How often have we been taught that being helpless is a bad thing?

I grew up in a family where my grandparents emigrated from Germany. They worked hard to establish a business, lost it all in the Great Depression and started over and did it again. I was taught that hard work and independence were important traits to have—and they are.

But it’s been revolutionizing to me lately to discover that our helplessness is the very thing that God is looking for in a person. What? Well in the book A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller, chapter 6 is actually about learning how to be helpless in prayer. He says that prayer is all about bringing your helplessness to Jesus. When we finally realize that we can do nothing lasting in our own strength and power and move out of the way and let God work through our weaknesses, then things start to happen. That’s what grace is all about.

Even more amazing, the more we mature in our Christian walk, the more helpless we realize we are, and the more God works through us. Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” And you know what? This is exactly how Jesus prayed and ministered. He did nothing apart from the power of God. “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner,” John 5:19. So, feeling weak in a situation is actually a great thing. We turn to prayer and bring our helplessness to Jesus who sends the Holy Spirit to empower us.

Where are you weak today so that God can work?

Don’t see it as a hindrance, but rather see it as an opportunity for the power of God to work through your life. Has this ever happened with you? Feel free to share your comments on the blog.

Pray on!

Ever since the beginning of history, God has made provision to fellowship with man. He has promised that even if we have sinned, He has made a way for us to fellowship with Him. To find out how God has covered our sin, please click on the link!

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Are you frustrated with the progress you’re making in your prayer life? Or just in your spiritual life in general?

You know, I’ve found that being conformed to the image of Christ is rarely a fast process. It often involves times of struggle, pushing ahead, falling back and eventually making slow, steady progress. Sometimes change can happen quickly, but most often, I am in it for the long haul. And at times, it can seem that I’m not making much progress.

A few days ago, I discovered some fun caterpillars in my garden, and I’ve been keeping tabs on them. I discovered they’re Monarch butterfly caterpillars. It’s been exciting watching them. Now, exciting may seem like a oxymoron when used to describe a caterpillar, especially after you look at the short video clip I have of them here. Take a few seconds to look at the video, if you can.

You may think that outwardly nothing exciting was happening at all, but on the contrary, much is going on.

What tips can we learn from my friend the caterpillar to help us in our struggles?

1. Be focused. The caterpillar has one thing in mind—and that’s eating. That is his sole purpose at the moment. What is your focus right now? Identify the change you want or need to make. Do you want to grow or mature in your prayer life? Do you have a fruit of the spirit you need to cultivate? Write it down—make it official. Confess any sin that may be entangled in this change and then ask God to equip you through the Holy Spirit to make the change.
2. Choose your source of nourishment carefully. The Monarch caterpillar loves the milkweed plant as his host plant and will slowly eat his way through the leaves. But, I learned that the Indian hemp dogbane plant resembles the milkweed—it even has a milky substance; one major difference is that it is poisonous to the caterpillars and will kill them if they keep eating the dogbane. Think about what you’re taking in as your source of nourishment during this time of change or struggle in your life. Are you surrounding yourself with scripture, good music, prayer, biblical teaching, books and wise counsel? Or are you feeding on a diet of questionable TV, movies, music and activities that are slowly poisoning you?
3. Be diligent. Just like the caterpillar eats a bite at a time, keep plugging away, doing what you know is right. We can only break a sinful pattern or cultivate a new habit one decision at a time. As Christians, we have the wonderful resource of the Holy Spirit to help us.
4. Look to the inside. Realize when it seems  from all outward appearances that everything has ground to a halt, profound changes are happening on the inside. The Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out into Christ’s image.
5. Rest when you need to. The caterpillar sometimes takes breaks from his eating to just rest. At times, we need to do that too. It’s hard work changing. Do something fun. Read a good book, go for a walk, sit on the beach or take a nap. Recharge yourself for the next phase.
6. Submit to God. When the caterpillar is inside the chrysalis, he is submitted to the creator who is changing Him. We also need to allow God access to all areas of our lives as we are in the chrysalis of change so that He can slough off the dead and replace it with life.
7. Spread your wings. In the fullness of time, dare to fly into what God has for you now.

What  habit have you now attained? Is there a new ministry opening up for you? As you celebrate what God has accomplished in your life, be open to what God has for you next.

As you feel led, leave a comment on a struggle that God has brought you through. Your struggle may encourage someone else to keep on.

Pray on!

Have you ever received a piece of news that just about knocked you off your feet?

It may be that everyone else around you could see it coming, but for whatever reason, you were blindsided by the revelation. That happened to me a few years ago. It was a challenging situation to handle, and I knew I needed to pray about it. Honestly, the situation was so overwhelming and foreign to me that I didn’t know where to begin.

Then I heard about the idea of prayer strategies.

While this is not a new concept, it was new to me. Basically the idea is to ask the Lord to reveal how you should pray about a difficult situation. I found the basis for this in Romans 8:26, 27.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

I also like Psalm 119:169.

“Let my cry come before You, O Lord; give me understanding according to Your Word.”

So I set aside some time to pray and seek the insight of the Holy Spirit as to how I could attack this situation with prayer. I wanted specific guidelines. I grabbed my journal and then I waited.

While I was praying, the Holy Spirit began to give me phrases to pray, and many of them had to do with being set free. At the end of that time, I actually had a list of 12 things to pray about. I ran through my list and made sure that none of the ways I was going to pray conflicted with scripture. And they didn’t. Always make sure that your prayer strategy aligns with scripture, because the Holy Spirit will not ask you to pray for things that are contrary to scripture.

Specific Scripture

Since I could see the theme of freedom in these prayer requests, I then looked up some specific scriptures dealing with freedom that I could pray into this situation. I simply turned to my concordance, looked up the word freedom, and read through the scriptures. I asked the Holy Spirit to quicken my heart to the ones I should pray, and then chose the ones I felt led to.

You see, praying scripture is like throwing spiritual dynamite into the situation because God tells us in Hebrews 4:12 that His word is “alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” It is the most powerful weapon in our arsenal.

I was so relieved to go from not knowing how to pray to having a very detailed prayer strategy in place. Each day I prayed using my strategy and trusted God with the results. This is important. Let go of any pressure. The results are up to God—your job is to pray.

“How long do I keep doing this?” you might be wondering.

Well, every situation is different. Often times we don’t get to see the results of our prayers. Some requests may need years of intercession; others only a short time. Basically, as long as God still puts the request on your heart or until you see victory in the area is how long you should keep praying. God will release you from the prayer burden when it is time.
I would encourage you that if you are feeling overwhelmed with a situation to ask God for a prayer strategy.You will go from feeling helpless to being powerfully equipped to pray your way through.
Drop me a comment or question and let me know if you use prayer strategies.
Pray on!

Jane VanOsdol

Listening to God has always been a practice that has intrigued me–and scared me. I am intrigued by the whole practice of contemplative prayer where I learn to listen to God’s voice while trying to silence my own voice and the other distractions around me. What scares me about it is the fear that if I do manage to quiet my own thoughts and requests that I won’t hear ANYTHING. What if God doesn’t respond to me at all? Sitting in silence seems kind of uncomfortable and … risky.

Well, the  secular world has embraced the whole practice of quietness through the use of meditation. Many studies show the benefit of this practice from lowered blood pressure to stress relief–and that’s because God designed it to work that way. But, there’s a big difference between secular meditation or the New Age way and the Christian practice of contemplative prayer. God didn’t ever mean for us to pursue just the practice of meditiation; He meant for us to pursue HIM while we meditate on His word. And that’s a BIG difference.

A few years ago I became familiar with the practice of Lectio Divina, which is a form of contemplative prayer. This was introduced during a sermon one Sunday. A few months after that, I took a spiritual disciplines class at church and learned more about it. Then a few weeks ago, I purchased a book I’ve been looking at for awhile called BE STILL by Amy and Judge Reinhold. It’s a beautiful, little book that teaches the whole practice of Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina, I learned, is a Latin phrase and means divine or sacred reading, and this practice has been a part of church life for centuries.

This little book takes you through 31 days of learning how to incorporate meditative prayer into your prayer life. Basically, on each day you meditate on a new portion of scripture, rereading the same passage four times, as you let the Holy Spirit quicken God’s word to your heart. Then you record what God is impressing upon you–how it applies to you.

I have to say that my early fears have been unfounded. Each day I am learning new things and becoming aware of areas in my life that need some work! As I am halfway through the book, I am learning to appreciate the still time of waiting on God and what He has to teach me, instead of always being the one doing the talking. I still pray through my requests, but I just make sure to have listening and meditating time on His word as well.

And with the Holy Spirit as a teacher, there will always be a unlimited supply of exciting things to learn!

Have you ever tried this practice? I’d love to hear your experience on this journey of prayer.

Pray on!

Be Still  By Judge Reinhold & Amy Reinhold

Be Still and Know That I Am God, DVD

Where I live in the Midwest, March is a time of change. The days are often filled with gusty winds ushering in the latest warm front or cold front. I’m never quite sure what the weather will bring from one day to the next. One day I may be outside luxuriating in a sunny, beautiful 65 degree-day, but 24 hours later I may be  scuttling back inside with snow flurries dusting my hair.

Changeable March weather

Maybe you’re at a time in your life right now that is matching the March weather. Perhaps you feel like you’re being buffeted about by opposing forces that you can not control. Whether it’s your job, your health or a relationship that’s causing the upheaval, it’s an unsettling, even scary feeling. Well, fortunately, God does not leave us alone to weather these changes. He has given us a comforter who is, interestingly enough, compared to the wind. Acts 2 introduces the Holy Spirit in this way:  “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting” (v. 2).

The Holy Spirit filled each believer and changed his or her life completely. It was through the Spirit’s power and guidance that the disciples were able to preach and heal and minister to others. And it is through the Spirit’s power that God also wants each one of us to live out our lives as well. If we let God’s Spirit guide us through the “winds of change” seasons in our lives, we can be assured that God will bring us through and grow us through every situation in our lives.

What’s God changing in your life right now? Let’s commit to praying about these changes and seeing how God wants to use them to change us. We’ll talk about this some more in the next post. Until then, pray on!