September 24, 2018

Who Do You Pray For?

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. – Ephesians 6:18

Who did you pray for today? You did pray, didn’t you? I certainly hope so! Prayer is not only how we talk to God, it’s also how we listen to Him.

Maybe you’re one of those who treat God like a vending machine. You know what I’m talking about. You want, want, want. No matter how much you get, you want more.

Oh, you’re grateful. Always. But it’s never enough. You’re never satisfied because you’re trying to fill yourself up with stuff rather than with God Himself.

But I digress. Let’s get back to prayer. How often do you pray for yourself? And how often do you pray for others? Because if your prayers are all about you, then you’ve got a problem. That’s something our pastor pointed out yesterday.

We are to pray for others. We are to pray for healing and for God’s Spirit to fill them up. We are to pray for guidance and comfort and so many things. People desperately need us to intercede for them, just as we need others to intercede for us.

What they don’t need are prayers for our will to be done in their lives. We’re really good at telling God what He needs to do, aren’t we? So, we try to “fix” others with prayer. We offer God plenty of advice He doesn’t need on how to get people in line with how we think they should be living their lives.

Oops!

Motives have a way of revealing themselves when we go before God in prayer if we’ll listen to what He is saying to us. God is good to point out our flaws, our self-interests, our agendas. Sometimes it hurts. It’s a necessary hurt.

God knows best. He always does. We don’t have to tell Him what we think in order to lift someone up in prayer. We can ask for healing – knowing that the healing might happen here on earth or it might come with Him taking the one we love home to heaven. We have to trust Him to know what’s best. That’s hard.

A sweet friend once said that the hardest prayer she ever prayed was asking God to do whatever was necessary to save a family member. She understood that some people must go through great heartache to reach a point of surrender to Christ. She understood that her prayer might be for brokenness for someone she loved. She prayed anyway, trusting God to know best.

How about you? Do you trust God to handle issues without your input? Do you trust Him to wrap Himself around those who are hurting? Do you trust Him enough to lift up someone in prayer without telling God what to do?

We are called to pray for others, not to know all the answers. When in doubt, pray. When someone is hurting, pray. When the Holy Spirit brings someone to mind, pray. Just pray – and trust God to know what’s best.

April 23, 2018

Faith’s Shield Essential

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

– Ephesians 6:16

For we live by faith, not by sight.

– 2 Corinthians 5:7

What is your weak spot? Where are your vulnerable places where Satan knows he can push your buttons, cause you to doubt God, send you into a panic?

We all have them. We do. For some people, it’s your children or grandchildren. For others, it’s the security of a large bank account or a steady job. Maybe it’s your health. Whatever it is, Satan has you in his radar and he’s coming after you. Guaranteed.

There’s only one way to combat Satan and that’s with the armor of God. Most of us try to put on one part of the armor and leave something else out. The thing is that with even the best armor, Satan’s attacks can sometimes pierce us where we are most vulnerable. That’s where the shield comes in to play.

Why do you think the Apostle Paul paired faith with a soldier’s shield? Because it’s necessary to block Satan’s attacks. Armor can be penetrated in its vulnerable places, like where the metal joins together. But the shield is steady and true, especially when it’s locked together with the shields of other soldiers.

Faith sounds easy. We all have it. We know that Jesus died for us so that we might live. We’re Christians after all. But as the Book of Job attests, faith doesn’t always make life easy. Sometimes it’s just the opposite. There’s nothing Satan wants more than to use God’s children to discredit God Almighty.

We are in a spiritual war, whether we acknowledge it or not. Satan may not literally be attacking us with flaming arrows but we are under attack. Where are you vulnerable? What are the things that temp you to cast aside God’s ways for the world? What lures you away from where you need to stay? Have you experienced persecution for your faith? Are you following false teaching, a particular pastor, or the fun of a concert/church worship that isn’t based on truth? Do you doubt God when something doesn’t go your way? Do you lash out in anger when God doesn’t immediately answer your prayer?

We are going to have hardship in this world. God is going to tell us no sometimes. Life on this earth isn’t easy. It can really hurt. And even when all is well, we’re still looking ahead, one step at a time, following a God who knows the way but isn’t telling us the plan. Instead, God tells us to trust Him. God is faithful and true. He wants good things for us. He knows what He’s doing. It really will be okay.

I can’t even imagine how hard it was for Abraham to leave all that he knew for an unknown destiny. He did it anyway. He trusted God. He walked by faith.

Today will have challenges we can’t predict. Lift up your shield of faith, wrap yourself in God’s promises, walk in His light. Whatever the day brings, He’s got you covered. When nothing else makes sense, trust in Almighty God and you will find rest and peace for the journey.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Forgiveness Is Ongoing

Honor your father and mother -- which is the first commandment with a promise -- that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. -- Ephesians 6:2-3

A young woman I know struggles with anger toward her mother. She’s a young Christian who wants to do the right thing. She visits her mother. She takes her young children to visit their grandmother. It’s a difficult relationship.

An older woman can’t understand. “She’s got to let it go,” she says. “She’s got to move past it so that her children aren’t impacted by her anger toward her mother.”

I just smile and remind the older woman to pray about it. I refuse to gossip. I refuse to delve into the darkness of the younger woman’s struggles with someone who can’t possibly understand. The older woman is loving and kind. She had wonderful parents and she, in turn, became a wonderful mother. Her family loves and celebrates each member. She can’t comprehend anything else.

I can. You see for this young woman it isn’t about forgiving past sins. It isn’t about forgiving past hurts. It’s about an ongoing broken relationship where one of the parties continues to destroy the person she should have loved and cherished, supported and protected, from the time of her birth. Forgiving becomes not so much letting go of the past as a daily battle to forgive and deal with the hurtful comments and actions that continue.

The Bible tells us to honor our parents. We are to love and respect them no matter what. How do you love and respect someone who would destroy you in a heartbeat? How do you love and respect someone who is a master at hurtful comments, lies and putdowns?

I don’t have any answers for this young woman as she struggles to reconcile her reality with God’s words. I don’t know how to explain to those blessed with wonderful family relationships how it feels to be rejected again and again by your own mother. I have no answers.

It is a daily challenge to hand it all to God. Day after day. Hurt after hurt. Because the alternative is to become hard, shutting yourself off from everyone just so that you can survive the pain. God knows. He understands. His love is unconditional and complete. And, some days, that’s more than enough.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Hang On To Jesus

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." -- Ephesians 6:13

Christmas is supposed to be a joyous time of hope, family, friendship and giving. We celebrate Jesus' birth and that joyous event brings out the best in everyone. Sometimes. It also can bring out the worst.

For some people, the holidays are filled with drama and trauma and a whole lot of unhappy days. We come together as a family, hopeful that this year we'll have that perfect gathering. We want to all get along. We want to laugh and be merry and enjoy being together. But our expectations are impossibly high. The person who can't stand to be in the same room with you in September, probably isn't going to engage in a love fest with you in December. And the person who lies about you in February, probably also lied about you in December. Harsh reality rears its ugly head.

I always used to dream of that perfect holiday. You know what I'm talking about. The one where everyone got along. The family gathering where I was actually welcomed and accepted rather than tolerated and slandered. Then I moved away and life was different. Lonely? Not so much. The drama was gone. I spent holidays with people by choice. Sometimes I was alone. My focus was always on Jesus. He was more than enough.

I came back and life returned to as it was before. Don't get me wrong. I still long for that perfect holiday. I want to be the perfect daughter, sister, aunt and friend. I want to join together people who are estranged. I want life to be filled with hope and renewal aimed toward what could be rather than stuck in the past of what was. But I am one person. And there are some who thrive on lies and bitterness. That's just how it is.

So I put on the armor God has given to me. I stand, mostly alone, in His shadow, holding my tongue and smiling through the insults. Mostly, anyway. I am human. Sometimes I slip up and respond to the goading. That sets off a round of guilt and I'm so terribly tired of that road.

We want holidays to be like those we see on television. We want that happily ever after ending. Some people get it. I'm glad for them. For the rest of us, we do the best we can. Emotions are heightened during this season of joy. Expectations surround us. We can get through it all by hanging on to Jesus and remembering that it's His birthday we're celebrating. All the other stuff is just commercialism and hype that doesn't really matter at all.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Greet Anger With Kindness

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." -- Ephesians 6:31-32

Today was a rough day. It's difficult to work with an unhappy person who is intent on lashing out at those around him. Today was my day to be on the receiving end of his blame-game.

I do realize that he is an unhappy, hard-hearted person. I also realize that it's always somebody. It's not about me. He's always angry, always pointing a finger, always blaming and making excuses. He's lashed out at just about everyone. I've witnessed it a number of times.

Still, it's difficult for me to hold my tongue in the middle of it. I want to lash out. My hurt feelings want to defend themselves with angry words. True words, that voice inside me says. Wrong words, the Christian in me soothes.

Angry words won't change him. Prayer is all I know how to do for him. I'd like to think kindness in the face of his accusations will make its mark. When doubt fills me, I remind myself that God can do anything. And I really do want God to touch this man's heart and rid him of all his bitterness.

I turn him over to God and also ask for strength and wisdom for myself. I don't want to be the person who lashes out and wants revenge. I want to be the person who spoke kindly and walked away. Even writing that makes me cringe. My human side craves retaliation. My Christian heart says no way. I must hold my tongue, no matter how unfair it may seem.

Living a Christian life is sometimes difficult. I turn to God and ask for strength. I read His Word and seek His wisdom. I pray for His intervention and His healing touch. And I pray that tomorrow I will greet this angry, bitter man with kindness and compassion. He doesn't deserve it. But, then, neither do I deserve the kindness and compassion God always shows me.