Praying God’s promises — it’s changed me.
That’s why I included a prayer, at the end of each chapter, weaving together Scriptures from that chapter and others I sensed God wanted us to engrave on our hearts.
“Praying God’s Word has been one of the most life-changing ways I’ve learned to live in the security of His promises…and isn’t what we all want?
“One way God tells us that confidence will come is when we ask Him for what is already part of His will. ‘This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us’ (1 John 5:14 NASB). So there you go: we can be confident we are praying God’s will when we pray God’s Word!” p.25
But that’s not all.
Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” so let’s pray these promises out loud again and again.
Out loud. Yes, even if it seems weird. Find somewhere you can be alone and speak these truths to God and let them echo in your heart
Trust me, it makes a difference.
“When we pray God’s words out loud, and hear them, the Holy Spirit engraves them on our hearts and writes them in our thoughts. We internalize God’s truth and our faith grows as we are transformed from the inside out!” p.25
Let’s pray this week’s prayer {together}:
Lord, I pray that You would give me a confident heart in Christ. Take me beyond believing in You to truly believing You. Help me rely on the power of Your promises and live like they are true. You say blessed is the one who trusts in You and whose hope and confidence are found in You. Those who hope in You will not be disappointed, because You work all things together for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose.
When self-doubt tells me I can’t overcome my insecurities, I will believe Your promise that all things are possible to whoever believes. I will not throw away my confidence, because You say it will be richly rewarded. I will persevere so that when I have done the will of God, I will receive what You have promised. My confidence is in Christ and I am no longer one who shrinks back and is destroyed, but one who believes and is saved! In Jesus’ name, Amen. {See Jeremiah 17:7; Isaiah 49:23; Romans 8:28; Mark 9:23; Hebrews 10:35–36, 39}
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A Song of Prayer
My friend, award-winning composer and pianist , Chad Lawson, has graciously shared his beautiful, Spirit-filled Song of Prayer below. Watch and listen below for FREE and soak in this God-gift that was filmed while Chad listened to the Holy Spirit for 32 minutes and simply played what He laid on his heart. You’ll see the joy of Christ in Chad’s smile but more than anything, you’ll experience the peace of God’s presence through his music.
Download Song of Prayer: You can find it on Itunes ($1.99) or Amazon ($.89)
Today’s Give-Away: 3 Special Order Song of Prayer CDs
To enter to win one: Click “share your thoughts” below this post and describe how you felt or what you sensed God whisper as you listened to Chad’s Song of Prayer. Also share one or two of your answers to questions at the end of Chapter 1.
If you’re reading this via email: Scroll to the top of your email and click the title “Praying God’s Promises” to go back to my website. All entries must be put in the “share your thoughts” section.
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I so needed this today. I’m sitting at my computer wanting to cry! Out three year old son had his tonsils and adenoids removed yesterday morning and since the moment I woke up yesterday I have been a ball of nerves, not only because my baby was going under soon, but because I would be leaving our other two at my moms house on a school night, because I would be leaving my home unattended over night and because my “before surgery” to-do list was far from complete. The surgery went well. My older two were ok. And my house was fine even thought I didn’t remember leaving it that junky. We arrived home to kids who didn’t want to clean their room, medicine that kept wearing off way to quick and with me running off of almost no sleep, and looking forward to a night of waking up every three hours to administer pain meds to my little guy. I was feeling beat, and inadequate. I wanted to curl up in my bed and sleep and cry. I decided to jump online because my mailbox was overflowing. I missed yesterdays post so I went straight to today’s. I love inexpensive things and jumped on the .89 download price. THANK GOD and THANK YOU!!! The sound began coming out of my computer. I think I’m breathing for the first time in 2 days. I thank God for the surgical team’s hands. I thank God for the awesome nursing staff. I thank God for family and friends. I thank God for strength to push forward. I thank God for helping me put my house back in order. And I thank God for peace. I will never be able to check off every box on my before surgery checklist or any other checklist for that matter as long as my confidence is on myself to be the best. I did not place my confidence in the surgeon’s hands yesterday as he was working on my baby. I placed my confidence in God. I’m not going to place my confidence in my hands this next week as my son recovers I’m placing my confidence in God. And this evening when we’re working on our home, my confidence is not to going to be in my family, but in God. To continue to help me as a mother make my house a home for my husband and my kids. Question #4 asked what we felt when reading certain scriptures. Isaiah 49:23 “Those who hope in me will not be disappointed” My hope is in God. My home and life may not be perfect but I am never disappointed. I believe that God gives us things and allows circumstances when we need them. For that I am thankful.
I am going to put my cloud player on my phone, put my headphones on, play this song again and clean my kitchen.
Well stated!! I can relate to all the feelings and anxieties you were feeling.. sometimes I feel that I need to fix everything…but then I am placing my confidence in me and not GOD…then I become very tired and disappointed when I can’t do it all successfully. Thanks for your honesty and I pray your son is feeling well and healing well!! Big Deal for a 3 year old!! But NOTHING too big for our God!! Bless you girl!!
I’ve been very “tired and disappointed” lately and my family can feel it as strongly as I can. He is doing better than expected. He’s a tough little guy. 🙂 Thanks.
Thanks “Tonya E.” for sharing your heart. I’m also guilty of trusting in myself and wanting to have all the answers and fix things taking my confidence off God and onto myself. We have to trust him with the big things and the little things in our life.
It seems easier for me to trust Him in the big things, but it’s the little things that are hard for me to stop trusting my self and trust God. My plan is to take more intentional steps in my days and reach for Him more often.
Tonya,
Thank you! I like how you said in everything you are going to put your confidence in God. Amen!
Thank you for posting this awesome song As I listened to the music at times I felt as if I was being cradled in God’s arms, other times it’s like running through a field and coming upon a beautiful waterfall.
A confident woman would walk with her head held high and have poise and grace flow out of her. I long to be this woman. The book and this song are helping me see that it can be a reality for me.
I just want to stay focused on this study and God! I feel if I can do these 2 things slowly but surely my confidence in God will return and then He will take care of my confidence in myself.
I have struggled all day with conflicting thoughts…Letting go of old thought processes is tough. Listening to music helps soothe my soul, I so need to believe God’s truths, as that is what will set me free. My head knows, let’s get it to my heart! One of the questions was our earliest memory of feeling insecure, I don’t remember a time I have not felt insecure. From being the last one picked to play a game in grade school, to having no dates in high school and the list goes on. I am so tired of feeling alone, afraid, unknown…I long to feel God’s arms around me and the security that goes with it. I am tired of always trying to please others with what I do or say…I need to focus on God’s truths and promises. I am trying but been a tough day.
Kim, I can honestly say I know how you fell. The girl you described was me!! I am married with children and grandchildren now, and I still suffer with those same emotions. I know in my head God’s promises, His truth’s and His word. I need in my heart. I need to feel him reach down and hold me and the security that he promises. I need it in m heart now. I am praying this study helps me gain just that!
The music was absolutely peaceful, beautiful and brings peace to my heart and soul. Thank you for sharing that!
Kim and Linda L.,
I am praying for both of you right now. I too have been there also. I am so glad that all of us are in this study together. My prayer is that God shows us that despite what we have been through in our lives, He wants us to know that He is there with us always. May God bless you in this study and forever.
Kim, I am sorry for the tough day you were having. I understand, as well. I can know it in my head but my heart still hurts so very much. I can’t wait for that day for Him to hold me in His arms… I just need a way to get through this life now.
Authorine says 1-20-12
Question#1 My first year in high school.
A women with a confident heart, she is a strong women with hope and believe in the Words of God,knowming
that God has her in his hand and will see her through her situation.
Chad’s song is the still of listening – a peace we all search for. I could listen all day. Thank You for sharing this song. Beautiful Peace of our Lord!
I recently spent some time in prayer asking God what was blocking me from fulfilling his desire for my life. The words that came to me were “Not enough.” It struck me with such force it brought tears to my eyes. That was exactly enough. I have been stuck in a rut of thinking I am not enough – not doing enough, not being enough, always falling short. It is a miserable place to be and has been blocking me from receiving his joy. I asked God what I needed to do and sensed the word “patience”. I’m trying to step back. To be more mindful and live in each moment fully. I can’t say I always succeed, but at least I have a starting point. Chad’s beautiful song will be a wonderful backdrop for some much needed quiet time. Thank you.
I can so relate to this Jill! I recently realized that in both my personal and professional life I suffer from “not enough” syndrome. I’m not quite good enough at my job, I’m not quite as good a wife or mom as I should be, and I definitely am “not enough” of a housekeeper! The only thing I am good enough at is cooking/baking, and that’s just made me fluffy, so I’m also not thin enough! I would love to be one of the godly women in my church that I so admire, exuding the peace and beauty of Christ – showing that they KNOW him so well. However, having grown up in a hypocritical, and critical, church (and hating the hypocrisy), I feel like I can’t speak out to people I know about my faith because then, when I am not perfect at some point (say about 2 minutes from any given time! lol), I will be being one of those hypocritical people who so turned me off growing up. I don’t want to be the cause of turning anyone off on Christ. The problem is, this same feeling of not being enough is preventing me from turning anyone ON to Christ. I have been praying and trying to show Christ in my daily life wherever I can, without worrying about being good enough. I will continue to pray that both of us may find our “good enough” in Him!
Thanks for sharing – it reminded me of last week when He asked me – Sherry, am I enough? Yes, Lord, you are enough & I’m sorry for acting like you aren’t!
What hinders me from living a God confident life is simply fear! I spend way too much time in the shadow of doubt. It is so paralyzing that I can’t even make decisions sometimes. I doubt myself so much more than anyone else has ever done. Other people have confidene in me but I don’t have it in myself. I fear I won’t live up to the expectations. I don’t want to disappoint anyone. I want everyone to get along and be happy : ))So, the promise that speaks to me right now is “…those who hope in me will not be disappointed” Isaiah 49:23b. Thank you Renee for sharing what God has put on your heart and enabling us to share it here. Thank you Chad Lawson for playing God’s music. He’s the most incredible artist, isn’t he? 🙂
That was the best I have felt all week…just sitting and listening and waiting on God to direct me. Chad has a wonderful talent. I’m sure everyone that listen to his music felt the Lord with them.
#2 Has insecurity ever kept you from doing something? OH Yes, all the time. I wanted to be a cheerleader in high school but was afraid to try-out was afraid someone would make fun of me. Then my senior year in school I was working in a hospital and wanted to be a nurse but I was afraid I couldn’t do that. Now, I want to buy a business and I am afraid to step out and do it. But now have someone that is bigger than anyone that will help me. I have been praying that if it is meant to be that the Lord will open the doors for me. I know that doesn’t mean I won’t have any troubles, but I know that the Lord will not put more on me than I can stand. That is His word.
The music brings me peace and helps me to focus.
In answering Q #1: Insecurity and doubt are two of the earliest feelings I remember having.
Q#5: Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Chad’s music is so peaceful. Made me simply stop..and breathe. Something I don’t do often enough.
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t doubt myself or have feelings of insecurity. Even as a child I just felt like I never fit in; like I was on the outside looking in. My self doubts have kept me from doing many things over the years although I have gotten better at pushing through them the last several years.
First of all, the music is incredible! I want so much to just lie down on the floor and let it wash over me; I want to get lost in the beauty of it. Secondly, I must share that I actually DID listen to the Lord’s voice on Christmas Day and was soooo richly and amazingly blessed. At 10:45 AM, with just my elderly mother and I in the house for a little while, I was upstairs in my bathroom trying to “fluff and puff” a bit before the rest of the family arrived and was prompted to go look out of the skylight in the bathroom. How odd!….so I ignored it. Until the prompting came again moments later. I walked to the skylight, looked up, and there in a totally cloudless, blue sky was a RAINBOW. How could it be?! Was it some kind of prism effect from moisture on the glass? No. I ran downstairs to share the news with my mom; ran back upstairs and stood there in awe, watching it until it slowly dissolved. A Christmas miracle! A beautiful reminder of His presence…His Gift. What a GIFT!!! What I would have missed had I not listened! “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Amen, sister! We have to choose to SEE & to HEAR when He prompts us! What a blessing!!
#6 a Woman with a confident heart…one who does not measure herself by herself or compare herself. She truly knows that she is a child of God’s and can accept herself the way God created her…in His image. She has discovered her spiritual gifts and is using them for the glory of God. She knows she will fail and struggle but through the power of God, she gets up again and tries again.
Thank you, Renee for your love, prayers and valuable resources!!
So true.
The music is sooooooooo incredibly anointed and peaceful…. Thank you for sharing…. I love it.
Question #1 – I don’t ever remember feeling confident or secure……. 🙁
Question #5 – what hinders me from living a God-confident life consistently is that I know what the Word says, I just doubt it will be so for me… I have prayed prayers that have gone unanswered for so very long and feel a lot of times I have been overlooked by God or I missed out somehow without knowing how I did. I feel very unimportant and powerless.
Hey Jean; I love your honesty.. I too feel the same way you do… I know that God is awesome, I know He is there, however after praying and praying and not having the prayer answered makes me wonder too if I am doing something wrong in my journey. I still feel HIS blessings in my life, but the areas I need HIM most to show up, I seem to be missing HIM… I will pray for you right now!!
Jean, I too feel this way many times. However I think that God has his own time in answering prayers and sometimes he has to wait for us to ask for what he wants us to have. I know it an be very frustrating but my two favorite sayings are :let go let God and God is in control” !
Interesting…we talked about this very thing this morning in SS. One of the ladies shared years ago about infertility & how God changed her prayer and her heart from please let me conceive to Lord, help me accept your will even if it means I will never have children. It really got my attention. I’m praying for a godly husband and He keeps giving me Ruth 3:18. My natural born tendency is to take matters in my own hands and make things happen and move on to something else but through this, He is teaching me to be still and let him work it out. He and I have been wrestling the thing out for months now and just last week he said to me – Cease striving and know that I am God. My prayer is changing to Lord, you know I want a man who is sold out to Jesus – lock, stock, and barrel. Lord, help me to accept your will, say yes to you no matter what it is, submit this desire to you, and lay it at the foot of the cross. I know it’s not really about me Lord, it’s about you. I’ve learned during this time that He wants to be my first love….I have grown more over the past 6 months than anytime I can recall in my journey.
A woman with a confident heart knows that God has her back, that no matter what “it” will all work out. God will turn dark into light. A woman with a confident heart will speak what God is prompting and he will give the words that need to be spoke and/ or give what is needed at that time.
I have early childhood memories of being told not to try out for things because I was not going to make it or be able to complete the task because it would be too hard for me. And because of this now as an adult there are projects or events that I will not due because I do not think that I can do them or am worthy of attending. I think that I am not worthy sometimes to live with God-confindence afriad that I will disappoint God for the way that I am.
But when I read isaiah 49:23 (the last part): Then you will know that I am the Lord. Anyone who trust in me will not be disappointed.
I feel a stillness and a peace.
Jessie Warner
I have been walking with the Lord a very long time and have done things I never thought I would be able to do, just by focusing on what the Lord says. Now a very difficult time has come where the odds are way way against me and my family..financial circumstances that are completely impossible in most people’s eyes, but with God all things are possible. The timing of your study coupled with the “impossible circumstances” remind me to latch onto His word even more, depend on Him more and renew my trust in Him that He is my only hope. As it says in the Amplified Bible in Hebrews: faith is perceiving as fact that which is not revealed to the senses. That is true faith! Thank you for hearing Him!
I find my self getting distracted with everyday life things. I have printed our the memory verse and have repeated out loud during the day. I long to believe God and the promises he makes us not just to believe in him. I never thought about it that way before thank you for repeating that and praying that.
I’m in my office, snow is coming down in Chicago and listening to the piano music makes me feel as if I’m in a Holy Spirit filled snowglobe. Praise be to God for He is good and in THIS place, in MY heart and in Him I am free. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! This is the day that the Lord has made, thank you to Chris for such a lovely blessing on my snow filled winter wonderland day at work. ~ Sarah
You are so right!!! LOL, it’s great looking out the window at the snow listening to this music. God is so good. He is true to his promises. I look forward to getting that into my heart and not just my head.
Melody & Sarah, thanks for sharing that sisters! Awesome!!