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Tag: prayer

  • A Blessing in Disguise…

    Sunday. A time of worship and church. And we were late. We were both ready at our usual departure time, but my husband was called on a case for his company. I had resigned myself to watch the service from my living room chair even though I wanted to be there in person.

    As luck would have it… well, it really wasn’t luck because God knew both of us needed to be there, so luck wasn’t a factor.

    We missed part of the worship segment of the service, but not all of it. And I was truly thankful to have been able to participate. And the worship was wonderful.

    We worship in a small community church and have been attending there since we moved to North Carolina. And we both wanted to be there this Sunday because our pastor was concluding part four of our church’s series: Storm Clouds of Deception on the Horizon. I took my usual copious notes, so I had them in case I needed them for the telephone Bible Study I’ve been doing for years.

    But the reason we had to be there was because we were asked to be the prayer team after the service. The enemy would like nothing more than to keep ministry workers at home and miss God’s blessings. We would have missed a wonderful time of worship and the blessing of ministering to others.

    What’s important about being the church’s prayer team today was that if we had stayed home, we would have missed out on the blessing to pray for those in need.

    The first man to come forward was a man who has encouraged us and made us laugh since the day we met him. But he’s been having serious health issues for a long time. We have been praying for this brother every Wednesday at our church’s Engine Room Ministry, where a group of us pray for the needs of our church, our community, and the world.

    He hadn’t come to pray, but just to tell us how much he loved us. I asked him if we could pray for him, so we did. I could tell the prayer touched him because his hand left my shoulder to wipe away the tears. But we were more blessed by what he had to say after the prayer ended.

    That dear brother has bone cancer. He told us how he’d been hospitalized frequently in the past month. (We knew this because of the updates during Wednesday evening prayer time).

    But you know, God is greater than any cancer. He told us how his PSA was 70+ when it should be less than 6. That’s not good news. However, he said, during his most recent stay, he had eleven doctors surrounding the foot of his bed. (I suspect the hospital he was in was a teaching hospital, but I didn’t ask.)

    The lead doctor called on one of the other ten doctors to tell him what they found. The doctor said, “We can’t explain it. We don’t know why, but your PSA level has dropped to 2.” (My heart leaped for joy. God had answered our prayers.)

    Our friend said he told those eleven doctors he knew why his levels had dropped.

    “Why,” one doctor asked.

    “Because I have hundreds and hundreds of people praying for me,” he said. He told us he had people praying from as far away as Oregon and California.

    A few of the doctors murmured “hmmm.” But most of them said nothing. It doesn’t matter if they believe or not because we know why his levels decreased. And it might even awaken them to the possibility that while doctors have the knowledge and experience to treat various diseases, some things are left to the Almighty.

    He asked his doctor if he was in remission. The doctor was hesitant to say that was the case and understandably so, but our friend will get a bone scan and blood tests later this week. Of course, we’ll be praying for a good outcome for those tests as well.

    And we would have missed out on that blessing of knowing how God answered prayer if we hadn’t gone to church this morning.

    We also needed our friend’s uplifting story because, on the heels of hearing his experience, a mother came forward crying. Her little girl has an incurable bone disease. The doctors said it would get progressively worse. We can’t say if the little girl will be healed because it’s not up to us. Our job is to pray for her. The healing will come from the Lord, if He so chooses. So we prayed, along with another woman in our congregation. The experience tore at both of us and wrenched our hearts. But we will continue to pray for that little girl and her family.

    Another blessing of being able to minister to that mother and daughter we would not have had if we had stayed home. There’s more to the story about how God intervened so we wouldn’t miss out on these blessings, but that’s for another time.

    We are big believers in prayer at our house. How about you? Do you have any answered prayer stories you’d like to share?

     

     

  • Mother’s Day 2021

    Wishing every mother and/or grandmother who reads this blog post a very Happy Mother’s Day.

    My mother, who turns 92 in June (exactly one week after my birthday), has been slowly deteriorating.

    She has been housebound for several years. With my brother wheelchair bound and me a day’s drive away, we had a caregiver who went to her place twice a day to ensure she ate, got her medication and ensured her physical needs were met. The rest of the time she was all alone. And that bothered me.

    But mentally? She has her good days and her bad days. Some days I’d call, and she didn’t recognize my voice. Other days, she was jovial. And that was cause for celebration.

    But this year has been a particularly tough year for me… and my brother. My mother had to be hospitalized and then taken to long-term care. And while my brother fought this, he realized based on her lack of interest in using her walker and her continued physical frailty, she needed 24/7 care that neither of us could give her.

    The heartbreak of this ordeal has been to clear out decades of stuff from her home. It’s been daunting, and it’s not done yet. While I was going through her garage and donating the vast majority of stuff in there, It struck me that we are born with nothing and we die with nothing. It’s all just “stuff”. Stuff that we don’t need or want.

    I’ve come to terms with my mother’s frailty and the fact that it may not be long before she’s not with us, but rejoice because we still have her… even if it’s just for a little while longer.

    If you still have your mother in pristine health, rejoice and spend time with her. If you don’t, search your memory banks for the sweet times you spent with her and relive them in your heart and mind and know you were blessed to have her.

    So Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. You are loved.

  • Our country today…

    And he said:

    “The Lord roars from Zion,
    And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
    The pastures of the shepherds mourn,
    And the top of Carmel withers.”

    Amos 1:2

    Let’s look at some background information. Amos is a lesser known book of the Bible and the man, Amos, is one of the minor prophets of the Bible. His name means “burden” or “burden bearer” and he was a man of burden as he delivered prophecies of judgment on the nations surrounding Israel and Israel itself. He lived about ten miles from Jerusalem and Bible scholars have dated his ministry between 750 and 760 BC, at the time of King Uzziah, when the nation of Israel had been divided into two nations for 150 years

    Let’s look at the context of this verse. The first part of this passage deals with God’s judgment. The roar deals with God’s judgment toward the Gentile nations and then toward Judah and Israel. The people of Israel and Judah set up places of worship in other cities. This was a reminder that the true center of worship was Jerusalem. Amos described himself as a sheep raiser which meant he was a shepherd, not in the spiritual sense as Jesus was the great shepherd and he knew if God withheld rain, sent plagues or allowed foreign armies to invade, the land would suffer and the people of the land would suffer. Carmel was a mountain where Isaiah defeated the prophets of Baal. Amos is reminding the people of the Lord’s victory over idolatry.

    So how does this verse correlate to today’s society?

    The U.S. is experiencing a climate of protests and violence in our nation’s cities. The land is mourning with the destruction of buildings and businesses. The U.S. has had to overcome many obstacles from the beginning of the nation until now, but it has overcome those things through the prayers of the people. We live in hope that God will heal our land if we call out to Him.

    What is your prayer for our country today?

     

  • July 4th

    Are we celebrating the birth of a nation or the death of society? It’s hard to tell the difference this year. 

    America celebrates its 244th birthday today.  The fourth of July.  The day the Declaration of Independence was signed by America’s forefathers.  Thinking back on my childhood, Independence Day meant picnics and barbecues, fun and fireworks, and spending time with friends and family.  Articles and television broadcasts covered the valiant struggle to achieve Independence.  But as a child, I focused on the fun aspect of the day and not on the battles or the loss of life. Most, if not all, of those childhood memories, have been shattered by a deadly virus that has claimed the lives of more than 132 thousand people. On the heels of this deadly plague, we have the destruction of property and monuments through protests and violence.

    Focusing on the good times of the past and trying to enjoy the day is a dream when I can’t visit my community’s gorgeous outdoor pool because I need to make an appointment and have a limited time frame for that visit. Do I even want to attempt to schedule a time (if there are any available) or do I just stay home and possibly go see fireworks to have a celebration?

    Most, if not all the firework displays have been canceled.  So that’s out.  But maybe there will be displays on television that I could watch, but it’s not the same. Parks and beaches are closed.  Boat ramps are closed. Many restaurants are closed or are open to half capacity. We’re destined to stay home just as authorities dictated. Nothing is as it was.

    Over fifty years ago, I spent a summer in Europe.  I remember thinking how grateful I was to live in America and couldn’t wait to come home because there were so many conveniences that were lacking. Amenities I missed.  Now I’m wondering if that gratitude was misplaced.

    What happened to the country I love?  Could it be that we’re entering the final phases of an industrial societal collapse?  Based on the 10-year-old, 8,000-word essay by Peter Goodchild, there are 14 parts of the demise of a society. They are interrelated and cascade into one another.

    So what are they? The shortage of fossil fuels, metals, and electricity.  The scarcity of basic life needs such as food and fresh water. The transportation and communication infrastructure crumbles.  Societal relationships in government, education, and labor deteriorate.  Finally, true anarchy forces its way into our lives with crime, cults, craziness, chaos.

    Based on this list, I’d say the United States is well on its way to complete destruction.  But, wait.  Do we want to give up our way of life because research has shown this happened in the Hittite Empire, the Western Roman Empire, the Gupta Empires in India, the Han and Tang dynasties in China, and the Mayans?  Or do we fight like the ancestors this nation fought for a well-earned liberation?

    Our first independence was fraught with the sound of cannons and guns, but I would hope today’s fight would be fought on our knees. I’m but one of the millions who have been praying for our nation, our leaders, and our people. All people.

    I often pray this verse:

    If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  2 Chron 14:7 KJV

    Won’t you join me today and pray for the healing of our land?  It’s the only way.

     

  • Wisdom

    11 Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.” NKJV

    Let’s talk about the context of these two verses.  From verse 1 to verse 6 of 2 Chronicles chapter 1 God blessed Solomon, and he took the people to the high place (where the people could meet with God) and made special sacrifices to Him. In verse 7, God appears to Solomon and tells him to ask whatever he will.  In verses 8 through 10, Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge to lead God’s people.

    Solomon asked God not for wealth, health or abundance of any sort but he asked for wisdom.  How wise it was of him to ask God for a trait that he could use to push the nation of Israel to heights no one had ever seen before.  God was exceedingly pleased with the request and not only gave Solomon great wisdom, the likes of which this earth hadn’t seen before him or since but great wealth and favor among the nations.

    Solomon was by no means a perfect man.  There’s only one perfect man, Jesus.  But he wrote practical advice for the ages in the Book of Proverbs.  Even today we quote from that Book.

    My husband and I pray daily, both individually and corporately.  One of our prayers is that God gives us wisdom and favor in all things and with all people like work issues, family, finances, health.  All of it.   And He has been faithful to provide the wisdom and favor we need for the day.

    One day last year my husband called me on the phone from work and said he was having a tough time dealing with a case he had (he’s a network engineer and many times those cases have a complexity that sometimes can be way over not on his head but also his colleagues.)  We had prayed that morning, but this was a special prayer for the specifics of the case.  We took about five minutes to ask the Lord to intervene and give my husband the “eyes” to see the problem to fix it or have His ministering angels intervene and fix it for him.  The wind up was when he got off the phone and went back to work on it, he figured it out, fixed it and the client was happy.  We have scores of stories like that.  Where God answered the prayer for wisdom.  God gives us our needs, not our greeds.  We were specific in the wisdom he needed for the moment and God answered that prayer.

    He truly is a mighty and awesome God.

    How are you gaining wisdom? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

  • Motherhood.

    One hundred and ten years ago, Anne Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St. Andrew’s Methodist church in Grafton, Virginia. She abhorred the commercialization of the holiday and attempted to have it removed from the calendar in her later years.

    Then in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson, designated the second Sunday in May as a national holiday to honor mothers.
    That proclamation has endured for over a century.

    Today it is celebrated worldwide. Perhaps not on the same day as the United States but celebrated nonetheless. Australia and Canada share the same Mother’s Day as the United State. In the United Kingdom, it’s celebrated three Sundays before Easter.

    It hasn’t just been celebrated in the past hundred years, though. While not a holiday, the ancient Greeks and Romans held festivals in their honor.  These pagan events were the precursor to the early Christian festival known as the “Mothering Sunday”

    Children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren celebrate with their mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers with cards, flowers, chocolates, and gifts. Some give simple handmade cards while others give the more elaborate Hallmark cards. Some give hand-picked bouquets while others give FTD floral arrangements. It doesn’t matter what is given, it’s the idea that mother is remembered and loved.

    Even husbands get into the act by gifting their wives with Mother’s Day cards and flowers for gifting them with beautiful children.
    Each person’s situation is different. You might have lost your mother…whether recently or long ago. Time tempers the loss but the heart still grieves.

    Or you may never have or never will have a close relationship with your mother. It doesn’t matter. There’s a woman in your life who influenced you. Perhaps your grandmother or an aunt. Honor that woman today.

    Mothers, like all humans, are imperfect but they gave us the gift of life. Without them, where would we be? They are a gift from God who can never be replaced regardless of circumstance.

    Honor your mother. Pray for her, near or far. It’s the least…and the most we can do for them. The very best gift of all.

  • Answered Prayer

     

    When I first learned how to pray effectively, I was (and still am) in awe of how God answered prayer.  Sometimes it happened immediately and sometimes He was still working out the answer.  Many times God answered the prayer in an unexpected way.  Not bad, just different from what I had expected.

    I learned early on that there are only three answers to prayer: Yes, No and Wait.  While we rejoice in the yes answers, the no answers don’t keep me down because it only means He has something better for me and those I love.  And the wait…well, that’s the hardest answer to bear, particularly if it’s a crucial need like a physical, financial or emotional need.  And our family has had them over the years.  Big time.

    What’s exciting about it is that I’m in an expectant mood to see how He will answer it.

    Some people think prayer is private and often it should be.  Each person should sit with their creator and work out the details of their lives with Him.  God loves us and He wants to hear from us.  Whether it’s just a few words telling Him about your day or if it’s a more in-depth conversation about life events or personal issues. He wants to hear every detail of our lives, no matter how small.  Remember He has the hairs on your head counted so if that isn’t detailed enough, I don’t know what is.

    Over the years, my husband and I have prayed hundreds of thousands of prayers.  Some corporately and some individually.  But we try to make it a priority every day.  It doesn’t always work out that way but we try.

    Most of the time my prayers start out by giving Him glory. I move on to asking for forgiveness because I know I need it every day.   I then pray for my family and friends’ needs, then my own needs and finally for global issues.  God has been faithful over the years to answer my prayers so I will continue to pray to Him for the needs of my family & friends, church members and worldwide.  Sometimes it’s daunting but I know God has called me to be a prayer warrior so that is what I will do.

    Just this past Sunday we prayed for an individual who had severed a tendon and needed surgery. My husband and I prayed, and we were specific in our prayer: the surgeon would be a believer in Christ, that the surgery would be scheduled quickly and that the recuperation period would be minimal.  The next day, I received an excited call. The surgeon who would do the surgery is, in fact, a believer along with his physician’s assistant and the surgery would happen today.  Specific answers to specific prayers. This morning we prayed for God’s own hands to guide the doctor’s hands and that the surgery would go well without issue.

    I could fill thousands of pages talking about how God answered prayer, sometimes, unbelievable answers!  I try to remind myself on occasions of all the times He was faithful even when I was not.

    These answers to prayer are what I call God Stories.  I pray you have an abundance of your own God Stories.

    Would you share one of your God stories with us and bless someone today?

     

  • Life Happens.

    My husband lost his job right before the holidays in December 2007.  His job defined him and thought he’d one day retire from it but God had other plans.  When the dreadful recession of 2008 picked up steam in California, jobs dried up.  It was all we could do to keep making the mortgage payments on our dream home.  Little by little his retirement fund vanished and desperation set in.

    Finally, he landed a short-term contract more than 2,500 miles away.  I stayed home and prepared our home for sale while I worked part-time.   Before he left for South Carolina, we painted the shutters and door and planted beautiful flowers to give our home the curb appeal it needed but, in a market where there were thousands of homes for sale, the prospect of selling seemed bleak.  Room by room, I sorted, packed, and pitched. But I kept praying.  Praying for favor from buyers and wisdom for the sale.

    My husband remained stubborn, and he refused to sell even though it was the only way to keep us from losing everything we worked for.  His South Carolina job was not what was advertised, and he wanted to come home. He couldn’t stand being alone.  I gave him an ultimatum. He could come home but he had to do two things:  put the house on the market and find another job.

    In July, he made that long trip back, and we put the house on the market. It took months to sell the house, but it sold when no houses were selling and most of them were selling for less than the owners’ mortgage.  This was a miracle given the Sacramento area was one of the most hard-hit of recession areas.  When our house finally closed on December 31, 2008, we were overjoyed because it sold at a profit.  Unheard of.  We knew God showed us favor in the house sale and He’d continue to show favor with a job.

    We moved into a small apartment and put most of our belongings into a storage POD.  During the sale period, my husband received an offer to work for a company that worked for the military in Germany. Neither he nor I were keen on living in Germany.  Neither of us was getting any younger.  He turned it down.  Once.  Twice.  Three times.  The employer told him the job would be his if he wanted it.  After the third time, my husband said, “I don’t know how many times God has to hit me over the head. I think we should take this job.”

    I wasn’t thrilled with picking up and moving across the world to a foreign land but if God wanted us there, we’d go.  We had valid passports and no house to sell.  A perfect situation for us and his future employer.  But we could only take so much with us. Our decision to rid ourselves of all the gardening equipment housed in the storage POD meant we had to dispose of it.

    We traveled the short distance to our old neighborhood and gifted our old neighbor, Chuck, with the gardening tools.  When we arrived at his home, not only was his home on the market but so was the home right next door to our old house.  Chuck had the same house like ours.  The one next door to our old house was a little larger.  Both owners were short selling their homes.

    When we unloaded the gardening equipment, he said to us, “You were very lucky. Your buyer overpaid for your home big time.”  And I said, “That wasn’t luck.  That was the power of prayer.”

    My husband and I rejoiced all the way to our tiny apartment and looked forward to the adventure God had in store for us when we moved to Germany.

    When have you seen God at work in your life?

     

  • Prayer Works!

    “Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.  Job 1:10 NKJV

    For anyone who has read or knows the book of Job.  It is a difficult book to read.  It took my husband years to read through the entire book! He’d get so far in the book and then he’d stop reading because of Job’s terrible trouble.

    There is an idiom in the English language:  “to have the patience of Job”. It’s a reference to Job’s unending and absolute, unshakeable faith in God despite the trials Job goes through.  His afflictions are many: physically, his family, and his possessions.  More than a single person can even comprehend much less endure. And yet, his love of God never waivers.

    Let’s look at the context of today’s verse.  In verse one through five the Bible gives us Job’s background.   Job was from Uz and he was blameless, feared God and shunned evil.  He has seven sons and three daughters. The Bible tells us of his many possessions and how his sons would feast on an appointed day and invite their sisters.  Job sacrificed for his sons in verse five if they had sinned.

    In verses six through nine, there’s a conversation between God and Satan where God tells Satan to consider His servant Job who is blameless and there is none like him in all the earth.  This leads us to today’s verse.

    In verse ten, today’s verse, Satan tells God that He has protected Job by putting a hedge around him.  Job’s life had no terrible trouble…no health issues, no financial worries, and no family issues.  Satan is goading God to see if Job is who God thinks he is.  (We know Job is who God says he is because God can see the heart of man.) God, through Job, will prove Satan’s error. 

    How can this verse help us live in today’s world?  There is one thing I know for sure and that is: prayer works. I have prayed for protection for my children, grandchildren, extended family, and friends in all areas of their lives.  Do I believe God has put a hedge of protection around my family and friends? Absolutely. I have no doubt whatsoever.

    Case in point.  Years ago, my daughter studied in Luxembourg for a fall semester with sixty other college students.  A small class. Long before she left, I began to pray for her.  The day she left, I laid hands on her and prayed. For her safety while traveling throughout Europe. 

    She called periodically, and she had said she had been traveling to various large cities in Europe.  Even to cities the students were advised not to travel to because of the terrorist activity. She had told me she was planning on a ski trip to the French Alps.  I thought nothing of it at the time since I knew she knew how to ski.

    But I came home from work one evening to a voice message on my phone from someone at the school in Luxemburg.  The message was that my daughter was fine but that I’d probably had already heard there had been a skiing accident in the French Alps. I immediately called my daughter’s host family but with the time difference and language barrier, the host family kept hanging up on me. 

    I walked the floors most of the night waiting until I could call and not have the host family hang up. I must have dozed off because the phone began to ring and it was my daughter.  Her host mother thought one of my daughter’s friends kept calling in the middle of the night.  My daughter realized her friends would never call in the middle of the night and that it was me who had called.

    She told me she had gone to Prague because it was one city she loved in Europe.  At this point, I was reluctant to tell her what had happened.  I gently asked her about her friends that went on a ski trip.  She said other students wanted her to go but she didn’t feel comfortable about the trip.  (I believe the Holy Spirit told her not to go.) When I explained what had happened, she immediately wanted to go to the school because she had no idea what had happened since she had been out of town.

    Coincidence?  I think not.  God’s love for His children who pray and love Him far outweighs the terrible things that can happen.  In today’s world, we need all the help we can get. And while the enemy can cause trouble throughout the world, we have the power to overcome that trouble through prayer to God, our savior.  For strength and power to overcome…just as Job did.

    How has God answered your prayers?

  • Fasting & Praying

    So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.  Neh 1:4 NKJV

    Let’s look at the context of this verse.  Nehemiah wrote this book around 445 BC.  He was the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes. The first three verses of this book recount a meeting between Nehemiah and men of Judah.  The men of Judah tell Nehemiah the Jews who had escaped and survived the captivity were in great distress and the walls of Jerusalem had been torn down and its gates burned with fire. This verse is the response to the news of Nehemiah’s brethren.

    Like Nehemiah, when life hits us with sad or disturbing news, we too cry.  We don’t mourn like Nehemiah did but do other things.  Some people become depressed turning to pills, alcohol or food to relieve the burden, some people escape through physical activities and others escape by becoming workaholics.  These measures destroy our bodies and souls.

    But Nehemiah did something different.  He fasted and prayed.  Today people fast for their diets but not for spirituality.  Fasting clears the mind. And prayer…it lifts the soul out of its dark place.

    Prayer changes not only our circumstances but changes us.  Ask any of your friends and family for their personal experiences on how their lives have changed because of prayer.  The responses will astound anyone.   There is power in prayer even if some people don’t believe in it.

    But there is scientific proof that prayer works.  According to Dr. Kent Ingle who researched the correlation between prayer and health, he states the following.

    “Although science is ill-equipped to prove the existence of God, scientific research does show that prayer works. The literature I looked at states, regardless of God’s existence, elements of prayer are universally valid—across various religions, traditions, and practices. The act of prayer itself has beneficial physiological effects.”

    “Prayer, much like meditation in Buddhism, or concentration on breathing techniques in Yoga, causes the mind and body to focus on singular focal points that align the mind, soul, and physical aspects of a person to lower cortisol levels, improve oxygen utilization, and confer numerous other psychological benefits.”