for chains to fall

He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away the chains.
Psalm 107:14

I’m learning much about silence in prayer during this season.  But even in the silence I can find the comfort, the peace this mother’s heart needs, I find it daily in His Word.  The wordless responses are met with His Promises.

For all the children . . .

I pray for Grace to be made real in their lives.

I pray for the sweet calling of the Holy Spirit to be met with openness.

I pray for the look in the mirror to be met with fearless honesty with the Creator, the one they’ve called Abba Father.

I pray even when they feel lost to themselves, even when they question, that they are never lost to Him who died for them. 

AND

I pray for chains to fall as . . .

 one of them is struggling, coming to terms with the hard parts of his story.

You’ve broken the chains of many, Lord.

My son has chains too.  Not chains made of iron but from the sins he forged on his own free will, thinking this is a freedom, an identity, maybe an escape.  But these chains are entangling, not liberating, because they have taken him away from You.

The Word says, “The Lord sets the prisoners free.“

How we want so much to hear the sounds of the chains falling, never to be picked up and put on again.

How much we so want to hear him say how You have done great things for him and set his heart free.

How much we want him to recognize his conforming to the world is the worst kind of slavery.

We don’t know the reasons Lord.  We don’t fully know the challenges he faces, only in part.  But we do know that You know all of them.  We ask that the chains be broken link by link by link, so he can turn again to You.  And the things that have captivated him will lose their lure and he will understand they are the tools, the schemes of the enemy.

You’ve broken the chains of many.  Break his.

watchmen in the morning

Click to listen to “As the Watchmen” – Jonathan and Emily Martin

From the depths I cry
In my pain I sigh
It is more dark tonight as I pray

O God, bend your ear
I pray for you to hear
As I make my appeal for mercy
If you were to count every one of my iniquities
O God, I could not stand
But with You there is forgiveness and mercy
That You may be feared

As the watchmen wait for the sun to shine
I know your Mercy will arise
I know your Mercy will arise
I’ll wait for You
I’ll wait and in your Word I’ll hope
I’ll wait and in your Word I’ll hope

I will hope in the Lord
I know He will restore
Though I am on the floor grieving sin
I know He will redeem
I know He has made me clean
Not feeling the relief, but I believe

‘Cause I know one day the sun will stop shining
And soon the morning will not appear
But on that day your Love will prove unending
And like the dawn your Love will arise
Like the dawn your Love will rise
Like the dawn your Mercy will rise

beauty in bird calls

As you listen to birds calling to one another, hear also My Love-call to you.

I speak to you continually: through sights, sounds, thoughts, impressions, scriptures. There is no limit to the variety of ways I can communicate with you. Your part is to be attentive to My messages, in whatever form they come. When you set out to find Me in a day, you discover that the world is vibrantly alive with My Presence.

You can find Me not only in beauty and birdcalls, but also in tragedy and faces filled with grief.

I can take the deepest sorrow and weave it into a pattern for good.

Search for Me and My messages, as you go through this day. 

You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with your whole being.

from Jesus Calling (Sarah Young)

What a beautiful reminder to stop, to look, to listen and to reflect.  No matter what is going on my world, I should never be too busy to spend time with my Father.  It’s not a matter of squeezing in 5 minutes here, and 10 minutes there.

It’s starting my day looking for the many ways He communicates with me and to just listen . . .

Listen with eyes that see, ears that hear, and a heart that knows its Creator.  

All day and in all circumstances, I hear His Love-call to me.

***********************

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:13

the contender

For look! The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.
Psalm 11:2

Contend –  strives in opposition or against difficulties;  to struggle against;  to wrestle, grapple, battle against a foe.

~Praying this today on my son’s birthday . . . 

Lord, my family has been contended with.
The enemy has assaulted my family fiercely and taken the son we love captive to do his will .
He has sent his fierce warriors to plunder my home and our hopes for my son, but the enemy will not succeed.
He has tried to steal that which belongs to you and he thinks he has won.
Lord, you created this son, and at his birth I gave him to You.
Go after the enemy, Abba Father – Contend with those who contend with us!
Take back what is Yours!
You told your people once, “Your children I will save.”
Save my son, Father!
I pray that he will come to his senses and escape from the trap of the devil.
Wake him up in the enemy’s camp and provide a way out.
Unlock the chains on his hands and his feet and his heart, and let him run to you!
Your Word tells me that you will pursue your foes into darkness and whatever they plot against the LORD, You will bring to an end.
I’m counting on that Father.  I’m counting on You!
I ask you to bring back my son and all that has been stolen from us.
Strike down the enemy and bring this matter to a firm and final end.
I can see my son returning to You, held up by your strong arms, a captive set free from sin.
May he be among those who listen to your Voice and follow You.
You give us eternal life and no one can snatch us out of your Hand.
I pray my son will be brought into the safety of your Love.
The wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows straight against the strings to shoot from the shadows.
But I take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
You give us the victory through your Son, Jesus Christ.
Let that victory come to our son today!

But this is what the Lord say, ‘Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.’ ~ Isaiah 49:25

taken from Prayers for the Prodigal

the lost one

See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones,
because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of My Father in heaven.
 [For the Son of Man has come to save the lost].
What do you think?
If a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the 99 on the hillside and go and search for the stray?
And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep more than the 99 that did not go astray.
In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Matthew 18:10-14

Do you believe in angels?

 I do.

I. Most. Certainly. Do.

The Word says:  the Father sends His angels of great strength to do His Word and they are obedient to His command.

I’m so thankful for the angels He gives my children . . . angels who always see His face.

I’m so thankful for all the times His angels look after my children when I can not.  Be it distance, or our circumstances, or in their rebellion, I know His angels continue to be with them, just as when I prayed for the little ones held close to my heart.

Angels were there:

• Daniel in the lion’s den to shut the mouths of the devouring lions
• Peter bound in jail between 2 guards, the night before his execution is rescued and walks out of the jail
• Elijah was afraid and running for his life was touched by an angel, not once but twice
• The apostles jailed and angels opened the doors of the jail
• Lot’s hand grabbed when he hesitated to leave Sodom with his family, because You were merciful to them

And so it is even today.  I pray for the angels who always see the face of the Father.

And for the one who has strayed . . .

I ask that You send an angel from heaven to help him.

Just as we can entertain angels without knowing it, I pray for a stranger with the heart of Yours to show him a kindness that he will recognize is from You.

For someone who will share Your love and Your presence with him, so that he will remember, he will believe, he will run TO You and will bow before You once again.  Your Word tells me about what you’ve done for those You call your own ~ In all their distress He too was distressed, and the angel of His Presence saved them.  In His love and mercy He redeemed them.

I don’t know how or when, but I ask that You help him open his heart to You, his Abba Father.

So I watch, I pray, and I wait.  And I say thanks.  It is not the will of my Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

who am I to know?

cc licensed flickr photo shared by It’sGreg

Waiting Patiently

I am tempted to ask God, “Why? Why must I wait again?”  Then He reminds me of the waiting times. Times of waiting for prayers to be answered, waiting for direction, waiting while being still ~ trying to listen.   With each season of waiting there is much learned and there is growth.   And with another season of waiting I continue to learn, to grow in my dependence on Him.  HE continues to show me, to teach me, to break me.

The journey ahead can look difficult and the path is often rocky, and I know the enemy is lying in wait to steal my Joy, to cause division and destroy all that is good.  Yet my faith and confidence is in the One who created me and knows my every breath.

“Unbelief looks at God through the circumstances… But faith puts God between itself and its circumstances, and looks at them through Him.” FB Meyer

Who am I to know what it is that God is working out through this season of waiting?

Oh, the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!
How unsearchable His judgments
and untraceable His ways!

 For who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been His counselor?
 Or who has ever first given to Him,
and has to be repaid?
 For from Him and through Him
and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:33-36 (HCSB)

And we wait . . .  looking at our circumstances through HIM.
HE will be glorified!  HE has already defeated the enemy!  

a new thing

Isn’t it amazing how much power the past seems to have over us?

When my family gets together we typically find ourselves sitting around the table sharing stories, stories from the past. Many of the stories bring smiles, cause infectious laughter, and perhaps even a reflective pause of thinking about and remembering those not with us.  Most of the time those stories from the past are like our favorite robe, you know the one  you grab when you want to really feel warm and comfortable, all wrapped up in such familiarity.  It just feels right.

But sometimes our past takes on a life of its own.  Some of us can get so wrapped up in reliving the events and people in our lives that we carry the past around with us everywhere we go, pouring out the stories whenever we can.  For many the past is filled with stories from a difficult childhood,  an abusive marriage, a string of broken relationships, or financial hardships.  All painful things that one should want to put away, but for some strange reason many hold on tight to the past – no matter how painful it may have been.  It’s like getting stuck in the mud and not being able to move forward.   And sadly, this dwelling on the past keeps us from the Joy of the future.

The problem with carrying the past around with us like our favorite robe is that we are so focused on the past that we’re blinded to what’s right in front of us and around us.  We miss what God has for us, big and small.  We miss how He will turn our deserts into fields of wildflowers, our dry streams into rivers of flowing water.

We can either keep on carrying around that baggage of the past, or we can nail those painful, Joy-stealing stories from the past to the Cross.  It’s a clean sheet of paper every day, filled with a whole heart surrendered to God.

The choice is ours!

What might you need to let go of to move forward to the Joy of the future?

 

 

patience

 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
    heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
 My soul is in deep anguish.
    How long, Lord, how long?
Psalm 3:2-3

Through the years I’ve heard it said more times than i probably care to remember, “If you pray for patience, you’re only asking for difficulties, for things that will ‘make’ you patient.” yet I continue to pray for patience because through every difficult situation, every trial, I have seen God’s faithfulness.  Does that mean that I look back on these times and say each one was a piece of cake? do I say each one had the ‘timely’ outcome I envisioned?

Absolutely NOT. I look back on these times, and each one is a reminder that God is faithful, He shows his mercy.

Yet during times of waiting, times of uncertainty, seasons of trial and feeling aloneness, there are moments of asking “how long, Lord, how long?”   And just like David in the Psalm, I call out this question because my heart is  filled with longing.  And yes, sometimes there are even moments of grumbling.  Some days I  just want to give up. But there is something that keeps burning inside me.  It isn’t something, it is Someone.  It is knowing in my heart that I am not alone.   1 John 4:13 reminds me “This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given assurance to us from His Spirit.” 

Is it my fretting, the tapping of my fingers, the shaking of my foot nervously back and forth,  shifting around from one position to another, or is it my complaining [or maybe call it whining?] that moves God or His timeline? Not in the least little bit.  It is me stepping out in trust and knowing He is Sovereign.  Me stepping into His Masterplan. waiting for Him to do what He will.  As I have learned to surrender and to listen to the Holy Spirit, I see God’s handiwork in my life’s journey.  Prayers have been answered.  difficult situations and circumstances have become blessings and a part of my story.  He has salvaged the bad for good, His Good.

Patience doesn’t come naturally. That’s why we have the Holy Spirit. He strengthens our resolve to endure without complaint when progress seems sluggish. After all, God is slow only from a human standpoint. From a divine, eternal perspective, He’s always working at the perfect speed.

summer

summer . . . the word itself will bring a smile to my face.  school’s out.  it’s time to wind down, relax, and spend time catching up with a multitude of things.

summer in this part of the country will usually look something like this . . .

hot, a sweltering summer season.  summer has arrived big time here in Texas.  we’ve been in the middle of a drought for quite a while, and even though we’ve had some rain, most days are hot and dry.  it’s that kind of hot where you plan your day thinking of air-conditioning.  it’s that kind of hot that will make you focus on the negative.  but instead of looking at the negative side of summer, i’ve been inspired to take to heart my desire to be intentional in seeing Joy in my life’s seasons.  

so one of the benefits of the summer season is  . . . 

 a time for ripening and picking of summer fruits.  

i’m looking expectantly. i’m watching carefully. expectantly and carefully for His fruit to ripen.

 seeds that He has sown.  
seeds He has sown in me.  
seeds He has sown through me.

summer may be a dry and hot season, but summer is always a time for ripening and picking His fruit.

“when distance separates”

 

Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
Isaiah 59:1

 the distance can be physical.  the distance can be spiritual.  the distance can be emotional.  the distance can be all of these things…  

Father, i thank you there is nowhere my son can go
where You are not already present.
Even though he is far from me, i rest in the promise that your arm ‘is not too short to save.’
i pray that You will meet him where he is, Lord.
Let him encounter You everywhere he turns, ‘behind and before’
Open his eyes to ‘paths of life’ that lead in your direction and draw him closer to you.
Father, he needs You to point him home.
Not home to me, but to his eternal home with You.
Just like the prodigal son who ‘came to his senses’ in a far country, i ask that he will become aware of anything that separates him from You.
May he say, ‘i will set out and go back’ and run to your open arms.
Even where he is right now, he is not so far away that your love cannot reach him, because ‘the earth is filled with your love.’
Let your love surround him and keep him from all harm.
Father, give him ‘more grace’ to submit himself to you and ‘resist the devil,’ so the devil ‘will flee from him.’
Fill his heart with faith, because then he will be helped in every way and ‘shielded’ by your power.
Send your angels to help him, as you do for those who ‘inherit salvation.’
i pray you will bring  him new friends who know You, and keep him from those who would lead him astray.
Give him a longing to be a part of ‘the family of believers,’ where he will be encouraged, helped, and blessed.
Let every road that he takes lead [back] to You, Lord.
Thank you, Father, that you hear my prayer.
Thank You that You are even more willing to answer than i am to ask.
i praise You that You are ‘able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.’
i praise You for the way you will answer this prayer. 

from Prayers for the Prodigal