Dear Refresh Girls,
Psalm 5:3, “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” No matter where you’re at in your relationship to God prayer is the first step. You don’t need to be good enough to pray. Prayer is simply talking, crying, pleading to God who cares about you and then listening to what he is saying. A wonderful way to talk to Him and especially to hear Him is by praying using His words. I’m going to share with you a simple way to do this. (You can use this method alone or with friends.)
Let’s start with Psalms 103. Simply start by reading a verse or two out-loud. While you’re reading personalize the pronouns.
103:1, “Praise the Lord, O my soul; and all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” Now talk to God about what you read. What do you appreciate about God? Whether you’re feeling happy about your circumstances or not, stop and give Him praise for being a God who desires to have a relationship with you.
If you’re praying with a friend have her read the next couple of verses.
103:2 - 3, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Who forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases,” Now is your friend’s turn to talk to God about what she read. Remember the verses don’t ask you whether you “feel” like praising, they simply tell you to do it.
Take a moment to ponder some of the benefits of knowing God. The first verse was about praising God for who he is, the next couple of verses are about praising Him for what he has done for you. How often we come to God with a list of requests and don’t stop first to remember all He has done for us. Tell Him how very grateful you are that He has forgiven you of your sins. Thank Him for being the only one who can really heal you. What have you been healed from? An illness, a broken heart, a deep wound? Give Him a word of praise or just maybe you need to stop and ask God to heal you or someone else right now.
If you are praying with a friend, both of you might want to say a few words to the Lord before you go to the next set of verses. Continue to take turns through the Psalm. Sometimes you will read a single verse or two and sometimes you may read a small set. Just let the Spirit lead you. If you don’t understand some verses just pass over them and look into them later.
After you pray through a portion of scripture you can finish by talking to Him about whatever else He has laid on your heart.
If you start doing this with regularity you will be surprised at how many times the Lord will have you praying in just the right place and you will find His words meeting your needs and the needs of your friends. Many times I have found that later in the day I will be sharing with a friend the very verses I prayed through earlier. Our God is a personal God and He knows ahead what we need.
I pray this happens to you, let me know!
In Him, Eileen
