Pray the Word Challenge

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The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.

Psalm 145:14

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Praying the Word carries me in seasons when I do not have the words to pray, when the rugged terrain appears endless, and daily stirs my conversations with the Lord. His word is an invitation into the depths of His presence, guiding me each step of the way. 

God has given us His active living Word and one of the ways we can relentlessly pursue Him is through prayer. As we seek His face, growing in the knowledge of who He is, a hunger for prayer is stirred, which both fuels and sustains. We endure and we persevere in prayer, and we encounter our active living Father each step of the way.

If you ever feel like you don’t have the words to pray, or stuck in your prayer life, this challenge is for YOU! No matter the conditions of the terrain— ⁣What if we looked at it through a lens of faith instead of unbelief?⁣ What if we plunged right into His promise?⁣ What if we put our hope in Him over the conditions?⁣ What if we rested in the knowledge that we have been set with God? ⁣

The purpose of this challenge is to grow in the knowledge of who He is, and deepen your relationship with Him. Our self sufficiency is not sustainable, the way forth is led by Him alone. The path of the trail is set to His ways.⁣ The pursuit progresses by faith in Him.⁣

In this Pray the Word challenge we will be praying through Psalm 145 verse by verse. I will guide you through the verses we will pray through each day, and provide you with prompts to intertwine with what is pressing on your heart and God’s word. 

As I was praying over this challege, the Lord laid Psalm 145 on my heart with so much intention. This psalm is a praise of David, which fits so powerfully for this specific challenge. Praying the Word gives us a heart posture that is fixed on the Lord, and Psalm 145 is a summary of all that David learned about who God is while he was faithfully following Him. 

We will see in this Psalm and inside look into David’s heart and his passion to truly praise the Lord. David proclaims and reflects on the goodness of God. In this Psalm we will learn so much about who God is and what He has done. Great is the Lord!

I have trekked through many seasons of not having the words to pray and other seasons where His word led me through conversations with Him, and I can tell you this—you WILL GROW in the knowledge of who He is, your relationship with Him WILL DEEPEN, and He WILL SUSTAIN you. Get ready, He  WILL MEET you here! 

Trail Map

DAILY:

• Use the words in the verses you are exploring as a guide to writing out a prayer, expanding your prayer with what the Hoy Spirit is leading you in. 

• The prompts below will serve as a tool to help guide you along as you are praying the Word. As you answer them, your words will intertwin with the verses. 

• What is God speaking to you as you dwell in them?

• Rejoice, repent, and request what is on your heart. 

• As you finish writing your prayer, you will see a blend of scripture and the pressings from your heart. 

READING PLAN + PROMPTS:

DAY ONE- VERSES 1-3

Tell the Lord how your heart is fully devoted to praise. 

Read Psalm 99:9– Exalt His name. How is our Lord described in verse 9?

What has God done for you? 

Proclaim a joyful praise. 

What are you praising Him for today?

Tell the Lord how great He is. 

DAY TWO- VERSES 4-7

Tell of his faithfulness.

Write down some of His wondrous works. 

Meditate on a characteristic of the Lord.

How does His greatness transform your life in Him?

What about the Lord are you paying attention to?

Read Isaiah 63:7– what will you recount of the Lord specifically?

What does His steadfast love mean to you?

What is stirring praise towards Him within you?

DAY THREE- VERSES 8-9

How does the Lord being gracious and merciful transform your heart and mind?

How are you bearing Christ’s image as you see who He is in these verses?

What do you need to surrender to Him?

What are some past and present experiences of Gods greatness that you can praise?

Read Psalm 86:5. How are you calling upon the Lord today? 

What do you need to ask Him for forgiveness?

DAY FOUR- VERSES 10-13

What are you thanking God for today?

Describe the glory of His eternal Kingdom.

How has His hand in your life worked?

How is His power made perfect in your weakness? 

What do you need to call upon Him for today?

Read Deuteronomy 3:24– Describe His greatness and His mighty hand and how it changes everything.

How does His everlasting Kingdom propel you closer to Him?

DAY FIVE- VERSES 14-16

What does the terrain your trekking through look like?

How is the Lord upholding you in it?

Read Psalm 37:7– What are you waiting upon the Lord for? How will you wait?

Describe the kindness of God in your life.

Tell the Lord how you will draw near to Him.

Tell the Lord how you will depend on Him.

How will you follow His path, His plan, His pace?

Describe how the Lord satisfies your every need. 

Read Psalm 148:8– Proclaim what He does.

DAY SIX-  VERSES 17-21

Tell the Lord how His graciousness transforms your life.

What do you need to ask of the Lord today?

Describe how you cling to his nearness. 

Lay down any weariness, hurts, or fears at His feet. 

Tell the Lord how He fuels you and how He sustains you.

Adore Him. Tell the Lord all the ways you love Him. 

Describe your need for the Lord in all circumstances.

The Lord hears you and sees you. Tell Him what this means to you. 

Praise the Lord. 

Let’s put our trust in the Lord, because our trust is the Lord. 

Here, in Him, we are like trees planted by water where our roots stretch out to the streams. 

Here, in Him, there is no room to fear when the heat comes. 

There is no worry when the land is parched— the fruit continues to yield. 

He is taking us to a place of complete and sustainable dependency.

LET’S PRAY THE WORD!

Nothing Can Separates Us.

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“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Genesis 25:15

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I remember that day in the car so vividly.  I was crying out to the Lord. I could feel the heavy weights this uneven ground of special needs held. I felt it for myself and for my son, Mason. It was sticky— pretty gritty at points, and I began to realize that as I became more aware of the weight, I really became even more aware of His nearness in it.

In our awareness of the weight, we see our desperate need for the Lord. Then the Lord spoke so clearly, that the tears rolled down my face. His words repeated over and over again— “ just exalt Jesus.” In every break in the ground that we might feel like we are falling through or every place, our foot might get stuck between the rocks, exalt Jesus.

Ever since that moment, I have reminded both Mason and I that it might appear to be rugged terrain, or that the weight of the disabilities are trying to overcome but really, we just need to exalt Jesus.

So we began to take His word and proclaim what we call mile marker anthems to keep us going. Mile marker anthems take a piece of scripture and break it down verse by verse creating statements that will be anthems. These anthems are what we live out as we live in Him throughout the trek. We press into the terrain because His goodness carries eternal weight. They are a way for you to tell of who He is, to dig deep into His attributes.

What our eyes are fixed on is what will lead the way forth.

What our heart is set on determines the path of the trail.

What our mind focuses on is what we will pursue.

Mile marker anthems serve as reminders to us that no matter what it is we are trekking through our God is bigger, our God is good, and our God never leaves our side.

The ground below might look like a whole lot of grit, maybe a pile of mundane, or an overwhelm of fear, heartache, or shame.  The rugged places in the terrain are where we witness His goodness.

What if we looked at it through a lens of faith instead of unbelief?

What if we plunged right into His promise?

What if we put our hope in Him over the conditions?

What if we rested in the knowledge that we have been set with God?

Our faith in Him equips us, fills us, and it nourishes us.

His presence changes everything.

Perhaps right now it might be hard to see over that mountain in your life, or maybe you are in the valley waiting to make the big trek up, wherever it is He has you, can I encourage you to stand firm with Him in it?  Our deep need for him is revealed in it. The way forth is led by Him alone. The path of the trail is set to His ways. The pursuit progresses by faith in Him.

As I proclaim these anthems I am reminded day after day to live by faith—my eyes only fixed on Him, my heart solely with Him, my mind relentless after Him. He is the only answer we need.

In the midst of unfamiliar surroundings approaching, etch His word in your heart—

Genesis 25:15 says, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Whatever happens in the trek furthers His eternal purpose.

Anything can make its way in— BUT God is already here.

Maybe today you find yourself in terrain that is overwhelming or anxious or maybe you really don’t know where to put your foot in the broken ground that lays in front of you, or you need to be reminded of who He is.

The valley may feel vast, the wilderness never-ending, know that He is the God who gets in the valley with you, He is the God who is your refuge in the wilderness.

This is your invitation to proclaim mile marker anthems.

His word is a tangible encounter.

His wounds are our healing.

Press into the terrain.

Grab hold of His hand in the trek.

Receive what He is producing along the way.

Nothing can separate us.

Romans 8:39

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