Happy Friday, friends.
When my daughters were young, we tried to follow a nightly routine. As a single mom, this structure helped us maintain our sanity. Part of our night included prayer time. I would ask the girls for requests and pray over each one. We’d pray for friends, grandparents, teachers and dogs.
That was our happy routine, until the night one of my daughters asked if I’d pray for someone who badly hurt me. A sick feeling swept over me. I wrote the name down in our journal and somehow made it through the prayer. But I felt like a fraud. I went through the motions of praying, yet had no idea what came out of my mouth. I thought I replaced hurt and anger with healing and forgiveness, but that’s not what I felt in the moment.
I went to my room, fell on my face, and asked God to search my heart. “God, what’s wrong with me? Show me why it’s still so hard to even speak their name.” As I soaked in God’s presence through prayer, He uncovered places in my heart that were not healed. He showed me where I still needed to grow. Boy, that was scary! Anyone else fear the thought of God exposing your pain or showing you where you need to grow?
Craig Groeschel tells us on page 43 of Dangerous Prayers:
“As God reveals your fears, He will build your faith.”
Yes, when I prayed search me that night, God revealed my fear of facing my pain. But you know what? He didn't leave me in my fear. Like Craig said, God also began to build my faith so I could face my fear, heal and grow.
How did He do that? How does God build our faith? While there are several ways God builds our faith, there is one in particular I want to share with you — meeting Him in His Word, the Bible.
Here are three simple ways we can meet God in His Word to grow our faith:
Read it: God replaces our fears with promises as we read Scripture. Read a few verses each day, slowly, to yourself, then read them aloud.
Write it: Writing Scriptures gives our hearts time to listen to the Holy Spirit. Leave encouraging verses in places you’ll see during the day as reminders of God’s Truth.
Share it: Talking about God’s Word can build our faith, and others’ faith too. As you talk with family and friends, share what you’re reading and how God is helping you grow.
Ladies, God wants to reveal to us where/how we need to change to be more like Christ. He also wants to build our faith so that our fear doesn't stop us from changing and growing.
Alicia
Let’s Respond!
How are you adding (or will you add) search me to your prayers? What's one step you are taking (or will take) to meet God in His Word, so He can move you from fear, to faith, to change?