Journalling
In the mornings I usually pray with a journal. For a long time I’ve made the trip to the local office supply store and buy a half a dozen of these notebooks so I always have one available. I’m sure it’s a bit weird but I love having just the right notebook and a pen that has the “right feel.” I do most of my work in every other area of my life on a laptop or an iPad but somehow I still “pray at the speed of my pen.”
While there are lots of my thoughts written in these notebooks, for the most part of each day you will find phrases or sentences that have touched me as I’ve been reading. They may be very familiar verses that have been a great source of comfort and encouragement over the years or something that seems so new it seems to have been written into the Bible since I last read. In any case, these are words that I want to get written on my heart today and live into today. I don’t want to just know the words and be familiar with what the Bible says, I want God’s word to touch my heart and change the way I look at today and do things today – not because I “have to” do what God says but rather because I’m drawn by God’s great love and promises that enrich my life as I put them into practice.
Often I’ll pick one of those sentences or phrases and take it with me so I think about it a few times as I go through the day. Last week it was an old familiar sentence that struck me in a new way. “Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” I was drawn that day to ask myself what it meant to grow in the grace of Jesus. Am I receiving all that Jesus wants to give me as He generously pours great goodness into my life? Out of the overflow of healing and joy that brings me, how gracious am I to others? How am I responding in my thoughts, my words, my expectations?
I don’t know what your practice is for writing God’s word on Your heart but I pray that You have one and if You don’t that You’ll begin one today. Nothing settles our hearts and minds like the truth of God’s Word. It can be as little as a phrase or a short sentence or something longer that stirs our hearts with encouragement and heals us with the tender love of God.
Today I’ve chosen some of these words I’ve recorded in my journal in August to pray with You as I pray them over myself.
Shout for joy to the Lord,
everyone on earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come to him with songs of joy.
Know that the Lord is God.
He made us,
and we belong to him.
We are his people.
We are the sheep
belonging to his flock.
Psalm 100:1-3
Loving God, we want to come to You today with joy and gladness simply because You are God. You’ve made us and we belong to You. We are Your people and we’re in Your care. What settledness of heart we can having knowing that we are not alone and that we are in the hands of the God who is in control of all things. No matter what happens today, You are here for us and with us and You will take care of us.
Give praise to the God
who is able to keep you
from falling into sin.
He will bring you
into his heavenly glory
without any fault.
He will bring you there
with great joy.
Jude 1:24
We stumble around and don’t always get it right but today we give thanks God that You are with us to give us direction and strength so we don’t have to stumble. In fact, You are committed to doing today with us and every day. You promise to help us grow and change so we become more and more like You until the day when You present us before God – amazingly – without any fault and with great joy. Our hearts are steadied, not by our own efforts and strength, but by Your commitment to work with us – and not to do it in a harsh way but to do it with joy.
Trust in him at all times,
you people.
Tell him all your troubles.
God is our place of safety.
Psalm 62:8
We’re grateful that everything that is going on in our world and in our hearts matters to You. You want to hear all about our troubles and then reassure us truth that reminds us that You are a safe place for us to live in today and forever.
Call out for
the ability to be wise.
Cry out
for understanding.
Proverbs 2:3
And so today, we simply open our hearts to You, God, asking for wisdom only You can give. We do pray for the ability to be wise and to have a proper understanding of what’s going on and how we are to respond to it. Help us to walk well and to be filled with joy as we walk with You today. Amen
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