Tag: PrayWithoutCeasing

Posted on

Watch Your Step

How well I remember my first winter in Washington state. We moved from San Diego to Spokane in November. Spokane was having record snowfall and here I was, a newbie to maneuvering in the snow.

I had never driven on snow covered roads before and the only walking I had done in snow was through the forest to cut our Christmas trees. I was invited to participate in a morning walk around the neighborhood with a family member and her friend. It felt good to get out in the brisk morning air.

All was going well. I was enjoying the beauty of the morning and the conversation, making new friends in our new city. We had made a loop through the neighborhood and were on our way back to the house when my feet went out from under me and down I came, landing on my bottom and my right wrist.

You guessed it! My wrist was badly broken. I had to get up and then wait for one of the ladies to get back to the house and bring help. (These were the days before cell phones) Dave arrived and took me to the ER to get my wrist set.

I don’t know how many medical professionals asked me about the accident – admissions, nurses, x-ray technicians and doctors, who after hearing what happened said the same thing. “You’ve got to watch your step when you’re out walking like that. You never know if you’re walking on snow covered ice. It’s so easy to slip and fall.” Good advice but really not helpful, the damage was already done. Little did I know that this break would require time in the surgery suite and an overnight stay in the hospital.

Yesterday morning this was the memory that came to mind as I was reading in the book of Luke.

“But the news about Yeshua was spreading all the more, and many crowds were coming together to hear and to be healed of their diseases. 16 Yet He would often slip away into the wilderness and pray.” Luke 5:15-16 TLV

Slip away – I’m not sure why those two words struck a chord in my heart, but they did. Jesus was intentional in His actions. He purposely made the decision to “slip”. It wasn’t accidental, it didn’t cause injury, quite the opposite. This type of slipping brought strength and refreshing.

A couple of times yesterday I found myself “slipping” into frustration and irritation and immediately the Lord reminded me to watch my step. I could have slipped into those emotions but I “slipped away” instead.

Just a quick silent prayer “Lord, help me keep it together. I choose to be loving and kind”.

It’s so easy to let ourselves slip into things like anger, frustration, criticism, gossip, fear and self-pity. But if we heed the advice that those medical professionals gave of “watch your step” we can follow the example of Jesus and slip away to pray.

Maybe we should all slip away for a time of prayer before we step into the new year.

Posted on

Do It For Me

Yesterday all of us were touched by the sights and sounds of the invasion in Ukraine. I went to bed praying for those in the heart of this war.

I saw the images of people sleeping in subways for safety. It reminded me of the pictures I have seen of those who would rush to the air raid shelters in England during WWII. I also heard an interview with a man who heads three orphanages. He expressed his concern for the children’s safety and wondered how many more children would be coming for help.

A pastor I know opened his church for prayer yesterday and this morning I would like to encourage all of us to pray for those who in harm’s way; the people of Ukraine and those in Russia who have no desire to be involved in this war.

“‘When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, 36 and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.’

37 Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, ‘When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38 When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39 or visit you while you were sick or in jail?’

40 The king will answer, ‘Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.’” Matthew 25:35-40 CEV

We can be thankful that we were able to sleep safely last night, that we will be able to go about our normal routine today – work, shopping, visiting with friends. But we need to remember those whose lives are anything but normal.

Let’s pray for an end to come quickly. For the Lord’s solution, for safety and protection. When we don’t know what to pray I found the best thing to do is pray God’s word. Join me.

“I love you, Lord God, and you make me strong. 2 You are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, my shield, my powerful weapon, and my place of shelter. 3 I praise you, Lord! I prayed, and you rescued me from my enemies…You rescued me from enemies, who were hateful and too powerful for me. 18 On the day disaster struck,
they came and attacked, but you defended me. 19 When I was fenced in, you freed and rescued me because you love me…27You rescue the humble, but you put down all who are proud.” Psalm 18:1-3, 17-19,27 CEV

Father, this is our prayer for those in Ukraine – protect and rescue them, in Jesus’ name.

Posted on

Talking to the Kids

How many of us love talking to our kids?

Everything else in our day comes to a stand still when we see their number on caller id or their faces pop up on Facetime. A friend and I were exchanging emails the last week or so and I told her that the only thing I was having a hard time with in our summer RV adventure was the inconsistency of conversation with the kids. She agreed. There are so many suggestions on how to successfully full-time RV but none of them really deal with the separation from family.

Before we left home for the summer, I would have Facetime conversations nearly everyday with our youngest daughter and get to see our littlest grandchildren. They might not say much but there would be lots of smiles, “I love you’s”, waving and throwing kisses. They grow up so fast. She and I would get to talk – talk about everything.

And it was nothing for our oldest daughter just call to say hi and tell me about her busy schedule or send me a picture of her granddaughter, our great grand. We talk about camping trips, what they had done for the weekend, just a lot of staying in touch.

Our son always finds time to call when he is headed home after a forty-eight hour shift at the firehouse. He and his dad can talk on and on about boats and fishing and refurbishing. There isn’t a subject they don’t enjoy exchanging ideas on.

It means so much that they like to call – we love it!

Yesterday, all three of them called. A perfect day! One that fills a parents’ heart with love and joy!

This morning, I sat here still enjoying hearing their voices and then I thought I’m sure our heavenly Father feels the same way when we call. He’s always ready to share His heart.

“Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here.” Jeremiah 33:3 TLB

Talking to the Father shouldn’t always be a 9-1-1 call. We don’t need to be in a crisis situation to pray. No, if we follow the example of Jesus we will be talking to the Father morning, noon and night. It’s a conversation of loving exchange.

“And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.” Matthew 14:23 NKJV

The Father loves to talk with us and when He sees that we are reaching out to Him, He drops everything to take our call because we are His kids and He loves us. Maybe some are resistant to prayer because they think they might get scolded for one mistake or another. Our Father will correct us when needed but always with a heart of love. He loves to give!

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven.” Ephesians 1:3 ERV

Take time to talk with the Father today – He loves talking to His kids.

Posted on

Praying Not Preying

This morning I saw a picture of a praying mantis. You know the insect that looks like its’ front legs are bent in a position of prayer.

I had to stop and think for a moment – why do they call it praying and not preying? This insect eats, devours, other bugs.

There is a reality there. If we aren’t praying for others and over our circumstances we will be preying on them or we will become their prey. I’ll wait a minute while you think about that.

“Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.” Philippians 4:6-7 CEV

Pray about EVERYTHING. That’s everything. I learned years ago to pray over my grocery list and the amount of money I had in my wallet. That may seem like a small thing but the list was bigger than my cash. Most week’s I would find that the items I needed were on “special”. I came home with all that I needed to make good meals for our family and then there would be the bonus. Farmers Dave worked with would have extra veggies and fruit to give away, a dairyman would have cheese, a friend who be in the neighborhood with a couple extra bags of groceries and we would have more than enough!

Prayer and thankful hearts go together. Complaining does nothing except make you vulnerable prey for bitterness and worry.

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” Matthew 5:43-45 NLT

These are the words of Jesus. If anyone had just cause to harbor a grudge against their enemies it would be Jesus. A perfect man, with perfect motives, was constantly harrassed by his enemies. But He chose to pray for those who wanted Him to be discredited and who called for His death.

Pray or prey.

Quite often I will get a phone call, text or email asking me to pray. I consider that a high honor. I take time to pray right then, I don’t put it off for a more convenient time. After that, each time I am reminded of the situation I thank the Lord that He is working everything out and bringing peace to the hearts of those who need it.

“I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind and merciful to you. May they bless you with peace!” I Timothy 1:2 CEV

I hope this is a word for you today. Pray, not prey, and be filled with thankfulness and peace.

Posted on

Say A Little Prayer

Yesterday was a day of “little prayers”. I found myself stopping throughout the day praying specifically for friends and family.

Prayers were lifted while I was sitting at my desk paying bills, in the kitchen washing dishes, driving to the store and out in the garage taking photographs. Some came early in the morning before I got out of bed and others were said as I was laying my head down on the pillow last night.

There’s always time to Say A Little Prayer.

“Always be joyful 17 and never stop praying. 18 Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18 CEV

I know some people think this way about prayer – well, nothing else works so we better pray. That’s a wrong idea of prayer. Our attitude should be – I will pray first so that things work out right.

“When you pray, don’t talk on and on as people do who don’t know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. 8 Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask.” Matthew 6:7-8 CEV

When we pray we can ask confidently knowing that our Father already has our answer. Not a lot of words are necessary, we don’t need a quiet place with soft music playing – no, we just need an open heart and a willingness to talk to the Father.

It’s a great privilege to pray for others. Our spouse, our children, family and friends. Our nation and our leaders. Those who are being persecuted around the world, those who are sick.

Say A Little Prayer.

There are times when I go the the Father and say “Lord, I need someone to pray for me right now. I need to be strengthened, healed or encouraged”. The Father is so faithful to provide those prayers because the Holy Spirit prays for us.

“In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27 All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people.” Romans 8:26-27 CEV

Last night I woke a couple of times to pray and I was praying again before I got out of bed. There is never a bad time to pray. When I got up and was getting myself a cup of coffee, I was praying and these words came to mind.

I could hear Dionne Warwick singing this song from my high school days:

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup (makeup)
I say a little prayer for you
And while combing my hair now
And wondering what dress to wear now (wear now)
I say a little prayer for you

Whenever folks come to mind it’s always a good time to Say A Little Prayer!

Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress