Prayer

 Prayer! Prayer can be a very broad word. When I say the word prayer, it means a certain thing to me. It means that I am indirect communication with my Lord Jesus. I can tell Him things that are on my heart, I can cry out to Him for things that I need, I can talk to Him about others in my life, and I can cry out for the needs of others that I see hurting. So to me, prayer is a very personal time that I spend with my Lord in communication with him.

For others prayer may mean reciting a certain scripture. Or it may mean reciting a poem or something already written out that they follow. And for some it just means asking for something they need or they want without any particular relationship with Jesus in mind. That is not for me to judge that is only for the person‘s own heart to determine if they’re in the right place when praying.

You may ask what is the right place. For me the right place means that my heart is genuinely asking the Lord to help me. I am earnestly seeking to be closer to Jesus so that I may ask with the right heart different things  that I would like to see happen. 

Some people think that praying for your own special needs puts you in a selfish mindset. You’re asking only for yourself and for your own needs. I feel that with my prayer time I have room to ask for my own personal needs. I cover my family, my loved ones, people that I know that are struggling, for my country, and the list can be unending. That’s not having a selfish attitude. It’s having an attitude of graciousness and love for other human beings in need. I may be praying for a specific friend. I may be praying for someone that hurt me, and asking the Lord why they did that. And that brings me to my next thought. What if we don’t receive the answer we are asking for? What if the Lord answers our prayer in a different way that we didn’t expect?

When we pray, sometimes, it can sound like we are demanding a specific thing from Jesus. That is something I am always so careful about. I do not want to be demanding to my Lord at all, or ever. What is on my heart and what I see as a need, I want to come before the Lord with my heart open, laying it all out before Jesus. I know that He is the one who answers my prayers. But He can use other people for that answer. I may want some extra fellowship, and the Lord places it on someone else’s heart to come visit me. That’s an answer to my prayer directly, and he is probably answering the other person‘s prayer to be used. That’s the beautiful thing about prayer. Jesus knows what’s on our hearts, he knows what we need, before we ever ask him.

When you pray, do you have a Journal with you? That is something I always do, I always have my journal and I write down my prayers. And very often, I write down an answer that Jesus has given me. Sometimes I get an answer almost immediately. Other times it’s been a lifelong experience. That would pertain to my health. I have shared before that I have struggled with health issues for most of my life. Does that make me angry and want to know why Jesus hasn’t answered that prayer particularly? I have to admit, at times when I was feeling my worst, I have gotten angry in the past. But I always knew Jesus had a plan. And I always prayed that he would use my situation to help others. Here’s a brief story about something that took place during one of my surgeries. 

My husband was in the hospital, waiting room waiting for the doctor to come out to tell him how my surgery went. It seems like it was hours and hours to my husband, and it was several hours. A doctor came out that spoke English, but it was difficult to understand him at times. He was from a different country. And he thanked my husband over and over again with tears in his eyes,that he was able to observe my surgery,  telling my husband that he could finally go back to his home country and perform these surgeries on people there and save their lives. Previously, he was not allowed to do that for some reason. My husband was stunned! He didn’t know how to answer that. He said to the doctor that my prayer was always to help others, and if my surgery would help other people survive, it was worth it. When I woke up, and my husband told me this I was shocked. But then I thought back all those years ago when I asked the Lord to just use my situation to help others. That was one instant where I knew. God answered that prayer. I saw that my prayers were producing fruit. There were several other times that has happened since then, and it just reaffirms my faith that Jesus is here with me, and he is listening, he hears my prayers and he answers them. 

I know, without a doubt he is doing the same for you when you pray to him. Jesus so much wants to talk with us and have a conversation with us. He loves us so much.  

I encourage you try to take a few minutes out of your morning and talk to Jesus about your day, and then midday talk to him again and share with him your struggles, and then in the evening, take time with him again and share with him how your day went. That is something that Jesus wants every day from you and from me.

Jesus wants a close and loving relationship with us. When we pray to him and talk to him, it gives him so much delight because he loves us. He wants us to be near to him. And through Prayer we have every opportunity to be close to Jesus. Let’s just open our hearts to him every day.

“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

“You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

Run Your Race! Keep the Faith!

•  “Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life that you were called to and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses.”

1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭HCSB

• “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

• “Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

We all have been given a race to run.  And they are all different.  Mine happens to be a race I’ve had to run most of my life.  It has to do with health.  I’ve mentioned briefly in the past about different issues.  The 1st being something called a tethered Spinal Cord.  Leaving me with a lot of spinal cord damage, a condition called Tethered Cord Syndrome.  The results of that is a long painful journey and race.  Then I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.  Another life long battle of this blood cancer.  And add to that is Breast Cancer.  All of these requiring a great deal of faith in the Lord Jesus, and stamina to run my race.  And finally I’ve been given an autoimmune disease to add to that complicated list.  That one disease has zapped every last bit of energy I have.  

Still I must run my race.  I must keep the faith.  I know I will have victory.  You may be asking how do I do it?  How do I have any faith left?  How….because I know the very source of my life.  That is my Lord Jesus Christ.  He is my source of everything.   My strength, my stamina, my hope, and my faith.  I must choose to continue on in the faith.  Run my race. 

When I’m weak, Jesus is my strength, my husband is my strength.  I know others are praying and interceding for me.  That all fills me with strength and hope and faith.  And always read the Word of God.  Have it near you.  And pray without ceasing.  

Jesus will be running that race with you.  He never leaves your side.  

Talk with Jesus. Read His word.Trust Him.

 Matthew 17:20b

“For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

This is one of those “faith” verses that we are all familiar with.  I would say it is almost impossible to find someone who hasn’t heard these words spoken before.  Even those claiming they do not believe in the Scriptures have heard this spoken, or read it someplace, or may have even spoke these words themselves.

I say amen to that.  We all need those encouraging words at times in our lives.  It may be for your personal relationship with Jesus, or your relationship with your spouse, maybe for healing in your own body or  a loved ones life.  Then it could be for financial reasons. Or many other reasons we encounter in a lifetime.

Do you think those of us that hang on to this verse more than others are more apt to receive our answers than someone who barely believes in faith?  I don’t believe that.  That would mean the Lord puts your requests ahead of mine because you memorized a verse. I do not believe God does that.  He loves us all equally as the next.  He has made us in His image.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made. He likes your blonde hair as much as my red curly hair. He likes my freckles as much as your pale skin.  Ok, that’s our physical appearance.  What about our hearts?  He desires us to all be filled with His love in our hearts.  But I may have a little bubble in mine, where yours is filled to the brim.  That makes no difference to Jesus.  What He wants most of all is for us to rely on Him, in faith, for all of our needs and wants.  He doesn’t measure our prayers.  He already knows what is in our hearts.  We don’t need to plead with Him.  No matter our need or request, He will be there for us. 

16 Rejoice always! 17 Pray constantly. 18 Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (‭‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

Sometimes we think we know the answer and how Jesus will respond.  Well why would we need faith and trust in Jesus if we knew the answers.  It all comes down to this.  Jesus loves  us more than anything.  He wants to supply our every need.  He wants to answer every prayer.  But those answers are coming from Jesus’ heart and His mouth.  He knows what’s best.  

It comes down to us reading the Scriptures, letting them stick in our hearts.  And having that faith, even if it’s only the size of a mustard seed.  Just sit back, put your feet up, and talk to Jesus.  Let Him hold you in His arms, console you, speak His love to you.  He wants that relationship with you.  It is often in those times that I find my greatest moments of peace and comfort.  For that I am so very grateful.   

As we start a new season, autumn, we get to see God’s magnificent masterpiece of the brilliant colors of the landscape.  But also we can settle down some, rest a little, and prepare for the coming of a new year.  

May you all find your rest and your peace in Jesus.  Be rejuvenated.