Tag Archives: Prayer

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Breaking the Silence

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To You, Lord, I call;
My rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You are silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit. Psalm 28:1

Part 1 – Defense Against Despair

It’s been almost a year since my last post.  That was certainly not my intent.  However, life’s demands, responsibilities, and frustrations all played a part in the silence.  While a few have asked about that silence and whether or not I intend to continue to blog (which, Lord willing, is my plan), I seriously doubt that the lack of these blog posts has caused anyone great consternation. Conversely, as David indicates in the passage above, the silence of God is another matter.   

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Healing Prayer

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With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.  Ephesians 6:18

The more people you know and the more you get to know people, the more you become aware of their need for prayer.  This is especially true within the body of Christ where the struggles of others are made known through prayer requests. When I was able, an additional benefit to singing with our church’s worship team was the ability to scan the congregation and offer prayer for those before me that I knew were struggling.  While I no longer have that opportunity, I find that social media provides the same advantage as friends’ posts become reminders to pray.  Given my own circumstances, I would guess that a greater than average percentage of my friends face their own battles with chronic illness in addition to the “normal” trials of life.  Consequently, I often find myself overwhelmed and, therefore, offering many simple prayers for: the need, wisdom, peace, their soul, and the glory of God.

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Dreaded News

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How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments. He will not fear evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.   Psalm 112:1,7

In the spring of 1996 my wife and I left around 7 a.m. to take our older daughter to play in a soccer tournament.  As we began to walk onto the fields searching for Adrienne’s team, I noticed people pointing at us and a police officer walking towards us.  I knew that we were about to receive bad news and dread began to fill my soul.  My fears centered around our younger daughter who was not with us and my mother who had been ill.  I could not bear the thought of anything happening to either of them.  The police officer informed us that my mother had passed away around the time that we left our home and that my father had contacted them to inform us.  In that moment my strength left and I dropped to my knees filled with both grief and relief.  I grieved my mother’s passing and was greatly relieved that Christine was ok.  Since that day, I have learned much about dreaded news through experience and the faith of fellow servants of our Lord. 

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Striving to be Holy

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Godliness

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  1 Peter 2:9

Striving to be a holy child of God is often difficult. On rough days like today, I really have no desire to be responsible for anything. I don’t want to do anything; I don’t want to think; and I don’t want to interact with others.  I just want to withdraw, move as little as possible and emote.  However, that is not living well.  To be sure, we must address the needs of our bodies that arise due to illness and aging, but even in our frailty we are called to be obedient and proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us.  One of the ways that we do that is rising to be faithful, obedient, grateful, kind, considerate and caring despite the challenges that we face.   It is certainly a battle to be holy, but understanding various facets of the struggle allows us to fight intelligently.

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Encumbered

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Picture of wire figure weighted down.

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  2 Corinthians 4:8-10

Merriam-Webster defines encumbered as impeded, hampered or hindered with respect to functions or activities.  A reality of my life and the lives of others dealing with chronic illness and pain is that we are encumbered in everything we do.  Those of us are encumbered with respect to our ability to function are also, by definition, encumbered in our activities.  Often it’s not just the physical issues but also the mental ones.  It takes so much energy to accept and manage our physical problems and limitations that we are also mentally encumbered.  Further, the problem is not limited to those with physical or mental problems, but also extends to those who are grieving, have relationship problems or are enduring some other trial.  These may also find themselves encumbered as they attempt to accomplish the tasks set before them.  Despite our struggles, God still calls us to complete tasks for Him.  It is not ours to question or deny but rather to complete with aide of our Heavenly Father.

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The Bold Approach

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"True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that - it is spiritual transaction with the Creator of Heaven and Earth." - Charles Spurgeon

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Hebrews 4:16

Reasonableness is a common thread of our culture.  In law, the reasonable man is used as a starting point to determine negligence and liability.  In accounting, a reasonableness test is used to evaluate the various line items of the financial statements to determine how much needs to be reviewed or tested.  In culture, we use “average behaviors” to determine what is reasonable.  Christ tells us to lay all of our concerns before our Lord and Paul adds that we should come boldly before God.  While our church culture or past experiences may encourage us to be reasonable or polite in our prayers, scripture dictates both by instruction and example that we should, in fact, take a bold approach.

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Trouble, Anguish and Understanding Pt. 2

Trouble Without

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WE CAN BE CERTAIN THAT GOD WILL GIVE US THE STRENGTH AND RESOURCES WE NEED TO LIVE THROUGH ANY SITUATION IN LIFE THAT HE ORDAINS. THE WILL OF GOD WILL NEVER TAKE US WHERE THE GRACE OF GOD CANNOT SUSTAIN US. BILLY GRAHAM

“Trouble and anguish have come upon me, yet Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.” Psalm 119:143-144

Trouble…it seems like a simple enough word to understand.   However, when looking at definitions from secular sources, those provided were vague and had more to do with how trouble affects our comfort level or convenience rather than anything significant.  In contrast, “Vine’s Bible Dictionary” states it clearly as:  tribulation or affliction.  Trouble comes in many forms.  At times it is the result of a personal attack while at other times it is and “random”/general attack that we’re caught in.  It may be an external threat or an internal one such as mental or physical illness.  The point is that, as those living in a fallen world, we are going to experience trouble throughout our lives from the trivial to the monumental.  We will enjoy a more peaceful existence if we learn to view it as God does and trust that He is ever faithful to care for us.  One of the mental hurdles for us is that from our perspective, God’s care for us appears to be inconsistent.

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Praying With Hope

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“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  Matthew 7:7-11

Several years ago, a friend brought balloons to a study that we were co-leading.  As an object lesson, she had each of us write our prayer request on a balloon then we took them outside and released them together.  It was an excellent way to visualize how to present our needs to God then let go and trust Him to do what is necessary.  As a result, I’ve started to look at my prayer life differently.  More recently, I was praying about a fairly substantial concern.   As I began to pray, I was convicted of the need to pray with confidence.  I don’t know that I’ve ever done that quite this way before.  Rather than telling God what I needed, I started thanking Him in advance for His provision in response to my request.  As a result, I was filled with hope and praise.  It’s not that I wasn’t confident of God’s provision beforehand, but praying in this way took away the desire to “micromanage” God…that kind of prayer that is more like drafting a legal document rather than a making a request of my Lord.  Since then, my mind keeps returning to the topic of prayer and the attitude we should take when praying.

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The Blessing of Social Media

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With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.  Ephesians 6:18

When I sang in our church choir, there was an unexpected benefit to facing the congregation.  Sometimes it was while singing and at other times it was while waiting for the announcements to be completed. 

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Devoted to Prayer

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 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit”  Ephesians 6:18

My prayer life is currently under reconstruction.  It’s not that I’m uncomfortable praying or don’t see the need, it’s just that my focus is lacking and too often I’m just not sure what to pray. 

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