A MONTH OF PRAYING THE WORD: Day 6

TAKE AWAY

~*~ So, how did it go yesterday? Make sure to write your answers to these questions in your journal.

~*~ What verse spoke to you the most and did you meditate on morning, noon, and night? Explain. What happened with it? 

~*~ Are there any verses you want to continue meditating and pondering today?

PRAYING THE WORD: MONTH 1 OUTLINE

At the end of this book, I will put 31 days of an outline with verses that you can use for Praying the Word. (Or, you can come up with your own.) You can repeat these verses over and over every month--or you can switch it up. The more you repeat them, the better, though. You will start to memorize them and they it gets to be real fun and easy to meditate on morning, noon, and night. 

If you are reading this on the blog, it will be the next blog post.

FUTURE PLANS REGARDING PRAYING THE WORD OUTLINES

Stay tuned to the blog. I am working on an outline for 365 days of Praying the Word. Then, once I get that done, I will work on topical lists of Praying the Word.

DAY 2 FROM THE OUTLINE

I want to keep today simple. Please do Day 2 from the outline so you can start to get more comfortable with Praying the Word. You will find it in the next blog post. 

Tomorrow, we will have more of a lesson on Praying the Word.

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 IN THE WORD: Day 5: The Praying the Word 31-Day Outline

TAKE AWAY

Day 4 we covered Psalm 1.  The following questions are for you to ponder. Write your responses in your journal, if you have the time. 

~*~ What did God say to you through Psalm 1 yesterday and last night? 

~*~ Has God spoken to you about Days 1-3? Is there anything you want to meditate and think on still from those days? 

~*~ How is it going with Praying the Word?

SELF-PACED OR STICK WITH THIS LAYOUT

I hope to be very clear about this. You have a choice here.

The outline I am going to give you is an option. It is not a requirement. I recommend, for the best results, that you stick with the outline. But, you can pick any 5 verses from the Bible, your pick, as long as most 3 or 4 of them are new to you each day. 

I am providing a sample of 31 days with outline and verses. You can use them or ignore them. If you want to repeat previous verses, feel free to. If you are working on an issue/topic of some type and want to know what the Bible has to say about that, then look up in a concordance about that issue/topic and meditate on 5 verses per day about that issue/topic.

Does this make sense?

Here is my suggested outline.

THE PRAYING THE WORD OUTLINE: 2 CHRONICLES 7:14

I do not know about you. But, the more simple something can be for me, the better. Praying the Word can use the Lord's Prayer as an outline or other varieties. With this one, I chose 2 Chronicles 7:14. Why? It's quite a powerful verse and it lends itself to quite an easy outline for praying the Word daily.

Please grab your Bible and look up the verse. It should be one that's familiar. If not, what a treasure you are about to read. Go ahead and read it at this time. then, continue reading today's reading.

2 Chronicles 7:14, personalized, and paraphrased, states: If I am called by His name, I will humble myself. I will pray to him, I will seek his face, and will repent and turn from my wicked and sinful ways. If I do these things, then the Lord will hear me from heaven. Then, he will forgive me and my sins and will heal and restore my land. 

So, here is the outline from 2 Chronicles 7:14:

Acknowledge and Humble

Petition and Intercession

Praise

Confession

Thanksgiving

= APPCT

See. that is pretty simple.

Acknowledge and Humble is to acknowledge he is God and to humble self.

Petition and Intercession is to pray for self and others.

Praise is to praise him for who he is. It's to adore him.

Confession is to confess and repent from sin and wrongdoing and to stop the temptation.

Thanksgiving is to thank God for what he has done in our lives.

Every verse in the Bible can fit into at least one of those categories.

NOTE: By the way, this series is now going to be, starting with this volume, "A MONTH OF..." Fill in the blank. This is Praying the Word. Next volume might be distractions, for example. The topics we deal with in each of the MONTH books can be prayed for in the petition and intercession section.

See. That's pretty easy. 

TODAY'S PRAYING THE WORD

Here is a sample: 

Acknowledge and Humble

John 3:16-17

Petition and Intercession

John 3:18 Pray for the believers and unbelievers in your life.

Praise

Isaiah 12:1

Confession

John 3:19-21

Thanksgiving

Colossians 4:2

WHAT TO DO NOW?

Take as much time as you can give this today and in your first sitting. Half an hour is great. If you only have 15 minutes, then take 15 minutes. If you have a couple of hours to spare, even better. This is self-paced and God-paced. Take what time you've got.

Then, read one verse at a time. Paraphrase each verse as you go in your journal. Take a few minutes to talk to God about it. Then, listen to what he has to say. Give him more time than what you talk. If you cannot hear Him, then, repeat the verse a few times--very slowly and see if you hear him then. If not, move to the next verse. Or, if your mind is filled with all sorts of thoughts because of that verse, then write them all down in your journal. Then, try to give God more time to speak.

When you are finished, and out of time, make sure that you remember one of those verses and carry it with you for the next 24 hours. Make note of it in your journal. Any time you talk to God about it, write down what you say and write down whatever he says to you about the verse.

By the way, if God is working through one verse, and your mind is filled and you are being moved by the Spirit, do NOT continue to another verse. Hang out in that verse for a while. If this day's reading takes you half an hour a day of sit down journaling time, along with meditating on it morning, noon, and night, then stay with it. Do not read ahead until God tells you that you are ready to do so. Just make sure you are still meditating on it constantly. If that stops, continue to the next verse. Does this make sense?

Also, make sure to have lots of silent time. Do not fill in those silences unless you are uncomfortable or restless, then repeat the verse. If nothing happens, and you do not hear from God and your mind is blank, then move to the next verse.

YOUR TURN

Now, it's your turn. Why don't you try the sample for today? Just a reminder: Make sure you journal everything.

See you tomorrow.

Stacy Duplease

Bible Study Writer & Blogger

A Loyal Faith

Find my books at/store: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction

Broncos won!

What an unbelievable game! I am stunned.
Sent from my Kindle Fire

A MONTH OF PRAYING THE WORD: DAY 4

DAY 4

YOUR TAKE AWAY

~*~ What did God say to you through your verses and the lesson yesterday?

~*~ What have you learned about Praying the Word?

~*~ What verse(s) do you want to meditate more on and Pray to God morning, noon, and night? 

DELIGHT

Please journal your answer:

~*~ How do you define delight?

~*~ Is the Word of God, the Holy Bible, your delight? 

CONFESSION ON MY PART, BUT YOU MIGHT RELATE

It's time for me to get real with you. I have to admit, the Word never brought me great satisfaction or enjoyment until I started Praying the Word. Sure, I loved the Word. I studied it, read it, threw myself into it. I soaked it up like a sponge. But, it was not my delight. 

Coffee or chair tea. That's delight. A good laugh with a friend or someone I care about--that's delight. Seeing the Rocky Mountains is delightful. Reading a book brings me delight. But, is the ancient text something that brings me delight? Do I get excited from the text? Do I find great satisfaction in reading the Word? I just don't. It is work for me. It takes great effort and intentionality on my part, if you want to know the truth. Well, that is unless I read the Psalms or Proverbs. I can usually read those and not feel like I've worked. But, the rest of the Bible takes concentration on my part. I do my best to get into the Word day after day. It can just be tricky. I do not get nearly enough out of the Word as I could. But, being in the Word is required of all of us. How else can we know the will of God, after all? 

Please tell me you know what I mean.

However, I make sure to add Praying the Word to the equation--and that changes everything for me. that's when prayer and the Word get exciting for me. 

But, let me back up a little. I've been a prayer warrior for years. I've read just about every book out there on the subject. But, when I did the prayer inventory about a month ago, I realized my prayer life was lacking. It was not what it could be. I try different types of prayer. I noticed if I do Praying the Word, my spiritual life, in every way, flourishes. When I stop, for whatever reason, my spiritual life and faith take a tailspin and I fall flat on my nose. 

Why am I sharing this with you? I want you to know I am not a perfect Christian. I have my points of contention. I have my flaws. But, I know how to work with them and how to workaround them. I know how to test myself and see if I am where I should be. I know what it means to fail. I know how to give God the silent treatment and how to ignore him. I also know how to be stubborn and question him to a fault. I am easily distracted. I get too busy for God, or prayer, let alone the Word at times. But, I know how to confess and repent. And I know what works for me. Praying the Word makes everything in my life come alive. It changes everything for me. This book is my attempt to share this with you. 

Again, I hope you know what I mean. I can't help but wonder if you are a super-Christian with a cape and all (I am being serious here.). After all, if you are, I hope you send me all of your advice and tips! My email and blog address are mentioned throughout this book. I love words of wisdom shared from others. But, if you are a fall-on-your-face at times sort of Christian, I think we'll relate with one another. 

So, do you delight in God and in his Word? Do you try to and want to? 

Do you want to learn how to bring a fire to every dimension in your life? Praying the Word is the secret. 

PSALM 1

Please read this in your favorite version of the Bible and see why I bring up delight. I call it the battle cry of the Praying the Word Christian. If this doesn't get you excited to pray the Word, nothing will. 

~*~ Write your thoughts. 

Will you humor me for a moment? Would you read this out loud to yourself? If you are in a public space, it's okay to whisper it. Just make sure your ears can hear the words you utter. 

~*~ Write your thoughts again--after hearing it. 

~*~ Do you want to be blessed?

~*~ Do you want to prosper in life inwardly and outwardly?

~*~ What is the danger of not Praying the Word?

~*~ How can this be your battle cry for Praying the Word?

~*~ How can you apply this passage to your life?

~*~ What has God said to you?

~*~ What have you said to God?

A.M., NOON, AND P.M.

Meditate on Psalm 1 mourning, noon, and night for at least the next 24 hours. Make sure to journal everything that happens between you and 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 in the Word: Day 3 Prayer Inventory

DAY 3

FOLLOW-UP FROM DAY 2

Let's take a look at Day 2 before we continue. Grab your journals and take a quick look at them, along with the lesson from that day. Then, answer the following questions:

~*~ In your own words, define Praying the Word.

~*~ What are you impressions of it so far?

~*~ What was your biggest take-away from yesterday? In other words what was the most importnat thing you learned that you can apply to your life? Explain. 

WHY A PRAYER INVENTORY?

If you read Volume 1 of this series, "A LOYAL FAITH A BIBLE STUDY INTRODUCTION" or the blog version, "A LOYAL FAITH: AN INTRODUCTION," then you know that I am big for assessment of where we were, where we are, and where we are headed (and want to head). I also believe this assessment needs to be frequent. (For more information, go to my blog at: http://aloyalfaith.blogspot.com and find the page/tab at the top of the page that is titled, '2-Hour Templates,' and you'll see what I mean. I cannot recommend them enough.) Consequently, today is the day we are going to analyze our prayer lives. It will take about half an hour, as with all the other lessons, but I cannot stress enough the more time you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Then again, that could be said of all these lessons. 

Grab your journals and let's get started.

~*~ Define prayer.

~*~ Describe your prayer life. What do you do? Are you satisfied with it? Do you think it's on fire, stagnate, or non-existent? Explain your answer. Be as thorough as possible.

~*~ Have you been able to pray without ceasing or stopping 24/7/365?

~*~ Do you meditate on the Word of God morning, noon, and night? How long? How many periods of silence are there? 

~*~ What do you wish your prayer life looked like? Explain. 

~*~ If you were praying without ceasing, even if you are not currently, what would that look like to you?

~*~ What do you think of Day 1 and Day 2 in this study and "A MONTH OF PRAYING THE WORD?"

~*~ What do you hope today to get out of this study? Explain.

~*~ What has God said to you?

~*~ What have you said to God?

~*~ Write a prayer to God asking him to reveal to you what he wants from you. Ask him to help you understand how to Pray the Word. Talk to him about it. Make sure to listen more than you talk. Again, if you find you can't listen...and that your mind keeps wandering... Then, read the Word back to him. Read a verse back to him. Use one of the 5 you used yesterday or another he's revealed to you today. 

FIND 3 VERSES

Find three verses in the Bible you want to pray to God for the next 24 hours. Write them down in your journal. Make sure you also write why you chose them. Meditate on them morning, noon, and night. 

CONCLUSION

As far as the amount of words I've written, today is a shorter day. But, with what you've written, I bet today was the most intensive day for you yet. Tomorrow, we will take a look at more of what it means to Pray the Word and how to do it.

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith

The Smashwords version of this blog: Download latest version

At the link listed below in this blog post is where you can download a more user friendly version of these blog posts for your personal perusal. 

I will download the latest copy of the book at the end of the day Monday through Friday. However, I will do other downloads here and there. I recommend you get the latest version from time to time. After all, it's FREE. 

If I think it's critical for you to get the latest download copy of this book, I will do a blog post, like this one, with what you see in this title: "DOWNLOAD LATEST COPY." It's not a demand. It's a suggestion. It means there is enough of a difference now that I think you would want to see it. That's all. 

The reason why I put the first and most rough draft in this blog is so that you can get the material immediately. It offers you the opportunity to use it as a daily devotional and set the course for your day. 

You will see that already this version has more information than the blog posts from this blog. The final version of this book will be ready sometime in March 2012 and will have even more material. 

I hope this makes sense. 

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger
A Loyal Faith

Find my books at/store: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction 

a loyal faith blog: A Month of Praying the Word: Day 2

A Month of Praying the Word: Day 2

DAY 2

WHAT EXACTLY IS PRAYING THE WORD?

Praying the Word is a way to combine Bible reading and studying with prayer. In other words:

Prayer + Bible verse or passage = Praying the Word

It's reading a verse, or saying it from memory, to God in an attitude of prayer and then listening to what God has to say to us through it. If we do not hear anything, we repeat the verse in our minds. 

Another way of saying it is personalizing the verse or passage and praying it back to God. The catch is we need to listen fully to the Lord and pay attention to what goes on inside of us as we do this. We also need to remember that we need to listen far more than we talk. 

It sounds a little too simple, doesn't it? Well, it is. But, what it offers us is ripe with complexity. I do not know of a way to get closer to the Lord. I cannot stress this enough. I have not found anything more transforming in my life. I do not know of  a way to bring me closer to God and his Word. That's precisely why I am writing this book and sharing the sweetness of this practice with you. 

We have 29 days to gain full insight as to the riches this way of prayer and way of being in the Word can offer us. Let's get started.
PSALM 119:15 (AND A POSSIBLY BAD WORD)
Since we only have 29 days left, we are going to jump right in and get down to work--and I mean that in a very beautiful way. I guess I could also say, "Hold on! We're approaching the cliff!" You're about to see why I say this is the case.

Please read Psalm 119:15 in your favorite Bible. Then, make note of what it says in your journal. 

There is a word in this verse which is quite misunderstood in the Christian community. It brings up several connotations, most of which aren't good. As a matter of fact, there is a word there that makes some think it's evil. Is it? If God tells us to do it, is it evil? The Bible tells us to do this repeatedly. Any guesses? It's the word, 'Meditate.' Are you cringing or smiling? Which camp do you fall in? If you are cringing, please take note. 

This is what people think:

Meditation + Anything = Bad (Avoid)

Is this true? Let's sincerely ask this question. Does this add up? 

Know your reactions to every word in the Bible. Our biases and misunderstandings will add bias and misunderstanding to the very Word of God. All of us have them. There is no exception in that reality. We need to be aware so that we can work through them and gain new insight in the Bible. 

Let's get real. When you think of meditation, you imagine Eastern religions and witchcraft. Right? We see people in the lotus position, the 7 chakras, and we cringe. We know that stuff pulls our attention from the Lord and his Word. We know we must be careful not to get pulled in and we guard against it. This is all good. May we never change this reaction. However, biblical meditation is a very different animal. It has absolutely nothing to do with any of this. 

We are going to look at the word, 'meditate' and see what it really means in the biblical connotation. If you want to do a full study of the word, by the way, follow the instructions from this link: http://aloyalfaith.blogspot.com/2011/11/passage-study-template-morning-noon-and.html (That's what I am using as I share the study of this word with you.) 

The Hebrew word for meditate is SIYACH. What it means is: to consider, ponder, muse, talk of, and declare. 
--- Bibliography Information
1 Brown, Driver, Briggs and Gesenius. "Hebrew Lexicon entry for Siyach". "The KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon". 
2 http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/kjv/siyach.html
3 http://concordances.org/hebrew/7878.htm

Or... It means to pray the Word in our ways of speaking today. 

~*~ Write in your journal what you think of the word 'meditate' now.

Re-read Psalm 119:15 with your new understanding (or your confirmed understanding). 

~*~ How does this verse speak to you?

~*~ How can you apply Psalm 119:15 to your life?

Now, let me give you a word of warning: Our biases keep us from doing what God mandates. That adds sin on top of sin. Sin for not doing it and sin because we do not trust the Word of God. Be careful. Know what they are as you read the Word of God so you do not keep bias and misunderstanding from seeking perfect communion with the Lord and an intimate relationship. 

Praying the Word is, in part, doing what Psalm 119:15 states. 

FOR THE REST OF THE DAY

~*~ Find 5 verses to write out in your journal and reflect on today and tonight. Read them whenever you have the chance throughout the day and night. Paraphrase them in your own words (just make sure you do not take anything out of context or add meaning to it that isn't really there). 

Regarding the 5 verses you find, if you are struggling with an issue, like loneliness, for example, then look up 5 verses on the subject. Look half up from the Old Testament and half up from the New Testament and then with the extra one, I recommend Psalm or Proverbs. 

~*~ Make sure to write what God says to you and what you say to God about these verses, what you learn, what you want to apply to your life, and about your life. 

TIP: Just before you fall asleep, read these verses. As you fall asleep, reflect on one of these and allow it to put you to sleep. Whenever you roll over or can't sleep, repeat the verse in your mind again until it puts you to sleep again. When your alarm goes off, repeat the verse. Then, make sure to write down everything in your journal that God said to you and you said to God through the night--if anything. Sometimes, it's just a feeling or an impression. 

ANOTHER TIP: The more journaling you do, the more you'll get out of this. God will continue over the next several days to share more with you about those verses--and then for months and years to come. If you don't get the progression written down, you will forget and who wants to forget one word God says to them? 

Stacy Duplease
Bible Study Writer & Blogger

A Loyal Faith

Find my books at/store: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction 

1st Day of Advent

Today is the first day of Advent.

You may be interested in some Advent resources. You can sign-up for a daily newsletter, for example, here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/newsletters/

~ Stacy Duplease