Lauren Sparks: The Sparks Notes

A Prayer Primer: Praying with Scripture

ByLauren January 5, 2022December 20, 2021 Bible reading, Christian, prayer

A few weeks ago, our preacher mentioned someone he knew who often prayed for hours on end. Hours. When he asked her how she could possibly pray that long, she mentioned that she was praying scriptures. No matter how many requests on our list, we will eventually reach the end. But the Bible holds more material than most of us could pray through in a year. So here’s a prayer primer (using scripture) from a non-expert.

This is the 40th Wednesday I have devoted this space to praying God’s Word. This practice has been so transformative for me that I definitely want to continue it into the new year. But maybe we need a refresher on it.

I began praying God’s Word as an antidote for my stale prayer life.

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My prayers felt like check lists as I asked for some of the same things over and over again. God, heal Sherry. Lord, forgive me for my selfish attitude toward my husband. Make me a better parent. Grant us wisdom with our finances. Check. Check. And check.

All these prayers are important. I don’t want to belittle them. And I still pray them, but I began to feel like a metronome repeating the same sounds day after day. Until God lead me to turn a single scripture I read into a prayer for my teenager. And He birthed in me a fresh way to relate to Him. I’ve never looked back.

A New Way to Relate

I still study scripture for understanding, but almost always end up praying His words back to Him. Sometimes I’m convicted by a verse and pray a prayer of repentance – asking God to forgive me and help me overcome the sin. Often the passage reminds me of a challenge a loved one faces and I pray the words for him or her. If my daily reading teaches on the attributes of God, I praise and thank the Lord for those things.

2 Timothy 3:16 tells us “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” NIV So I use it in all these ways as I pray!

If you have never prayed scripture, make it a New Year’s Resolution to try! Start small. One day a week. And I’ll make it easy for you. Come back here every Wednesday and we will dissect a passage and pray it together. Or look back over my past Wednesday posts to get started. If you have any questions, comment below or send me a private message by clicking the CONTACT link here or in the heading of this page.

I am already praying FOR you and I can’t wait to pray WITH you.

12 Articles to Inspire You in the New Year: A Roundup

ByLauren December 31, 2021December 27, 2021 Bible reading, blog roundup, Christian, Grace & Truth Link Up, mental health

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Yesterday was National Resolution Planning Day. And also National Bacon Day. Anyone else love irony?

I am no expert on goal setting, organizing or losing weight, but so many of us are looking for ways to do this next year a little better than the last. So I called on some of my friends, and they came through.

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These articles inspire me to set new goals and change mindsets – all for the glory of God.

For easy reference, these blog posts are broken up into 4 categories: Spiritual Growth (first because I consider it the most important), Health, Word for the Year, and Other Improvements. I pray you find something really helpful here.

Spiritual Growth in the New Year

I have already placed an order, and you might too after you see inside this beautiful planner reviewed in Planning for a Faithful Life on instaencouragements.com.
Sara from theholymess.com supplies us with a New Life in Christ Bible Reading Plan. Dive into your time in the Word with intention!
I found this tool new and interesting. Check out the Christian Growth Wheel to Mature Your Faith from thinkaboutsuchthings.com.
The Abundant Life…How to Flourish in a Frazzled World from simplyscripture.org is so self explanatory. And so needed.

Health in the New Year

healthyasyoucan.com tackles arguably one of the most popular resolutions in How to Set and Slay Your Healthy Weight Loss Goals for the New Year.
And I tackled mental health with the help of my friend Stacey – who is a licensed professional counselor – in Saying Goodbye to the Inner Critic.

One Word for the New Year

Many choose a one word focus for the year. A word to study, pray over, meditate on. I chose trust last year and continue to learn so much about depending on the God of the Universe. Lisa from lisanotes.com chronicles 3 Steps to Choose the Right Word. You may not even think you need a word. But maybe you do…
pattyparker.me tells us about picking a Family Word of the Year and what it means to her.

Other Improvements in the New Year

Patty Parker to the rescue again with Living Clutter Free in the New Year: 9 Tips That Will Rock Your World. Who doesn’t want to have their world rocked?
How about some general tips on planning for success? 4 Keys to Planning Your Best Year Ever from livingwithmargins.com.
And How to Beat the Odds and Reach Your Goals This Year from marvasmith.com.
And it may be a little uncomfortable, but Accountability Helps Goals Become a Reality. Thanks angelpenn.com.

And One to Grow on in The New Year

Last year at this time I hosted friend Shannon Pugh writing about evaluating last year before jumping into any of this other stuff in One Minute…Makes a Big Difference!

I would love to know if one of these struck a nerve with you or if you’ve decided to implement a plan or suggestion! Also, do you have any New Year’s traditions? Leave a comment below. And Happy New Year!

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

Fellow Grace and Truth host Lisa Burgess captured my attention with 7 Tools to Overcome Your Addiction to Certainty. Her message nestles right up against my word for 2021. Trust. And I still have so much to learn. Maybe you do 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.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
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Now Let’s Link Up!

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