Tag: prayer

Anchor Angel Project, hope, prayer

Free Downloadable Prayer Images for Inspiration

The Kedge Anchor

⚓ “We all need encouragement—an anchor in the storm, a reminder that we’re not forgotten. Sometimes the simplest way to lift someone’s spirit is to let them know they’ve been prayed for. That’s what the Anchor Angel Project is all about and is here to help make it easy. 💙

Below you’ll find free prayer images you can download, save, and share with anyone who needs a reminder of hope and encouragement today.” Just right click and save to your device. The next time you are praying for someone, let them know, send one of these images with or without a short message of your own. I will never forget the day a friend of mine dropped by my office at work to have lunch with me. It was a wonderful surprise and really lifted my spirits. We don’t always have that ability to surprise a friend at work, but we can still let our friends and family know we are thinking about them.

While I have you here, please head over to my YouTube channel and check out my crafty Christmas card DIY videos repurposing old Christmas cards giving them new life. Check them out

God sees us, nothing goes unnoticed by him. Sometimes we just need to reminded in the storm when we can’t see past it. (2 Chronicles 16:9 – “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”)

encouragement

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

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

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.

Coloring Page, prayer pages

Happy New Year 2024! Introducing Prayer Pages

The Kedge Anchor

Happy new Year from The Kedge Anchor! Wow where has time gone? It’s hard to believe how quickly time passed. 2023 got a little rough toward the end but I, we survived.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you…” God has many things in store for us, good things, because His Word says, in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” Uncertainty and not knowing the future can be scary. It helps me to remember our times are in God’s hands and what better place to be. God is sovereign and nothing goes unnoticed by Him. Trust Him!!

So for 2024, I think I am going to keep my goals and focus from last year (I have them written down somewhere). One of my goals is to try and keep a schedule here and not get so tripped up or behind when a migraine strikes.

There is one new goal I think I’d like to add and that is working on my prayer life. Prayer is a Christian’s life line. It’s how we communicate with God. I don’t know if this happens to you when you pray, but I some days I have a hard time focusing and the next thing I know, I’m kinda no longer praying but thinking about the million things I gotta do or my mind is racing down a track I have no idea how it got there. Sometimes I can trace my thoughts to where it started all because someone came to mind and started me thinking about something totally unrelated.

Here’s a video by Mike Donehey on praying.

LOl, does this happen to you too? I’m glad I’m not the only one. I like Mike’s idea of praying out loud and walking and talking with God. (It’s just too cold most days). So last summer as I was trying to stay focused, I started writing the names of people I was praying for in an old sketchbook, then I drew a flower and placed the names of everyone I was praying for. And as I was praying I was coloring in the petals and leaves. Then on the other page I wrote the things I was thankful for. I kept doing this everyday. I looked forward to getting up and drawing and praying. I was actually staying focused.

So I came up with Prayer Pages. 

Whale Prayer Page Download

I would draw and color as I was praying, here all you need to do is add names and color it in if you like. It’s also a great way to keep track of answered prayer. I would at the top write in the date somewhere. You could draw in a sun, maybe some clouds, and add the date there or write it in on the banner over the whale’s head. Then as you write in the names of whom you are praying you can color the fish or not. I found that it helped me stay more focused.

Try it, this is a free download, print a couple of copies and try it for a few days. On the back write down 3 to 5 thing for which you are thankful. Let me know how this works for you. If you are rushed for time some days, just write in what or who you are praying for and later perhaps before going bed go back and color it in. This is a good way to wind down if your thoughts are racing. 

Whale Prayer Page Colored Download

Above is the prayer pager to download if you just want to record the prayers for others.

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We Have a Good, Good Father

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” (NLT) – Luke 11:5-13

I have read this passage so many times and always thought that my nagging or constant and incessant prayer about something, I thought that, that is what it would take for God to grant me whatever it was I was asking for. The bottom line, my prayers are almost never answered how I anticipate, no matter how persistent. I have discovered some key design principles that can apply to prayer. I will provide links to some earlier posts.

While there is nothing wrong with persistent prayer, after all, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “pray without ceasing.” The parable in Luke give an example of being persistent, shameless persistence. But that’s not what gets the neighbor out of bed. It may be easy to come to the conclusion that we need to nag God for Him to hear us and answer our prayer. But this interpretation would mean that God is reluctant in providing what we need. And that just isn’t so. Persistence or boldness in the greek anaideia can be hard to translate. A more clear, literal meaning would be “without shame.” Jesus is trying to illustrate that the neighbor tucked in bed for the night isn’t motivated by his friend persistently knocking on the door. What is motivating the neighbor is his reputation. He wants and desires to do the right and honorable thing, “without shame.”

Back in the day, Israel was an honor-based community. A person’s reputation was of utmost importance and was extended to family and the community. The neighbor didn’t want to shame himself, his family or his community and this is what motivates him to get out of bed.

Jesus makes a point about about prayer that is simple: God answers our prayers not because of our reputation, but because of His. This reminds me of the Wedding at Canaa. (If you haven’t watched The Chosen yet, there is a whole episode about this) Jesus, Mary, his mother and his disciples were invited to a wedding. Wedding celebrations lasted a week. This family was friends with Jesus and his family, his own mother was there, so they had to be somewhat close. Mary comes to Jesus saying that they have run out of wine. He tells her his time has not yet come and what is he to do about it, why is she coming to him? So Jesus gives instructions to fill 12 jars with water and turns the water into wine. I believe Jesus performed his first miracle to protect this family’s reputation, his mother’s and most importantly, his. This takes the focus off our righteousness and puts the focus on God’s desire to keep His honor. It’s not about us at all. Instead prayer is received and answered because we have a holy, righteous and good, good Father. Verse 11 – 13, “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” This realization relieved me of so much pressure. If a prayer didn’t get answered, I must have not prayer right, or included something, I was doing something wrong. It’s not about me, it’s not about us. How silly of me to think I could persuade God to do anything but be a good, good, Father. Prayer is not a religious way of nagging God to answer our prayers. Prayer is simply asking God to be who He is, God.

Further reading:

Design for Life – Alignment

The Chosen TV Season 1 Episode 5 “The Wedding Gift”

Design for Life

“Give it to God,” “Lay it at His Feet.” What does that look like to you?

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

Do you get frustrated when you’re struggling with something and someone says, “Give it to God,” or “Hand it over to God.?” What does that look like? Me being the visual person I am, being an artist and all, I need to know what that looks like or at least looks like for me. So, I imagine putting all my worries in a box, (probably an Amazon box), wrapping it in brown paper, labeling it “To: God – Worries” decorated with red hearts and tying string around it, then attaching it to an arrow and shooting up to heaven as another package comes down looking the same but labeled, “To Caryn – Peace, with Love, Your Heavenly Father.”

But I think there’s more to that. The visual helps me, but there’s a part B. Sometimes I find myself, usually unaware of myself grabbing and taking it all back from God where the worry and stress start all over again. Then there’s more prayer and I’m really earnest this time and then I decide I’m gonna pray everyday at the same time for this situation or person. That’ll do it!!! And then nothing so I ask others to pray. Not that we shouldn’t but sometimes I think the more prayer lists my prayers are on God is surely gonna hear it and answer it. And we should be persistent. Pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17. But maybe we need to come up for air and take a breath. God hears us, He knows what we need before we ask, Matthew 6:8. Be persistent in prayer, Romans 12:12 and Luke 18:1-8 (this is a parable to show persistence), it’s a general, overall command. It doesn’t say be persistent in giving God your specific worries. (I could be wrong here, so let me know what you think).

So most of my answered prayers have been when I just casually told God what was on my heart and gave Him my request and got so busy with other things, like life and serving and reaching out to others, just carrying on, that’s when I realize my prayer has been answered. Now I’m not saying this is how it is or how it is for everyone, this has just been my observation in my prayer life. But I do think it’s important to surrender our requests our worries to God and I also think that it’s important that we don’t obsess over our requests where they become an idol, “have no other idols before me”, Exodus 20:3.

I look at it this way; it’s tax season, most of us give all our tax info to an accountant, right? An expert, someone who knows what they are doing and are efficient at it, a pro. Most people just drop it off, they trust their accountant, their accountant knows them. So after dropping it off, they may go get coffee, run an errand or two, pick up the kids, go to soccer practice, go home, go bed and then a few days later the accountant calls and your taxes are done right and complete, perfect. Now you may or may not like the outcome. But you surrendered your information, you went about your business and then it was done. Kinda the same with our prayers. We hand them over to God we go about our business and then after a while, in His timing and sovereignty we get an answer. We can still be persistent, we can still ask others to pray, we just can’t make it an idol.

I don’t know what “giving it to God” looks like for you, it might look different. If so leave a comment what that may look like for you. It helped me to think of giving God my worries this way, I hope it helped you.

If this blog has helped you, please like and share and stay tuned at Caryn’s Corner on YouTube, I am working on a new video and can’t wait to share it.

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Devotionals

The Kedge Anchor
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Reading God’s Word daily is essential to the Christian life. It’s our lifeline. Reading the God breathed words in the Bible is one way God communicates to us. Praying is talking to God and without prayer and daily communication with God… how does that relationship survive? How do we cope?

Our quiet time, devotionals, Bible study, time with God, whatever you call it looks different for everyone. Some are morning people, some are before bed people, some mid day people. I don’t think it really matters what time of day, just that we “get away often” as Jesus did. Luke 5:16 “But Jesus often went away to be by himself and pray.” The Bible doesn’t say what time of day or for how long, just often.

Now my point here is if you are in the habit daily of getting away and setting time for God, how many times have you said, or heard someone say, “my day just doesn’t go right if I don’t start my day with my devotional” or perhaps something similar. Well, what about the just before bed people? Does that carry over into the day for them? Will their sleep not go well? What about the morning people, will their sleep not go well?

Often times when we get up and hit the floor running, we sometimes don’t have time for a devotional and the day gets away from us and the day seems to go sideways, the car breaks down, sick kid at school, boss got crazy, lose your keys, computer crashes and you think, “see, I didn’t do my devotional.” Well, have you had days when you did your devotional and the day still went bad? I know I have countless times. And here is where I think the difference is; regardless what time of day we choose to spend time with God, life is going to happen. The car will break down, the kids, will get sick, the day can go sideways regardless. God is not punishing us by making the day hard and things braking down because we didn’t spend time with Him. He may use those things to remind us or use them in some way for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). But I know there have been days I have spent time reading and praying and the day still sideways.

So, often it’s easy for me to attach a superstition to this and that’s just another subtle tactic of Satan to get us to feel guilty, like we are a bad Christian, or his popular lie, you’re a failure. God sees your heart. He’s not ready to beat you down with a bad day if you skip or miss time with Him. He never leaves us or forsakes us, (there are many verses about God always being with us, Google it) He is always waiting for us to come to Him. Sure you’re likely to feel a void or an emptiness because you’ve been out of synch but being aware and just having thoughts of God on your mind can be worship. Because think about it, when we worry and have a problem occupying or hearts weighing us down, thought churning in our heads, we are worshipping the problem. God has thought about us, Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (KJV). The difference is, when we spend time with God, no matter what time, when the car breaks down, when the kids are sick, when the day goes sideways, we handle it better. We have been armed with God’s Word (Ephesians 6:11-15). We deal with problems differently. God’s mercies are new each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Your day is going to go the way it’s going to go. God sees it, no surprise to Him. Just try and make it a priority. Priority just means it gets done, not necessarily first, but done. Keep the lines of communication and worship open when your quiet time looks a little different, sing, think about God, think about getting away with Him and then do it.

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prayer, Uncategorized

“Please Be with Me”

The Kedge Anchor
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How many times have we all prayed a prayer, “Father, please be with…” I started to think, why do we ask that? We already know that God is omnipresent. Deuteronomy 31:8 “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Jeremiah 23:24 – “Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.”

Think back to the Garden when God came looking for Adam. He was there. Nothing goes unseen by God. So why do we feel the need to ask? Habit perhaps?

So maybe there’s a better way to pray. I realize I don’t need to ask but to recognize whether I feel His presence or not, He is with me. I know this because the Bible says so, so many time throughout scripture. I thank God for His being with me, for His omnipresence, that He will never leave me or forsake me and I acknowledge that He said so in His Word. I thank Him for being with whomever is needing prayer at the moment, because I know He is. He promised to never leave us or forsake us.

If God says this in the Old Testament and repeats it again in the New Testament, then He not only means it but it pertains to us still today. Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

We have a big God. Thank Him for being ever so present.

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Persistent Prayer

The Kedge Anchor

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

We can be left feeling bewildered by our unanswered prayers. God at times seems unwilling to answer our prayer according to our expectations and timing.

Jesus’s disciples asked him to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1). He also told a story about a man who pestered his neighbor for some bread (Luke 11:5-8). In the end it wasn’t the fact that the neighbor gave his bread to this man because the man knocking was his neighbor, it was the man’s persistent knocking and request.

However this doesn’t mean that God is more inclined or motivated to grant us our request because we have pestered Him or because of our persistence rather than his love for us. The story illustrates that we have the freedom to ask God but it does not dictate God’s response to us. God is not a servant waiting for a list of things we want or tasks we want done, neither does He need us or define our needs or offer solutions, or tell him when and how He should act.

But God is eager for us as His children to form a habit of asking for His help (Luke 11: 9-10). That still doesn’t mean He will be guided by our limited knowledge and understanding of our circumstances (Luke 11:11-13). God will answer our prayers. He does answer our prayers, in His time according to His plan in His own way.

He wants and asks us to trust Him to supply our needs and when to supply them. God knows our needs before we (Matthew 6:8). Our calling is to ask persistently and if we surrender our hearts and wants, we can grow in the process.

Our persistent request of needs or wants causes us to turn to God often without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and in turn God will use that to grow us in the process (Romans 8:28) for “… we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV)

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How Do I Pray for Ukraine?

The Kedge Anchor
WARNING: This video has audio and at times a chilling sound of sirens. https://bit.ly/3Mqmh6H

Where does one begin to pray for the Ukraine and the situation over there? It can be a bit overwhelming, where does one start.

So I asked God and searched the scriptures and this is where He lead me.

PRAY FOR GOD’S WILL Pray for God’s will to be done. Matthew 6:5-15 and Luke 11:1-13, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Is what’s happening God’s will? He is allowing it I don’t know why. Since the fall of man sin has overtaken the earth we are dealing with those consequences. Not all evil is ordained by God. Look at Job, God allowed Job to go through what he did to show that Job was faithful. If God is allowing something He has a purpose and a plan. We can pray against anything that is not from God. Isaiah 54:17  – “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper…” What was meant for evil God will use for good – Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” That can be hard but we have to trust that God sees all and He’s allowing it for some reason.

PRAY FOR ALL THE PEOPLE, EVEN THOSE IN AUTHORITY Pray for God’s will to be done in each of everyone’s lives. 1 TIMOTHY 2:1-4 – “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants ALL people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

PRAY FOR ENCOURAGEMENT Pray for ur brothers and sisters in Christ to be encouraged. Thessalonians 5:11 – “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” God has a way of bringing His people together. Ask God to allow their paths to cross so that they can encourage each other. We have a big God and He can use anything to encourage.

PRAY FOR COMFORT Pray for safety, pray for comfort, not only for physical comfort but many have lost loved ones and are mourning. Matthew 5:4 – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

There are other ways to pray for this horrible situation, these are just a few suggestions for those who may be having a hard time finding words. Please share how you have been praying for the people in Ukraine and Russia. And if this post has helped you, please like and share.

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Pray for Ukraine

The Kedge Anchor

Sometimes it seems like our prayers aren’t enough. But most times that’s all we can do. It’s hard to process all that is happening over in Ukraine, in our world. I feel for those families that are there living through this, it’s scary. I feel for those who have lost lost loved ones, I feel for our troops and their families. My heart goes out to all of them and this mere social media post… what can it do?

In the millions of posts, stories, and articles flooding news feeds asking for prayers for Ukraine I hope that this small post will bring hope. Because there is Hope. Jesus is our only Hope. That alone brings me encouragement. God knew long before the foundations of the very universe He created what would happen. This is no surprise to God. Hebrews 4:13 – “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (KJV). In the later part of this verse the NIV says “…Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Proverbs 11:21 “Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.” (NIV).

God sees all, nothing goes unnoticed, He noticed everyone of us being formed in our mother’s womb – Psalm 139:16. He sees EVERYTHING and we all we give an account one day to the choices we make today. We can choose heaven or hell. Our leaders and world leaders will all be held accountable for their choices and actions, no one is exempt from this.

But God loved us so much to save us from His wrath He provided a way out for us. He sacrificed His only Son to pay the penalty of our sin. Jesus willingly sacrificed His life for us. And it’s through a simple prayer, inviting Jesus into your heart and choosing to follow Him, will save you from His judgement and wrath. See God doesn’t choose to send people to hell. People choose to reject Him and choose hell. Harsh words? Maybe. But it’s the truth. But God also gives us grace. Mercy is not getting what you deserve; grace is getting what you don’t deserve. And He gives us the Hope in in Son Jesus Christ that one day, this old earth will pass away and there will be a new heaven and new earth – Revelation 21:1

Jesus is alive today, He conquered the grave! He is our only Hope this we have in this world and it’s our choice. You can believe or reject it. God gave us a free will.

Pray. No matter how small or short the prayer is, God sees your heart. Nothing goes unnoticed.