Tag Archives: praying for our needs

Extending Grace

  By Rachel | May 16, 2012 - 6:38 pm | Thoughts for the Day
2 Comments

Reaching out
Have you ever tried to share about a struggle as a Mom and felt like the advice the other woman gave you make you feel like a bad Mom?

Are there days when you need encouragement desperately- but after a phone call with another Mom you don’t feel comforted, maybe you even feel condemned, judged, misunderstood?

Do you feel alone?

How can we love each other more fully in our differences?  Because there isn’t just one right way to be a Mom.

We all have different gifts, different strengths.  Why do we end up making each other feel bad more often than we effectively encourage and lift each other up?

Even among friends, how can we listen and talk with more grace?

I admit it- I get caught up in the comparing sometimes- and I make judgments about other Moms based on limited information-usually incorrect.

Sometimes, we even assume that a Mom has it all together- and that is not true at all!

And that can alienate us from each other b/c we may end up thinking- she will never understand me b/c she probably never yells at her kids or gets impatient and she probably is a really great cook and keeps a really clean house and….fill in the blank.

We all need to be loved and encouraged right where we are.  In our unique places along this journey of life- kids at different ages facing different challenges- with our own unique strengths and struggles- we need to love each other!

Here are some ways we can start extending grace to other Moms today.

  1. Pray for each other.  When a Mom shares a struggle, ask to pray with her about it.  First thing, before anything else.  Seeking God together can season our conversation and remind us that our help comes from Him.
  2. Listen- and then ask questions- help her to talk through it- ask for examples of some of the things she is struggling with- it is easy to just go into the routine of taking turns talking about ourselves and our kiddos- try to make a conscious effort to make sure she knows you are listening and that you care.
  3. Pay attention to the strengths of other Moms- the things they do well with their children- or gifts that you see in their life- and tell them about it- compliment them- give glory to God together for her gifts and that she is using them to glorify Him.  Less complimenting about appearance, more complimenting about character.

1 Thessalonians 5:11-18

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,just as in fact you are doing.

12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Romans 15:1-7

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.” 4 For 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.

7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

When God convicts us of something and we make changes- sometimes it is easy to forget how it was before we felt the conviction of Christ in that area.  We must be kind and patient with other Moms who may still be struggling with sins that God has convicted us about.

Pray for each other, don’t gossip or even have conversations about that area where you see someone else as “deficient.”

It may seem innocent- but that’s how pride sneaks in- and we forget that every good thing in our life comes from God, including those sins we have surrendered to Him (1 Cor. 4:6-7, James 1:16-18).

God has forgiven us and extended grace, therefore we also should extend grace freely to each other.  Everything must be done with love- thinking of each other first.

Ephesians 2:8-10

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I pray that as we pray, listen, compliment and share with other Moms that we will build each other up- that our conversation will be fruitful and bring a smile to our Savior’s face- b/c He sees our love and devotion to each other- and we are a witness to those around us.

 

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