Author Archives: Tracy Robbins

Scriptures and Prayer to Smooth Out the Path Ahead

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Scriptures and Prayer to Smooth Out the Path Ahead

There may be times in our lives where we are on a bumpy road or know we are headed for one. God never promises that we won’t have trouble or problems (Jesus warned us we would in John 16:33). However, he does promise us that he will never leave us alone and that we can rely on his presence and help through the troubles. We may still have to take that path, but he can smooth out the path ahead.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

“…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]. So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 (AMPC)

The Lord tells us throughout scripture that he can smooth out the path ahead for the righteous. The Holy Spirit has reminded me of these verses on several occasions when I was preparing to encounter something difficult ahead, and he prompted me to pray these scriptures back to God. There is power is praying with scripture to back up the prayers!

We may not be able to avoid a difficult road, but God can smooth out the path ahead.

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Scriptures about how God will smooth out the path ahead

There are several verses God making rough places smooth. Some specifically say, “smooth out the path ahead” or “make the rough places smooth”. Others say he will make things level, make paths straight, or straighten things that are crooked or curved. Basically, the messages are that he will make things smooth, level, straight, and remove some of the obstacles or things in the way. In essence, he can make the road a little easier.

Smooth paths

“But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.” Isaiah 26:7 (NLT)

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16 (NIV)

“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.” Isaiah 45:2 (NASB)

“And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. The highways will be raised above the valleys.” Isaiah 49:11 (NLT)

“Go out through the gates! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see. The LORD has sent this message to every land: “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’” Isaiah 62:10-11 (NLT)

Preparing the way for the Lord

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Funny Friday: Before you…

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Before you_meme

Funny Friday: Before you…

My mom sent me a funny meme with this saying recently… “Before you speak, listen. Before you act, think. Before you give up, try. Before you go to the bathroom, make sure there’s toilet paper.” It’s great advice.

“…They were surprised that the doors were locked. “He must be using the toilet,” they said. They waited and waited, but Eglon didn’t open the doors….” Judges 3:24-25 (GWT)

Do you use Prayer Cues?

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Do you use prayer cues? Try some of these reminders to use throughout your day...

Do you use Prayer Cues?

The Bible instructs us to pray constantly…

“Pray constantly.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (HCSB)

Previously, I wrote about when and where to pray and several posts on how to pray. Sometimes this can be difficult to remember to do throughout your day unless you have reminders. I know some people who set reminder alerts on their phones to pray at specific times of the day. I think this is a great idea. Something that I have found to be extremely helpful though is to use prayer cues.

Prayer cues are simply visual or auditory reminders to pray for something as you see or hear it. These can be specific things or topics that you have a heart for, certain people in your life, emergency or crisis situations, or even things that frustrate or annoy you.

Use prayer cues to help you pray constantly (1 Thess 5:17).

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A few examples of prayer cues I use

My kids and I started using sirens, emergency vehicles, and/or accident scenes as prayer cues to pray for the potential victims and emergency responders. When we hear sirens or see flashing lights or drive past an accident we say a short prayer for the safety of all involved. We pray for wisdom and guidance for the responders to act quickly and to know exactly what to do. We also pray that God’s presence is evident to those involved.

Some other prayer cues I use are exotic clubs, nightclubs/bars, and casinos. I’ve seen countless families suffer pain and heartache due to the use or misuse of these kinds of establishments. Quite honestly, the first thing I pray is that they will go out of business! Basically, I ask God to place a hedge or barriers around the businesses deterring people from going to them. I pray that the businesses would lose demand therefore causing them to shut down. That’s not all though. I also pray for both the employees and the patrons of these businesses.

Whenever I drive past a strip bar or exotic dance club I pray that the women who work there would come to the knowledge that they are loved by God. I pray for God to provide a healthier and more moral means of income. Additionally, I pray for God to protect and salvage families affected by patrons of the business and for the families of the employees of the business. Finally, I ask God to send laborers to cross their paths, to send people to love on them, and to surround them with God.

God answers the prayers of prayer cues

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Funny Friday: What sound does a cow make

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Funny Friday What sound does a cow make meme

Funny Friday: What sound does a cow make

My mom sent me a cute meme… “What sound does a cow make when it runs out of milk? None. There is udder silence.”

“…and all her warriors will be silenced in that day…” Jeremiah 50:30 (BSB)

8 Hindrances to Prayer

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Do you feel like you have hit some road blocks in your prayer life? Look at these 8 Hindrances to Prayer

8 Hindrances to Prayer

This week we’ll continue on the topic of prayer by discussing some hindrances to prayer.  Prayer is a very powerful and effective force, but there are actually some things we can do that will hinder our prayers and their effectiveness.  They are almost like roadblocks.

Prayer is a very powerful force, but there are things we do that can hinder our prayers.

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When I think of hindrances to prayer I always think of a humorous story that Joe McGee told when speaking at our church one time.  I can’t remember all of the details, but I remember him saying that he was praying one time when God spoke to him about how he was treating Denise, his wife.  He had either been encountering problems or wasn’t getting an answer to prayer (I don’t recall), and he asked God about it.

Joe said he heard clearly in his spirit that God told him to buy his wife the brand of soda and laundry detergent that she wanted.  He had always just bought what he grew up with and was used to, neglecting her preferences.  I think he even made a joke about the laundry detergent because she used Tide, and he said that was just sacrilegious since they were from Tennessee (major rivals of Alabama…aka Crimson TIDE).  He said that God reminded him of 1 Peter 3:7 which said “…Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.”  God was trying to teach him to treat his wife well so that his prayers wouldn’t be hindered.

Aside from how we treat others, there are a few other things that can put a damper on our prayers.  I’ve actually learned about 8 hindrances to prayer that can have a negative impact.  Let’s take a look…

8 Hindrances to Prayer

  1. Wrong motives

Like it or not, we can sometimes approach God with wrong intentions, reasons, or motives.  We cannot be evil or completely selfish in our prayer life.  Yes, God wants us to have the desires of our hearts but not at the expense of others.  The Bible says we will not receive if we ask with the wrong motives.

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3 (NIV)

  1. Unforgiveness in our hearts

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Prewritten Prayers Are Not Less Heartfelt

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Learn how Prewritten Prayers Are Not Less Heartfelt...

Prewritten Prayers Are Not Less Heartfelt

I mentioned previously that I get some negative comments and emails from time to time. One that I had received was criticizing a post that I had written on how to pray for your unsaved loved ones. The post has an image graphic where you can just plug in a name into prewritten prayers. It’s been pretty popular on Pinterest which is where this particular individual ran across it.

This person claimed to be an atheist and found my image/prayer offensive. Since engaging in debates and arguments like this are not typically very productive, I didn’t respond to their comment. I just deleted it (per my policy). However, there was a statement this person had made about prewritten prayers that I wanted to address here. An accusation like this could cause some people to question whether their prayer is truly genuine. So I’d like to share my two cents on the matter to hopefully alleviate some doubts.

“Prewritten prayers are hardly from the heart.”

This commenter stated “Prewritten prayers are hardly from the heart.” I think that there might be a lot of people who would buy into this theory. I COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT. Therefore, I would like to address why prewritten prayers are not only okay but often beneficial.

Memorized and recited prayers can indeed be less than heartfelt at times. However, that does not mean that they are automatically or always lacking sincerity. Just because somebody else wrote the words doesn’t mean that I don’t feel the exact same way. Sometimes I can look at a prayer and think, “that describes my thoughts and feelings exactly”. 

A prewritten prayer is not automatically/always lacking sincerity.

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Prewritten prayers have changed MY life

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How to Pray: Using the Lord’s Prayer as an Example

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Learn How to Pray by Using the Lord's Prayer as an example

How to Pray: Using the Lord’s Prayer as an Example

Staying with the theme of prayer this week, I thought I’d spend some more time on how to pray—specifically using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide.  I will also give you an example of how I would personally use the Lord’s Prayer to pray at the start of my day.  Jesus gave “The Lord’s Prayer” as an example of how to pray (not necessarily meant to be memorized and quoted).  I find it hilarious how Hollywood always portrays Christians praying this prayer.  It’s the typical stereotype of Christians–that whenever we pray, this must be what we say every time.  Don’t even get me started on the stereotypical, weak, and ignorant ways that Hollywood depicts Christians.  That’s another soapbox I can get stuck on for a while!

Jesus gave “The Lord’s Prayer” as an example of how to pray-not only to be memorized/quoted.

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Anyhow, I don’t believe that Jesus meant for the Lord’s Prayer to be the ONLY way and the only thing that we pray (and especially not word for word).  I know this because there are numerous other examples of prayer throughout the Bible, and they are not all identical to this.  He also said “pray like this” or “pray in this manner” NOT “pray this”.

So keeping that in mind, let’s take a look at a line-by-line breakdown of the Lord’s Prayer and how we might use it as a guide to pray. 

Matthew 6:9 “Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

This is an example or a protocol of sorts of how we should approach God. By calling him “hallowed” we are showing honor and reverence and submitting to his ultimate authority. It’s important to worship God and give Him praise.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

The Bible said we should come to God with praise and thanks.  The start of your prayer is the best time to do this (read more in this post on starting with praise).  Giving praise, glory, and thanks to God first helps us to prioritize Him.  First honor, then ask.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 (ESV)

Matthew Henry said in his commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, “We must begin our prayers with praising God, and it is very fit he should be first served, and that we should give glory to God, before we expect to receive mercy and grace from him. Let him have praise of his perfections, and then let us have the benefit of them.”[i]

Praising God can sometimes seem awkward, at least for me it is.  It’s often hard to know what to say.  I’ve found it helpful to praise Him for His character traits and attributes, especially roles He’s played in my life recently.  It’s also helpful to praise Him for who I need Him to be.  If I need to be comforted, I praise Him that He is a comforter.  If I need healing, I praise Him for being a healer, and so on.  At my Moms in Prayer group each week we always start our prayers with praising God for one of His attributes (click here for a list of attributes provided by Moms in Prayer or click here or here for some posts). 

Praise God for who/what you need Him to be….comforter, healer, restorer, provider…

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Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

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