Day 19 of the Psalms in 60 Days
Today’s Reading: Psalms 45-47
Scripture: Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Observation: True strength and comfort come from the true God. And He’s always there for us.
Application: Two weeks ago my study group decided to honor the National Day of prayer by spending more of our meeting time in prayer than we normally do.
I brought a spiral notebook and a stack of emails, blog comments and my own notes and flipped through the requests, journaling and praying about each and every one for about an hour. And then I prayed throughout the day here and there for many of those requests again, as well as any other requests that came to me.
The next week, after dropping my kids to school, I headed straight for my church’s prayer room, equipped with a few more requests, my to-do list, Bible and a spiral notebook. I prayed over my reading, all those requests and asked for wisdom in prioritizing and adjusting my to-do list. I marveled at how wonderful I felt and what a difference it made to pray outside of my house, undistracted by laundry, emails, and so many other tasks calling out to me.
I launched into my day after that much more clear-headed than I had been in a very long time. When I was hit with a bunch of garbage later that day I felt much better-equipped.
Do I have a packed schedule and feel like every second counts and like I have too many to-dos than I can manage? Yes! Did the thought of sitting still and just praying, not really accomplishing anything, seem a bit indulgent to me? Yes.
But did that time turn into being the most important thing I did that day and possibly that week? I would say a resounding YES! And I would say I did accomplish quite a lot.
He heard my cries and became my refuge. He listened to my concerns and gave me strength. He was there and He got me ready for what was to come.
And so today I’ll be heading back for another session of prayer out of my house, where I can just focus on Him and present my requests and then really, really listen.
If there is any way you can find a way to do this, I would strongly recommend it. How will I do this once school is out? I haven’t quite figured it out. But I will today. Because I bet God will tell me when I meet with him in a few hours.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for being my strength and my refuge and giving me what I need. Thank you for calling our prayer meetings and enabling me to hear that invitation and respond. I’m looking forward to our undistracted time together in just a bit. See ya then :) Please guide others in taking this time, as well. What a difference that would make!
Tomorrows Reading: Psalms 48-50
For the entire Psalms in 60 Days reading schedule, visit Ruth in the Desert. I’ve printed her schedule and am using it as a bookmark in my Bible as we read together. Feel free to jump in and join us today!
Wondering what SOAP is? I’d love to explain…
I’m linking this post to Works for Me Wednesday because setting aside the time and getting out of the house for dedicated prayertime really has been working for me. And I know it can work for you, too.
And, on that note… do you have any prayer requests for me this morning? It would be my honor to pray for you.
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