Category Archives: Prayer

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December 22, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Prayer, Wisdom & Guidance

HIS MEGAPHONE

Now I’m glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss. Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. [2 Corinthians 7:9-10a (MSG)]

I admit it; sometimes I’m really foolish! About three weeks ago, I felt pain in my ankle. Hoping it would simply go away, I continued to work out and power walk. When it continued to ache, I tried the old standards of rest, ice, compression, elevation and ibuprofen but there was no improvement. Each morning, I expected a miracle cure and every day I was disappointed. Did I do the obvious thing and call a physician? Of course not! It took nearly three weeks for me to accept that since it wasn’t getting any better, it was only getting worse. I finally went to a doctor and a stress fracture was quickly diagnosed. Now, I get to wear denim leggings and a knee-high inflatable boot cast to holiday parties instead of my new high heels and red party dress!

Back to the “foolish” part: of course, it was unwise of me to delay seeing a physician. I’d even gotten the name of a foot and ankle specialist a week earlier! Moreover, the day I hurt myself, my morning’s reading had referred to pain as God’s megaphone. Apparently, those words did not register! Pain may be His way of getting our attention but God had to shout at me long and hard before I finally listened

There are many who are in excruciating pain and are doing all that is possible to alleviate it; I am not minimizing their suffering. There are, however, many more of us who remain unnecessarily in pain, simply because we aren’t listening to what the pain is telling us and are unwilling to do what we should to relieve it.

We all tend to ignore pain. For me it was a sore ankle, but for others it can be much worse. It may be the pain of a crumbling marriage or death of a loved one, a child’s addiction, severe depression, a lump in one’s breast or tightness in one’s chest, an abusive or co-dependent relationship. Others may ignore the pain of unemployment, an alcoholic spouse, precarious finances, unpaid bills, failing grades or legal difficulties. We foolishly think the pain of these problems will magically disappear if we just ignore them. They won’t! We won’t wake tomorrow suddenly untroubled and unbruised, in a good mood, free of debt or cancer, with a healthy heart, passing grades, or a new job.

Pain is, indeed, God’s megaphone. It is His way of telling us to admit we’re hurting and need help. As we seek God, we need to ask Him what our pain means and what things He expects us to do to improve our condition. God may be telling us to change bad habits, leave abusive or unhealthy relationships, or to stop spending or enabling. We may have to seek medical help or spiritual guidance, start studying or search for ways to get better. Professional help, support groups, counselling or major changes in our behavior and attitudes may be necessary to relieve our pain.

Are you in pain? If so, what might He be saying to you? Is there something He wants you to learn? Is there something He wants you to do? Have you committed the situation to Him? Listen and let Him lead.

Pain insists on being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. [From “The Problem of Pain” by C.S. Lewis]

Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.” [From “The Problem of Pain” by C.S. Lewis]

Show me how you work, God; School me in your ways.  Take me by the hand; Lead me down the path of truth. You are my Savior, aren’t you? [Psalm 25:4-5 (MSG)]

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November 24, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Plan, Prayer, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

LET THEM SOAR

For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. [Psalm 78:5-7 (NLT)]P1060145-cropWEB

A friend recently confided her mixed feelings about her son’s future plans. The good news: not only has he been accepted at the graduate school of his choice, but he also has secured the necessary funding. The bad news: it’s in New Zealand, far away from Florida and the safety of home. Her words reminded me of nearly twenty years ago when my daughter finished her schooling and completed her dietetic internship. She’d been offered two jobs: one in New Mexico, where she knew no one and had never been, and one less than an hour from our suburban Illinois home. With only twenty-four hours to deliberate before she had to make her decision, there were several frantic phone calls that night. As I spoke with my daughter, my mama’s heart was breaking. I didn’t want my baby to leave the nest, but God strengthened my heart and put wise words in my mouth. We spoke of my daughter’s internship experiences; I reminded her of the comments she’d made after her stint in the outpatient clinic: “This is what I want to do!” The New Mexico offer was in their outpatient clinic; the Illinois offer was vague and less promising. It was clear that the better job was in New Mexico, but that meant moving, leaving the comfort of friends and family, and the great unknown! When my daughter expressed concerns about the ability to move and be in New Mexico less than a week after graduation, I reassured her that her father and I could make it happen. I told her to pray about her decision, reminding her that this choice shouldn’t be determined by convenience, but by her calling and God’s guidance. We hung up and, I’m ashamed to say, I didn’t want her to make what I believed to be the right choice. I wanted her to stay near family and friends; I wanted her safe in our circle. It was with a reluctant heart that I prayed: “God, let her make the right choice, not the choice I want. Give me a happy heart no matter what her decision.”

Within three weeks’ time, my daughter had moved to Albuquerque and was busy in her new job. Was it the right choice? Because of government cutbacks, the Illinois job position was eliminated within six months. Her move to Albuquerque led her to a wonderful man, a deeper faith, a beautiful daughter, new friends, several sisters in Christ, and an even better and more rewarding career. Thank you, God, for taking her under your wings!

No matter how old our children, we never want to let them go; but let them go we must. If we have taught them well, our part is done. Parenthood is a job that is supposed to become obsolete. Once we’ve taught our children to fly, we should praise God when we see them spread their wings and soar. There are many children who, because of disabilities, will never be able to fly away; we should be thankful when ours can! Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t continue to love and even on occasion, worry about them. We call them, probably more than we should, and pray about them, probably less than we should.

Father in heaven, give us happy hearts when our children leave our homes. Teach them, guard them, lead them and lift them so they may soar!

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. [Isaiah 40:28b-31 (NLT)]

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November 18, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Prayer

NEVER TOO BUSY

After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. [Matthew 14:23a (NLT)]

It was a busy day for Jesus and the disciples. Having learned that John the Baptist had been beheaded, he went off to be alone but a large crowd followed him. Pitying them, he preached and healed the sick and then managed to feed 5,000. Sad and tired as he probably was, however, Jesus still managed to find time to pray.

We’ve all had those days when we hit the floor running and don’t stop until night. Everywhere we turn there is another task to be done, someone to call, someplace to go, some new crisis, or a deadline lurks. Even though Jesus told us that, apart from Him, we can do nothing, we allow life to interfere. “God knows how busy I am,” we say, “Surely He’ll understand if I skip prayers.” We fully intend to catch Him later, but later turns into tomorrow or the next day or never. God knows how busy we are but I’m not so sure he approves of our priorities.

If we needed dialysis to survive, we’d never be too busy for our treatment. If we needed an oxygen tank to breathe, we’d take the time to make sure we had a fresh supply. If we were diabetic, we’d surely find the time for our daily medication. If we’re not too busy to save our physical lives, how can we be too busy to save our souls? God’s got a busy day ahead, but He’s never too busy to hear our prayers. How can we be too busy for Him?

For apart from me you can do nothing. [John 15:5b (NLT)]

Never stop praying. [1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)]

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November 1, 2014

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God's Plan, God's Promises, Prayer

GOD STANDARD TIME

God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them. I tell you, God will help his people quickly. [Luke 18:7-8a (NCV)]

We need to remember that God will give us what is “right” which is not necessarily what we wanted or requested. Moreover, although God promises a speedy response, it may not seem fast to us. His timetable rarely coincides with ours. Nevertheless, His timing, like everything else about Him, is perfect!

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day. The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. [2 Peter 3:8-9a (NCV)]

 

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October 13, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Peace of God, Prayer

THE PRAYOMETER

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. [Colossians 4:2 (NIV)]

I recently received a FitBit: a digital pedometer that syncs with my phone and computer. It keeps track of my steps, mileage, calories burned, and “active minutes.” During the day, I get encouraging texts and a little face on my device has a big grin once I attain my goal of 10,000 steps. Like the “Map My Walk” app, it doesn’t allow me to fool myself; it keeps an accurate record of my activity. I thought I was active, but my FitBit made it clear I sit a lot more than I thought I did! No matter how busy I am throughout the day, unless I set aside specific time for a walk, I usually don’t manage to achieve my goal. Time needs to be set aside for more than just exercise; it also needs to be set aside for prayer!

A few years ago our pastor challenged the congregation to spend ten uninterrupted minutes in prayer every day for the following week. The first morning, finding myself continually looking up at the clock, I set the kitchen timer for ten minutes and started praying, planning on stopping when the timer rang. I was amazed that I ran out of time long before I ran out of prayer! When the week was up, I stopped setting the timer but continued the practice. As time has passed, however, sorry to say, I’ve become less consistent about the time I spend in active prayer.

Perhaps there’s a need for another kind of monitoring device: a FitBit for prayer. This “prayometer” would keep track of the actual “active minutes” spent in communion with God. I think we’d all find that, unless we set aside a specific block of time for Him, we won’t spend nearly enough time in prayer during the rest of the day. Just as a successful business often starts with a staff meeting, it’s a wise practice to start our day in a staff meeting with God. I can’t promise you a smiley face or an encouraging text on your phone, but I think you’ll find that ten to twenty minutes (or more) spent in prayer each morning are a small price to pay for the clarity, perspective and peace comes from it.

Do not have your concert first and tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with God. [James Hudson Taylor (English missionary)]

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. [James 5:16b (NIV)]

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October 7, 2014

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God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, Prayer, Trusting God

HE KNOWS BUT DO WE?

Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. [Matthew 6:8 (NCV)]

If He already knows our requests, why bother to pray? Needing to get free of debt, a couple prays for raises or better jobs; what they need, however, is to learn how to live within a budget. A friend “needs” her children to get married so she can have grandchildren. Perhaps what she really needs is to accept that her children are moving at their own pace and to ask the Lord to bless them with someone to love who will love them in return. A wife prays for her husband to be healed of Parkinson’s when what is needed is guidance in learning how to live joyfully within the confines of the disease. A father prays that his child will be freed from his addiction; God knows that the father needs to stop enabling the child’s behavior. What we want and what we need are often not the same things.

We believe we need certain things (people, money, possessions or occurrences) so we pray for those. Much for which we pray, however, we don’t need or shouldn’t have and we’ll never get. We also believe we need to be freed from other things (consequences, disease, discomfort, and disagreeable tasks). Much of what we want God to remove, however, we need to learn to live with and accept that it’s here to stay. We tend to want our requirements met quickly and easily but God doesn’t seem to work that way. He wants us to know Him and to trust that He knows our every need (far better than we ourselves do). We may not know what we need, but God always does. He will, indeed, provide everything we truly need at the correct time and in the right way.

Father in Heaven, thank you for knowing our innermost needs. Help us to understand the difference between what we want and what it is we truly need. Give us grateful and accepting hearts for however and whenever our prayers are answered.

Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. [Hebrews 4:16 (NCV)]