Being "pummeled to a pulp" could actually be good for me?

Just this past Tuesday morning a friend and I began a 40 day journey through a devotional type study. It’s a study that corresponds to The Circle Maker (by Mark Batterson) titled Draw the Circle. Over the last 4 days I have been faced with challenges at home…but isn’t that just what Satan wants?  Of course it is. I am growing closer to Christ and my eyes are being opened to some pretty challenging stuff. At this point, I have a choice to make….do I allow Satan to keep me distracted or do I “dig in” and begin a process of change in my life? 

I want  change! So come on at me Satan....after what I learned today...I am STANDING FIRM...ready for CHANGE that will bring honor and glory to God.

Today, I was faced with this question:

Do I pray just to get out of my circumstances or am I praying for God to get me through them?

UGH. Tough question. I would like to think that I pray not only for deliverance from certain circumstances but, when I face trials, I also ask God to help me through. An honest look revealed, I don't do this all the time. More times than I can probably even count, I’ve prayed to get out of the circumstance I find myself in and completely ignore what God is trying to do through the process.

I am personalizing here so hang with me...in Draw the Circle, Batterson mentions that all too often I am too focused on praying for God to change my circumstances that I don’t allow him to change ME through the process.

UGH...  this hit me like a ton of bricks (sorry for the cliché). Yet, I’m thankful! If I'm being pummeled to death by circumstances that aren't changing...I need to take a closer look to see what God is trying to change in me. 

Now, my prayer will be a little different. Instead of praying "God, get me out of here!!!" I will pray "God, help me through my circumstance - and change me in the process according to your perfect plan." 

Praising God with ALL of me

Psalm 9:1-2 (NLT) “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.”

Lifting up praises to God is one way we can show our appreciation and thanks for His blessing and forgiveness. It can also express our admiration for being a loving, faithful, forgiving, just and patient God. As Christians, we are to enter His courts with thanksgiving and praise; meaning, we are to thank him for all he has done for us and praise him for who he is. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray (Luke 11:1-4), praising the Father in heaven was part of the prayer.

So how are you doing? I know that I could stand to use some improvement. Are you praising God and sharing the things he has done in your life with others? I tend to thank and praise God for everything he has done for me and leave it at that. But if we look back at what Psalm 9:1-2 says we must tell of the marvelous things God has done in our lives.

As we lift up praises and recognize who God is, our inward attitudes will become outward expressions of the way He is working in our lives.