Tag Archives: prayer

God is Near

Everybody does stupid things. This spring one of my sons took his turn at it, and in early June he had a meeting to sort out the consequences. My husband and I went with him for moral support.

It meant an early start and a two-hour road trip. I knew people were praying, and I was too. Before we left, I wanted at least a few still moments with the Lord. It had been a busy week. I felt stretched, but not quite to the point of breaking, and at peace with God in the midst of all the activity and the uncertainty of what this day would bring.

With only minutes to spare before heading out the door, I squeezed in a short prayer time and then opened my Bible. The psalm of the day was Psalm 139. To me, that’s this son’s psalm.

His psalm, right before his big meeting. A reminder of God’s presence.

Even though I hadn’t been consciously tense, I felt myself relax in His care, His nearness. His provision.

I believe God is always with me—Jesus promised it—so why is it so hard to really live that way? Why do I still need reminders? Shouldn’t I be able to simply stop, breathe, and know He’s here?

For now I still need reminders, and I’m thankful for this one.

For the Sake of the House of the Lord

To Know God Hears

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I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
Psalm 116:1-2, NIV*

Psalm 116 comes from more than intellectual acceptance of the deity of God—it overflows with love and gratitude.

Three times in these first two verses, the writer says he called out. But what really thrills him is that God heard. And acted.

It’s the psalmist’s experience of God’s answer that compels his loving worship. If this is a David psalm, it’s not the beginning of a personal relationship with God. If it’s someone else, maybe this is the moment when he moves from faith by hearing to faith by experience.

People need to hear the truth about who God is and what Jesus has done to offer them rescue. But it’s the personal encounter when they risk calling out to God that makes it real. We each move from “I have heard” to “Now I know”.

I find myself praying for specific individuals today, and my prayer is that the aching Christians will know with certainty that God is hearing their cries. That His love and peace will sustain them.

And I’m praying for ones who are wandering to cry out to God and be amazed that God is hearing—and that His answer is distinctly personal and life changing.

I love you, LORD, for You hear each voice, You hear each cry for mercy. Reassure us that You hear, and let us experience the wonder of Your deliverance from whatever is crushing us. As we walk through Holy Week, I praise You for this ultimate proof that You have heard the cries and groans all through time, and that humanity can say, “when I/we was/were in great need, He saved me/us.”

∞

Here’s a classic from the newsboys: “Thrive.” When He touches us, we know we’re alive.

Bullying and Prayer

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Bullying includes harm by word as well as by fist.

Increased awareness and social pressure is presumably making a difference, but in some cases maybe it’s making the perpetrators craftier. Texting and social media make it easier to shoot from a distance.

I’ve been reading lately about cyber-bullying, including some cases that allegedly drove the victims to suicide. If that’s true, you’d hope the spiteful talkers would feel remorse for what they’ve done. I suspect they’re saying “what a loser” and still blaming the victim.

School administrations are often helpless to intervene, and may even deny the problem now that it’s politically incorrect.

Our communities’ kids are under attack, and that’s nothing new. They’re vulnerable to one another—and to the enemy of our souls. How can they defend themselves, when it hurts too much to just walk away?

In Psalm 109, David opens his prayer with these words:

My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. (Ps. 109:1-3, NIV*)

David was bullied too, even as an adult. But David, a man after God’s own heart, knew where to go for help. How many of our kids do?

His prayer starts with this cry for help (Ps. 109:1-5) and then launches into what looks like a prayer for vengeance (Ps. 109:6-20). In typical Old Testament mindset, it carries the punishment for the bully’s acts into the lives of his wife and children.

Living under grace, I’m not comfortable with that. I’d rather pray for our kids’ bullies to be set free from their own spiritual darkness and to come into Jesus’ light.

I can’t call down vengeance. That’s God’s territory and I’ve needed too much grace myself. But look again at those verses. Sometimes it’s only when “what goes around comes around,” when we’re on the receiving end instead of in control, that we realize the truth.

God knows what it will take for bullies to understand the damage they’re doing, and if personal experience is what it takes, then may He bring it on. I still pray that with the end of the bully-life will come rebirth into Kingdom-life.

Ultimately, the prayer asks God to deal with the bullies. David knows he can’t fight this himself. Hear what he says:

For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. (Ps. 109:22-23, NIV*)

Can’t you feel his pain?

David knows how to pray. He comes to God, the highest Authority, and he holds nothing back: this is how I feel, this is what I’m asking in my anger and my pain, I’m asking You to repay my accusers. And I’m asking You to “help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love. Let them know that it is your hand, that you, LORD, have done it.” (Ps. 109:26-27, NIV*)

See how his prayer comes around to God? Not only for vengeance and help, but for God’s own glory? David is under God’s care, and he wants the world to know not just for his own sake, but for God’s.

He has laid out his need and his pain, and now he turns his focus to his God. In the moment, while circumstances are unchanged, David finds the strength to voice praise:

With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them. (Ps. 109:30-31, NIV*)

David left us a valuable prayer to offer for our youth, for our friends, for ourselves. It reminds us that our God is Mighty to Save.

A Jesus Prayer Day

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When [blind Bartimaeus] heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Mark 10:47-48, NIV*

Into the middle of busy schedules and global crises, Monday brought the news that a young boy in our community had taken his life. He was maybe 15, 16?

How do you pray for something like this? There are words: “comfort the family, send them caring support, help his friends….”

I did some of that, but the need just felt too big. But I remembered reading about the Jesus Prayer in an online-only bonus article in Faith Today.

The NIV has eight references to a people crying out variations of “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Trusting that the Holy Spirit intercedes when we don’t know how to pray, I gave Him the burden by repeating “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy.” Mercy toward family, friends, He knew best.

The peace surprised me, but it shouldn’t. I’d stopped trying to carry—and fix—the problem, and given it to the Master Healer and Builder.

Today I found two excellent links on the history and effectiveness of the Jesus Prayer at the Orthodox Prayer and Concentric Net sites.

The exact wording of the Jesus Prayer is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It’s meant for more than forgiveness, for any kind of need. The “sinner” part is to remind us how powerless we are to help ourselves.

With all that’s going on in the world, near and far, we’re pretty helpless. Item 24 in my new gratitude journal is “Thank You for giving me the Jesus Prayer for when I’d need it.”

And thank You for Your great mercy, poured out in our lives. Open the grieving to receive it. Open us all to see our need of it. And I praise and thank You, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, that You don’t leave us as orphans in this world. That You care, and that You give the peace of Christ.

∞

A song that comforts me in hurt is from the group Fee: “The Arms that Hold the Universe”.

Pray Before Giving

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Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.’”
2 Samuel 7:5-6, NIV*

King David’s desire to build a temple for God came from a good heart. He wanted to honour God, not to live in an elaborate palace while God’s dwelling was a tent.

David loved God, and God had given him so much. I wonder if David saw a chance to do something for Him as a gift. Good heart, good idea, wrong timing.

We get love-born impulses too, to do things for God or for others. These verses remind me we need to pray before acting.

God may want us to bless Him with our hearts’ attitudes but to not act—or to not act yet. In His plan, timing matters.

Sometimes the very things we long to do for others are the things that would undermine what God is doing in their hearts. Oswald Chambers says, “It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s order for others.” (“What is that to Thee?” Nov. 15)

Father God, we want to give back to You out of the love You’ve given us. Impress on our hearts how best to please You—and how to show love to those around us. Help us to always come first to You for wisdom. Make us sensitive to Your prompting to act or to not act. Keep us in the centre of Your will.

∞

The gift God wants most is our hearts. Here’s my favourite Third Day song: “Offering.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpRAOS_rv7w

Focusing Prayer

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A recent post at Under the Cover of Prayer asked, “Is Prayer Your Steering Wheel?”

It’s worth reading the whole article (the link is in the title). What has come back to me repeatedly this week stems from this quote:

I could take a few moments and ask for direction and inspiration. Before I start to make dinner I could take a moment and ask for help in achieving a balanced tasty meal. Before I go to tap dancing lessons I could stop and focus my mind on God, asking for calmness and the ability to recall the steps and do my best.

Am I flipping from activity to activity without stopping to thank God, to seek His favour and ask for the Holy Spirit to be present as I go about each task? (read the full post: “Is Prayer Your Steering Wheel?“)

Most of my mornings begin with an informal prayer committing the day (and my loved ones) to God’s care and leading, and it’s understood that God is God and whatever I do is open to His leading.

But, like Jan asks in quote above, how often do I consciously stop and commit my current activity to Him? Submit it to Him? Acknowledge His right to direct, shape… or interrupt it?

If I’m writing, working on homework for a course, driving, attending a funeral, preparing a meal… those are just some of the times the question has come up. Each time, I’ve stopped for a quick prayer.

It’s probably not bringing anything into better alignment, but it’s reminding me Who’s leading, and that whatever it is I’m doing needs to be seen as service to Him.

I think these short commitment-prayers will make me more able to see God’s gifts, to see His love for us and to show it to others. And they’ll remind me to listen for His opinions rather than formulating my own.

What do you think?

Intentional Worship

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Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:19a-20, NIV*

I’m learning that when our congregation is singing a song I dislike (there are a few) I need to remember the song isn’t for me. It’s for God, and He presumably likes it—if it’s sung from worshipping hearts. If I choose to focus on what I don’t like about it, that’s not worship. If I give it my best for His sake, it is.

Sunday morning we were singing songs I appreciate, but I wasn’t feeling as well as usual and just wasn’t connecting. God, being good, helped me see that pushing through to intentionally sing and praise was perhaps a better offering than on a regular Sunday when the praise comes easier.

It’s a declaration that God’s worship-worthiness is constant and doesn’t depend on my fluctuating feelings. I think prayer is the same way. Whatever state we’re in when we come aside to pray, let us take good courage, be firm in our faith, and commit the needs and praises to our God Who is able and who cares for us. It’s about Him, after all.

Father, thank You for Your patient teaching and nurture that draw us closer to Your heart. Teach us to worship in spirit and in truth, with thanksgiving, for Your glory.

∞

“Blessed Be Your Name,” by Matt Redman, is a contemporary classic declaration of worship and prayer in the good and in the bad. It’s sung here by Tree63.

Not Anxious

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Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6, NIV*

Sunday morning I watched the blowing snow and thought about the 6-hour bus ride Wise Guy Son had booked for that afternoon to go back to university. The route includes a section of highway noted for its whiteout conditions.

I knew I could spend the whole day fretting about his safety, and the only thing I’d gain would be muscle tension. Been there, done that.

It took several times of consciously stopping to commit the situation back into God’s hands (and to remember that the bus driver is a trained professional who presumably dislikes death and lawsuits) but I was able to join in morning worship instead of worrying, and to relax in the afternoon instead of checking road conditions online.

The bus reached its destination safely and almost on schedule, and I’m praising God for the answer to prayer but also for the progress He’s making in my heart.

Usually my prayer is something like, “See the problem, God? Please help.”

I thank Him for His power and love, and for being with us. I thank Him for the plans He’s already made, that whatever the situation is has not caught Him by surprise. But I keep aware of the problem.

Now I see a bit more to the “with thanksgiving” part of today’s verse. I need to thank Him with expectation that He will act. Not to decide how He’ll act, because that’s His call. But after committing the need to Him, I need to stop looking at it and trust Him.

He reinforced the lesson by not bringing this devotional together until Tuesday mid-afternoon. I schedule them to post early Wednesday mornings, and this particular week has no time Tuesday evening to write.

He’s been giving me a Wednesday devotional thought every week since He nudged me to start blogging in March of 2008. It’s not usually this close to the line, though.

My prayer wasn’t “Lord, do You have something to say?” so much as “Lord, help me not to miss what You say.” Still, there was a definite choice to make. Would I go through the day reminding Him of my need, or would I look expectantly for His reply?

To me, there’s a difference. The first way still has the tension, the uncertainty. The second has a confidence that God will do what He planned, even if I don’t see it yet.

Father God, Your plans for us are good, and You love us. We don’t always like what happens to us, nor do You. But You are our Creator and Sustainer, and Your patient grace teaches us to trust You. Give us the confidence to pray with thanksgiving and with expectation that You have heard… and that You will act. Thank You for your grace.

∞

Here’s another song from the newsboys that expresses our confidence: “Strong Tower” from their Devotion CD.

Janet Sketchley

Writing Christian Mysteries & Suspense