Continue Steadfastly in Prayer!

A few days ago I decided to be more diligent and focused in spending time in prayer and reading my Bible. I had been letting laziness and distraction keep me from really pressing in to Him. So I've been getting up early with only my Bible and a notebook to write my prayers. No iPad (which so easily leads me down abstract paths), and no other books. It was so refreshing! I gave Him my thoughts on paper, and received His living word to my soul! I wanted to share one special thing that came out of my quiet time with Him.

Something that's been on my heart, is praying for my children...beyond the little night time prayers. I mean, intercession on their behalf. Doing battle for them in the unseen realm! If I actually believe in the power of prayer, than why on earth don't I pray? Why am I so passive about it?

Part of it is being subtly distracted. What a clever tool of the enemy.

Part of it is that I don't fully recognize or understand the power of prayer.

And sometimes I just don't know where to begin. I don't take the time to quiet myself, and really pray from my heart. I end up with "Please keep them healthy and safe and don't let anything bad happen to them." There isn't anything wrong with praying for good health and safety, but there is so much more! And bad things are bound to happen. I want to go deeper. I want to pray according the the Spirit of God.

So I was reading in Colossians the last few mornings. I took an orange pen and highlighted everything I could pray for my children (really anyone for that matter). It was wonderful. I put all those verses together, and modified them into a prayer. I read it when I was done, and was thrilled! It felt like such an important, relevant, and meaningful prayer. I want to start praying the Word over everyone!

It's not always "easy" to pray, but I won't let that stop me. In Colossians 4:12 Paul mentions someone named Epaphras who was "...always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God." I will struggle in prayer on the behalf of others for that same reason.

My prayer from Colossians, written for my children:

Father, I ask that my children would be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of You, fully pleasing to You, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of You. May they be strengthened with all power, according to Your glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to You.

Deliver them from the domain of darkness and transfer them to the kingdom of Your beloved Son. I pray that they would continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that they have heard. Make known to them the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in them, the hope of glory.

May their hearts be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I will rejoice to see their good order and the firmness of their faith in Christ.

I pray that they would receive Christ Jesus the Lord, and so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as they are taught, abounding in thanksgiving. May no one take them captive by philosophy and empty deceit. I pray that they would be made alive together with Him, and forgiven of all their trespasses. May they seek the things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

I pray that they would put to death what is earthly in them; sexual immorality, impurity, evil desire, and covetousness. That they would put away all anger, wrath, malice, slander, lying and obscene talk from their mouths. I pray that they would put off the old self, and put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator.

May they wear compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as You have forgiven them, so they also must forgive. And above all these, I pray that they would put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts. May they be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in them richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing songs, with thankfulness in their hearts to You. And whatever they do, in word or deed, may they do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to You through Him.

I pray that they would be obedient, for this pleases You. May they stand mature and fully assured in all Your will, and fulfill the ministry that You have for them.

In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."  (Col. 4:2 ESV)

I'll Remember Her

Yesterday SweetHeart and I went to a "Girls in the Garden" gathering. We brought my mother-in-law, and my mom's mother, who are wonderful gifts from God. I'm so glad that my children have them. I didn't really let myself think about the fact that "someone was missing". I just delighted in who was there. But at the end of our time at the garden, there was a program. Someone announced that a mother and daughter would be singing, "Remember Me". Tears came down my face before they even started singing it. That song is all too familiar to me. After my mom died, my boyfriend and I made a slideshow video to play at her funeral. That was the song we put in it.

I feel like God wants me to really remember my mom. Not just remember her mentally, but let myself open the chambers of my heart that miss, that love, that desire.  I don't do that often. He's been providing little opportunities for me to do that. It actually feels good.

My mom passed away on April 24th, 2000. I was 19 years old. Thankfully my best friend who would become my husband, was with me through it all. She's not a stranger to him. I am glad for that. I remember sitting on her bed with her, listening to a cd that my boyfriend and I had made for her (Fernando Ortega & Bebo Norman were on there). She loved it. She asked me if I thought I'd marry him...I think she knew what I'd say. We were engaged 3 months after she died.

My mom loved to worship God with song. I can picture her swaying back and forth, tambourine in one hand, the other raised straight up to Him. I'm just like her when it comes to loving Jesus, and singing my heart out to Him!

I lived with my mom from the ages of 15-19. I am so thankful to have had that time with her, however I never really reached "friend" status with her. That is an unfulfilled desire of mine...to be friends with my mom. She loved to sit and have coffee and just talk. About life. About Jesus. I love to do the same. One of the things that I have of hers is a little wooden table that sits in front of my kitchen window. I can just picture us sitting there together, having coffee, her grandchildren running around. She would've LOVED being a grandma!!! I miss not sharing their precious lives with her.

So those are my random thoughts this Mother's Day morning. It feels good to just remember and think of those few things. I love my mom, and I genuinely believe that I will see her again.

Here's the video we played at her funeral:
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God Doesn't Need Me

God doesn't need me. God doesn't "need" anything! He is all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent...He has no limits! God doesn't need to have a relationship with me to feel more complete. He doesn't need me to work for Him. He plain and simple...is glorious!

I know this analogy won't be perfect, that's kind of hard to do when you are talking about an amazing God, but I think there's some truth here...

I was thinking about how having children doesn't make me any more of a person than someone without children. I don't need my children. However, they are a manifestation of love, and I do indeed love them! I want to know them and they want to know me. When I am doing something they want to be right beside me, being a part of my work.

Do I need them to help me make pancakes? No. But I absolutely love to let them help. In our working together, we are growing closer, my children are being trained, and great blessings come through this.

My kids love to help make food, they usually enjoy helping one another, and they don't even mind running around to get things for me. The one thing they really do not like doing, is cleaning up their messes. Funny enough, that's actually one of the most helpful things they could do.

Being a part of the work that God is doing is a wonderful privilege. I will humbly remember that God doesn't "need" me, I am the one who needs Him. He has designed things to be the way they are for a reason. He lets His little children be vessels through which He accomplishes His incredible works.

He delights in our love, displayed through our obedience to Him.

I don't ever want to try to serve Him in a way that merely satisfies me, but walk in obedience...even if it's to clean up a mess I don't want to!