{"id":8442,"date":"2020-02-19T21:36:22","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T21:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=8442"},"modified":"2020-02-19T23:30:16","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T23:30:16","slug":"pillar-5-mind-and-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=8442","title":{"rendered":"Pillar 5: Mind and thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>2020. It\u2019s been here a little more than a month and a half.\nI\u2019ve been seeking clear vision from the Lord, and He gave me some direction on\nChristmas Day. As I was reading in Psalms, it dawned on me that He was setting\nforth certain principles\u2014Pillars\u2014for me to embrace daily this year as I prayed\nand went about my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pillar 1: Walk in the fear that is due the Lord<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pillar 2: Ask God to teach me concerning my daily priorities\nand then follow through<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pillar 3: Request that He bring gladness to me proportional\nto the days I\u2019ve experienced affliction and sorrow<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pillar 4: Ask for favor from God and for Him to establish the\nwork of my hands <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This brings me to Pillars 5 and 6. They fit together beautifully and are perhaps the simplest of the six pillars; however, both require a high level of diligence, discipline, self-restraint, and self-awareness on my part\u2014and yours. After this long break (I\u2019ve been preparing my house for a new feline roommate who moved in on Valentine&#8217;s Day!), I should have Pillar #6 ready to go sometime next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pillar #5: Mind and thoughts<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>On the glorious splendor of Your\nmajesty<\/em><em> and on Your\nwonderful works, I will meditate<\/em>.\nPsalm 145:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What you think about is huge. Your\nthoughts affect your mood; your mood can color your attitude; your attitude\nwill affect how you see your life; and how you view everything will influence\nthe entire course of your life. We\u2019ve all observed this principle in others;\nit\u2019s just as true for our own lives as well. Thinking, as Psalm 145:5 declares,\n<em>on the glorious splendor of God\u2019s majesty and on all His wonderful works<\/em>\nwill safeguard your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, I\u2019m not a big fan of \u201cmind over matter\u201d teachings. Oh, I\u2019ve seen it work, even in my own life before I became a Christian. However, here\u2019s my qualm: although there may be something to the concept of mind over matter<em>, who gets the credit<\/em>? It goes to the &#8220;man with the mind&#8221;\u2014or in my case, to the &#8220;girl with the gall&#8221;! Focus is on Self; Self becomes Amazing in its own eyes; and soon all thoughts of the Creator Himself tend to fade away with the grandeur of \u201c<em>My<\/em> Amazing Ability\u201d or \u201c<em>My<\/em> Magnificent Mind\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although many Scriptures exist which highlight the proper use of your mind, the primary emphasis is NOT on you, the thinker! Instead, biblical focus is directed to the underlying <em>reason<\/em> for taking charge over your thoughts in the first place\u2014to obey God, to bring Him glory, and to allow Him to be center of your world\u2014<em>not<\/em> developing your mental ability to manipulate matter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What I\u2019m talking about is a partnership of sorts between you and the Lord. You discover what He says in the Word about your responsibility regarding your thoughts, and in turn you begin to allow those truths to redirect what you think about and even how to think about everything going on in your life and mind. Throughout your life you will be His junior partner in this endeavor\u2014tutored, taught, and instructed by His Word and His Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the best mentoring situation you could ever ask for. He\u2019s\na Mentor who certainly <em>will <\/em>correct you\u2014not with the back of His hand\nacross your face or a bludgeoning blow to your back\u2014but with patience,\nfirmness, clarity\u2026and love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some of His instructions, truths, and prayers to pray about the use of your mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u2026You understand my thought from afar.\n<\/em>Psalm 139:2b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Whether you love Him, hate\nHim, believe in Him, or view Him as an imaginary creation of weaker minds\u2014He\nknows and understands every thought that\u2019s ever crossed your mind. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Search me, O God, and know my\nheart;<\/em><em> try me and <strong>know\nmy anxious thoughts<\/strong>; <\/em><em>and see\nif there be any hurtful way in me,<\/em><em> and lead me in the everlasting way. <\/em>Psalm 139:23-24<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>YOU give the Lord greater access not only to<em> search<\/em> your mind, but also to help bring <em>order <\/em>and<em> peace<\/em> to all those piled up thoughts.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Above all\nelse, <strong>guard your heart<\/strong>,<\/em><em>\nfor everything you do flows from it.<\/em> Proverbs 4:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is of utmost importance for you to be careful about what lingers in your thought life because it will eventually determine your actions, affections, and pursuits. <\/li><li>I\u2019ve heard it said, \u201cYou cannot stop birds from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.\u201d This is also true concerning thoughts\u2014they pop up in your mind out of the blue, but you have the right and authority to evict them.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Do not\nconform to the pattern of this world, <strong>but be transformed by the renewing of\nyour mind<\/strong>. Then you will be able to test and approve what God\u2019s will is\u2014his\ngood, pleasing and perfect will. <\/em>Romans12:2<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>You are responsible for what you allow yourself to think. This\nverse lets you know <em>how<\/em> to help yourself\u2014your mind can be transformed bit\nby bit as you spend time in the Word of God. <\/li><li>The more you direct your thoughts to what\u2019s in the Bible, the\nmore it will speak to you. You may be minding your own business, talking to\nsomeone, and BAM! A Scripture will pop up inside of you and redirect your\nconversation or give you an \u201cAha moment\u201d\u2014and suddenly you\u2019ll have an answer to some\npressing issue. Most of the Bible readers I know have experienced this more\nthan a few times.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>For the word\nof God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates\neven to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; <strong>it judges the thoughts\nand attitudes of the heart<\/strong>.<\/em> Hebrews 4:12<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>God\u2019s Word is alive. You can read Shakespeare, Maya Angelou, Tolstoy, or Dr. Seuss, but no matter how classic, beautiful, gripping, or entertaining any of those writers may be, their words do not contain life. God\u2019s Word does.<\/li><li>The words of the Bible are sharp\u2014even surgical\u2014in their precision and force.<\/li><li>God\u2019s Word divides between soul and spirit; in other words, the simple act of reading, studying, or meditating on the Bible gives you discernment between \u201cIs it just me?\u201d and \u201cThis is from God.\u201d I\u2019ve experienced this surgical \u201cdivision\u201d between soul and spirit many times by spending time reading God\u2019s Word; perplexing choices I was facing have become suddenly clear due to the working of His Word inside of me.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Finally, brethren, whatever is true,\nwhatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,\nwhatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy\nof praise, dwell on these things. <\/em>Philippians\n4:8<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>What you think about affects everything in your life. The more you delve into all the horrible things you see and meditate on how awful you\u2019re being treated, the more intense those feelings become. As a result, you can\u2019t see God\u2019s solutions sitting right in front of your face while pain, anger, or hopelessness tightens around you like a spectral straight-jacket.<\/li><li>When you recognize that poisonous thoughts are starting to camp out in your mind, you have the right\u2014and authority\u2014to take them prisoner. Ask the Lord to give you HIS thoughts about what you\u2019re thinking; pull out your Bible and start reading\u2014out loud if you can. He will help you. <\/li><li>Choose daily to be aware of your thoughts and inner monologue. As soon as you catch yourself thinking negatively about something or someone, jump in and chase that stream of consciousness with God\u2019s Word. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Pillar #5 is simple\u2014just pay attention to your thought life and replace any negative flow with God\u2019s Word. Neglecting to take account of your thoughts can produce disastrous results for your life, your joy, and your walk with God; however, simply taking thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ will not only honor God, but will also facilitate His peace and stability in your life\u2014and clear up your vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dorothy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a9 2020, Dorothy Frick<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2020. It\u2019s been here a little more than a month and a half. I\u2019ve been seeking clear vision from the Lord, and He gave me some direction on Christmas Day. As I was reading in Psalms, it dawned on me that He was setting forth certain principles\u2014Pillars\u2014for me to embrace daily this year as I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayerperspective"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8442"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8451,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8442\/revisions\/8451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}