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The Red Sea Rules: Week 4

6/25/2019

24 Comments

 
The Red Sea Rules Week 4: How do you trust God with difficulties that are so overwhelming? I’m grateful that Robert Morgan breaks faith down into distinct steps that can help us walk with God one day at a time through all of life’s challenges.
Sometimes our problems appear to be so ginormous that trusting God with them seems beyond our ability. We make an effort to turn the problem over to God, but we soon find ourselves paralyzed with fear and worry all over again. How do you trust God with difficulties that are so overwhelming? I’m grateful that Robert Morgan breaks faith down into distinct steps that can help us walk with God one day at a time through all of life’s challenges. ​

​Today, we continue our investigation into how God wants us to face hard times. We’re using, as our guide, this little book titled 
The Red Sea Rules: 10 God-Given Strategies for Difficult Times. The author, Robert Morgan, summarizes ten biblical principles on what it means to trust God. He breaks faith down into identifiable steps, and I find that so helpful.

​We're so glad you've joined us! 
Want to read all 10 posts in one place? Download The Red Sea Rules eBook for free today!
We will meet here each Tuesday morning at 9:00, through August 6. If you can’t join us on Tuesday mornings, no worries. Anytime during the week, when it’s convenient for you, read that week’s chapter in the book and the corresponding blog post. Then join the conversation down in the comments section.

​Still need to get the book? Click here to order or download your copy (less than $10 for the hardcover and less than $2 for the Kindle version).

Need to catch up? Read Week 1 here, Week 2 here, and Week 3 here.
"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
The Red Sea Rules
Amazon
​Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 
So He bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! For He shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron." Psalm 107:1-16

Let’s review the rules we've looked at so far:

  1. ​Realize that God means for you to be where you are. The problems that you and I face are not the result of some cosmic mistake. We are facing these issues in our lives by God’s appointment and for His purpose. We may not have a clue as to what God’s purpose in the situation is, but we can rest assured that God has not abandoned us. He has some purpose for us. That realization shapes our attitudes as we face these trials. Realize that God means for you to be where you are. 

  2. Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief. This rule also addresses our attitude. When we find ourselves in trying circumstances, the first question that should come to our minds is not How can I get out of this mess? That’s the question we all naturally ask. But we need to train ourselves to ask another question instead: How can I honor God in this situation? Jesus is our example. He did not try to escape from His death on the cross. Instead He prayed, Father, glorify Your name! (John 12:28). If you and I are believers in Jesus Christ, then we need to take that same attitude into our trials. How can I honor God in this situation? Train yourself to ask that question and your entire perspective will change! How do we do this? Remember Red Sea Rule #2: Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief.
    ​
  3. Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord. Take a good hard look at your problem. Don’t pretend that it is not there. Faith means that you evaluate your problem carefully and think about what God wants you to do in that situation. We need to be sure that we don’t confuse faith with denial. But then we also need to be careful that we don’t allow ourselves to be so consumed by our problems that we leave God out of the picture. We can make that mistake too. God wants us to face our problems realistically, but He also wants us to look to Him and remember that He has promised to guide us through them. The same God who led you in will lead you out. So, to keep your balance: Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord. 

Now we come to Red Sea Rule #4

It flows naturally from this idea of keeping our eyes on the Lord, and it is an easy rule to remember because it is only one word: Pray! Have you ever heard that instruction before? I hope so. But do you ever need to be reminded of it? If you are like me, you do. It is a lot easier to worry than it is to pray. I need to be reminded of this simple instruction. How about you?

​Red Sea Rule #4: Pray!

​"With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before Him; I tell my trouble before Him. When my spirit faints within me, You know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. I cry to You, O Lord; I say, 'You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.' Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to Your name! The righteous will surround me, for You will deal bountifully with me." Psalm 142:1-7
The Red Sea Rules Week 4: How do you trust God with difficulties that are so overwhelming? I’m grateful that Robert Morgan breaks faith down into distinct steps that can help us walk with God one day at a time through all of life’s challenges.

Do you ever wonder how prayer works?

I wonder about that all the time. Why does God seem to answer some prayers, but not others? Lately I’ve found myself making some requests to God and then saying to God, Come on, God. Come through on this one! Sometimes He does come through the way that I requested. Sometimes He doesn’t, and I wonder why. ​

In The Red Sea Rules, Robert Morgan makes an intriguing observation. "There’s something about praying with another person that intensifies prayer and sends it to heaven with greater velocity." —Robert Morgan, The Red Sea Rules. It’s good for us to pray together. God wants us to share our needs and join together in presenting our requests to Him. There is something about praying with others that God values. But if you ask me exactly how that works, I cannot give you a satisfactory answer. Does God sit up in heaven and tally up the number of people praying for any one particular thing? Then does He do the things that get the most votes? Is that how prayer works? I’m quite sure that’s not the way God operates. But I cannot tell you exactly how He works either. ​​
I have no hesitancy in admitting to you that I can ask more questions about prayer than I can answer. However, here is what I do know from God’s Word: God invites His children to pray. The God of the universe who knows everything that is happening to every atom in every star in the farthest galaxy wants to hear from you and me. Think about that! If you’re a child of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, then the Lord of all encourages you to tell Him all of your needs. He wants to hear from you!

​He wants to hear from us

Your prayers and my prayers are important to God. Therefore, whether you understand how prayer works or not, pray! When you are stuck in a hard spot and feel like giving up, what should you do? Pray! When you face important decisions but don’t know what path to follow, pray! When you’re filled with worry about the future, pray! Red Sea Rule #4 is so simple yet so very important. Pray! ​
Let’s take a look at a few places in the Bible where God encourages us to pray. We’ll start with one of those great summary statements. This passage is this week's memory verses.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Anything and Everything

There is a lot that could be said about those two verses, but I’d like you to think about just two of the words found in those verses. The first one is anything. "Do not be anxious about anything." That’s a pretty broad statement! ANYTHING! Anything that frightens you or causes you worry is covered by that instruction. And Paul follows it with the word everything. "...in everything, by prayer and supplications, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." EVERYTHING! 

You and I can talk to God about anything and everything, and He’ll listen. It can be a huge problem or a minor irritation. God wants to hear from you. So pray! 
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Psalm 107: God wants to hear from you. So pray! 

Let’s look at some examples of how we can put that into practice.
Psalm 107 is a poem that is very carefully structured. It starts with 3 verses that tell us to give thanks. Then it provides us with four situations in each of which we are told that the people pray and God answers their prayers.
The first situation is described in verses 4 through 9:
"Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way  till they reached a city to dwell in." Psalm 107:4-7
Notice that in this situation, there is no indication that the people had done anything wrong. They were just in a hard spot. So they prayed, or as the writer of the Psalm puts it, "they cried to the Lord." That’s emotional language. They were desperate, so "they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them."
Look at the second situation in verses 10-16:
​"Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So He bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.
The Red Sea Rules Week 4: How do you trust God with difficulties that are so overwhelming? I’m grateful that Robert Morgan breaks faith down into distinct steps that can help us walk with God one day at a time through all of life’s challenges.
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Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! For He shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron." Psalm 107:10-16
Here is a very different kind of situation. These people had rebelled against God. They were suffering the consequences of their disobedience. But did that mean that God didn’t care about them? No. Almost the exact same wording is used to describe what happens. 
  
"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress" (Psalm 107:13). 

Isn’t that good news?
​
God listens to our prayers when we are facing trials. Even if the reason we are having such a hard time is that we have made stupid mistakes, God is still willing to listen to us and to work in our lives. Aren’t you glad to hear that? I know I am!
The third situation is described in verses 17-22: ​
"Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He sent out His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His deeds in songs of joy!" Psalm 107:17-22
And the writer delivers the same message to us in verses 23 through 32:
"Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, His wondrous works in the deep. For He commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. ​
He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and He brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! Let them extol Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders." Psalm 107: 23-32
The Psalm ends with this conclusion: ​
"Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord" (Psalm 107:43).
If you’re smart, the writer is saying, you’ll learn from the experiences of God’s people that are described in these four situations. Pray! If you’re suffering from something natural like a sickness or if you are suffering because of someone else’s cruel action, pray! Even if you are suffering the consequences of your own foolish decisions, God is still ready to hear from you. So put Red Sea Rule #4 into practice. Pray! ​

Psalm 142: An example of how we can pray

  • Philippians 4 gives us a promise about prayer.
  • Psalm 107 describes various situations in which we can pray.
  • Psalm 142 gives us an example of how we can pray.
Here we find David crying out to the Lord. Let’s look at what he says and see if we can learn something from his example. Unlike Psalm 107, this Psalm is hardly structured at all. There is no refrain that is repeated over and over again. It’s hard to find any clear and logical progression of thought. 

It’s kind of a messy Psalm. David seems to jump all over the place in this poem. When I stop to think about it, I have to admit that this is the same way that I usually pray. When I’m facing a trial and am really worried about something, my prayers are usually pretty messy too. I say one thing to God and then I say something else to Him and then I go back and repeat what I have already said. I am so glad that Psalm 142 is in God’s Word! 

Listen as David talks to God and see if you can identify with what he’s saying:
"​With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before Him; I tell my trouble before Him." Psalm 142:1-2
Do you hear the emotion in those words? "I cry out... I plead for mercy..." What would be a modern equivalent? I yell, Hey God! Or how about "I pour out?" How might we say that today? I dump everything on God. Those are strong words. It almost sounds like David is angry with God until we read what David says next. ​
"When my spirit faints within me, You know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me." Psalm 142:3
That’s a positive statement. It’s very short, but it is still positive. David is saying that even when he’s down and emotionally exhausted—even then, he knows that it is God who knows the way out. God, You know my way! David is confident in God. But as soon as he says that, he once again gets swallowed up in his problem.
"In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.​." Psalm 142:3b-4
Do you hear the despair in his voice? Here is someone who is scared to death. People are out to get him. He’s lonely. He longs for someone—anyone—to come and be his companion in his fear. But then David tells us what he actually says to God.
"​I cry to You, O Lord; I say, 'You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.'”  Psalm 142:5
That’s another positive statement. God, You are my refuge. I believe that God! That’s why I’m praying to You. I do believe that You are my refuge. But as soon as he says that he goes back once again to describe the turmoil that churns up within him. ​
"Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!" Psalm 142:6
Here for the first time in the whole Psalm he actually asks God for something. "Deliver me." That’s the whole request. He doesn’t go into great detail, it's just God, please deliver me! 

​In verse 7 he repeats the request, and then he expresses his hope for the future. ​
"Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to Your name! The righteous will surround me, for You will deal bountifully with me." Psalm 142:7
David looks to the future and hopes that there will come a time when he can get together with other people who love God. If that happens, he will be glad to tell them about how God has been good to him and rescued him. The poem does end on a note of hope, but in light of what he has said earlier it doesn’t come across to me as a real strong and stirring statement of hope. 

What a roller coaster ride David is on!
​He goes up and down and up and down. He is relying on God. He does have hope for the future. That comes across. But you can tell as you read this Psalm that even when he declares his faith in God he’s still feeling the full force of his worries and his fears. 
​

How often are we overcome by our own Red Sea experiences and we too, like David, are up and down and up and down—one moment relying on God (and yes we have hope, we declare our faith in Him) but still there is the full force of worry and fear?

Wrapping it all up

So, what do we learn from Philippians 4:6-7 and Psalms 107 and 142? Pray! Talk to God about what you’re thinking and feeling. You can be as emotional as you want with God. Pour out your heart to Him. You don’t need to hold anything back.

Your prayer doesn’t have to be eloquent. It’s OK to pray messy prayers! Just pray!
​
When you make your requests to God, you don’t have to go into great detail. God really does not need our diagnosis of the situation. He knows what’s going on. He knows what’s best for us. All we really need to say is what David says in Psalm 142. God, please deliver me.

​
So pray! That’s Red Sea Rule #4. Pray! You can go on at length if you want. God is more than willing to listen. Or, you can pray a real short prayer. That’s OK too. Just pray. Pray emotionally. Pray honestly. Pray through all your ups and downs. Just be sure to pray. ​
Read The Red Sea Rules: Week 5 here.

​This week's discussion questions:

  1. ​Can you think of a time when you cried out to the Lord in a moment of desperation or need? Jot down your recollection of the occasion.
  2. The same words found in Exodus 14:10 (the Israelites saw, were afraid, and cried out) are also used of Peter’s attempt to walk on the Sea of Galilee in Matthew 14:30. How can prayer help us transition from panic to peace, and from peace to praise?
  3. Does God welcome crisis-time praying? Base your answer on I Peter 5:6–7.
  4. Think of and jot down one or two practical ways in which you can implement a stronger set of prayer habits during this period in your life.
​
​Can I challenge you to memorize Philippians 4:6-7 with me this week?
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
portions of this post are quoted from www.efcbemidji.org
Please Share
24 Comments
Boma link
6/25/2019 09:25:27 am

It's like the song the song that says "Prayer is the master key". Thanks for this series, Patsy. Many blessings to you!

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/25/2019 09:55:27 am

Yes! Boma. Prayer IS the mater key—AND the key to the Master! "Sometimes our problems appear to be so ginormous 🤯 that trusting God with them seems beyond our ability. We make an effort to turn the problem over to God, but we soon find ourselves paralyzed with fear and worry all over again. How do you trust God with difficulties that are so overwhelming?”

Red Sea Rule #4: Pray! 🙏🏼

Reply
April Schwarz link
6/25/2019 09:53:19 am

I am loving your posts on this book! I am waiting... for my copy to arrive. ;-)

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/25/2019 09:58:26 am

Oh, yea! April. :) I hope it arrives quickly. I am just loving this study too. It's been so good for me. I'm thinking when the 10 weeks are done I may need to take these posts and put them into an eBook format. But WoWZers! Would that ever be a boatload of work!!! LOL

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Jana Carlson link
6/25/2019 09:56:38 am

I love this encouragement to pray! Oh, what a privilege it is to be able to "come boldly before the throne of grace", real and raw, sharing our hearts with a personal and compassionate God! I enjoyed your look at Psalm 107. What a picture of grace! I know I've experienced God's saving grace countless times when my troubles were my own fault. It's a humbling gift. He is so good.

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Patsy Burnette link
6/25/2019 10:06:14 am

Jana! I LOVE what you wrote here! What a privilege to come boldly, whether it's a well-put-together kind of prayer or a messy kind of prayer. Whether it's our own doings that got us into this mess, or not. How ever we come to Him, He hears. He wants to hear! He wants us to come to him. GRACE!

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Susan Shipe link
6/25/2019 10:20:43 am

I pray all day! I #neversayamen Red Sea Rules is a great little book.

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/25/2019 10:33:13 am

Susan, I love that hashtag #neversayamen What a great concept! Always in an attitude of prayer. I also love how we can pray about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. He want's us to talk to Him about anything and everything. Even if it's something stupid I did! LOL <— that happens! Seriously though, such a privilege! Red Sea Rule #4: Pray!

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Laurie Hess link
6/25/2019 11:03:35 am

I love your discussion of Psalm 104. Yes, so true, the bottom line is that God wants you to pray. So pray!

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Patsy Burnette link
6/25/2019 11:28:46 am

Laurie, I don't think I had ever caught onto that in Psalm 107 before. Whether it's something totally not of my doings, or it's totally me doing something stupid or wrong, God wants to hear from me about it (anything & everything) AND He wants to deliver me! That's so encouraging! GRACE! Pray!

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Rebecca Jones link
6/25/2019 06:08:19 pm

Hi Patsy, I was just reading about the parting of the Red Sea. I have a couple of posts coming up about that. And I noticed the author's words about prayer. I just answered some others in context to unanswered prayer, He says yes and amen but there is the sower and the enemy, and sometimes waiting for His timing, thanks, God bless.

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/25/2019 07:31:19 pm

The parting of the Red Sea has always been such a fascinating story to me. The predicament the Israelites found themselves in there, and at the hands of God. For His glory!

Waiting for His timing is hard! It's hard work. It's difficult to be patient and not run ahead of Him and try to do it in our own strength— whatever "it" is. I am so there right now. That is my Red Sea.

Reply
Kathleen Alvito
6/27/2019 09:07:29 am

This resonates with me. I pray about something then go onto something else. Then I go back to the first thing to make it clearer to God what I meant, then I go on, then I go back and reiterate what I think the options are, and so on and so on. I love that David was all over the place, too. I am so loving this book. Thanks for the study.

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/27/2019 09:18:12 am

Me too Kathleen!!! I pray that way too. God loves messy prayers as much as He loves the well-put-together prayers. The point here is just to PRAY!

I came across a beautiful quote this week:
“Some Christians are called to endure a disproportionate amount of suffering. Such Christians are a spectacle of grace to the church, like flaming bushes unconsumed, and cause us to ask, like Moses: ‘Why is this bush not burned up?’ The strength and stability of these believers can be explained only by the miracle of God’s sustaining grace. The God who sustains Christians in unceasing pain is the same God — with the same grace — who sustains me in my smaller sufferings. We marvel at God’s persevering grace and grow in our confidence in Him as He governs our lives.” —John Newton

And what makes the difference? I believe the difference is made by Red Sea Rule #4: Pray!

Thanks for following along with us on The Red Sea Rules journey Kathleen, and for sharing your thoughts! Friends sharing their thoughts in the comments is what really makes this journey special! Thank you!!!

Reply
Tiffany link
6/27/2019 09:08:03 am

I love the first point "​Realize that God means for you to be where you are." so much. It really get stuck there but sometimes being in God's will puts you in a hard place. This book looks amazing. Checking it out!

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/28/2019 01:47:31 pm

The book continues to be such an encouragement to me Tiffany, and I know if will be to you as well.

Yes, realizing that God means for us to be right where we are and that He orchestrated for our good and His glory is a game changer in my thinking!

You are so right that being in His will sometimes puts us in hard places like the Red Sea.

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Lauren Sparks link
6/27/2019 12:09:20 pm

I so admire you doing such an indepth study on your site. laurensparks.net

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/27/2019 12:49:31 pm

Thank you Lauren. It is as much for me as it is for anyone else. I need it!

Just this morning I read this quote by Karen English, “You can look at how small you are compared to your giant, or you can look how small your giant is compared to God.”

It's so true. My giant, my Red Sea, is small compared to my God!

So thankful! PRAY!

Reply
Debbie
6/28/2019 10:27:17 am

This study continues to be a blessing.

#4-Pray...So much I don’t understand about prayer...more about changing me than changing God and yet He tells us to ask! Certainly keeps my focus on faith in Him and strengthens my faith in Him as I see Him at work in every Red Sea!

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/28/2019 11:23:46 am

Thank you Debbie! It's been a blessing to me as well.

I love the idea that prayer is more about changing me and that He invites us to come. <— that's so beautiful!

I don't know a better faith strengthener than looking back and seeing how He worked in the Red Sea. It is simply AMAZING!

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/28/2019 01:42:27 pm

This week’s STUDY QUESTION #1: Can you think of a time when you cried out to the Lord in a moment of desperation or need? Jot down your recollection of the occasion.

This can be painful. We usually don’t cry out to God in the pleasant moments of life, it’s in the unpleasant moments. The desperate moments. The messy moments. The broken moments.

For me that moment was when I heard the words, “Ginger’s dead.” It’s still painful to write those words, even years later. It still resonates in my head like a painful echo. I was desperate and broken, drowning in the Red Sea of grief.

Maybe you’ve been there drowning in your own Red Sea. If so, we just bonded over our Red Sea experiences. Though it was painful, the bond is beautiful and what God can do in the Red Sea is beautiful as well.

Red Sea Rule #4: Pray!

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/29/2019 07:16:27 am

How do I go from panic to praise? That’s the question we’re asking today.

This week’s STUDY QUESTION #2: The same words found in Exodus 14:10 (the Israelites saw, were afraid, and cried out) are also used of Peter’s attempt to walk on the Sea of Galilee in Matthew 14:30. How can prayer help us transition from panic to peace, and from peace to praise?

Panic —> Peace —> Praise

How do I go from panic to praise? Prayer keeps me focused on God. It takes my attention off my Red Sea. Yes, I still acknowledge it (Red Sea Rule #3) but I keep my eyes on Him. I realize that He means for me to be right here where I am (Red Sea Rule #1), but I’m more concerned for His glory than my own relief (Red Sea Rule #2). <— That was like a mini review lesson wasn’t it? I didn’t intend for it to come out that way, but can you just see how each of these 10 Red Sea Rules build on each other?

How do I go from panic to praise? Red Sea Rule #4: Pray!

Reply
Patsy Burnette link
6/30/2019 01:58:25 pm

Study question #3: Does God welcome crisis-time praying? Base your answer on I Peter 5:6–7.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” I Peter 5:6-7

Clearly, I Peter 5:7 says that we are to cast all our anxiety on Him. And because the passage tells us to cast ALL our anxieties (crisis-time included) on Him, I would say, “YES!” He welcomes crisis-time praying!

I am reminded also of the ANYTHING & EVERYTHING of Philippians 4:6.

“Do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

ANYTHING & EVERYTHING!

Even in a crisis. Especially in a crisis. You and I can talk to God about anything and everything, and He will listen. It can be a huge problem or a minor irritation. God wants to hear from you. So… Red Sea Rule #4: Pray!

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Patsy Burnette link
7/1/2019 02:15:31 pm

Study question #4: Think of and jot down one or two practical ways in which you can implement a stronger set of prayer habits during this period in your life.

1. Praying specifically— specific request see specific answers.
2. Using a prayer journal— prayer journals are great because I can not only record request, I can recorded answers <— and that’s like a faith-building exercise!

How do you implement a stronger set of prayer habits?

Red Sea Rule #4: Pray!

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