"O Lord my God, in You do I take refuge ... deliver me" (Psalm 7:1).
The pits yawn on either side of me as I tread this narrow path with You. Precipices steeply beckon. When I feel misunderstood or judged unfairly, will I fall into despair, anger, resentment, or self-pity? Or will I plunge into self-righteousness, pride, and judgment? Protect me from them both! You walk this narrow road in complete humility and absolute love. Keep me close to You, Lord, or I am utterly lost!
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Friday, February 05, 2010
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Halloween Prayer
This verse* is what my kids and I just started praying today for our community during the Halloween season:
Open their eyes
so that they may turn
from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan
to God.
Amen!
*(Acts 26:18a, ESV).
so that they may turn
from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan
to God.
Amen!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
What to do today?
I posted this on my personal blog last week but thought that it would be appropriate here as well.
What to do today?
Many chores beckon,
Duties never-ending,
Children always needing,
Errands to be done.
But ...
Baby niece born last night
Tiny bundle of sweetness
Life beginning, makes me think
What really matters?
Should I vacuum all the house
Fold the laundry, organize,
Bead a necklace, shop for food,
Practice piano, write a song?
Somehow I don't know where to start
Today - just a Tuesday, I guess
But not.
This is the only "today" I have
These hours precious, not to be
Spent carelessly.
so tell me please
What would You have me do today?
What to do today?
Many chores beckon,
Duties never-ending,
Children always needing,
Errands to be done.
But ...
Baby niece born last night
Tiny bundle of sweetness
Life beginning, makes me think
What really matters?
Should I vacuum all the house
Fold the laundry, organize,
Bead a necklace, shop for food,
Practice piano, write a song?
Somehow I don't know where to start
Today - just a Tuesday, I guess
But not.
This is the only "today" I have
These hours precious, not to be
Spent carelessly.
so tell me please
What would You have me do today?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Something Worked!
So many things in my life don't work they way I want them to (like potty training my son and keeping up with the laundry and housework) that when something does work, I want to shout it from the housetops. While I realize that two days doesn't exactly indicate consistency, there is just something about what we did today and yesterday that feels right and lasting.
Yesterday and today, I actually had a devotional prayer time with the kids that was fun and life-giving for all of us! We have tried so many different things over the past couple of years that at times I've been very discouraged. Gradually I've given up on trying to do my ideal and just gone for what doesn't make me or the kids too frustrated. And in the process, we are gradually learning what works for us.
What we did today is really quite simple: First, we read a short section from Mark. I keep it very, very short (5-10 verses at most) so that there's a chance of keeping their attention. We are reading from the New Living Translation, which seems to have a good storytelling style of language. Then I ask the kids if they have any questions about the story or to tell me something they heard (just one thing, even if they can just remember one word I said, I count it success).
A side note about the kids actually hearing the Word: I have gradually come to believe that it is important that they get the living Word of God directly, not just Bible stories or devotional readings. The Bible promises that the Word brings life (Matthew 13:23). So I would rather they hear a few words from the Bible and not understand it all than many words of a story. For if His Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11), then I believe that something they heard will stay in them and be magnified over their lifetime by the Holy Spirit until it actually does bring life to them.
If, after I've read the verses I've chosen, they don't remember any of it, I remind them that these are their life words. If they don't take their life words (like taking medicine), they will die. And the only way they can take their life medicine is through their ears. Then I read it again. I try to make the reading as fun as I'm able (my ability to do this varies greatly day to day). Sometimes I simply have them repeat every word or phrase after me. Other days I try to do dramatic voices and actions. Every now and then we're really creative and each child acts out part of the story. Then I ask them again to tell me something about the story or to ask a question. Usually by the second reading they have heard something. Hallelujah!
This next part is my favorite. Inspired by this post, we've started writing prayer requests on index cards. I pass out an index card to each child. We sing one of our favorite Bible verses, "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever," (Psalm 107:1). Then each child prays for the request on their card (mostly repeating after me). Then we sing another favorite verse, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). The kids really get into this part as we clap and dance around.
I think the best part for me is that I feel a smile in my spirit afterwards, like we've really touched Heaven.
While we do have to be careful not to compare ourselves with one another (I am so prone to that!), it can sometimes be very encouraging to hear what others do so we can incorporate ideas that sound fun for our family. I'd love to hear what works for you! If you have an idea you'd like to share, please leave a comment so we can all be encouraged.
Note: Lest anyone think better of me than I really am, please do not misunderstand me. While my goal is to have a daily prayer time with my children, there are many days when it just does not happen. I have been learning, with them and in my own personal prayer time, to not look back and simply to see each day as a new day and a new opportunity. And though, on a day-to-day level, it looks very inconsistent, over the course of a month or a year we are actually making progress!
Yesterday and today, I actually had a devotional prayer time with the kids that was fun and life-giving for all of us! We have tried so many different things over the past couple of years that at times I've been very discouraged. Gradually I've given up on trying to do my ideal and just gone for what doesn't make me or the kids too frustrated. And in the process, we are gradually learning what works for us.
What we did today is really quite simple: First, we read a short section from Mark. I keep it very, very short (5-10 verses at most) so that there's a chance of keeping their attention. We are reading from the New Living Translation, which seems to have a good storytelling style of language. Then I ask the kids if they have any questions about the story or to tell me something they heard (just one thing, even if they can just remember one word I said, I count it success).
A side note about the kids actually hearing the Word: I have gradually come to believe that it is important that they get the living Word of God directly, not just Bible stories or devotional readings. The Bible promises that the Word brings life (Matthew 13:23). So I would rather they hear a few words from the Bible and not understand it all than many words of a story. For if His Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11), then I believe that something they heard will stay in them and be magnified over their lifetime by the Holy Spirit until it actually does bring life to them.
If, after I've read the verses I've chosen, they don't remember any of it, I remind them that these are their life words. If they don't take their life words (like taking medicine), they will die. And the only way they can take their life medicine is through their ears. Then I read it again. I try to make the reading as fun as I'm able (my ability to do this varies greatly day to day). Sometimes I simply have them repeat every word or phrase after me. Other days I try to do dramatic voices and actions. Every now and then we're really creative and each child acts out part of the story. Then I ask them again to tell me something about the story or to ask a question. Usually by the second reading they have heard something. Hallelujah!
This next part is my favorite. Inspired by this post, we've started writing prayer requests on index cards. I pass out an index card to each child. We sing one of our favorite Bible verses, "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever," (Psalm 107:1). Then each child prays for the request on their card (mostly repeating after me). Then we sing another favorite verse, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). The kids really get into this part as we clap and dance around.
I think the best part for me is that I feel a smile in my spirit afterwards, like we've really touched Heaven.
While we do have to be careful not to compare ourselves with one another (I am so prone to that!), it can sometimes be very encouraging to hear what others do so we can incorporate ideas that sound fun for our family. I'd love to hear what works for you! If you have an idea you'd like to share, please leave a comment so we can all be encouraged.
Note: Lest anyone think better of me than I really am, please do not misunderstand me. While my goal is to have a daily prayer time with my children, there are many days when it just does not happen. I have been learning, with them and in my own personal prayer time, to not look back and simply to see each day as a new day and a new opportunity. And though, on a day-to-day level, it looks very inconsistent, over the course of a month or a year we are actually making progress!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Quiet the Noise!
What does a bookish, peace-loving escapist do when she has four children ages five and under? Run? Hide under the covers? (Many days I’ve wanted to.) Or pray? Life with my little “bonbons” has driven me to prayer more than anything else. My life drives me to desperation on a near-daily basis. I find that the pressure of my current circumstances is what has motivated me to seek the Lord with a passion and intensity previously unknown to me. I used to float through life in a semi-dream state (just ask my mom). Now I am forced to encounter present reality nearly every moment of the day.
As I write this, I am sitting at the house of prayer. My wakeful (and, for the past hour-and-a-half, fussy) seven-week-old is struggling against the wrap in which I have him tied to me. I'm hoping he’ll go to sleep. I would like to snatch half an hour of peace away from the house which never seems quite picked up no matter how hard I try, the laundry that is never fully done, and the computer that beckons me to plan, research, buy, do, and escape through hours of endless browsing.
There is always far more to do than I can possibly accomplish. After I have cared for my children’s physical and emotional needs there is always much more I want or need to do: more housework, more email, more reading (yeah right, though I do snatch time for my favorite activity), more study, more projects … and even when I stop to spend time with the Lord, I have to choose how I will do it. Do I turn on the IHOP stream and worship? Or do I do an in-depth Bible study (and, if that, which of the many studies I want to do will I work on today)? Do I read something from my stack of books or listen to an RHOP podcast? Do I meditate on one verse or read several chapters? Or do I simply sit quietly and listen? I feel overwhelmed with options.
I am becoming convinced that which option I choose isn’t really the issue. God is not limited to one form of communication. He can speak to me through any of them. The real question is why I am coming into His presence. Is it to check another task off my to-do list, or to encounter Him? Over the past few years, I have made several lifestyle choices to make more room for seeking the Lord. But even with fewer distractions in my life, it is too easy to fill every moment with noise, even if the noise comes only from my own thoughts. In the midst of living a lifestyle meant to encourage the pursuit of God, I can still miss actually meeting with Him.
Lord, help me! Help me to let go of everything but my hunger for You. Stoke the flame of desire in me until everything else falls away and I am face-to-face with You. “I will seek You in the quiet place” of my soul. Amid the noise of life, let my spirit rest in You until all is quiet within. Let me be attentive to what is on Your heart today.
The baby finally fell asleep. :)
This was written in my journal several months ago, but I am just now posting it. It seems appropriate as we begin focusing on The Power of a Focused Life for the next few weeks.
As I write this, I am sitting at the house of prayer. My wakeful (and, for the past hour-and-a-half, fussy) seven-week-old is struggling against the wrap in which I have him tied to me. I'm hoping he’ll go to sleep. I would like to snatch half an hour of peace away from the house which never seems quite picked up no matter how hard I try, the laundry that is never fully done, and the computer that beckons me to plan, research, buy, do, and escape through hours of endless browsing.
There is always far more to do than I can possibly accomplish. After I have cared for my children’s physical and emotional needs there is always much more I want or need to do: more housework, more email, more reading (yeah right, though I do snatch time for my favorite activity), more study, more projects … and even when I stop to spend time with the Lord, I have to choose how I will do it. Do I turn on the IHOP stream and worship? Or do I do an in-depth Bible study (and, if that, which of the many studies I want to do will I work on today)? Do I read something from my stack of books or listen to an RHOP podcast? Do I meditate on one verse or read several chapters? Or do I simply sit quietly and listen? I feel overwhelmed with options.
I am becoming convinced that which option I choose isn’t really the issue. God is not limited to one form of communication. He can speak to me through any of them. The real question is why I am coming into His presence. Is it to check another task off my to-do list, or to encounter Him? Over the past few years, I have made several lifestyle choices to make more room for seeking the Lord. But even with fewer distractions in my life, it is too easy to fill every moment with noise, even if the noise comes only from my own thoughts. In the midst of living a lifestyle meant to encourage the pursuit of God, I can still miss actually meeting with Him.
Lord, help me! Help me to let go of everything but my hunger for You. Stoke the flame of desire in me until everything else falls away and I am face-to-face with You. “I will seek You in the quiet place” of my soul. Amid the noise of life, let my spirit rest in You until all is quiet within. Let me be attentive to what is on Your heart today.
The baby finally fell asleep. :)
This was written in my journal several months ago, but I am just now posting it. It seems appropriate as we begin focusing on The Power of a Focused Life for the next few weeks.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
One Thing
This is something I shared at RHOP this evening, and I want to share it here as well:
“. . . [W]e must have the willingness to stop everything to further develop our life of prayer” (Bob Hartley, Prophetic Insight, Vision for 2007).
As moms, it is so easy to be distracted by the many good things we want to do with/for our children. Home school, sports, extracurricular activities, housework, all can eat up our days. But One Thing must come first. We must learn to live the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle ourselves, model it to our children, and teach it to them as normal Christianity. In order to do that, we must go deep in God. We, perhaps more than any other vocational calling, can no longer satisfy ourselves with Sunday Christianity and gleaning from the plates of others. We are raising up God’s warriors. We must know what we’re doing, what His heart is toward us and them. We are preparing the end-time generation. If we do not have a deep, firm foundation of personal knowledge of God, then how will we pass this on to our children? It is absolutely urgent that we begin to seek God now, with all our hearts, and let everything else take second place.
“. . . God must be woven into all areas of life and invited into every hidden corner . . . “ (Hartley).
We no longer have the luxury of separating our lives into compartments. God must invade our every moment, every thought, every decision, every interaction. We must not be satisfied until we have His presence manifest in our lives and our families. Let us discover joy in our life’s purpose, begin hearing God’s heart, and greatly honor His desires above our own. Let us substantially alter our priorities to match the priorities of heaven.
(Much wording borrowed from Hartley.)
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