PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• A few months ago, I shared that as part of my morning devotion time, I started reading spiritual growth books.
I love these books but they aren’t the genre I typically reach for at the end of a day when I want to read.
So morning is definitely working…
And about a week before my son’s accident, I did something I almost never do with this genre—I reread one of them.
It was Max Lucado’s “Anxious for Nothing.”
The timing for which was no coincidence given my son’s stay in the ICU later that week.
While I did wrestle with anxiety during that time, I had some Biblical truths that were fresh on my mind to help me through things.
And after that whole dilemma, I read Charles Stanley’s book, “Handle with Prayer,” which has helped point me to some Scriptures I needed to strengthen my prayer life for some current prayer concerns.
Last week in my Bible reading, I read Psalm 73.
The next morning, I was invited to go to hear Beth Moore speak in Roanoke, VA for the Living Proof Live Conference.
Little did I know that she would teach on Psalm 73.
Her teaching was on the topic, “My Feet Almost Slipped,” and she based it on seven principles found in the Psalm.
And through it, she shed light on a situation I pray over every single day, multiple times a day.
Concurrently, I’m wrestling with a situation that is counter to my belief system.
And as I’ve struggled to handle it, a few days ago, I started reading Chris Hodges’ book, “The Daniel Dilemma.”
This morning, I found the answer I needed in a passage cited about Daniel’s response to a similar situation.
This morning, I also read Psalm 81.
Verse 8 says, “Listen, my people, and I will admonish you. Israel, if you would only listen to me!”
Admonish means several things—rebuke, chastise, warn, but it also means counsel, guide, and advise.
God is speaking.
And if I replace the word “Israel” in the verse, I can personalize it.
“Listen, my people, and I will admonish you. Denise, if you would only listen to me!”
Your name works too.
All around us, God is speaking, admonishing us to redirect us, warn us, correct us, advise us, and counsel us.
If only we would listen to Him.
This Psalm is about how the Israelites were rescued from Egypt and yet their defiant, stubborn hearts rejected God, despite all He did for them.
They were first-generation witnesses to miracles we read about centuries later!
If they can be blinded, certainly we can.
That’s why we have to be open to the ways God speaks to us—through Scripture or other people’s Biblical wisdom.
It wasn’t until this morning that I made all the dotted line connections of how God is speaking to me in my life.
He can be subtle (remember, He spoke to Elijah with a still, small voice—1 Kings 19).
That’s why we have to be still and listen.
Today, as you pray, thank God that He still speaks to us.
He’s still performing miracles in our lives.
Ask the Holy Spirit to give your heart eyes and ears to see and listen to God when He speaks.
Ask Him to remind you to give credit where it’s due when He does.
