30 Days of prayer in the Home

Unanswered prayer? Part II

What are some other reasons that we might face unanswered prayer?

1) Some prayers will be answered in God's good timing, not ours. Acquaintances of mine knew a woman who shared her faith with a young lady who was not, at that time, ready to become a Christian. Sometime after the first woman died, the young lady began searching for God. She pulled out a scrap of paper that the first woman had given her and tracked down the church that the first woman had gone to. The young lady became a Christian after the first woman's death. We must never give up!

2) Sometimes, our prayers are answered in the affirmative, but we are not alert enough to recognize or to be thankful for the answers. We all can grow in gratitude! One way to increase your faith and your thankfulness is to write down your prayers and jot down answers to them. Others may not find this to be useful. Whatever works for you, be sure to be thankful. :)

Sometimes, we may not recognize the answer to a prayer until later. For example, the woman who prays for a friend may not realize that the unfriendly neighbor who moved in next is the answer to that prayer. Only after persisting in love to and prayer for her neighbor, does the neighbor's heart thaw and the two form a deep friendship.

3) We may not really be abiding in God or asking according to his will.

John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

1 John 5:14-15 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

Enjoy!

30 days of prayer in the home -- Day 27

Unanswered prayer? Part I:

Have you ever been mystified because your prayers were not answered in the way you thought they'd be at the exact time you expected? This subject -- akin to why God allows us to suffer at times -- is a) larger than the scope of a few blog articles and b) one that I'm sure others are more qualified to speak to than I am. However, I would like to throw out a few thoughts as a starting point for study.

What are some reasons why our prayers might not be answered exactly as we envisioned?

1) God is a loving Father. Fathers must sometimes say "no" or "not yet" to some of their children's requests. Any of us who are parents have been faced with choosing what is best for our child in the long run versus what our child wants in the moment. How much more does our Heavenly Father, who is all knowing and all wise, have our eternal best interests at heart?

Once, out of the blue, my husband was offered a job doing exactly what he loves to do, along with a large salary and a big signing bonus. The more we prayed about how much we wanted this job, the more circumstances pointed us in another direction. My husband declined the offer, and we moved to another town for family and spiritual reasons. Less than a year later, the company that had made the offer was re-organized, and the position my husband would have taken was eliminated. What had at first appeared to us to be "a dream job" probably would have been a nightmare if my husband taken it. We also have many other reasons to be thankful that we were directed down another path. Our Heavenly Father always knows what is best!

2) Our Heavenly Father cares about our attitudes and relationships. Sometimes, our prayers are hampered by sin that we have not dealt with either in our hearts or in how we treat others.

James 4:1-3 says, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

I Peter 3 teaches husbands to be considerate of their wives so their prayers will not be hindered.

Mark 11 tells us, "Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe you will have it. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in Heaven will forgive your sins, too."

James Chapter I teaches us, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

This calls for prayer in itself. We can ask God to show us anything in our hearts and our lives that would hinder our relationship to him. Generally, we tend toward one of two opposing poles: 1) We are oblivious to our own faults and blame God and others when things don't go as we imagined they would or b) We assume that if a prayer is not answered in the way we thought it would be that it is because God is angry with us or disappointed with us. If we tend to be either under-sensitive or overly self-condemning, we will need help from God and, perhaps, from godly friends to help us put things in true spiritual perspective.

Likewise, we must be cautious about presuming that we know exactly what God is working out in our or another person's life. Job's friends, for example, sought to comfort him when he experienced a string of tragedies. They ended up being poor counselors, because they assumed they knew exactly why Job was suffering, and they voiced their theories in lectures. They failed to give Job true support. They placed undue blame on Job. God was not pleased with their presumption.

There is a time to lovingly confront others about sin in their lives, provided that we stick within scriptural guidelines for doing so. Though we are called to help each other, we must do so with gentleness and humility. Many a sensitive soul has been burdened because someone said to them, "Your prayer wasn't answered because you didn't have enough faith or because you must have some hidden sin in your heart." Oftentimes, when we say or even think such things, we are making a judgment that we should not make. Sometimes, we do so because we don't know what else to say to someone who is hurting. In such cases, it is better to listen and give a hug or pray with the person than to offer a hasty platitude.

Enjoy!

30 days of prayer in the home -- Day 26

A woman who prayed:

From Acts 16 -- On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

What can we learn from Lydia?

1) She had gathered with a group of women to pray. While we all need one on one time with the Lord in prayer, there is power in praying together with others, as well. Since this account tells us that Lydia was a worshipper of God, we can assume that she regularly visited this place of prayer.

2) When Paul introduced the gospel throughout Macedonia, he always searched first for the Jews and God-fearing gentiles in every city. He looked for a place of prayer to present his message. Since Lydia was in such a place when Paul arrived, she had an opportunity to hear the good news about Christ. The Lord opened her heart to the message.

3)Though Lydia had been faithful to gather in prayer that day, she probably had had no idea that she was about to receive such an incrdible blessing. This account is one of many that show us how abundantly God answers the prayers of those who seek Him.

4) Lydia responded to the message with openness. She also had an impact on her entire household, for they were all baptized.

5) Lydia responded to the message by offering hospitality to those who had brought her such good news. Her gratitude for her salvation prompted her to love and kindness.

Enjoy!

30 Days of Prayer in the Home:

Ten quotes to inspire prayer:
(Note: These are not scripture, but are views expressed by people of prayer. As with all things, measure these ideas by the word of God. Acts 17:11)

1) And, if we are not daily in the Word and praying for wisdom in our lies, we are regressing instead of progressing. It is only by practice that we can train our selves to know what is good and what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Lea Fowler.

2) Father, help us women to always want to do your will. May our lives be a lessing to your name, and may Jesus be glorified by our examples as mothers, wives, and workers. Please help us to truly love our homes more and to make the right decisions for them that would please you. Please be proud of us, your daughters. In Christ's Name, Amen. Lea Fowler

3) "We cannot allow ourselves to needlessly fret and worry over things that are beyond our control. It leads to nervousness, anxious and uptight behavior, or we become pushy and domineering...When I am concerned, I think about the situation, I pray about it and surrender it to God. I am able to show support, to give encouragement and, when it is appropriate, to give advice. When I become worked up and upset, I spread a dark cloud over everyone, and those I love feel even more despair." Geri Laing.

4) To be a Christian without praying is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. Martin Luther King, Jr.

5) Warm all the kitchen with thy love, and light it with thy peace, Forgive me all my worrying and make my grumbling cease; Thou who didst so love to give men food in room or by the sea, Accept this service that I do; I do it unto thee. Klara Munkres.

6) The great thing in prayer is to feel that we are putting our supplications into the bosom of omnipotent love. Andrew Murray.

7) When asked how much time he spent in prayer, George Muller's reply was, "Hours every day. But, I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk and when I lie down and when I arise. And the answers are always coming. Source Unknown.

8) Prayer should not be regarded "as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty." E. M. Bounds.

9) The great people of the earth today are the people who pray! I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor those who explain prayer; but I mean those who actually take the time to pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. That something else is important, every important and pressing, but, still, less important and pressing than prayer. S. D. Gordon

10) I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. Abraham Lincoln.

Enjoy!

Day 24 -- 30 days of prayer in the home

Ideas to pray for your home in general:

1) That the family will be good stewards of any physical possessions that the Lord provides.
2) The the home will be a place of beauty, order, and peace.
3) That the home will reflect God's glory.
4) That members of the family will build and retain happy memories of home.
5) That the members of the family will work together in unity to make home life godly and sweet.
6) That the home and all who enter it will be blessed.
7) That God will bless your work as a keeper at home.
8) That the home will serve as a training ground for godly character and wholesome skills needed for life, and most importantly, for faith in the Lord. That this training will include any children in the family, but will also extend to others -- such as singles -- who might visit the home and learn what a godly home is like from the example you set.
9) That the people in the home will always be quick to repent and quick to forgive.
10) That you home will be filled with music, love, and joy.
11) That the people who are sleeping in the bedrooms, whether family or guests, will have sleep that is sweet and restorative.
12) That God will bless the hands that work in the kitchen; that everyone will be grateful for the food that God has provided; that the arms of the family can reach out to those who do not have food or shelter; that the food prepared will nourish the physical body; that the family will never neglect spiritual food in favor of physical food; that the Lord will create in the hearts of the family members a hunger and thirst for righteousness and that He will fill that hunger.
13) In the bathroom: That family members will have clean and pure hearts; thankfulness for clean water in which to bathe, to launder, and to drink;
14) That your family will speak only words which are loving, truthful, and useful for building each other up in the faith.
15) That your home will be a place of truth.
16) That your home will be a refuge from the struggles of this world or else a place where people work through struggles with faith, love and compassion.
17) That nothing will be hidden in the home that shouldn't be hidden; that any dangers, temptations, or hidden sins being practiced in the home will come to light so that they may be dealt with;
18) That your vision of how home life should be is fully surrendered to the Lord's plans; that you will be faithful even if things do not look as if they are going well at the moment; that you will always have a vision for what God can do in even the most dire of circumstance.
19) That relationships in the home will be godly and healthy.
20) That your family can open the home to people who need hospitality.
21) That family members will not hold unspoken or unrealistic expectations over each other; that family members will accept each other even if there are differences in personality and abilities; that family members will love each other without showing preference.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Day 23 -- 30 days of prayer in the home

Touched by an Angel...

Consider the time that Jacob wrestled all night with someone. The stranger never reveals his name, but Jacob associated him with having seen the face of God. So, we assume that he was, at the very least, a messenger from the Lord. Here's what the scriptures tell us:

"Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."" Genesis 32:24-30

There's a lot to think about in this incident from Jacob's life. I leave it to others who are more qualified than I to write a lesson on this passage. I just want to consider one small thing that this might teach us: to be persistent and faithful in prayer.

On the night that Jacob wrestled with the stranger, he was returning home from a distant land, where he had worked for his uncle. The reason he had fled to his uncle's land was that he had angered his brother Esau, and his brother had threatened him. Jacob had induced his Esau to sell him his birthright as the firstborn in exchange for a pot of lentils, and, with this mother's guidance, he had deceived his father into thinking that he was Esau, thus receiving from Isaac the blessing usually reserved for the firstborn son.

It's odd that Jacob and his mother used trickery and manipulation to obtain the birthright and the blessing. When Rebekkah had been pregnant with the twin boys, the twins had wrestled in her womb. She inquired of God what this might mean. He replied that within her womb were two nations. He declared that the nations that came through the lineage of Esau, the older one, would serve the nation that sprang from Jacob's lineage.

It was clear that God meant to bless Jacob. He chose to work through Jacob to continue his promises to Abraham and his seed, through whom all nations would one day be blessed. Jacob and Rebekkah probably did not understand the big picture of what God was doing through Abraham's family as we do who live after Christ came to be our Savior. However, they did know that God had chosen Jacob for a special purpose. Still, they resorted to tricks to obtain what God had already promised them.

Jacob's name means supplanter, trickster, or one who grabs by the heel. In truth, Jacob did come out of the womb grabbing at Esau's heel, who was born just a few moment before him. When the two were grown, Jacob, with the help of his mother, did manipulate things so that Jacob received the blessings normally reserved for the first born.

Esau was by no means innocent in this matter. He despised his own birthright. He treated it as something cheap -- worth the same as a bowl of porridge. In a fit of physical, temporal hunger, he traded the blessing meant to last for a lifetime in exchange for lentil stew. He, like many people, could not see past his immediate desires to the longterm consequences of his actions. Thus, he threw away the greater for the lesser. In the book of Hebrews, Esau is used as a warning not to throw away our faith in exchange for worldly approval and comfort. Yet, when Esau faces the consequences of his actions, he focuses on Jacob's sin and not on his own need for repentance. He is angry with his younger brother.

So, Jacob flees. We know that God appeared at least two times to Jacob during his journey and sojourn, promising to bless him, to be with him, and to make of him a great nation. In fact, God appeared to Jacob in his uncle's land and told him to go home and promised him that he would be with him.

Still, Jacob feared seeing his older brother. He sent his family on ahead and stayed alone for a night. Was he thinking over past events? Praying? Scheming according to his old nature? We don't know.

A stranger comes to Jacob and wrestles with him. Note that it is the stranger who initiates the wrestling match. Jacob somehow recognizes that he is wrestling with no ordinary person. He cries out that he will not let the stranger go until he blesses him.

The stranger asks Jacob what his name is. Why did he do that when a messenger from the Lord or the Lord Himself would know who Jacob was? We don't know. God often asks questions not for information, but to make us think. (An interesting study is to examine all of the questions Jesus asks people in the book of John.) Once, when Jacob was asked this question by his earthly father, he lied and said he was Esau. Perhaps, the stranger wanted Jacob to face up to the meaning of his name, and also to take a good inward look at his character. Perhaps, he wanted to underscore the fact that he was giving Jacob a new name -- Israel.

Why did the stranger initiate the struggle? Again, we don't know for certain. Perhaps, the stranger wanted to take Jacob to new levels of faith and repentance. Perhaps, he wanted Jacob to literally come to grips with the God in whom he trusted. Perhaps, he wanted Jacob to get to the point of exhaustion and surrender so that he would come to the end of his own powers and look to God. Perhaps, he was testing Jacob to see if he would persist in his struggle or give up. Perhaps, he wanted Jacob to wrestle to a point of deeper faith and humility. Perhaps, he wanted Jacob to see that it was not the circumstances of his life that he needed to wrestle with, but that he should seek a relationship with the Lord above all else.

Jacob held onto the stranger until he did receive a blessing. However, the stranger put his mark on Jacob and forever after this incident, Jacob was lame. To be lame is a humbling thing. It must have been doubly so in Jacob's case, for it was a constant reminder to him of his stunning encounter with God.

God had already promised to bless Jacob. In one sense, Jacob did not need to wrestle for a blessing. Yet, the stranger was pleased with Jacob's persistence. He commended Jacob for having struggled with God and mean and having prevailed.

How did Jacob prevail? It was obvious that the stranger had supernatural means by which he could have fully subdued Jacob. Yet, he wrestled Jacob on Jacob's level. I assume that the stranger let Jacob prevail, much as we might let a little child win a game of checkers. Perhaps, the way in which Jacob prevailed was simply that he did not give up.

I personally think that God used this wrestling match to transform Jacob from being the "supplanter" to being Israel. Perhaps, in the encounter, Jacob not only wrestled with the man, but he also wrestled with himself, his fear, and his faith.

Whatever his weaknesses were, Jacob understood the value of the blessing God had promised. Maybe, he sought it by the wrong means, and received correction from God. Still, he would not let go until he had obtained what the Lord had promised to him. Unlike Esau, Jacob did not count the blessing casually. Instead, he earnestly sought it and tenaciously held on to it. It can equally be said that the stranger did not let go of Jacob, but wrestled with him until what needed to be accomplished was accomplished.

What about us? God has given us the greatest blessing: Jesus Christ. He has given us great and precious promises, especially concerning eternal life with Him. Do we treat these promises lightly? Do we treat the presence of God in our lives lightly? What do we do when God calls us to attention, as the stranger did Jacob?

One occasion when we might be called to wrestle could be when we don't understand what God is doing in a particular circumstance and we need to get to the point of trust and surrender. Similar times might be whenever our faith flags, when the answers to prayer seem a long time coming, whenever we are tempted to place our feelings and desires above God's word, whenever tragedy strikes, or even when things have been going well and we begin to forget how desperately we need God.

As we mentioned in an earlier post, Jesus told the parable about the unjust judge to teach us to pray and never give up. Jesus connects this persistence in prayer to faith. There may be times in our life when we were tempted to quit praying with heart or even to quit praying all together. If we, like Jacob, value the blessing of God's presence in our lives above all things, we will persist in prayer. We will pray without giving up. We will pray until the Lord transforms our hearts. We will gladly bear his mark -- the mark of the cross -- upon us. When he comes again, we will have hope that the Lord will find faith in our hearts.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

30 Days of Prayer in the Home -- Day 22

Praying for our children -- Part II

Here are some ideas of things to pray for children:

1) That your child's heart will always be receptive to God's word. That your child's heart will be the noble soil that produces a crop even greater than that which is sewn. Luke 8:4-21
2) That your child will have faith in the Lord and love for the Lord that will never fail. I Corinthians 13, Luke 22:32
3) That their thoughts will be fixed on things above. Phil. 4:4-8; Col. 3:1-2 That God will guard their thoughts and protect them from influences that would make them stumble or turn to worldly things. That they will have clear minds and self-control so that they can pray. I Peter 4:7 That they will set their hope fully on the grace to be received when Christ comes again. I Peter 1:13
4) That your children will walk as Jesus did. I John 2:6; that your child will come to Christ, learn from Him, take Christ's yoke upon his or her shoulders, and have rest for their souls.
5) Pray for your child's present or future mate or for the Lord to make it clear if it is His will for your child to remain single. Pray for your child's future or present mate's family. Pray for your child's present or future children.
6) Pray for your child's teachers. Pray for other adults who are in a position to influence your child. Pray for your child's present and future friendships. Pray that your child will be a strong influence for godliness among his peers and that he or she will reject any worldly influence from others. Pray that your child will have a teachable heart and will learn from those who can teach him or her to be like Christ and to obey his commands. Pray that your child will stand strong against any peer pressure or persecution or other influence that goes against a true faith in the Lord. Matthew 18:18-20; Proverbs 27:17
7) Pray that your child will never be able to get away with deceit. Pray that the Lord will alert you to any hidden problem in your child's life so that you can help. Pray that your child will love truth and hate falsehood. Pray that you will have an open relationship in which your child feels that he or she can safely confide in you. Also, pray for godly friends with whom your child can be open and that these friends will pray with your child and offer sound, Biblical counsel.
8) Pray for your child to have the qualities of godly love: I Corinthians 13.
9) Pray for your relationship with your child. Pray that you will be a godly, loving parent and that your child will love and respect you. Pray that your home will be filled with love, joy, and peace, along with all the fruits of the Spirit of God. Pray that your child will see in your home, and in other homes, examples of godly marriages and healthy, godly families. Pray this for your child's sake.
10) Pray that your child's heart and mouth will be filled with praise and thanksgiving. Pray that your child will have joy and peace in all circumstances, whether in times of happiness or times of trial.
11) Pray for your child's to pray and read God's word. Ask your child if there are specific things that he or she would like you to pray about and pray for those things. Keep a little notebook in which you list things that your husband or children mention that they need prayer for and in which you jot down prayer needs that you see.
12) Pray for your child's priorities, work or school tasks, etc. Pray that your child will be able to find satisfaction in his or her tasks and, when adult, in his or her life's work. Pray that he or she will be able to organize well, yet also be able to handle interruptions well. Pray that he or she will surrender his or her days to the Lord and that he or she will find their days to be productive, rather than burdensome. Pray that if your child faces some illness in which he or she will not be able to go about their daily routine that they will know how to rest in the Lord. Pray that your child will be able to cope with whatever his or her days bring.

Great times to pray for (or even with) your child in addition to your morning prayer time:

1) When your child wakes up.
2) When your child goes to sleep.
3) As mentioned before, when you do your child's laundry or do some cleaning in your child's room.
4) When you are driving your child and his or her siblings or friends someplace. They will almost forget you are there, and you will be able to glean a lot from their conversations with each other.
5) When you are nursing a little one in the middle of the night, pray for that child.
6) When your child leaves home during the day; when your child comes back home
7) As you cook for your family.
8) Right before or right after you talk with an adult child on the phone or email them.
9) When you are helping your child get dressed.
10) When you take a walk with your child.

Day 21 -- 30 days of prayer in the home

Praying for children:

When praying for our children we need to remember:

1) God loves them even more than we do.
2) God is the perfect parent.
3) We need to pray for God's will for our children, even if it means that His purposes require some sacrifices on our part and on the part of our child.
4) Even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. Hebrews 5:8. Jesus was God's perfect son. From all eternity, He was with God in heaven and He was God. John 1. Yet, God did not spare His Beloved and Only Son from suffering. He let Him come to earth to live with us and die for us. This love of God is a great and beautiful mystery. If Jesus, who was perfect, identified with us in his suffering so that He became the High Priest who understands our temptations Hebrews 3:14-15, then how much more will our children, who are less than perfect, have to suffer to learn things like deep compassion, godliness, unselfishness, etc.
5) God's desire for our children is to have an eternal relationship with them. He wants to bless them with joy and an abundant life. He loves them and cares tenderly for them. Any suffering He allows in their lives is to refine their faith. (I Peter Chapter 1; James Chapter 1).

Therefore, when praying for our children, one of our greatest tasks is to surrender them fully to the Lord with the understanding that His will is always best and right and true. Along with godly mothers, such as Hannah, we find examples in scripture of mothers who tried to do things according to their own plans. Think of the pain that accompanied Rebekah's favoritism of Jacob. Even Mary, the faithful mother of our Lord, had at least one moment when she wrestled with God's plan for her Son's life. Though, for the most part, she is the supreme example to us of godly motherhood, there was a point at which she tried to interfere with Jesus' ministry out of fear for her son. Mark 3:20-21, Mark 3:30 ff. Yet, God's plan for Jesus led to salvation for Mary and for all of us. What joy Mary must have had in seeing her son after his resurrection, knowing that glory had now swallowed up any motherly pangs she had endured during his time on earth.

We can be sure that God understands a mother's heart, which swells with joy and tenderness and protectiveness and love. God created motherhood. He, Himself, often explains His nature to us in terms of being a parent, and, sometimes, in maternal imagery. Not only that but, in Christ, he experienced what it is like to receive a mother's love. Isaiah 40:11 gives one of the most beautiful pictures of our Lord's tender heart toward mothers. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

We may fear at times to surrender our children fully to God, but we need not do so. God will gently lead us as we raise our children when they are young. He will be there for us as we watch our children grow up and become adults. He will continue to show us how to nurture and love our children, and, best of all, He will gather our precious lambs close to his heart! Where could our children be safer, more loved, and more joyful than snuggled in the arms of Christ?

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Day 20 -- Praying for Your Husband

Here are some ways you can pray for your husband:

1) Make a list of five to ten qualities that you admire in your husband and thank God for those qualities in your husband. Song of Solomon 2:4
2) Pray that God will nourish the special friendship that you and your husband share. Pray to be a great friend to your husband: Song of Solomon 5:16
3) Pray that God will nourish the romance that you and your husband share. Pray to be a romantic companion to your husband. Song of Solomon 5:16; Proverbs 5:18-19
4) Pray that your husband will always love the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Pray that he will grasp the wonder of Christ's love for us. Mark 12:30, Ephesians Chapters One and Two
5) Pray that God will fill your husband with the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians 5
6) Pray for your husband's purity and for your purity as well. Pray for purity of heart and motive, as well as sexual purity. I Thessalonians 5:23, Matthew 5:8
7) Pray that your husband will fix his thoughts on things which will nourish his relationship to God and not on things of the world. Phil. 4:4-8
8)Pray that God will bless your husband; that you will be a blessing in his life; that God will heal any hurts from his past and give him a holy vision for the future and fill him with hope. Numbers 6:24; Proverbs 31; Romans 15:13
9) That his faith will never fail or, if he is not a believer in Christ, that he will be saved.
10) That the word of Christ will dwell richly in him. Colossians 3:15-17

There are any number of specific requests, such as those listed above, that you can make for your husband. If we take our requests from scripture, we can be sure that they are in line with God's will. One of the greatest ways we can love our husbands is to put a lot of thought into praying for our husband's needs.

However, one area that many women struggle with in prayer is the desire to take control, rather than to leave God room to work. Can you relate to the woman who prays to the Lord for her husband, yet who feels the Lord needs her help in managing things? Have you ever been tempted to nag, wheedle, take the reins, or somehow manage your husband into being the man you want him to be, and, what's more, to make of him the man you want him to be right this instant?

So often, we pay lip service to the way that the Lord says to win our husbands to greater righteousness. God says our greatest power in winning our husbands to godliness lies in having a calm and quiet spirit, as well as a life that is reverent.

So, along with making specific requests for our husbands, we can also pray to have quiet, trusting hearts that do not give way to fear. (I Peter 3). We can surrender our husbands to God and pray for His will to be done in their lives. We can remember that God is able to do more than we can ask or imagine. Ephesians 3:20-21. We can also remember that He loves our husbands even more than we do and that He knows what is best for our husbands even more than we do.

There are times when we may need to talk calmly and gently to our husband about something we see that is amiss in his life, and, perhaps, we may even need to seek the aid of a godly counselor who can help. In this as in all situations, we still need to maintain a trusting heart and to avoid letting fear make us grasp for control.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Day 19 -- Thirty Days of Prayer in the Home...

We need both concentrated times of prayer and also short, extemporaneous prayers throughout the day. While our relationship with God is different than our other relationships, we can draw some parallels from human interaction. With our loved ones, we set aside times to be together, but we also communicate throughout the day.

Little events throughout the day can serve as prompts to praise God and to intercede for others. Here are some examples:

1) When we write an email, a blog article, a tweet message, or a text, we do well to pray before we hit the send button. This is especially true if we are conveying emotion and not just facts.
2) When we hear an ambulance or pass an accident scene, we can pray for those in stress.
3) We can praise God and thank Him for our families and also intercede for our families in those moments right before a loved one will be arriving home from work, school, or other activity. We can also pray when we, ourselves, enter our home after having been out.
4) When the phone rings, we can thank God for friends and family and to pray that our speech will be wise, kind, and free of gossip. If we have caller I.D., we can pray specifically for the person who is calling.
5) We can carry a prayer card with us and use it as a prompt to pray when waiting for appointments, for a stop light to turn green, or while standing in a line. We can jot down on the card things we are thankful for, as well as needs we know about.
6) We can pray for families, teachers, and children when we drive or walk by a school.
7) Seeing a headline or hearing the news can give us ideas for prayer.
8) Instead of getting angry when someone cuts us off in traffic, we can ask God to bless that person.
9) If we deal with a store clerk or other customer service person, we can ask God to bless that person. This goes doubly if the person seems to be having a bad day or if the interchange does not go as we would like it to.
10) When planning menus, paying bills, or doing other desk work, we can pray.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Day 18 Thirty Days of Prayer in the Home...

Our Father and Friend...

In John 14:9, Jesus told Philip, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." The first chapter of John also talks of this: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

One of the lovely qualities of God that Jesus manifests for us is His friendship. When we understand that God truly desires to have a relationship with us, it draws us closer to Him in prayer. When we meditate upon the fact that, in Jesus, God came to be with us and to save us through the cross, it brings us to our knees.

1) When the Pharisees hurled accusations against Jesus during his time on earth, one of the things they pointed to was the fact that Jesus was (is) a friend of sinners. (Luke 7:33-35) Of Himself, Jesus said that He had come to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19). Jesus taught us of the Father's great love for those who were lost in sin. (Luke 15).

It astonished the Pharisees that Jesus sought the company of people whom the religious community had written off as being hopeless causes. However, Jesus purpose was to save people, and, in light of that, He drew all manner of men and women to Himself. He knew that God could bring new life to those who were dead in sin. Where others saw hopeless failure, He saw potential. He reached out to those who were conscious of their need for salvation.

Jesus' merciful, saving friendship is offered to us today. To what lengths did He go to bring us into a relationship with Him? He died for us. This is a comfort to us when we are first rescued from our sins, and it is a comfort to us as we continue in our Christian walk.

I John 1:5-10 tells us, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our High Priest who understands our temptations, because He was tempted, too -- though without sin.

We must not be presumptuous or casual about sin. We do desire holiness, and we also put into practice the great gift of repentance that God gives us through his grace. However, in dealing with our weakness and sin, we must firmly keep in mind God's mercy and his willingness to receive and help us and forgive us when we stumble. We need to remember that, in Jesus, God is the great Friend of sinful men and women.

Sometimes, when we blow it, our instinct is like that of Adam and Eve, who pulled away from God the moment they realized that they had sinned against Him. However, God graciously sought them out, despite their attempts to hide from Him. Rather than waiting for the Lord to seek us out, we can and should run to Him for help.

Even in human relationships, our hearts are warmed when we know someone loves us warts and all. We rest in the presence of someone who overflows with mercy and a desire to help us, whatever our plight might be. We count as our dearest friends those who do not desert us in our times of greatest failure, but who build us up, instead. Likewise, the more we understand God's perfect mercy, which far outweighs any human comfort, the more we will be drawn to spend time with Him in prayer. One way to understand God's mercy is to learn all we can about Jesus, through whom God displayed his awesome mercy and kindness to the utmost.

2) Jesus was a friend to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, among others. He enjoyed staying, eating, and, most of all, teaching in their home. He welcomed Mary as she sat at his feet to learn from Him. He genuinely mourned with Mary and Martha when Lazarus died, even though He knew He was going to bring Lazarus back to them. He gently corrected Martha when her priorities got off track. Jesus loved the three and enjoyed their company.

I can't help but think that this example of the Lord's friendship was recorded for our benefit. We, too, can have homes and hearts in which the Lord delights to dwell.

We often choose and enjoy friends because of they have qualities that charm us or engage us or benefit us or complete us in some way. We most easily love our peers. Yet, who of us is the Lord's peer? Not one of us even comes close! He is infinitely above all and over all. There is no one like Him. It is certainly not because of our holiness, our wisdom, our goodness, our worthiness, our loveliness, or because we are so fascinating that the Lord seeks and enjoys friendship with us!

Paul reminds us of this in Romans 11:33-35: "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"

Yet, the wonderful thing is that the Lord does love us, weak and sinful though we might be. He does take an interest in our lives. He even counts the number of hairs on a Christian's head! He loves us not because we are inherently lovable, but because He is the source of love and friendship. He enjoys those who are truly his children, and He seeks those who are lost.
In human terms, we are eager to talk with someone who welcomes us with genuine interest and friendship. We value those whose companionship is steady, rather than ebbing and flowing with our moment-to-moment performance. We feel most deeply the love of those who possess the quality of being a good friend, rather than those who love us for what they can get out of the relationship. We are hurt by "fair-weather" friends, and draw close to friends who are true.

Likewise, when we understand that God really does want to hear from us, unworthy though we know ourselves to be, we will be eager to pray. When we understand that His friendship is constant because He is faithful, we will find rest and peace as we pray. When we understand that He is the Truest friend we will ever have, we will long to be close to Him. When we understand that He is the Friend who reconciled us to Himself in friendship through the death of His Beloved Son, we will overflow with thankfulness in prayer.

If we are to pray with faith, we must not think we are a nuisance to God or that He hears us with a reluctant ear. Instead, we should remember: "Whoever comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6 Part of diligently seeking Him is to open our hearts to Him in prayer.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Day 17 -- 30 Days of Prayer in the Home

(Photo is section of Atlanta skyline)

Listening to God:

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Ecclesiastes 5:1

Have you ever been in a friendship with someone who did all of the talking? Have you ever felt that you were "talked at" rather than "talked with?" Have you ever felt that a relationship with someone was one sided, and that the person cared more about airing their own thoughts to the point of not really getting to know you? Or, have you, yourself, ever been in such distress that you found yourself talking and talking about your own situation? I, myself, have been on both sides of this fence.

So many in our hurting world are in need of a listening ear. Think of those who are shut in by illness or by age, or those who have been ignored by the significant people in their lives, or those who are going through an overwhelming trial. We can do people in these and other like situations a service by listening patiently as they talk about their joys, their frustrations, their sorrows, their doubts, and their faith. After we have fully listened, we may need to gently encourage our friends, for their sake and for the Lord's, to break out of a conversational self-focus. Yet, we can be sure that our willingness to listen can do great good in the lives of others.

Even though we serve by listening, we will likely find that our best and deepest relationships are those which are reciprocal, with back and forth conversation. Healthy friendships flourishes when both parties are interested in hearing and knowing each other on a deep level. In healthy friendships, both parties listen to each other and both parties talk with each other.

Thus, we do well when we are speaking to remember that we show love and respect to others when we do not dominate the conversation, but take care to hear the other person. Likewise, we must realize that we cannot learn from others or really know them if we are not paying attention to what they say. Really listening to another can be hard work, for we must focus on the speaker, ask questions to make sure we have heard correctly, and show an interest in the things that interest the speaker. We have to be careful, lest we incorrectly interpret another's words by jumping to conclusions or filtering them through our own biases.

The Bible is full of references to our need to listen, rather than to be full of our own words. This one from Proverbs always convicts me: Proverbs 18:2 A foolish man has no pleasure in good sense, but only to let what is in his heart come to light. The NIV puts it this way: A foolish man has no pleasure in good sense, but only to let what is in his heart come to light. James 1:19 is also one that I think of often: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

If it's important to listen to others and not to dominate conversations with regard to other people, how much more important is it to listen to God through His word! To say that His words are above all other words is an understatement. When God speaks, worlds come into existance. Whatever He speaks stands. Whatever He speaks is true and good and perfect. Because He is Holy and powerful beyond measure, His words are holy and powerful beyond measure, as well.

To think that God graciously speaks to us through his creation, through the Bible, through His Spirit, and through His Son is inspiring. If a celebrity we admired were to take notice of us and say even a few words to us, we'd likely be excited and tell everyone we knew. We might even savor that greeting over and over again in our minds. Likewise, if we receive a letter from a loved one, we eagerly rip it open and read it, then read it again, and , perhaps, save it among our cherished mementos. How much more exciting is it that the Sovereign Creator has written the 66 books of the Bible that we might hear his words to us!

In Jesus, God even sent His Word to us in the flesh! John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

What did God say of His son? "This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" Matthew 17:5

The importance and power of God's word in our lives can't be over-stressed. "The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8 "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 "There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. John 12:48"

God invites us to talk to him about anything and everything. Phil. 4:4-8. However, He also admonishes us to listen. That is an important thing to remember in our study of prayer.

Here are some verses about listening to the Lord through His word:

Isaish 55:1-3 "And you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for waht does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear and ocme to Me, Hear, and your soul shall live."

Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

Matthew 7:24-25 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. "

Matthew 13:8-10: "Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

Matthew 13:23: "But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

Mark 13:31 "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."

Hebrews 1:1-4 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs."

Hebrews 2:1-4 "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

Revelation 3:22 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

When we listen to God, we must combine what we hear with faith: Hebrews 4:1-2 "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard." What is the point of listening to God, if we do not believe what He tells us?

We must also put God's word into practice. James 1:22 says, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only." If we truly believe God, we will act on His word. Real faith leads to obedience. Just as we cannot say we trust a doctor if we will not take his advice, we cannot say we trust God if we do not trustfully and respectfully obey what He tells us.

Listening to God's word must also be combined with a desire to know Him. Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." The Pharisees knew the word of God backwards and forwards, yet they did not combine their hearing with faith. Thus, they completely missed the greatest opportunity in their lives. Christ stood right before them, and they did not recognize Him! Likewise, we, too, have an opportunity to recognize Christ, to be saved by Him, and to know Him. What could be more important in life?

Prayer goes hand in hand with meditating and studying the Lord's word. Before we speak, we do well to listen!

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Day 16 -- Thirty Days of Prayer in the Home.
(photo of Corduroy, our miniature poodle)

More tips for praying for and with family members:

1) Use the Lord's prayer as an outline for your own prayers.
2) Adapt prayers and verses in scripture as prayers for yourself, for your family members, and for others.
3) Avoid being "rote" in your prayers. Even if you use prayers others have written or scriptures to inspire your prayers, personalize them and make them your own. Always pray from the heart and avoid vain repetition.
4) The lyrics of hymns and spiritual songs provide great inspiration for prayer. Many are actually prayers that are sung. Thus, you can use the lyrics as inspiration for prayers or even sing them as part of your prayer time. When singing songs in church, don't let your mind simply go through the motions, as is so easy to do. Remember that you are likely singing a prayer to the Lord. Pay attention to the lyrics even if you have sung that particular hymn or song myriad times.
5) Teach your children how to pay attention when someone else is praying aloud in a group. They may find it helpful to mentally repeat each phrase that the person who is praying says, giving assent in their hearts. Teach them to make the prayer your own. If you are of a tradition in which those who are listening add an amen here and there when someone else is praying, teach children how to do that meaningfully and not out of habit.
If you are of a tradition where everyone is silent through another's prayer or perhaps joins in a final amen, teach your children also to keep their mind focused on what is being said to God. Help them understand that God is listening.

A few great prayers from scripture to adapt in praying for your family. (Note, these are also great for adapting as parts of letters written to encourage others):

2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (An example of how to personalize: Father, may the grace of your son Jesus Christ and your love and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with our family....or with ______...or with _____ married child's family unit....or with our church.)

Ephesians 3;16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 115
May the LORD make you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

John 17 (from Jesus prayer before cross)
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

John 17 (from Jesus prayer before cross)
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify^b]">[them by the truth; your word is truth.

How much more happily could a wife and mother be employed than in being close to God and petitioning Him on behalf of her spouse, children, neighborhood, church, and the nations?


Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Quick post about the Nashville flooding:

This is a small pond that formed in our common area during this past weekend's flooding. It's actually pretty and was especially so when two wild ducks took up residence.

However, we live on high ground, and were not affected by the flooding as so many of our friends were. We know many whose homes were damaged or even completely lost. Some of our friends had to be evacuated, including an older couple we know who had to be evacuated by boat over road which are normally dry. Different groups of our friends were out of town for the weekend and could not get back into Nashville for a bit.

At least some of the entrances into our area were flooded, but we just stayed put until the water in those areas receded.

It will be some time before the city can assess the total amount of the damage done here. So far, 29 lives have been lost across the storm-affected areas of Tennessee, and emergency workers suspect that the final tally will be larger.

People have been stranded in homes without food. Many have run out of medicines. This is horse and farm country, so many large animals had to be rescued and evacuated and, perhaps, some are lost. Smaller animals have been separated from owners and are pouring into the animal shelters. Whole sections of roads, parking lots, and other surfaces have been destroyed. Our famous Grand Old Opry, as well as the Opryland hotel and the Opry Mills shopping center were greatly damaged by flood.

Many people are still without lights and electricity. Our county's schools are closed, as are those in many other counties. Also, there are still some areas around here where people are in need of food and medical help, that as of yesterday, could not be reached by emergency workers.

Speaking of emergency workers, many police, fireman, utility personnel, medical personnel, and others have been working round the clock, going without sleep, in order to rescue people and try to minimize the potential harm to life and property. Often, new crews could not make it to the areas where they were needed, so the ones in place just had to keep on going without sleep. Many risked their lives to help others. A few ended up in situations where they were overcome by flooding, and, they, themselves, had to be rescued.

In perhaps the most famous news image of the flooding here, a school portable broke loose from its place and floated down a major Interstate. Portions of our major Interstates had to be closed. Since Nashville is a connection point for I-65, I-24, and I-40, this affects not only our local citizen, but an amazing amount of through traffic.

Well before the two day storm was over, they were announcing on the news that we had already received over one third of the amount of rain that we would normally receive over the course of a year. Since we live in an area with frequent rain, this is quite a lot of water.

We are having to conserve water, as treatment plants have been underwater, making it impossible for all that water to be treated.

The food waters rose so quickly that they spilled over a wide area. Most of the flood damage occurred in places that have not experienced flooding before. Thus, most victims of the flood don't have flood insurance and will not be able to collect insurance money for lost homes and possessions.

Since Nashville is a tourist area, many tourists were among those who had to be evacuated to temporary shelters. We also depend on conventions for a lot of our revenue. Yet, many scheduled conventions will have to be moved elsewhere, as the facilities will not be in shape to receive them.

Many companies have not been able to carry on as usual. Even government buildings and operations have been affected.

We do have a series of dams around here, and fortunately, our dams held strong. The Corps of Engineers were able to control the release of some of the flood waters in an effort to minimize their path through the area. As unimaginably bad as the flooding has been, it could have been worse. There's been some controversy about the Corps management of the flood, as some think that they could have done a better job and prevented some of the flood deaths. I'm not qualified to speak to that. However, as some of the havoc in New Orleans was due to burst dams and levees, I'm counting it as a blessing that the dams did not crumble under the power of this unprecedented flood.

On a happy note, this is the third day of sunshine, so we are all rejoicing. Though there are still plenty of floodwaters around, the sun is helping to dry things. Another great thing to see is how the people of the city have pulled together. Many volunteered to help with rescues and evacutations. Others have volunteered at the animal shelters or have donated supplies. Many are helping friends clean up and salvage what they can.

Enjoy!
elizabeth

Thirty Days of Prayer in the Home...

Day 15

And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us...

To me, this is a challenging thought. We are to petition God to forgive us as we forgive others. That always sobers me and helps me to check my heart, to see if I am harboring unforgiveness in any form.

The amount of grace and forgiveness that the Lord pours on each one of us is unfathomable. The cost that Christ paid with his blood for us to be forgiven is likewise unimaginable. How hypocritical it is when we, then, turn around and refuse to forgive others. (See Matthew Chapter 18)

Forgiveness is not easy. The scope of this article is too short to do an exhaustive study of how to forgive others and how to accept forgiveness for ourselves. Here are a few suggestions that I hope are helpful:

1) Study every reference to the cross, especially to the passages that show us how Jesus entrusted his own hurt to the Father and, thus, was able to look down in compassion and say, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing." Pray to be able to forgive as the Lord forgives us.
2) Pray about and journal about how grateful you are for the forgiveness that the Lord has given to you. Meditate frequently about the Lord's grace and mercy.
3) Realize that forgiveness does not come about by excusing another person's sin or by denying that someone has caused you pain. Neither can you truly forgive by telling yourself that the other person's transgression is somehow all your fault, though we do have to take some responsibility if our sin really did contribute to the situation. Sometimes, when people are deeply hurt as children, the coping mechanism they try is to absorb all of the blame themselves. This can become a lifetime pattern for dealing with any hurt and breeds a fear of being honest about how we really feel and what we really think. Yet, pretending that an offense "was no big deal" or that we brought the pain on ourselves does not not bring about true forgiveness. Christ is the only one who can bear a person's sin. True forgiveness acknowledges the hurt honestly, but says, "I have been forgiven so abundantly. I forgive you, as the Lord forgives me."
4) Deep hurts leave scars that can come to mind when we hear or see something that brings up old memories. Once you have truly acknowledged the pain that someone has caused you and you have committed to forgive it to the Lord, don't be shocked if a painful thought surfaces again. Simply remind yourself that you have already forgiven this. Pray about it and surrender it to the Lord. Refuse to dwell on the matter. Turn your mind to something more positive. Gradually, the pain will lesson.
5) We sometimes try to deal with inner pain by blaming another person or persons for everything that hurts in our life. We not only hold that person's actual sins over his or her head, we also blame him or her for our own sins, as well. Again, this does not bring about true forgiveness and peace. Christ is the only person who can bear the sins of the world. If we need help sorting out issues of this kind, we can ask the Lord to bring light and truth to the situation. We can also talk things through with a godly friend, who can help us to see things more clearly.
6) Pray for those that hurt you or persecute you. Always have in your heart a prayer that someone who offends you might be reconciled to God. If we are praying for another person's welfare, we won't be as likely to harbor bitterness in our hearts. We may need prayer and wisdom to determine what our relationship with the forgiven person will be from heron out. But, whatever happens, we must remember that unforgiveness is never an option for the child of God.
7) Realize the power of forgiveness. Think what God has accomplished through forgiveness. Meditate on examples of forgiveness, such as the amazing forgiveness shown by the Amish people affected by the school shooting. Acknowledge to the Lord that His way, the way of forgiveness, is best, and ask for His help in truly being able to forgive.

Thirty Days of Prayer in the Home -- Day 14

Give us this Day our Daily Bread...

Remember the manna that God caused to fall in the dessert for the Israelites? God's instructions were that they were to gather one day's supply only, except on the day before the Sabbath when they could gather enough for that day and for the Sabbath, too. This reminds us, among other things, that we are daily dependent on the Lord for physical and spiritual bread.

We often think of our job as the ultimate source of our earthly needs. Yet, it is God who gave the original man and woman work to do and it is God who enables us to work now. It is God who made food and the materials we use for shelter, and God who made the materials we use for clothing. (Even synthetic fibers are made from using chemicals that God created.) Understanding that the Lord is the source of our sustenance enables us to work as we should, yet without either becoming overly confident about our own abilities or despondent and fearful if our income is threatened in some way.

Keepers at home are involved with the daily physical needs of our families. We oversee the household management, take stock of what's in pantry, cook meals, outfit our family members, do the laundry and the mending, and other things that contribute to our family's physical well-being. It's wise to set about these tasks prayerfully, remembering that the Lord is the wellspring of our lives. He loves and cares for our family members even more than we do. We can ask Him for wisdom concerning time management. We can ask Him to help us do our tasks with love. We can ask Him to help us stretch our food budget.

Jesus tells us that God knows our earthly needs before we even ask Him. Yet, he invites us to lay our needs before Him, just as we want our children to come to us. As confident children of the Lord and as citizens of His kingdom, we are to pray about everything and to accompany our petitions with thanksgiving. (Phil. 4:4-8)

What about those who do not see their earthly needs being met at the moment? If we have enough for sustenance and some to share, the Lord asks us to reach out to those in need. Most of us who live in the United States have much to give to those who are in want.

Ultimately, our greatest hunger is for spiritual food, and that is always freely given to those who beg for it. Luke 11:9-13 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Jesus is our life. He is the vine upon which we exist. He is the bread from heaven. These and many more images in the gospels, particurly in the book of John, inspire us with a daily, passionate desire to be connected to our Lord, along with overwhelming gratitude for the life He gives us. Apart from Jesus, we die and wither; with Jesus, we thrive and are fruitful. (John 15).

Just as it pains us to see people in physical hunger, it likewise pains us to see people in spiritual hunger and want. We are beggars who have been invited to enjoy God's feast, and we love to invite other beggars to this wonderful banquet. (Matthew 22:2 ff; 2 Kings 7)

Just as we can start thinking of our job and our abilities as the source of our physical sustenance, we can start thinking of our righteousness as being a source of our spiritual life. We can forget that we were saved by grace and that we daily live by grace. To become self-righteous, rather than to depend on the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, leads to all sorts of spiritual havoc. Thus, it is good for us to daily petition the Lord for our spiritual sustenance. This helps us remember and appreciate the Lord's graciousness.

Though keepers at home deal with the physical needs of the family, we must not forget that the spiritual needs of the family are even more important. Some ways we can nourish our family spiritually are to cultivate a Christ-like attitude in all that we do, to pray for our spouse and children, to teach our children God's word, and to talk with our children about spiritual things.

There is a long-time misunderstanding in the religious world that place grace and good works almost in opposition to each other. We understand that when it comes to our physical needs, an out-of-work family breadwinner would be foolish to ask God to provide for daily bread and, yet, willfully turn down a job offer that He places in the breadwinner's path. Likewise, we understand that a keeper at home would be foolish to ask God for daily bread and, yet, fail either to make it or purchase it with the means the Lord provides and serve the bread to her family.

In the same way, we show that we do not understand God's grace if we ask for our spiritual sustenance, and, yet, turn away from the good works that He puts before us. We are not to think that we can enjoy God's grace and yet willfully live any way that we want to. (Hebrews 6:1-8) We are, however, to remember that everything that we are and everything that we have comes from the Lord. Our works do not save us, but we work because we are saved.

When we understand that God is our wellspring of life, we will be frequently -- even daily -- in prayer. We will be at peace, because we believe He answer us, sometimes even before we ourselves know to ask. We rest in the confidence that our Lord provides us with everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3)

(Photo taken during trip to Atlanta aquarium)

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Thirty Days of Prayer -- Day 13

Thy Will be Done...

Jesus said of His relationship with His heavenly Father, "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." John 8:29

Nowhere was this heart made more manifest to us than in his obedience to the cross. He prayed intensely that there might be some other way to accomplish the Father's work, yet He prayed even more that God's will would be done. Matthew tells us, "And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.'" Matthew 26:39

Because Jesus was sinlessly obedient to God, even to the point of death, He was able to save us from our sins. He endured the cross, as Hebrews tells us, with a view of the joy set before Him -- that men and women might be saved from their sins and reconciled to God. He knew that obedience to God in this fallen world might be painful at times, but it always yields the harvest of heavenly love, peace, and joy.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, His petitioned God that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is an extension of His prayer for God's kingdom to come. After all, heaven is a place in which God's will is perfectly carried out. Don't we all long for heaven?

The misery of the world began with an act of disobedience to God. Since then, we have all sinned and have been sinned against. We have experienced in ourselves and in the world alarming tendancies such as pride, selfishness, irritability, impatience, rudeness, harshness, religious hypocrasy, doubt, blame-shifting, lust, impurity, coarseness, divisions in families and church and neighborhood, arguments, self-righteousness, harmful self-indulgence, addiction, indifference to the suffering of others, materialism, ingratitude, rebellion toward parents and other godly authority, divorce, abusive parenting, the desire to control others for selfish gain, wars, death both spiritual and physical, and all other manner of ills.

By contrast, righteousness, peace, and joy are found wherever there is whole-hearted obedience to the Lord. For example, a home in which all members were totally committed to the Lord's will would be characterized by thoughtfulness, kindness, mercy, love, humility, truthfulness, generosity, words that build up and do not tear down, respect for each family member, respect for parents and other godly authority, harmony, dependability, faithfulness to promises and vows, purity, lasting marriages, unity, self-control, the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, concern for others, healthy parenting, gratitude, wholesome enjoyment of God's creation, a willingness to work out differences peacefully, honor for the aged, care for the young, wholesome productivity, and all the goodness of the fragrance of Christ. Extrapolate the blessings of such devotion to the Lord's will out to our church, our neighborhood, and our world, and you can imagine how radically different our world would be if the Lord's will were done here just as completely as in heaven.

It doesn't take a genious to realize that our sin-sick world desparately needs God's kingdom and His righteousness. Yet, a prayer for God's will to be done on earth as it is done in heaven starts in the most challenging of places -- with a request that God's will be done in our own individual life. We cannot honestly pray for others to do God's will without first surrending our will daily to the Lord's. As much as we know that God's will is always best, we need help in overcoming our temptations to fear, selfishness, pride and other things that might block our obedience.

In order to develop and maintain a whole-hearted devotion to the Lord's will, we must pray as Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane. If He, who was without sin, needed to pray to gain strength for the cross, how much more should we depend on God's grace and mercy to help us do His will? This dependence on the Lord cannot simply be a one-time request or a formulaic statement; it must be our heart's beat. If we love our heavenly Father, we will desire more than anything to please Him and to do His will.

We simply do not have within ourselves what it takes to be fully committed to the Lord's will. We need His Spirit working within us. God blesses us by turning our hearts to Him and by teaching us His good ways. Our desire to please our beloved Father, coupled with our awareness of How much we need Him, should drive us to our knees in praise and petition.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:11-13

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Thirty One Days of Prayer -- Day 12

Thy Kingdom Come...

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
Hebrews 12:28

The Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven as Matthew calls it, was deeply on Jesus' heart.

John announced Jesus coming with the words, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:2.

Likewise, Jesus begins his ministry with the message of the kingdom. Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:14. See also Matthew 4:17, Matthew 4:23

The sermon on the Mount describes the values and citizens of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven stands in opposition to the values of the kingdom of this world. It took some time for the followers of Jesus in his day to realize that the promised kingdom is a spiritual one, rather than the physical one that they had expected. In fact, not until after Jesus died and was resurrected did they fully understand.

During the time between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension, he was still teaching his disciples about God's kingdom: To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Acts 1:3

Jesus had said that he would give Peter the keys to the kingdom. "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18ff

Peter preached the first sermon of salvation to the Jews, opening the door for them to enter the kingdom of heaven. Acts Chapter 2 Likewise, he also preached the first sermon to the gentiles, opening the door for them to come in, as well. Acts Chapter 10.

The apostles of Jesus preached the message of the kingdom. For examples, see Acts 8:12; Acts 14:22; Acts 19:8; Acts 28:23. In Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts, the gospel is often referred to as being the gospel of the kingdom. See Matthew 9:35 for an example.

Throughout the new testament, the kingdom is spoken of as both a present event and a future event. In one sense, the kingdom of God has come to us in Jesus and his church and wherever Christ reigns in the lives of men and women. In another sense, we are still waiting for the fullness of the kingdom, which we will experience when the Lord returns again.

As mentioned earlier in this series, the Christian's true citizenship is in the kingdom of heaven. Our values are to be heavenly ones, not worldly ones. Likewise, our actions should reflect hearts set on being ambassadors of God's kingdom. We want others to know the goodness of God's kingdom and for them to be rescued from "the domain of darkness, and transferred...to the kingdom of His beloved Son". Col. 13

Jesus tells us in Matthew 13 that "...the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." The kingdom of heaven is worth more than the sum total of everything we think we possess in this world.

If the kingdom is so precious to the Lord and to us, should it not be a great subject of our prayers? If we are unsure about how to pray for the kingdom, we can begin by studying Jesus' teachings about the Kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of God. (Matthew refers to the Kingdom of God as the Kingdom of Heaven. Some scholars think this is because Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience who would have had such great respect for the name of God and such a reluctance to use it too frequently that they would be more comfortable with the term "Kingdom of Heaven". The intended readers of Mark, Luke, and John, on the other hand, might have needed the term spelled out more specifically as the "Kingdom of God".)

"Thy kingdom come" is not just a phrase to be said, but is to be, along with knowing and honoring the Lord, the chief concern of our lives. When it is so, then we will naturally pray about it.

Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness..."

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Thirty Days of Prayer in the Home...Day 11

Hallowed be thy name....

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'" I Peter 1:13-16

As we've mentioned, Jesus advises us to start our prayer with a recognition of God's holiness. God is unlike any other, and His holiness is the essence of that "otherness". It is also the essence of his absolute perfection. In Isaiah 55:9, God declares, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

He is the great "I Am", the Self-Existent One. He is the source of all good qualities and things and the standard for all goodness, as well. We know love, because love is an attribute of God. His love is pure and holy, far above the way that fallen humans attempt to love. His goodness is pure and holy and; his justice is pure and holy; his wisdom is pure and holy; his mercy is pure and holy. God's essential being is totally free from any flaw, any sin, any mistake, any impurity, and any failing. Whatever attribute of Himself that God discloses to us, we can be sure that it is both spotless and infinitely, wholly complete. There is nothing lacking in the attributes or nature of God.

Everything that God created was holy and good, because it sprang from our holy and good Creator. Thus, when God created man and woman and the animals and the world, He pronounced them "good". Our goodness was not something we came up with by our own power, but something that our Good Creator put in us. Since God made us in his image, He made us to share some of His wonderful attributes. We were holy, set apart for God's purpose, and in intimate, unbroken communication with Him.

However, when man and woman sinned and sin entered the world, we mingled sin along with the godly attributes we were created with. Sin created a new barrier in our relationship with a holy God. Our once intimate, unbroken communication with God was now broken. As Romans 3 tells us, every one of us since has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Thus, even though many people reject God and His ways, even the most wicked among us has some dim and concept that life should consist of good things, like justice, peace, and joy. The most adamant unbeliever will cry "That's not fair" if they sense someone is treating them unfairly. Thus, by their words, he betrays some idea that there is such a thing as justice and fairness -- though he may not understand that justice and fairness originate in God. The unbeliever's concept of God and holiness is perverted and the wicked seek after the wrong things in order to satisfy their longings.

Likewise, even the most devout follower of Jesus fails to attain holiness solely by his or her own effort. We may try with all of our heart, for example, to love our neighbor, but, in the end, find that our love is polluted by a drop of selfish ambition and diminished by a pinch of unjustified anger. We grow weary of loving someone who doesn't love us back. We expect rewards for our love. Or, we spoil the person we love or make of our loved one an idol or in some other way do harm when we mean to do good. Or, our love may be genuine and true, but we are powerless to act for our loved one's good in a certain situation. We need grace to help us love as God loves and as He teaches us to love. Likewise, we need grace to help us be righteous, pure, just, faithful, peaceful, joyful, etc.

God's holiness and our sin are incompatible. However, God still loves us and reaches out to restore our broken relationship with Him. He wants to recreate His image in us and to make us holy, set apart for His purpose as we were meant to be. Thus, God provided us with a Savior who "who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." Titus 2:14

It is because of what Jesus has done for us that we can now "approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16. Upon our true conversion, we are cleansed by the Lord's blood. This blood continues to cleanse us from all sin, provided that we walk in the light. I John Chapters 1 and 2. We no longer live for self and sin, but for the Lord. God counts us as holy and also continues to work holiness in us. God matures us more and more into the image of his Son. Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:24; Romans 12:2; I Peter 1:14-15. Through it all, it is the Savior's blood that purifies us and makes us holy, enabling us to come into our Father's holy presence. We are justified freely by his blood. Romans 3:23.

God's holiness is at once comforting and sobering. It is sobering in part because His holiness exposes our lack of holiness. Indeed, when we truly recognize God's holiness, we also see our utter spiritual poverty. For the humble, that's a good place to be; Jesus says that those who see their spiritual poverty are blessed.

God's holiness also reminds us that we will be accountable to Him for how we live our lives. Hebrews 12:28-29 tells us, Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire."

This awe-inspiring holiness of God can be comforting if we let it be. If we do not flee the light, but come to the Lord in humility and honesty, we will find grace and mercy. John 3:20-21; I Peter 5:5 God's holiness may bring judgment to those who reject Jesus, but it builds humility, faith, truth, and purity in those who love Him and seek an ever- deepening relationship with Him.

God's holiness is comforting, because we know that God's dealings with us are always perfect, always righteous, and always holy. We need never fear, for example, that His love for us is tainted with selfishness or partiality. The Scriptures tell us that God shows no favoritism. God does not judge us as the world judges us, by superficial things. We can trust that, that in His love, He always does what is best for us. His infinite, holy love is accompanied by infinite, holy wisdom and infinite, holy power. God always has in mind the best interests of the ones He loves, and He has the power and the wisdom to carry out what is best for us. We may not understand what He is doing in the moment, but we can trust that He does and that it will work for our good.

God's holiness means that He is free of hypocrisy, deceit, selfish manipulation, and free of all of the sins that can do damage in even the closest, most sincere human relationships. If all others around us fail us or if we fail ourselves, God will still be true. We can count on that. His holiness is a spring of fresh, pure water. It refreshes us when we are weak, when we need forgiveness, when we are disappointed, and when we are desperate to find grace and truth.

Why is it important to begin our prayers with a name of God, such as Our Father, and a recognition of the holiness of his name? With foundation in scripture, the Jews understood that the name of a person represented more than a label or a way to get someone's attention. A person's represented the true identity of the person to whom you were referring. This was especially true of God's holy name. Likewise, God's Names conveyed his authority as well. Thus, to regard God's name as holy and to treat it as holy is to regard God, himself, as being holy. Also, the prayer points to the coming of God's kingdom in all of its fullness, when God's name will be honored by all. What could be more delightful to us than reverencing God's name and helping others to know and honor God, too.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth