Beth Moore - Whispers of Hope: 10 Weeks of Devotional Prayer

Copyright 2013 by Beth Moore

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

978-1-4336-8109-7

Dewey Decimal Classification: 248.3

Subject Heading: PRAYER \ DEVOTIONAL
LITERATURE \ SPIRITUAL LIFE

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are
from the Holy Bible, New International Version,
copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

Scripture quotations marked KJV
are from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from
the New American Standard Bible,
the Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

5 6 7 8 9 10 19 18 17 16 15

Bright Morning Star

Gods diamond brooch

Upon the blackest night

Whispering Hope

Neath mercys cloak,

The dark is almost light!

Waken, Slumber!

Sleep not past

The painted dawn for thee.

Burst forth, O Star

One day not far

And shine Thy light on me.

Beth Moore

To Amanda and Melissa

When I was a child, I wanted to be a mommy more than anything in the world. Thank you for all the dreams you made come true. I have no greater desire for your lives than that you walk with God daily. He has been my passion. May this and more be your heritage.

Love Beyond Expression,

Mom

introduction

I m so humbled youve chosen to join me on a ten-week odyssey of prayer. No greater priority exists for the believer than knowing Christ through the study of His Word and the intimacy of prayer. I am asking God to make you willing to commit to seventy days of consistent prayer. I estimate that most people will complete each days format in thirty to forty minutes. The time of day you choose to read your daily entry and write in your journal is up to you, but with all my heart I believe that this format will be most effective when used first thing in the morning.

These pages are offered to help you form a habit of prayer. If you miss a day or two, dont feel defeated and quit! Just get back to it as quickly as you can. Im hoping the moments you spend in this journal will open the line of communication with God all day long. Remember, Amen doesnt mean the end; it means So be it!

In Whispers of Hope , you will find three features:

• Seventy Daily Devotionalseach complete with a brief Bible reading assignment, a Scripture for the day, and thoughts for the day.
• A Daily Prayer Guide: Following each devotional, you will find a prayer format for recording your petitions. Please thoroughly read instructions below entitled Seventy Days of P.R.A.I.S.E.! to understand the approach.
• Answer Log: Pages 217218 are designated for answers to prayer. God is so faithful. Recording answers which seem to come quickly will help you be more patient as you wait on others. Recording answers will increase your awareness of Gods goodness and fill your heart with gratitude.

Beloved, PRAYERFUL LIVES ARE POWERFUL LIVES! May God teach us how to pray (Luke 11:1), and may we be willing to learn! How deeply I pray that these pages will help you discover a fresh supply of mercy every morning, but more than that, may you discover the Mercy Giver.

Seventy Days of P.R.A.I.S.E.!

Sometimes a format can help us organize our thoughtsespecially in a morning prayer time when were just waking up! I am asking you to consider adopting the P.R.A.I.S.E. format for your prayer time during the next 10 weeks. The format will guide your journaling each day. I trust God to individualize how He desires to use this handbook in your personal life.

Im certain of two things: prayerless lives are powerless lives, and prayerful lives are powerful lives. God will bestow riches beyond measure. Count on Him. Dont get caught up in trying to fill space on your prayer sheets! God will honor what you write from your heart. Enjoy God! May He become your delight!

For simple memorization, the following format is based on an acronym of the word PRAISE:

Praise: Begin your morning prayer time with praise. Psalm 22:3 tells us God inhabits the praises of His people. Sincere praise from your heart will invite God to pull up His chair and become your audience. You might repeat to Him a few of the attributes the Word records for Him. Tell Him Who He is! God already knows, but Hes wanting to make sure we know. Praising God helps remind us He is fully able to do anything we could ask or think according to His will. Tell Him how great He is and why you think so! You might repeat to Him the words to a hymn or worship chorus. Dont try to fit into a mold. Just praise Him with your heart.

Repentance: After youve spent several minutes in praise and worship, enter a time of confession and repentance. I teach this sequence because in Matthew 6:9, 12 Christ taught the disciples to hallow Gods name first, then ask for forgiveness for sin. However, Ive experienced times when my heart was too full of sin and conviction to begin with praise. You probably have, too. Sometimes, based on Isaiah 59:12, you may need to begin your prayer time with repentance rather than praise. The Isaiah passage indicates that, when we have rebelled against God, all He wants to hear is repentance. Davids prayer in Psalm 51 is an example. His life had been so full of sin, his prayer of repentance simply started with the words, Have mercy upon me! As you become increasingly sensitive to the Holy Spirit, you will discern times when your prayer life needs to begin with repentance rather than praise. Your heart will feel burdened with sin and anxious for relief. NO MATTER WHAT, practice a time of confession and repentance DAILY!! We gain victory over sin by allowing God to treat our problems in their earliest stages. Resist letting anything build up. Confess sins of the thought life such as wrong motives, negativism, a critical spirit, or even right words with a wrong heart. Let God catch things in early stages so we can be Spirit-filled people on a DAILY basis. Remember, the only thing whiter than snow is a freshly cleansed child of God (Ps. 51:7).

Acknowledgment: Having praised Him and been purified by Him, you are ready to submit to Gods authority. Acknowledge His right to rule and reign in your life every day. Then willingly and DELIBERATELY submit yourself to His lordshipONE DAY AT A TIME. Any day not surrendered to the authority of the Holy Spirit will automatically be lived in the flesh (see Gal. 5). Acknowledging Gods specific authority over your personal life is not the same thing as praise. We can praise God all day long with our lips yet never deliberately surrender to His lordship with our hearts. Often in this part of my prayer time, I acknowledge how trustworthy Hes been with His authority in my life. I recall how He has never misled me and that He calls upon me to submit to Him for MY SAKE... not for His. However you may word it, I urge you to make a specific point of acknowledging Him as Lord; voice your choice to bend your knee to Him. You might also ask Him for an immediate awareness when you are departing His authority. Acknowledge Gods goodness to you in the past and thank Him for His faithfulness during times youve allowed Him to be the uncontested Lord of your life. This is a very important step. Please dont skip it!