Tag Archives: prayer

Grace, Mercy and Peace

I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith.
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.
1 Timothy 1:2, NLT*

Paul begins most of his letters with a variant of these words, before getting into the meat of what he has to say. I always thought it was an overall blessing, kind of a loving way to say “hello”.

What if it’s more than that? His letters are very specific in terms of teaching and instruction. He doesn’t seem the type to open with generic fluff.

Today I think this prayer for “grace, mercy and peace” is not only not a pleasantry, it’s a carefully-targeted prayer for Timothy’s needs.

The letter goes on to advise Timothy in his conduct and duties, but the “working out” won’t be effective without the inner working of the Holy Spirit in answer to Paul’s request here.

We often pray for detailed needs and results, and rightly so. But I take Paul’s prayer here as a reminder to ask for these essential gifts of God—grace, mercy, peace etc—as well. Often we don’t know how to pray, or we think we do but our ideas may not match God’s.

Paul reassures me that it’s not a cop-out to pray for these larger, intangible blessings that will work themselves out in lives and in situations according to God’s sovereign will and purposes. It may instead be the foundation for what comes next.

God who is the source of grace, mercy and peace, pour these gifts on us so that we can understand and obey the teaching of Your Word. Thank You for the reminder that what we do in our own strength won’t amount to much. We need Your touch, and You so readily give it when we remember to ask. Grant us Your blessing, we pray.

∞

This week’s song is “The Lord Bless You and Keep You,” performed here by John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers.

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God and Time Management

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My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
Psalm 31:15, NIV*

The most important thing I learned in university had nothing to do with my field of study. I learned, through experience, that when the deadlines loomed and there was more to do than time to do it, I could ask God to help.

Our God is outside of time. He made time. We live in it, and He gives us enough to do what He has for us to do. I remember one specific time in university, praying that somehow He would stretch time to allow us to finish a hefty assignment.

We didn’t get a flashy miracle like the Old Testament king who saw the sun’s shadow move backward, but we got the peace and the enabling to do the work. And somehow, we had the time as well.

I told this story to one of my sons on the weekend, hoping to encourage his own stress load. Then I stopped and looked at him. “I learned this. But I haven’t been applying it.”

My husband, on my other side, was valiantly not saying a word. But I saw agreement in his eyes. He knows how heavy my to-do list has grown, and how I’ve been stressing about how to meet my responsibilities.

Knowledge not applied isn’t much use. Remember to pray. (Click to tweet)

God our Maker and our Sustainer, You never asked us to do life on our own. You ask us to let Your Holy Spirit indwell and empower us. Of course when we look at our responsibilities, they seem too much for us. You’ve designed us to rely on You. Forgive us for those many times when we’ve tried to carry the load in our own strength. Thank You for the opportunities in our lives. Please give us wisdom in our choices and faith to rely on You. What You give us to do, You will equip us to do. Help us not add in other things to weigh us down, and help us stay close to You.

∞

Chris Tomlin’s song, “How Great is Our God” includes a reference to this week’s verse, and it’s a good anchoring one for us to sing.

Heaven’s Prey: the woman in peril

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Today I welcome a very special guest to my blog. Ruth Warner has lived in my head for almost 20 years now, and I’m excited to introduce her to the world.

Ruth is the heroine in my novel, Heaven’s Prey—that’s her picture on the cover. She and her husband, Tony, are in their mid-forties. We’re chatting with Ruth today just before the novel begins, because (whispering so she won’t hear) she’s about to be abducted by an escaped convict.

Ruth (rolling eyes): How many times have you rewritten or edited my story now? I know what’s coming. But for the sake of people who haven’t read it yet, I’ll pretend it’s my first time through the plot.

Janet: Thanks. And for the record, I’m proud of how well you’ll handle everything that happens. I hope you’ll give our readers some things to think about. So… let’s back up to the Wednesday this all begins. It’s mid-June. And it’s pouring—heavy winds and rain off the Atlantic from a storm that’s tracked upward along the eastern seaboard of the US until it hit Nova Scotia, Canada.

Ruth: I work at Harrington’s Fabric Hut, downtown. What a drive to get home! The storm drains can’t keep up with so much water. I’ve already heard of a few streets being closed. Luckily I live on high ground.

Janet: So you’re home from work and probably soaked.

Ruth: Just got changed, actually. It was so nice coming home to chili in the slow cooker. The spicy smell met me at the door. My husband, Tony, was already here. He’s a principal at one of the local high schools, and his day ends earlier than mine. It starts earlier, too.

Janet: The last few years have been brutal. Can you tell us about that?

Ruth: We’ve been through a lot. Our niece, Susan, went missing in Toronto two years ago. She was in her early 20’s, just starting a nursing career. The police were already looking for a serial rapist-murder, and Susan was … one more victim for him. For us … Tony and I have no children. Susan was like the daughter we never had. It still hurts.

On top of that, the identity of the killer, when they caught him? Harry Silver, champion racing driver. My husband’s hero.

Janet: Healing hasn’t come easily for you, I know. What’s your biggest challenge right now?

Ruth: Prayer is what kept me sane. It’s been hard, but I’ve learned to forgive Harry Silver, and to pray for him. I thought it was about healing. That’s what Pastor John said. Nobody warned me I’d start to care about the man’s soul. Tony’s an agnostic. He thinks this is all in my head, and he’s so offended that I’d pray for Harry. I don’t want to hurt him, but I can’t stop praying, either. It’s—well, God wants me to do this.

Janet: Tony’s a real sweetheart, and almost as patient as my own husband, but he just doesn’t understand your relationship with God. You’re praying for him, too, and God can use those prayers.

Ruth: I can’t convince him, so I pray. And tonight … he won’t like me going back out in the storm for our weekly prayer meeting, but Harry recently escaped from prison. They have to catch him before he hurts anyone else, and he needs to know Jesus before he runs out of time. This burden is getting heavier, and it’s too much for me to carry alone. There’s power in group prayer. I just hope Tony doesn’t get too mad.

Janet: What’ll he do while you’re out?

Ruth: He has a woodworking shop set up in the basement, and he spends a lot of time there. Faith got me through losing Susan; carving is what helped Tony.

Janet: Is there a particular Scripture verse that’s made a big difference for you?

Ruth: The Psalms and the Book of Philippians were a huge help to me in the early days of praying for Harry’s victims’ families, and eventually for Harry himself. The verse that really hit home when I started praying for him was Ezekiel 3:18. Let me grab my Bible … here it is: “When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.” That’s from the NIV.

I’ve been praying for God to prepare Harry’s heart, and to send someone to warn him. He’s done such horrible things—but God still loves him. He yearns for him. I know it from the nightmares that made me pray for him. You or I might write Harry Silver off, but God hasn’t.

Janet: To be honest, I have to admit I wish there were a limit, a point beyond which God would reject a cry for forgiveness. I struggle with the thought of people who commit crimes like Harry’s—or worse—being welcomed into the kingdom of God. But I love this magnificent God who is not willing that any should perish. His mercy is beyond understanding.

Ruth: It is, indeed.

Janet: Let’s move on to some lighter things. Coffee or tea? Cake or Pie?

Ruth: I drink both, but I’m a tea person. Earl Grey’s my favourite. As for cake or pie, it depends. If I’m baking, it’s pie. Blueberry is my specialty. If I’m ordering, cheesecake. There’s this spot in Halifax, Sweet Hereafter Cheesecakery, with over 100 varieties of cheesecake in their recipe book. You know you want to get one to celebrate the novel’s release.

Janet: I do indeed. And since Sweet Hereafter is a real place, I can indulge. So what do you like to do to recharge?

Ruth: I love working with fabrics. Quilting is my passion these days, and I’ve started a community quilting group at church. We have nine women, and one lone male, and we sell our projects to raise money for the children’s hospital. Tony said this was one church group even he could support, so he made us some wooden stands to display the finished results.

Janet: Tell us something you appreciate about where you live.

Ruth: Hmm … the ocean. Tony and I like to drive along the shore roads on lazy summer weekends. We watch the waves, stop in little shops, and just unwind. And sometimes after a storm like this one, we’ll go and watch the breakers coming in.

Janet: What’s the most surprising, fun or scary thing you’ve ever done?

Ruth: I’m pretty boring. The only unusual thing I’ve done is to forgive and pray for my niece’s killer. It’s been a quiet life, and I’m glad.

Janet: And I’m sorry for what’s about to happen, but you’ll discover that no matter where you go, Jesus will be there.

Ruth: That sounds ominous …

===

Janet Sketchley‘s novel, Heaven’s Prey, releases November 1, 2013 from Choose NOW Publishing. Feel free to tell your friends! For more information and a free sample chapter, see the Heaven’s Prey page.

Fear as Opportunity

What’s the key ingredient of prayer?

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The best part of prayer is the human soul’s communion with the Divine Presence, and that usually happens when we stop talking and rest in Him. Listening. Abiding. Worshiping.

Of all the words we offer in prayer, most of them fall into the ACTS categories:

Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Struggles/Surrender (traditionally Supplication)

All are important, all have their place, and individuals may be called more to one area than the others. We need them all.

But I suspect the single-most important ingredient is adoration.

When we quiet ourselves before God and concentrate on Him: His character, attributes, will, purposes, His activity in our lives, something changes inside us. In the stillness, the peace, we find a gateway into the rest of what we need to say to God and to listening to what He has to say to us.

Adoration sets the tone.

God is exalted in our prayer, and this leads to each of the other areas: confession, thanksgiving, and requests for His help. It also strengthens our faith as we remind ourselves Who this God really is.

If time is short and I slip into just praying for needs, especially if those needs are overwhelming, I start wearing them like a burden. My perspective skews, and they look even bigger than they are. I lose hope, even while continuing to plead for God’s intervention.

Those are more wishes than prayers.

Grounding myself first in God keeps intercession true, because no matter how big the issue, I’m secure in the knowledge that God is bigger and that He has a loving plan. It reminds me that even when life is tough, God is tougher.

Benefits of the ACTS Prayer (janetsketchley.ca)
Types of prayers (twsp1.wordpress.com)
Word of the Day: Supplication (grammaticallyinkorrect.wordpress.com)
When you feel anxious, call on my name (thepeaceofheaven.com)

This Weapon Changes Hearts

Parented by God

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My best mornings begin with a special time alone with God. When my children were small, desperation had me setting my alarm early enough to fortify my spirit before facing the breakfast chaos.

In the shelter of my bed (sitting up to keep awake) I’d enjoy a quiet time with the Lord. It was like a spiritual snuggle with my Divine Parent before I faced my own parenting role.

The Bible has so many images of the parental aspects of God’s heart. One particular morning, I was thinking about Him as “Father to the fatherless.”

I’d grown up in a loving home and my parents lived nearby. By this point I was in my mid-thirties (a few years ago now!) with a husband and children of my own. I had grown up.

But part of me often felt like an orphaned child. That morning I poured out my fears and loneliness to Him in prayer. Abba… Papa… help me to stay in the shelter of Your care. Grow me under Your watchful eye.

After a while, I felt in my heart that it was time to get up. Lord, I sense our time together is over now….

I meant it as clarification: was I really supposed to get up? I hadn’t opened my Bible or paused to listen for His leading. I’d done all the talking. Again.

A gentle reassurance interrupted me: Oh, no… we’ve just begun.

His message, inaudible but understood, resonated in my soul.

What followed was the mental equivalent of that little scoot a parent gives a toddler to send her out to play after a hug. Warmed by His love, I scooted.

When Our Role is to Pray and Wait

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When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father…’
Luke 15:17-18a NLT*

Last week we talked about how if there’s something our loved ones need to learn or change in their thinking, we can trust God to make it plain to them. We were looking at how God works in the lives of believers (including our own lives!)

Today’s verse reminds me this principle also applies for those who don’t yet know Jesus. That’s a huge comfort as we pray for people who are outside of relationship with God. And it makes perfect sense. After all, it’s God who initiates the contact, who softens hearts and gives faith.

When the young man in the parable left home, his father’s only option was to pray. Jesus didn’t say he did, but I think it’s implied by how he was watching and waiting for his son’s return.

We don’t know how long he waited, either.

The father knew the trouble his son could get into, and he presumably prayed for physical and spiritual protection. I’m guessing he also prayed for God to change the young man’s heart and bring him home.

He may well have prayed in terms of love, light and freedom. [Please follow the link to read Ginny Jaques’ insightful article on praying for unsaved loved ones.]

God our Father, thank You for revealing Your love to us, shining Your light of truth on our lives, and giving us freedom to choose You. Help us as we pray for those we love who don’t yet trust You. Help us pray in love, power and confidence, and help us wait for Your perfect timing as You draw them to know You. You love them even more than we do, and in this we will rest.

∞

Amy Grant‘s song, “I’ll Be Waiting,” captures some of the longing heart for a wayward loved one.

When Jesus Prays for Us

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“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”
Luke 22:31-32, NLT*

This is Jesus talking. He who has the power to stop storms, banish demons and raise the dead. Yet all He does here is pray for the fallout. Couldn’t He have rejected Satan’s request? Placed a special protection around the disciples?

Of course He could.

The fact that He didn’t shows that, as with Job, the trial would be permitted because it would ultimately accomplish God’s purposes in the lives of His dearly loved people.

So He let it happen.

It can happen to us too.

Sometimes, as with Peter’s denial, it’s our failure. Sometimes, like with Job, it’s out of our control: circumstances and others’ actions. Either way, if we surrender it to God He can use it to shape and grow us into the image of His Son. (See Painfully Conformed, at Other Food: daily devos)

And Jesus intercedes for us. Just as He did for Peter.

Father God, I affirm Your sovereignty. Nothing can touch me outside of Your will. Your plans for me are good. I rely on the intercession of Your Son, and I ask for grace to cooperate with Your Holy Spirit who lives in me, so that whatever the day holds, I can offer it to You in worship and conduct myself in a manner worthy of Your Name.

∞

In hard times or in good times, instead of handling life alone we can take Third Day‘s invitation to “Cry Out to Jesus.”

Quiet Times with God

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My child, eat honey, for it is good,
and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.
In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul.
If you find it, you will have a bright future,
and your hopes will not be cut short.
Proverbs 24:13-14, NLT*

I love the invitations to wisdom we find in the Bible, and how they’re free to those who will seek God and draw near to Him. They’re not conditional on our latent intelligence or on our spotless pasts, but they’re based on God and His love for us.

In these verses we’re encouraged to look for wisdom rather than waiting for it to magically appear. The honeycomb illustration implies an eager, childlike search for something we know we’ll like.

Where do we find wisdom?

From God, and through His Book. We need a daily quiet time with Him, to read, pray, listen and learn. It’s not enough to know about Him. We need to know Him.

Daily quiet times are hard habits to get into, and easy habits to break. There’s no point getting legalistic over them or guilting ourselves, but if we can find even five minutes to get alone with God, we’ll be the richer for it.

Morning, after lunch, bedtime, whenever works best for you. Consistency helps, but some schedules won’t allow it. I heard of one person who linked his devotional moments to his morning coffee time—something he looked forward to and something he made sure happened each day.

Often we don’t have time to stop and pray, but I find as I get myself out of bed a bit earlier for my quiet time, the rest of the day goes smoother. We can’t bribe God into giving us pleasant days, but if we’re aligned with His Spirit, we’re better prepared to face what comes.

Father God, what a privilege it is to spend time with You. It’s more than our minds can grasp, but You invite us and You enjoy us. Help us make this a priority in our daily lives, not as an obligation but as a respite, a delight, and a time of refreshing and nourishing. Thank You for Your grace and Your love for us.

∞

A good, soul-quieting song is “Draw Me Close to You,” sung here by Hillsong.

Too Busy Not to Pray (christianitytoday.com)

Janet Sketchley

Writing Christian Mysteries & Suspense

Tag Archives: prayer

Grace, Mercy and Peace

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God and Time Management

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Heaven’s Prey: the woman in peril

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Fear as Opportunity

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What’s the key ingredient of prayer?

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This Weapon Changes Hearts

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Parented by God

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When Our Role is to Pray and Wait

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When Jesus Prays for Us

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Quiet Times with God

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