Tag Archives: Prayer

Praying for Others

  By Rachel | May 30, 2012 - 11:25 pm | Prayers
1 Comment

Gnarled Tree, black and white

We talked about this passage in our Sunday school class, and I have not stopped thinking about it since.

Praying Scripture is such a powerful practice- I have been amazed how my prayer life is transformed when I use God’s Word.

Colossians 1:9-12

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

When we are praying for others, sometimes we don’t know what to say- because what they are hoping for- that job or move, etc- may not be God’s will.

That’s what I love about praying Scripture- it helps give us a guide- a way to pray powerfully for those we love and with confidence that we are also seeking God’s will for them as well.

This is a great prayer for our children too.  Blessings on you, as you seek God through prayer.

Talk Less, Pray More

  By Rachel | May 10, 2012 - 11:28 am | Thoughts for the Day
3 Comments

84/365
I am a talker.  I love to chat with people- share what’s going on, what God is doing- and I have always been someone who processes through things many times by talking about it.

I have found recently- however, that I am not satisfied after pouring my heart out- or ranting on a particular topic.  Sometimes, in fact, I am left feeling more dissatisfied and restless than before I said anything about it.

There have been numerous times when I have “vented” to my husband only to have him remain silent through and after my soliloquy.

In recent weeks I have begun to wonder- does it annoy me b/c he doesn’t give me advice?  What do I expect from him, from my friends?

I get frustrated sometimes when I am pouring my heart out to someone and they listen- I know they hear me and are with me- but they don’t say anything.  Sometimes I think I want advice- I want someone to tell me what to do- even if I just end up spending the next 30 minutes afterward telling them why their advice was wrong.

But when they are silent- sometimes in those moments after I have just word vomited all over the place- I hear the still, small voice of God- a voice of conviction- showing me my selfishness, my pride, and humbling me.

Giving me insight into the problem/situation that I just shared and then causing me to wonder- as I did this morning- why didn’t I just bring this to the feet of Jesus?

That got me thinking- I don’t want to be the one who drowns out the still, small voice of God for someone else.

What if- in my desire to give advice and be helpful- I am actually- actively- keeping that person from turning to God- or hearing from God?

What makes us want to talk through problems instead of seeking God in prayer?  Do we really think that we can “figure it out”?

I find myself unsettled with this conversation because it requires me to take a  hard look at myself- at habits I have formed for dealing with things and situations.  Am I willing to stop talking and start praying?

Am I willing to say- no- I am not going to discuss this issue with anyone but instead entrust it to God and pray that He will give me peace and wisdom in how to deal with it?

Instead of giving advice am I willing instead to start praying with people more?  Friends, family, neighbors?  Will I bring their concerns to God instead of trying to solve it myself?

I don’t know about you- but prayer always helps to set my heart right.  When I am praying- talking to God about what is on my heart- there is something so calming and soothing about it.  When I am praying with someone- praying for them- it is amazing the power that is in that moment.

Psalm 141:1-4

1 I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me;
    hear me when I call to you.
2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;
    may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
    keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
    so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
    do not let me eat their delicacies.

We need to acknowledge God’s place in our lives.  He is the one who can move mountains- change hearts, bring peace.  His way is always better than any way that we could make up.

I feel so convicted about not trusting Him- when I try to tell people the way I think is best instead of saying- let’s seek God together.

Ephesians 6:18-20

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

So I pray that we would have the courage to stop ourselves when we are beginning to “word vomit” and that we will instead ask for prayer. (Acts 1:14)

And when someone comes to us seeking advice, I pray that we would instead steer them toward God through prayer- knowing that His answer to the problems that plague them far surpasses anything that we could come up with.

All praise and glory to our Lord and King- let us encourage others to lay their troubles at his feet.

Mark 11:23-25

23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Run Free

May the Mind of Christ, My Savior

  By Rachel | April 12, 2012 - 8:06 pm | Hymns I Love, Random
2 Comments

We sang this hymn at Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) this week, and I was so touched by the words I had trouble singing.

The words of this hymn could easily be a daily prayer- so beautiful and based in Scripture.

1 Corinthians 2:11-16

11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16for,

   “Who has known the mind of the Lord
   so as to instruct him?”

   But we have the mind of Christ.

Romans 15:1-6

1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”[a] 4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

IMG_5459

May the Mind of Christ, My Savior

words by: Kate B. Wilkinson     music by: Arthur C. Barham-Gould

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.

Confession is Good for the Soul

  By Rachel | March 5, 2012 - 12:24 am | Thoughts for the Day
Leave a comment

embrace

In our Sunday school class, we were talking about the Lord’s Prayer.  We are doing a study where we use the model of how Jesus taught His disciples to pray, to help guide us in our own personal prayer time.

Today, I was thinking about prayers of confession.  Besides communion Sundays, sometimes I don’t really take the time to confess my sins before the Lord.  Honestly, I may consciously think that something is wrong or a bad decision, but sometimes I don’t actually take the time to pray and ask God for forgiveness and if I have wronged someone else, to ask forgiveness from them too.

The most frequent people that I ask for forgiveness are my children and my husband.  The people I love the most unfortunately at times also see the worst that I have to offer.  Very humbling and at times frustrating.

I just wanted to encourage you (as I have been encouraged by this study today) to take time to confess to God.  I know that these prayers have at many times in my life been very therapeutic. Taking time to confess my short-comings also has a tendency of reminding me how very big our God is- and there is comfort in His Power and Strength- in His Lordship in my life.  Being under His Discipline as His child.

There is safety and peace in that- I know He will not lead me astray.

Praying today that we will seek to break the power of sin by openly confessing those things that keep us from greater intimacy with God, and that we would seek to be reconciled with those whom we have hurt- whether by word or deed.

James 5:13-20

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

 

 

 

 

Preparation for the Soul

  By Rachel | February 29, 2012 - 7:59 pm | Thoughts for the Day
Leave a comment

Spade in soil

I was digging to plant my first Azalea a few days ago, and I got to thinking about how our spiritual lives are in many ways similar to the work that I do when preparing to plant a shrub.

To make sure that the plant is healthy and does well in the location where you have planted it, you need to give it the right kind of soil to grow.  Each plant is unique- so you have to pay attention to the particular conditions that really help that plant to be healthy.

We need healthy soil to be planted in- I like to look at this as our home life- what we do with our time during the day- what we are putting into our brains, what we are thinking about?  How much time do you spend focused on God and eternal things and how much time either escaping or focusing on things of this world?

You have to dig a big hole, usually two to three times the size of the plant ball that you are planting, and it is good to dig a hole twice as deep.
Preparing the Soil

How deep is your foundation?  Do you have basic knowledge and understanding of God’s Word?  When you feel tempted or discouraged, or stressed- do you have passages of Scripture that you look to for comfort? Do you spend time in prayer- or do you head to the fridge, television, video games, or alcohol to escape?  (This was very convicting for me- we talked about this at BSF last week)

Sometimes you have to remove rocks or take out a lot of the native soil because the plant needs a different mix to provide better drainage or to help encourage the roots to reach down deeper for water.

What do you need to take out of your life?  What is lingering in the soil of your soul, keeping you from continuing to grow closer to Christ?  What secret sin are you unwilling to let go of???

When you water the plant, you water for long periods, letting the water soak down deep, encouraging the roots to extend downward rather than staying close to the surface of the ground.

Do you have a solid root system?  Does your faith run deep, not easily shaken by life circumstances?  How do you respond when bad things happen to people?  How do you handle the doubts in your life- are you confident in the promises of Scripture?

Do you know the promises that we can claim as children of God?  Can you list some of the attributes of God’s character and point to places in Scripture that support your list?

A thick layer of mulch is necessary to keep the plant cool and to help hold moisture in the soil and keep weeds at bay.

What weeds have taken over in your soil?  Are there things that choke you daily and discourage you- do you feel like you are fighting a losing battle?

Do you use Scripture to combat those areas of weakness in your life?  Do you pray when hard times come or you lose your temper and say something that you regret?  Do you seek forgiveness from those you have wronged and from God?

Have you spent time preparing your soul today?  Are you so busy that you don’t have time to stop and even ponder the state of your soul?  What can you change- no matter how small- to make a conscious effort to make time for God today?

Matthew 11:28-30

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Pink on blue

Lessons at Walmart

  By Rachel | February 28, 2012 - 6:19 pm | Thoughts for the Day
Leave a comment

Walmart Clareview - Entrance

Before I went to Walmart yesterday with the kiddos, I was praying for some opportunities to chat with people in the store, or just smile and make eye contact with people, inviting conversation.

I was walking through the store and had almost wrapped up my shopping, when I saw a lady just coming in the store.  When I made eye contact with her and smiled, she immediately started talking to me.

She quickly starting sharing things about her family. We had a nice chat for about ten minutes, and then we said goodbye and she went to shop and I got bought my things and went home.

After I got home and was working outside in the garden, I started to feel some regret from how I handled the situation.

I wished I would have prayed with her, or at least asked her if she wanted to pray.  And then I wished that I had asked if she went to church somewhere and invited her to come to church with me.

Sometimes I miss my college days, when I was so bold in my witness- I remember saying- and writing in my journal- “They just need Jesus.”

But as I have gotten older, and I have seen more pain and hurt, and have dealt with questions I can’t answer- I think I have lost some of my boldness.  Why?  My faith in God is stronger today than it ever has been.  I have witnessed answers to prayer, have seen God’s provision in our lives- I feel the freedom of His forgiveness and have felt the Holy Spirit working in my life.

So why do I hesitate to share?  Though I may not be certain of the why- I know that I want to always be willing and paying attention- so that I do not miss another opportunity to share about Jesus.

He has transformed my life- and having children has fanned the flame of my desire to know Him more into a roaring blaze at times- I feel so desperate for God’s help.  I want to raise our children to know God and love Him, to serve Him every day of their life.  I want to protect them from the evil in this world.

But I know that I can’t always be with them.  What a comfort it is to know that God is always there for them!  That He loves them even more dearly than I.

So, my prayer today is one for boldness.  That I may be faithful to share God’s good news with everyone I meet.

He calls us to share with others- and how they respond isn’t our responsibility- but we must always be ready to share- no matter where we are- even in Walmart.

1 Peter 3:13-18

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

If God has truly changed us, if we are living in peace and freedom- with an eternal hope- then shouldn’t we want to share that?

I pray that we will be bold to share our testimony with others, and to live out our faith daily- to willingly submit to being changed into Christ’s image (2 Cor. 3:18).

Reaching Out

Prayer Tree

 

I’ve Got Your Back

  By Rachel | February 23, 2012 - 11:59 pm | Random
Leave a comment

There are days when I feel like every moment is moving- not that all the movement is hurried or stressful- only that my body feels in constant motion.  There are demands in every direction- draw a picture with chalk, make lunch, pushing kids on the swings, change diapers, make dinner, do laundry, wash dishes, pick up toys, read books…what am I forgetting?

And at some point in the day, I start thinking- it will be so good when Phil comes home.  Not because my day has been terrible, but because I look forward to his companionship, his help, no longer being alone parenting but having someone by my side.  Someone who I love, respect- He’s a great Dad.

Sometimes I forget to be thankful for him.  I start thinking about some of the things that bother me- like he leaves his socks and shoes under the coffee table at night- I usually pick them up in the morning.

But part of me loves those things too- loves our daily dance- the ways we compliment each other.  Sharing some things and stretching each other in other ways.

sync

Tonight I got a phone call at 4:30pm.  I missed it because I was outside with the kids.  Phil said he won’t be home till 7pm.  Busy time at work, busy week.

But most days he is home to have dinner and spend some time with the kids before bed (so thankful for this!).  So tonight, while I am missing him, I am going to say a prayer of thanks for my precious hubby.

On days like today I am reminded that love is a choice and conscious effort- for us it is also a covenant with God- till the day we die.  I pray that God will continue to remind us to treasure each other- and to be thankful for the blessing right before us.

So, if you haven’t told your spouse how much they mean to you today, I encourage you to do it.  If you feel some distance forming- talk about it.

In one of my counseling classes, a prof said (and I have never forgotten) marriages don’t explode, they erode.

Scott and Lindsey Engagement ShootThat has always challenged me to make a conscious effort to not let anything begin to chip away at the love and commitment we have with each other- but to build on it and strengthen it- to seek forgiveness and offer it freely.

I ask God to bless our marriage, to continually draw us closer to Him and closer to each other.  I pray that for you and your spouse too.  (and if you are single- say a prayer for your married friends- they will thank you for it.)  ;)

 

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Waiting on God, Day 20

  By Rachel | February 21, 2012 - 9:03 pm | Thoughts for the Day
3 Comments

Cielos y campos de la pampa Argentina 12 / Skies and fields from Argentina's pampa 12

Today has been a challenging day- I knew I needed to spend some time in prayer and meditation on God’s Word to bring peace to my troubled heart, and to encourage me.

Waiting…yes, I have been learning about waiting for over a year now.  And still I wait- for answers- and some answers are coming- but slowly- and I am not good at being patient.

This devotional from Andrew Murray was so encouraging to me today.  This quote especially:

“And if you ask: How is it, if He(God) waits to be gracious, that even after I come and wait upon Him, He does not give the help I seek, but waits on longer and longer? There is a double answer.  The one is this, God is a wise husbandman, who “waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it” (James 5:7). He cannot gather the fruit until it is ripe.  He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive the blessing to our profit and His glory.”

He goes on to talk about the great blessing of waiting through trails and storms, our sense of time is different than God’s.  We must trust Him with the pace of events, and anticipate His faithfulness, even when it seems a long time coming.

This has calmed me today- for sometimes I become discouraged or weary in my waiting- longing for an answer or a sign- and yet even as I write this God continues to encourage me.  Even in the midst of waiting, I feel His Presence.

Sometimes I must believe as an act of will and trust that my emotions will follow.

I pray that you may find courage and strength in the Lord- as you wait, or as you endure trials.  He is faithful.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Why God?

  By Rachel | February 18, 2012 - 7:15 pm | Thoughts for the Day
1 Comment

Into That Good Night

There are times when things happen to people, tragedy strikes, a young person dies, a parent with young children dies- and I wonder why God?  Why did this happen?  Why didn’t you heal them?

I know that you can, and sometimes you do, but why not this time?

Have you ever felt that way?  I have been angry at God sometimes for this very thing- wondering why some children grow up in homes where their parents abuse and neglect them, while others are showered with love and attention in abundance.  How can God stand it?

I can’t see a pattern. Tragedy seems to strike randomly, without rhyme or reason.

In Sacred Parenting, Gary L. Thomas says that he feels God chooses to heal- not based on faith or obedience necessarily- but perhaps this is “God’s providential choice, offered without explanation or apology.”

He continues, “here is where the Lord seems to beckon us to what the ancients called the spiritual discipline of surrender.  Paganism seeks to manipulate divine forces to serve human will: Do the right thing, and you obligate God to respond in a certain way.  Authentic Christianity seeks to surrender the human will in order to serve and give glory to the divine God.”

I remember reading this and thinking, I don’t know how I feel about this portrayal of God.  Then he goes on to talk about how mysterious God is, there are so many things that we can’t explain or understand.

So when people mourn, we mourn with them, for the desperate sense of sadness and injustice.  That this was not how it was meant to be, sadness and death, tragedy.

There are no easy answers to the questions that arise, and to try to provide them is more for ourselves than for those who are grieving- we want to have a reason- or good answers.

The Bible teaches us how to respond to tragedy and grief in our own lives and those around us- but it does not explain the why.  Why tragedy strikes certain families and not others.  We don’t know.

Trust enters the picture- we have to choose to trust God with all the things we can’t know, and believe that He loves our children even more than we do.

He loves us more than anyone else- so when we can’t see the reason and we can’t understand- that gives us all the more reason to cling to God because we know that He understands- not only the depth of our grief and sense of injustice, but He also sees the whole picture and we can trust Him with all that is outside what we can know in this life.

I don’t know.  Even after writing all of this, I feel as though it all seems inadequate?  How can I truly know or comprehend how I might respond to grief until I go through a horrible tragedy?

Can we understand the depth of sorrow nor how one navigates it without ever entering into it ourselves?  So I wonder, what has brought comfort to those who have gone through the most awful tragic situations?  How have they responded?

A professor from the one of the schools I attended recently lost his daughter to a pulmonary embolism- completely unexpected, without warning- she died at 32.  Here are some of his thoughts (these are links to articles on his blog)

I hope that you find comfort in the words of someone who is presently working his way through grief- and understands the depth of pain that can come from unexpected loss.

If you have links or thoughts to share that would help those who may be grieving, please leave a comment.

 

 

Enhanced by Zemanta