Tag Archives: Prayer

by

Thankful for Suffering?

Taking time to be thankful is an important task in maintaining spiritual health. I can choose to focus on all the terrible – even horrific situations in our world. Many of these situations I can do nothing about in my own strength. Yet praying about them, taking my concern to the God of the universe, shifts my focus to God’s ultimate plan of redeeming this broken, fallen world. Being thankful that God is with me in my times of suffering doesn’t take away the reality of that suffering, but it does give me HOPE!

Paul wrote from prison – Acts 16:22-25

22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

Paul’s response to his terrible suffering was prayer and singing hymns to God. I have never been beaten or thrown in prison, yet Christians in our current world are suffering that very way. In James 1: 2-4 James reminds us to view suffering as part of our life as followers of Jesus and something to be thankful for.

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

So much of what has been given to me I haven’t earned and, truth be told, I don’t deserve. I think this is especially important in the climate of our current culture. So much of the discourse is negative, divisive, polarizing and unkind. The focus often seems to be on “what is best for ME”.

So how do I respond this Thanksgiving when I am so blessed to be with our family and friends….yet so many are suffering in our world?

I must respond with Thanksgiving. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians he says – 4:6-7

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

As I gather with family and friends this Thanksgiving I will be praying for those who are suffering. I will also be thankful and enjoy the blessings that God, by his grace, has given.

Happy Thanksgiving!

by

Drainage

Winter is the perfect time to move plants. They are dormant. So in evaluating which plant might grow better in a different location from where it currently grows, I need to evaluate that plant’s needs. Very few plants that grow in our zone thrive in standing water so drainage is important. Some plants need well drained soil, others need more moist soil. Yet roots rot if there is no drainage. Plants need water, but flooding causes devastation in gardens.

Pools of water become stagnant if there is no outlet. For fresh water to come in there has to be an outlet for the water to flow out.

My friend Alice Marie and I were talking about a spiritual application of this concept last week. As followers of Jesus we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit fills us with the life and power of Jesus.

If we are filled with the Spirit and we don’t allow the Spirit to flow through us to others, we become stagnant and prevent a fresh flow of God’s Spirit through us. Just as in our gardens, we want some water to drain out for fresh water to re-fill.

What are some ways we allow the Spirit to flow through us?

  • Worship – when we praise God we fulfill our purpose – “the chief end of man is to love God and worship Him forever.” God created humans for fellowship. When we worship God in Spirit and truth we are pouring out our love for God. God’s love flows through us in worship. (John 4: 23 “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”)
  • Sharing the love of Jesus – God’s love flows through us in serving others. Matthew 25:36-4136 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
  • Prayer – when we pray and listen – Holy Spirit speaks to us and we commune with God. Matthew 6:9-10 9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Philippians 4:6-7 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

As we worship, serve and pray, the Holy Spirit flows through us. We will not be a stagnant Christian receiving from God but never letting the Holy Spirit flow through us.

May we cause “drainage” in our lives so there is a freshness in following Jesus as His Spirit flows through us. Amen!

In My Garden With God

by

It’s the Heart That Matters

img_4977.jpg

I was talking with my friend, Carol, about parenting as Christians. At our age, we are done with active parenting. We each have grandchildren who we love deeply and pray for consistently. We now look back on our own parenting and realize the mistakes we made and wish we had known then….what we know now.

But, that is just the point isn’t it?

We couldn’t know then what we know now, because we see differently from this end.

One thing we agreed on, we wouldn’t focus so much on the “little things”. We spent a lot of time making sure that our children DID certain things. Some of that was important, but now other things seem more significant.

Like our children’s hearts.

In the Bible dictionary it defines the heart as the “central or most vital part of something.” YES! That is what Carol and I realized was most important in Christian parenting – focusing on the heart.

  • Where was my daughter’s heart when she pulled her sister’s hair?
  • Where was my son’s heart when he laughed at his brother who fell?
  • Where were their hearts when they excluded a younger sibling?
  • Where were their hearts when they lied or blamed others for what they did?

45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.         Luke 6:45

It is the heart that matters.

Proverbs 4:23 says it so plainly –

23 Guard your heart above all else,
    for it determines the course of your life.

A child’s words, tone of voice, and facial expressions are windows into their hearts. We must pay attention and strive to touch their hearts so they sense God’s unconditional love for them. That love is what will draw them unto Jesus. “For God so loved the world….” God has designed our hearts to desire relationship with Him. We can help our children open their hearts to God so their hearts are not hardened. Worship, Bible study, fellowship, and prayer will help hearts be open to God.

As a grandparent I am praying that God will guard their hearts from the fiery darts of the evil one. I must be an example of one who has a heart for God.

This prayer from Paul is my prayer for my grandchildren –

18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

It’s the heart that matters.