Since the pandemic began, I have been more intentional than ever about carving out time for prayer and reading the Bible every morning. I have found this quiet time to be the most effective weapon against fear, uncertainty, and anxiety.
Recently, though, I started to examine how I was praying. Too often, I rushed into my prayers, asking God to watch over my family and loved ones and praying for peace for myself. Asking for things before I took the time to acknowledge Him and who He was. The acronym for prayer that I had learned as a child—ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication)—was missing a few letters. Like the first three.
I realized that had to change. But how to begin expressing adoration for the God of the universe? Human language feels so inadequate, and everything I thought to pray felt trite, falling so short of what I felt and believed deep in my soul about the almighty God of the universe.
I’m not a huge proponent of flipping open the Bible and expecting God to help me land on the exact chapter or verse I need at the time, but in this case I figured I would be fairly safe flipping open the Psalms. The first one I laid eyes on was Psalm 136. In that psalm, every other line is “for His steadfast love endures forever.” According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “steadfast” means “firmly fixed in place; immovable; not subject to change.” In a world where, without warning, everything suddenly changed, the fact that God’s love is immovable and firmly fixed in place is enormously comforting, a firm foundation on which we can confidently stand.
The word “endures” means “to undergo hardships without yielding.” God’s love does not yield, no matter what we are going through. These words of Psalm 136 and the irrefutable truth of them resonated inside me. They grounded me, reminding me that even when everything I thought was solid beneath my feet has been shaken, God’s love cannot be shaken. It is steadfast and enduring and nothing can change or diminish it.
The alternating lines are all about what the psalmist is thankful for and describes the great things that God has done. The focus is on God—who He is, His righteous and wondrous deeds—and not on the psalmist’s needs or wants. Exactly what I needed in my prayers.
I started using Psalm 136 as a template for my prayers and immediately noticed a change in my focus. My eyes turned toward God as I prayed and not towards myself and what I was feeling or desiring for myself or others. This change of mindset grounded my prayers as the words had grounded my anxious, fluttering thoughts.
The more I have practiced this method of prayer, the easier it has been to come up with things to praise God for, from the beauty of creation to His faithfulness to humanity since the beginning of time to the grace and mercy He shows to me and to those I love every day. The praise and worship—or Adoration—portion of my prayers has grown longer and longer while the supplication part has taken its rightful place near the end of my time of talking with God. Essentially, beginning my prayers with powerful words about who God is and what He has done has put my own needs and desires into perspective.
Since what is happening in the world is so unprecedented and the future still so uncertain, it is more important than ever to carve out intentional time with God. Everything around us has changed, but He has not changed. The world feels out of control, but God is sovereign and in control. And, whatever is happening now or whatever may happen in the days and weeks and months to come, I will put my full and complete trust in the words of the psalmist that God’s “steadfast love endures forever.”
Sara Davison is the author of three romantic suspense series—The Seven Trilogy, The Night Guardians, and The Rose Tattoo Trilogy. She has been a finalist for ten national writing awards, including Best New Canadian Christian author, a Carol, a Selah, and two Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is a Word and Cascade Award winner. She currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael and their three children. The words on the mug she uses every morning pretty much sum up her life—I just want to sleep, drink coffee, and make stuff up. Get to know Sara better at www.saradavison.org and @sarajdavison.
The tip the stranger left sent Nicole a painfully clear message. The past is no longer in the past.
Nicole is fighting to bury the memories. Someone else is fighting to keep them exposed.
Detective Daniel Grey is back in town, and diner owner Nicole Hunter isn’t sure how she feels about that. It’s been almost seven years, and now she doesn’t just have herself to think about but her six-year-old son as well. If she does find the courage to take a chance on love, her heart could be smashed into pieces. Again.
And it’s not only her heart that is in danger. Someone is working hard to disrupt her present with reminders of the past she has worked hard to forget, especially her darkest memory—of the night her husband was gunned down in the street in front of her. As much as she might want to push Daniel away, Nicole needs him closer now than ever before.
But the one she trusts to keep her and her son safe has a secret that may prove to be the biggest threat of all.
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