This month, Shelley and I will be blogging about the teaching of Jesus on prayer, specifically on the section of scripture known as the Lord's Prayer found in Matthew 6: 9-13. We will be focusing on verses 5 - 15, which will include some of the surrounding instruction on prayer, as well as the prayer itself. Luke 11: 2-4 provides a portion of the prayer and in this particular portion of scripture the teaching is prompted by the request from one of the disciples, Lord, teach us to pray..... This is the cry of our heart this month.
Also, as mentioned in January, each month will highlight another prayer challenge. The challenge for February is to pray daily and place some note of the prayer in your prayer journal. If you are looking for direction in your journaling, you might consider praying the Lord's Prayer in full or by sections and using the upcoming blogs as a catalyst for your prayer focus. In your journal, jot down the insights the Lord gives you and maybe consider sharing them with us. This will be my journal focus this month. If you choose another prayer focus or section of scripture, please feel free to share that with us and your insights.
Matthew 6: 9-13
"Pray, then, in this way:
'Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.'
Amen"
Father - as we move into a new month of considering you and your ways, teach us to pray as Christ taught his disciples. Help our hearts to know and depend on you more and more each day. Thank you for caring about us and about the things and people close to our hearts. We lift them up to you.
Blessings on your journey,
Carol
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Prayer Journal Challenge - Carol's Results
Hello to my prayer friends. This month has indeed been one to increase my faith that my prayers are heard regardless of the answer. As a young Christian, I began using a prayer journal and was quickly overwhelmed by the task of keeping up with it. How do you record so many prayers and still keep praying!?! Well, I had to look that monster in the face before I could move ahead this month. How could I record prayers and answers without diminishing my relationship with God to a "yes" or "no" answer? The answer is relationship and faith.
My primary goal is to be in relationship with God; to bring my praise, thanks, needs, and concerns before him and to be assured that he is in control. One of my first prayers for this challenge was to ask the Lord to increase my faith in all things and to help me see life from his perspective rather than mine. He has been faithful to answer that prayer. I do believe the intent of Philippians 4: 6-8 is that our faith is increased as we trust God in all situations. Even those we have created ourselves.
My second request in this challenge was to see God moving and working through my prayers. I had some very specific requests for God and he has answered very specifically. Our topic this month of taking off the old "man" and putting on the new has challenged me to look at my attitudes and thoughts and ask if I represent the God I so long to know and serve. I have many answers on that topic and am humbled that God loves me so much that he will quickly point out my own personal needs when I ask for insight.
My third request of God was for my own faithfulness to my prayers when the answers don't come quickly. We are at times battling against spiritual entities and forces in this world meant to keep people blinded and hurting so they cannot know the love and power of God (see Ephesians 6). My prayer journal includes many people that I will bring before the Lord until progress is evidenced by changed lives through the work of God. Some will battle for years but we trust that God is faithful.
Overall, this month has been astounding as I watch God work all around me. My prayer times have been intimate and exciting as I focused on being with Him and trusting that he hears me. Praying believers stand in the gap for others and prove the love of God every day by their faith. Journaling insights and answers to prayer has become exciting and faith-building. I hope your month was the same. We can move forward this year knowing the faithfulness of God at work in all things.
Many blessings,
Carol
My primary goal is to be in relationship with God; to bring my praise, thanks, needs, and concerns before him and to be assured that he is in control. One of my first prayers for this challenge was to ask the Lord to increase my faith in all things and to help me see life from his perspective rather than mine. He has been faithful to answer that prayer. I do believe the intent of Philippians 4: 6-8 is that our faith is increased as we trust God in all situations. Even those we have created ourselves.
My second request in this challenge was to see God moving and working through my prayers. I had some very specific requests for God and he has answered very specifically. Our topic this month of taking off the old "man" and putting on the new has challenged me to look at my attitudes and thoughts and ask if I represent the God I so long to know and serve. I have many answers on that topic and am humbled that God loves me so much that he will quickly point out my own personal needs when I ask for insight.
My third request of God was for my own faithfulness to my prayers when the answers don't come quickly. We are at times battling against spiritual entities and forces in this world meant to keep people blinded and hurting so they cannot know the love and power of God (see Ephesians 6). My prayer journal includes many people that I will bring before the Lord until progress is evidenced by changed lives through the work of God. Some will battle for years but we trust that God is faithful.
Overall, this month has been astounding as I watch God work all around me. My prayer times have been intimate and exciting as I focused on being with Him and trusting that he hears me. Praying believers stand in the gap for others and prove the love of God every day by their faith. Journaling insights and answers to prayer has become exciting and faith-building. I hope your month was the same. We can move forward this year knowing the faithfulness of God at work in all things.
Many blessings,
Carol
Friday, January 28, 2011
A Hannah story
Happy Friday, dear readers! And Happy January 28th. How are your New Year's changes coming along? If you feel discouraged or off track, don't fret. We have eleven months and three days to work the kinks out.
I'd like to give you a morsel of prayer thought to consider this weekend. Call it encouragement to keep reaching out to God and believing in His goodness. And something to record in your prayer journal. <chuckling> I just won't give this month's challenge a rest...
1 Samuel 1 records the story of Hannah, a woman brokenhearted by the lack of provision in her life. Hannah deeply desired children, yet "the Lord had closed her womb" (verse 5). In spite of the abundance her husband tried to bestow on her, Hannah felt the emptiness of a mother without children, and she mourned.
But she didn't stop there.
Hannah prayed. This is interesting to me because God closed her womb, but she didn't get angry at Him and stop talking because of the unfairness of her life, the way I sometimes threaten to do. Hannah cried out to God, "weeping bitterly" (verse 10). And she kept praying until she got an answer (1:12, 15-17). The answer didn't seem to come directly from God, but from His prophet, Eli. What did she do next?
Hannah rejoiced.
She didn't see the answer to her prayer, yet she took it on faith that God heard her cries and she rejoiced (1:18, 19). No longer did she wander around, downcast, taking the pain of loneliness into her heart. She believed, and what happened?
God blessed Hannah with a child.
You might know this story, but it highlights a very important aspect to prayer, one we've mentioned already. To pray, believing in the goodness of the Lord, is a very powerful thing, dear readers. To talk to Him and recognize that He loves you with the desperation of a father changes the entire landscape of our lives. This story also highlights the way God might choose to answer your prayers. Hannah didn't hear a voice from Heaven and she didn't feel His still, small voice in her heart. She heard the words of God's servant, the prophet Eli. God used another person to speak His truth and His love to her.
Is God using someone in your life to answer a prayer, to speak words of truth and love? Listen up! What a miraculous event, that He would not only speak to someone on your behalf, but that the person in your life would choose to listen and obey and send His message on to you.
That's the power of prayer.
Here's your assignment: Record in your prayer journal your own Hannah story, and keep your eyes and ears open for the one He might send with His answer. Don't give up on this thing you desperately desire, but take it to God and trust that He hears you and He loves you. You might be surprised at the change in the landscape of your life.
Leave a comment about your own Hannah story. We'd love to join you in prayer! And keep working on those New Year's changes. The year is young.
Shelley
I'd like to give you a morsel of prayer thought to consider this weekend. Call it encouragement to keep reaching out to God and believing in His goodness. And something to record in your prayer journal. <chuckling> I just won't give this month's challenge a rest...
1 Samuel 1 records the story of Hannah, a woman brokenhearted by the lack of provision in her life. Hannah deeply desired children, yet "the Lord had closed her womb" (verse 5). In spite of the abundance her husband tried to bestow on her, Hannah felt the emptiness of a mother without children, and she mourned.
But she didn't stop there.
Hannah prayed. This is interesting to me because God closed her womb, but she didn't get angry at Him and stop talking because of the unfairness of her life, the way I sometimes threaten to do. Hannah cried out to God, "weeping bitterly" (verse 10). And she kept praying until she got an answer (1:12, 15-17). The answer didn't seem to come directly from God, but from His prophet, Eli. What did she do next?
Hannah rejoiced.
She didn't see the answer to her prayer, yet she took it on faith that God heard her cries and she rejoiced (1:18, 19). No longer did she wander around, downcast, taking the pain of loneliness into her heart. She believed, and what happened?
God blessed Hannah with a child.
You might know this story, but it highlights a very important aspect to prayer, one we've mentioned already. To pray, believing in the goodness of the Lord, is a very powerful thing, dear readers. To talk to Him and recognize that He loves you with the desperation of a father changes the entire landscape of our lives. This story also highlights the way God might choose to answer your prayers. Hannah didn't hear a voice from Heaven and she didn't feel His still, small voice in her heart. She heard the words of God's servant, the prophet Eli. God used another person to speak His truth and His love to her.
Is God using someone in your life to answer a prayer, to speak words of truth and love? Listen up! What a miraculous event, that He would not only speak to someone on your behalf, but that the person in your life would choose to listen and obey and send His message on to you.
That's the power of prayer.
Here's your assignment: Record in your prayer journal your own Hannah story, and keep your eyes and ears open for the one He might send with His answer. Don't give up on this thing you desperately desire, but take it to God and trust that He hears you and He loves you. You might be surprised at the change in the landscape of your life.
Leave a comment about your own Hannah story. We'd love to join you in prayer! And keep working on those New Year's changes. The year is young.
Shelley
Monday, January 24, 2011
Prayer Journal Challenge - Shelley's Results
At the beginning of the month, Carol and I put out a challenge. We encouraged you to begin a prayer journal to record your prayers and the ways you see God answering them. What a challenge it was!
Even though it feels like I fill God's ears with a constant flow, I've never kept a prayer journal. In junior high school, I began writing down thoughts and feelings in a notebook because my teacher made me and the practice mostly stuck. I've continued journaling off and on since, and even when I don't have an actual book to write my thoughts, feelings, and wishes in, I'll use any scrap of paper I can find. A napkin, the back of a deposit slip, receipts. A lot of words, and none of them meant in focused prayer to the Almighty God who could change my situation if only I showed enough faith to ask.
This month's challenge gave me the direction and incentive I needed. There are four major ways keeping a prayer journal has enriched my prayer life:
1. It forces me to get specific with my prayers. As early as Genesis 24 (and probably before), we see the benefit of being specific in our prayers. When Abraham's servant prayed for a wife for Isaac, he asked God to show him the woman in a very clear manner. He knew when God answered him.
2. It makes me stop asking for the same thing over and over again, and instead turn my worries into prayers. Matthew 6:7 says not to use vain repetitions in our prayers. God knows our needs, so to continue asking after we've communicated with Him shows a lack of faith. Philippians 4:6 tells us not to be anxious, but instead to pray.
3. It builds my faith by showing me what God is doing. I didn't realize just how many of my prayers God is kind and generous enough to answer with a resounding 'yes!' until I began writing down my prayers and recording the answers I saw. Maybe I took it as coincidence or I overlooked it completely, but I didn't recognize the faithfulness of God. Keeping a prayer journal proves His word is true (2 Timothy 2:13).
4.It makes me consider my prayers carefully, knowing the power they have. The Bible says whatever we ask the Father in Jesus' name He will give to us. "Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:23, 24) I also know that if I ask, I'd be wise to keep myself available to His granting. How many times have I asked for a specific blessing, but not allowed or trusted Him to grant it? I don't follow through with the expectation that what I ask will be given, so the blessing is left by the wayside. "Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:22)
This year will be a challenging one for us at Elohim Prayer Beads. It is our intention to live our faith boldly and to help you grow in your prayer life. I've grown this month, and I hope you have too. Leave a comment and let us know how the challenge of keeping a prayer journal changed your faith and your life.
Praying many blessings on you (and believing He will bestow them!),
Shelley
Even though it feels like I fill God's ears with a constant flow, I've never kept a prayer journal. In junior high school, I began writing down thoughts and feelings in a notebook because my teacher made me and the practice mostly stuck. I've continued journaling off and on since, and even when I don't have an actual book to write my thoughts, feelings, and wishes in, I'll use any scrap of paper I can find. A napkin, the back of a deposit slip, receipts. A lot of words, and none of them meant in focused prayer to the Almighty God who could change my situation if only I showed enough faith to ask.
This month's challenge gave me the direction and incentive I needed. There are four major ways keeping a prayer journal has enriched my prayer life:
1. It forces me to get specific with my prayers. As early as Genesis 24 (and probably before), we see the benefit of being specific in our prayers. When Abraham's servant prayed for a wife for Isaac, he asked God to show him the woman in a very clear manner. He knew when God answered him.
2. It makes me stop asking for the same thing over and over again, and instead turn my worries into prayers. Matthew 6:7 says not to use vain repetitions in our prayers. God knows our needs, so to continue asking after we've communicated with Him shows a lack of faith. Philippians 4:6 tells us not to be anxious, but instead to pray.
3. It builds my faith by showing me what God is doing. I didn't realize just how many of my prayers God is kind and generous enough to answer with a resounding 'yes!' until I began writing down my prayers and recording the answers I saw. Maybe I took it as coincidence or I overlooked it completely, but I didn't recognize the faithfulness of God. Keeping a prayer journal proves His word is true (2 Timothy 2:13).
4.It makes me consider my prayers carefully, knowing the power they have. The Bible says whatever we ask the Father in Jesus' name He will give to us. "Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:23, 24) I also know that if I ask, I'd be wise to keep myself available to His granting. How many times have I asked for a specific blessing, but not allowed or trusted Him to grant it? I don't follow through with the expectation that what I ask will be given, so the blessing is left by the wayside. "Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:22)
This year will be a challenging one for us at Elohim Prayer Beads. It is our intention to live our faith boldly and to help you grow in your prayer life. I've grown this month, and I hope you have too. Leave a comment and let us know how the challenge of keeping a prayer journal changed your faith and your life.
Praying many blessings on you (and believing He will bestow them!),
Shelley
Friday, January 21, 2011
Overhaul of the Mind
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2
An amazing transformation of our hearts and minds takes place when we draw close to God in prayer. Setting our minds on things above refers to heavenly priorities rather than earthly priorities. Really a huge change in our thinking and daily practices but the promise of God is that those who choose to set their minds on His priorities will be changed. By spiritual design the old nature begins to fall away and the new God-focused nature is put on. We have a choice in this transformation. The choice we face is whether to believe and live by the promises of God or not.
Ephesians chapter 1 says we are blessed in Christ “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm” and that the eyes of our heart can be “flooded with light” so that we KNOW and UNDERSTAND the “immeasurable power of God” in and for those who believe. It is this power which raised Christ from the dead that works in us!! We are made alive and given a new nature by the power of God; we can hope and rely on God completing this work when we focus our minds on His priorities and ways.
The Bible is an amazing book and by reading it doorways to the mind and heart are opened. A new way of seeing, believing and living is presented to us that can increase our hope in God and his plan. Scripture points out human behavior before and after meeting Christ. It helps us understand the difference between the old way of life and the new. In Philippians 4 of the New Testament, there is a section that addresses how to engage in the “battle” of the old nature through our thoughts. It says, "...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence or worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
Changing the focus of our minds hinges on where we allow our minds to dwell and what thoughts we allow to take root in the mind. Philippians chapter 4 stresses to us that the most beneficial resting place for the mind is in faith and prayer. "Do not fret or have anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make your requests known to God." Let's look for any piece of thanks we can give to God and add that to our prayers. Developing a thankful attitude can really change the way we see the everyday circumstances that we face.
One of the most exciting versions of the Bible is the Amplified version. If you have the opportunity this weekend, go to the link below and read Ephesians 1 and Philippians 4 in the Amplified Bible version. It will knock your socks off!!
Father, we thank you for the spiritual blessings of knowing you and being in Christ. There is no other who can save and redeem us so we rely on you and your promises to us. Transform us as we draw closer to you. Put in us a desire to be the spiritual-minded people you want us to be. We love you.
Blessings,
Carol
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Put on a new man (or woman!)
"... put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:24
When I was a teenager, I had a favorite pair of jeans. I'll bet you had a pair, too. You know, the ones that made you look fantastic. Worn and faded in all the right places, they made you look skinnier here, rounder there, and longer there. Every time I put them on - which was nearly every day - I felt like a new person. I stood taller. I felt stronger. Boys and beautiful cheerleaders no longer sent me cringing to the other side of the school halls. I had more confidence, but not in myself. It was the jeans.
The Spirit of God can be compared to those jeans. Stay with me while I explain.
Much like a wardrobe, you choose to put on the Spirit of God every day, in every situation. You could go into the world without Him, but why would you want to? He makes you stand taller. He gives you confidence in situations that would otherwise make you cower. He makes you strong, able to withstand anything life throws your way.
He makes you a new creation.
Becoming a new creation is not something we do easily or lightly. It's not a choice we typically rush into because it's the popular thing to do. This isn't putting on a pair of pants just because we want to impress the school ranks. This is taking the Spirit of Jesus and putting Him on over our own spirit. To be in the world with the image of Jesus shining out of us. To interact with others as Jesus might. To overcome our own evil and selfish desires and do the will of God.
No, not the popular thing to do at all, is it?
And yet when we see someone who has done this, we want the same thing. To shine with love and grace and mercy. To treat people, regardless of their station in life, with respect and honor. To bring light and life to people who struggle in the darkness. That's Jesus, and that's putting on the new man (or woman) which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Did you put on the new person God created you to be today? If not, it's not too late. Do it now. Go to your prayer journal and write your requests to God about this. Then remember to record how He answers you.
Father God, may we remember each day to put on the new person you created us to be. May we always look to You and to Jesus for wisdom and direction in this new creation. May we be a light in the darkness for the ones we love. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Blessings on you today, dear ones.
Shelley
When I was a teenager, I had a favorite pair of jeans. I'll bet you had a pair, too. You know, the ones that made you look fantastic. Worn and faded in all the right places, they made you look skinnier here, rounder there, and longer there. Every time I put them on - which was nearly every day - I felt like a new person. I stood taller. I felt stronger. Boys and beautiful cheerleaders no longer sent me cringing to the other side of the school halls. I had more confidence, but not in myself. It was the jeans.
The Spirit of God can be compared to those jeans. Stay with me while I explain.
Much like a wardrobe, you choose to put on the Spirit of God every day, in every situation. You could go into the world without Him, but why would you want to? He makes you stand taller. He gives you confidence in situations that would otherwise make you cower. He makes you strong, able to withstand anything life throws your way.
He makes you a new creation.
Becoming a new creation is not something we do easily or lightly. It's not a choice we typically rush into because it's the popular thing to do. This isn't putting on a pair of pants just because we want to impress the school ranks. This is taking the Spirit of Jesus and putting Him on over our own spirit. To be in the world with the image of Jesus shining out of us. To interact with others as Jesus might. To overcome our own evil and selfish desires and do the will of God.
No, not the popular thing to do at all, is it?
And yet when we see someone who has done this, we want the same thing. To shine with love and grace and mercy. To treat people, regardless of their station in life, with respect and honor. To bring light and life to people who struggle in the darkness. That's Jesus, and that's putting on the new man (or woman) which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Did you put on the new person God created you to be today? If not, it's not too late. Do it now. Go to your prayer journal and write your requests to God about this. Then remember to record how He answers you.
Father God, may we remember each day to put on the new person you created us to be. May we always look to You and to Jesus for wisdom and direction in this new creation. May we be a light in the darkness for the ones we love. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Blessings on you today, dear ones.
Shelley
Monday, January 17, 2011
Becoming a New Creation in 2011
Each year many of us make resolutions to change something in our life; we add something new or remove something that isn't working. Many abandon their resolutions when the enthusiasm ends and the real work begins, typically only a month or two later. How do we make major changes and how do the changes become habit? How many changes have you tried to make in your life only to fail? I can think of many.
Becoming a new creation is scriptural for those who know and rely on Christ. God intends for us to become new in the essence of our being; to hope in God, love God and one another, pray unceasingly, encourage each other, think in spiritual terms, battle in spiritual ways, etc. 2 Corinthians 5:17 gives us information on how spiritual rebirth takes place, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.” When we believe in the person and work of Christ, we open the door to our spirits so that by the Holy Spirit we can live in Christ and He can live in us. His in-dwelling Spirit prompts us to desire to imitate Christ in character and life practices. The concept of taking off unattractive character traits and put on new traits is addressed many times in the New Testament. One of the greatest resources we have for "taking off" the old nature and putting on the new is the Bible. Reading and praying through scripture can change our hearts and minds as the concepts of God become clearer. A longing will develop to become Christ-like in our thoughts and actions (in other words - a new creation). Ephesians 4: 22-24 says to be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self which is in the likeness of God. Ask God to make you into a new creation. He will answer that prayer. God's work in you is spirit-work, His work through you is nothing short of miraculous.
If you have time this week, read through Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians which are letters written to the church in each city. Many sections of these letters describe the old life without Christ and the new life in Christ. Take some time to pray through some of the concepts that speak to you and jot them in your prayer journal for further prayer and meditation.
Lord, help us desire to be like you. We want to be new in our minds and hearts as we walk with you. We praise and worship you.
Blessings on your week,
Carol
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