Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles
Week Forty Three Sheer Delight Scripture: Psalm 37:4-5 Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. Quote from Pray While You’re Prey: “I know the type of [mate] that I desire, and I want to be with the type of [mate] that God desires for me.” I, like many, have often searched for the key to getting everything I want. I mean, who doesn’t like getting his or her way? I will even admit, because I know I have been forgiven for it, that there was a point in which I thought I could manipulate God. I would say things like, “God, I promise to…If You will…,” (you didn’t really think I was going to fill in the blanks, did you?). Then, I read this Scripture, Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” It sounded super simple. So, I just had to show God that I loved Him, right? I went to church, Sunday school, and Bible Study. I paid my tithes and offering. I sang with the praise team. I even read the Bible and prayed on my own. And, I am a deacon’s daughter, so that had to count for something. And, I truly felt that because I did all of that, God should give me what I wanted…A MAN!!! I would pray this Scripture back to Him like I was told you are supposed to, “Lord, You said if I delight in You, You would give me the desires of my heart, so I want a man, who is saved and taller than me, who will pursue me and treat me right, someone sane, stable and supportive, and Lord, you know I am a visual person, so he has to be someone I am attracted to. Remember, what You promised. I am delighting in You.” Yes, I was that brazen, or young and stupid either way, I was totally misinterpreting this verse and I had taken it out of context. I never really read the second part of the verse about commitment and trust. Not only that, but I did not realize that when you are serving someone only for what you can get out of the deal, that is not true devotion. I have learned through many of my relationships with men, friends and family, how I was treating God. I have had many people in my life offer me praise, help, and so-called commitment, just so that they could get what they wanted from me. It is an awful feeling and I hate that I ever thought that my relationship with God should be like that. But, praise God for spiritual growth!!! Now, I know that these verses mean when you have sheer delight in God alone, you commit to Him alone, and you trust in Him alone, He will change your heart and your desires to conform to His Will for your life. He will set you on a path of dreams that you never even imagined. All of the things and people you wanted before may be included, but they will not be the ultimate prize. The ultimate prize will be an intimate relationship with the only One who can totally and completely satiate your every desire, which is the one, true, living, loving God Almighty. Find sheer delight and Him and see your desires fulfilled. Prayer Thank You, God for allowing me to have a close, personal relationship with You. Please forgive me for anytime I have done something to please You in an effort to get my way. Lord, please help me to wholly commit to Your Will for my life and trust in You, so that the dreams You placed me will come to pass. In Jesus’ Name, Amen *Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©1984, unless otherwise indicated.
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Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles
Week Forty Two It’s Not You, It’s Me Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me... Quote from Pray While You’re Prey: “I’m leaning and depending on God to send me someone who truly appreciates me and knows how to treat me.” I personally have not been the subject of many sorry excuses for a break up. In my whole, three, real, serious relationships, I have always been the one to call it quits officially. And, in my not-so-real relationships, I never really got a reason; generally, the guy just stopped calling or returning calls. I have heard, however, that a line that is often used in ending relationships is, “It’s not you, it’s me.” This like is usually given with the party doing the breaking up does not want to hurt the feelings of the party with whom he or she is breaking up. So, rather than explain why the relationship did not work, the person begins to list all of his or her faults, flaws, or emotional baggage. I suppose this is done to make the person that he or she is leaving feel like the relationship was a mistake in the first place and he or she is really doing this jilted party a favor. Well, it is my understanding that this particular method of ending a relationship, though popular, may not have the intended effects. For example, the jilted party may feel ignorant for not noticing how messed up his or her partner had been. Or, the party being left may feel that he or she should get the opportunity to “fix” the other person. In the end, someone’s feelings will be hurt anyway, so honesty is the best policy. While the “it’s not you, it’s me” break up may not be as useful as people think, the concept may help many single Christians understand why they are still in a state of singleness. Do you have people telling you that you are too picky? Has someone broken up with you or not even asked you out because you are too uptight or conservative? If you are living the life that God has asked you to live, the people who don’t want to date or marry you are not rejecting you; they are rejecting the God in you. Some people simply cannot handle the life that you live by faith. And, I am not saying to get all high and mighty and stick your good Christian nose in the air, but I am saying that some people cannot handle the masterpiece that God made you to be. So, let’s really examine this: Do you really want to spend the rest of your life or even one more minute with someone who is threatened by your relationship with Christ? I, for sure, do not. So, the next time someone rejects you or breaks up with you, hear God’s voice saying, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me.” If you desire to be in a relationship, it should be with someone who loves and appreciates you for all that you are through Christ. And, as such, that person should treat you like the precious commodity that you are to your Father. If he or she cannot accept the God in you, then it is best for that person to keep it moving, so the one that God has for you can enter into your life. Prayer hank You, God for Your grace and Your mercies that help me to live a life that is pleasing to You and only You. Please forgive me for getting caught up in the rejection of those who are in love with this word. Lord, please help me to hold out for someone who is willing to seek You to find me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen *Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©1984, unless otherwise indicated. Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles
Week Forty One Who Can Quench My Thirst For Love? Scripture: Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away… Quote from Pray While You’re Prey: “Some of the most beautiful love poetry and stories can be found right in the Bible. If you’re looking for a good romance novel, thumb through Song of Solomon sometime….I mean, I wouldn’t mind having a man after me who thought that “many waters cannot quench love; neither can the floods drown it.” Have you ever read Song of Solomon? Some of it is a bit racy and, admittedly, could make you uncomfortable. Nevertheless, the book has some of the most beautiful representations of love and courtship that have ever been written in any literary work. In Chapter 8, verse 7, it says, “Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.” That is some deep love! You know when you are thirsty, I mean dehydrated, it seems like nothing will satisfy your thirst. You may drink a soda, and it is sweet, but you are still thirsting for something else. You may drink milk, and it can usually take away a bad taste in your mouth or soothe a burning mouth, but you still are not satisfied. You can drink juice and you usually feel good about its nutrients, but it does not fill you. You can drink tea or coffee and they make you feel all warm and fuzzy and give you energy, but the thirst is not quenched. When you are really thirsty, the only thing that will satisfy that thirst is pure, unadulterated water. For a lot of my life, I was thirsty for love. For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to have a boyfriend to date or a husband to marry. My whole existence became my search for the perfect mate. I have dated sweet guys who have made me feel beautiful and smart. They told me everything I longed to hear, so that they could get what they wanted from me. And, after my experiences with them, I felt empty. I have dated some people on the rebound, who literally only came into my life to help me get over the person before them. Those relationships never lasted long and I always wanted something more. I have tried to date people who are “good for me.” The ones that look good on paper and it seems that the two of you should match, but there just is not that spark. I have dated the guys that reenergized me; those who knew how to make me feel all warm and fuzzy. I have had a couple of relationships in which I truly felt that I grew as a person. But, alas, I am still single, so clearly they did not last. None of these relationships could quench my thirst for love. I found out why. The innate desire that we have to love and be loved comes from being formed in the image of God and Christ. God is Love. Jesus Christ is Love. No man or woman can satisfy a Christian’s need for love. Only the Living Water will end the thirsting in your soul. You can drink a whole entire river or potential mates, have floods and floods of dates, but until you fall wholly and completely in love with the true and living God, no other love (or like or lust) will be satisfying. It is in Him alone that we find the sole satisfaction for our souls. Once, we know that love and fully experience that level of love, we will not feel thirsty whether in a relationship or single. Any relationship that comes our way will be an added bonus, but, even if we do not have a relationship with a significant other, we can still feel full and whole. Prayer Thank You, God for loving me with a love with which no other can compare. Please forgive me for longing for something or someone else to satisfy a thirst that is only quenched by You. Lord, please help me to know that I am whole with Your love and Your love alone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen *Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©1984, unless otherwise indicated. Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles
Week Forty Still Blessed Scripture: 1 Peter 3:13-14 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Quote from Pray While You’re Prey: “I cannot stress enough that if you follow God’s will, He will bless you.” Have you gotten them? I have. The looks that scream, “I wonder what is wrong with her,” or, “She must have some major issue.” Or, have you gotten the whispers behind your back that are trying to figure out why you are still single, or, why you are single with no children? Worse yet, has someone come up to your face and told you why you are still single, or, that at the rate you are going, you will never have children of your own. It’s amazing to me what people think is their business. And, often, they truly believe they are doing you a favor. They feel like you are not painfully aware of your singleness, so they should help you figure out your situation. The proverbial “they” says things like, “Stop being so uptight and picky, girl,” or, “Don’t you think it’s time for you to settle down, man.” “They” say these things when, ultimately, the timing and length of your single season as a Christian is between you and the God who made you. No one else gets a say. What “they” fail to realize, other than it is none of their cotton-picking business, is that maybe, just maybe, you are being obedient. I cannot speak for everyone who is single; however, for those of us who are trying to live in God’s will for our lives, we should be eager to do this single thing God’s way. God promises us so many times and in so many ways that if we are obedient to Him, we are still blessed. Imagine that you compromise and settle for someone who does not match the one for whom you have prayed to God. Exactly how blessed, joyful, and peaceful do you feel that relationship will be? How long do you think it will last? Sure, it might temporarily ease the pain and suffering of loneliness, but at what cost? If a man settles down to soon, before he is ready to love his wife as Christ loved the church, how will that relationship fare? I can tell you from experience that it does not end well in many cases. So, no matter what anyone in this world says, if you are living in your single season in a way that is pleasing to God, no one can harm you. Do not let the pressures of this world make you feel like there is something wrong with you because you do not have a mate or children. God makes everything beautiful in His timing. One day, the times of suffering will be a distant memory. In the meantime, if someone has the nerve to point out that you are “still single,” kindly remind that person that you are also, “still blessed!” Prayer Thank You, God for the comfort in knowing that there is a blessing in obedience. Please forgive me for allowing others to infiltrate my beliefs about where You have me in this season of my life. Lord, please help me to appreciate all of the blessings and mercies that you give me daily as I follow Your will. In Jesus’ Name, Amen *Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©1984, unless otherwise indicated. |
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