Have you ever seen beauty that takes your breath away or felt another kind of praise overwhelming the dark places of your pain? ~ Bettie Gilbert
Praise Rising
Have you ever looked outside, breathed in the fresh air of God’s touch, and suddenly felt praise rising up from some unknown place inside you?
Have you ever seen beauty that takes your breath away or felt another kind of praise overwhelming the dark places of your pain?
There is something to be said for the hollow place inside us that’s made to worship the One who made us. After all, the One who created our souls created the beauty surrounding us and the air that fills our lungs. He dwells in the praises that gush forth unbidden.
After a recent medical procedure that was labeled “minimally invasive,” my body carried a pain that felt very invasive, no matter how it had been labeled. I found myself sinking into that pain. The dark nights surged with shocking currents of pain. But into that darkness, from somewhere deep inside, praise for the God who still dwelt within me began to rise up.
Fresh Praise
And when the light of morning dawned, the beauty of fresh sunlight poured over my aching head, and a burst of fresh praise swelled up and overflowed. Yes, HE will stir praise in the midst of our pain. And HE will inhabit that very place of praise.
“Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” Psalm 22:3 ESV
If you look into the meaning of the Hebrew word for “enthroned” at BibleHub, it says: “To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle.”
Join Us!
Will you join us this month in these four Scriptures and prayers? Even in the middle of our pain, we can praise the Creator of the Universe who dwells within our praises.
Praising in the Midst of Our Pain
PRAYER #1
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. John 20:1
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for understanding the grief and the confusion that hits us when we can’t see your full plan. How hard it must have been for Mary to find the stone removed, and your body missing. She could not understand what had happened. And there are days when we cannot see your full purposes, and we become so confused too. Oh, but thank you for meeting Mary, and revealing your wondrous plan: YOU arose and defeated death! Help us to trust that you have risen for us also. We praise you today, in the middle of our own hard places. You are the Glorious Lord reigning over all!
In your name, we pray,
Amen.
PRAYER #2
Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18
Dear Lord,
We come before You today admitting that we are facing hopeless situations. Everywhere we look we see another trial, another pain. Would you help us to look up to you, just as Habakkuk did? He saw that YOU are the God of true salvation. Thank you that we have been rescued out of darkness to live with you, our only hope. We exult and praise you, our God.
In the name of Jesus, we pray,
Amen.
PRAYER #3
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 43:5
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for understanding how heavy our hearts would become. You have been so gracious to meet us with words that describe exactly how we feel. Our thoughts are disturbed with the state of this world. Our soul is downcast with the weight of the pain we carry. But thank you for the hope you have given! We will still praise you, we will yet worship you, because you have brought us your salvation. We praise you our true Lord of life.
In the name of your son, Jesus, we pray,
Amen.
PRAYER #4
Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’ But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. Psalm 3:2-3
Dear Lord God,
We come before you now confessing the agony that falls upon us some days. Even those around us cannot find a way for our help to be found. But we thank you for the shield that YOU place around us: your own glory. We praise you here as you lift our hearts. You are the one we look up toward. We give you all of our praise today.
In the name of your son, Jesus, we pray,
Amen.
More Prayer Prompts
Heart Longings at Christmas • Prayer Prompts
Christmas: Little children light up with a glow of excitement when the word is mentioned. The word itself has become a season all its own. But why is it that the word “Christmas” stirs in our hearts a longing for gathering together and rejoicing?
Seek to Cultivate a Joyous Sense of Thankfulness • Prayer Prompts
When we seek to cultivate a joyous sense of thankfulness, it will change everything, our hearts, our outlook, and our prayers.
Visit the Prayer Pond
You’re invited to the Chronic Joy Prayer Pond. Toss your prayer requests, updates, and shouts of praise into the pond, then watch them ripple with radical hope and compassionate change throughout our community and beyond. Then be sure #PrayItForward by clicking the “I PRAYED FOR THIS” button to let the requester know you prayed for them.
We are all blessed to have a place to pray and people to pray with and for us. Who do you know needs to toss a prayer or praise into the pond, and who might link arms with us in prayer?
Prayer Prompt Guide
Sometimes we all need a little encouragement and a boost in our prayer lives. While talking with God should be easy, a guide can be a helpful resource to lean into, spurring us on to deeper, more intimate conversations with Him.
- Set aside a special time and place to meet with God.
- Quiet your heart and mind. Breathe deeply.
- Slowly read the prayer, perhaps several times.
- Write the verse in your journal, noting any words that catch your attention.
- Talk with God, taking time to listen, then journal your thoughts.
Bettie Gilbert
Board Member and Prayer Coordinator
You can find Bettie blogging from her home in a small town in southeast Wisconsin - at bettiegraseasons.com, walking forward with Jesus, in the middle of her own pain and weaknesses from multiple chronic illnesses. The beauty of nature is a joy that calls to Bettie, as do her family and nine young grandchildren. She and her husband have been married for over 40 years and take great joy in their weekend coffee breaks together.
Praising God this afternoon. Praising Him for guiding me through a spell of not feeling well. Praising Him because I feelHis presence.
Amen! Thank you for joining your praises together with us today! His presence and His relief are such gifts!
Dear Bettie, thank you for these beautiful and inspiring prayers! I can particularly relate to prayer #3 and prayer #4, and the way that praising God in the storms we go through helps lift us up and enables us to cope. God is given His rightful place and we are given His wonderful, unending grace, all because we’re looking beyond the obvious we can see and feel, and we’re looking to the One who made us and knows us so intimately. Bless you for your faithful prayers that mean so much to so many. <3
Dear Joy,
Isn’t it so amazing the way that God has prepared His own Word for us, knowing exactly how these days would weigh us down? Just when I feel so alone, He sends His Word, and He sends a dear friend like you, to show me that I am not so alone as I thought. Truly He does lift our eyes to His wonderful, unending grace! Thank you so much for your sweet encouragement and prayers also. What a blessing to be able to pray together in this season. Blessings to you!
As alway, words of encouragement as we journey through this life of pain but also joy! Blessings of knowing the Lord, blessings of knowing we are not alone but also others are on this journey with us! Even though I am in uk the fact I know others are praying for me , helps me to praise our Lord Jesus! He keeps us going as we encourage and inspire each other even from the other side of the world! Nothing can stop our God! He is in Control! He who made the flung the stars in to space and created everything, We praise him! Because remember that helps us to remember He can do what we are asking him to do, and if he does we will praise Him, and if not yet we will praise him! He is always worth of our praise!
Dear LA,
Thank you for sharing your precious praise here! He truly does keep us going as we encourage and care for each other. It is a miracle of grace that He stirs praise from those deep places, isn’t it? I pray that you are being encouraged, across the pond in the UK today. Blessings to you!