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Tag Archives: prayer
Skepsis Week 8: One Way, Limited Freedom, Prayer
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The final week of Skepsis looked at three “micro” topics: Is there only one way to God? Does Christianity limit one’s freedom? Why pray? Continue reading
A Shared Journey
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“Don’t go it alone. You will face obstacles and warfare. You need support.” Will you share in this journey with me? Continue reading
He Hasn’t Moved
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An added thought to my previous post…
As I mentioned previously, Ernie hasn’t moved. I have. He is right where he’s always been, waiting for me when I decide I have the time for him.
Horse waiting for a cowboy by aeruginosa
It’s often that way with God, too. He hasn’t moved. I have.
I’m the one who chooses to forego my quiet time on occasion, to try to do things in my own strength or to let the busyness of life pull me away from my Center. All the while, God is patiently waiting for me — eagerly waiting for me — to draw near to him. He misses my dependence on him and I subconsciously do as well.
I know when I’ve moved away from God – I am more easily frazzled. I’m crabby. I have no peace. I’m impatient and short tempered. I see through people rather than into people. When I’m conscious enough to recognize these signs, I make every effort to move back toward God.
And find he’s right where he’s always been. Fully available to me.
Waiting for me.
Question: What are the signs in your life that you’ve moved away from God?
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord.” Zechariah 1:3
Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. Hebrews 10:22 (NLT)
Isaiah 30:15 (NLT): This is what the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. Joel 2:13 (NLT)
A Prayer Partner
For years I’ve desired a prayer partner. Lord knows that many people in my life are people of prayer. Surely there must be someone suitable.
A prayer partner is someone you pray with once or twice a week; some pray daily together. Some seek prayer groups rather than one-on-one partners. In-person meetings are best but some duos pray over the phone. You pray through her concerns and through your own, as well as more global matters such as your church, the state’s and country’s leaders, etc. Sometimes, I suppose, you just share those prayer requests and trust your partner will lift up those requests at another time. You structure the partnership around what works for the two of you.
Prayer is the Language by Lel4nd
Pride Gets in the Way Again
But I’ve held back, for pride reasons, I guess. I don’t want to open myself up to someone in such a vulnerable way. A prayer partner would know every detail of my life: every temptation, every relationship struggle and every doubt. This person would come to see the deepest corners of my life — those corners that are dark and dusty and off limits even to God.
Gentle Nudge
Well the subject came up again last night at BSF – repeatedly. First at my group fellowship. Then the teaching leader talked about the need for girlfriends and the depth of friendships formed among her prayer group. Later in the evening she spoke about being in relationship and exhorting one another to strive to live in more loving, Christ-like ways. My mind again drifted back to the idea of a prayer partner.
But Who?
So now I am pondering who might be a fit for the role of prayer partner. Is it one person or a group of people? I will be praying for God to show me with whom I should partner.
Question: Who keeps you accountable in your life? Do you have a prayer partner experience to share?
Desolation
The wind whips across the back pasture, spinning the snow into small cyclones and leaving behind crests and valleys. Last summer’s weeds are bent beneath the snow with stray blade poking through. The towering oaks are stripped naked. An occasional cluster of leaves bounce across the top of the crusty snow. From my view, there’s no life. It looks uninhabitable. Stark. Frigid.
DE Blizzard1 by Larry Wilder
Sadly, this is sometimes the condition of my heart as well. Desolate. Cold. Empty. Barren. There’s a yearning for more – to be filled up spiritually.
It’s a dark night of the soul.
We intellectually know God is present and active in our lives and yet his silence is as eerie as the wind-whipped field. His absence as stark as the fallow pasture. Bible study and prayer seem as routine and stimulating as brushing our teeth. We’re going through the motions and even that requires a major effort to continue.
Like the pasture out my back window, eventually spring will come to my heart. New life will appear. The hard ground will thaw and the snow will melt. God will bring restoration.
If only the end of this dark night were as predictable as the end of winter.
Question: If you’ve faced a dark night of the soul, how have you seen yourself through it? What did you experience on the other side?
Resisting the Temptation
My old house had a very small kitchen. I stored the dish drainer, cake pans, cupcake tins and other baking pans in the oven because I was so short on space. The limited space kept me from acquiring gadgets, special-occasion-only serving dishes, and small appliances. I was okay with that.
My new kitchen is quite the opposite. With all of my kitchen boxes unpacked, I still have several empty cupboards and drawers. The counters are sparsely filled; only a coffeemaker, knife set and toaster are in plain sight. Similarly, my new living room and family room are sparesly furnished. The living room has one oversized chair and ottoman; the family room has one couch.
With all the extra space, it’s tempting to want to fill it — especially this time of year. There are utensils and small electrics advertised frequently that would be fun to have. I think that my lack of furniture may be a hinderance to holiday entertaining. I can justify just about any purchase right now.
That’s not good.
Just Say No
Sometimes we just need to stop ourselves from being consumed by materialism and the allure of convenience. I don’t need to fill those empty cupboards. I can get by with the furniture I’ve got. My money is better used for paying my mortgage or electric, or putting gas in my car. With so many new financial obligations, I need to be wary of buying anything that’s unnecessary. I need to prioritize my spending.
This Christmas season, is there something that is tempting you to live beyond your means? Will you join me in asking God for contentment with all that we already have? Will you remember how blessed you are and consider how to share that blessing with others?
Related post: Cultivating Contentment
A Good Soaking
Ernie’s lameness was a mystery. His leg didn’t have any hot spots. There was no swelling. And yet he was obviously hurting. I wish he could’ve just talked to me. It was so frustrating.
Seeking Revelation
Lacking any concrete answers, I resorted to soaking his foot in hot water and epsom salt, hoping that something would be revealed to me. Twice a day I put the mixture into a covered bucket and drove out to the barn to nurse my horse.
Soak, soak, soak.
Soaking it in by EvanLovely
Ernie didn’t seem to mind the warm water on his foot. He stood patiently for the 10 or so minutes. Sometimes he didn’t want to take his foot out.
He wanted to continue to soak.
After his morning soaking on day three, I discovered a portion of his coronet band at the top of his hoof was swollen and had a small puncture.
Yes! A revelation!
Sometimes I feel that way with God, too. When I’m searching for answers, looking for guidance, wondering why something happened, he’s quiet. There are times I wish he would talk to me more directly, in a voice that was unmistakable. There are times when I know he’s trying to tell me something and I just don’t get it.
A recent example: I was extremely discouraged, having been dealt a blow to my ego and confidence. I was feeling taken advantage of. I was downtrodden. “Where are you in this God?,” was my question.
I needed a good soaking. A long walk to let God comfort me.
Along my trail, I passed a church with a retaining wall covered in graffiti scripture verses and quips. Of the hundreds of messages on the wall, one stood out: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for…” (Hebrews 11:1)
“For what am I hoping?,” I thought as I walked. “In whom am I placing my hope?”
The following morning, I was drawn to Psalm 42 in my quiet time. I soaked in the words, comforted by the reminder to long for the Lord and to put my hope in him and him alone – not in man, not in my plans, not in work, not it money. Hope in the Lord. Just in case I missed the point, that very same scripture was incorporated into the sermon later that same morning.
I get it God – you’re talking to me.
Hope in the Lord. Long for him, not things of this world. Put my faith in him and I won’t be disappointed. It was only after soaking in his word that these reminders were revealed to me again.
Question: When was the last time you soaked in God’s word? What was revealed to you in the process? How were you blessed?
1 As the deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I go and stand before him?
3 Day and night I have only tears for food,
while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,
“Where is this God of yours?”
4 My heart is breaking
as I remember how it used to be:
I walked among the crowds of worshipers,
leading a great procession to the house of God,
singing for joy and giving thanks
amid the sound of a great celebration!
5 Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and 6 my God!
Now I am deeply discouraged,
but I will remember you—
even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan,
from the land of Mount Mizar.
7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas
as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
8 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing his songs,
praying to God who gives me life.
9 “O God my rock,” I cry,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I wander around in grief,
oppressed by my enemies?”
10 Their taunts break my bones.
They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”
11 Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!
Facing the Worst
In a recent Alpha session, my group talked about the worst thing they could have imagined for themselves when they were young. Divorce. Single parenting. Homelessness. Being forever single. You probably have one that you could add to the list. As a kid, these were unfathomable and tragic. The conversation intrigued me because these were things that the women ultimately faced and survived.
Were these self-fulfilled prophesies?
Interesting question. Because these women thought these things, did they bring it on themselves? A negative spin on the idea that if you visualize something for yourself (usually in the context of career or success), you can become it.
These past few months I’ve lived through what I had envisioned to be completely undesirable even a few years ago. Being without a home of my own was unthinkable. Locking away all my possessions was not on my radar. Honestly, it had never occurred to me so it couldn’t have been a self-fulfilled prophesy.
While we’re living in the midst of trials, we ask lots of questions: why? why me? what now? how can I change my situation? Sometimes God just wants us to stay where we’re at. There’s something to learn. He wants to show us something, do something in us or through us in that situation.
Don’t miss the lesson.
Here’s what I know: Every woman around that table who shared her idea of the worst possible scenario, survived. And none would say that it was as bad as she thought it would be. In fact, some said that they know they became stronger and grew closer to God because of that time in their lives. That’s why we need to thank God for our trials.
Question: What’s the worst thing you can imagine for your life? Could you survive it? How could God use it to display his strength through you?
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV): But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
James 1:12 (NIV): Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Voices
It seems with every decision I face there are about a thousand people who want to weigh in. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration but for every person who renders their opinion, I feel as though it’s a thousand voices swirling around me. I get overwhelmed.
Yay Boo from Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Well-Intentioned
Don’t get me wrong, my family and friends have good intentions. They’re trying to help me see all sides of a situation. They often point out things I have never considered. The problem is that the more I listen to outside opinions, the less I can hear my inner self or God. The more I listen to them, the less able I am to make any decision at all. Simple decisions become major. What should be easy becomes so hard; complicated and convoluted. It’s emotionally exhausting.
Voice of Truth
Having sold my house, I have a great number of decisions to make. And seemingly lots of people want to help me with those decisions. The reality is though, they’re my decisions to make. At the end of the day, I am the one to live with my choices. At the end of the day, I’d rather base my decisions on the Voice of Truth rather than the voices around me.
God First
One of my Bible teachers likes to say, “Go to the throne before you go to the phone.” In other words, pray for God’s wisdom and direction before you seek other people’s opinions. Only God can see into the future, beyond our circumstances of today and our immediate concerns. Only he can direct our paths without fault. We need to rely on him. We need to listen to him above every other voice.
AMPLIFY TRUTH from psd
Growing Desire
The more we listen and follow the voice of God, the quieter others’ voices will become and the more we’ll want to seek God’s direction above all others. As the closing on my house gets closer, I hope and pray that my desire to hear God’s voice continues to grow and reveal his love for me as I enter a new phase of my life.
What decision are you facing today or this week that you could seek God’s direction on? Is it possible for you to seek only God’s opinion? Resist the urge to use others as a sounding board and simply wait on God and see what happens. Do you know how freeing that could be?
James 1:5-8 (NLT): If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
2 Timothy 2:22 (NLT):Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
