• Praying God’s Word Wednesday #41: Isaiah 52:6

    ByLauren Bible reading, Christian, Jesus, prayer, provision, Rescue, salvation
    24 Comments

    <a class=Isaiah 52:6" width="300" height="300" />In the book of Isaiah, chapter 52, Isaiah prophesies of hope in Christ the Redeemer and the glory of His coming kingdom.  Israel, God’s chosen people, had been enslaved, abused and mistreated.  With their eyes on their circumstances, they questioned God, disappointed Him and oftentimes turned their backs on Him.  But in Isaiah 52:6, a time is foretold when the slaves will be redeemed and clothed as kings.

     

    “Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.'”  Isaiah 52:6 NASB

     

    Our God has many names.  He is called Father, The Beginning and the End, The God Most High, The God Who Sees, God Almighty, The Creator, The Self-Existent One, The Lord our Provider, The Lord our Healer, and on and on.

     

    Upon reading this verse, the simple words formed a very profound prayer for me. 

    When praying for someone to know His name(s), we in essence ask for God to reveal every aspect of His nature to our loved one.

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    And for that person to understand Him as such.  Let the enormity of that sink in for a moment.

     

    In using the second part of the verse, when we ask for God to speak “Here I am”, we are also actually asking for the object of our intercession to know God well enough to recognize His voice in a sea of others.  And we also ask for God to draw near.  So much spiritual depth in one sentence of scripture.  So let’s pray.

     

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    Replace the name and pronouns with the appropriate ones for the person (or yourself) that you are praying for.

     

    Praying for you in this.  And don’t forget to share on social media or with a friend who could benefit.  It would mean so much to me.  And if you don’t want to miss a Praying God’s Word Wednesday, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.

    Lauren

     

     

  • Word of the Year Update: Not What I Had in Mind!

    ByLauren Christian, Grace & Truth Link Up, trusting God
    32 Comments

    Word of the YearEarlier this year I wrote about my one word focus for 2022.  Rest.  As in, rest in the Lord.  It seemed to go hand in hand with the word I still struggle with from last year:  Trust.  Plus with my husband undergoing cancer treatments, I need God’s all-encompassing peace more than ever before.

     

    I bought a Faithful Life Planner.  I haven’t historically used a planner, but I love it (not an affiliate, btw).  And I have filled it with scriptures and prayers about resting and trusting.  I’m also planning my days during my time with Him and find it helps me keep Him at the forefront as I check off my to-do’s.

     

    That’s what I had in mind when I chose the word Rest.  Definitely not what I have now – 2 bulging discs at L4 and L5 that sit on top of my sciatic nerve!  So guess what?  I can’t do anything.  Heavy pain meds flow through my blood stream.  I have been sitting or sleeping on a recliner for days, and I had a sedated injection.

     

    So Not What I Had in Mind!

     

    Before getting my prescription pain meds I had bouts of sobbing and wailing and begging my husband to take me to the ER.  I wish I was exaggerating.  It was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my life.  And I have endured many surgeries.  You can’t touch nerve pain.  No rubbing or changing of position helped.  So I am afraid to get off of the pain meds just yet.  I can’t go back to that.  Therefore, I have slept a lot.  Rested, if you will.

     

    Not what I had in mind, God.  Especially right now.  It is killing me that my husband is having to wait on me and our special needs daughter between his radiation and chemo appointments.  How is this fair at all?  I need to be taking care of Chuck.  Not the other way around.

     

    God gave me the word “rest”.  But He didn’t ask me how I wanted to learn about it.  So I’m back to trust. 

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    Trusting that the kids and the house will be taken care of.  That Chuck’s treatments are killing the cancer cells in his body.  Trusting the doctors making the decisions for Chuck and me.  And trusting that God can heal us both – medically or supernaturally.

     

    So if you need me, I’ll be in my recliner.  Reading, watching TV, praying, resting.

     

    “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
    Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
     “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    So are My ways higher than your ways
    And My thoughts than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9 NASB

     

    And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

     

    After this whiny post, you will not be surprised that Theresa Boedeker’s How to Stop Focusing on What’s Wrong With You struck me right between the eyes.  She says…

    “Because when we are complaining, we are not praising.

    When we are whining, we can’t be grateful.

    When we are wanting, we are not satisfied.

    And when we are criticizing, we can’t be thankful.”

     

    I can’t stop thinking about the entire article and the adjustments I need to make personally to my attitude.  Please read it.  It may be just the gentle encouragement you need too!

     

    1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

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    TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
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