Scripture Challenge {Week 9}

Well, this week I have been very behind. Usually I am done with the challenge certainly before Sunday morning; however, as I woke up this morning, my card still had not been created. Wow! But I had waffled back and forth on our word for the week. I didn’t get a clear answer as to what we were to study. I had a word in mind but nothing that I felt like was a confirmation from Him. Then, last night at church as I opened my worship guide, a bright orange piece of paper fell out. It said, “You have been randomly selected to be a worship prayer servant. We hope you will accept this awesome privilege to pray for the worship service today.” Well, there was my confirmation! And what a privilege it was to pray for any distractions to be removed, for the musicians, technical and support staff, for the greeting, for the offering, to put a hunger in our hearts for His Word, to pour His Holy Spirit out on the pastors, and to pray for the benediction. I had never done this during a service, and I tell you it was an awesome privilege. It almost brings tears to my eyes as I think of the awesome experience I had last night. Praise God for that orange piece of paper and for our wonderful word this week:

Week 9 Challenge Word: Prayer

Wow, there are so many directions we could go with prayer. You may spend hours looking into this wonderful word. God always hears and answers our prayers. But something we must remember is that He is Sovereign. He may not answer how we expect and certainly not when we expect. He will answer in His perfect way in His perfect timing. Let's look at some other points regarding prayer.

First, we need a time of prayer each day. Here are some questions you can ask yourself. Who is the subject of your prayer time? Is it all about you and your needs? How much time do you spend in prayer daily? How much of your prayer time is spent in praise and thanksgiving? Do you pray the attributes of God to develop a higher view of Him? Or do you only turn to Him in prayer when you need something or are going through difficult circumstances?

If you are like me, the amount of time you spend in prayer daily is hard to add up. I pray many times throughout the day (in the shower, in the car, anytime something comes up, etc.); however, we also need a time of solitary prayer each day. The Bible tells us that Jesus often prayed alone. Two examples of that are Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” And Luke 5:16 says “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Do you have that daily alone time with God? Is it at the same time each day? Do you pray out loud or quietly in your mind? I know for me praying out loud keeps those other annoying thoughts from creeping in. If you haven't ever tried it, you should.

The scriptures I chose this week are:
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

My card was created using the March Pink Paislee Spring Fling kit from Create My Keepsake. My card did not fit all of the 2nd verse from Romans but it is in my journal along with many other verses I found. Gosh, it's always so hard to just stop at two verses!

I pray you enjoy your study this week. Ask Him what He wants you to learn about prayer. He will show you. I hope you will join our discussions at Create My Keepsake, The Scrapping Spot, Scrapjazz, and Faith Sisters. Posting links to your creations in the discussion threads is a great way to share your cards. Have a great and prayerful week everyone!