I recognize that my quirky brain may function differently than most people; however, my hope is that someone else can relate to the experience of reading an article or listening to a church message and the appearance of a phrase creates a brain worm that never seems to find its way out! And the word or phrase is unrelated to the central idea trying to be communicated, but it resonates with you, and then pops up in unusual places. One instance where I underwent this strange phenomenon occurred while listening to Carlos Whitaker’s message entitled Enter Wild.

In a previous post entitled We’re At War, I introduced Whitaker’s message that there is an enemy out there seeking to prevent us from living a flourishing and abundant life, and one of his suggestions was to shift from praying problems and instead focus on Praying Promises. Whitaker shares, “When I switched my prayer, and when I began to pray the promises of God instead of the problems, healing began to happen.” Since that fall day when the phrase Praying Promises wormed its way into my brain, there have been numerous times when those words have emerged from a variety of sources, and at each occurrence, I am reminded that focusing on a problem and praying for a solution might be better served by filling my heart and mind with God’s promises.

Perhaps, Praying Promises comes naturally for you, but I must admit, that for me, praying petitions and asking God to provide answers to my problems is my default approach. Please don’t misread this to say that I should not express my concerns in prayer, but intentionally Praying Promises alters my mindset from focusing on my needs and instead directs me to what He has already done; how He has already equipped me to deal with the struggles that come along as a result of just being human.

What if by switching from petitions to Promises, I find weapons that allow me to continually conquer struggles like the Comparison Trap? In It’s Not Your Turn, Heather Day reminds us of how prevalent His promises are–“There are over 3,500 promises for us in Scripture…What if he has been trying to arm you with over 3,500 promises that could change your mindset? What if he wants you to be able to disarm the negative attacks of Satan with the promises of God?” With the option to choose from any one of those 3,500 promises, I think any petition I could mention in prayer is absolutely covered!

Mirroring the messages from Whitaker and Day, Nicki Koziarz shares in Why Her? the need to be diligent about Praying Promises over areas of our life that are not okay. “If we’ll live with these Promises and pray them over the non-okay portions of our  lives, we’ll soon not only be saying, ‘God is good,’ but we will actually be applying and experiencing and coming to understand the reality of His goodness.” She encourages us to not only choose a life-verse but instead choose “a whole army of them!”

Knowing I have an army of God’s Promises supporting me, I can embrace an Attitude of Gratitude that I’m not facing struggles in my life alone. Add to that mix the community of people around me who offer support and guidance, and I should have the confidence to conquer fears, embrace failures, and continue pursuing a Habit of Growth and Resilience, because I know that an abundant and flourishing life exists but only when I surrender to His plans and embrace His Promises rather than settling for my own meager vision of what my life can be.

In order to shift to Praying Promises, I’m making a list. I may not find all 3,500 provided in Scripture, but I’m starting with 30—one for each day of the month to remind myself of His provision. What verses would you choose for the list? Please share in the comments below.

References:

Day, H.T. (2021). It’s not your turn: What to do while you’re waiting for your breakthrough. [Kindle version]. IVP Books.

Koziarz, N. (2018). Why her?: 6 truths we need to hear when measuring up leaves us falling apart. [Kindle version]. B&H Books.

Whitaker, C. (2020, September 5). “Enter Wild.” [Audio podcast]. Fresh Life Church. Retrieved from http://www.freshlife.church/messages/message.php?id=1173