Tag: quiet time notebook

5 Days to a Thankful Heart

Published by Leslie Newman Word Study 6 comments
Spend 5 days in this easy study of Bible verses about thanksgiving. Come away with deep insights and a thankful heart!

Words. We hear them, we speak them, we read them. From the time we are tiny babies just starting to talk, words are part of who we are. From a very young age, we seek to know and understand the world around us through our developing language. Knowing the meanings of the words we speak and read is necessary in order to understand the world around us and interact with it.

It’s no different with the Bible. Word meanings are very important!

The Bible was first written in Hebrew and Greek. Translations are not perfect because languages are so different. The meanings of words can vary and change over time. The English words that we read in our modern translations can represent two or more different words in the original languages, so sometimes the meaning of one English word doesn’t quite do justice to the complexity of the concept implied in the original languages. This is why it’s a great idea to do a Biblical word study!

Word study can seem very intimidating, but fortunately, we have so many resources for solid Biblical research and understanding right at our fingertips. There are places online that you can go to find concordances and lexicons in order to do a deeper study of God’s word. You do not have to be an expert at languages to gain some deep insight into what God is speaking through His word!

Click below to read more and pick up your FREE WORD STUDY PRINTABLE!

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Waiting in Prayer {Guest Post by Sarah Geringer}

Published by Leslie Newman Prayer 29 comments
Have you ever had to wait for your prayers to be answered? Have you ever wondered how to wait well? Find encouragement today in a guest post by my friend, Sarah Geringer.

Have you ever had to wait in prayer? Me, too. I think that’s something we have all probably experienced and I’m not sure about you, but waiting is not my favorite thing to do! I’m all for getting things taken care of and wrapped up right now. The thing is, God’s time table is not the same as ours. And that’s what we’ll discuss today – waiting in prayer.

Today, I’m happy to introduce you to my friend, Sarah Geringer. Sarah writes and blogs at www.sarahgeringer.com. I’ve been encouraged by her words many times. Sarah is writing today about one aspect of prayer that is particularly hard – the aspect of waiting in prayer. Sarah gives us some practical steps that can encourage us and give us a little different perspective while we wait on the Lord. Sarah gives us some great tips on how to wait well! – Leslie

Waiting in Prayer by Sarah Geringer

In my heart, there is a waiting room for prayers. For some prayers, I’ve only had to wait a few hours to learn the answers. I didn’t have to wait long, but the pressure was still there. For other prayers, I had to wait many years for the answers. I’m still waiting on some prayers to be answered with anything other than “wait.”

I often meditate upon the truths in John Waller’s song “While I’m Waiting.” I play this song while I’m in that waiting room and pray through the truths, verse by verse.

I lean into hope. I put on a hopeful mindset when I pray. I trust that God has good things in store for me. If good things aren’t possible in my situation, then I trust that God has good lessons for me to learn in the circumstance. I hope for better days while I wait in prayer, and that hope shines a bright light in the otherwise dimly-lit waiting room.

Click below to read more of Sarah’s post. She give some practical and actionable steps to help you while you are waiting on the Lord!

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Build A Better Prayer Life (By Avoiding This Perfectionism Pitfall)

Published by Leslie Newman Blog Posts, Prayer 32 comments
There is Someone who can do a better job building our prayer life than we can. Avoid this perfectionism pitfall in your prayer life! Read to find out more!

For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. (Hebrews 3:4, NKJV)

Prayer is a little like building a house. It takes a plan, a whole lot of time and effort, the right tools and a master builder.

Now if there’s anything a perfectionist likes, it’s a good plan, right? We like the tools, and we are willing to put in the time and effort. As a matter of fact, we are driven in many ways (and not all of them are healthy ways). We want to be efficient, and we focus on that end result, often at the expense of the process it takes to get there. These are all things we need to keep an eye on in our day to day life situations.

But we also have to watch out for these things in our prayer lives, because if we are not careful, we’ll focus so much on the plan that we’ll forget who the builder is.

Join me today as we talk more about prayer and a common perfectionism pitfall.

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How to Claim 7 Verses That Will Equip You for Life!

Published by Leslie Newman Claiming Scriptures 24 comments
It is a common misconception that praying for ourselves is a selfish thing to do. Join me in overcoming that lie from the enemy as we learn how to claim 7 verses that will equip us for living! {FREE PRINTABLES!}

How do you feel when you think about praying for yourself?

As women, I think we often see the importance of praying for others. We pray for our children, our husbands, our family, our friends, our difficult situations. But what often happens when we think about praying for ourselves?

We believe that we are being selfish.

Why is that?

*Maybe we feel there are so many other needs that are so much more important than our own, so praying for ourself takes away from praying for others.
*Maybe we feel that if we pray for ourselves, we are being ungrateful to God. He has done so much for us already. How could we ask for more?
*Maybe we feel as if we are not trusting God if we pray for our own concerns and needs. He has a plan for us, right? Asking for things for ourselves may sometimes make us feel as if we are taking matters into our hands rather than trusting Him.

These are all common thought process we have, especially those of us who deal with perfectionism. Perfectionism has a myriad of ways of keeping us from taking care of ourselves in a healthy manner. But let’s see what we can do to get beyond what perfect says we should do and instead, let’s focus on what the Bible says.

Read more to find out more and to learn how to pray 7 verses that will equip you for life! {FREE PRINTABLES!}

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Unlock the Power of Praise in Your Prayer Life!

Published by Leslie Newman Prayer 32 comments
Have you ever felt like something was missing from your prayer life? It could be praise and worship. Read to learn more about unlocking the power of praise in your prayer life! {FREE PRINTABLES!}

Have you ever felt like something was missing from your prayer life? I have. I was praying for others, asking for forgiveness, and being thankful, but it seemed like something just wasn’t quite right.

After some searching, I discovered that praise was a missing aspect in my prayer life. When I began adding in praise to my prayer time, an amazing thing happened. I began to have an entirely different focus that really impacted my thought processes for the better.

Praising God is a perspective-changer. There’s no doubt about it!

There are many ways to praise God which are as various and unique as the individuality He has created in all of us. But no matter how we do it, we’ll find that at the core of praising God is recognizing and thinking about His character. When we do this, some very important things begin to happen.

Praise invites His presence.
Praise forces us to take our eyes off ourselves.
Praise helps us understand who God is.
Understanding His character gives us hope helps bring peace.
When we understand Who God is, we find our true identity.
Praise makes the enemy flee!

Last week we studied 2 Peter 1:3 which tells us that God gives us everything we need to live a godly life. He equips us in all areas, including our prayer lives!

If we take a look at what follows (2 Peter 1:4) we gain another valuable insight about prayer. Click below to discover more! {FREE PRINTABLES TOO!}

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Three Powerful Strategies to Transform Your Prayer Life

Published by Leslie Newman Prayer 76 comments
Does your prayer life need a transformation? Try these three powerful strategies!

God is personal, loving, powerful, all-knowing, wise and holy and He invites us to spend time with Him. Can you imagine that? He loves us that much! Prayer is the outpouring of our relationship with Him and His with us. It’s a place we can go to talk to Him and interact with Him in a personal way.

But prayer isn’t always easy. Perhaps you feel distracted. Maybe it’s hard to pray with confidence. Maybe there is no joy to be found. Perhaps it’s hard to let go and let God be in control. There are times when we are not sure what to say or how to pray in the first place. If so, you are not alone. I’ve been in every one of these situations over the years in my prayer life.

The great thing is that God gives us all the knowledge we need. He will equip us for everything He calls us to do. Since prayer is something He calls us to do, we know he will equip is for that, too.

Join me this week as we discuss three powerful strategies that can transform your prayer life.

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6 Things to Remember When You Feel Overwhelmed in Your Prayer Life

Published by Leslie Newman Prayer 27 comments
Have you ever felt overwhelmed in your prayer life? I think a lot of us do, but it's easy to get discouraged and feel alone. It's very true that prayer can be overwhelming, but it's also true that there are things we can do about it. Click to read more.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed in your prayer life? I think a lot of us do, but it’s easy to get discouraged and feel alone. It’s very true that prayer can be overwhelming, but it’s also true that there are things we can do about it.

Perhaps you can relate to these thoughts about prayer which have come from my own life and from conversations I’ve had with other people.

*I have a family, a job, and other commitments. It’s hard to find extra time to pray and read the Bible.
*It’s hard to concentrate and I can’t focus when I try to pray.
*I don’t know what to say or how to go about praying the right way.
*There are so many needs. I don’t know how to pray over them all.
*I feel guilty if I spend any time praying for my own needs. Other prayer needs are more important and need all of my attention.
*It’s really hard to let go and let God have control. It involves so much waiting that sometimes I run ahead of God.

Do any of these statements describe something you have struggled with? If so, you are not alone.

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How to Persevere When Prayer Takes You to Hard Places

Published by Leslie Newman Prayer 24 comments
How to Persevere When Prayer Takes You to Hard Places

Prayer is the answer. We’ve heard this many times and we believe it, too. We know God is faithful. We know He answers. We work hard on our prayer lives and then, out of the blue, it hits us – something really hard. It’s true, sometimes prayer takes us places we’d really rather not be.

We particularly see this in our personal life when we are asking to be set free form the things that hold us back. Sometimes, to work through the setting free, God has to take us into some very unexpected places.

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