This month, I’d like to explore trying something new in our prayer lives. Having a schedule and a routine is a good thing, but sometimes trying something new in prayer can open us up to fresh insights and recharge our prayer lives.

Postures of Prayer

I’ve found that changing my physical posture can bring a different atmosphere to prayer. For example, I grew up in a church where we showed reverence to God by kneeling at different times in the service. In the church I now attend, we rarely kneel. But I like both stances. I have also tried other postures.

A stance that I find myself using frequently in my private prayer time is walking. I particularly use this stance when I am praying warfare types of prayers. For example, when I am praying for someone who is straying from God, or maybe for a missionary in a dangerous situation, I just want to get up and move. It seems to give strength to my prayers as I walk around the room. It seems hard for me to sit still when I know there is some serious praying that needs to be done!

So, this week try a different posture and let us know what you think. Pray on!

Join us on today’s podcast while Mary and I discuss when praying is a struggle. We will identify several reasons why praying can be hard for us and then discuss some of the solutions we have tried to overcome these problems.

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Rest in His Love

by

Jane VanOsdol

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

~

It had been a rough week. Friday rolled around and I could feel the exhaustion of a week settle in on me. My time had been filled with homeschooling the kids, cooking, keeping up with loads of laundry, teaching at the co-op and preparing my lesson for my Sunday School class. I still had to pack all of our clothes for a weekend trip to visit family. As the afternoon wore on, I felt progressively worse and a fever and chills set in. It quickly became apparent that I wasn’t going anywhere.

My husband decided to still take the kids to see their grandparents so that I could stay home and rest. As my family was heading out the door, my six-year-old son came over to me with his sad face on and hugged me. “Mommy, I feel bad you’re gonna be here all by yourself. Won’t you be lonely?” he asked me. I assured Jesse I would be fine, actually feeling a little guilty over how excited I was becoming at having a whole weekend with nobody that I had to take care of but myself. It had been years since I’d spent a weekend by myself.

The door closed behind them and I heaved a sigh of relief. Silence. Now what to do? I decided before I felt any worse that I would make a quick trip out to grab a few library books by my favorite author and some soup from the deli so I didn’t have to cook.

I drug myself out the door and was back in an hour. Popping some Tylenol, I settled onto the couch with my blanket, pillows, pile of books and turned on the classical radio station. Bliss. I spent the entire weekend holed up in my house reading, listening to music, sleeping and praying.

It’s been 12 years since that weekend, but I still remember it and how God used it to recharge one tired, worn-out mamma and wife. As I am now going through another busy stage in my life, I am trying to learn how to rest in God’s love on a daily basis. What does that look like? For me, part of it means slowing down long enough so that I can enjoy God’s presence and give Him my full attention. I try to do that in the morning before I start my day. For me it also means taking a walk in a park or the woods. The quiet and the beauty of my surroundings seems to help me focus on God.  Unless I do these things, I can’t hear Him or notice what He wants to teach me because my mind is too full with my own thoughts. Maybe you struggle with that too. Not much in our society encourages us to slow down, to cultivate quiet, to seek God. It’s time to change that.

As we go through the month of February, let’s practice resting in God’s love and letting Him refresh us from the burdens we carry every day. This may look a little different for each of us. That’s not important. What is important, is that we try to carve out some time to rest in Him and to listen to Him. Let’s pray for each other to find this time.

Prayer:  Thank you Lord, that You give us rest for our souls. May we find and take the time to seek You out and just be … with You. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Jane VanOsdol All Rights Reserved

It was our favorite place.

Many Monday afternoon’s my two sons and I would go to a little restaurant by the river in our small Midwest town to order lunch. We went to the Riverfront Café so frequently that the waitress became familiar with our particular favorites on the menu.

While waiting for our food we passed the time by playing either Candy Land (my particular favorite—with the old fashioned graphics) or Rummy. During those summer lunches we spent many hours together laughing and talking (how many teenage boys are willing to hang out with their mothers?). This restaurant was our special meeting place for several years until it closed down. We were blessed and strengthened as a family during these times e spent fellowshipping together at “our place.”

To download an easy-to-print version of Our Place, please click on the link below.

Our Place (pdf)

 

photo credit: bryankennedy via photopin cc

Today, we will continue our study on Isaiah. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart and read Isaiah 37 again.

 

Please write the key phrase from verse 21 in the space provided.

 

 

A long time ago, I learned a technique based on repetition for studying Bible verses that can be very insightful. Let’s try that technique with verse 21. We will say verse 21 several times in succession each time emphasizing a different word in order to gain additional insight into what God is teaching through this verse. Please record any new understanding in the space provided—my thoughts are in the parenthesis.

 

 

• “…because you have prayed to Me…”

 

 

 

(Praying over this situation will make a huge difference.)

 

 

• “…because you have prayed to Me…”

 

 

 

(I may be the only one who knows of this need.)

 

 

• “…because you have prayed to Me…”

 

 

 

(Prayer is powerful!)

 

 

• “…because you have prayed to Me…”

 

 

 

(Take your concerns to God and He will act on your behalf because He is the One and Only true God.)

 

 

What is the most pressing concern in your life at this time?

 

 

 

Have you spent time praying over this issue?

 

 

 

If I may, I’d like to kindly and respectfully ask a few questions about your prayer life.

 

 

Is prayer a top priority in your life?

 

 

 

How much time do you spend in prayer each day?

 

 

 

Please don’t feel condemned if you answered “very little” or “not at all” to the above question. God never reveals an area of sin in our lives to condemn us; He reveals problems so He can free us from them. He also abundantly supplies the grace and power to needed to overcome difficulties or sins we struggle with.

 

 

Do you ever skip praying because you feel you don’t have time to pray or because you know that others will be praying?

 

 

I have skipped praying for both of these reasons. In looking back on my life since I have become a Christian, I can recall long periods of time in which I prayed very little or not at all. In reviewing my own heart and seasons of prayer-lessness, I’ve come up with a few theories on why Christians may be prayer-less. Please remember the Enemy would love for you to be prayer-less and therefore powerless. Please consider the following:

 

• If your life is prayer-less perhaps it is because you believe it is powerless. My make-up cabinet is full of many different beauty concoctions; some are tried and true favorites that have served me well for many years. Others are gathering dust on the shelf, scarcely used because they didn’t deliver what they promised. The fact of the matter is I won’t continue to use something that I have no faith in. The same is true of prayer. If I believe prayer is power-less I won’t use it.

 

• If your life is prayer-less perhaps it’s because you didn’t see the results you desired. A few months ago I watched a program on religious beliefs in America. A reporter interviewed random people on the street, asking whether or not they believed in God. When asked if he believed in God, one young man replied that he didn’t believe in God because he didn’t receive what he prayed for. Think for a moment— what if God answered every single one of your past prayer requests in the manner in which you desired? How many of us would be married to our eighth-grade boyfriends? We’d be in a lot of trouble wouldn’t we? Instead of childishly demanding our own way, let’s ask Him to answer our prayers the way Jesus modeled—Thy will be done.

 

• If your life is prayer–less perhaps it’s due to lack of knowledge. When I was younger in my walk with the Lord, I felt that didn’t know all the right words to pray and my mind often wandered in prayer. I’d start out praying for my husband and end up planning what I’d make for dinner that night. During this season of life I used a wonderful resource by Stormie Omartian, Power of a Praying Wife. She also has several other books on prayer that are very insightful. My copies are very worn and dog-eared! I still pull them out from time to time pending on the need.

 

• If your life is prayer–less perhaps it’s because you feel you don’t deserve God to answer your prayers.

Maybe you wrongly believe, like I used to, that you’ve messed up to many times and don’t deserve God to bless you or answer your prayers. Jesus came to this earth to die for our sins, to heal the sick and save the lost. He came to give us beauty for our ashes! You don’t have to have a perfect track record. I sure don’t. Neither does your pastor, Mother Theresa or that perfect women at your church.

 

Hezekiah did not have a perfect record either. Let’s go back in time a few years, to the first time Sennacherib marched against Hezekiah.

 

Please read 2 Kings 18:13-16.

 

According to these verses how did Hezekiah originally deal with Sennacherib’s threats?

 

 

 

 

What did Hezekiah give to his enemy?

 

 

 

Did compromising with the enemy work?

 

 

 

As we read in yesterday’s study, Sennacherib came back for more. Our Enemy will always come back for more; he will never be satisfied. Compromising with the Enemy never works.

 

Thank goodness Hezekiah did not waste any time in Isaiah 37 bemoaning the past, and crying that he did not deserve to be delivered because of his earlier sins and mistakes. Hezekiah used the past how God meant it to be used— as a teaching tool to provide instruction for future decisions. He saw that compromise did not work and in Isaiah 37 he wisely tried a new tactic—prayer!

 

 

To wrap up this study, let’s go back and read Hezekiah’s prayer one final time and record any insights you receive from scripture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My insights are as follows:

 

• Before discussing your problems with anyone, take them to God in prayer. (I struggle with this!)

 

• Others will be delivered when we choose ignore our fears and the voice of the enemy and follow God.

 

 

• When we choose to trust in God, our enemies will be destroyed by the very plans devised to destroy us.

 

 

• The threats of the Enemy are no match for a believer’s prayers and the power of God.

 

 

• Replace compromise with prayer!

 

 

 

And please remember some things will only happen because you prayed!

 

 

 

“The Lord has heard my supplication;

the Lord will receive my prayer.

Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;

Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.”

Psalm 6:9

 

 

By Mary Kane                                              All rights reserved                                               Copyright 2010

What is Christian prayer all about? Does God really want to communicate with us? Listen in to find out some basics about prayer. Whether you have been praying for years or are just starting, there’s sure to be something you can take away from this podcast.