Darin and I spent some time in worship and prayer for those of you who are struggling to believe that God can do a miracle for you in your marriage. Sometimes when we do this it feels like nothing is happening but there are other times when we both feel like we are literally bringing Heaven down to earth. That is how we both felt the other day.
At the end of our prayer time I felt the Holy Spirit speak to my heart to remind God of His promises. To remind Him by speaking them back to Him. Not prophecy’s we may have received or dreams and visions but promises directly out of the Word of God. We turned to Psalms and the first two passages we turned to just weren’t hitting the mark and then we landed on Psalm 18. Oh how I love these verses! As a family we sat together on Macy’s bed and read Psalm 18 out loud, reminding God of what His Word says!
Psalm 18
I love you, LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the hornĀ of my salvation, my stronghold.
I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around himā
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.[d]
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me (us);
he drew me (us) out of deep waters.
He rescued me (us) from my (our) powerful enemy,
from my (our) foes, who were too strong for me (us).
They confronted me (us) in the day of my (our) disaster,
but the LORD was my (our) support.
He brought me (us) out into a spacious place;
he rescued me (us) because he delighted in me (us).
The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he hasĀ Ā rewarded me.
For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
You, LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop[e];
with my God I can scale a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORDās word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
They cried for help, but there was no one to save themā
to the LORD, but he did not answer.
I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
I trampled them like mud in the streets.
You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.
Jesus as an Example
This verse in Luke is an example of Jesus speaking out Godās Word and His promise that man does not live by bread alone when He was being tempted by Satan.
Luke 4:1-3
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.The devil said to him, āIf you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.ā Jesus answered, āIt is written: āMan shall not live on bread alone.ā
Just Do It
I want to encourage you to read Godās promises back to Him. Speak them out! Say Jesus your Word says…
As a write this blog several of you have commented, which I always appreciate. Some of you will say, “I love it when you said this.” Basically your speaking my post back to me, reminding me of what I’ve written. As a writer that tells me that you have taken what I have said to heart and you ‘get’ what I’m trying to say! I believe when we remind God of His promises and speak them out it gives Him great delight. Ā He is thinking…Oh they are getting it! They know my heart!
Jeremiah 29:11-14
For I know the plans I have for you,ā declares the LORD, āplans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Ā Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.Ā You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.Ā Ā I will be found by you,ā declares the LORD, āand will bring you back from captivity.