knowing God

Training Day 3 Lovely Conversation

2 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

Training, Day 3

Luke 11:1-13
Philippians 4:2-7
Ephesians 6:18-20
Matthew 6:5-8
1 Kings 18:20-46

“Prayer is just talking with God.”
If you grew up in church, you likely heard this phrase.
What IS prayer, actually?

A mystery?
A spiritual connection?
A conversation?
A school?

Talking to God is part of prayer, but it’s not nearly the whole, not according to people who truly prayed prayers that made their mark in the heart of God.

Wouldn’t we all want that?
For our prayers to assuredly hit the mark on God’s heart?

I do.

We want to be heard. We want to know that what we say matters.
More so, we want to know we’ve been warmly received, heard, known.

The prophet Elijah stood on a mountain before a crowd of haters and, against all odds, prayed aloud for the Lord to consume an offering dripping in water with fire. The Lord answered by sending a flame that consumed not only the offering, but also the water. 

His prayer hit the mark.
How do we pray like this?

Have you ever tried to buy a gift for someone you don’t know?
Or for the person who seems to have everything?
H A R D

Instead, consider preparing a gift for someone you dearly love.
It may take time, but likely, clarity will come and, ultimately, the gift carries significant relational weight. It no longer becomes about the gift, but about the depth of love conveyed by the gift.

So it is with prayer.

The goal is to know the heart of God.
To live and pray from this place of knowing Him. 

This deep, personal knowing is why Elijah could face his enemies with boldness.
He knew the heart of His God.
This kind of praying requires something often missed, yet quietly found, inside the loveliness of conversation.

Conversation conjures up images of coffee mugs, tea cups, and warm bread. It looks like hearty laughter, eyes glistening with delight or brimming with tears. It’s shoulders lunging forward in eagerness, and fingers curled around another’s hand when words are choked by tears. Conversation is open, safe sharing; it’s listening, hearing and being heard, knowing and being known. It’s sacred loveliness.

Herein is the invitation of the Almighty for each of us.
“When you pray, go into your private room, shut your door,
and pray to your Father who is in secret.” (Matthew 6:6)

Found in the messy, scary, and vulnerable is the secret place of authentic prayer.

Not long ago, I began to understand prayer is actually a school, a training ground, for learning how to deeply converse with the God of the Universe. We simply cannot come into prayer expecting to understand all nuances and effective means for striking God’s heart. The twelve disciples, who saw Jesus wake up every morning, stretch His arms, yawn, eat bread, teach, become exhausted, and wake early the next day to pray, asked Him how to pray.

“He was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray[…]” (Luke 11:1, emphasis mine)

I’ve been praying since I was a toddler, and in this moment, I feel as if I’m quite certainly on the shallow end of learning to pray. Yet, how wonderfully my Savior has already taught me! The more I learn, practice, and train in this magnificently tender discipline of prayer, the more I am wondrously delighted to discover an infinite amount of closeness yet to be uncovered in the secret place of lovely conversation.

As Jesus finished His ministry of teaching His disciples to pray, He declared an unfathomable truth, “The one who believes in Me […] will do even greater works than these.” (John 14:12) He was returning to His throne of all power and authority with the Father. From this place, He would endow all believers, through His indwelling Spirit, to accomplish even more through prayer than He had! (John 14:13-14)

When we grasp this truth, breathing it into our everyday moments, then we begin to converse differently, deeper, with the Almighty. In understanding that the Lord truly meant His instruction, “In everything, through prayer […]” (Philippians 4:6), the importance of every minutia is elevated. All things encompass the parking spot request, praise for the last box of food, prayer for the grieving heart, the cancer patient, the broken washing machine, the sorrow we feel, the anger inside, the gratitude flooding us: All Of It. In the normalcy of intentionally choosing to pray about all things, at all times (Ephesians 6:18), we find we are actively uncovering the riches of the Father’s heart to a greater degree with every single prayer.

For me, and many believers through the ages, a little “holy imagination” assists us in visualizing the reality of lovely conversation with God. (St. Teresa of Avila) My favorite imaginative scenes for conversing include walking through a field as a child, with face upturned to the Savior who holds my hand, listens, and speaks. I love to sit on the front porch, coffee mug in hand, speaking with the Christ and breathing in the majesty of this God who chose to be fully human and fully divine that He might pay the death penalty we owed because of our own arrogant, prideful sin. Perhaps, like me, you might breathe out your pain between sobs, grasping His wrists and feeling His scars as you look into eyes that share your pain, because He knows what you feel. (Hebrews 4:15) Do you sense His arms encircling you, holding you up, lifting Your face to see His glory, reminding you this lovely conversation is exactly what His heart desires? (Psalm 3:3)

All things.
All times.
Pour out your heart to Him. (Psalm 62:5-8)

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
Join our Facebook Community!

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Training Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Training!

Sketched IV Day 2 Nehemiah: Digging Deeper

Leave a Comment

Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Nehemiah!

The Questions

1) What is the significance of completing the wall in 52 days?

2) Why were Judah’s nobles speaking well of Tobiah, who was staunchly against them?

3) Why were gatekeepers, singers, and Levites listed first in order of who was being appointed to stand at the new wall?

Nehemiah 6:15-7:4

15 The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. 16 When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.

17 During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. 19 These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

1 When the wall had been rebuilt and I had the doors installed, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed. 2 Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most. 3 I said to them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot, and let the doors be shut and securely fastened while the guards are on duty. Station the citizens of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some at their homes.”

4 The city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and no houses had been built yet.

Original Intent

1) What is the significance of completing the wall in 52 days?
The walls of Jerusalem had been severely destroyed, and in many places, nearly leveled. The gates had been burned and were rendered useless (Nehemiah 2:13). The toppled walls had created such narrow passages that a horse or mule couldn’t even pass through. (Nehemiah 2:14) For comparison, these same walls would be destroyed and rebuilt several times after Nehemiah’s initial rebuilding, but these projects took years instead of one and half months. (see Wikipedia). 52 days compared to multiple years is extremely significant, especially given the tools available to Israel at the time. Clearly, this was something ONLY God could do through His mighty Spirit as His people chose to be obedient to His calling.

2) Why were Judah’s nobles speaking well of Tobiah, who was staunchly against them?
Tobiah was an Ammonite who was “greatly displeased” to hear that Nehemiah had come to protect, guard, and rebuild Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 2:10) The Ammonites would have liked nothing more than to obliterate the Judeans from the earth. So, if Tobiah was such a bad dude, why would Judeans be advocating for him to Nehemiah? Here’s the catch, the Judeans had intermarried with the Ammonites, something the Lord God had strictly forbidden because He knew the Ammonites, with their false religion, would lead Israel away from Yahweh, the One True God. Jews had been deported to Persia, a 70-year exile, while Jerusalem was razed, for exactly the reasons that led to these intermarriages. Israel had forgotten the first Love. They had stopped worshipping Him as their Redeemer, choosing instead to follow their pride and arrogance. As a result, they reaped nothing but sinful havoc for the nation as a whole and Nehemiah personally.

3) Why were gatekeepers, singers, and Levites listed first in order of who was being appointed to stand at the new wall?
It seems odd doesn’t it? A wall being rebuilt for the whole purpose of protecting the people within and the very first who are sent to their posts as guards are worshippers. From beginning to end, Jerusalem and her wall was never about trusting in her own strength, it was about returning to the God who loved her. Israel’s choice to abandon Yahweh time and time and time again, was a decision that had huge ramifications. Because of Israel’s disobedience, their land was destroyed, their kingship removed, and their people exiled to a foreign land for an entire generation. When they were invited to return home, rebuilding their walls was one thing, but being restored by the One True God was another matter entirely. Nehemiah understood that more than a military presence, Israel’s heart was what mattered most. Trusting God for protection meant worshipping Him first and foremost, exactly what they hadn’t done 70 years prior. When it came to priorities for Nehemiah, he knew worship had to be first, signifying trust in God and not their own strength.

Everyday Application

1) What is the significance of completing the wall in 52 days?
Far from the common misconception that God will not give you more than you can handle; He most assuredly will! This was clearly the case for Nehemiah as he began the incredibly daunting challenge of rebuilding a demolished wall. With pressure on all sides, and even from within, it was humanly impossible to finish this large of a project without Divine intervention. Even Nehemiah’s enemies knew this and attributed the success to God. (Nehemiah 6:16) This truth is for us, Ladies! The Lord will always call us to do work that is beyond our ability to perform, but take comfort in that; His strength is most beautifully displayed in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:8) Where are you feeling overwhelmed, at the end of your rope, and beyond hope? Bring this to the Lord in prayer, taking confidence in His endless strength! (Psalm 59)

2) Why were Judah’s nobles speaking well of Tobiah, who was staunchly against them?
As famous teacher Ravi Zaccharias says, “Sin will always take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you wanted to pay, and keep you longer than you want to stay.” Every Single Time. The Lord gives boundaries and sets forth instruction in His Word because it is good, wholesome, and life bringing to us! He know that what we need most is to find our complete satisfaction in Him, and He will continue to pursue us until either we say yes to His invitation of unconditional love or we forever turn our back on Him, choosing instead to trust ourselves. The latter will always lead to eternal death. (Romans 6:23) But the trusting Jesus will always lead to life! Where do you need new life today? Relationships? Finances? Fear? Emotional tension? Physical ailments? Jesus has come to bring hope, eternal hope, but it begins and ends by trusting in His name alone, not a counterfeit, and certainly not ourselves. Take a cue from Tobias and the sin of Israel as they chose to trust themselves and follow their ways instead of God’s. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

3) Why were gatekeepers, singers, and Levites listed first in order of who was being appointed to stand at the new wall?
Nehemiah’s perspective isn’t one we commonly fall back on. Trial. Overwhelming odds. Destruction. Fear. Disrespect. Rumors….and Nehemiah chose worship as his first defense. I know for myself, the temptation to tense up, snap at the ones I love most, become distant, angry, isolated, and fearful come a whole lot easier than worship and praise. I also know from experience that Nehemiah was right. Choosing to worship in the face of extreme difficulty fundamentally shifts our heart perspective to safety in God because we know He is worthy of our trust. If we are in Jesus, when we lay our worship before the King of Kings, our fears slide away and that sense of overwhelmed is covered with indescribable peace. He designed our hearts to find ultimate satisfaction in a deep, living relationship with Him. Need peace? Try worship. Facing insurmountable odds? Try worship. Worship the King, sisters, and find His good heart!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Nehemiah!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Sketched IV Week One!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Space Day 5
Space To Know Him

Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Ezekiel 34:22-24
Matthew 2:1-12
Exodus 30:34-36

My husband is ridiculously difficult to buy gifts for. Let me explain, he’s a tech guy and a genius. So, even *if* I find the right gift, and *if* it’s within a reasonable price range, he will absolutely, without fail, find out what I’m getting him. Easily the most frustrating person on my shopping list! Year after year of very un-cool, “oh that’s nice” gifts, I went all out and found a helicopter he could control with his phone. It was epically cool! And I went to great lengths to cover my tracks of searching and purchasing it. Christmas day arrived and his response was so awesome, exactly what I’d been hoping to evoke for years! He took his insanely expensive helicopter outside for a spin. Flying down the street, he accidentally pushed the “emergency” button and down went the copter, smashing into the pavement, never to soar again. Defeat.

Gifts are hard!
(Unless you’re buying for me. I like coffee and running clothes and good books. Just throwing that out there :-))
I love finding the perfect gift that will make the recipient feel loved and cared for, but it does take time. Last-minute gifts generally aren’t the ones we’ve carefully thought over as we’ve considered the person we’re buying for. The gifts that mean the most are the ones that reflect a sense of knowing. I’ve received so many presents, but only a few have really impacted me deeply….not because of their price, or the surprise, but because the gift demonstrated that I was known and loved.

Jesus was presented with gifts that displayed an incredible knowing behind them that could only have been divinely revealed. Enter, the Wise Men.

There’s quite a bit of mystery surrounding these magi from the East. They had studied the same prophecies you can read about in your copy of the Bible, they studied the stars, and had quite likely been influenced by the prophet Daniel and his faith in the one true God. After a lifetime of studying prophetic scripture, it’s possible that these gentiles, known as the “wisest of the wise”, understood what the Jews were blatantly missing.
Their King would come in an unlikely city, without riches or fame, and would save His people by laying down His life in the most brutal of ways at the hands of the government the Jews were so desperately hoping to escape.
Curious. Strange. A King who served. A King who would give up His life.

This coming King was worth their time.
He was worth their study.
He was worth their worship.
He was worth their space.
These wise men became engrossed with finding the “One born King of the Jews” because the more they knew Him, the more space they naturally gave Him in their lives.

The more they studied, the more consumed they became until they were ready to spend significant amounts of money and time to find this King who had become more than just a passing curiosity.
This God, with the heart of a shepherd, had taken up residency in their space, changing them along the way. They came ready to worship, ready with gifts that spoke of who they knew Him to be.

Gold
A gift for royal deity. The wise men recognized Jesus as King.
Not just king of the Jews, but King of creation, King of the Universe, King over sin and death. Why else should gentile kings seek out and bow down to a child-king?

Frankincense 
A gift for the Mediator. God instituted the burning of frankincense in front of the Tent of Meeting, where He would meet with the High Priest to commune with His people. Jesus became that High Priest as He once and for all became our intercessor, the perfect mediator between God and man because sin no longer stood in the way of our relationship.

Myrrh
A gift for burial. Myrrh was a spice used in embalming the deceased. This gift spoke of His coming death, His sacrifice that would pay the debt of sin for all humanity. Not because he died like any other human, but because He rose again and conquered the grave for all who believe in Him!

The magi’s gifts reflected what they knew to be true about Jesus because of their intentional studies.
We can do the same.
As the days get closer to Christmas, let’s create intentional space to simply know the Messiah, and let our gifts flow from that intimacy.

Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
Join us for every Journey Study by signing up!
Looking for yesterday’s Journey Study?
Share your thoughts from today’s Study!

Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper!     And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey!    Comment Here!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Space Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Space!

The GT Weekend – Adoring Week 2

Leave a Comment

The GT Weekend

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer, rest your soul in reflective journaling, and spend time worshiping the Creator who longs for intimacy with each of us!

Journal With Us!

Journal Prompts

1) It’s easy to pursue Jesus’ face in the midst of difficultly as our “lifesaver” and ignore him when all is well. What has been helpful in keeping you accountable in seeking Father when things in your life are moving along nicely?

2) What’s your word; your one thing that comes to mind when you hear talk of deep seeded, I’ve-never-told-anyone fear? There is so much freedom in pinpointing it and sharing it. Take another moment to think again of what you fear. Find a close friend to share with or email us at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com to share with us.

3) Our Good Father is always with us and ready for us to commune with him. Write out a reminder for you and post on your mirror. Some examples are:
You pursue me passionately.
Father, You love me deeply.
Jesus, You provide perfectly.

Worship In Song

Music Video: John Mark and Sarah McMillan’s, “King of my Heart”

Pour Out Your Heart

Jesus, I come to You in repentance. Forgive me for turning from You and not following hard after You when my life is easy. Draw me closer to You, keep revealing more of Your face as I look to You when my life is going well.

Father, as I lean into the things I fear, let me choose faith over fear. Remind me of how big You are in the midst of the chaos of life. Let me be reminded of how deeply You love me, how You long to go deeper with me, and how You are faithful to Your own character. Lead me closer to You, my Lord.

Pray With Us!

In everything, with praise and thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God!
Click here to comment and pray with the GT Community!
Want to connect with a GT Partner?
Send your prayer request to prayer@gracefullytruthful.com
We are committed to praying over and walking with you!

Journey With Us

Sign up to have GT Journey Studies sent to you!
What were your thoughts from the GT Weekend?
How were you drawn near to the Father and encouraged in your faith?
Share with the community and encourage other women!

Adoring Day 10
In The Face Of Fear

Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

1 John 4:13-18
Psalm 34
Psalm 37attachment-1-39

Almost 5 years old. That’s generally when my kids start leaning in to their imaginations and letting fear have a hold on their young hearts. Shadows are spooky, dreams are scary, the dark is overwhelming, and frightful things are waiting for them under their beds.

But they do have an “out”. Run to Mommy and Daddy’s room.
They know compassion waits in our arms, even if we can’t make the nightmare end.
They know they are safe to tell us they are scared.
Security is found in knowing who they run to.

Fear.

It twists our insides, making us shudder, forcing our eyes to quickly avert the scene in our mind’s eye.

I’ve lied because of fear.
I’ve pretended fear doesn’t affect me.
I’ve ignored people.
I’ve driven away the ones I love out of fear.

But nothing I’ve tried has healed my heart or offered me hope.

Like you, I know the insides of fear. I’ve lived in its shifting shadows and wished desperately for an escape.
I’ve feared the unknown.
I’ve feared for my changing marriage relationship.
I’ve feared for the life of my child.
I’ve feared my past.
I’ve feared the consequences of failing.
I’ve feared loss.
I’ve feared people.
I’ve feared the image of an angry God.
I’ve feared the truth.

Pause and let your heart draw it out. That fear. The one that you run from.

Whatever the name of your fear or the feelings it brings,
the grip of its claws sink into us all the same, enslaving us like heavy chains.

Fear pulls back the shades of our insides making us shiver with the exposure of our terror.
But God’s goodness is found even here because He designed that
everything in life,
every fear,
every tragedy,
every wound,
would point us towards Himself.
He’s waiting in every breath, every tragedy, every heartbreak, every fear come true. Waiting with arms of compassion spread wide, beckoning you to go deeper with Him, to see His face more clearly, to know His heart more fully.

Fear is either the doorway through which we see and love Jesus more deeply or it’s the dark, back alley by which we run farther away from the intimacy He offers.

Choosing to walk through the doorway instead of running down that alley starts with something simple.
Adoration.
It’s not a feeling.
Not a sadistic look at our fear-filled circumstances and giving a “thumb’s-up-awesome.”
Rather, it’s a hunker-down here in the dirt of my fear, and choose to gaze unswervingly upon the face of the Jesus who loves us.
It’s honest.

Because here’s the crazy thing about placing our affections and adorations on Jesus rather than our fears,
adoration frees us.

Adoration.
It doesn’t even start with something we are “thankful for” like water or air or another list of “blessings”. It’s rooted in God’s unchanging character.

You are the God of all comfort.
You are the God who sees me.
You are the God who has counted every hair on my head and knows where each strand lies.
Your love for me is boundless.
Your forgiveness is unsearchable.
You are a shelter.
You are the Deliverer.
You control the winds and the waves, the seasons, the tide, the universe and yet You know me.
You are the God who is intimate with details.

The honesty of bringing all fears before the God who sees all, knows all, and loves beyond comprehension gives us the freedom
to adore Him for who He is
because we know we are lavishly loved.
Adoration. It frees us from fear.

Sincere adoration isn’t something we can just conjure up though; it grows in the fertile soil of an intimate relationship. When we want any relationship to grow, we invest in it by getting to know that person.
We stalk their social media accounts, we join them in recreational activities, we talk to their friends, we make notes of what they like to drink and where they like to go for fun.
We study them.
The same is true in getting to know God. Sure, He sounds intimidating, as He should.
But deciding to make “studying Him” a priority will be an investment you will never regret, yielding unfading benefits both for this life and the next.
It’s reading His word deeply,
it’s getting to know other Christians authentically,
it’s being committed to a local church,
it’s worshipping whole-heartedly.

The more you know Him, the more you love Him.
The more you love Him, the more you trust Him.
The more you trust Him, the more quickly you run to Him with your fears.
And the less power your fears hold over you.
Study Him. Know Him. Adore Him.

Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
Join us for every Journey Study by signing up!
Looking for yesterday’s Journey Study?
Share your thoughts from today’s Study!

Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper!     And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey!    Comment Here!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Adoring Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies in Adoring!