – what we want the timing to look like, and whether or not we’re willing to surrender to His timing for our lives. Big, big thoughts to ponder there.

When it comes to patience, Romans 12:12 gave me a lot to chew on.

“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;”

I thought there were several key words in this verse that could help us grow in patience.

Rejoicing

It’s easier to be patient when we’re living in joy and being grateful. Looking around at all we’ve been given helps us focus on how blessed we already are. It can lead us to trust that God is working currently just as He has in the past.

Hope.

When a trial comes and we’re tempted to be impatient, we should remember that God is in control. He has allowed this situation to come into our life. There’s a reason why He has us here, and we can trust that the outcome will be best for us.

Tribulation.

Just know it’s coming. My trial will look different than yours, but we all are going to face difficulties. Each one is an opportunity to grow in our faith and our patience!

Prayer.

I’ve mentioned that prayer is a special emphasis of mine for 2018. We can pray for acceptance of God’s timing, and definitely for the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of patience in our lives!

Finally, a few quotes that help me visualize what patience should look like in my life.

“Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.” – Barbara Johnson

“Regardless of how much patience we have, we would prefer never to use any of it.” – James T. O’Brien

“Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you, but not in one ahead.” – Bill McGlashen

With the Holy Spirit’s help, I trust that I can see more victory in this area of patience!

Will You Need This Fruit of the Spirit Today?

January 16, 2018 by Tracey 6 Comments

Today I’m getting back on track with our study on the fruit of the Spirit.

We’ve come to the fourth one, which is longsuffering. I really don’t like the words long and suffering put together. If I got to choose, I’d prefer a word like “shortsuffering!”

Over Christmas break, my older daughter and husband had the stomach flu. As I “nursed” them, I was very interested in noting how long they were actually ill. Was it running 12 hours, 24, or more?

Thankfully for both of them, it was only about 12 hours of actually being sick to their stomach. In case I came down with it, I wanted to know exactly how long it would last. I felt like I could make it through if I just knew when it would end! (And thankfully, our younger daughter and I never caught it!)

Obviously that’s not exactly what it means when we talk about longsuffering in a Biblical sense. According to this site, the word longsuffering is made up of two Greek words that literally mean “long tempered.” I also like the dictionary definition which says, “having or showing patience in spite of troubles, especially those caused by other people.” So basically it’s having a long fuse instead of a short one.

God is longsuffering to us; let's show that same trait to others.

As with all of the fruit we’ve examined, God sets the example. He is the epitome of longsuffering. How thankful we should be that Exodus 34:6 describes Him as “…The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”

God is not impatient with me. Psalm 86:15 says, “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” In my flesh, I sin and give Him so many reasons to give up on me. Yet He continues to extend grace, mercy, and compassion toward me.

So if I want to become more like Jesus, I need to be longsuffering. I once heard someone say that longsuffering relates to how you deal with people, while patience is how you deal with things or circumstances. The verses below definitely deal with how we’re to be longsuffering toward others. In fact, we’re commanded to act that way.

“With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;” ~Ephesians 4:2

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” “ ~Colossians 3:12

Do you see a similarity between these verses? What word is close to the word “longsuffering” both times? Mmhmm…it’s meekness. It seems to be tied in with longsuffering.

Perhaps I’m more longsuffering when I see my own weaknesses clearly. When I’m not prideful or worried about defending my own rights, it’s easier to be longsuffering. Putting others ahead of myself leads me to be tolerant and forgiving. (Ouch, stepping on my own toes here!!) But meekness is another fruit of the Spirit that we’ll get to later!

As wives and mothers, the opportunities to be longsuffering within our families arise almost daily. Sure, there are moments when I feel justified over losing my temper or showing my frustration. But that’s now how God is. When I think about how God is so longsuffering with me, I have no excuse to be irritated or provoked.

As we go through our day, may we yield to the Holy Spirit in those moments of irritation, and allow Him to produce longsuffering in us!

How I Want God to Answer My Prayers

January 9, 2018 by Tracey 4 Comments

Today finally feels like the beginning of the new year. Our girls headed back to school after a two-week Christmas break, plus an extra day off due to lingering ice from the snowstorm that came through last week.

It was a really good, much-needed couple of weeks of rest and family time. We watched movies, played games, and ate a few too many sweets! Now it’s back to early morning wake-up times and regular routines. The house seems mighty quiet today.

Several years ago, I started writing out a monthly prayer list for my family. On a page in my journal (fancy way of saying my notebook), I write each person’s name. Underneath, I list five specific prayer requests for that person for that month. For example, my husband has two out-of-town business trips in January, so two of my prayer requests for him revolve around those trips. (If you’re interested, you can read in more detail about how I make my prayer list here.)

While reading my Bible last month, I came to Psalm 143:1. Though I’ve read that particular verse many times, it spoke to me in a new way that morning.

“Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.”

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I’m now writing this verse at the top of my prayer list each month. It’s a daily reminder that I want God to hear my prayers and to answer them according to His faithfulness and righteousness.

We all want God to hear and answer our prayers. I love how the Psalmist here just asks God to “listen to my prayer.”

He uses the word “supplication,” which has the idea of asking for something earnestly and humbly. That right there should be our attitude when we come to God in prayer. We have humble hearts, and sincerely ask for our needs to be met. We don’t approach His throne lightly, acting like we deserve to have our prayers answered.

But what really got me was the way David asks for his prayer be answered. He wants God to answer in His faithfulness and in His righteousness.

So what does that look like?

Well, let’s look at the faithfulness aspect first.

God is constant and dependable. He is faithful to His character, Who He is. His goodness, mercy, and grace are continually evident in the way He chooses to answer our prayers.

God is also faithful to always do what is best for us. Isn’t that how we want God to answer each request? He is all-knowing, so we can trust that He will do what is going to be best for us.

And I love that this faithfulness involves God’s promises. I want God to answer my prayer according to the promises that I find in the Bible. And because He is faithful, I know He will. For example, if I pray, “Lord, please be with me when I go to this doctor’s appointment that I’m nervous about,” I know He will go with me. How? Because He says in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”

How about God answering my prayer according to His righteousness?

God always does what is right. He is pure, He is just, He is holy. No matter how I might want my prayer answered humanly speaking, the best answer comes through the filter of God’s character. All that He does is right. If my prayer is answered according to His righteousness, I know it will be the perfect answer. I don’t have to worry that God might get it wrong this time. It will be correct.

Will it always be the answer I want? Probably not. Maybe what I’m asking for is not good for me or for the person I’m praying for. Do I want God to answer it my way anyway? No! He by far knows what the best answer is for that request and what will bring Him glory. I see in the short-term; He has eternity in view.

How thankful I am that we have a God who hears us when we pray! We can trust that He will answer our prayers according to His faithfulness and righteousness.

A New Year’s Update – and My One Goal (so far!) for 2018

January 3, 2018 by Tracey 4 Comments

Happy 3rd day of 2018!! Hope you and your family enjoyed welcoming in the New Year!

As for us, we had an interesting end to 2017 and beginning of 2018.

Our family kept our regular Christmas Eve tradition of going downtown for dessert and to walk through Charleston Place hotel to look at the decorations and take photos.

Christmas morning was just our family at our house. Everyone seemed pleased with their presents! We traveled up to Virginia that afternoon to spend a couple of days with my family.

During our trip back home, our older daughter started with a stomach virus, which spread to my husband on Friday. I had some flu-like symptoms on Thursday, but thankfully never got the stomach-bug part of it! We’re actually not sick often, so hopefully we’ll be well for quite a while now!

The last week has been a nice mix of time at home and activities out of the house – like attending the wedding of our daughters’ piano teacher and a nice New Years’ Eve party. I’m really enjoying the family time – and we have lots of it today! Some freezing rain and snow moving through our area means we’ll all be together in the house 24/7!

Since our girls don’t go back to school until Monday, I’m still in holiday mode. I haven’t thought too much about goals for the new year.

But I have set one goal so far, and it has to do with prayer. The older I get, the more I realize the importance of prayer. I have so little control over mine and my families’ lives, yet God is in control of it all.

While I’ve read Psalm 143:1 many times before, it stood out to me when I came across it recently. I’m now writing it at the top of my monthly prayer list each month.

“Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.”

(I’m putting together a post about what I’m learning from that verse, and hope to publish it soon.)

So my one goal for 2018 right now is to read one book a month about prayer. I’m hoping this will help me learn more about the spiritual discipline of prayer as well as keep me focused on it throughout the year.

Here’s a list of the books I hope to read.

1. Prayer 101: Experiencing the Heart of God by Warren Wiersbe

2. Praying God’s Word by Beth Moore

3. E.M Bounds on Prayer

4. 31 Prayers for My Husband by Jennifer Smith

5. Prayer, the Great Adventure by Dr. David Jeremiah

6. When Mothers Pray by Cheri Fuller

7. A Call to Prayer by J.C. Ryle

8. The Prayer That Changes Everything by Stormie Omartian

9. Handle with Prayer by Charles Stanley

10. Anything: The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul by Jennie Allen

11. Prayer: Communing with God in Everything by A.W. Tozer