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 realized that what blocks me from making the LORD my confidence is doubting that he actually CAN be that confidence, and therefore not even trying to make him so. Today in prayer I had to stop and ask myself: why was I letting this doubt prevent me from receiving God’s promised blessing? It is clear from scripture that there is blessing when the LORD is our true confidence. What if I let go of doubt and reached to receive that blessing, acting in faith? Now I want to live by trusting that God will reveal to me how to have confidence in him instead of simply not trying because it seems too difficult. I want to know what it means to be a strong woman in the LORD!
I so understand what you are saying for I was once there myself. What helped me to totally trust that He actually CAN do anything was when I considered the vast universe HE created. He can be all things to us and if we will trust Him, he surely can be our confidence. He loves us that much!
I like what you said about wanting to live by trusting that God will reveal to me how to have confidence in Him instead of simply not trying because it seems too difficult. I too want to know what it means to be a strong woman in the Lord! Thank you for sharing with us.
I am two weeks behind in this study because i only just got the book but I can really resonate with how you are feeling. I am praying that we can really just let go of our self doubt and trully believe that God is completely trustworthy, no matter what the circumstances are. I am literally tired of living in fear and doubt and I pray that thoughout this study, we can really have a break through. 🙂
When I first started listening to the music, I turned it off because it was going too slowly for me. Then I read all the positive comments and tried it again. The Lord really spoke to me that I am not used to a slow pace – I am always multi-tasking, even in my time with Him, and because I love my work, I hurry through everything in the morning to get there early and start my day. How sad that my time with Him is shortened because of that. Each year I make the same resolution to spend more time with Him and each year I fail. I get into the negativity cycle that whispers I am never going to change, I am not disciplined enough to follow through. BUT I want this to change and am confident that the more I seek Him, the more He will become real, really real, in my life.
#3 – I feel defeated, disillusioned, disheartened and a failure.
#5- unbelief that it is an attainable goal
#6 – God-trusting and peaceful
Kit, I agree with you. I am not one to slow down and listen to this calming music and ponder what is going on around me let alone what it is that God has for me to hear from Him. How sad that is. Why is it so difficult for us to just stop. Stop our minds from the business of life, what we need to do, what we did do/didn’t do…what’s next…etc. As I sit and listen, I’m reminded that I need to do this more often, and not just as an exercise that is part of my online Bible study. It reminds me of all the good that God has put into my life and why I am blessed. He really does love each of us, no matter our talents…and what more can we really ask for? I need to just stop sometimes and let God be God. He really is who He says He is…and how cool is that?
Feel His peace that breaks down every wall, His love, His comfort. (It’s like a wonderful stress-relieving back massage, but more!)
I heard in the song….Jesus, Jesus how I trust You, how I trust Him at His Word!
My original thought to #4 was…I wonder if it’s really for me or maybe I have too many sinful thoughts and I didn’t pass the test and am not qualified for God to do something amazing or good.
B
I know exactly what this feels like, your post really struck a chord with me. I often wrestle with doubts about my future. I had myself convinced for quite some time that I was not ‘qualified’ enough to be a christian wife or a mother and that’s why I was still single. I truly believed that God wouldn’t entrust me to help take care of or have a family of my own..but my mind was wrapped around as this was a punishment or something. That since I wasn’t an amazingly “qualified” christian woman, I didn’t deserve it. I now see this as an attack from Satan and I have been truly living the verse Jeremiah 29:13- “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” What a blessing that He loves us just the way we are.
WOW !!!! I wished I would have listened to the “The Song of Prayer” last night to quite the demons in my mind. Since I have started this study I have been reading and praying the scriptures twice a day. When I get up in the morning and when I go to bed at night. I know in the long run it will pay off but right now it is very hard to see when I am so depressed. I thank you for all of your work and resources that you pass along to us Renee. I think now I would like to purchase one of his cd’s to help calm me at night.
I don’t have a specific time when I started to feel insecure but I know it was in my very early years. I always thought that God made a mistake when He made me a girl. I pretty much was dad’s little son growing up and that made my mom very angry. On top of that my mother was an alcoholic and I neve knew what frame of my mom was in. Parents seperated when I was about 9 or 10 years old. Dad left me and my sister with my mom which just devastated me. Dad was my safety net. There were also times that I thought that I was adopted and my parents didn’t tell me. so as I child I was very insecure about who I even was. It never really helped that I was never good enough to have my mom’s love and affection. It was more for my sister because they were buddies and my sister did the things that mom liked to do.
During my early age of 9 yrs old I was being sexually molested through out my whole childhood going into my early teens. Where were my parents then to protect me. I was just another object to be used by somebody else and I had no voice as a child. So you kind of get a small picture of why and what made me so insecure as a person. Not being wanted, wrong sex, sexually molested (by people in authority) and rejected.
I have to say that I have come along way as God has brought a lot of healing for me. But I need God to bring about healing of my low self-esteem and who I am in Christ and realize that I’m not a bad person, that I am loved by him and many others. That I am worth something. These mind battles have really kept me trapped in a place that hinders me from being able to move on in a healthy spiritual aspect of my life so that I can minister to others and bring them through the lies of the enemy.
In the late 80’s God put a call on my life and spoke to me very specificlly s to what He wants me to do. It was very clear as day to me. it comes out of Is. 61:1-4 where it talks about …”binding up the broken hearted and setting the captives free.”. since then my life has been a battle from the enemy as God is preparing me for such a calling which means He starts with me right where I am at to become healed in my own life. sorry I went on so much but it really helps me to express it out to somebody else who is lifting me up in prayers.
I have to say that it is by no chance that You ( Renee ) started this study at this time of my life. Thank you for being faithful to bring about God truth for so many women who need to hear the truth of who we are as God’s children-the King’s daughters.
Cindy,
I understand perfectly well. I too felt that i was called in according to Isaiah 61.
I had a troubling childhood also. My mom and dad divorced just before my 3rd birthday and my dad got custody of me and my brothers age 5, and 7. When I was 3 almost 4 my dad was with this lady who abused me. After it was found out what she did to me, my dad sent me to live with my grandparents. I never was the same after that. I wondered what I did so wrong for my dad to not want me and not let me live with my mom. Then when I was 11 my mom tried to kill herself with me in the car with her. She ended up in the mental ward the rest of her life. I always felt if I was the girl I was meant to be, then she wouldn’t have done what she did and that my dad would love me for who I was.
I know now that God put me in the care of my grandparents because that was where I was meant to be. At times I still have trouble with wondering what I could of done to stop my mom from not only hurting herself but also me and my brothers. I was too young to help her. I couldn’t help her if she didn’t want help. I also had to come to understanding that my dad does love me, just not the way I wanted to be loved. I know that I was my grandparents pride and joy and they made sure that I knew I was loved not only by them, but more importantly I was loved by God.
So, remember that God loves us very much.
I’m not receiving the daily assignments. Am I not doing something right? The last assignment I saw was on Monday and that was to read Chapter 1. Where are we now?
Im here reading and praying and thanking Jesus for what He’s doing in our sweet sisterhood already. Immeasurably more than I could think or imagine in less than a week. Oh my heart is so full!! And Chad…well he’s doing all he can not to break down and cry…reading your stories. Thanking Jesus for answering his prayer — for this song to lead God’s children into a deep place of abiding peace and worship. Praying for more…more security in the power of His presence and promises. God’s got so much MORE for us!! Love you all!!
This is the first time for me doing a on-line study. I am a missionary working in a country where Jesus Christ is not known by many. Sometimes one’s life gets so busy in ministry that it is refreshing to do this study. And I was in a bigger city this weekend and could listen to the music by Chad and it was wonderful. God is continuing to bring teaching into my life of looking at the promises of God. The Jer 17 passage was a balm to my weary soul. Thanks for your teaching and for all the comments….I have limited access to internet so won’t be able to read all comments but thanks to all who share.
As I go thru the postings and read, I realize that the Lord wants each of us to know that there is nothing wrong with us. Yes, we may have insecurities and a lack of the kind of confidence we want, but He is showing us just by the sheer number of women who struggle with the same thing that we are not faulty or defective. We are created wonderfully by Him. Increasing our confidence is a side benefit from getting to really know Him more fully and more real. He created us with the desire to know Him intimately and for Him to be first in our hearts and lives. Maybe the confidence struggle is the way He is pulling us to Him so that we go deeper in our relationship with Him – that we don’t settle for knowing who He is but we go all the way to like Renee is telling us to believing and knowing Him so fully that our total trust is in Him. When we come to know Him so intimately that we know in our heads and hearts that He is trustworthy and He will never let us down or leave us — then that trust will heal our hearts with the oil of confidence and peace.
When I close my eyes and soak in every note, I feel such deep peace. A quiet spirit. No words cluttering my heart. Sometimes I think I get in the way in my prayer time…..so often I think God simply wants to speak to me, and I blabber away as if our relationship is all one-sided and about me. When honestly, it’s all about Him. Oh, when I can reach those moments of HIM. I love life!!!!! I feel so free. Like a little girl dancing before her father, I just let go and know that He loves me and He is smiling and WOW! life isn’t so tricky anymore. Grief doesn’t seem so painful when I trust Him with my pain. Today, I commit to more moments of simply listening. Thank you, Renee and Chad. I love you both!
I so know what you are saying … I’ve been feeling like the Lord is telling me to spend time just clearing my head of thoughts so He can talk and love on me. I tend to keep talking even in my thoughts and I think He is telling me to still myself so I can hear Him and not me.
I felt HOPE! There are the quiet times in his song when I imagined the “nothing is happening” times in my life and then there are the really upbeat, excited times in the song when I imagined feeling God’s presence and how it changes my whole countenance. Thank you!!
I don’t remember a time in my life when I never experienced doubt or insecurity. It seems like they were always my constant companions. I always knew that I was an “accident.” My mother never wanted children. My parents were very wrapped up in each other and I always felt in the way. My first memories are of feelings of loneliness and being alone in my room. I second guess myself on everything. Sometimes the doubt gets so overwhelming that I don’t think I can take being me anymore. I am so hoping that I will be set free by doing this Bible study. I do know that God is faithful.
The music is very peacful.
Vickie,
I pray that you will be set free from your doubt and insecurity. Remember, above all that you are a child of God! and you were never an “accident” in his book. He wanted you to have life and have it to the full!!!! Hold on to Psalms 139: 13 which says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” God loves you and that is what is most important.
Thank you for sharing this special blessing of the prayerful music. I have not stopped crying the entire time I have been listening, praying, reading and listening. I have always loved the piano and it soothes me. I began taking lessons before we brought our daughter home from China, but only got to take the lessons for a short while due to a job change and move. Oh, how I pray that God will allow me and I will be confident and faithful to continue someday. This is one of my loves and desires, along with writing and photography. God wants to bless me through them so that I will bless others. When I do share them with others, I am told they are blessed. But I shrink back and lack the confidence God wants for me to continue. So much has happened in my life to make it easy to shrink back. I pray for not only myself, but for other women, that God will help us to be the Confident Women He wants us to be so that we can shine with His glory and help others to know that God wants to bless us and heal us and use us, not to bring us harm, but a HOPE and a Future FULL of His blessings.
Chad’s Song of Prayer was a reminder to slow down and listen to God. The slow rhythm at the beginning helped me to focus, meditate and tune in to God. Then, the excitement starts to build as God realizes that I am finally listening carefully to only Him. Then, He pours out blessings and insight into my life!
Doubt and guilt come into my heart when I look back and realize mistakes I made in the past because of immaturity, lack of faith or being too busy and rushing through life. Since I can’t go back to fix those times, I feel sad and doubt my abilities now. Faith in God’s love and goodness pull me through these times of doubt. During the times I grieve this lack of confidence, I just hold on to God’s promises and He is faithful to pull me out of that pit and set my feet back on the path of righteousness.!!! Romans 8:28 is a promise I regularly hold on to.
Had to laugh at all the times I used “really” above. Guess that’s what I really want.
What a beautiful song. Thanks for sharing. It is wonderful to listen to that as I contemplate all that I have been reading. What’s really helped me the most with this study is praying God’s word outloud and reading all the verses and name for God. I’m really desiring a real relationship with Christ on a daily basis and now I’m really reading the verses very slowly and really letting the word seep into my heart. Thanks so much for this study and the song!
I listened to the song very early this morning because I could not sleep and it was very spiritual just to sit and listen to what God was telling me to do. It felt like He was wrapping His loving arms around me and telling me that He has it all under control and not to worry about a thing. I truly felt His warmth and grace through the prayer song and can tell that it has been a blessing for many people.
My self doubt began for me when I was in college and trying to find myself. With being in so many activities in high school, I didn’t feel like I wanted all the responsibility so I just stuck to working hard at getting good grades. But it just seemed like everyone was happier than I was with their new college-life. I admit that I did make most of my mistakes in college and have repented of that awfulness, but I think that contributed to my self doubt. It was also in college that I met a dear friend who cared enough for me and my soul that she showed me God’s truths in the bible and I have never been the same. I think it’s hard to be confident when you have the weight of your sins on your shoulders. I pray that the Lord will release our burdens and show us the way to live in total 100% confidence in Him. Heb. 35 has been my life verse for this week and I pray to never throw my confidence away again even in the challenging times. (Sometimes I compare myself to Moses because he was afraid to speak in front of the crowd but God reassured him that He would give him the words to say). On this journey, please pray with me that I would have the boldness to speak up when in crowds. I usually just sit back and listen, but I yearn to be someone who can contribute something to a conversation. Thank you!!
Love and Blessings!
Well I was brought great peace by “The Song Of Prayer”. Something dawned on me though…my deaf/blind son has been playing like this since he was 2. I will now look at what I use to call ‘noodling around’ very differently. They are his hearts song/prayer. My prayer is that I can get quiet enough to hear my heart song/prayer.
Now for some of my answers: I think the first times I can remember the self doubt it would be the awkwardness we all hit in middle school and high school. And there have been a number of things over the years that I did not complete or accomplish because of it. I felt like a nobody most of my life yet being a pastors kid everybody was watching. The Rom 8 vs listed is he one out of all listed that brings me the most encouragement. No matter any of the good or bad or ugly God makes it all good if I just love Him. This vs is being lived out in my life in a very big way in a few short weeks. God shines through my broken places & He is using lil ol me to lead a women’s conf at my church. I grew up a tomboy and I love getting my hands dirty and using power tools so what in the world is He doing putting me in front of a bunch of women to lead them in anything? Well we will soon find out. Some have asked if I’m nervous. I’ve never done anything like this and while I have flashes of anxiousness pop up I know it’s God who is in control because all of this is so much bigger than I am. I’m scared to share the broken places God has shown up in my life but I know that being obedient to what He is asking me to do will bring blessings. And that is how Jer 17:7 blessed me this week. By reminding me where my focus needs to be. For WAY too many years I struggled with trust issues so for me to live a life trusting fully 100% in something I can’t see or feel in the sense of our earthly senses is a miracle in itself. I praise God I’m blessed & would love ur prayers as we head into this conf just 3 weeks away. Thank you Renee for this study & thank you to all those participating and sharing your hearts here. I’m blessed to be on this journey with all of you. Praise the Lord!!!
I really enjoyed the song. What a blesssing it was! In Chad’s song I sensed God’s peace, love and Joy. Thanks for sharing.
Question 2
Insecurity has stopped me from communicating with people outside my circle.
Question 3
When doubt whispers, it makes me feel like a failure.
thank you for the music…made me reflect on the beauty of God’s presence in my life at all times, even when I don’t acknowledge Him. He never leaves me, I’m the one who turns away to look for other things to fill me up.
I do believe God has a purpose for me. I need to open my life up to His calling and leading. I need to stop, slow down, and let God lead. Again, thank you for sharing the music. Beautiful!
As i listened to this song i could sense the slowness of the start, but then see Chad’s smile as the peace built, it was truly beautiful, thanks so much for sharing a wonderful gift.
my answer for # 7: This verse has become so important to me! things around me (people and their moods and temperaments really) change all the time, but MY Lord is ever present and loving 🙂 no matter the circumstances, He is dependable and loving and my ROCK. this makes next week, and month and year so much more DOABLE and joyful for me 🙂 thank you for this study, it’s changed my life already.