Thursday, April 11, 2013

using receipts as prayer prompts


how many receipts do you have crumpled in your purse right now? at any given time, i have about a half a dozen. as the shopper and purchaser for my family, i typically hang on to my purchase receipts long enough to make sure i don't have to make any returns or exchanges.

those flimsy strips of paper in my purse bug me sometimes. the ones that really irk me are the gas pump receipts. i paid HOW MUCH for gas?? only last week!?!

a few months ago i started doing this quirky little thing with my receipts that has really turned into a fun new way to pursue God. it happened at the gas station after paying an arm and a leg to fill up my tank. $78.07 to be exact. i pulled the receipt out of the machine, got into my gas-guzzler, and stared at that little piece of paper. i couldn't ignore those numbers next to TOTAL: $78.07. they seemed to get bigger and bolder, and i was getting angry at how much i'd just had to spend. and then it happened...i saw something different in those numbers. 

i saw 78:7.  

i grabbed my phone, opened YouVersion, and searched 78:1. this is what popped up:

Psalm 78:7
it was like a wave came over me. my anger vanished and i was convicted to pray right then and there at the gas pump. Lord, my trust is in You. i will not forget Your deeds and i will keep Your commands. amen. and my day was changed. i drove away from the gas station with a renewed spirit and fresh faith. it. was. incredible.

so i did it again the next time i went grocery shopping. and i did it again when i picked up the dry cleaning. i did it with my Costco receipt and my Dollar Tree receipt. every number next to TOTAL was a chance to dig into God's Word and seek Him in that moment.

here is a handful of receipts from my purse:


and here is where God took me for each receipt:

$61.51 to Matthew 6:15

$74.44 to Luke 7:44 
$4.56 to Psalm 45:6
i think God is trying to tell me something about forgiveness and mercy, yes? 

this quirky little habit of using my receipts as prayer prompts has given me a whole new perspective on those crinkled up papers in the bottom of my purse. it's a new way of trusting the Lord with my finances and being intentional about praying in every day mundane moments. it is good, yall. 
change that little . to :  and watch what happens to your spirit.