Monday September 29, 2014

Psalm 9:1  I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonder.

Have you ever thought of praying scripture?  Years ago I heard a teaching on this idea and it has been a wonderful blessing.  Simply put, you personalize scripture so that the verses express what you want to say.  But more than that, many are the times that I’m not sure how to pray and they give me the words and the guidance – the path to pray.

Among my favorites are the ones I’ve identified as “The Blue Sections”.  (My Bible is kind of highlighted to the hilt!)  I have used a blue highlighter to mark over 30 different sections of scripture that focus upon God and His greatness and wonder.  They are not about us – they do not include requests for help or assistance.  They are declarative about Him.

I frequently found myself at a loss when it came to expressing to God what was in my heart.  I wanted to tell Him how wonderful and glorious He was.  It occurred to me that
scripture describes Him more accurately and effectively that I can.  So I searched for those scriptures that did exactly that and marked them in blue.  They run the gamut from entire Psalms to a single verse.  But when I pray them, personalizing them, my heart rejoices because it is accomplishing what it desires.

For instance Psalm 19:1-4 begins ”The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”  When I pray this, I personalize it so it becomes “O Lord, the heavens declare your glory, the skies proclaim the work of your hands!”  By using
scripture, my affirmations are rooted in eternal truth.  I know I am expressing reality and my heart is filled with a sense of accomplishing something so important.

It takes me about 25 – 30 minutes to pray through my Blue Section verses out loud.  Frequently, the experience provokes tears of joy and gratitude because it leads to such an intimate experience with God.  They help me to praise the Lord with all my heart and tell Him of His wonders!

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About Don Schmidt

Beginning in the fall of 2009, Don was VP of Operations & Director of Student Life for 2 years at Williamson Christian College in Franklin, TN - a wonderful, accredited 4 year college for adult learners. That is where he started writing the devotionals. The passion of his heart is to love God and to help others learn to love God more and more. He grew up in St. Joseph, MI - Class of '66. Graduated from Michigan State in '70 and Wheaton Grad School in '78. Thunderous conversion October 11, 1968. He and Donna were engaged 2 hrs & 15 minutes after they met August 25, 1969 at a Christian camp in Georgia. They married in '70 and have 4 wonderful sons. Most of his adult career has been in business in NE Ohio. They lived for 20 years in Peninsula, OH. They attended St. Luke's Ministries (Anglican) in Copley, OH for many years. Seven years ago they were reassigned by the Lord to attend River of Life Community Church in Hudson, OH. St. Luke's prayerfully sent them off on this new adventure with much love.
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1 Response to Monday September 29, 2014

  1. Annaliese says:

    I love your heart Uncle Don! Thank you for sharing this idea and your experiences!

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