Saturday, January 14, 2012

A Refreshed, Renewed Soul!

"Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul."
"Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayers, nor His loving kindness from me."
Those are a couple of verses from Psalm Sixty-Six.
I am not certain who God had moved to write these words, but I could have penned them myself.

It is my joy to proclaim God's merciful faithfulness to me.
I am amazed that He inclines His ear to hear the cries of my heart.
But He does!

Mark this day as one of the days where He breaks through my dullness to my aching heart and answers me.
His answer is delivered enveloped in a love that just blows me away!
Just like it does every single time!

This morning I read the following, which is found in First Kings, chapter Eight, the Twenty-third verse.
"And he said, "O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like Thee in heaven above or on earth beneath, who art keeping covenant and showing loving kindness to Thy servants who walk before Thee with all their heart."
The one addressing God is King Solomon.  It is the beginning of his prayer of dedication for the temple.

When I read the words I cried to my God out of a desire to be one who walks before Him with all my heart.
I meant it and still do.

He heard me and was moved.
Because I meant it.

Matthew Twenty-one, verse Twenty-two says,
"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive."
Believing...
Confident of Who you are addressing and confident that what you ask is what He desires you to ask....
It is yours...
In His time.

According to Luke Eighteen, verse One, Jesus tells us not be discouraged with praying.
Paul encourages us in Colossians Four to not only be devoted to prayer, but to do so with an attitude of thanksgiving. 
Then in the Fifth chapter of First Thessalonians he urges us to pray without ceasing.
Why should we continue to bring our requests before God, be encouraged and even thank Him before He answers?
Because we know He is faithful and He is good.
He is a promise-keeping God.
He keeps His Word.

Often I have found that Papa slowly shapes my prayers, by helping me to recognize my heart's desire.
Then, in His perfect timing, He releases the answer!

Remember Hillary Clinton's mantra that "It takes a village to raise a child'?
Well, it takes the body to raise a believer!

We need one another.

James Five, verse Sixteen reads,
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.  The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."
Today, for the first time in along time I was able to do just that.

Know what I discovered?
I discovered that some of what I was holding against myself was foolish and that the rest was covered by the blood!

I came away from that precious, intimate time with the one, who Papa has given me, refreshed and renewed.

Know what Papa and I did?

We danced!

It was so freeing to be back on the dance floor with my God!

It is my prayer that Papa draws my dear friend onto the dance floor too!

He, indeed, has done wondrous things for my soul!


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