Today is Saturday. What have you got planned for this evening? Are you having company over? Are you going to watch TV or a movie? Are you going out somewhere with friends?
Tomorrow is Sunday. Are you planning to join in fellowship with other believers in worship services? Or will you be too tired from whatever you're doing tonight? If you to go to church services, will your mind and heart be ready to receive the Word that will be taught and preached tomorrow? Or will your mind be on what you will have done tonight?
One of my "New Year's Resolutions" was to spend an extra hour in prayer every week. I have to confess that I haven't been faithful at keeping that hour every single week. I'd like to start again, this time purposely setting aside a specific time that will only be used for prayer. And I'd like to take up the challenge that Tom gave to all who attend our church to set Saturday night aside for prayer. As a mom, this means I need to work my day around making sure everybody is in bed by 8:30 at the very latest. This means having supper a little earlier, getting baths done promptly, and making sure everybody has their Sunday clothes ready. Then putting them to bed with their own prayer time before shutting myself away to pray by myself.
Pray for what? For Tom and other pastors who have the responsibility to give God's Word from the pulpit, and for the Sunday school teachers, that we may speak boldly. For the children in our church who do not know the Lord yet, who need to be convicted of sin. For those who do know the Lord, who need spiritual growth and encouragement.
Most of all, though, I want to pray for the power of God's Holy Spirit to be on the preaching. That power is so sadly lacking in most local churches in the western world today. This past week I watched a powerful sermon about why revival tarries. The message was so pointed that it convicted me personally on a number of things and made me weep. Yet when the message was over, the congregation of that church filed out in what appeared to be their normal way (normal for most churches, anyway). You would have thought that such a sermon would have had men, women and children on their knees, broken before God.
A similar experience occurred at a Bible conference in Pennsylvania a couple of years ago. After the man of God preached a powerful sermon on hell, the people went about their usual business of filing into the dining hall for their usual donuts and coffee. The man reporting this to us was amazed that God's people could so casually go about as normal after hearing such a sermon.
What happens when people pray for the men of God who preach His Word? Here is one example from Acts 4:
verse 29, the prayer: "And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word."
verses 31 and 33, the answer: "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all."
Here is another prayer that I have started praying, for Tom, the other preachers of our fellowship, and for David Bane as he prepares to speak to our youth:
Colossians 4:2-4 "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak."
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Sunday, November 05, 2006
This gets personal
Pride. It crops up everywhere, sneaking up on me, taking me by surprise. Just when I think I have a handle on things, here comes pride to knock me flat.
There came a point in time this summer when I determined to pray and fast for a particular purpose. Fasting is supposed to be a secret thing, and, to some extent, so is prayer. As a nursing mother, I can't fast completely, so I decided to fast all foods containing any sort of refined sugar or yeast. That meant no breads or sweet stuffs. I didn't make a big announcement about this, except that my family knew about it. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, I just wanted to be able to fast in some way.
When you go off sugar, however, something happens to you physically. You lose weight, for one thing. You also begin to feel better, you get healthier, you have more energy, and you even have some improvement in your attitude and overall outlook on life. This last benefit is especially enhanced by increased time spent in prayer. None of this physical stuff goes unnoticed, which kind of brings your fast out into the open.
People noticed that I had lost weight, and that I looked better. You can't lose 30 pounds or so in 3 months and keep that a secret! I hadn't counted on that. And there was no red flag anywhere warning me that this was a test of my humility. All I knew was that I was suddenly wide awake at 4:30 every morning, able to pray and read my Bible, and I was enjoying getting closer to God. I was getting consistent with it, too. It wasn't hit-and-miss any more, some days praying, some days not. This was an every day thing that I hadn't really been able to achieve before.
But gradually there came a change in my thinking. Instead of looking at, say, a brownie, and thinking, "No, I'm fasting to pray for [insert reason]," I would look at the brownie and think, "No, I'm really excited about this weight loss thing that I've never been able to accomplish before. And, oh, yeah. There is that business of praying for [insert original reason]."
I also had grandiose dreams of God moving in revival in response to my prayer and fasting. I mean, we read about these people who prayed all night, fasted regularly, etc., and then God moved in revival. Why couldn't I be one of those spiritual prayer warriors that people would read about 100 years from now?
Why didn't I think of 1 Corinthians 10:12 then?
It wasn't long before I recognized the pride creeping in. Then it was like I was caught in a trap. I figured I'd better stop drawing attention to myself, so I didn't tell anyone what was happening. Well, then, how do I ask for help? Because I really didn't know how to handle this. It was hard to even pray about it. The fast had become a mockery, and I eventually gave it up. I casually mentioned to people that I wasn't abstaining from sugar anymore, but was just taking it in moderation. Hah! If you were the proverbial fly on the wall in my house, you'd know almost right away that the sin of gluttony afflicts me.
Before long I wasn't praying anymore. It was just too hard to get out of bed in the morning. Oh, I wanted to pray, it was just too hard. Then I didn't want to pray. But yet I did want to pray! You know how it is, ". . .the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Galatians 5:17). In this sort of battle, you know who wins? The one you listen to most. I was listening to the flesh.
We know a pastor in Texas who has his sermons on Sermon Audio. Last Sunday I was home sick, and decided to listen to some of his sermons. Later I e-mailed him. He e-mailed back, saying he was glad to hear from me, that he'd been thinking about us, and wondered how we were doing. You see, my husband has had this passion for revival for a long time. Every where we've lived, other people have seen this passion and been affected by it in some way. This pastor in Texas is one of those people. He says that he thinks God is beginning to work in their midst down there, and wonders if it is the beginning of a true revival from God. And, like others, when he thought of revival, he thought of my husband. So he asked what God was doing here in our little part of Canada.
I began to e-mail him back, telling some of what's been going on here. I soon began to weep. I suddenly remembered what this summer had been all about. How could I have given it up so easily? How could I have grieved my Lord this way? Oh, the grace that was shed upon Peter! Oh, the same grace that has been shed upon me!
"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. . ." (Luke 22:31-32).
"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41).
"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. . ." (John 21:17).
"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Why am I sharing all this with you? For a couple of reasons.
First, there are people I care about deeply who read this blog--family members, friends who live far away, people in our mission works in Ottawa and Quebec City. I wanted all you guys to know what the Lord has been doing in my life, and to ask you to keep praying for me.
The second reason is that I am really tired of being put on a pedestal just because I have nine children who are all homeschooled. I am flesh and blood. I fail many more times than I would ever want to admit. Stop being awed by me. Be awed by God.
Pearl
There came a point in time this summer when I determined to pray and fast for a particular purpose. Fasting is supposed to be a secret thing, and, to some extent, so is prayer. As a nursing mother, I can't fast completely, so I decided to fast all foods containing any sort of refined sugar or yeast. That meant no breads or sweet stuffs. I didn't make a big announcement about this, except that my family knew about it. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, I just wanted to be able to fast in some way.
When you go off sugar, however, something happens to you physically. You lose weight, for one thing. You also begin to feel better, you get healthier, you have more energy, and you even have some improvement in your attitude and overall outlook on life. This last benefit is especially enhanced by increased time spent in prayer. None of this physical stuff goes unnoticed, which kind of brings your fast out into the open.
People noticed that I had lost weight, and that I looked better. You can't lose 30 pounds or so in 3 months and keep that a secret! I hadn't counted on that. And there was no red flag anywhere warning me that this was a test of my humility. All I knew was that I was suddenly wide awake at 4:30 every morning, able to pray and read my Bible, and I was enjoying getting closer to God. I was getting consistent with it, too. It wasn't hit-and-miss any more, some days praying, some days not. This was an every day thing that I hadn't really been able to achieve before.
But gradually there came a change in my thinking. Instead of looking at, say, a brownie, and thinking, "No, I'm fasting to pray for [insert reason]," I would look at the brownie and think, "No, I'm really excited about this weight loss thing that I've never been able to accomplish before. And, oh, yeah. There is that business of praying for [insert original reason]."
I also had grandiose dreams of God moving in revival in response to my prayer and fasting. I mean, we read about these people who prayed all night, fasted regularly, etc., and then God moved in revival. Why couldn't I be one of those spiritual prayer warriors that people would read about 100 years from now?
Why didn't I think of 1 Corinthians 10:12 then?
It wasn't long before I recognized the pride creeping in. Then it was like I was caught in a trap. I figured I'd better stop drawing attention to myself, so I didn't tell anyone what was happening. Well, then, how do I ask for help? Because I really didn't know how to handle this. It was hard to even pray about it. The fast had become a mockery, and I eventually gave it up. I casually mentioned to people that I wasn't abstaining from sugar anymore, but was just taking it in moderation. Hah! If you were the proverbial fly on the wall in my house, you'd know almost right away that the sin of gluttony afflicts me.
Before long I wasn't praying anymore. It was just too hard to get out of bed in the morning. Oh, I wanted to pray, it was just too hard. Then I didn't want to pray. But yet I did want to pray! You know how it is, ". . .the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Galatians 5:17). In this sort of battle, you know who wins? The one you listen to most. I was listening to the flesh.
We know a pastor in Texas who has his sermons on Sermon Audio. Last Sunday I was home sick, and decided to listen to some of his sermons. Later I e-mailed him. He e-mailed back, saying he was glad to hear from me, that he'd been thinking about us, and wondered how we were doing. You see, my husband has had this passion for revival for a long time. Every where we've lived, other people have seen this passion and been affected by it in some way. This pastor in Texas is one of those people. He says that he thinks God is beginning to work in their midst down there, and wonders if it is the beginning of a true revival from God. And, like others, when he thought of revival, he thought of my husband. So he asked what God was doing here in our little part of Canada.
I began to e-mail him back, telling some of what's been going on here. I soon began to weep. I suddenly remembered what this summer had been all about. How could I have given it up so easily? How could I have grieved my Lord this way? Oh, the grace that was shed upon Peter! Oh, the same grace that has been shed upon me!
"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. . ." (Luke 22:31-32).
"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41).
"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. . ." (John 21:17).
"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Why am I sharing all this with you? For a couple of reasons.
First, there are people I care about deeply who read this blog--family members, friends who live far away, people in our mission works in Ottawa and Quebec City. I wanted all you guys to know what the Lord has been doing in my life, and to ask you to keep praying for me.
The second reason is that I am really tired of being put on a pedestal just because I have nine children who are all homeschooled. I am flesh and blood. I fail many more times than I would ever want to admit. Stop being awed by me. Be awed by God.
Pearl
Thursday, November 02, 2006
The insidious nature of pride
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:12-13).
The word insidious comes from a Latin word insidiae which means "ambush." The idea is that a certain thing is gradually and subtilly harmful. It sneaks up on you and takes you by surprise. Thus pride is addressed in 1 Corinthians 10:12. You think you're doing okay? You think you're standing firm? Look out! You're just about to fall. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about pride:
"When pride cometh, then cometh shame; but with the lowly is wisdom" (11:12).
"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (16:18).
"A man's pride shall bring him low; but he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor" (29:23).
But 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that there is a way of escape, if only we will avail ourselves of it. Again, the verses in Proverbs tell us what that escape is--a lowly spirit. Here are some other verses:
". . .he giveth grace to the lowly" (Proverbs 3:34).
"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble" (James 4:6).
". . .God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:5-6).
More on this in the next post.
Pearl
The word insidious comes from a Latin word insidiae which means "ambush." The idea is that a certain thing is gradually and subtilly harmful. It sneaks up on you and takes you by surprise. Thus pride is addressed in 1 Corinthians 10:12. You think you're doing okay? You think you're standing firm? Look out! You're just about to fall. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about pride:
"When pride cometh, then cometh shame; but with the lowly is wisdom" (11:12).
"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (16:18).
"A man's pride shall bring him low; but he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor" (29:23).
But 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that there is a way of escape, if only we will avail ourselves of it. Again, the verses in Proverbs tell us what that escape is--a lowly spirit. Here are some other verses:
". . .he giveth grace to the lowly" (Proverbs 3:34).
"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble" (James 4:6).
". . .God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:5-6).
More on this in the next post.
Pearl
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Lord, I believe--HELP!
And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. . . (Mar 6:5-6).
. . . .if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (Mark 9:22-24).
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not (Jeremiah 33:3).
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God CAN do great and mighty things. But I had to confess with tears this morning that I am not always so sure he will. Is my unbelief hindering His willingness? O, that I might say with the leper, "Lord, if thou wilt thou canst. . ." and hear the Beloved Saviour say, "I will. . ."!
Pearl
. . . .if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (Mark 9:22-24).
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not (Jeremiah 33:3).
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God CAN do great and mighty things. But I had to confess with tears this morning that I am not always so sure he will. Is my unbelief hindering His willingness? O, that I might say with the leper, "Lord, if thou wilt thou canst. . ." and hear the Beloved Saviour say, "I will. . ."!
Pearl
Friday, August 18, 2006
A very large petition--please pray with us
It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law. Psalm 119:126
This verse stuck out to me recently in my readings through the Psalms. I immediately thought of the gay pride movement, particularly in our city. These people are hideously wicked, and are flaunting their wickedness in the face of all that is good and decent in our society. They are thumbing their noses at God, daring Him to come down and judge them for their sin. They have passed laws here in Canada legalizing gay "marriage" and have just about made it a hate crime to preach against their chosen lifestyle. Two years ago they had a festival in one of our local parks--they chose the most prominent one, the one most of the city uses for all kinds of family-centered recreation. It was the first year for them to do this, and was a sort of "coming out" for the whole group. They raised their flag in triumph and "prayed," thanking the god of their own imaginations that they had won a victory. They saw my husband out there with his gospel signs and his Bible and his tracts and they mocked. They boasted that the fire of God’s judgment had not come down and consumed them.
What they don’t realize is that we are praying the very opposite. "There is no fear of God before their eyes," (Romans 3:18), but we are praying for that to change. We are praying that God will open their eyes to the hideousness of their sin and fill them with a holy fear. We are praying specifically for the leader by name, asking God to deal in mercy with his soul, that he might see the wickedness of his heart and be afraid. We are praying that he would humble himself and seek the face of the Lord and be saved. We are praying that God would defeat the purposes of the whole group by saving His lost sheep from among them.
Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. Isaiah 59:1
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that cometh to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
. . . .Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God. That is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (International Standard Version)
Over the next couple of weeks the brethren of our fellowship will again be attending the gay pride festivals. Men from our "daughter" church will be out in Ottawa today, and my husband will be out in our city on September 2nd. Please pray for their safety, but more importantly, pray for God to bless His Word with power that the fear of God will once again be before their eyes.
This verse stuck out to me recently in my readings through the Psalms. I immediately thought of the gay pride movement, particularly in our city. These people are hideously wicked, and are flaunting their wickedness in the face of all that is good and decent in our society. They are thumbing their noses at God, daring Him to come down and judge them for their sin. They have passed laws here in Canada legalizing gay "marriage" and have just about made it a hate crime to preach against their chosen lifestyle. Two years ago they had a festival in one of our local parks--they chose the most prominent one, the one most of the city uses for all kinds of family-centered recreation. It was the first year for them to do this, and was a sort of "coming out" for the whole group. They raised their flag in triumph and "prayed," thanking the god of their own imaginations that they had won a victory. They saw my husband out there with his gospel signs and his Bible and his tracts and they mocked. They boasted that the fire of God’s judgment had not come down and consumed them.
What they don’t realize is that we are praying the very opposite. "There is no fear of God before their eyes," (Romans 3:18), but we are praying for that to change. We are praying that God will open their eyes to the hideousness of their sin and fill them with a holy fear. We are praying specifically for the leader by name, asking God to deal in mercy with his soul, that he might see the wickedness of his heart and be afraid. We are praying that he would humble himself and seek the face of the Lord and be saved. We are praying that God would defeat the purposes of the whole group by saving His lost sheep from among them.
Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. Isaiah 59:1
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that cometh to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
. . . .Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God. That is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (International Standard Version)
Over the next couple of weeks the brethren of our fellowship will again be attending the gay pride festivals. Men from our "daughter" church will be out in Ottawa today, and my husband will be out in our city on September 2nd. Please pray for their safety, but more importantly, pray for God to bless His Word with power that the fear of God will once again be before their eyes.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Large Petitions With Thee Bring
A Prayer, by John Newton
Come, my soul, thy suit prepare:
Jesus loves to answer pray'r;
He himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee nay.
Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For his grace and pow'r are such,
None can ever ask too much.
With my burden I begin:
Lord, remove this load of sin;
Let thy blood, for sinners spilt,
Set my conscience free from guilt.
Lord, I come to thee for rest,
Take possession of my breast;
There thy blood-bo't right maintain,
And without a rival reign.
While I am a pilgrim here,
Let thy love my spirit cheer;
As my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
Lead me to my journey's end.
Show me what I have to do,
Ev'ry hour my strength renew:
Let me live a life of faith,
Let me die thy people's death.
Sing to the tune of "Take My Life and Let It Be," repeating the last line of each verse.
Pearl
Monday, July 03, 2006
Take time to be holy
The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness. . . (Titus 2:3).
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct his likeness shall see
--William D. Longstaff
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13, emphasis mine).
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:18).
I confess that when I was a young Christian, I did not have the habit of prayer. I did not really understand what prayer was all about, and had no idea what an essential part of the Christian life prayer is. The last verse quoted above is in the context of spiritual warfare, another topic I didn't know much about. I certainly didn't understand how the two were connected.
I married a man who prays. I didn't know anybody prayed so much until we were married. One evening after we'd been married only a few weeks, I walked into the bedroom and found him on his knees. I was surprised, and felt like I was interrupting something personal and private. I started to apologize for intruding, but he invited me to come and kneel with him. As I listened to him pray, I was in awe of this man. I already knew that he read and studied his Bible far more than I did. Now I was convinced that he had attained spiritual heights I would never know about.
Did I know that I could attain such spiritual heights as well? Maybe I sensed it, but I didn't really expect to. I know that for years afterward I compared myself to my husband and always came up short. I often felt a sense of loss, as if he was going on in his spiritual walk without me. He and God were going somewhere, somewhere very special, and I was being left behind.
But instead of spurring me on to prayer, this only made me feel sorry for myself. I whined to God about why couldn't I go along without praying so much. Surely five minutes of "God, bless my day" tacked on after reading the required chapter-a-day two or three times a week should be sufficient to make me a good Christian! Besides, the babies started coming, I had a lot to do, and surely God understands moms and their need for sleep! Surely God would not ask me to get out of bed early to pray!
I don't know when the turning point came. But I know that the Lord used three verses to convict me of my prayerlessness.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? (Matthew 26:40).
One hour? One whole hour? When I was a kid with my first digital watch I used to pass the time during prayer meeting by timing how long people prayed. Two or three minutes was about average, with some of the men praying as much as five minutes or more. I thought those were long prayers! But an hour? Whatever would I say in an hour? And where would I get an hour in my busy day, anyway?
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, [Jesus] went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed (Mark 1:35).
Have you ever really studied the first chapter of Mark? Two words stand out: straightway and immediately. In 45 verses, our Lord is baptized, is tempted, begins preaching, calls his first disciples, teaches in the synagogue, casts an unclean spirit out of a man, heals Peter's mother-in-law, heals many that were sick, casts out many devils, hikes into the next towns to preach in their synagogues, casts out more devils, and heals a leper. It almost makes me dizzy just to read about it. I have never been that busy. All right, so I carve an hour out of my day. But does it have to be so early in the morning?
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me (Proverbs 8:17).
Here are some reasons why I've found early morning to be the best time for prayer:
1. I'm not so tired. A little sleepy, maybe, at first, but not weary like I am at the end of a long day.
2. I can focus. Nobody else is up yet; there are no distractions.
3. I need help. If I've learned anything in the past 20 years, it's that I really can't be a patience wife and mother without spending a lot of time in prayer. And when Mom's not patient, the whole house is in turmoil!
4. It sanctifies the whole day. I get an "attitude adjustment" through early prayer that carries through the day, enabling me to meet any situation that arises with cheerfulness and grace. This works best if I pray every day, not just a few times a week.
This has been a long post, and I just realized that time is slipping away. It is now 7:17 a.m. Most of us have eaten breakfast, and my two medium boys (ages 10 and 12-in-two-weeks) have the kitchen cleaned up. They've also done their chores without being reminded, and have "reported for duty" (their words; they are into soldier stuff lately). I've got yard work for them to do, and need to do some laundry. I'm off to be Martha, but with Mary's attitude.
You will notice on the sidebar a new link. My good friend Twinklemoose started a blog on what the Lord has been teaching her regarding prayer. Like me, she is a busy home schooling mom (though she only has three children ;) ), so she doesn't write often. But I hope you'll check out her blog now and then. When I first began to read her blog, it convicted me to pray more, and I told her so. She surprised me by saying that God had used me to convict her, and that was part of what got her started on this! But isn't that the way it is sometimes? When a brother or sister is down, we help them up. When we are down, they help us up.
Going forward on my knees,
Pearl
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct his likeness shall see
--William D. Longstaff
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13, emphasis mine).
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:18).
I confess that when I was a young Christian, I did not have the habit of prayer. I did not really understand what prayer was all about, and had no idea what an essential part of the Christian life prayer is. The last verse quoted above is in the context of spiritual warfare, another topic I didn't know much about. I certainly didn't understand how the two were connected.
I married a man who prays. I didn't know anybody prayed so much until we were married. One evening after we'd been married only a few weeks, I walked into the bedroom and found him on his knees. I was surprised, and felt like I was interrupting something personal and private. I started to apologize for intruding, but he invited me to come and kneel with him. As I listened to him pray, I was in awe of this man. I already knew that he read and studied his Bible far more than I did. Now I was convinced that he had attained spiritual heights I would never know about.
Did I know that I could attain such spiritual heights as well? Maybe I sensed it, but I didn't really expect to. I know that for years afterward I compared myself to my husband and always came up short. I often felt a sense of loss, as if he was going on in his spiritual walk without me. He and God were going somewhere, somewhere very special, and I was being left behind.
But instead of spurring me on to prayer, this only made me feel sorry for myself. I whined to God about why couldn't I go along without praying so much. Surely five minutes of "God, bless my day" tacked on after reading the required chapter-a-day two or three times a week should be sufficient to make me a good Christian! Besides, the babies started coming, I had a lot to do, and surely God understands moms and their need for sleep! Surely God would not ask me to get out of bed early to pray!
I don't know when the turning point came. But I know that the Lord used three verses to convict me of my prayerlessness.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? (Matthew 26:40).
One hour? One whole hour? When I was a kid with my first digital watch I used to pass the time during prayer meeting by timing how long people prayed. Two or three minutes was about average, with some of the men praying as much as five minutes or more. I thought those were long prayers! But an hour? Whatever would I say in an hour? And where would I get an hour in my busy day, anyway?
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, [Jesus] went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed (Mark 1:35).
Have you ever really studied the first chapter of Mark? Two words stand out: straightway and immediately. In 45 verses, our Lord is baptized, is tempted, begins preaching, calls his first disciples, teaches in the synagogue, casts an unclean spirit out of a man, heals Peter's mother-in-law, heals many that were sick, casts out many devils, hikes into the next towns to preach in their synagogues, casts out more devils, and heals a leper. It almost makes me dizzy just to read about it. I have never been that busy. All right, so I carve an hour out of my day. But does it have to be so early in the morning?
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me (Proverbs 8:17).
Here are some reasons why I've found early morning to be the best time for prayer:
1. I'm not so tired. A little sleepy, maybe, at first, but not weary like I am at the end of a long day.
2. I can focus. Nobody else is up yet; there are no distractions.
3. I need help. If I've learned anything in the past 20 years, it's that I really can't be a patience wife and mother without spending a lot of time in prayer. And when Mom's not patient, the whole house is in turmoil!
4. It sanctifies the whole day. I get an "attitude adjustment" through early prayer that carries through the day, enabling me to meet any situation that arises with cheerfulness and grace. This works best if I pray every day, not just a few times a week.
This has been a long post, and I just realized that time is slipping away. It is now 7:17 a.m. Most of us have eaten breakfast, and my two medium boys (ages 10 and 12-in-two-weeks) have the kitchen cleaned up. They've also done their chores without being reminded, and have "reported for duty" (their words; they are into soldier stuff lately). I've got yard work for them to do, and need to do some laundry. I'm off to be Martha, but with Mary's attitude.
You will notice on the sidebar a new link. My good friend Twinklemoose started a blog on what the Lord has been teaching her regarding prayer. Like me, she is a busy home schooling mom (though she only has three children ;) ), so she doesn't write often. But I hope you'll check out her blog now and then. When I first began to read her blog, it convicted me to pray more, and I told her so. She surprised me by saying that God had used me to convict her, and that was part of what got her started on this! But isn't that the way it is sometimes? When a brother or sister is down, we help them up. When we are down, they help us up.
Going forward on my knees,
Pearl
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