Read Luke 23: 50-56

The day of Preparation was the day before the Sabbath. Jesus had just been crucified and had died the night before. Pilate had granted Joseph of Arimathea permission to take Jesus’ body, and Joseph had wrapped Jesus in linen and laid Him in a tomb. The desolation of Jesus’ friends and followers was complete. But the love and loyalty of the women in verse 55 is obvious.

They went to the tomb and the scripture says they “observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.”

On this Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, we think of the women and what they were doing the day after Jesus died. It had to have been the darkest of days, yet they went to the tomb and decided to do what they could. They were going to prepare spices and oils to properly anoint Jesus’ body. One commentary I read stated that Jesus had had a hasty anointing and burial, so the women wanted to properly anoint their beloved Savior.

I like it that they didn’t let the little problem of a huge stone in the way of the tomb stop them.  They went forward with their plans, and they spent that sad day lovingly preparing the spices and oils for what they thought was their last act of service for Jesus.

Oh, but it was just the beginning.

Isn’t it amazing that God had these women preparing the spices and ointments to anoint Jesus for burial while God was preparing the biggest celebration of life ever? If only we could see the juxtaposition of the behind-the-scenes-action of heaven and of earth at the same time!

You see, these women, and the world, were in waiting. They just didn’t realize what they were waiting for. The women were waiting to anoint a dead loved one, but God was waiting to invite them to a party.

It’s not quite time for the celebration yet, though. We need to sit with these women in their darkness for a bit. We have much to learn from them.

In their darkest time, they did what they could and they waited. They made a plan to go to the tomb, and they trusted that God would provide a way for them to anoint Jesus.

When we are in our darkest moments—when someone is sick, when we are going through a divorce, when a loved one has died, we need to do what God gives us to do and then we need to trust and wait.  Sometimes all we can do is pray. But, because of the cross, there is hope in our tragedy.  Though we may be suffering, God promises to use all things for our good–happy things sad things, devastating things like divorce, sickness and death. Like the women at the tomb, One day we will hear Him say, “Why are you weeping?” He shall wipe away every tear from your eyes and there shall be no more death, no more sorrow, no more pain for the former things have passed away. It is finished. (Revelation 21:4) Hold on dear one…Sunday is coming!

“Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the lamb.”

Pray on!

I have to admit, at first I felt a bit apprehensive about trying listening prayer. But, I decided to not let my fears stop me from pursing this time with Him and pressed ahead. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it helps me to hear what others are doing when I’m trying out a new spiritual discipline. So with that in mind, this is what I do to practice listening prayer.

4 Steps to Listening Prayer

First of all, I get into a comfortable position. You can sit on the floor, in a comfy chair, kneel, whatever seems to fit the moment. I quiet my mind by following up on a suggestion from Pastor Ron Stohler at my church. He uses a breathing or centering prayer to quiet himself. Very simply, you choose a short verse like Psalm 46:10. You breathe in and as you do this you would say, “Be still and know,” then you exhale and as you do this you say “that I am God.” Do this a few times until you feel quieted and at peace.

Next, I just ask God to tell me what He wants me to hear this day, what’s important for me to know. Then I wait. Sometimes a verse of scripture will pop into my head. Other times a word, like forgiveness or courage. God may reveal a sin that I need to confess. Often a person will come to mind. I pray for insight as to what I need to do.

Journal It

Next I will write down what God has shown me, because I’ve found that I quickly forget if I don’t record it! I purchased a small spiral notebook that I use just for this time.

Finally, I thank God for that time with Him, and that’s it. Listening prayer can be as long or as short as you want it to be. Each day may be different. Sometimes I like to have instrumental music quietly playing in the background or I may light a candle. Do what helps you to connect with God.

Safety Net in Listening Prayer

One thing to keep in mind is to know that God will never reveal anything to you in this quiet time with Him that violates scripture. Use scripture as your safety net as you are practicing these times of silence and solitude. Reject any thoughts that are contrary to scripture and move on.

I pray these suggestions help you. You may have other things that work for you. Please leave a comment and share your insights with us.

Pray on!

“My soul waits silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” Psalm 62:5.

As we prepare for Easter, we thought we’d start another contest. The rules are simple:

In a few words, tell us what God is doing in your life right now. It’s always encouraging to hear what God is doing in each others’ lives. It may be small, it may be big. How is He at work? Anyone who answers this by commenting below will be entered into a drawing to receive a prize. We’ll post the winner on the home page at the end of the month. So, check back because if you’re the winner, we’ll need to get your address to send you your prize.

Happy Easter and pray on!

Laurie Hartman

Do you or someone you love struggle with an addiction? If so, you don’t want to miss this podcast. Join Jane VanOsdol and guest Laurie Hartman, director of Care Ministries at Grace Community Church in Noblesville, Indiana, as they discuss addictive personalities and codependency. Here’s just a few of the topics they’ll be discussing.

• Signs and symptoms a person with an addiction will exhibit
• Signs that you’re enabling a person with an addiction
• Suggestions on how to pray if you’re in this situation
• Resources to turn to for help

Just click on the sideways triangle below to listen or download from iTunes.

Resource List

180 Exchange

Alcoholics Anonymous

Cocaine Anonymous

Sex Addicts Anonymous

Covenant Eyes

Laurie Hartman’s email address:  laurieh@gracecc.org

Grace Community Church

5504 East 146 Street, Noblesville, IN 46062 317-848-2722

Can we really make a difference in the world today?

Barry Rodriguez with some of his Haitian friends at Nehemiah Vision Ministry’s children’s home in Chambrun, Haiti.

Well, according to Barry Rodriguez, director of WorldNextDoor.org, yes, we can! Join Jane VanOsdol as she and Barry discuss how we can pray effectively for the huge issues of oppression and injustice in the world–and what we can actually DO to make a difference.

Barry travels around the world to spotlight the injustices he finds–not just to report about them, but to get people involved in changing lives. You don’t want to miss this podcast. If you’ve always struggled to get beyond the generic prayer that says, “Lord, please stop human trafficking,” then tune in today for some concrete things you can pray and do. Just click on the sideways triangle below to listen, or you can find Only By Prayer on iTunes.

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Here’s a few updates from Barry:

Web Site
First of all, if you haven’t seen our website yet, be sure to check out www.worldnextdoor.org.  In fact, next week will be a great time to start reading because we’re kicking off a collection of “2010 Favorites.”  And this spring I’ll be writing from Kenya, Haiti and Israel!

Random Stuff!
We have a Facebook fan page, of course.  Then there’s our twitter feed.  Oh, and my personal twitter feed. If you’re interested in joining our work financially, there are plenty of ways to give.

Flickr
Finally, in case you want to take a deeper look at some of the photos I used at the seminar, you can find some of my favorites on my brand new Flickr account.  I’ll be updating it with my best shots from each trip I take in the future.

Perhaps one of your New Year’s goals is to pray more. Well, January is a good time to pray and ask God what major issues or topics He wants you to zero in on for the year. Of course, as the year goes along, you’ll find plenty of things, people and situations to pray for. But right now we can all take some time to seek God on what ongoing requests He wants you to focus on for 2011. Mary and I were just talking about this the other day and decided to share our Top 6 Prayer List of what we’re focusing on this year.

Top 6 Prayer List for 2011

1.     Pray that we can love God with all our hearts. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

2.     Pray that we can believe God to do big things in our lives. (Ephesians 3:20,21)

3.     Pray for perseverance. (2 Peter 1:5-7)

4.     Pray for persecuted Christians. (2Thessalonians 3:1-2)

5.     Pray for justice for the oppressed. (Psalm 103:6)

6.     Pray that we would be developing and using our God-given gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

You may be led to similar prayer goals, or God may reveal to you totally different goals. One of the challenges with goals is actually doing them or keeping them. What I decided to do to help keep these fresh before me for the whole year is to write each goal on its own index card and keep it in my prayer card file. I’ll use a larger 4 x 6 size card. (See Ready, Set, Pray if you need suggestions to help you establish a prayer time.) As I go through the year, I’m going to record any specific requests or how I see God working in these areas on the appropriate cards.

Set aside some time tonight or over the weekend to ask God what your prayer priorities should be this year. If you want to share any of your prayer goals for the year, just leave a comment. We’d love to hear them.

Click to listen to the Pray Your Way Through 2011 podcast.

Pray on!