Category: worship

Use Every Opportunity to Pray

On By vickleaIn Admonition, encouragement, Scripture, worshipLeave a comment

Cultivating Honest Conversations with God (Daily Refresh, 12-3-25)

Prayer is one of the most important habits we can develop. Not only does Scripture command us to pray often, but there are tremendous benefits to building a life of prayer. 

Prayer connects us relationally to God. We can thank God for who He is and what He has done for us during our prayer time. We can ask Him for things that we need.

Even though we know we should pray, we often don’t take the time to do it. Unless we set aside time to talk to God, it doesn’t always find a way into our daily schedules. But Paul, the writer of the letter to the Ephesians, urges Christians to build a life of prayer. He says that every occasion is a chance to talk to God.

All of our requests and needs should be given to God. However, our time praying should not only be asking God for things. We should also spend part of our time in worship—thanking God for who He is and all He has done. 

Paul also encourages us to pray for other people. In fact, part of our responsibility towards others is to advocate for them through prayer. We typically remember to pray for others when something negative is happening to them. But God’s Word says we should always be praying for the people in our life.

As we pray, we should not be discouraged when we don’t see immediate change. God is always working in our lives, even if it doesn’t match our desired timeline. We may not receive the answers we want, but we can rest assured that God is always listening and working on our behalf.

Take some time today to pray to God. Thank Him for all He has done for you. Tell Him your needs. Think of a few people in your life that you can pray for. Throughout your week, use every opportunity to pray to God.

My Thoughts

I have banged this drum on several other occasions, but this article today says some things that I don’t recall saying before, so I want to reiterate how vital to your spiritual life prayer is. If I knew my husband was right there next to me and never spoke to him, I would not be valuing our relationship, would I? How much more important is God in our lives? He is always close by and yet we rush into the day often without even thinking about taking time to pray.

Prayer doesn’t have to be an hour; there is no timetable to talk to God. Just make time to do it every day and build the habit of making Him a priority every day. Then, throughout the day, you can continue to talk to Him about what you see that He needs to address.

I find myself sometimes with my thoughts wandering as I pray. People I haven’t seen in years come to my mind as I sit quietly before the Lord. I don’t claim to know exactly why, but I think the Holy Spirit knows that those people need some kind of intervention from God, so I pray for them. Whenever God brings someone to my mind, I pray. I don’t have to know why, I just have to know the One who does know and who will work in their situation. We are truly being advocates for others when we pray for them.

For me, the most important aspect about prayer is establishing God’s sovereignty in my life and my awe that He wants to spend time with me. It’s not all about my “wish list” but it is all about just taking time to talk to the Lord and then to listen to what He says to my heart, before I start my busy day.

Sometimes God comforts me, other times He admonishes me, and still other times, He just listens and I feel His calming presence. I need God every day, all day, and I think that ongoing relationship starts with prayer.

Rising Above

On By vickleaIn encouragement, God’s blessings, Scripture, Song, worship1 Comment

Have you ever been on top of a mountain and stopped at an overlook? We don’t do that much anymore, but my husband and I and our children would pause from a long trip and just take in the view. It was refreshing to be out in the nice clean air and look at the clear sky above us and the beautiful farmland and houses scattered in the valley below us. From that perspective we didn’t see the troubles people were having, the traffic snarls or the billboards that interrupted God’s creation. We saw the beauty, the peace and the stillness that comes from rising above all of it and looking down. A totally new perspective! We would linger a few minutes, do some stretches and head back to the car to continue our journey. Our mood is better because we got to take a break from the stress of the long trip.

I think all of us need to take some time at various intervals in our lives just to rise above the circumstances that are plaguing our lives and get a new perspective. God isn’t bothered by the cacophony all around us, but we are. We need to rise above it and rest with Him, seeing things from the protection of His comforting arms and love.

What we oftentimes see as a disaster about to disrupt our entire lives ends up being a small thing instead. As I write this, I am thinking about the looming storm heading towards Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. They indeed have a disaster about to happen. I am praying that the people there will take refuge in God and that God will have mercy on them. I would like to hope that the storm will turn and go out to sea, but the prognosticators say this storm will hit the island directly and cause massive damage. I am saddened by the plight of this nation, but I know that this storm will pass as so many others have before it. It will leave destruction behind, or that is the expectation of a Cat 5 storm and helpers will appear to offer assistance and hope.

Meanwhile, we are safe in our homes, with gray skies perhaps and a storm raging in our hearts because of the circumstances in our lives. We may not have a hurricane barreling towards us, but there is always a storm somewhere waiting for a period of time when we leave the shelter of God’s protection and venture out on our own to find out what is happening in our world. My answer to that is “nothing good” so it is better to keep our eyes focused on God and stay sheltered by Him. Let the storms find us in the shadow of His wings, not running around looking for troubles. May God help us learn a lesson from the storms that others face and endure!

The lesson that I am still learning after weathering various storms in my life is that I cannot change the direction of the storm so that it changes the direction of its course, but I can change my attitude. It is in praise that I find my peace and security in God. If I look at the circumstances when I am in the middle of the storm in my life, I lose hope and begin to focus on the solutions that I can come up with in my finite mind. But when I focus on God, I have a new perspective. I rise above the storm and see things in a different way that I never expected to see. My attitude is changed from one of hopeless surrender to one of victorious expectation.

God is and always has been faithful. We change, wavering with the winds that blow into our lives. What we forget is that the winds will die down, but God will still be there, right there beside us, waiting for us to take shelter in Him. For many, that means quietly waiting before Him for an answer. For others, like me, it means singing through the storm and repeating scripture verses to help remind us of God’s faithfulness. God doesn’t change just because our circumstances do. He is always the same—always loving, always present, always ready to help us if we just try to rise above the circumstances and take time to be with Him instead of wallowing in our problems.

I was guided to a new-to-me song in my devotional this morning. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. It seems to be based on Psalm 57 and spoke to my heart about taking shelter in God and not in man-made, temporary solutions.

Shadow of Your Wings-Thrive Worship

May God bless you and keep you as you seek to rise above!

Fighting for Us

On By vickleaIn Admonition, promises, Scripture, worship1 Comment

Let’s be honest with each other. There are some days when we feel as though we are on the front lines of a great battle and we are all alone. Now let me tell you why that is a lie from the pits of hell.

Satan wants to isolate us, to make us feel that we are alone in the battle against sin (in ourselves and in the world). If we think we are alone, then we give up, walk away, let sin win. We give in to Satan’s plan without even consulting God or leaning into His Word.

But we are never alone. God is always fighting for us. He sent His advocate, the Holy Spirit, to remind us of everything He has taught us in His Word and one of the most important things we can remember is that the victory belongs to the Lord. We are foot soldiers, a whole army of them, and we are never alone. We have His Word and all of the armor of God if we just take time to put it on before we march out into the daily grind of our life.

Finally, for me, songs of worship and praise direct my attention to where it should be. I just discovered a song by Hillsong that could be a theme song for each of us as we face the daily challenges of life. We battle but we are not alone, nor are we the losing side. We are on the winning side of God’s army, and He is always fighting for us!

Fighting for Us-Hillsong

Have a blessed day!

Holy Is His Name!

On By vickleaIn praise, Scripture, testimony, worship3 Comments

This verse is from Mary’s song of praise when she finds out that God has chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah. She had to be a little wary of what was going to happen since she was a young girl, unmarried and with a baby on the way. God showed Himself strong on her behalf and fulfilled prophecies through her.

Fast forward several thousand years to my life. I have health problems so numerous that I get tired of going to specialists all the time. Nevertheless, God shows Himself strong and holy for me, too. Yesterday, I went to my nephrologist for my kidney labs and check up that I have to have every four to six months. (For those of you who don’t know, I was born with a single kidney and I have been diagnosed with Stage 3 kidney failure for the last few years.) The doctor checked me, talked to me and ordered the labs. I got the report this morning and the results have to be a God thing! Everything is normal…everything! My levels are better than they have been in the last five years. I have no explanation for this great report, but I do offer God praise and know that He is and always will be holy. I had expected a bad report since I had infections repeatedly in the last six months. My faith was low, but my hope was high and God showed me just what He has been doing and continues to do within this mortal body.

I hope that you will join me in rejoicing over this good news and also share with me a testimony of how God has come through unexpectedly for you. Let’s spend today lifting up the Name of the Only One who is truly worthy!

From YouVersion Daily Refresh, 08-15-25

Friday Praise

On By vickleaIn praise, Scripture, Song, worship4 Comments

After a hard week of tragedy in Texas, family health issues and life’s circumstances in general, I didn’t feel a lot like praising this morning. I just wanted to curl into a ball and withdraw from the chaos all around me. But, God called me to praise and that has been the best thing for me, today and every day. We were created to have a relationship with our Creator and one of the ways we have that closeness is to recognize who He is and to praise Him. The things around us fade in the presence of the Almighty God. Thus, I encourage you to join me today in praising our Father who knows all things and is always with us. Let’s check our attitude of dissatisfaction and praise God because He is good…all the time!

Do you see what I see in this verse? Everything that has breath is praising God, and I am just joining in, raising my voice with creation to the Creator of all.

Take a moment and inhale deeply. As you exhale, give God praise for the fact that you were able to take that breath. Then, spend some time just thinking of all He has done for you from the inside out.

It feels good to praise the Lord! It is like being a bottle of seltzer water, shaken up and ready to explode. Let it go…God knows that we need to praise Him.

Every Praise-Northland Church

Goodness of God-Bethel Music

Great Are You Lord-All Sons and Daughters

A Friday Prayer

On By vickleaIn prayer, Video, worship, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

From the YouVersion Daily Refresh

My additional prayer:

Lord God, I thank you for who you are and for all you have done for me all the days of my life. I bless your name for your goodness and mercy that you have showered on me abundantly. I thank you for your gifts of children, grandchildren friends and other family. These relationships have taught me so much, Lord, about your character and how you want people to be. Thank you, Lord, for being there for me when I was lonely or afraid. Thank you, Father, for being a father to me when mine was not there. I am overwhelmed by your goodness, Lord and your unimaginable and deep love for all of your creation, including me. May I ever be aware of your presence and your desire to bring everyone to you. In Jesus’s Name.

Amen.

Thank You, Lord-Don Moen

Worship the Creator

On By vickleaIn praise, Scripture, worship1 Comment

There was a lot of buzz this week about the appearance of the strawberry moon for the first time since 2006, an anomaly that we won’t see again until 2043. Naturally curious, I looked up information about it and when to best view it. During the best time to see it, we had dense cloud cover, so I couldn’t see the moon at all. But I did capture a shot of it as we returned from Bible study Monday night.

It was supposed to be most visible on Tuesday night at dusk, but our cloud cover interfered. So here is a photo from http://www.flicker.com that shows the strawberry moon over water.

Here is a second photo that my husband took from our front yard on Monday.

Why all these photos of the moon? Am I directing your attention to the created things? Absolutely not! I want everyone to understand that the Creator of the Universe makes all things beautiful for us to enjoy. He put the moon there and even created special views like a strawberry moon.

When we are gazing at the sky, at least we are looking up. While our eyes are focused upwards, let’s remember to give praise to the Creator for all the wonder He has made all around us.

To God be the glory, always and in all ways for all things!

Celebrate Before God

On By vickleaIn Christmas, Holidays, Scripture, worship, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “Advent, Day 16”

Celebrating When It Doesn’t Make Sense

Joy is an attitude, a resilient cheerfulness anchored in the goodness of God. That means joy is hard to contain. When we experience true joy, people tend to notice.

Reminder: When we think of what it means to show joy, we might think of someone who smiles all the time, laughs often, and has a warm personality. While that might be true for some, you don’t need to be as jolly as Santa, or the person whose story we’ll explore today, to experience true joy.

David grew up as a shepherd, but, through a dramatic sequence of events, ended up becoming king. Now, when you think of a king, a certain image probably comes to mind—a strong, dignified, and imposing presence, probably wearing a big crown and flowing robes. But that’s not how David appears in this story.

In this account, David takes off his kingly clothes and dances with enthusiasm in the streets with the ordinary people. Why? Let’s explore some context.

Early in the Bible, God invited His people to follow His way of life. A life centered on loving God and loving others. Part of this invitation came with a promise—God would be present with them no matter what. This was a strange promise because it wasn’t just for the privileged few, but a promise for all people, from the king down to lowly shepherds.

This connection was symbolized by a few items God called gifted craftsmen to create. One of these items, and probably the most famous, was the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark symbolized God’s powerful, personal presence in the world and reminded God’s people of His compassionate strength. But at certain points in their history, the Ark had been misused.

On one occasion, God’s people thought they could use the Ark to control or manipulate God into meeting their selfish desires—and God wasn’t pleased. He allowed the Ark to be taken from them to a neighboring nation.

How would you have felt to be a part of God’s people at that time? You might wonder if you’d messed up one too many times and disqualified yourself from God’s love.

But God is merciful, kind, and willing to give unlimited second chances. That’s why God eventually returned the Ark to God’s people with a great parade, and David led the way.

So why did David show so much joyful, undignified enthusiasm? Because this wasn’t just some box. It was a reminder that God is good, even when we’re not. So David worshiped God with song, dance, and generosity. Sure, he might have looked a little foolish in front of the people he ruled, but he didn’t seem to care. His joy was too great to let insecurity get in the way of His worship.

When we think of worship, it’s natural to think about songs at church. Singing is certainly one way we worship, but worship is any action we do that reminds ourselves and others of God’s qualities. So we can worship through music, service, prayer, art, or anything else that reflects God’s goodness.

When we experience joy, we can’t help but worship. It overflows from us as we remember who God is, and who we are.

But it can also work the other way around. If we’re feeling low on joy, worship can help us regain our joyful attitude. When we feel alone, apathetic, or broken, worship reminds us of God’s love, promises, and consistent care.

Pause and Pray:

Lord, thank You for Your commitment to being close. Thank You for always giving us another chance when we turn away. Help me to be as faithful to You as You have been to me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

My Thoughts

When I consider all of the second chances God gives me all the time, it is hard not to be in awe of His great love and mercy and to worship Him. I may not be “feeling it” but sometimes I worship in spite of my feelings and the feelings follow. I am grateful every day to worship a God who sincerely cares for me and wants the best for me even when I am determined to have my own stubborn way.

I can’t dance before the Lord as David did, but I am dancing in my heart even as I pondered the verses this morning that go along with the devotional. Only God is worthy of our worship. He gives us joy and we return that joyful worship to Him!