God sings over you!

Happy Monday, pray-ers. As we kick off another work week, I'd like to remind you of one of God's sweetest promises. This comes at a dark and frightening time for much of the world with the people of Japan struggling to survive amid continuous aftershocks and tsunami threats. The instability affects the entire world economically, environmentally, and physically.

Your situation might not be as newsworthy as a tsunami or a 9.0 earthquake and it might not impact tens of thousands, but it might feel just as terrifying to you. Each life is valuable to God. Each person's trauma breaks His heart. As you read the following Scripture and the prayer that follows, take time to meditate on it. Allow His promise to soak into your heart and change your outlook.

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Dear Father in heaven, thank you for your promises. Please save us. Show us how you delight in us and rejoice over us. We need the quiet that comes only from you. Draw us close in these unsettling days. May we return your love and faithfulness. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Praying for you all,
Shelley

Carol's Prayer Challenge Results - Pray Daily



Prayer brings peace and quietness of heart

 
"The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
      Philippians 4: 5-7

February was a month of anxiety for me.  My prayers were short and lacked the intimacy needed to really put my mind at peace.  By the end of the month I was quite sick, asthma is affected by stress and worry, and I was in full-swing with my lungs bearing the weight of my worry.  I didn't realize that worry was the cause for my lack of oxygen until Shelley and I joined in prayer and ask the Lord for insight into my breathing issues.  I must say at this point, I am convinced that Satan is alive and working hard to stress believers to their maximum capacity and keep them distracted from their personal time with God.  But we have a powerful weapon against worry and distraction, the Word. 

Romans 8:28 tells us that God uses all things in a believers life to work together for good.  We know and can be sure that what Satan intends to use for evil, God redeems by utilizing our struggles to cause growth and dependence upon Him.   2 Corinthians 4: 7-8 says, We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  Our assurance from Philippians is that when we take our needs to God and sit in His presence, the peace which surpasses all understanding will faithfully fall from heaven so we can resume our lives with the knowledge that God loves us and has heard our prayers. 

This month, my list of prayer needs has grown tremendously as I add those in need of healing from spiritual and emotional bondage, drug and alcohol addictions, and physical needs.  God is faithful and no amount of worrying that I indulge in will affect any of those things; only by prayer will my burden be lifted and lives healed.  Do not bear your burdens alone, the Lord is near.  Reach out to the Heavenly Father for your peace and hope, reach out for a needy world, reach out for yourself. 

May the peace of God fill your hearts and minds in Chris Jesus. 
Blessings,
Carol

February challenge results - Pray daily

Happy Monday, dear readers. It's nearly the middle of March, and we're about to finish our segment on praying The Lord's Prayer. We were ambitious in scheduling such an important and rich piece of Scripture to one month. As we know, all Scripture is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), but the Lord's Prayer quite literally came from His mouth. It deserves more attention than I normally give it.

Our challenge this month was to pray daily. How did that go for you? Remember, we're still using prayer journals, and this is a very effective way to record each prayer and how God answers it. Adding a daily prayer seems like a small task compared to the prayer journal, doesn't it?

I found in my own effort to take on this challenge that praying daily does SEEM like a small task. What an arrogant creature I am. <half laughing> Prayer should never be a small thing. We should never approach the throne of the Almighty God as if we deserve access. We are allowed there because He loves us and desires a relationship with us.

As a mom with two toddlers, much of my praying seems to happen on the fly. Changing diapers, making cereal or sandwiches, grocery shopping, endless errands - it all gets lumped together and my prayers often go up while I do those things. The Bible says to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), but it also talks about being reverent. Jesus Himself showed reverence. "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission" (Hebrews 5:7). We're also told in 1 Peter 1:17 to live out our time on earth in reverent fear of the Father who judges each person's work impartially.

Do I show reverence in my prayer life?

It means a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe (definition courtesy of dictionary.com). I'm afraid I run before the throne of grace in a hurry, toss my petitions before Him, perhaps bow once if I remember, and rush out to accomplish the next task on my list. My own challenge has become to go before Him with a feeling and an attitude of deep respect tinged with awe. To show reverence, and to be thankful that He asked me to come in at all.

How did this month's challenge go for you? Let us know in the comment section or in an email to elohimprayer@gmail.com. We love to hear from you!

Praying for you today,
Shelley

Tempting or testing?

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Matthew 6:13

The final section of the Lord's Prayer seems to imply that God would indeed tempt us. As we pray these words, our understanding of the word 'temptation' conflicts with our understanding of God's nature.

The Bible says God is our Creator (Genesis 1:27, 2:7). He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, forgiving and just (Exodus 34:6, 7). Jesus called God "Abba, Father" (Mark 14:36). Nowhere does it say God is a tempter. That distinction is left for Satan.

While God will not tempt us, He will test us. "The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether or not you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 13:3). King David understood this. He prayed at the beginning of the building of the temple for the Lord, "I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity" (1 Chronicles 29:17).

So God will not lead us into temptation, but He will allow us to be tested. Indeed, He is often the One testing us.

These tests are meant to strengthen us, but Satan often tries to use them as a doorway to temptation. After Jesus' baptism, as He walked in the wilderness for forty days, "The tempter came to Him and said, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread'" (Matthew 4:3). Our Lord was tempted by the evil one, and so will we be tempted. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation" (Matthew 26:41). Satan's strategies include suspicion, envy, jealousy, resentment, judgment, and all things that are against God. His most subtle tool is to trick us into believing God is not all that He says He is - that He does not have all the power, and He does not want to give us every good thing.

The other important thing to note in this piece of the Lord's Prayer is that Jesus was specific about the evil one. He didn't pray, "Deliver us from evil." That overall thought is certainly captured in the words, but Jesus pointed to an actual being. There is one who embodies evil. He is a thief, coming only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Jesus teaches us to pray against this evil one, and to trust that God will deliver us from him and his tricks.

We'll be talking about our monthly challenge results in the next post or two. Stay tuned for that. Also come back for a day where we focus on praying the Lord's Prayer as a community of believers. There is unspeakable power when we gather for prayer. Let's come together and experience it!

Father God, thank you for your Word. Thank you for sending your Son into the world to be the light and our salvation. Please continue to speak to us through your word and through your Spirit. We pray that when the time of testing comes, we would not become tempted. Rescue us from the evil one and help us to trust you in all things. Amen.

Praying a blessing over you,
Shelley