Part IV: Joy That Defeats Worry: Principle #17: Give What Troubles You to God

  Memory Verse:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

--Philippians 4:6-7

I loved this during the sermon on Sunday, I learned Havening and how to pray "effectively".

JOURNAL

Give what troubles us to God by presenting your requests

to him with thanksgiving.

Start out by writing in your journal about your current

requests. 

After yesterday, you would think I would request reconciliation, but I need to move forward. Dwelling on the past will not help me.

I have brought several requests to God in recent days, most about my momma and her back and hip issues.

You may want to zero in on one issue, but try to

keep the list to no more than three.

Begin by praying Psalm 8. Read it to God as a personal

letter from you. As you do, you will be reminded that God is

bigger than your biggest fear. Let that soak in.

Psalm 8:

O Lord, our Lord,

    how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

You have set Your glory

    above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

    You have ordained strength

because of Your enemies,

    to silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens,

    the work of Your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

    which You have established,

4 what is man that You are mindful of him,

    and the son of man that You attend to him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

    and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands;

    You have put all things under his feet,

7 all sheep and oxen,

    and also the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the air,

    and the fish of the sea,

    and whatever travels the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,

    how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

As you present your requests before God, identify

something positive about this request. Then, in the words

of Jesus, tell him what you want him to do for you. Be

honest and very specific (“Rabbi, I want to see”). 

I've been calling Abba Adonai lately.  

Adonai,

How excellent is your Name in all the Earth!

Thank you for blessing me with a mother that has taken care of me since she knew I existed.  Lord, she is a huge blessing to me.

My mother Debby is in great pain with her back and her hip.  I want her find comfort in knowing that you will provide a way for this pain to subside.

Please provide her with the peace knowing that this pain should only be temporary.  Guide me in how I can help her.

In Jesus' Name I pray to You,

Amen.

So this was not exactly what I said, as I was practicing "havening".  See below.

As you are praying, engage in a practice called “havening.” This is

a healing technique that helps boost serotonin production

in the brain (which leads to satisfaction, happiness,

optimism). This should physically help you calm down and

feel a bit of release from the stress of the situation.

Here are three different techniques for havening. Try all

three, or focus on the one that really resonates with you.

• Rub the palms of your hands together, slowly, as if

you’re washing your hands.

• Give yourself a hug. Place your hands on your opposite

shoulders and rub them down your arms to your

elbows.

• Place your fingertips up high on your forehead and

then let your hands fall down your face to your chin.

Dr. Amen said, “From a neuroscience perspective,

havening is a form of stimulating both sides of the brain

(essential for healing) while you mentally bring up a

stressful thought or past trauma.”

When you are done, record your thoughts in your journal. If

you found it helpful, consider making this a daily practice

in your life.

I loved learning about havening during the sermon on Sunday.  I am appreciative of learning about giving thanks to God first before we hit up for requests :-)

I hope to get more intentional with my praying and hope to incorporate this with my prayer life.