Heather Norman Smith
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Fiction
    • Nonfiction
  • Blog
  • Music
    • Original Songs
    • More Music
  • Speaking
Picture

Praising God in the Dental Chair

3/15/2022

0 Comments

 
Please help me, Lord, I prayed. Please make this easy.

My dentist visits are times of fervent prayer. During even the simplest of procedures, I almost always end up crying from anxiety, at least a little, and it seemed the recent visit to fill two cavities would be no different. As the dentist came at me with the needle, I prayed harder in my mind. Please help me get through this. My prayer was desperate, pleading.

Then something life-changing happened. The dentist poked the needle into my gum, and I stopped praying. I quit begging God to help me. Instead, I began to thank God for being so good. I changed my prayers into praises, and the panic lifted--it dissolved and floated toward the heavens with my words of adoration. It was the most painless injection of Novocain ever. So, I kept praising, right through the drilling, and the result was nothing short of miraculous.     

You are Magnificent, Marvelous, Wonderful, Worthy. Magnificent, Marvelous, Wonderful, Worthy. Over and over, I offered those words silently. At some point, I remember thanking God for a good dentist who can fix my teeth.

In a gentle voice, the dentist said, "You're doing good," as he worked. He always says that, because he's kind and genuinely empathetic about my anxiety. But for the first time, I actually felt like I was doing okay. Not just getting by. Not just managing. I was good. 

Psalm 34:1 rang in my mind. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. And though the praises weren't actually coming from my mouth--a little hard to do when your teeth are being drilled--they were there in my heart, thanks to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Who knew what I needed to do. God heard my original request to make the visit easy, and He used my praises to accomplish it.  
  
I've visited the dentist a lot over the past year, since I finally decided to prioritize oral health over my fear, and I've still got a few more visits left to get all the problems corrected. But if I can just remember my "secret weapon," I don't think I'll dread the next visit so much. Now to try praising the Lord on an elevator... 
 
What makes you panic? Maybe praise is your answer, too. 
Heather Norman Smith
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About the Blog

    Thank you for visiting my blog. I share devotional articles and musings about life, parenting, and the writing journey, as well as important news about my books. I hope you find something of interest here!

    #carselfie
    Heather Norman Smith

    Click below to sign up for my email newsletter, which includes links to my latest blog posts. Thank you!
    Newsletter Sign-up

    Categories

    All
    Bible Study
    Books
    Christmas
    Devotions
    Encouragement
    Foster Care
    Ministry
    My Life
    Parenting
    Prayer
    Spiritual Growth
    Theology
    Writing


    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    March 2016
    January 2016
    May 2014
    April 2014
    July 2013
    June 2013

    Southern Writers Suite T button

    RSS Feed

Copyright © 2022
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Fiction
    • Nonfiction
  • Blog
  • Music
    • Original Songs
    • More Music
  • Speaking