O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. Psalm 139:1 (NLT)

I have been completely color-blind since birth, so I see the world like a black-and-white movie. Attending a class at church about using coloring to deepen my prayer life might seem like an odd choice for me. But when I saw the blurb for Colorful Prayer, I knew I needed to sign up. It sounded like fun, and I had labeled pencils. I appreciated anything that could allow me to weave creativity into my time with Jesus.

“This isn’t about artistic ability, and it isn’t about the colors,” the instructors assured us. “It’s about meditating on a Scripture and letting the picture flow from that.”

Still, when it came time to spend a few moments in prayer with our coloring page, verse, and pencils, I became insecure about being the only one in the room who couldn’t see the colors and was afraid I might put two together that didn’t match.

Then a kind voice whispered, I don’t care if your colors match. I created them all. Choose colors that mean something to you. The knowledge that Jesus could see what had always been a mystery to me and that He would know exactly why I chose red, purple, ocean blue, and lavender liberated me to create a prayer bursting with the colors of my gratitude to the One who knew and loved me. “O Lord you . . . know everything about me,” including the fears that so often get in our way, even when we’re trying to focus on Him.

When we trust Jesus’s love for the heart He knows so well, we find the freedom to worship and love Him from a deeper, more honest place.

Faith Step: Which colors have special meaning for you? Use them to create something that represents Jesus’s deep knowledge of you and love for you. Ask Him to free you from the fears that restrict you from trying new things

“After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.” John 9:6–7 (NIV)

Every spring when I prepare my garden, I think about dirt. As I turn my raised beds, rich, loamy compost feeds my soil. But there are many other textures of dirt: heavy clay, grit that rubs between the toes, mud that clings to everything.

You’d think the Holy God of the universe would like things sterile, pristine. But He got His hands dirty when He formed Adam from the dust of the ground. When the Pharisees were about to stone a woman, Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger. He washed grit from His disciples’ feet. And He amazes me daily as He walks beside me in the muddy confusion of my ordinary life.

One of the powerful messages of the incarnation—Jesus becoming man—is that God doesn’t hold Himself far away from us. He also uses the real-life things at hand to do His miraculous work in our daily lives. He could have healed the blind man with a touch, a word or even a thought. It’s so interesting to me that Jesus made some mud and used that as a tool of healing.

This story makes me more alert to the ordinary and even messy aspects of life that God can use: an unexpected phone call that interrupts our agenda and steers us in a new direction, a broken window that gives us a chance to teach a child about grace and forgiveness, a miserable cold that reminds us to rely on God instead of our own strength, a bowl of soup that creates a memory of love for our family, a friend’s e-mail that suggests a solution to a problem they didn’t even know we had, a book we happen to pick up on the precise day we need the message within, a new job, a birth, a funeral, and even a mud puddle. Jesus came down to earth and continues to use the down-to-earth parts of our life to bring blessing.

Faith step: Invite Jesus to take the muddy struggles of your life and sculpt a blessing from that humble clay.

“Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:38 (NIV)

I’ve been a doodler for as long as I can remember. I’d always viewed my habit as a silly distraction until I attended a daylong retreat. We were invited to bring our Bibles and some colored pencils or markers, so off I went in hopes of finding a new way to experience God. When I arrived, I was handed a packet of notes and a schedule, indicating several hour-long segments of silence and full-page designs suitable for adult coloring.

“This is your time alone to spend in silence,” the retreat leader said. “Don’t worry about looking for the presence of God. You are already in His presence. Don’t feel like you have to be productive by reading bunches of Scripture. Try to unhook your rational mind and take it down into your heart. Doing something with your hands like doodling or coloring or even knitting often helps. Simply watch with Jesus.”

READ MORE: THE POWER OF PRAYER DOODLES

So off I went to sit on a rock and started doodling on a blank sheet of paper. Soon I flipped it over and tried sketching the mountain and lake and trees in front of me. I didn’t let the quality of the work distract me. Instead, the simple experience of drawing drew me into a rich and focused awareness of God’s presence and creation. I brought home many spiritual nuggets from the retreat, but the most freeing was the defense of doodling, which brings me nearer to God.

Lord, I’m thankful for the many ways to more deeply experience Your promised presence.

Digging Deeper: Psalms 39:5–6, 46:10

For we walk by faith, not by sight.—II Corinthians 5:7

I seem to fight the same predictable battles every day: procrastination, a critical spirit, envy. But recently I learned a new way of praying that is helping me fight these old enemies. I call it the “Victory Prayer” and discovered it in Charles Stanley’s book The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life. Don’t wait to pray until you are in the thick of a predictable battle, Stanley suggests. Instead, claim God’s promise of victory in prayer before the battle. Then, when the battle comes, you know you’ve already defeated this enemy. The power behind this confident prayer is faith—believing God will do what He promises. That’s how David won the battle against Goliath!

Goliath was the giant Philistine who terrorized the Israelite soldiers, but young David knew Goliath was God’s enemy; that God would be with him in the battle; that God would be victorious over His enemy. So David claimed that victory before the battle began. Then he merely did what he knew how to do as a shepherd boy. He picked up his slingshot and five smooth stones and marched off to face the enemy. The result flowed from his confident faith.

I’ve been trying this spiritual battle plan. Each morning, I name my enemy (procrastination). I know this enemy is also God’s enemy and claim God’s promise that He will be with me in my battle. Then I thank God for His victory. After praying, I do what I know how to do. I sit down at my desk and begin the work that awaits me. The battle begins, and the result flows from my faith.

What familiar battles do you face today? Fill in the blank in Stanley’s prayer:

Lord, I claim victory right now over the giant of ____________.
I recognize that this giant is coming against the Christ in me.
Just as You defeated this giant when You walked on this earth,
You can defeat it through me now, for You are my life.
I trust You to produce peace and self-control through me.
When the pressure comes, remind me that the battle is Yours. Amen.

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38

Last week we put out the nativity set that is the centerpiece of my dining room. I had to pause as I was setting up beautiful Mary. It made me think,“What if she’d said no?”

But she didn’t, maybe that’s why God chose her. Mary considered herself a maidservant, and she was willing to be put to use. Surrender, trust, and a willing heart to God’s desire are wonderful traits for a mother. Out of all the homes to be raised in, God looked down and desired Jesus to be raised by her. And we can see the same traits lived about by her son.

It made me stop to think about how willing I am to follow what God has asked me to do. Do I always respond like Mary? No. Are there things He’s asked me to do that I haven’t followed through with yet? Yes.

It also makes me think about what I’m modeling for my children. God chose a young girl with the mind of a maidservant to raise His only begotten Son. What big task could He have for me if I’m openhearted and willing?

Faith step: If you have a nativity set consider keeping it out all year and not just at Christmas. While we do want to focus on Jesus in the manger also think about some of the other people at the manger. What lessons can you learn from them?

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (TNIV)

There have not been many times in my life where I was in fear, but there was a time in my life when I was depressed. I was working for a biology company but I didn’t get along well with my supervisor, and I couldn’t understand why. I tried everything I could think of, and I know she did as well, but we simply didn’t connect. There was a great deal of miscommunication.

It made for a very tense work environment for me. I began to make mistakes in my work. It was hard for me to focus. I hated being at work. I fought nausea and dread when I had to drive in to work each morning, feeling so sick that my hands would shake. My relief at the end of each workday was immense.

I tried to switch supervisors but was told I couldn’t. I considered quitting, but my husband was unemployed at the time and we couldn’t afford for me to be out of a job for several months. I felt trapped and despairing.

The above verse from Isaiah kept me going. I prayed for Jesus to improve my circumstances, and even though my prayers weren’t answered right away, the verse reminded me that Jesus was right here with me, that I was not alone. Things would be hard for a time, but I was not by myself, Jesus was close beside me, to comfort me and help me.

It took a year, but things eventually improved. Through all the difficulties at work, I clung to this verse and the promise that Jesus was holding me.

Faith step: Are you going through a difficult time? Write this verse down somewhere you will see it throughout the day to remind yourself that Jesus is with you.

But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

When I was pregnant with Stella, we decided to turn our playroom into a bedroom for Adelaide and her new baby sister to share. Adelaide and I had fun browsing catalogs and searching the Internet for ideas. In time, the room was pretty much transformed according to her specifications.

She got a new bedspread, pink with roses, and a bedside table with matching lamp. A wonderful carpenter built lots of new cabinetry that would become her closet, dresser, and bookshelf. The only problem when he delivered and set it was that the white cabinets looked bare.

She needed some knobs and drawer-pulls. Adelaide found some pink crystal butterflies from Pottery Barn Kids that were adorable, perfect, and way out of my budget.

I explained we just couldn’t get those right now. We had to save money for the new baby. She was angelically good about this, which made me want to get them for her even more, but I just didn’t feel I could. We both decided to be content without them.

About a week later, I got a writing assignment I was not expecting. Guess what it paid? The exact amount of the butterflies. I told Adelaide we could get them now, that I believed God had provided the money.

When she opened the box and examined the butterflies, she squealed as though they were pink diamonds. She clutched me around the neck, and I expected her to say, “Thank you, Mommy!” But her thoughts went in a different direction.

“That was so sweet of God, wasn’t it Mommy? To get me these butterflies?” Now every time I pass that room, I’m reminded of His sweetness, and how He truly provides for our every need.

Faith step: Is there something your heart desires today? Trust the Lord to provide everything you need in Jesus.

“O Lord, God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!” Judges 21:3

I used to have an answer for most problems in life. I had a lot to say on almost any subject. I now have few answers, and am often reduced to the simple phrase, God is faithful. I don’t say that lightly or without thought. I say that because it is true, and I have discovered that it is true no matter what is happening in my life.

With confidence, I add these words to the end of the worst statements in the world: My child is sick and I don’t know what to do . . . but God is faithful; I lost my job and I don’t know how I will pay my bills . . . but God is faithful; my husband left me and my heart is torn in two . . . but God is faithful.

I don’t mean that He will wave a magic wand and everything will fall into place; far from it. What it means is the darkest times in our lives we will learn to keep turning our faith towards Him for He is faithful. Faithful to be with us, faithful to watch over us, faithful to work in us to make us the men and women we are called to be.

Think of your own life. Stop for a moment and reflect on any situation where it seemed as if you were on your own, that it was hopeless, that you were forgotten. Remember how you could never have anticipated God showing up, but He did, with flying colors, even if it seemed like He left you dangling there for just a little too long for comfort!

I don’t know what the circumstances in your life are right now, or how fast you feel you’re falling, or whether you’re frozen on the bar, afraid to let go and grab God’s hands. What I can tell you is that He is there, right now and He won’t let you go. He will catch you in midair. The net of his faithful love will cushion you when you free-fall.