What Can You Give to God Every Day?

Photo by Robert Hurst 

Not long ago I felt inspired by this post from my favorite blogger, Tim Challies.  It is about consciously dedicating things like your time, energy, and enthusiasm to God every morning.  I decided to start praying through them in the mornings, and soon I found myself adding more.  I thought I should share these with you, because I find them very helpful in my own walk.  (Not that I'm an expert in living this way...far from it!  But this is the direction I believe He wants me to grow.)
Please let me know in the comments if you think of anything else that would be helpful to add to these morning prayers!

My morning dedications:

• I dedicate to You the gifts and talents that You have given me, to be used for Your glory.
• I dedicate to You the time that You have given me, for I am only time's steward in Your service.
• I dedicate to you the energy You have given me, for pursuing Your will.  I will trust You to supply moment-by-moment energy when I have no supply of my own.
• I dedicate to You my enthusiasm, for Your joy and Your promises to shine through.
• I give to you my cares and anxieties over the circumstances You have given me, for the praise of Your peace and Your sovereignty.
• I dedicate to You my reputation and honor, for You to raise or lower in the eyes of man as You see fit, because You laid aside Your glory for me, and You have promised to clothe me with Your glory forever.
• I dedicate to You my weakness, to be used for the glory of Your strength, rather than using it myself as an excuse to bury what You have entrusted to me (Matt 25:14-30).
• I dedicate to You my thoughts and imaginings, because Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and You have prepared blessings for me that are beyond imagining.
• I place on your altar my self-sufficiency and self-confidence, to replace with Your sufficiency, and with confidence in You.
• I dedicate to You my best-laid plans, for You to establish or overrule as You see fit, because Your plans are perfect.
• I leave in Your hands every "sacrifice" I've given, not trying to control what You do with them.  If you are pleased to make them into obvious blessings, or to burn them to ashes on Your altar, I will rest in Your acceptance of them.  I will trust You that nothing is lost.
• I dedicate my all to You, Lord.  You gave all to me, and You have told me that all things are mine in You (1 Co. 3:21-23).

A Basic Rule for Prayer and Peace

I know that I often write too much, go too deep, turn people away by long treatises.

I won’t do that today.  Instead, I’ll just tell you briefly how I’m learning to pray in a way that brings peace.  If you’ve read my previous series on prayer, you’ll recognize that today’s entry is not a summary, but a perfect fit with what I’ve written before.

A Basic Rule for Prayer

Pray for eternally important end results most of all, but don’t pray for God to use particular methods to achieve that end.  You know the “prayer about methods” that I’m warning against.  It’s the prayer that tells God not to allow anything to “go wrong” as we define it.  “Don’t let life hurt me or my loved ones.”  If that’s your prayer, STOP IT. Or at least offer your request the way Jesus Himself did, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done."

You can pray for godly ends with absolute confidence, because you know that those are God's will.  But face it, you do not know the best means for Him to use in any given person's life.  If you acknowledge that fact, and truly trust God to know best, then you can be prepared to joyfully cooperate with Him even when He brings pain, suffering, deprivation, or disappointment into your life or the life of a loved one.  

And because your prayer priority is for a closer walk with God by grace, evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit, you will know what "cooperating with Him" will look like.  It will look like drawing close to Him, peacefully submitting to Him, and cultivating the Fruit in your life and in your relationships with others.  This is a peaceful life.

But if you insist on telling God how to do His job, you will inevitably be disappointed (and probably angry) when He insists on continuing to be God instead of deferring that role to you.  You will panic when He makes the “mistake” of bringing suffering into your life or your loved ones' lives, and will feel that you have to take matters into your own more capable and knowledgeable hands.

 

This is a faithless and chaotic life.

Trust Him.  Agree with Him about the Big Picture, the top priorities.  Then trust Him to know how to bring them about in the way He knows best.  The God who planned Calvary knows how to redeem suffering to bring about ultimate good.

Trust Him, leave it to Him, cooperate with Him, love Him, love your neighbor.  Know peace.

How to Handle a Good Morning

Photo by Nelso47

Um...It was a good morning.

No, seriously, I mean it!  Things went smoothly.  No significant fights over getting ready, no hatred spewed, no ugliness at all.

If you don't know me and my life, that might not sound like such a big deal.  But if you know me, you know what a rare jewel a good school morning is.

I used to handle such things horribly, and even now I usually don't handle those jewels as well as I should, but I want today to be different.  I hope you'll come along as I work my way through this, and maybe you'll be blessed, too.

What's that I said?  I don't usually handle God's good gifts well?  Why would that be?

It's simple, really.  In the past (and to a lesser extent, even now), I have tended to receive good mornings (or any rare blessing) the way a pre-linguistic Helen Keller received things from her caregivers.

Snatch.  Gnaw.  Consume.  Figure out how to make sure you get more.  Try to get control over those who give it.  Hold it tightly.  Give no thought to humble gratitude...but be prepared to dish out severe punishment if more good stuff isn't immediately forthcoming.  This good thing is a little taste of life, and you need it...you need control over it...desperately.

Ironically, the snatching, grasping, desperately clawing recipient gets no real, lasting joy from the gift.  The most she can settle for is an uneasy sense of triumph with no assurance of future blessings at all.

Does any of this sound familiar?  I admit, my imagery was rather stark. No one who has seen "The Miracle Worker" can ever forget the intense, knock-down, drag-out fight scene between Helen and Anne Sullivan.  We don't want to see ourselves in Helen, and most likely we've never behaved exactly as she did (at least not since our tantruming toddler days). But look at my description again.  At its core, at least to some degree, does the above describe how you receive God's blessings?  No?  Walk a little further with me, and you may begin to recognize it a little better.  Even if, like me, the worst of these attitudes is behind you, you might still see hints of them trying to rise up again.  So please indulge the following question:

When you've received a rare blessing... something you desperately desire but have to do without most of the time... do you pray afterwards?  If so, how do you pray afterwards?

Perhaps you don't pray.  Why would that be?

•  Perhaps it's because you already got what you wanted, so what is there to pray about, right?  (Translation:  Prayer isn't about a loving relationship with God, it's about controlling God, getting what you want out of Him.  Therefore it's pointless to pray if you've got "it" already.  To go back to our example above, Helen has been handed enough cake to satisfy her sweet tooth, and once she's gobbled it, she's ready to go play.  The giver is forgotten until something else is needed.)  I've been guilty of this, for sure. 
• Or perhaps it's because you see God as an unpredictably explosive despot, who is best handled by tiptoeing around Him.  Like an abused child, you just want to make sure you keep under His radar, so that maybe He won't hurt you.  I used to see God that way.  It's far from the truth about Him, and I pray that He will lovingly remove such misconceptions from your heart if they're there.

Perhaps you pray, but with a heart that's in the wrong place.

• Perhaps you pray as if you're God's teacher, trying to use Behavior Modification techniques on Him.  "See now, God, how this went?  You finally got it right.  This is how it's supposed to go, and I expect it from now on."  You dish out what you call "praise" not from a humble heart of gratitude, but as an attempt to manipulate and control God.  You see Him as a praise-hungry, grasping soul Himself.  He needs strokes from you, and you need (whatever it is) from Him.  So you work out a trade.  There's nothing even approximating love or respect here.  I know, because I've been there.
• Perhaps you pray fearfully, as one who thinks the gift could be snatched away at any time.  Every "good morning" seems to you like a chance that things could go well from now on, and in fact, they should go well from now on...but God might just play the Grinch and take it all away.  I know this reality far too well.  Just over a week ago, I actually corresponded with a teacher who was gushing over how well things had gone in first period...and almost immediately after responding to that email, I got a call from another teacher telling me that my son had done the worst of all the awful things he's ever done in school.  Disciplinary actions would have to be stronger.  Details would have to go in his permanent record.  I would have to meet with deans and school psychologists yet again.  Medication consults would have to be scheduled.  The timing...so soon after a hopeful email that made my heart glad...it seemed cruel and capricious indeed.  If it had happened a few years ago, that's exactly how I would have seen it.  And I still find little hints of that attitude popping up now and then.

Can you see how such attitudes would completely ruin whatever we received?

So how should you and I handle God's good gifts?

• Recognize the Giver, and receive His gifts accordingly.
• He is our loving, perfect Heavenly Father who does all things well.  Everything He sends to His children is love.  Love Him in return!
• He is the Heavenly Gardener who sends both sunshine and rain, at the right times and the right quantities (even though they might not seem right to me at the time).  Trust Him.
• He's the Great Physician.  He sees how sin has broken us, and He knows how to set the bones so they'll grow straight and strong again.  If the setting process is painful, it's still done in love.  Submit to His care.

• Recognize the gift, and receive it accordingly.
• It is given as a secondary gift.  The primary gift that God gives is Himself.  He is the greatest good.  And He is always there for His children, even when His gifts are not obviously given. So receive each gift as a secondary thing.  Treasure it...but treasure Him more.
• It is given for a particular time.  It will probably not last forever, but it will last as long as God deems best. Do not fear that it will be taken away prematurely.  It may well be taken away before you'd like it to be, but His timing is perfect.  So enjoy the gift thoroughly, even as you hold it loosely.  
• It is an act of His love, not a test of His love.  The proof of His love came at Calvary, when He gave infinitely above and beyond all reasonable doubt of His love.  He gave His life to purchase eternity for you!  (Imagine if your own children doubted your love between every meal, viewed each mealtime as a test of your love, received each meal as proof.  Of course you would be terribly grieved by that kind of distrust.  And if your love should be obvious to your children, shouldn't God's love be obvious to His children? You can trust the love of the one who died for you (See Rom 8:32).

• Recognize the recipients of the gift.  Yes, I said recipients - plural.  Let's go back to my pleasant morning as an example.  It was a gift to me, of course, but it was also a gift to the child in question, his father, his siblings, his teachers, his classmates, and anyone else who could benefit from the good start we all enjoyed.  In fact, the recipients include YOU, the reader of this blog.  This entry wouldn't have happened today without the good morning that made me think these things through.  Only God is wise enough to weave together all of the threads of our lives in ways that make everything work out for the good of everyone who loves Him.  When you realize how many people are involved, it's easier to accept the fact that "The Good" is far more complex than you or I can comprehend.  Expand your view beyond yourself, and then trust God to make it all work out the way it should.

"Thank You, Lord, for this morning.  I know it came from Your loving hand, but I also know that the hard mornings also come from Your loving hand.  I trust You with all of it.  Thank You for the good that You plan to bring out of it all, not just for me, but for all those who are touched by our family, directly or indirectly.  I don't know if the phone is about to ring with bad news, or if things will seemingly "go wrong" in some other way...or if this wonderful peacefulness will last for a good long while.  Whatever you place in my hands, I willingly receive.  And whatever you take from my hands, I willingly relinquish.  In the Name of the One who died for me, Amen!"

Praying "For Others"...Selfishly?

Photo by adzika

Have you ever caught yourself praying "for others"...selfishly?

Don't get me wrong...there's nothing wrong with anticipating blessing, with desiring God's gifts for oneself.  God has lavishly promised blessings throughout Scripture, and it's good to desire them.  We are creatures of desire, and if we don't desire good, we will desire evil.

Few things could be more harmful to our prayer lives than navel-gazing...searching our prayers for any speck of self-interest and then feeling defeated when we find it there.  Such introspection is, by definition, totally self-centered.  The Enemy of our Souls LOVES to get us into traps like that.

We are commanded to rejoice in God's kindness towards us, and it would be wrong to refuse His kindness, or to receive it with a guilty spirit that is concerned only with our own perceived piety.  We don't want to go there.

But putting that aside, let me ask again...have you ever caught yourself praying for others selfishly?

I caught myself doing that the other morning.  I was wrestling my way through the usual, painfully difficult morning routine with a particular child of mine, and I realized that I was praying "for him" with only one goal in mind.

I want to be done with frustrating mornings like this!

Again...that's not a bad desire.  But it was the only desire behind my prayer that morning.  The child for whom I was supposedly praying was not even in my thoughts except as the source of my frustration.

Ouch.

Am I the only one who is this self-centered?

I'm tempted to say, "I hope not," but then again, the world would be a much better place if everyone else in it loved their neighbors better than I do.

How can I...how can we pray for others unselfishly?

The key is not to try to eliminate all self-interest.  Christian prayer is not like Buddhist meditation.  It is not an attempt to empty oneself of Self.  It is not an endless cycle of subtraction.

Christian prayer prioritizes.  Instead of trying to annihilate Self, it seeks to dethrone Self and bring it to its knees.  It seeks first the Kingdom, understanding full well that other desires (both worthy and unworthy) will be there as well.  Unworthy desires must be repented of, but worthy ones need no repentance.  They need only to be put in their proper places.

But how?

If you've been following this blog over the past several months, you've seen how the Lord has been shaping my prayer life to align it with His priorities, especially those priorities revealed in the "Lord's Prayer" and the Beatitudes.  I continue to be amazed at the power that comes with praying this way...power to submit myself to God and His desires, rather than trying to manipulate Him into giving me my selfish desires.

And yet, as I caught myself doing the other morning, it's possible to pray even these prayers with a selfish spirit.

"Lord, may this child do Your Will the way it's done in Heaven...cheerfully, lovingly, trustingly... because He's driving me nuts!!!"

Of course God wants us to be honest with Him in prayer, so that wasn't a bad way to start.  But if the Holy Spirit hadn't grabbed me and convicted me, it would have been the whole prayer, not just the beginning of it.

Betsy, do you care about this boy, too?

Oh Lord, forgive me.  Yes, of course, but not nearly enough, at least not when I'm frustrated.

And so I prayed the Lord's priorities again, but this time I added, "for (this child's) sake and Your Glory."  I'm not talking about rote words, of course, but once again, aligning my priorities with God's and submitting to Him.  I had already prayed for my own sake.  It was time to move on to bigger things.

Such softening came to my soul!  Frustration gave way to tenderness, and selfishness yielded to love.

Ok, it didn't last long, because I'm such a selfish person.  But I knew I'd hit on something vital, something I would have to return to again and again.

Pray God's priorities not only for your own sake, but also for the sake of others apart from you, and for the glory of God.  Do it deliberately.

It's so basic that it hardly seems like I should have to say it.  And yet I know that I need to be reminded of it, often.  Perhaps you do, too.  So here is a helpful outline.


When I pray for others whose lives rub up against mine, I need to pray about several spheres:

• The sphere of my relationship with God.  I cannot relate to others well if I'm in a state of rebellion myself.
• The sphere of my relationship with that other person
• How I relate to him in terms of God's priorities, for his sake, for my sake, for God's glory.
• How he relates to me (something I cannot control, but can pray for and attempt to influence.  The same is true for all of the prayer points that I pray for others.)
• The sphere of that person's relationship to others apart from myself...for his sake, other people's sakes, and for God's glory.
• The sphere of that person's relationship to God...for his sake and God's glory.

Do you see how love is encouraged when I deliberately choose to pray for others' sakes in our relationship, and even in the spheres of their lives that don't rub up against mine at all?  I can begin to see others as the whole people that they are, not just as the sum total of their impact on my own life.

Of course, in the midst of a rushed and frustrating morning routine, there's rarely time for a thorough, deliberate prayer time.  That's why I find it so vital to pray thoroughly for others all throughout the day, so that when crisis situations arrive, my attitudes and priorities have already been shaped in good ways.  

If my heart has often knelt before God, then in the moment of crisis, my heart can kneel even when I don't have time for thorough prayer.  My "knee jerk" can change.  So can yours, by the grace of God.

And our worlds will be better for it.

Prayers for Newtown

Just a reminder - prayer is not the recitation of magic words.  Nor is it a way to "get God to see things our way."  Prayer is not bending God to our will, but bending ourselves to His.  When we pray, we align our desires with God's priorities, and we submit to Him where those two things differ.  And when we petition Him according to His will, we know that He hears us (1 John 5:14).

But how do we know if we're praying according to His will?  He has not left us in the dark about that.  Though there is no one "right prayer," Jesus taught us tremendous lessons about praying within the will of God when He gave us His model prayer.

The more time I spend allowing the Lord's Prayer to shape my praying, the more convinced I am that there is NO situation in which its guidance is not helpful.  So I hope you will join me is praying for Newtown, CT in this manner:

Our Father:  Dear Lord, please become a Father in truth to those who don't know You in Newtown.  May they come to know you and call you Father and feel Your care as never before.

Who art in Heaven:  I thank You, Lord, that You are enthroned in power, and that there is nothing I could ask you that would be too difficult for You.  I thank You that Your sovereign control extends even into the incomprehensible.

Hallowed be Your name:  Oh Father, there are many who blaspheme You because of this tragedy.  Even though this massacre was pure evil, and You are pure light...even though You sent Jesus to save us from sin...even though those who love You and walk with You are growing to love their neighbors and enemies more and more...yet people will blaspheme You when sinners do evil.  I pray that You will open blinded eyes, even those dimmed by tears, to see who You really are, and to hallow You from the depths of their souls.  Then they will find the peace and the newness that only You can give.

Thy Kingdom come:  Oh Father, how we long for this!  May Your Kingdom come to Newtown!  Your Kingdom is not a place, but a reign in hearts, and it is a reign of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  May Your kingdom be brought there by Your people coming to serve, to weep with those who weep, to pray.  And may Your Kingdom spread there as more and more people come to know You.

Thy will be done in Newtown as it is in Heaven:  Oh Lord, Your precious, perfect Will is done trustingly, lovingly, loyally, joyfully, obediently in Heaven.  Let Your will be done the same way in Newtown, even in the midst of tremendous sorrow.  May the beauty of Your Will shine more brightly than ever in that place.

Give Newtown today its daily bread:  There is so much to this prayer!  Yes, Father, we ask for the provision of daily food, for those who are grieving may not have the strength to prepare it for themselves.  May Your people bring material support wherever it is needed.  We pray that you will free the grieving from the fear of lacking tomorrow's bread, and that they will instead trust You to provide for tomorrow, too.  But You have taught us that our daily bread is so much more than material provision!  Jesus said that doing Your Will was His food.  He found refreshment in it.  And so I pray that You will refresh Your people in Newtown by giving them manageable ways to do Your beautiful Will.  And please show Your people outside of Newtown if some part of their daily "work allotment bread" should bring them into Newtown.  And finally, Jesus taught us that HE is our bread, our food on which we feast for nourishment.  So we pray that each person in Newtown would get a daily supply of Your grace, and that they would recognize it as coming from You.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors:  This one is so hard in Newtown right now!  Such forgiveness is impossible without Your forgiving grace.  Please God, free them from the prison of bitterness.  Show them Your forgiving grace as they most clearly need to see it in these dark days.  May those who have never received Your forgiving grace do so now, and be made new in order to be free to forgive others as well.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:  Yes, Father, please.  There will be such a strong temptation to sin in response to sin!  Even outside of Newtown, there will be those who will want to hate.  As the mother of two kids on the autism spectrum, I am very worried that hatred will be turned towards them.  Father, protect those whom you have created on the "spectrum" from the prejudices of others.  Protect them from revenge.  And Lord, as hard as it is to comprehend, there will be those who will envy Adam Lanza his notoriety, and will want to follow his example.  Protect both us and them from this evil!  Protect us, too, from the temptation to live in fear.  I have received notifications from both schools that my 3 children attend, detailing the increased police presence, the increased security, the siege mentality that characterizes our godless age.  Oh Father, in the name of freedom to sin we have sacrificed true freedom!  Help our schools, nationwide, to find the balance between wise precaution and unwise terror.  Most of all, may they welcome You back into schools, not as a token nod, but as the Savior who alone can change evil hearts.

For Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.  You alone have the power and authority to change all of this.  May people realize this and turn to You!  Amen!

How I Pray For My Family - Part 3

(Photo from Stock.xchng by jescobosa)

Part 3 of a Series

Part 1    Part 2

 In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I talked about how I use the model that the Lord gave us, often called "The Lord's Prayer," to pray for my family (not in a rote way, but with real meaning). 

But there's so much more on my heart to pray about, so many more aspects of The Kingdom that the Lord taught us to prioritize!  So starting just recently, my prayers for my family have also take their cues from the Beatitudes, (The "Blessed are..." statements from Christ's "Sermon on the Mount").  It's very fitting to frame our prayers around this sermon of our Lord, and here's a sample of how that can look.  (Since I don't pray by rote, this is just a representative sample.)

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 - "Lord, please help each family member (I think of each as I pray this) to be poor in spirit- not spiritually conceited, but truly humble in our walk with God; relying on His righteousness, abiding in the Vine, drawing our life, strength, and direction from Him.  For then we will possess the kingdom of Heaven, a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17)."  

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 - "Lord, please help each one of us to mourn over our sin, and then to  humbly rejoice in Your forgiveness.  Help us to humbly receive whatever hardships You call us to, choosing the healthy pain of mourning rather than the pain of sinful anger or whining self-pity, and so may our hearts be prepared our hearts to receive Your comfort in those circumstances, and to extend Your comfort to others (2 Co. 1:4)."

Just today one of my children was extremely disrespectful and defiant during family devotions, and I wanted to respond out of anger (as usual).  One might rationalize that, under such circumstances, my anger would have been righteous, but I know from experience that anger is only righteous if its attitudes, goals, and methods are righteous.  Mine would have been anything but righteous in that moment...no, not even my goals, because at that moment I felt much more of a desire to make my son suffer for what he had done, instead of wanting to help him find a place of repentance and restoration.  

So, during a cooling off period, when we grounded him from what he desperately wanted to do, and gave him time to (hopefully) think about his sin and repent, I had to spend time praying that I would mourn, rather than rage, over my son's sin.  I prayed that he, too, would mourn over his sin, and that together we would be able to pray for his repentance, healing, and restoration.  This mourning, Jesus promised, would lead to being comforted.

Did I see the hoped-for change in my attitude, and did I receive comfort?  Yes, thanks to the Lord.  Did I see the hoped-for repentance in my son right away?  No.  Not in this case.  But earlier today, a different son came up to me, totally unexpectedly, and confessed a sin to me with tears...something he didn't even know I already suspected (because in this instance the Spirit had held me back from confronting when I wasn't sure).  It was obvious that the Spirit of God was at work within him, and this mourning over sin was a precious gift from God.  Far more precious than any forced "I'm sorry" spat out in order to get out of consequences.  And it enabled me to take that precious boy in my arms and pray aloud over him, thanking the Lord for working in his heart, bringing him to repentance, and for forgiving him and restoring him.  It was a beautiful thing, and not something I ever could have forced.  And it gives me confidence that the Lord can change my other son's heart, too, especially if I seek to walk in the Spirit and not mess things up! 

Which brings me to the next beatitude...

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- "Lord, help us to reject the quest for power, and to seek instead to inherit meekly.  Help us not to be obsessively driven toward mastery of life in our own strength, and not envious of those who seem to have it, but eager to operate from a place of total inadequacy and dependence on the Lord.  Thank You that Your power is perfected in weakness, and that when we are weak, then You are strong through us (2 Co. 12:9-10)."

This is a huge one for me, for a couple of reasons.  First, because I tend to not want to take on projects unless I believe I can see the way clear to the very end and know exactly how I'll do it, what obstacles I might face, and how I'll overcome them.  (As a result, I take on very few projects!)  But since this approach to life is determined by personal power (either its presence or absence), it is the opposite of meekness.   Meekness operates by God's power.  So I pray for this kind of meekness for myself and for family members as I see us struggling with perfectionism and fear.

I also pray for meekness when my lack of it shows itself in arrogance and power struggles.  Remember the discipline issues I mentioned above?  Meekness allowed me to inherit a precious experience that no power on earth could have given me.  I should know by now that my angry power-grabbing has NEVER brought about anything truly good, but since it's still my knee-jerk reaction, I still must pray for meekness.  Not weakness, but power through God's strength.

Of course there are times when I will have to respond more strongly, but if I do so in the Lord's strength rather than in the strength of my anger, it will be beautiful in its own way (even if my son may not perceive it that way at the time), with beautiful motives and goals.  And the fruit will come in God's time.

I won't take the time to elaborate on each beatitude.  I do pray that I and each family member would:

• Hunger and thirst for righteousness, first within, and then in the world, with the promise that He will satisfy such hunger
• Be merciful and obtain mercy
• Be pure in heart and see God
• Be peacemakers and called the sons of God
• Rejoice to be persecuted for Christ's sake

That last one has often felt a bit far-removed from my life, but today I had to pray it for real.  I had gotten all fearful and bitter over an article I read about the US Government persecuting a Christian business and threatening to fine it into bankruptcy if it would not fund abortifacients for its employees.  

Not only is this a business that I love and frequent, but this governmental abuse is a fearsome glimpse of the fascism that is likely to descend on this once-free nation.  And as I fretted, I recalled what I had been praying.  "Help us to rejoice to be persecuted for Christ's sake." 

I remembered that this prayer reflects and actual command of Christ's (see Matt 5:12), and that I needed His help to obey that command.  And I remembered that it wasn't a cruel, heartless command from an unfeeling deity, but the loving command of a Savior who also knew persecution, and who "for the joy set before Him, endured the cross" (Heb 12:12).  I knew that this same Lord promised that those who are persecuted would receive great rewards that would far exceed our sufferings, and this is why we could rejoice.

And so, just in praying the beatitudes, I find many helps for the difficult days that we live in.  I hunger and thirst for the justice that is being denied to Christians in our country, and I am reminded that Christ, too, wants justice.  But I am reminded to use not the world's weapons, but Christ's, not to seek to seize by fleshly power what can only be inherited by the meek, and not to lose my perspective.  

And, more than just being reminded, I am also brought to a spiritual posture, one that aligns with God's commands and priorities and is promised His blessings.  And most importantly, I enlist His divine intervention with confidence that I am asking for what He Himself desires.

When Morning Devotions Go Haywire

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I had it all planned out, you know.  I knew just how it was going to go.

As you may have guessed from all the posts I've been writing on prayer lately, my morning devotions have often been very sweet and powerful in the past few weeks.  And I knew that today would be the same, because it's a no-school day in our district.  Surely everyone else would sleep in, and I could have uninterrupted prayer and reading time to enjoy at leisure.

It started out just fine, too.  I was the first one awake, and it was easy to hide the glowing light of my Kindle under the blanket and read the many wonderful words for today in my favorite devotional books (I read actual Scriptures at night before going to sleep, to give me a proper focus for my thoughts as I drift off...or as I lie awake with insomnia as I sometimes do).

I was so touched by those wonderful words, some penned hundreds of years ago, some in the early 20th century, and some much more recently.  God has always had witnesses, and it's such a blessing when their words are preserved for future generations!

But then I got my prayer list out and started to pray.

Unlike most recent days, for some reason I couldn't focus.

And people were getting up, much earlier than I expected.

And the phone began ringing.  Seriously, nobody ever calls our home that early.  But it happened this morning, more than once.  Resentment tempted me, and I am afraid that at least one caller could probably tell that fact.

Even after the calls ended, I could hear life going on downstairs, and I simply could not focus.  I began to rush through my list (it's long), but tried to maintain a prayerful focus despite it.

I only got through a small fraction of the list.

But God was speaking.  This time it was my turn to listen.

"Betsy, what do you believe about prayer?  About prayer time?  

Do you believe that I will refuse to bless your family 

if you can't focus on your prayers this morning

or finish your list?  

Do you believe that your prayer activities 

are powerful in themselves, 

or do you believe that I am powerful on your behalf?  

Do you believe my power is only available

at certain times of day?

"Which do you think is better?  

A heart humbly submitted to My sovereign will, 

even when I allow your prayer time to be interrupted, 

or a heart irritated and unsettled at those who interrupted?"

If you resent My other children,

and My timing in sending them,

can your heart really be in a proper posture to pray for them?

Don't you think,

if I want you to pray for people,

that I also want you to humbly serve them

and bless them even when they don't

fit into your sense of timing?

Even when they dare to interrupt prayer?

Yep.  That still, small voice packs a wallop.

A large part of my prayer focus these days is "Thy Kingdom come."  I pray it for specific situations and people, not as a rote statement, but much more mindfully than that.

Scripture tells us that the Kingdom is "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 14:17).  Of course, there's more to it than that, but it can't be less than that.

Do I -- who regularly pray for the Kingdom to come -- do I seek to receive each moment, each change of my plans, with a heart that's submissive to the King, that can walk in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit?

If so, then "prayer time" can be interrupted without ugliness, and without fear of a "bad day."  My heart can pray wherever and whenever because it's properly postured to do so.

If I don't seek to receive my life on His terms, does it really matter what I say while I'm on my knees?

Notice, I didn't say that my prayers don't matter if I haven't mastered this heart posture.  Thank the Lord that's not the case, or there would be no hope for me!  But seeking first the Kingdom, not mastering it, is the command that is given.  The kingdom has only one Master.

Notice, too, it's "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit."  Countless religious systems can offer a semblance of peace (more like "resignation") that can lower blood pressure.  That is NOT the kingdom of our Lord.

My righteousness, my peace, and my joy are in Him.  The world didn't give it to me (John 14:27), and the world can't take it away.

Even if they can take away my morning prayer time.

Praying For Our Churches Today

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On my prayer schedule, Wednesdays are the days that I specifically pray for my church.  Will you join me...and pray for your church as well?  If you don't currently have a commitment to pray regularly for your church, will you make that commitment today?  If you do, please let your pastor(s) know.  I suspect it will mean a lot to them.

If you have a church directory, it might help to take it out and look at it.  If you don't have one, take a moment to search your memory for the faces of your local assembly.

The church is not a mere organization; it's a body made up of living parts.  Each face you see in that directory (or in your memory) is someone you are praying for today.  And each one has a full plate of life to deal with.  Some of them have bumped up against your life in wonderful ways, and some perhaps in painful ways.  Either way, like neighbors, they are all given.  It is no accident that they attend the same local assembly that you do.  They are given to you to bless, to pray for, to edify, to encourage, to forgive as needed.

To love.

Look especially at your pastors, elders, deacons, or whatever other layers of leadership you may have. They need your prayer in special ways.  (For a wonderful guide to praying for your pastor, see this blog post by Joe Thorn.)

Here is my prayer for my church - clergy and laity - today:

"Our Father" - Oh Lord, you have given me such a burden for the self-deceived lost souls in every church, because I was one for so long. How many decades was I faithfully in church -- singing, playing handbells, doing worship songs in Sign Language, teaching, speaking up ... and yet not truly knowing You as Father?  How many are in my church right now who are deceived ... lost but don't know it?  How many there are lost and DO know it?  Father, reach them all.  Please bring them to you until each one can truly call you "Our Father."  And Lord, since you are our Father, then we who know you are siblings indeed.  Give us love for one another!

"Who art in Heaven."  - Thank You, Lord, that You are sovereign, and that there is nothing I can ask for my church which is too difficult for you.

"Hallowed be Your name." - Father, may your name be hallowed in our church!  May there be no flippancy, no irreverence in the name of "relevance," no empty mouthing of words, no coldness.  Not that those who are cold would be turned away...God forbid!  But may those who are cold would be warmed to life.  May your name be presented and received with proper awe and reverence in each part of the church...from clergy to laity, from pulpit, to youth room, to class lectern, to nursery changing tables.  Oh Lord, our world is starving for meaning, for transcendence, for something bigger than self...and yet without knowing You, self-worship is the only remaining option.  And souls starve.  Oh Lord, bring the hungry to our church, and hallow Your name in their ears and their hearts when they come!

"Your Kingdom come, Your will be done in our church as it is in Heaven." - Oh Father, may Your reign be palpable within our walls because you reign in our hearts!  Your will is done perfectly, lovingly, joyfully, trustingly, willingly in Heaven...let Your will be done the same way in our church.  Please reign in the way our church does "business"... in its bookkeeping, in its staffing of leadership positions, in its building program, in its decision making, in its counseling, in its spending, in its acts of charity, in its programs, in its recommendations, in its meetings, in its classes, in its sermons, in its singing... in every way.

"Give our church today its daily bread" - Please meet today's material needs as with Manna from Heaven, and let us trust and not fret or go into debt for tomorrow.  Protect us from the excess that might seduce our leadership away from You and lure us into Laodicea (Rev 3:14-19).  Give us our daily kingdom work to do (John 4:32-34), even if that's very different from what we had planned to do.  And give us the daily portion of Your Spirit as food and drink to strengthen us for our work (John 6:48-58).

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" - Oh Father, let there be no divisions in our local assembly!  Give us forgiving hearts; not just willing, but eager to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3).  As I think through the people in my local assembly, please help me to be honest with myself about those I have wronged, and help me to seek reconciliation and make restitution wherever needed.  Please help those whom I have wronged to forgive me.  And I pray Your help as I resolve to forgive those who have wronged me, and as I seek to bless them in Your name.  As we all do these things, Father, please forgive us our debts for Jesus' sake.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."  - I know, Oh Lord, that Satan desires to sift us like wheat.  That is his desire for all Your people and Your churches.  Please, oh Lord, lead us not into such trials unless You have first prepared our hearts to stand.  May we also prepare our hearts to stand, by taking up the whole armor of God as You have commanded us.  And if we must be sifted by some trial, may we bring honor to Your name throughout it, and when we have been restored, may we strengthen our brethren.

For Yours in the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, amen!

Can you imagine if every church had many members praying for it in this way?

Praying for Our Neighborhoods Today

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Will you do this with me?

Will you go to your front door and look out at your neighborhood?  Will you really look...reminding yourself that these neighbors are real people whom God has put in your life for a reason?

Do you know and believe to the depths of your soul that they are put in proximity to you so that you can bless them and be salt and light to them?

Do you really, really understand that you are commanded to love them as yourself, to serve them, to think of them before yourself?

I don't.  But I should.  And by God's grace, I'm learning to.

This is a radical, scary way of thinking for me.  And yet...I'm beginning to be excited about it.  Because this "Big God Story" that we're all a part of is a truly epic adventure, and though each one of us plays only a minor part, yet we can't know how the ramifications of a single act might have repercussions into eternity.

So lately I've committed to praying for my neighborhood.  And since I tend to be a cerebral person (as in, "Head in the clouds and in books, and not much good in real life"), I've decided to go to my door and look out as I pray.

Why should I look out as I pray?  To cement it in my soul that this is not theoretical.  This is real.  Those people.  Yes, THOSE people.  The ones who annoy me.  The ones I know absolutely nothing about (and until recently, couldn't have cared less about).  The ones who judge me.  The ones I judge.  The ones my kids play with.  The ones I'm friendly with when life throws us together, but whose company I never seek out because I'm too wrapped up in my own world.  The ones who belong to that religious group.  The ones who pursue that lifestyle.  The ones who party drunkenly and loudly until the wee hours.  The ones I'm embarrassed to be around because I know our family hasn't been what it should be towards them.  The ones I'm not sure would still consider me even a casual friend if I dared to share my faith with them.

Yes, those neighbors.

You have them, too.

Are you ready to pray for them, and for yourself as a part of this neighborhood?

Look out at them, and let's start.

"Our Father."  Oh Lord, how many of these people truly know you as "Father?"  May every one of them come to know you that way.  And for those who do, may their childlike relationship grow in love with you more and more each day.

"Who art in Heaven."  Thank You, Lord, that You are sovereign.  There is nothing I could ask for this neighborhood that is beyond Your power.

"Hallowed be Your name."  Oh Lord, may each person in this neighborhood come to hallow your name, to truly know who You are and stand in joyful awe before Your face every day.

(Are you looking?  Are you trustingly praying for that neighbor, though your soul is tempted to doubt he could ever hallow The Name?  Are you wondering if you've hallowed The Name in front of them?)

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in this neighborhood, as it is in Heaven."  Oh Lord, may your kingdom come in this neighborhood.  May Your will be done here as it's done in Heaven (meaning that it will be done lovingly, trustingly, joyfully, obediently, happily).

(You know, of course, that by praying such things, you're asking to be used to help bring the Kingdom.  And you need to know that the Kingdom never comes by way of Pharisaical rules, judgmentalism, pride, or ivory-tower living.  The kingdom must be served by you...lovingly, trustingly, joyfully, obediently, happily...before it can come through you to your neighborhood.  Are you ready to love...to love that neighbor?  To serve that neighbor?)

"Give this neighborhood, today, its daily bread:"

• Its daily material needs (Matt. 6:25-32)
• Protection from excess (See Prov. 30:8-9)
• Daily kingdom work to do as You prepare hearts to do it (John 4:32-34)
• The daily supply of Jesus Himself by His Spirit (John 6:48-58)

"And forgive this neighborhood its debts, as we forgive our debtors."  Lord, I forgive that neighbor.  Please forgive me for having judged/held a grudge/(whatever it is in your case.)  Please help me to seek restoration and/or to make restitution wherever possible where I have sinned against this neighbor that You have given me to love and serve.  Help them to forgive me.  Please transform our neighborhood into a place of genuine biblical love.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (or, as some translations suggest, "Deliver us from the Evil One").  Oh Lord, the enemy has plans for evil against every single person in the neighborhood, and he will redouble his efforts once I commit to serious prayer and intentional neighboring.  Lord, deliver us from whatever evil he has in mind.  Foil his plans, especially the plans that he has for tempting me to sin in response to other people's sins.  My neighbors will sin against me, perhaps more now as the enemy incites them against me because I'm praying.  He knows that, if I respond unlovingly and sinfully to my neighbor's sin, that I will do more harm to the Kingdom than my neighbor could ever do.  Let me not be a traitor to Your kingdom.  Teach me to love my neighbor.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

Amen!

Will you commit to praying for your neighborhood regularly, at least once a week?  Please let me know if you will.

(For more helpful blogs on this subject, please read this by Joe Thorn, and this by Tim Challies, and this from Ligonier Ministries.)

How I Pray for My Family, Part 2

Part 2 of a Series

Part 1   Part 3

Today we continue looking at a truly meaningful, non-rote way to pray through the Lord's prayer for ourselves and our families.  (If you have not yet read Part 1 of this series, please do so now.  This entry is much better as part of a whole.)

Give us this day our daily bread.  As rich Westerners, we usually gloss over this part.  Of course we get our daily bread, plus snacks, desserts, sodas, and expensive designer-brand coffees for those who like coffee (that would not be me).  But as Chapell reminds us in Praying Backwards, Jesus explained and fulfilled (rather than discarding) the Old Testament, and so we need to look for the Old Testament idea of "daily bread" to get the full picture.  Of course there's the precious old account of the manna in the wilderness, and there's much to be learned from it.  But until we come to true material poverty, that won't be the kind of "daily bread" we're likely to focus on the most.  Instead, for our Old Testament model of praying for daily bread, we go to a wise man named Agur.  These are his words:

Proverbs 30 (ESV)

[7]  Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 

[8]  Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 

[9]  lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. 

So the first part of praying for daily bread for each member of my family is to pray that we would not be given too much.  That we would not be rich in the world's goods and forget God.  Have you ever prayed that for your family?  I confess, I haven't, either.  I just remembered this aspect of the prayer while I was researching for this blog.  But I'll be adding it, I promise.  In fact, I just sat down with my list and added it, so I won't forget.  And as I pray it for each family member, I will remember specifically the things that each one may be lusting after, longing for, discontent without.  I will pray for each one to be content with what the Father gives them daily.

The second part of praying for our daily bread comes from Jesus' own words: 

John 4 (ESV)

[31]  Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 

[32]  But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 

[33]  So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 

[34]  Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 

Have you ever really thought about that?  That wasn't just a "Jesus thing," you know.  Our souls, too, are nourished when we do God's will in God's way, as it's done in Heaven.  

And there's yet another angle to praying for our daily bread.  It comes from Jesus' mouth, again.  It's too long to post in its entirety here, so please look up the context and see it all in John 6:32-58.  I'll put just a little bit here:

John 6 (ESV)

[48]  I am the bread of life. 

[49]  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 

[57]  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 

[58]  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 

Jesus Himself is our daily bread!  He is the spiritual life that indwells us and empowers the only works that are acceptable to God.

So I think of each family member, and I pray that on this particular day we would each be given our work to do for His Kingdom (which may be very different from the work we had planned to do), and that we might also be given the gracious supply from Heaven to do that work and prosper in it.  I pray that we would abide in Jesus and receive from Him all that we need to accomplish His work acceptably, because if we do it in our flesh, it's not acceptable.  Also, what we do in our flesh is heavy work, but what we do by his Spirit is life-giving, because His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.  

All this from "Give us this day our daily bread!"  How much we miss when we mechanically mouth words!

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  Oh, how many people we have wronged, and how many have wronged us!  I can easily think of examples for each family member.  So I pray daily that God would give us each tender hearts to forgive others, and that He would, in turn, forgive us.  And it just now dawned on me that I need to pray that each of us would have the courage and wisdom to seek restoration and make restitution where possible (see Matt 5:23-26).  I guess it's time to make another addition to my prayer list!

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  If we know Scripture, we know that God never tempts anyone to sin (James 1:13).  But when He taught us to pray this part of the Model Prayer, He knew that every situation He leads us into for our good is also misused by the Enemy in an attempt to seduce us away from God.  He also knew that our own tendency to sin would seduce us sometimes, and (like He did with Judas), He can use even our sin to accomplish His purposes (though never without cost to us...it is NEVER acceptable to choose to sin in order to bring about good.  See Romans 3:5-8).  As I see it, this part of the Model Prayer is kind of the flip-side of "Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven."  God can use anything, but we want to be sure to offer Him obedience and righteousness, not messes, to use for His glory and His kingdom.  

Can't you think of a half-dozen situations for which you can pray this for yourself...your spouse...each child?

Can you see how, if you regularly prayed this way, it would dramatically change the way you feel about your own circumstances, about your family members' individual circumstances, about each person and their worth as you should esteem them, about God, and about the answers He gives?

God forbid that we should ever mindlessly parrot the "Lord's Prayer" in order to try to get something from God.  But may He also forbid that, out of our zeal to avoid such "vain repetition," we should refuse to obey our Lord who said, "Pray then like this..."

How I Pray for My Family - Part 1

Part 1 of a Series

Part 2    Part 3

First of all, let me say that the finest book I have ever read on prayer is this one, "Praying Backwards" by Brian Chapell.  (That link goes to the Kindle version on Amazon.  The book is also available in traditional formats.)  Get it.  Read it.  Re-read it.  Often.

Chapell's book, along with Paul Miller's excellent book "A Praying Life," have forever changed the way I pray for myself, my family, my neighborhood, my church, my country, my world.

How?  Did they offer better formulas, better acrostics to help me remember what to say next?  Did they tell me how to gain more power, how to use positive thinking, affirmations, The Secret?  How to better manipulate God, how to make sure my will gets done?

God forbid.

To seek to ensure that "MY will be done" is to seek power over God.  My will, not His.  Such power seeking can often be recognized by its use of earthly currencies, whether money, ungodly influence, dishonesty, etc.  Most clearly, though, it can be recognized by the object of its faith, because in "My will" prayers:

• I have faith in ME to know what's best, and 
• I have faith in the thing that I want, believing that it can BE what's best.
• God is just a tool for my use to get myself the things I want MORE than I want Him.

To seek power over God is to seek to usurp His throne, even if we're convinced that we would use that power for good.  It is the way of the occult, not the way of any true Christian, as Simon the Sorcerer learned in Acts 8:9-24.

The only power we may legitimately seek is power from Him, to do His will, in His way, in His time.

Chapell and Miller taught me how to seek God through prayer, how to submit to His priorities, how to be shaped by Him as I bring my cares to Him.  They (especially Chapell) taught me what it really means to pray in Jesus' name.

In response, I've found myself increasingly gravitating to the Lord's Model Prayer and to the Beatitudes...not as a formula to slavishly follow, nor as vain repetition to earn brownie points with God, but as the best possible expressions of agreement with what God desires to accomplish in and through me and my loved ones, within the circumstances that He's given us.

Who'd have thought it?  Jesus actually was onto something.

So here, in case it's helpful to someone else, is an example of how I pray for myself and my family using the Lord's Prayer.  (And also, how I pray for my church, my neighborhood, my country, my world, and anything else there might be.)

Oh, and one more thing.  I often make reference to "Thinking individually of each member of the family" when I pray certain things.  Why is this?

It is NOT a magical sort of way to daub the spiritual equivalent of fairy dust or holy water on each one.  I do not "turn the powers of my mind" to each one in order to bestow something on them.

We must guard so carefully against occultic thinking in our prayers!

I am careful to think individually of each one because it changes and informs the way I think of each person during prayer and afterwards.  It guides the way that I pray for our individual concerns.  It reminds me of what God is up to, so I can see His hand at work later.  It increases my love for the God who loves each family member, and it increases my love for each family member that God loves.  It gives me the inestimable privilege of being an instrument of good in their lives, if and when God sees fit to use me in that way (it's up to Him, not me or the power of my prayers).

Our Father.  Thinking individually of each member of the family, I ask God that those who are not saved would come to know Him as Father, and that those who are saved would grow in their childlike relationship with Him.  (I don't have to really know for sure who is already saved, and who is not yet.  God knows.)  As I think of each person (including myself), I am reminded to think of them as children of my Heavenly Father, or as those that I hope will soon be adopted into His family, and it reminds me to honor and love them accordingly.  And when I think (for example) of a fearful child, instead of merely praying that they'd "toughen up" or "get brave," I pray that they would rest in the Father's care.  It's a different prayer, isn't it?  And praying it makes me look at my children differently.  Treat them differently.  Speak to them differently.  When I remember.

Who art in Heaven.  When I remember where God is enthroned, I am reminded of His sovereign power.  There is no point in praying to anyone else, or trusting in anyone else.  And there is no point in worrying over anything that I have left in His sovereign care.

Hallowed be Thy name:  Oh, what a beautiful thing to pray for each family member as I think of them!  "Lord, hallow your name in and through my husband, and myself, and this child, and this child, and this child. May we each hold you in proper awe and reverence.  May we bring only honor to You in our thoughts, words, and deeds."

Thy Kingdom come.  What is a kingdom but a place where a king reigns?  I pray for each family member, including myself, that Christ's reign would be strengthened in each life.  I think of the sin patterns, false beliefs, and stubborn self-determination that currently affect one or more of us, and pray that each would increasingly yield to the King.  This prayer is also a reminder to me whose kingdom I need to be seeking.  (Hint:  It's not mine.)

Now, this can be confusing.  Some people wonder why we ought to pray, if God is totally in charge anyway.  Isn't God always controlling things?  And if He is, why would we pray for Him to control?  That's where the next part of the prayer makes everything clear.

Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven.  Of course God's will is ultimately going to be done on earth.  He will crush His enemies under His (and our) feet when He returns.  Until then, He does often rule over enemies by bringing them down in one way or another, or (more happily) by winning them over to Himself.  And He rules over His people by lovingly winning their increasing allegiance.  Jesus did God's will in one way, by gracious, loving submission and obedience.  Judas did it in another, because God overruled his evil intentions and used his sin to perfectly fulfill prophecy and bring about the greatest good that ever happened.

Which way do we want Him to rule over us and over our families?

Ah, the vital role a single phrase can play!  On Earth, as it is in Heaven.  As it's done.  The same way it's done.

How is God's will done in Heaven?

• Joyfully
• Willingly
• Trustingly
• Obediently
• Immediately
• Triumphantly

So, when I think of each family member's current dilemmas, tough decisions, trials, temptations, triumphs, tragedies, options, whatevers, I pray that God's will would be done in, by, and through that family member in the same way that it's done in Heaven:  Joyfully, willingly, trustingly, obediently, immediately, triumphantly.

Notice that I don't have to understand God's specific will for that family member's circumstances (though of course I know His general will, which is revealed in Scripture for the conduct of all His people).  I am not to use prayer to impose my will.  I am to yield, I am to entrust.

What freedom this offers!  And what joy, when the answer comes in some form I never could have anticipated!  If I stubbornly hold out for my will, I might not even recognize His will when it is done, and I might frown in the face of Providence.  God forbid.  God forbid.

I'm going to stop here for today, so this entry won't get too long.  Please click here for part 2!