Behold Your God Praying the Scriptures Candace Crabtree

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Behold Your God Beholding God through Praying the Scriptures

“We become what we behold…” - unknown

What does it mean to behold? Or to behold your God? One definition that I am particularly drawn to states that to behold means to gaze upon. A few others synonyms for behold are to see, to recognize, to discern, to fathom.

How exactly do we behold our God? How do we see Him? Recognize Him? Gaze upon Him? And why exactly do we want or need to behold our God?

I believe that many of the reasons we should gaze upon our Savior are found right inside His Word. God’s Word is full of admonition for looking to Jesus, fixing our eyes upon Him and meditating on His Word day and night.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” Hebrews 12:1-3

To gaze upon our Savior we look at Him. We learn more of Him. We desire to know Him more. We desire for Him to increase and our own selves to decrease.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” Joshua 1:8

The more we meditate upon His Word, the more we know Him. By meditating on His Word I simply mean reading, studying, pondering and praying throughout our days with the words of God Himself.

Each day we will look at one passage from God’s Word about GAZING or LOOKING upon our God!

I challenge and encourage you to consider for a few moments what exactly you are beholding and gazing upon. Because, dear friends, we are fixing our eyes and hearts upon something! Are we more focused on our problems or on God? Are we looking around us at what others are doing and falling short in our own minds? Or are we fixing our eyes on Jesus who is the author of our story?

Day 1 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Behold Your God All throughout the Bible we are told to meditate on His words, write His words on our hearts, tell them to our children, talk of them in our homes and as we walk by the way, bind them on our hands and write them on our doorposts.

Why do you think God gives us these instructions time and time again? When words and phrases are repeated in Scripture we can always be assured that they are of importance to our Father. I think He repeats these specific instructions because He knows how we need His Word in our lives. He knows that meditating and talking about and memorizing and studying His Word will lead us into a deeper relationship and knowledge of Him. He created us with a God-sized hole that only He can fill.

Praying the Scriptures Lord, help me to be a diligent student of Your Word. Help me to do as Your Word says and teach my children of You, speak Your words in my home and in all of my relationships. Help me, as I walk by the way, to speak of You and proclaim Your truths and Your faithfulness.

Day 2 Joshua 1:8-9 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Behold Your God In the beginning of the book of Joshua, we read about God commissioning Joshua after Moses dies. Joshua is to be the people’s next leader. God is giving him very specific instructions and I think we can all learn from these words that were spoken to Joshua.

First of all, before we read verses 8 and 9, we see God telling Joshua to be strong and courageous. I don’t know about you, but I want to be strong and courageous as well! Next, God goes on to instruct Joshua to not let the Book of the Law depart from his mouth, He tells Joshua to meditate on it day and night. And then, God tells Joshua again to be strong and courageous. He reminds Joshua that He is with him wherever he goes.

I think being strong and courageous in Christ is connected with meditating on His Word day and night. I think God was reminding Joshua that in order to be strong and courageous, we need to be gazing upon our Savior through His Word and His good deeds. We must keep our eyes on Jesus! This is where our strength and courage come from. He alone can give us what we need.

Praying the Scriptures God, without You I can do nothing. But, God, You have promised strength in weakness and grace for my time of need. I want to gaze upon You and Your beauty and I know that as I do so, You are strengthening my heart.

Day 3 Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Behold Your God Psalm 1 tells us that we are blessed when we don’t walk with the wicked but instead delight in the Word of God. When we meditate on His Word day and night, we become like healthy, growing trees that yield fruit in season don’t wither.

Generally speaking, the word blessed in the Bible refers to happiness. We will have true joy and delight only when we fix our eyes on Jesus and not our circumstances. If you’re looking all around you at your problems, at your circumstances, at how others are doing things, you are missing the joy we have in Christ. That isn’t to say that when we fix our eyes on Christ our problems fade away. But there is something mysteriously beautiful that God does for us when we fix our eyes on Him…He grants us peace even in the midst of storms. He gives us more joy when we find our delight in Him.

Praying the Scriptures God, I delight in You. I long to make You the delight of my soul. Draw me to Yourself. You have said that when we delight in You we will be like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit in season. Lord, I want to bear fruit that points others to You. I want my life to count for the kingdom. I want to shine Your light into this dark world. Help me to delight in You and Your Word more and more with each passing day.

Day 4 Psalm 8 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[b] and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Behold Your God When we stop to take a look around us, to behold our God, to gaze upon Him, we cannot help but praise Him. We cannot help but proclaim, “Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name in all the earth!”

He is the God of the universe. When we behold Him in all His glory, we are filled with awe and wonder. I don’t know about you, but I could use a little more awe and wonder in my life! Let’s look a little longer and Jesus today, friends.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace. lyrics by Helen Lemmel

Praying the Scriptures God, You are majestic. When I look around and see the earth You’ve created I stand in awe of You. Help me to gaze upon You and Your beauty more than I gaze upon the things of this world. And You have shown me time and time again that when I take my focus off of myself and place it on to You, I am filled with Your peace that passes all understanding.

Day 5 Psalm 16:7-11 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Behold Your God When we set the Lord always before us, we will not be shaken. What does it mean to set God before us? The New International Version says it like this, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord…” Psalm 16:8. The Holman Christian Standard Version states “I keep the Lord in mind always…” Psalm 16:8

So, practically speaking, how do we set the Lord before us? How do we keep our eyes and minds on the Lord? I don’t think it happens over night. I think it takes training and time and perseverance. It takes faith to look away from our problems and the hope that we can somehow fix them on our own. It takes a leap of faith to leave things in God’s hands. It takes trust in a Sovereign God to make the choice to trust even when things look hopeless. It takes hope to not fall into despair.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus looks like meditating on His Word day and night. Writing verses on cards and carrying them with you, taping them to your mirror and your car’s dashboard, setting your phone alarm to go off every hour with a verse on it, turning the praise music up loud when the enemy is seeking to devour…these are all practical, yet simple ways to gaze upon our God.

Praying the Scriptures Lord, help me. I’m desperate for You. Help me to train my mind to seek You and turn away from temptation as well as the thought that I need to fix things. Help me to bring my burdens to You and leave them with You. Help me to meditate on Your Word day and night.

Day 6 Psalm 19:7-14 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Behold Your God I love this passage from Psalm 19 about God’s Word. His Word is perfect and it revives our souls! His Word is sure and makes the wise simple. His Word is right and brings rejoicing to our hearts. His word is pure and enlightens our eyes. His Word is true and righteous all together, enduring forever. His Word is to be desired more than gold, it is sweeter than honey.

Whatever our need, whether it’s a need for revival or wisdom or rejoicing, God’s Word will meet us there. He will fill us up with every moment we spend with Him in His Word. He teaches us, revives us, gives us wisdom and joy.

Praying the Scriptures Lord, You meet my every need by giving me Yourself. You have given us Your Word to meet us in those times of need. When we spend time in Your Word you fill us up, You revive our very souls. Thank You for this gift. May I never take it for granted.

Day 7 Psalm 63:1-8 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Behold Your God Our souls thirst for God. Our flesh faints for God. When we go days, weeks and months without a bite of God’s Word, we begin to hunger and starve. It’s like we are in a drought. His Word is the bread of life. He is our sustenance. He satisfies our soul like bread satisfies our stomachs.

If we feel like we are missing something, if our souls are just lacking…we need to turn back to God and His Word. We need to earnestly seek Him. We need to behold His power and glory. We need to remember His good deeds. We need to remind our hearts that His love is steadfast and better than life. We need to bless Him at all times. Thank Him. Cultivate a heart of gratitude.

And then? Then our souls are satisfied as with rich foods. Our mouths will declare His praise. We will remember Him and medicate on Him for He has been our help. We will sing for joy and cling to Him. Learning to cling to Christ alone for our hope and joy and strength is the only way to gain true peace.

Praying the Scriptures Lord, I earnestly seek You. I know when I come before you and pour my heart out to You, You will satisfy my soul. You will fill me up. I long for You in a dry and weary land. Reveal Yourself to me as I seek Your face.

Day 8 Psalm 77:11-12 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.

Behold Your God There is something about remembering. There is something about pondering and meditating on the things God has done in the past. There is something about reminding our hearts of the faithfulness of our God. There is something beautiful and transforming and life-giving about remembering the mighty deeds of our God.

Take a few moments today and look back. Don’t be automatically drawn to the negative. Let your mind wander back and make yourself remember the good. How has God blessed you in the last year, despite the hardship…have you seen Him bring anything good even from the hard things? Has He given you peace in the midst of a storm? Has He given you friends and family to come alongside you? Has He reminded you of His presence in Your life? Has He blessed you with a roof over your head? Has He given you the gift of His Word so that you might feel His nearness?

Praying the Scriptures Lord, remind my heart of Your goodness. Help me to replay Your faithfulness and Your goodness and not my own failings. Open my eyes to You everywhere. I want to behold You in every situation and every person I encounter. Help me to see You and Your goodness.

Day 9 Psalm 104:1, 33-34 Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.

Behold Your God Bless the Lord today, friends. How can we bless Him? How can we praise Him? What if our circumstances make it really hard to thank God?

Can I gently and humbly suggest to you that in the midst of those trials is the very best time to bless God, thank Him and praise Him. When circumstances are trying at best, when we are grieving, when we are feeling hopeless, what we need more than anything else is to have our heads lifted. We need to fix our eyes upon Jesus. He looked ahead to the cross with joy.

In James we are told to count it all joy. Does this mean that things always turn out happy and joyful for us? No, but we can COUNT it as joy. We can see God’s hand in it all. We can trust that God has a bigger picture that we don’t see. We can look back on His faithfulness and know that He will be faithful once again.

Blessing the Lord in the midst of darkness takes faith. And I want more faith, don’t you?

Praying the Scriptures Father God, I want to praise You. Sometimes it’s hard. Will you lift my head and help me to see You even when things feel very out of my control? Will you be my Mighty Shepherd who leads me beside quiet waters and restores my soul? God, I acknowledge that I need to praise You and take my eyes off of myself. Remind me of Your goodness. Remind me of the joy of my salvation. Remind me of the many faithful deeds you’ve performed in my own life. I will praise You even in the storm.

Day 10 Psalm 111:1-4 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful.

Behold Your God “There are two kinds of people in this world: grateful and ungrateful. Worshipers and whiners.” – from Choosing Gratitude by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Which do you want to be?

Cultivating gratitude in our lives allows our spiritual and physical eyes to be open to truly see God. We behold God more when our eyes are opened to the blessings everywhere we look.

One thing I have learned is that my attitude, my joy, my contentment and my peace of heart all are more present in my life when I am living a grateful life.

Gratitude kills discontentment.

Gratitude kills comparison.

Gratitude kills fear.

Gratitude can radically change our perspective and our hearts.

Praying the Scriptures Lord Jesus, forgive my complaining heart and words. May I live a life of gratitude for all You’ve done for me and all I’ve been given. Remind me of the truth that when I complain I just bring my own joy and peace levels down. I am thankful for who You are, for the cross of Christ and for the freedom that He brings to my life. You are worthy of all praise.

Day 11 Psalm 119:11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Behold Your God Our minds are powerful tools. We can let the negative thoughts destroy our days or we can replace those negative thoughts with the power of God’s Word. Memorizing Scripture is one of the best ways to behold our God and keep His Word and His Character in the forefront of our minds as we go about our day.

“When you preoccupy your mind with God’s Word, you go a long way toward shutting out temptation. By committing Scripture verses to memory, you begin the process of forcing out negative, limiting thoughts and replacing them with the marvelous power of God’s promises. Remember, the Word of God does not lie dormant once internalized.” Tommy Newberry

“The word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” Hebrews 4:12, NLT

Friends, we must put on the armor of God! Every single day. Every hour. We must fill our hearts and minds with the TRUTH of God’s Word to replace all the lies of the enemy and the negativity that our flesh is prone to.

Praying the Scriptures Lord God, help me to be disciplined to store your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. Help me to know Your Word so well that when the lies of the enemy come into mind I know immediately that it’s a lie. Give me a heart of discernment to see with eyes of faith Your truth as I go about my day.

Day 12 Psalm 119:15-16 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

Behold Your God Let this passage be the cry of our hearts as we seek to behold our God more and more. We are given such wisdom here in Psalm 119 to help us as we grow in our love for God’s Word.

From this passage we can glean the instruction to: 1. Meditate on His precepts 2. Fix our eyes on His ways 3. Delight in His statutes 4. Not forget His Word

I don’t know about you, but this gives me plenty to get started on! How do we meditate on His precepts? By consistently spending time reading and praying through God’s Word. How do we fix our eyes on His ways? Beholding Him through His Word, reminding our hearts of His faithfulness in our own lives. How can we delight in His statutes? Delighting in His Word and also His law because His law brings freedom and conviction of sin. How can we not forget His Word? When we meditate on His Word and memorize it, we are much less likely to forget it!

Praying the Scriptures Lord, I want to behold You and Your Word. Help me each and every day to discipline myself to spend time mediating on Your Word, fixing my eyes upon You, delighting in Your statutes and not forgetting Your Word.

Day 13 Psalm 119:97-98 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.

Behold Your God Can you truly say you love the law of God? Can you say that you love His Word and His commands? Can you see the beauty, not the restraint, in the words He has given us in Scripture?

If you cannot honestly answer “yes” to these questions, there is no guilt or condemnation for you, my friends! I want to offer a simple suggestion for those of you struggling to love God’s Word.

Ask. Ask God to grow in you a love for His Word. This is a prayer He loves to answer. Offer Him your heart, your time, your attempts. He will meet you there.

God is so faithful to meet us in the pages of His Word. The Holy Spirit comforts, convicts and encourages. Ask Him to help you.

The Psalmist says that he meditates on the law day and night. Make His Word your portion. Your sustenance. Your bread. And, as the Bread of Life, He will fill you beyond anything you could have experienced otherwise.

Praying the Scriptures Lord, I long to love your Word and to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I am asking You to grow in me a love for Your Word that I cannot grow myself. I am asking You to do a work in me that will bring glory to You and peace and joy to my soul like nothing else.

Day 14 Psalm 139:7-12 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Behold Your God One of the most famous portions of Psalm 139 is, “where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” If we know He is everywhere, can we not see Him in everything? We must learn how to do so!

Do we believe His Word?

Do we trust Him?

We see time and time again in Scripture that God has promised to not leave or forsake His children. We must learn to take our loving Father at His Word.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

And if we take Him at His Word, and He is with us every moment of everyday, that means He is with us in the hard moments, the moments we turn away from Him, the joyful moments, the moments when we blow it, the moments when we aren’t faithful to Him, the moments we are showing love to others. He is near. He is in us.

He is Emmanuel: God with us.

Praying the Scriptures Father God, You are with me. You are alive in me. You are Emmanuel. Thank You for Your Word. Help me to believe. Help my unbelief.

Day 15 Psalm 143:5-6 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

Behold Your God Have you taken time to reflect over all that God has done, the days of old, the works of His hands? Have you stretched out your hands to God and thirsted for Him like no other?

There is something to be said for keeping a gratitude journal or thankful journal. There is something to be said for looking back over all the many gifts God has given you. In our human minds we forget all that God has done. We can’t even remember what we had for breakfast.

Yet, when we write things down, we are keeping a record not only for ourselves but for future generations to see the faithfulness of God!

Science actually shows that when we write down our blessings, something happens in our very physical body. We begin changing. We begin to see differently. We notice. Our eyes are more fully open. Our hearts, too.

Take a quick moment and think about the things you write down throughout your day. Now, you may be more digital than I am, but I still WRITE in an actual paper planner, I write down my grocery list, notes to my kids, in my prayer journal…you get the idea. But, why do we write things down? 

We write things down that we want to remember.

I don’t know about you, but I want to remember God’s faithfulness more than my circumstances or my problems. I want to behold God and His goodness more than the things of this world.

Praying the Scriptures Lord, help me to remember Your mighty works, help me to recount them to my family. May we ponder the works of Your hands and the days of old. We stretch out our hands to you, our woulds thirst for You in a dry and weary land.

Day 16 Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Behold Your God How do we keep our hearts with vigilance? What does it even mean to “keep your heart?” Some versions say to “guard your heart.”

I like to picture a guard at a fancy palace. That guard knows what his job is and he likely does it with much seriousness. He is to keep the palace from harm. He is to stand guard, to protect against any enemy trying to get into the palace.

When we guard or protect our hearts, what are we guarding from? How do we guard a heart?

To guard our hearts we must be paying attention. We must know what is coming in and out of our minds and hearts. We must be aware of any enemy that may be on the prowl.

We must be on guard as believers. We must know that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. We must wear the armor of God each and everyday so that we can guard our hearts against the scheming of the enemy.

Beholding our God is one of the best ways to guard our heart.

Praying the Scriptures Lord, help me to pay attention to what is coming in and out of my heart. Help me to guard my heart because it is the wellspring of life. May I know Your truth and be so much in communion with Your Spirit living in me that I know the truth apart from the lies. Lord, with Your help I can help to protect, keep and guard my heart.

Day 17 Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Behold Your God The beautiful thing about learning to behold our God is that it not only brings Him glory, but He fills us with His peace at the same time. We are blessed when we fix our eyes on Jesus and give Him glory for all He has done. We are blessed when we take our eyes off of this world and place them on our Father. We are blessed when we can praise Him in the storms of life.

When we learn to behold our God, He keeps us in perfect peace. And the more we behold Him, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more peace we have. The more peace and trust we have, the more content we are right where God has us. The more content we are, the more freedom we have to be who we are in Christ and joyful in all things.

It all starts with beholding. What are you beholding today? Where are your eyes fixed? What are your thoughts fixed upon? What do you run to when you need comfort? What satisfies your soul? What are you allowing to occupy your mind more than Christ?

Praying the Scriptures Lord, You are the peace-giver. You are peace. Help me every moment to keep my mind stayed on You, fixed on You, gazing upon You. And when I learn to gaze upon You, You grant me peace. Perfect peace.

Day 18 Isaiah 43:1b-2 Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Behold Your God It is no mistake that the words “fear not” appear in Scripture so many times. Hundreds of times. God knew. The God of the universe knew we would struggle with fear, worry and anxiety. He knew we would need reminders, daily reminders, even moment by moment reminders to trust Him and leave our burdens in His capable hands. The reminders He gives us? They are all found in His Word.

When we behold our God through the pages of His Word, we are filled with peace and our fears turn to faith. Feeling anxious? Pick up your Bible and turn to Psalm 34. Feeling worried that provisions will not fall into place? Pick up your Bible and read Psalm 23. Feeling unseen and unappreciated? Pick up your Bible and meditate on the comforting words of Psaml 139.

Fear not. The God of the universe calls you by name. He knows you. He sees you. He loves you. When you pass through the waters - and you will - He is with you. He is Emmanuel: God with us. God with you. God with me. The flames will not consume you. He is near.

Praying the Scriptures Lord, God, Emmanuel, help me to believe. Help my unbelief. Help me to give my fears to You and fix my heart upon the promises of Your Word.

Day 19 Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Behold Your God What a beautiful promise we have been given in this passage. The Lord Your God is in your midst. He is might to save you! He rejoices over you. Even on the days you feel that there is nothing worth rejoicing over, He is rejoicing over you. You, dear one. He quiets you with His love. He sings over you.

Just picture that for a moment. The God of the universe quieting you with His love. Singing over you. What do you think His song selection would be today? A lullaby? A party song? A hymn about His holiness or His faithfulness?

Praying the Scriptures Lord, You are in my midst. You are near. You are alive in me. You are mighty and You are my salvation. You rejoice over me with gladness, Lord, help me to believe this truth and walk in Your love daily. Your love quiets me, the stress, the anxiety, the worry and fear…perfect love casts out fear. Your love quiets me. And you exult over me with singing. What a good, good Father.

Day 20 Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Behold Your God

I love the beatitudes portion of Scripture. It just goes against everything our culture seems to work for. You can be blessed and poor in spirit? The meek will inherit the earth? The pure will see God?

There is something beautiful about realizing that we don't have to go with the flow in a world where popularity and wealth and "whatever feels good must be right" is the way many live. It is freeing to me to know that God's ways are different. It is such a stark reminder that we are to be in this world but not of it. And you know what? That doesn't feel like punishment or a boring life to me.

Abundant life.

Joy. Peace. Faith.

Hope.

If I can choose to see through the lens of Scripture and follow Jesus, living a life obedient to His commands, I will see Him. We will never reach any form of perfection while here on earth. We learned that early on in Genesis. But, God sees the heart. He sees the repentant, broken soul who comes to Him for forgiveness.

We are made pure and holy and righteous because of the blood of Jesus.

He sees our child-like faith and in return? We see Him.

Oh the mystery of it all. Oh the beauty.

Praying the Scriptures

Lord, I want to see You. I want to behold You. You have told us in Your Word that the pure in heart will see you...so I thank you that because of the blood of Jesus You see me as righteous and my sins are forgiven, I have been cleansed and made right and pure. Now open my eyes that I might see You in all Your glory.

Day 21 John 15:1-11 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Behold Your God

To abide is to wait upon, to remain, to dwell within. To abide in Christ is to receive the gift of beholding Him in all of His glory. When we abide in Christ, we behold God. 

When we abide in Him, we behold Him, we stay close, we remain in Him, we bear fruit. And then? Our joy is full.

We've spent many days learning to behold God, to stay close to Him, to know Him through His Word. And when we do, we abide in Him and He in us...and our joy is full to overflowing. 

Praying the Scriptures

Lord, You are the vine and I want to stay close to You. I wan to abide in You that You may be glorified in my life. Help me to remain in You, dwell in You, to see You in all Your glory...to behold You as I learn to abide in You. 

Lord, You are the vine, I am the branch. Help me to cling to You, to abide in You, to stay near my life source. And when I abide in You, when I spend time in Your presence and in Your Word, You will give me eyes to behold You.

Day 22 Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Behold Your God

We become what we behold. This passage brings us full circle. What are you beholding? Are you meditating upon the things of this world and all of your problems? Or are you meditating upon whatever is true, noble, lovely, right and pure?

The choice is up to you. What will you choose to behold in this life? Today? Right this moment? If you cannot physically make yourself change the direction of your thoughts, pull out your Bible and start reading the Psalms. Aloud. Turn them into prayers. Speak His Word. Pray His Word. Read the Word.

The enemy knows the way to steal our joy and steal our ministry is through our minds. We are tempted at every turn to become discouraged, defeated and belittled. But knowing this tactic of the enemy we must stand firm and CHOOSE to BELIEVE the Word of God. To believe what God says, we must be reading it. You may believe in God, but do you BELIEVE GOD?

Praying the Scriptures

Lord God, help me to take my eyes off of my problems and meditate upon whatever things are true, noble, lovely and right. Help me to fix my eyes on Jesus. Help my unbelief.

 

Thank you! Thank you for joining me on this journey to learn to behold God through His Word. My prayer is that you were encouraged and drawn closer to Him through this series.

If you want more resources for Praying God’s Word please go to MercyIsNew.com

Blessings, Candace