Tag Archives: Prayer

A Prayer for Refreshing

Sometimes I pray most effectively when I write my prayers. It helps me organize my thoughts and gives me a way to look back on God’s faithfulness in my life. Today I want to share a prayer not just for me but for us as we fight the busyness of life to give time to God.

Father, we come to you drained of energy, distracted from purpose, and drowning in expectations.

Rescue us from

    Endless fatigue

    Aimless pursuit

    And comparison.

Take the loads we carry and replace them with Your peace.

We enter Your Presence, ready to be quiet, and stand in awe

        Of Your greatness

        Your Holiness

        Your power.

Grant us a refreshed spirit and a renewed mind so we may see You, and the world around us.

Get us out of our heads and into: our families, our marriages, our occupations, our churches, our community, our world.

Restore our joy and give us eyes for Your Presence in us and around us.

May we, if just for a moment, take our gaze from: Our problems, our busyness, our burdens

    And give it to you.

We lay our whole selves on the altar in this moment.

Teach us to surrender a greater and greater portion of our lives, our hearts to You.

We trust in: Your will, Your way, Your timing.

Build the courage to depend on You, to know where we’re going, to know what’s best, to be in control.

Mold us, mold our lives until we are conformed to You.

Eyes on You, Lord.

Eyes on You.

Shift our gaze from lives bent toward chaos, a culture careening toward destruction.

Be our True North, the orientation in our confusion.

Eyes on You.

Ground us in Your promises.

Lead us in Your love.

Realign our lives to Your path, Your purpose.

We praise You for being the God who: hears, sees, knows. Us.

Kindle a new fire in our spirits today, Lord.

Let us walk only toward You.

Amen.

Marching Together in Victory

Last Sunday my husband and I were on the prayer team and our pastor called people up for prayer who wanted more of the Holy Spirit. As people were walking up I was thinking people should be flooding the aisles of church, asking for prayer, for power, for anointing, for healing. But I wondered if I’d be in line if I weren’t already standing up front. 

Sometimes I feel like the Church is full of worn and weary soldiers on day six of marching around Jericho. Do we realize we are on the brink of victory if we will just keep walking? If we have faith to blow the horn and shout the victory, the walls will fall?

Life is hard. It is dangerous. We have a real enemy and evil does run rampant on the earth. But we are called to stand and fight not cower and complain. We are commanded to be bold not fearful. Whenever our enemy accuses or tries to take us out, we don’t need to be afraid. For He has already won the victory. 

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:57

And there is nothing we can do or that can happen to us that will ever separate us from the love of God.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39

We are His. We are free. And He gives us power to not only overcome sin but to overcome the enemy.

We are ineffective if we are isolated, licking our wounds in the corner.

An army’s power is in working together toward a common goal. There is strength in numbers and in unity of purpose.

A battalion of believers, bonded and secure, is Satan’s worst nightmare.

I was weak, ineffective, and afraid until I joined my own little battalion of women – women who journey together; sharing secret struggles, old wounds, fears of the past and the future, who pray for each other and each other’s families. This group of women, when they ask, “How are you doing?” really mean, “Do we need to find a private place to talk?” Our unit has banded together to march forward claiming victory for each of us. We are strong because our spirits are bonded by the Spirit who dwells in each of us and because we hold each other up when we are weak. Together we are a formidable force against the powers of the enemy.

I also have a husband who believes in my dreams and holds me accountable, even if it means staying up until midnight Tuesday to finish the post. A healthy, united marriage, where struggles and victories are shared, is another daunting weapon against evil. 

Shame’s only power is in darkness. When we share our weakness, our struggles, and our sin with other Christians, they lose their power to hold us back.

I am not special. These relationships should not be exceptional. But they are intentional and they come at a cost. Time, energy, risk – this is the cost of warrior relationships. But the benefits are too numerous to count – acceptance, friendship, love, strength, purpose…

We need to care for our wounded, lifting them up both in sincere prayer and practical assistance. A struggling brother or sister should be met with compassion not judgment. 

If you are not healed, keep asking. Not just God. Ask other believers to agree with you for healing. 

If you are scared, surround yourself with the love of other believers.

If you are weak, join hands with your brothers and sisters in worship; link arms, praise our God together. He is good and we will find strength when we stand with other believers.

Choose to believe Christ has already won the war, death and evil have been defeated. Link arms with our brothers and sisters in Christ and fight until the battle is over.

Take your place in His army, marching forward, retaking ground for the Kingdom. He gives us the weapons to fight (Ephesians 6:10-18) and gifts to share (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). 

Stand in victory today. Live in victory every day you have left on this earth.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

God, strengthen our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Fortify and equip us for battle. Drive out our fear of being known, of being exposed. Cover us with the cleansing blood of you Son, Jesus Christ and fill us with the peace of your Spirit. Let us fight together until the day You return of call us Home.

Why We Need Prayer Partners

Years ago, my husband and I moved into a house in the Black Hills neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan. We quickly realized we were in over our heads. The basement leaked. A window on the second floor was leaking water into the ceiling of our kitchen. The deck was falling off the house. And on and on.

I was discouraged but didn’t want anyone to know. I kept smiling telling people I was all right, that everything was fine. But nothing was fine. A war had been started in my soul and I didn’t want to tell anyone because I was ashamed, thinking maybe we were being punished or that we were just plain foolish for buying a broken house.

Slowly, slowly I found myself falling away from the faith. We had friends, but none I felt I could share such a deeply personal, hurtful, and what I thought was a shameful struggle.

But we aren’t meant to travel alone. I’ve talked about how important it is to be connected (See: Created for Connection) and last week about having Christian friends (See: The Importance of Christian Friends) but I feel it’s also important to discuss what it means to have a prayer partner.

Just before Jesus was arrested He prayed for His disciples and all those who would come to believe in Him through their words, you and me. He longed for them to be united because only through unity could they spread the Gospel message throughout the world. He prayed to His Father:

“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

John 17:22-23

Having a prayer partner is about unity in the Body of Christ. It’s about sharing and bearing one another’s burdens to preserve the faith and to spread the gospel. A prayer partner is more than a friend. They are someone who is trustworthy even with issues of the most sensitive nature. Prayer partners catch us when we’re falling, even if it’s just a slip. They remind us of God’s faithfulness, sharing tears and lifting prayers in our time of need. Prayer partners rejoice and celebrate with us in our victories, knowing that a victory for us is a victory for them and the Body of Christ.

A prayer partner is someone we trust with our lives – trust to listen without judgment and to celebrate without jealousy. They are the people who when they say they will pray for us, we know they actually will. They are the people we can message early in the morning and late at night, knowing that our urgent concerns are their urgent concerns and the prayers will start as soon as they are requested.

A couple Sundays back a friend approached me just prior to the service. She asked for prayer just for all the craziness of life and swirling in her mind. I didn’t wait. During the first song, I prayed she would find healing through the worship. I prayed she would find comfort in the message. And I prayed she would feel the strength of my prayers, agreeing with her in her time of need.

I partnered with her on that Sunday. And she has partnered with me countless times, lifting up my prayers as if they were her own.

Finding a prayer partner is risky. It means being vulnerable and putting yourself and your weakness out there for another believer. It will hurt, the first time. Maybe the second time too. Only because it’s a break with our tendency to hold everything inside, to pretend our life is perfect, and that we don’t struggle. We may get burned a time or two, finding that person who can give and take, hold us up and hold us back when needed.

But it will be worth it. Jesus prayed for us to have people we can journey with. It is His desire for us to find other sisters and brothers in Christ who we can unite with in the fight.

I pray you have found the person or people who you can unite with as prayer partners. If not, I pray you will risk the pain to find the comfort of another believer who has your back.

Jesus, free us from our self-consciousness and our desire to appear perfect. Give us the strength to dive deep in relationship with other believers. May we risk vulnerability to find others who can partner with us, giving us strength for the journey. In Your Holy Name we pray, amen.

5 Prayers for Our Children

I have a little spot in our bedroom where I display pictures of our family and our kids, as well as some Bible verses and prayers I’ve collected along the way. I often stop to look at the pictures and read the verses while I’m getting ready in the morning and at night. The visuals remind me of the good things in my life and the faithfulness of God in hearing and answering prayer.

When I look at those pictures, I remember how little our kids were and how much they’ve grown. I know when and where each picture was taken and am drawn into the love both behind and in front of the camera. When I take it in as a whole, with the Scriptures and pictures, I think about how much Jesus cares for us and our kids. Jesus pulled children close and blessed them in a culture that often pushed kids, especially the littlest ones, away:

“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”

Mark 10:13-16

Jesus saw the implicit value of children and instructed us to be more like them – trusting their Father’s faithfulness to provide and His love in caring for us.

I want to be like Jesus. I want to pull our kids close and speak blessings over them as they grow and go out into the world.

Here are five prayers for our children. Let’s pray a collective blessing over our kids.

Faith

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Father God, instill our children with a strong sense of identity as your image-bearers. May they come to know and accept your love and sacrifice for them. May they have assurance that your Presence is in them, goes before them, and will always be with them, wherever they go. Give them deep roots of faith so they will not be shaken when they encounter the storms of life.

Boldness

“So we can confidently say,‘The Lord is my helper;
   I will not fear;
what can man do to me?’”

Hebrews 13:6

Lord Jesus, give our children a hunger for justice. Give them a spirit of discernment so they may see evil and call it out by name. Grant them strength to be warriors for your Kingdom, taking back territory that belongs to You. May their lives be a holy work to bring the Good News of your victory over evil to their generation.

Compassion/Empathy

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”

1 Peter 3:8

Lord Jesus, soften the hearts of our children. May they see your image in the humanity around them. Grant them a tender spirit that gives and receives forgiveness freely in your Holy Name. Give them eyes to see suffering in their fellow man and hands that serve the lost.

Gratitude

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:57

Lord God, in our culture of entitlement, grant our children a spirit of gratitude. May they see Your hand in all the good things around them and know the price you paid to reconcile them to your heart. May they take their place as Your children, bowing before Your throne, walking in humble gratitude throughout their lives.

Peace

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

Colossians 3:15

Holy Spirit, may your peace reign in the hearts of our children. May they be servants of peace, spreading your love throughout the world. May they be bridge-builders, people who unite instead of divide. Give them healing hands, bringing Your love to the lost in this world.

And now, a prayer for us: God, you have entrusted us with your children. Parenting is a huge responsibility. May we remain focused on nurturing and loving our children as they grow. May we be bold instead of afraid, parenting from a stance of victory in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Learning to Hear God

Some time ago a good friend of mine asked me when I started to hear God. It got me thinking about my relationship with Him and the various ways He’s been faithful, even when I was not. When I was first coming back to Him, I needed almost constant reminders that He was real. He started to show me how He had been with me all along through various circumstances and events. I remember another time when I was standing in church and started to feel His Presence with me. I thought I was glowing, though no one else seemed to notice. Later, He spoke His favorite word for me, “Wait.” Since then I’ve felt impressions, had dreams, and even a vision or two.

But recently I’ve been wrestling with a promise, a plan that has occupied my heart for some time but hasn’t been realized. And I started to wonder about my ability to hear from God. I’ve considered three possibilities for my current hope:

  1. I heard from God but need to wait.
  2. I heard from God and the plan has changed.
  3. I imposed my own desires on a situation and need to let go.

We’ve already explored waiting (See: God of the “Not Yet”: Part One). As for plans changing, I’ve known people who have heard from God and are headed in a certain direction only to have doors close and plans change. Then there’s the third possibility, where I want something and start to confuse my will with that of my Father.

So how do I know if I’ve heard from God? How can we position ourselves to hear His Voice so we can follow His plan?

I’ve thought of five ways. I know there are more, but these have been the most helpful to me.

Prayer

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

Jeremiah 33:3

I’m very good at presenting my laundry list of concerns to God during my prayer time. I even whisper prayers of gratitude when I see His Presence around me during the day. But if I want to discern His will for my life, I need to listen. I have to make room in my prayer time to be quiet, to stand in the throne room and wait for a reply. Often I find it easiest to hear when I’m out in nature, appreciating all God has created. But God can speak to us anywhere, if we’re ready to listen.

Worship

“Oh God, you are my God, Earnestly I seek you;
My soul thirsts for you;
As in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.”

Psalm 63:1

We worship God because He is worthy. We worship because He delights in our praise. We are refilled with fresh anointing when we sing with adoration. He speaks to the surrendered soul like water in the desert.

Fellowship

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.”

Philippians 2:1-2

Fellowship and friendship with other believers is an essential way to hear the will of God in our lives. Sometimes they can see, they can hear when we can’t. Recently I was exchanging messages with a friend and she sent me a verse, giving me the prayer and support I needed…while I was waiting at the dentist. Of course face to face time is important, but it’s not the only way we can reach out to our friends.

Sermons/Teachings

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

It’s important for us to gather as the Body of Christ in our local churches both so we can hear His will for our own lives as well as His will for His Bride, the church. I take a notebook to church with me, not just to take notes on the sermon but on the impressions I receive while listening.

Bible Reading

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Bible is God’s love letter to His people. What better way to hear His voice than in the Words He’s already spoken?

Learning to hear God is a process, a never-ending journey, just like everything else in our relationship with Him. And hearing His voice, feeling His presence, and submitting to His will takes time and knocking down the walls around our hearts. I’m finding ways to listen and waiting for His loving answers. And tomorrow, the next day, and the day after that, I’ll keep listening. Because the only way to know His will is to know Him.

What are some of the ways you hear from God? Are there promises/plans for your life you’re waiting for?

How We Pray

Recently I came across this prayer of David in 2 Samuel 7:

“18Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears…25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.’”

2 Samuel 7:18-22,25-29

While reading I was struck by the beauty, honesty, and gratitude with which he spoke to God. And it got me thinking about how I pray, how we pray. How should we approach God when we come to Him? How do we talk with Him in prayer? After pondering these questions, I found seven ways we can approach God in prayer:

With Humility

(Verse 18) David comes before God acknowledging His greatness. Plain and simple: He is God and we are not. We can take some time to admire God, appreciating His power and glory, aware of the privilege of approaching His throne.

With Intimacy

(Verse 20) We come as known children of God. There is no part of us that is hidden from Him, no mystery in us He does not know. David also wrote in the Psalms:

“For you formed my inward parts;
   you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Psalm 139:13

With Sincerity

(Verse 21) No pretense. Pray with honesty and openness. David was frank with God, not hiding his thoughts. In another Psalm David writes:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.”

Psalm 22:1-2

Pour your heart out. Let your needs be known. God can handle it.

With Praise

(Verse 22) He is a God worthy of our praises. We can thank Him for all He’s done and for His continuing faithfulness to us. We can praise Him simply for who He is – God.

With Expectation

(Verses 25,28-29) We can pray with the expectation that God will act on the revelation He has provided. He not only hears our prayers, He answers them. (Not always the way we want, but always for His purposes)

With Confidence

(Verse 27) We know He will receive us when we enter His Presence. By the blood of Jesus, we are worthy to have an audience with  the King of Kings.

With a Listening Spirit

The last point I want to emphasize is the importance of listening. Prayer is a conversation, not just one-way communication of our needs and praises to God. This prayer of David is in direct response to the prophet Nathan speaking the Word of God to David about the future of his family line, which eventually included the Savior of the world, Jesus (2 Samuel 7:1-17).

We have prophetic voices around us now in pastors, friends, and other Christian influencers. But we shouldn’t rely solely on the voices of others to provide communication from God. Since we are the dwelling place of the very Spirit of God we can receive direct revelation. We just need to be ready to hear and listening for His voice. It may come through circumstances, through the voice of the Spirit as we read Scripture, and by the prompting of our spirit as we make daily decisions.

Prayer is an essential component of our relationship with the Living God. It is an open invitation to approach the throne of God and receive inspiration to lead lives of purpose, courage, and Divine appointment.

Father God, we approach your throne cleansed of all iniquity by the blood and resurrection of your Son Jesus. We bow low, as children seeking instruction from our Father. You are worthy of all our praise. May our lives be a living testimony of your greatness and love. Spirit move within us, changing our hearts and preparing us for your unique purposes for us in this life. Grant us a quiet spirit, ready for revelation. And infuse us with courage to take our next step of faith. You are good. You are moving. And we long to be with You wherever you go. Amen.