Tag: pray

encouragement

Lighthouse of Encouragement: Embracing Prayer, Scripture, and Support Networks

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It’s kinda funny. I decide to devote a month to encouragement and it’s probably been one of the most discouraging weeks so far. In the last post, I mentioned having “lighthouses” to help us navigate through the storms of life. And well I guess it’s time for me to practice what I preach. One lighthouse is friends and family, a support system, trusted people we can reach out to for prayer. I think that’s always my first go to. Prayer works and when you know you have your people praying for you, for me it’s like someone propping me up. Like in Exodus 17 – The Israelites were in battle with the Amalekites, verses 5-12- “The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” 8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” So if you’re reading this, I could use some prayer.

Another tried and true lighthouse is reading scripture. Currently, I am doing Summer in the Psalms. David and the Psalmists weren’t exempt from discouragement or stormy lives. Yet. they cried out to God and they remind us God hears them, He hears us.

Psalm 103:8 – “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (ESV) God loves me, He loves you on the good days and bad days. We can rest our minds in this truth. The days that I am discouraged for whatever reason, He still loves me. When our minds are swirling and our thoughts are out of control, we need something firm and true to hold to and God’s word, His truths are just what we need to ground us. Without truth to stand on we can easily start to believe the lies and worst case scenarios.

I mentioned that friends and family are great lighthouses. We can reach out to them for prayer. However, we should pray ourselves. Hebrews 4:16 – “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” We should reach out to God ourselves. We can go to Him with anything. Yes, He already knows, but He wants to hear it and He wants to hear from us. He loves us!

So far we have three lighthouses, friends and family, a support system to hold up our arms in battle. Prayer, we can go boldly to the throne of our gracious God, where we can receive mercy and grace when we need it the most. And scripture, there we can find truths, solid ground for us to fight our battle. Stay tuned this month, head over to my YouTube channel I have a short tutorial to make a card to give to someone to help encourage, quick and easy.

prayer

Praying Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

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“Be careful what you pray for, you might get it.” We’ve all heard that saying before. Sometimes what we get isn’t necessarily what we don’t want, it’s not what we expected and that can be either good or bad, depending on your perspective.

Think about the times you have prayed for someone, for their situation, for their salvation or for a situation to change and the outcome or the answer wasn’t what you expected. One thing that God has brought to my attention is as I pray I need to trust Him. Honestly, sometimes scenarios are going through my mind of how things will work out or how God will work things out. I don’t think that’s for me to know, I think that’s for me to trust.

“Not my will, but yours.” It’s God’s desire for all men to be saved, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” 1Timothy 2:3-4. When you are praying for someone to be saved and know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, what are you thinking?(Not “what ARE you thinking?) What are you imagining to happen? Maybe that they will be driving along one day and have this overwhelming desire to know Jesus and be forever changed. Not that, that can’t happen. But look at Saul or Paul, he was stopped dead in his tracks and made blind for a while. I know I think of easy transitions, smooth sailing for others and for situations. Rarely does that ever happen. That’s not how God works. I am learning that.

Only God can work through situations and change hearts and for Him to do that, He sometimes has to bring us and others to our knees, whatever it takes if we are sincere in our prayers. That’s also not to say we are wishing ill on them or bad things to happen, heavens no, we want to see changes and sometimes that takes hard times. Look at Jesus and His ministry. His ministry was to preach salvation to all. He came to earth as fully human and fully God as a baby to grow up in stature, teach, and to one day die on the cross and rise again in three days. Things got bad before they got better, same with Paul.

This was an “ah-ha” moment for me. When we are praying for God to change situations, change hearts, we need to be prepared that things may get worse before they get better. We need to trust God. We don’t know how God will work in each individual or situation. God knows the details of every challenging situation and the hearts of the people He created. He works “all things together for our good and His glory” Romans 8:28. God will work things out according to His plan, we have to trust. God may direct you or use you in the plan (be prepared for that) and He may give you specifics through the Holy Spirit pressing in on you to say something or do something specific.

Think back to Jesus in the Garden, things had to get worse before they got better. Sometimes we or our loved ones need to go through situations that will get worse before they get better.

We need to remember this:

  1. Trust God, His Providence, His timing.
  2. Things may get worse before they better.
  3. Ask for endurance, courage to get through the next few days weeks, months, however long it’s going to take for God to work things out.
  4. When we get to the other side, when victory comes, remember to give thanks. “Give thanks always” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16 so let’s remember days, weeks, months, even years later to recall God’s goodness in the situation, or any situation. It’s good to keep remembering what God has done for us.
  5. Keep praying for the situation or person. “Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Now that things have changed, ask God to help you not make the same mistakes, to keep walking in His light, continue to pray for the person or situation that the person will grow spiritually and the situation will remain stable.

We have to trust God when we are praying for changes in others and in situations. We can’t know how God will work things out, other than He will work them out according to His plan for our good and His glory and that can and will look totally different than what we imagine. That’s dangerous prayer, are we bold enough to pray dangerously?

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January 24, 2022 – Psalm 40:3

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A new year, a new song. What new song is God placing on your heart. Maybe it’s song you just haven’t heard or sung in while, maybe it’s a song by someone you haven’t of before or maybe it’s one you have written yourself. God wants us to sing to Him. I struggle with that at times. As the song goes, “I’m gonna sing in the middle of the storm.” (Raise a Hallelujah – Bethel Music). Have you tried to sing in the storm? It’s not the easiest but it can be the most rewarding.

jan-24-22Download

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November 15, 2021 – Colossians 3:15

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Memorize Monday – free coloring page, Colossians 3:15- “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” God asks us to be thankful. If you want to know the will of God, be thankful. Yes God has more than that for us to do, but it’s a good place to start if you are looking to do God’s will. We were called to be thankful and the peace of God to rule in our hearts. There are many benefits to being thankful. Being thankful can improve mental and physical health. Having a heart of gratitude can foster empathy and allow us to be content with what we already have. For are you thankful for today? Share in the comments and if you find encouragement in the post, please like and share.


Nov 15Download

Colossians 3:15

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Teach Us to Pray – Part 5

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Prayer is a big subject. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. I think we humans tend to make it what it’s not and complicate it. What’s important is we talk to God and listen to His response. I do believe it is important to pray everyday. And that may look different for each of us.

For me the basics, praying daily to the Father as Jesus taught us in the Lord’s prayer and having a place everyday to pray away from everyone, alone as Jesus set that example for us. Luke 4:42 – “At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.” Luke 11:1 -“He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” Matthew 6:6-13 sums it up  – “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; …”

The time of day may not be early in the morning, it could be at noon or in the evening. Your quiet place may not be a mountain. It could be a prayer closet, a room, your car, or sitting outside under a tree in your yard. And it could change from time to time.

We don’t always have to have our heads bowed and hands folded. We can pray standing with our hands lifted or on our knees. We can pray while dancing or while walking and singing. God sees our heart. I like to have the heart of a child when I approach God, unabashed, with boldness. Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Sometimes kids don’t have filters. They just speak their minds. There is no hiding our feelings from God.

But don’t let these things, these ways, routines, think that God will only answer your prayer if you do these things and don’t miss a beat. Yes there is a way to pray and God hears your prayer and He will answer them according to His TIMING!! That’s the key, His timing. Trust His timing.

Keep it simple. “Pray without ceasing” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

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Teach Us to Pray – Part 3

The Kedge Anchor

Welcome back again and thank you. Prayer is an important part of the Christian life. After all it is how we communicate with our Heavenly Father. “Never stop praying.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17. The KJV says “Pray without ceasing.” The greek word for ceasing is adialeiptōs , translated –  incessantly. Makes me think of a pesky insect, like a fly continually landing on my food or buzzing around my face. It just doesn’t stop.

That’s what God is trying to tell us in Paul’s letter to Thessolanica, be pesky with prayer. Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” And Ephesians 6:18 – “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” Pray at all times and go to God about everything.

He wants to hear it all. The small things, like finding your lost keys, helping you with deciding where to go for dinner, He wants to be included in all you do. He wants to hear about how excited you are about finding something you lost, or how a memory makes you happy, and He wants to hear about your bad day, how a co-worker made you feel angry or how you messed up. Sometimes we don’t know what to pray. And the cool thing is, we don’t always have to talk. We just need to be present in His presence and listen. We can always find something for which to praise Him. Thank Him for all that He is doing, has done and will do because God is faithful. Thank Him when you get the perfect parking space, thank Him for finding a lost item, thank Him being able to tie your shoes and if you can’t thank Him for the person who could. Praise Him for His creation, for the song birds, the rain, the sun, praise Him for the small things and the big things. Thank Him for the person who delivers your pizza 🙂

So as you begin the weekend, be pesky in prayer, in all things, all the time and be present in His presence.

If you liked this post be sure to like and share. And please leave your thoughts, comments and prayer requests. Thank you

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Teach Us to Pray – Part 2

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"Our Father"

Welcome back. If you were here last week we defined prayer as “an address (such as a petition) to God”… “a set order of words used in praying.” Prayer is a conversation with God. God created us to commune with Him. Not because He was lonely, but because He loves us and wants to be a part of His creation’s lives, to be a part of our lives. (That could be another post) After all He did create them, shouldn’t they get the chance to know their creator? God wants us to know Him, to know who He is and what He has for us as His creation.

But prayer isn’t a wish list. God isn’t a genie. That isn’t His purpose to prayer. He wants to hear from us, He wants us to tell Him every detail about our day, how we are feeling, what we have going on, the good, the bad, the ugly, all of it. And by now you may be saying “But He knows all about us and knows everything why do we need to tell Him?” Because God is love. God loves us, He wants His children to talk to Him. Yes, He knows. Don’t you want to hear from the people you love? For those of you who have friends, family that you are really close to, or are married you are so close, you can finish each other’s sentences. You know what they will say next, but you still want to hear from them, right? You want your children to ask you for help, you want to give them the things they want and you provide for them the things they need. So it is with our Father.

Our Father will provide what we need and He does want to bless us. Maybe not necessarily with material things, although He does grant us those things sometimes according to His will. He provides when we don’t know what we need sometimes we don’t have to ask. Like salvation. God knew before He created the world that man would need to be restored. He knew man would fall and all His creation would become sinful. But He had a plan long before the Garden of Eden. All we need to do is ask. He provides salvation, He freely offers it, we just need to ask and receive it.

James 4:2 says “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.” The people James was speaking to were asking for thing for the wrong reasons. God will judge our motives and only give us what He sees will benefit us and glorify Him. So it is through prayer, communicating with our Father that we can align our will and hearts with His so that those things our hearts truly desire.

We pray to listen to what our Father has to say to us. He does respond, just sometimes not right away, and sometimes not the way we expect and sometimes right away. Sometimes we need to be patient. When there’s a silence sometimes I think He’s preparing me for what He has to say about something. It may be something to correct me so He’s lovingly giving me time to be receptive to His words. I just may not be ready yet. “The teacher is usually silent during a test.” It’s during those silent moments that God may be teaching me something before He tells me something. : )

Thank you for stopping by. Please stay tuned and if you liked this post please leave a comment about your thoughts, prayer requests and be sure to like and share this post.

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“…let words of prayer be on our lips.”

The Kedge Anchor

Nothing, nothing surprises God. There is nothing new under the sun. A new administration has begun in our government and some citizens are feeling disappointment whiles others maybe celebrating. One thing holds true and remains the same, God still sits on the throne. He knew before the foundations of the world how this election was going to play out and He knows the future. Daniel 2:21 – “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.” God is in control.

Now, whether or not we agree with the outcome, we have a new president. We don’t have to agree on anything and we don’t have to resort to violence or name bashing and tearing other people down. What we need to do as Christians is pray for our leaders. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 – “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” And in Romans 13:1 – “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” We need to pray for our leaders. As hard as that may be, we need to pray for them.

When authorities begin to cause us to go against scripture and disobey God that’s when we need to resolve who we are worshipping. Who will we obey? As Daniel resolved to do when King Darius ordered that everyone worship him, if anyone was caught praying to any other god or man beside Darius, they would be thrown in the lion’s den. Daniel had been getting down on his knees praising and worshipping God three times a day and he resolved that nothing was going to change that. It cost him a night in the lion’s den, but God protected him and shut the lion’s mouth. The next morning, King Darius saw no harm was done to Daniel. He recognized that the God Daniel worshipped was indeed God.

Philippians 4:8-9 – “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.’ ” When we think bad of others, we are dishonoring God. We are to take every thought captive. – 2 Corinthians 10:5. Will you resolve with me to think good of others and pray for our leaders? We won’t be perfect at it, we will have days. But God is gracious, just and willing to forgive us. – 1 John 1:9

God still sits on the throne, He is in control and He is sovereign.

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When Worry Becomes Consuming

The Kedge Anchor
Dark, still waters. Light is limited, can’t see and not moving anywhere, need direction and light. Is this you right now? Read on.

Waiting on the Lord when you need an answer from Him, or direction, or a healing can be difficult. It’s those difficult times it seems like we are walking in a wilderness, or in still waters and we need to do some kedging (see the About page). We can’t see the light, we don’t know in what direction to turn, we search for answers to the point we become consumed with the problem. We need to consume ourselves with THE problem solver. Jesus.

So often we hear people tell us to “just give it to God”, “hand your problems to Him”, and, I like this one, “Try not to worry about it.” All given with good intent and probably for a lack of not knowing what to say. Even the Bible does tell us not to worry – Matthew 6:25 -34, but God also gives us some instruction in verse 33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness“. So when we read or hear those words, “Give it to God”, what does that look like? I believe that handing it over to God is going to vary slightly for everyone. But I do believe there are two important practices with which we can start. First, we need to pray and read God’s Word. (Those two go hand in hand) Obvious I know, but it’s how we pray; pray specifically. God knows our situation, after all He is in control and nothing surprises Him, – Hebrews 4:13, but He still waits and wants to hear from His children. So perhaps we can pray specifically for putting the right people in our paths to encourage, speak truth to us, and that our eyes and hearts are open to them. There’s a quote in a book by Ruth Chou Simons titled Gracelaced, an awesome devotional, beautifully illustrated in watercolors and photographs that takes you through the truths from God’s Word as you transition through seasons of life. There is one quote that really stood out to me. “God is more interested in your desperate need for His lamp-lit direction than your path-paving skills.” By praying and reading God’s Word, getting to know Him more, and growing closer to Him, we will begin to focus less on our current situation and more on Him and what He has to say to us. We also begin to see the light on His path, just enough for the next step. That’s all we need. Any more would overwhelm us and if we knew more than we needed, we would be relying on that knowledge and not trusting God and “His lamp-lit direction”. Besides we only have today, not yesterday, and tomorrow is history. Focus on scripture, write out a scripture verse for the day, carry it with you, memorize it, draw it, paint it, sing it, whatever is going to help you remember it. This needs to be a daily practice. And when we come out of this wilderness, hopefully we are still practicing this important step.

The second thing we can do is serve. Text a friend ask them “how can I pray for you today?” and pray for them. A handwritten note is always encouraging and who doesn’t like to get a nice surprise in the mail? Ask to serve at church, a local non-profit, look to your neighbors, ask a friend if you can babysit so they can have a date night, mow a lawn, etc. I know serving may look different in this current state of lockdown and limited mobility. But there are ways to get creative. It may be just serving your family at home. Serving others helps get our minds off ourselves and our problems.

“God is more interested in your desperate need for His lamp-lit direction than your path-paving skills.”

Ruth Chou Simons

This is not to say that worry isn’t going to creep in. If you’re like me, “ok God, not going to worry about this, this is yours to handle, Amen.” LOL right? Ten seconds later, I’m back where I started. That’s ok. We. Are. Human. And once again, God isn’t surprised. So we need to recognize our worry and hand it back over to God with a prayer of asking for forgiveness and moving forward. Pick up the verse you wrote down and read it again, this time from memory, if you can. This is also not to say we can’t do anything at all. If it’s a financial struggle, a health issue, a relationship issue, a spiritual battle, whatever it is we are trying to navigate, we can still do a part. For example, if it’s a health issue, we can research healthy ways to combat it or search for a doctor that specializes in the health issue, but what we can’t do is obsess over it. And we will, from time to time, find ourselves obsessing. That’s when we need to repent and release it back to God. Walk away from it, regain our focus. As it was said in Hope for the Future Part 2, “While it’s good to plan and prepare responsibly, it’s bad to dwell and worry about all the ways our planning could go wrong.”

So when we feel like we are wandering or sailing in uncharted waters, seeking God’s “lamp-lit direction” by “kedging” (spiritual kedging) or pulling closer to Him, seeking Him in His Word daily, we allow God to show us the light and lead us in the right direction.

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