OZ AND I: PLACES FOR PRAYER

Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest

As I've internalized the realization that my writing is my ministry, I've noticed that my prayer life has changed.

But not entirely in a good way.

Accepting my role as a member of God’s writing team, has occasionally morphed my prayer time into something that resembles a phone call with my editor—talking over structure and content, rather than humbling myself before His throne and worshiping Him for the King of the universe that He is.

How quickly it became all about me.

Yes, I’m praying more.

Yes, my prayers feel more naturally as coming from my soul.

Yes, I approach the throne with confidence.

But maybe with too much familiarity.

What happened to the praise and worship part of prayer? Why am I standing before the throne, when I should be kneeling?

That’s where Oswald Chambers came in this morning. 

“Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will.”

And “If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls.”

I don’t want hardness toward God. I don’t want despair in my soul. Yes, I desire to do God’s will, but at His pace. Really, I do want that.

This morning was a reminder to spend more time in the worship and praise part of prayer. God knows my needs and wants even without me rushing straight to the point. He knows.

He also knows that what I need—even more than getting to the point of my prayers—is that the real point of prayer is understanding my need to recognize my place in His realm. That place is the firm, comforting and beautiful place of worship.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for creating prayer so that we can communicate with you. Please show us more of your glory and help us find more ways to worship and praise you more. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? How do you worship and praise God in prayer?

*The devotional this post was based on was from April 1.

WHEN ALL WE CAN DO IS PRAY

I’m switching my regularly scheduled Wednesday post on the CW theme "celebrate" to Friday so I can honor my friend Lisa today.

Lisa has struggled with cancer for several years. Yesterday she learned that it has spread to her abdomen. She had been fighting this cancer for so long and had been filled with such strength of spirit because of her faith in Christ. She has been not just a light, but a high-voltage, super-charged high beam for Jesus.

All of us have friends or family who have been stricken with this disease. It is horrible. And it is horrible for loved ones to watch and feel helpless.

We can bring food to the family. We can call and visit. We can send cards and emails and leave little gifts at the door. But through it all we usually feel helpless because sometimes "all" we can do is pray.

Why do we use that expression? "All we can do is pray."

That is the very most important thing we can do—lift our loved one up in prayer to the God of the universe. We can ask for healing, for emotional and physical strength for the person and her family. We can ask for wisdom and guidance for doctors and health care providers. We can ask for encouragement. We can ask to be shown how to be helpful.

And always, always we can pray with gratitude for God’s plan, knowing that it is good because He is good. Even if we don’t understand it at the time.

• We can pray in gratitude for the health care we have today; for medications and technologies that heal and that ease pain and provide comfort.
• We can pray in gratitude for health care professionals who have knowledge and the ability to care for our loved ones in ways we are not able.
• We can pray in gratitude for communication and transportation that bring families and friends together.
• We can pray in gratitude for communities of believers who come together in prayer.
• We can pray in gratitude for the life of our loved one and the many ways she has touched our lives and the lives of others.
• We can pray in gratitude for the world made more beautiful because of our loved one.
• We can pray in gratitude for the mercy and grace given us so freely through Christ.
• We can pray in gratitude for prayer itself—God’s provision for communication with the most loving and powerful being in the universe.

　

There is a whole lot to pray for. It is not an "all" or an "only" thing to do.

Prayer should be the first thing we do. It should also be the last thing we do. And the thing we keep doing in the middle of every crisis.

Prayer is always the most important thing we can do.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for prayer. Thank you that you hear our prayers and care about our needs and the people we love. We pray for healing for our loved ones and for strength to fight when they need it. We thank you for being at work in our lives and ask that you fill us with your peace that your will is perfect and good in all things. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Who do you need to pray for right now?

STRETCH AND GROW; EXPAND AND GO!

This morning I was asking the Spirit to guide me in the various projects I’d planned to work on. I started listing them and as I did, my brain took charge of my prayer. Before I knew it, I was counting all the “major projects” I wanted to do well.

Carol! My brain shouted. You know you can only ever do one thing at a time if you want to do it well!

But I wanted to do all of those projects well and I wanted to do them well for God's glory. So I settled back into prayer. Not prayer of me working my brain; but prayer in the Spirit. And I prayed:

Lord, help me stretch and grow; and then expand and—Go! Wherever you lead me. Help me not be afraid of stretching. Help me not be afraid where you are leading me. 

That done, I opened my daily devotional and read:

Stop judging and evaluating yourself, for this is not your role…The only source of real affirmation is My unconditional Love.

Interesting.

My Bible reading for the day: Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. (Genesis 29:9)

  

I then began writing this post and clicked on Biblegateway.com because it’s cool to have God’s Word open in the same screen as my Word document. As if His words will infuse themselves with mine.

The “Verse of the Day” at the top of the page on Biblegateway.com was 2 Timothy 1:7:

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Got it Jesus. I will endeavor to persevere in all of these projects you are leading me to complete. Because you strengthen me in all things. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for your plans to stretch and grow us; to expand us and then to use us. Please help us be attuned to your leading, Holy Spirit, so that we are empowered—and feel empowered—to do all things for you. Thank you Jesus for the Word of God—which is you, that helps us see, understand and sometimes confirm your direction for us. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Is there an area in your life where God is urging you to stretch and grow and then expand and…GO?

SMARTER SPIRITUAL GOALS

This is a follow-up to Wednesday’s post on setting SMARTER GOALS.

I have five spiritual goals this year. I’ll share the first one as a SMARTER goal.

1. BIBLE READING 

SPECIFIC: After a couple of years focusing on specific books of the bible, toward the end of 2011 I was anxious to read through the bible from Genesis to Revelation again.

I’ve done so in various ways before. Last July, I realized there is no rush. So I began at Genesis 1 and have been reading one little chapter a day since then. After 6 months, I’m all the way up to Numbers. This will take a while.   

MEASURABLE: Reading one chapter per day is measurable. In addition to the reading I also keep a notebook of questions or insights.   

For example, this morning, I read Numbers 23. Verse 10 stumped me. Balak had asked Baalam to curse the Israelites. After the talking donkey incident, Baalam sought God’s leading, saying: 

“Who can count the dust of Jacob or the number of the fourth part of Israel?” 

What’s the fourth part of Israel? That caused me to dig further. The Israelites had been divided into four camps. Balaam was saying that each camp was so large as to not be able to be counted. Multiply that times four and—wowzer—spiritually speaking! 

ACHIEVABLE: One chapter a day is almost not enough. But because I have had the habit of reading scripture daily, this goal is certainly achievable. 

RELEVANT: Reading scripture is relevant to spiritual goals; even more relevant to living. 

TIME BASED: Daily reading.  

SMARTER: I will evaluate and reassess quarterly. 

Here are my other spiritual goals in shortened version: 

2. PRAYER: One benefit to a person being prayed for is that they hear how they are being lifted up to God. When someone asks for prayer, I will be more diligent about praying right then and there—with them.   

3. LIVE MY LIFE VERSE with more intention: Esther 4:14 

Perhaps you have come [I am here] to royal position [as daughter of King Jesus] for such a time as this [I can be used right now].  

4. LIVE AND GIVE WITH GRATITUDE. See my post GRATITUDE for the huge lesson learned at my daughter’s wedding. I believed myself to be a cheerful giver before, but now I’ve learned to be a CHEERFUL—exploding fireworks and flower bouquets—giver. 

5. FOCUS ON PROVERBS 

A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof. (Proverbs 19:13) 

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. (Proverbs 21:9) 

It is better to live in the desert than to live with a quarelsome wife.  (Proverbs 21:19) 

It is better to live on the corner of a roof than to live with a quarelsome wife. (Proverbs 25:24) 

A quarelsome wife is like the constant dripping of water. (Proverbs 27:7)

A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; (Proverbs 27:15) 

I’m not quarelsome. Really.  

But toward the end of the day, I am tired. Head-achy. Muscle achy all over. Those pains show up in my body language causing my family to sometimes imagine I’m upset, angry, annoyed.  

That’s not way I want the people I love to react to me. 

I’ll keep Proverbs in my head this year and try not to be perceived as a quarelsome wife.  Proverbs 25:24 is going on my fridge.

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Are these goals merely “to do’s”? Maybe, but they will help me focus more sharply on Jesus. I’m also changing my breath prayer this year to simply:

JE [inhale] SUS [exhale].

"Jesus." Sweet. Like Him. 

PRAYER: Help us, Jesus do what we can to focus on you. Open our minds and our hearts to your leading. Show us ways to be used by you this year—for your glory. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you have spiritual goals to share with us for 2012?

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Every room in my house is sprinkled with glitter. In preparation for baby girl’s wedding in December, we’ve got red glitter tulle. We’ve got silver glittered snowflakes. We’ve got glitter sprinkled curly willows.

In fact, once hubs painted those curly willows white and sprinkled them with glitter, he even stopped calling them crazy willows, creepy willows or spooky willows. Now he calls them “pretty.”

A little glitter can go a long way in turning whatever is crazy, creepy or spooky into something pretty.

This morning I noticed a sprinkling of glitter on the floor around me. No doubt it had attached itself to my body and I’d trailed it through the house as if I was sowing seeds of delight. Shedding glitter. Littering.

That reminded me of Jesus. 

Everything God makes is good and beautiful and shining. If God ever littered, ever had something He shed, sprinkling it as He went about, leaving trails throughout the heavens, it would appear to us as sparkling delight. God's litter. Glitter.

Now when I traipse through the house and find sparkles of glitter where there should be none, I think of God and imagine that He’s walking through the house with me (He is) and that He’s filled with so much glory (He is) that He leaves sparkles of God-litter wherever He goes. I only have to hold my head just so and let His light shine on it for me to see it sparkle.

The perfect way to hold my head just so? Bowed in prayer.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for your sparkling delight. Thank you for leaving a trail of your glory for us to see. Help us see it today wherever we are. Help us to look just so and see that your light is shining on us. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you have a fun memory involving glitter?

FREEWAY SIGNS FROM GOD

This post is part of the September blog chain with ChristianWriters.com. Our theme for the month of September is “Coming Home.” Please visit the links in the right column to see what my friends have to say about “Coming Home.”

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Twenty years ago we left our home in New York, packed up a house and two young children and headed west. Jim and I had lived in California when we first married, but since then we had acquired 13 years of marriage and two small New Yorkers.  

We had no idea where we would land in California; only that we wanted to return and begin the process of once again making a home, closer this time, to our family members we had left on the west coast. 

We soon found that—amid a declining real estate market—a group of new homes were being auctioned for sale. That seemed like a novelty. No real estate agents; no dragging young children through endless homes, keeping their hands off the tantalizing possessions of home owners.

Eleven empty, brand new homes were available to look at, bid on and move into. All were in a neighborhood in the small town of Rocklin—barely important enough for an exit off the freeway between Sacramento and Reno.

But was Rocklin where God wanted us to be? Was Rocklin where God wanted us to raise little Douglas James and Nicole Taylor? 

Amid the anxiety of moving small children cross-country; looking at homes in a town we knew nothing about; and having to make a decision within a few days, I was a wreck! I stressed and stewed; fretted, frowned, and ground my teeth. Then, the night before the auction, I did something novel.

I prayed…leaving it all to God; asking that He would make His desires completely clear to us.

The next morning, we left for the auction. I was at ease. We didn’t have clear direction. Rather, we headed for the auction not knowing if we would even bid on a house; much less get one. But I was at ease because I had released the worry to God.

In the car, I told Jim that I had prayed over the decision. Then I confessed I had also asked God to give me a “sign;” something to indicate His will in the matter.  Jim proceeded to tease me about wanting signs from God, but I could tell he was relieved to see me so relaxed after my uncertainty of the previous days.  

We decided to drive past the homes one more time before heading to the auction. As we neared our turnoff, I began to pay attention to the freeway exits. 

“Atlantic Avenue,” I read aloud. 

“Hey, it’s a sign!” said Jim. 

Still hoping for a clear indication from God, I asked, “You mean, it’s a sign from God because we’re moving here from the Atlantic coast?”  

“No,” Jim answered. “I just meant that it’s a sign—you know—a freeway sign.” 

I laughed and decided not to take things so seriously. 

Then we saw the next freeway exit sign before our exit. The enormous green sign declared:  

Douglas Boulevard

Taylor Road.

Jim and I stopped laughing abruptly. These two exits reflected the names of our two children: Douglas James and Nicole Taylor. 

God didn’t give us a sign. Rather, He threw freeway exit signs in front of us at 65 miles per hour.

When we arrived at the auction, we purchased a home within 45 seconds of bidding, never hesitating, never worrying that we had made a horrible mistake.

We lived in that home for 12 years before moving three-quarters of a mile away to our present home in Rocklin. This year we celebrate 20 years as Rocklin-ites and thank God for bringing us to this place, filled with lifelong friendships, a church filled with faithful believers and two decades of joyful living. 

Jesus told us that “Unless you people see signs and wonders…you will never believe.” (John 4:48)

But throughout the Bible God does show His people signs and wonders. Did God give me a “sign” or were those freeway exits a coincidence?

It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I gave up my worry and asked God to guide our decision. He did.

And it was good.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for guiding us. Thank you for providing us with the strength and understanding to see where you want us to go—whether by signs and wonders or the gentle leading of our hearts. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Have you ever felt that God had given you a clear sign directing your life?

LOVE SONGS TO THE SAVIOR

I’m a songbird. 

Well, I’m not a bird. But I do sing. Not professionally. Some days not even very well. But I sing anyway.

I remind myself of David and his dancing before the Lord. From his wife Michal’s comments, David never would have made it past the first week on Dancing with the Stars. But what he lacked in grace or style, he evidently made up for in enthusiasm.

That’s me when it comes to singing. In fact, just try and stop me from singing! I sing all day, every day. Sometimes out loud but always in my head. It can be very annoying, especially when the song that’s stuck in my head is a jingle from a TV ad. Other times it’s a song, I only know the first line to. In fact, I’ll confess right here that I evidently know the first line of every song ever written. But only the first line.

I also sing in my sleep. I know this because when I wake up during the night, that same song I fell asleep to is still running through my head.

Remembering the wisdom that if life hands you a lemon…oh, no! Now I’m singing that 1960’s classic, Lemon Tree.

Rewind.

Like me, you’ve probably had days when you’ve had a song stuck in your head. When I find myself singing an annoying, silly ditty, I stop myself, pick a nice hymn or contemporary Christian song, stick it on the CD player of my brain and suddenly, my annoying habit has become a way to pray and focus on God.

Did you read my post last week about praying the meaning of names of loved ones? Here’s the post. 

Just as I discovered the joy of praying names, I have discovered joy in praying songs. Singing a hymn throughout the day is one way I can pray unceasingly, without forcing myself to do anything unusual or unnatural.  The trick is to get the right song stuck in your head.

WHAT SONGS TO PRAY? 

When I wake in the morning, I often find myself singing Cat Steven’s  Morning has Broken. Did you know it’s a song about God’s creation? Listen to the lyrics and chances are it’ll set you off in prayer. You’ll thank God for the new day He has created. Ask Him to use you in whatever way He has planned.

When I sit down to write out a prayer for the Christian Writers forum I’m a member of, I often begin by singing “We gather together (on this site) to ask the Lord’s blessing” (on our writing). Singing that hymn is a reminder that I’m part of a community and that we gather together online to encourage each other and to ask for God not only to bless, but to guide and inspire our writing for His purpose.

When I go for a walk, I begin praying in the Spirit by singing the Doxology. These simple words remind me  that all blessings flow from our Triune God.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above—ye heavenly hosts.

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 

The Doxology is also a reminder that, I’m joining in a heavenly sing-along. 

In fact, any time I find myself singing a song that doesn’t praise God or remind me that He’s in charge, I will not worry about finding the perfect song. I can simply sing the Doxology and it brings me back in line with Him and my place in His creation.

When I pray for a sick friend, I can sing There is a Balm in Gilead throughout the day and be reminded to pray for her continuously.

When I need courage for a struggle, I can sing Onward Christian Soldier.  

When I feel myself not as loving toward someone else, I can sing Steven Curtis Chapman’s Fingerprints of God to remind myself that the person is God’s creation, too.

And when I just want to praise God, there’s Amazing Grace, For the Beauty of the Earth, Fairest Lord Jesus, and The Halleluiah Chorus. Be grateful you’re not inside my head when I’m singing that one. It’s quite an energetic—if not entirely harmonic—experience!

WE PRAY IN DIFFERENT WAYS

There are many ways to pray. Jesus gave an example of one form of prayer that we can follow, when He gave us The Lord’s Prayer. Start with praise and recognition of where God resides and that He is in chargeàrequest what we needàrequest forgiveness and protectionàaffirm God’s kingdom, power and eternal character.

We can also jot down people and circumstances that need prayer and pray through them.

We can sit quietly and let the Spirit lead our prayer wherever He sees it should go.

We can pray for others based on the meaning of their names.

And we can pray unceasingly throughout the day by singing songs of joy, petition and praise. Even if you're singing praise songs in your head, God can hear them because the Holy Spirit is right there inside your head, too listening. And probably smiling even if you miss a few of the notes.

We don’t have to be named Celine to sing songs that will be lifted to God in prayer. Just as God loved David despite his lack of a royal choreographer, so will He love our prayer songs to Him.

Keep singing.

NOTE: There are some terrific websites that provide the music and lyrics for hymns. Net Hymnal allows you to search for the name of a hymn. The site will not only bring up the lyrics, but will play a digital version of the song and give you historical background of the writer and musician.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for creating prayer so we can communicate with you. Thank you  for allowing us many forms of prayer. However we pray, please look to our hearts and understand that when we sing praises to you, they come from the child-like love in our hearts for you. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you have a favorite hymn or contemporary Christian song? What is it? Can you use that song as a form of prayer that you can sing unceasingly throughout the day?