Prayer "experiment" with receiving vrs achieving-Day 2

I want to look again at all the verses I've already come up with regarding my struggle with being tired all the time.  I want to see if any of these verses have any conditions, anything I must do in order to receive the energy/strength/power that God says is available to me as His follower.

Isaiah 40:30-31(NIV)
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall; 
 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.
Condition: Hope in the Lord 

Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Condition: Get away with Jesus. Watch how He does thinks. Learn from him the "unforced rhythms of grace".

Matthew 26:41 (NIV)
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Condition: Watch and pray so you don't fall into temptation 

Romans 8:22-28 (MSG)
^22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
^26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
Condition: Look to God's spirit to help me and give me strength. Cry out to Him, even when I don't know how to say it.

Romans 15:13 (MSG)
Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 


1 Corinthians 2:2-4 (NIV)
² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

1 Corinthians 15:10-11 (MSG)
^10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10  (MSG)
^7-10 Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
Condition: Quit focusing on my problem with being tired and without energy. Thank God that He is strong in my weakness and look to Him for His supernatural energy.

Ephesians 1:15-23 (MSG)
^15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
^20-23 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
Condition: Pray. Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

Philippians 2:12-13 (MSG)
What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Condition: Acknowledge the truth that God is my source of strength. 

Colossians 1:9-12 (MSG)
Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. 
Condition: Learn more and more about how God works. Learn how to do what He's called me to - my work. Pray for His strength.  Look to God to give me strength through His Spirit. Thank God for His strength. 

Colossians 1:28-29 (NLT)
²⁸ So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. ²⁹ That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Condition: Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. 

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (MSG)
 Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely. 
Condition: Pray. Look to God as my source of energy.  See the Holy Spirit as my source. Be engaged in the activities that He wants me to do and ask for His strength.
 
 I want to start looking at these verses, one at a time or in groups.  I want to think more deeply on them.  Studying them and these conditions more.

Prayer "experiment" with receiving vrs achieving-Day 1

If I were to pick my toughest challenge right now it would be that I'm tired.  I feel like I don't have enough energy to do all that is before me in my life with the excellence that is necessary.  The issue is not that I'm over committed either.  The issue is me and how I'm dragging.

So I've come up with these verses that relate:

Isaiah 40:30-31(NIV)
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall; 
 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 26:41 (NIV)
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Romans 8:22-28 (MSG)
^22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
^26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Romans 15:13 (MSG)
Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!


1 Corinthians 2:2-4 (NIV)
² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

1 Corinthians 15:10-11 (MSG)
^10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10  (MSG)
^7-10 Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Ephesians 1:15-23 (MSG)
^15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
^20-23 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

Philippians 2:12-13 (MSG)
What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Colossians 1:9-12 (MSG)
Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. 

Colossians 1:28-29 (NLT)
²⁸ So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. ²⁹ That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (MSG)
 Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely. 
 
 So if the idea is that I can benefit from praying with confidence that I will receive what God wants for me, then I need to change the way I think.  I need to meditate on these verses.  I don't know if my brain is capable of memorizing all of them, but I can certainly meditate on them and memorize at least some.  Who knows, maybe I can memorize them all.  We'll see.

One thing for certain is that I'm tired of being so tired.

So I'm gonna fill my mind with what God says, and then try to pray with confidence to receive what He says is already mine.

I'm also gonna look to the conditions in these scriptures and ensure that, by His power, I do my part so that I can receive what He wants to give me.  Sometimes I think the conditions are the way God will give me what He wants to give. 

Receiving prayer versus Achieving

A group of women and I are studying through 1 & 2 Thessalonians together.   We're utilizing a workbook to assist us in our study.

As I was studying in the workbook and the Bible this morning I became confused. The workbook author was discussing how frequently Paul asked the Thessalonians in these books to pray for himself, Silas, & Timothy.  She then related  the concept of shifting out prayers from achieving to receiving.  At first I thought she meant it the other way around and I totally got that concept.  I thought to myself that yep I'm constantly praying that God will empower me to perform that required activities in my family, work, and community effectively.  But then as I continued I realized that I'd reversed what the author was saying. She talked about how we trust God to receive and then have His peace.

The author pointed out verses such as Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:10-13, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:2-3, and 2 Corinthians 9:6-8. All of these verses point to the idea that God wants to give us what we need.  They all could be interpreted to say that we can confidently ask from God because He wants to give to us.

Sure I've read and heard these thoughts many times before.

But, today, something different stirs inside me.  Today I'm asking - what will that look like?  How will this change my prayers?

If I'm totally candid, my prayer life has been quite small lately. I've thought about God plenty. Read the Word. Sometimes sang praise songs to Him.  Occasionally confessed something.  But spent very little time actually talking to God, and even less being open and trying to listen.

So I'm thinking - OK. I want to pray more.  I'm being stirred inside about this idea of receiving versus achieving.  I don't exactly get the concept but I'm going try a bit. I just read an encouragement from a brother in Christ to memorize the Word. So I'll start with a Word about something that's heavy on my heart right now, the get some verses regarding that and meditate on those verses and work toward memorizing them. Then I'll try to see how I can pray with confidence regarding that area.