A friend of mine who has beaten cancer now faces another life-threatening illness. Her blogs continue to amaze me. In her I see the spiritual and physical frailty of human life made glorious in Christ Jesus. Her ability to share her hurts, her pain and struggle is a wonderful portrait of how the Lord blesses us and carries us through. My heart hurts for her and I wish more than anything I could be there to comfort and assure her, but as distance separates us, I will pray...
Now isn't that just like us? We don't want to let God do the healing, we want to be an active participant in God's work. Me just praying isn't the last thing I could do...it is the best thing anyone can do, even if you live with the person you are praying for! That is one theme of my life I pray the Lord will help me to overcome someday. I do not do things better on my own...I've had many experiences where if I wanted something to happen, it was up to me to make it happen...but that isn't how it should be with God. He is the only one who can do this perfectly in the best way -not only for the person who needs prayer, but for everyone touched by their life.
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Ahh...vacation finally hit!
Now that my Christmas vacation is almost over, I'm finally beginning to feel a little more relaxed. My days off were full of activity, but many things were accomplished and many good memories made with my family.
Writing my last blog really helped me to see where all my stress was coming from and how it wasn't as monumental as I imagined. I've been keeping up my quiet times with the Lord in the mornings and evenings. Sometimes I miss one or the other, but I try not to miss too many. I love my study bible. It explains a lot that I don't understand in some of the verses I'm reading through. I also love to see how the Greek/Hebrew original words add a new meaning to the English translation. God is just. He is faithful. He is amazingly patient and understanding. He loves eternally, and nothing anyone does can remove stop that love. He forgives. God is Love. When was the last time you spent time with him?
I started a "Prayer Journal" a while back, just writing down my prayers each morning and night as I spend time with God. It is amazing. He answers the little prayers. The ones I forget about after asking for them. For instance, I'll ask Him to help me make better choices, and when I look back at my day, I can see where He has come through for me. If I hadn't written it down, I may never have noticed or acknowledged the answered prayers. He cares about each moment. Each step of my daily activities and when I let Him, He blesses me and teaches me. I pray that I can continue to keep my eyes on Him and to be humble to allow Him free reign in my life.
Writing my last blog really helped me to see where all my stress was coming from and how it wasn't as monumental as I imagined. I've been keeping up my quiet times with the Lord in the mornings and evenings. Sometimes I miss one or the other, but I try not to miss too many. I love my study bible. It explains a lot that I don't understand in some of the verses I'm reading through. I also love to see how the Greek/Hebrew original words add a new meaning to the English translation. God is just. He is faithful. He is amazingly patient and understanding. He loves eternally, and nothing anyone does can remove stop that love. He forgives. God is Love. When was the last time you spent time with him?
I started a "Prayer Journal" a while back, just writing down my prayers each morning and night as I spend time with God. It is amazing. He answers the little prayers. The ones I forget about after asking for them. For instance, I'll ask Him to help me make better choices, and when I look back at my day, I can see where He has come through for me. If I hadn't written it down, I may never have noticed or acknowledged the answered prayers. He cares about each moment. Each step of my daily activities and when I let Him, He blesses me and teaches me. I pray that I can continue to keep my eyes on Him and to be humble to allow Him free reign in my life.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Time with God Update
I am happy to share I have been able to keep up my bible reading twice a day (before bed and first thing when I wake up). I'm so grateful for my loving parents who gave me a Holman Christian Standard Bible for Christmas! I love that bible. It is easy to read and understand, plus it has a built in commentary to help me understand the culture, traditions, and use of the language from the author's time. I don't always agree with the commentary author's interpretations of the bible, but many times their insight brings so much more depth to my understanding of God's word!
I'm still reading through Psalms in the mornings. It is a more upbeat book of the bible and when I am praising God, it is so much easier to start my day out right! As a matter of fact, the other day I was having a dull day at work plugging along through my tedious paperwork. I have several youtube playlists of Christian music, but when I started listening to the Worship music, even without me singing along, I could just feel my office fill with the presence of the Holy Spirit! It really uplifted my mood and changed my attitude!
At night I have made it through Proverbs and Song of Solomon, and now I am going through Isaiah. Honestly, Isaiah is a hard read for me. It is full of prophecy. Some prophecies were already fulfilled, some are double prophecies (fulfilled at one time and to be fulfilled again). I don't always understand the prophecies, the commentary helps, but doesn't go into all the eschatology (study of end times) of it either. So as I'm reading, I am praying for God to teach me and give me insight to what he wants me to learn. Some passages touch me and others I take in for God to use at a later date in my life.
Proverbs 2:1-5 (actually the whole chapter is awesome if you want to read it) "My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."
I still feel a lack of communication with the Lord despite my time in the Word. I feel a desire, a need to talk with God more...more of what a relationship entails. To have a deeper more meaningful prayer life. That's a little more challenging and I know Satan likes to make me think that God's too far away or not listening, but I KNOW better and have to remind myself of God's promises to me:
Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."
1 John 5:14 "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
1 Corinthians 2:9-13 "But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."
I'm still reading through Psalms in the mornings. It is a more upbeat book of the bible and when I am praising God, it is so much easier to start my day out right! As a matter of fact, the other day I was having a dull day at work plugging along through my tedious paperwork. I have several youtube playlists of Christian music, but when I started listening to the Worship music, even without me singing along, I could just feel my office fill with the presence of the Holy Spirit! It really uplifted my mood and changed my attitude!
At night I have made it through Proverbs and Song of Solomon, and now I am going through Isaiah. Honestly, Isaiah is a hard read for me. It is full of prophecy. Some prophecies were already fulfilled, some are double prophecies (fulfilled at one time and to be fulfilled again). I don't always understand the prophecies, the commentary helps, but doesn't go into all the eschatology (study of end times) of it either. So as I'm reading, I am praying for God to teach me and give me insight to what he wants me to learn. Some passages touch me and others I take in for God to use at a later date in my life.
Proverbs 2:1-5 (actually the whole chapter is awesome if you want to read it) "My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."
I still feel a lack of communication with the Lord despite my time in the Word. I feel a desire, a need to talk with God more...more of what a relationship entails. To have a deeper more meaningful prayer life. That's a little more challenging and I know Satan likes to make me think that God's too far away or not listening, but I KNOW better and have to remind myself of God's promises to me:
Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."
1 John 5:14 "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
1 Corinthians 2:9-13 "But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."
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