A MONTH OF PRAYING THE WORD: Day 11: Part 3

PRAYING THE WORD EFFECTIVELY

In Part 2 today, I stressed that reading the Bible daily gives you yet another opportunity to Pray the Word. It helps you to get to the point that you pray without ceasing and to meditate on the Word of God morning, noon, and night. However, with Bible reading comes a couple of issues...

Let's be real. None of us read the Bible or know it like we could or should. Yes. even Bible scholars would agree with what I just said. The Bible is the Living Word. Every single time we read it, we go to the text with a new and different perspective. Therefore, every time we read it, we see it differently and learn new things about the Word of God. (Yes. Every time--even if you read the bible every 90 days.) 

Now, I hope you see why it is even more critical for you to be in the Word of God. Not only does that give you the opportunity to pray as you read it, but it will help you know the story of each verse, its context, and how to pray more effectively because of that knowledge. If you read a verse, but haven't read the Bible recently (if at all) from cover to cover, you could take it out of context and you could be disobeying God in the process. Let me drive this point home. 

WARNING! DANGER! DO NOT PULL FORWARD! HALT!

Read Matthew 5:30 at this time. 

Matthew 5:30 says to cut off your right hand and throw it away if it causes you to stumble. 

If you never read anything else from the Bible, you might take that literally! When it isn't literal. It's a figure of speech being used to make a point. You might think that this is an extreme example. But, it really isn't. If you haven't been in the Bible from cover to cover recently, you could be taking each and every verse you read out of context. Do you here the danger here? I wish I could flash neon signs in front of you and scream, "WARNING! WARNING! You are about to get hurt!" But, alas, I cannot. So, you need to do the same for yourself... as I am being with myself as I type this. 

BIBLE IN A YEAR 

So, this is where reading the Bible in a year comes in to the equation. 

Will you commit with me to read the Bible through this year? Please pray on it. See where God leads you with this endeavor. Keep in mind, you will NOT get as much out of Praying the Word unless you do--sometime. 

Commit to something at least. Whether it's the Bible in 90 days, 6 months, a year, 2 years, or 3 years... Commit. That will help your prayer life in ways I cannot even begin to express. 

PRAYING THE WORD

~*~ Read Psalm 119:9-32. Linger on 5 verses from there which speak to you the most. Pray these verses the next 24 hours. Make sure to journal everything you think, pray, and talk with God about. Also, journal what he says to you.

As you do that, make sure to ask God what HE wants you to commit to. Do not choose what you want. Also, do not commit to what you feel comfortable with. Make it a challenge, but a doable one. Go a little beyond your comfort zone. But, again  Commit. It will help you continue praying the Word and will bless your socks off! I promise. 

~*~ Journal what happens as you pray about what Bible reading plan you want to commit to and what happens between you and God the next 24 hours as you pray about that and pray the 5 verses from Psalm 119:9-32. 

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith
Find my books at/store: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction 

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A MONTH OF PRAYING THE WORD: DAY 11 PART 2: Other tips for Praying the Word

SERIOUSLY?

At this point, you might wonder how to pray without stopping and how exactly to meditate on the Bible morning, noon, and night--while you carry on with life as normal. You have demands in your life. You either are going to school, have a job, raising children, fill in the blank, or doing a variety of all of the above. So, how is this really feasible? Is it? Seriously.

IT'S POSSIBLE

It is realistic. It's actually quite realistic. God would not give us those commands in Psalm 1:2,1 Thessalonians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Philippians 2:5, and Ephesians 4:6-8 if it wasn't possible. That's not how God works. 

SO, HOW EXACTLY? (TIPS):

So, how else can you get to the point of praying and being in the word 24/7/365 (16+ hours a day)?

Here are a few tips:

A Be in Adult Sunday School.

B Be in a small group Bible study.

C Do individual Bible study.

D Go to church Sundays and Wednesday nights (even if it's two different churches).

E But most importantly, read the Bible EVERY day. As a matter of fact, I recommend ideally reading the Bible cover to cover (in whatever order you choose) every year. Every two years might be more feasible for you. Or, worst case scenario, every three years. After all, our minds are easily distracted and our memories are not what they could be or should be. Therefore, we will forget the in's and out's of everything we read. Journaling as we read helps diminish this, but we still forget. Therefore, in order to be able to keep the bible in context, and not pray the Word incorrectly because we do, it's important to have the Bible fresh in and on your mind. Reading the Bible all the way through helps with that endeavor. There will be more to follow in Part 3 of Day 11.

JOURNAL:

~*~ Lord, reveal to me new ways, even with the things I do already, to help me to pray 24/7/365. Journal what he tells you. 

~*~ How else can you steal time for God?

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith
Find my books at/store: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction 

A MONTH OF PRAYING THE WORD: Day 11

Today, we are going to start to do a daily topical study about meditating on the Word of God... which is Praying the Word. That reminds me. I want to give you all sorts of synonyms of 'Praying the Word' so you can find other resources if you ever want them. Other words for Praying the Word are:

A Meditating on the Word

B Pondering the Word

C Contemplative Prayer (or the Prayer of Contemplation)

D The Prayer of the Heart

E Praying the Word back to God (is a phrase you might here)

F Lectio Divina

TOPICAL STUDY

There are 18 verses with 'meditate' in them and I have this additional verse for today. So, that's 19 verses and we have 19 days left in this study. That's perfect. It's also God's plan. I added a lesson to this book (Day 10) I hadn't anticipated--without even realizing I had 19 verses for us to study. I love how God works. 

PSALM 63:6

Look up this verse in your favorite translation of the Bible and read it. 

~*~ Journal your summary of Psalm 63:6 at this time.

Here is my paraphrased, personalized prayer of this verse: 

When on my couch or in my bed and think of or remember you, Lord, I will meditate on you throughout the night.

This verse describes the importance of nighttime prayer. However, we also know we are to do this morning, noon, and night. 

You have got to love the Psalms and David. The Book of Psalms is one big book o use for Praying the Word--and so is Proverbs. But, Psalms is David's prayer book. We learn how he rpayed through the Psalms. What a special book.

Did you know your journal is your Book of Psalms? It's your prayer book you are writing. 

So, here are a couple of questions for your journal:

~*~ How can you write more of your own Psalms? 

~*~ What are you doing to remember and think of God and his Word? 

~*~ What do you need to do in order to increase your time of Praying the Word to 16+ hours a day (continually)?

~*~ What is working for you already?

~*~ What verses have spoken to you most since day 1 of this study?

~*~ What verses do you want to repeat?

~*~ What has God said to you?

~*~ What have you said to God?

~*~ How has your life been changed through Praying the Word?

THE NEXT 24-HOURS

As usual, your Praying the Word goal is a 3-fold choice for the next 24-hours:

A Pick your own verses.

B Use Appendix A.

C Use 365 Days book. 

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith

A MONTH OF PRAYING IN THE WORD: Day 10 and being hit with obstacles and distractions

We are moving right along. It's Day 10 already. Where does the time go? I am excited, nonetheless, to keep going and see where God takes us. (Trust me. I am on this ride just as much as you. I do my best to allow God to reveal to me what to write, after all. I want my words to be HIS words.)

BEING HIT

I do not know about you, but I've always noticed that the more I get into God's Word, and the more loyal my faith becomes, the more I am hit with obstacles, distractions, and life challenges. Or, the people around me start to go through them more. 

I also think that my awareness increases as God reveals things for me to take to him. 

My heart is breaking for a friend right now who has been hit with some of those challenges. I just found out and I wish I could give her a hug, but there's physical distance there. Sigh. (I know what I am going to be praying today--and beyond.)

~*~ But, how about you? Have you been hit with any of these things? Or has your awareness increased because God's softening your heart so you can find more opportunities to pray? How about both? Please write your response in your journal. Whatever God puts on your heart to take to him... Do so at this time. Then, we will move forward. 

PLAN CHANGE

I had this lesson set for tomorrow. But, I have the impression it's needed more today. So, here we go. I cannot help but wonder if you need the lesson today just as badly as I do. 

A CHRISTMAS VERSE

It's now the Christmas season and I cannot help but think of one of my all-time favorite verses. After all, we learn a great deal about the character of our Lord in the verse. Of course, I turn to it all year long. But, it's associated with Christmas and with the birth of Jesus Christ, nonetheless. 

Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 9:6 at this time and read it. Then journal the following:

~*~ What did you learn about Jesus from these verses?

~*~ Why do you think this is included here by me in verses about the importance of praying the Word?

~*~ Which name and characteristic jumps out at you today and why?

~*~ Go through the rest of the characteristics and names of Jesus and describe how they can be useful to you today (this week, month, etc.)

ISAIAH 9:6

Here is my paraphrased, personalized, prayer version of the verse:

Jesus is: Everlasting Father, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, and Mighty God. 

He will always be a Father to me.

He is a counselor to turn to for wisdom and advice. 

He offers me peace when my spirit knows none.

He has great strength to offer me when needed and will protect me and those I love. 

WHY WAS ISAIAH 9:6 INCLUDED HERE?

Just those four qualities of Jesus can be pondered daily for the rest of our lives. That's why. 

He is the Word made flesh (John 1:1), and given that, the Word offers us those qualities as well. Do you want the Father? Turn to the Word. Do you want a counselor of wisdom? Turn to the Word. Do you need a sense of peace? Turn to the Word. Do you need strength and protection--or those you love? Turn to the Word. 

The Word... Jesus Christ... really is the answer to every problem and every want and need. 

JOURNAL

~*~ What has God said to you today?

~*~ What have you said to God?

~*~ Make a plan to meditate on this verse once a month to every couple of months. 

ISAIAH 9:6 FOR TODAY

Meditate and pray this verse for the next 24 hours. Spend lots of time journaling and talking and listening to the Lord about this verse and his names. 

JUST IN CASE: THREE PRAYING THE WORD OPTIONS

If Isaiah 9:6 isn't speaking to you today, you have three choices. This is true for the rest of this book as well. You have three options:

A You can do the next day in the month of verses provided in Appendix A. 

B You can look at five verses of your own... 

C You can take a look at the 365 DAYS OF PRAYING THE WORD: SCRIPTURE LIST #1 book and start to work on those.

Again, 5 verses a day is just a suggestion. Sometimes, I meditate and pray continually one verse for a couple of weeks. Other times, I have to go through 15 verses. It all depends. The point is to be flexible and see where God leads you. 

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith
Find my books at/store: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction 

A MONTH OF PRAYER: Day 9 Review

PRAYING THE WORD REVIEW TEMPLATE:

RECAP, REVIEW, AND ANALYZING

Every week, I recommend going back through your journal and reviewing what you and God have experienced this week in your life together. 

We are a couple of days late in doing this. However, that's okay. It's appropriate that we waited. We needed to go through what we've gone through so that we can build on what we walked into this study already knowing (or thinking we knew). 

I cannot recommend enough doing this template often. The more you do it, the more you will get out of it. You can do it daily, weekly, every 2-weeks, every month, every 3 months, every year, every 5 years, every decade. I recommend doing this at least monthly. Ideally, weekly. Do the daily whenever you felt lead to do so.

HOW TO USE THE TEMPLATE

A Remember: Praying the Word is a lifelong practice. Even after you finish with this study and book, you will continue to Pray the Word for the rest of your life. Hence, this template is part of that journey. 

B Journals: Make sure to grab your journals and this book. When appropriate, you'll grab all of the books associated with Praying the Word and A Loyal Faith Series (i.e. 365 Days of Praying the Word: Scripture List #1) as well. 

C When you do a template, start from the period of time from your last template. This time, we haven't done one before, so we will start from Day 1 of our journals and A MONTH OF PRAYING THE WORD. 

D Every 6 months, do this template of just the templates from the last 6 months--as well as from your journaling. So, that would be two separate templates. In other words, one would be of the journaling from your last template to now. The other template would be done using the last 6 months of templates. 

~*~ PRAYING THE WORD TEMPLATE

Re-read all book material since your last template. 

Read your journaling since your last template. 

Journal your answers to the following:

1 What verses jumped out to you the most? List them and explain how and why they jumped out to you. Also, make note if you want to pray them more over the next week. 

2 Have you increased your SPT and OPT time?

3 How much time did you spend SPT and OPT on average over the last week? Month? Quarter (3-months)?

4 Has your faith grown? Have you become more loyal in faith to the Lord and his Word? 

5 What has God said to you?

6 What have you said to God?

7 What are you applying to your life that God has said to you and that you have said to God? 

8 Write a summary since your last template. 

9 Pray 5 of these verses for the next 24 hours. List which ones. 

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith
Find my books at/store: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction 

It's rough, and rather non-existent at this point but...: 365 DAYS OF PRAYING THE WORD: SCRIPTURE LIST #1 Blog Version

I just downloaded the first of many of:

365 Days of Praying the Word: Scripture List #1 on Smashwords. 

I only have one verse mentioned so far. But, I have the name reserved and it is now a registered book. So, here we go... 

You can find it at:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/109328

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith

I'm so excited. The 365 project

I have started to compile the list for the 365-day of Praying the Word scriptures. This is an exciting project. I will share them with you as I go. Consequently, I will put them for free on Smashwords so you can start to enjoy the fruit of them right away.

As I work on my A MONTH OF... Books, I will work on this project. I think I will probably download a new version once a week or so. So, it's safe to say every Friday after 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, you can download the latest copy.

I want us to have every opportunity and advantage to pray continually and without stopping--as we meditate on the Word of God morning, noon, and night. 

Thanks to this project, I am far more passionate about Praying the Word and I've been pretty passionate about it for years. My faith is being transformed. I pray the same is happening with yours.

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith

A MONTH OF PRAYING THE WORD: Day 8

Good day, friends. We have been at this journey a week now. Can you believe it? I do not know about you, but time is flying and I am starting to wish we had a lot more time than what we have. Therefore, it's important for us to maximize what we get out of "A MONTH OF PRAYING IN THE WORD" study. After all, what we learn here we can apply no matter what. We can do other Bible studies and still be doing this for the rest of our lives. In fact, we can repeat this book every month for the rest of our lives.

Consequently, we need to get to some of the deeper stuff now. We want to make sure we get the most out of this and do not get bored. We also need to see the relevance and learn what the Bible has to say about this.

Let's take a look at Romans 12:2. 

ROMANS 12:2 AND THE PULLING AND ENTRAPMENT OF THE WORLD

~*~ Please take a look at it in your Bible and write a summary in your own words of what it says. 

The world tends to grab hold of us and influence our lives, doesn't it? What gets me is how it does so when we do not even realize it has a hold of us. It fights dirty and gets our eyes off of what is really important and what really matters. The world, and everything in it, steals our attention and affections. 

~*~ Write your thoughts in your journal about the world and how it tends to snag you. (Need I mention distractions, busyness, doubt, depression, finances, shopping, people, ideas, customs, etc.?)

This is why we are told in Romans 12:2 not to allow the world to shape or conform us. We are to overcome it. But, how? What does that look like? Romans 12:2 provides us with the answer. 

We are to think differently and have our minds and thoughts renewed. What does renewed mean? It means an entire change of mind. It means changing the way we think. 

~*~ Write your thoughts about the changing of your thought patterns.

HOW DO WE CHANGE OUR THOUGHTS?

I do not know about you, but some thoughts pop into my mind and consume me. I get obsessed about something--rather silly and pointless. Or, doubt starts to creep in about something or someone. And, of course the doubt is not founded at all. The enemy knows which buttons to push. I get reminded of tough times in the past and they can play with my mind. Or, I worry. I fret. I stress about deadlines. 

Ugh. So, you see, my mind can be very undisciplined at times. I lose my self-control and need to regroup. 

What we are learning from this book is the answer for overcoming the effects of this world. We replace our thoughts with Scripture. In other words, we pray the Word. If we pray the Word, and do so 16+ hours a day, we do not have time for the worldly stuff to consume us. And, if it threatens to get in our minds again, we can combat it with--you guessed it--with praying the Word.

Can you think of anything better for us to think than the Word of God, the Holy Bible? 

~*~ Please write your thoughts now.

~*~ What has God said to you? What is he saying to you?

~*~ What are you saying to God?

It's that easy.

Now, do you see why we worked on planning yesterday? Do you see why I've given you in APPENDIX A a month of Scripture and Praying the Word Outline? 

~*~ How can you change your thoughts and renew your mind with Praying the Word? Make an action plan to overcome the impact of this world on your life and in your mind. 

DAY 4 FROM THE OUTLINE

Do Day 4 from the outline of Praying the Word in APPENDIX A for the next 24 hours, please. Add Romans 12:2 to it as well. Also, make sure to journal and listen to the Lord and his promptings. 

*** By the way, I will most likely write at least one additional (if not more) book each year on Praying the Word, along with the 365-Day book.

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith
Find my books at/store: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction