Only By Prayer

Where the sacred and everyday meet

Welcome to Only By Prayer!

Please Excuse our Mess! 
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We are in the midst of redesigning our site, so things are in a bit of a mess! We should be much better in just a day or two!

Grab a cup of coffee or tea, get comfortable, and explore what God has for you today. At Only By Prayer, we’re all about helping you to bring the sacred into the everyday. Perhaps you’d like to read a relevant blog post, listen to a short Reflections podcast, or learn something new about prayer. If you’d like you can also participate in our Prayer Across America Journey.  These and many other discoveries await you. Be sure to let us (Mary and Jane) know what you think by leaving a comment, and thanks for the visit!

Journey: A Good Name

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The birth of a baby is a joyous event! The parents to-be spend hours preparing the nursery, buying baby paraphernalia, baby-proofing the house and most importantly, choosing a good name. Today our Bible study focuses on the meaning and importance of names.

Psalm 23 Remix

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Psalm 23 is one of the the most well-known parts of the Bible. People who do not claim to be religious can quote parts of Psalm 23. Christians have become so familiar with this beloved psalm we almost cease to hear it. What we need is a Psalm 23 remix- a fresh look at an […]

life words

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you spoke your death words. how easily they dripped from your tongue. words without grace. words without love. words without hope. words without life. did you pray before you spoke to me? did you see the soul before you, so loved by God, before you let loose your darts? the enemy always comes to kill […]

journey: shelter in place

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The sky looked doubtful; the weatherman had forecast rain. Should I go or shelter in place? I glanced at the sky and decided to chance a walk anyway. I left the house and kept a watchful eye on the darkening sky. drip. drip. drip. Half way through my walk the rain began to fall. However, […]

Short & sweet

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Short & Sweet: 2 Ways to Grow Your Gifts

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One of my constant prayer requests is for God to expand my gifts.

I continually ask Him to gift me greatly so He can use me deeply. Recently I discovered we have a responsibility in growing our gifts—it’s not all up to God. There are two things we can to do to help grow our gifts.

  1. Use them.
  2. Give them.

While both methods closely related,  they have subtle differences. Using your gifts requires planning and training,  while giving your gifts requires responsiveness and obedience. [Read more…] about Short & Sweet: 2 Ways to Grow Your Gifts

Short & Sweet: an old prayer

 Short & Sweet: an old prayer

His will.
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory  forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father who art in heaven …

When I was a little girl, I had the privilege of attending a church that valued the Lord’s Prayer. We said it. We prayed it. We believed it. I can’t remember a time when I did not know the Lord’s Prayer by heart. While there is great value in committing Scripture to memory, like a well-loved song, words memorized often become words overlooked. With memorization can come a false sense of knowing a portion of scripture.
Like a wet towel wrung dry, I thought I had squeezed out every last drop of meaning from the Lord’s Prayer. Because the words were so familiar in my head, I no longer listened with my heart. After 48 years of knowing the Lord’s Prayer, what else could I learn from it?

The unfolding of His word.

God is eternal, therefore His word is eternal—it continuously delivers. Meaning upon meaning, deep upon deep, precept upon precept endlessly opens to those who seek with all their heart. In a recent Bible study, Looking For Lovely by Annie Downs, God downloaded fresh meaning  from the Lord’s Prayer straight to my soul.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

First, God showed me the heart or key motivation of all prayer. It’s found in verse 10. Read it again.

Thy kingdom come.

How is God’s kingdom established on earth? By prayer. Ponder this for a moment. Prayer establishes God’s kingdom on earth. This leads to a question: What should we be praying for? Not my will. Not your will. God’s will. God’s will and God’s kingdom are connected by prayer. Prayer is not about us being happy, getting our way or being comfortable. The goal of every prayer is for God’s will to happen.

Every prayer. Every time. Period.

Second, God showed me as Christians we play a vital role in establishing God’s kingdom on earth. We are able to focus on this valuable work by praying for God to supply three basic needs:
  1. Food: Our daily bread (physical and spiritual)
  2. Forgiveness: Our forgiveness (salvation) and the grace we need to forgive others
  3. Focus: Our purpose (keeping our mind focused on Him not our temptations)

When we are not overly consumed with worry about obtaining our daily bread, earning our salvation or creating meaning and purpose for our lives, we can focus on establishing God’s kingdom on earth. God confirms this later in Matthew 6:33,

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 

The Lord’s prayer is not a formula: say this and you will get this. It is a model for how to pray and for what to pray. We focus on His will and He’ll provide for our welfare. All of this is accomplished through prayer. And when His kingdom is establish in this world, it will be heaven on earth.

Action Points:

  1. Pray. No matter how little, insignificant or unimportant, take everything to God in prayer. Prayer changes things.
  2. Pray God’s will. This one can hurt. No matter how much you want the job, the house, the boyfriend, the car, ask for God to work your situation according to HIS will.
  3. Pray for God’s Kingdom. A kingdom is territory ruled by a king. Since the Fall, we have given Satan a foothold on this earth. We take down the enemy and reclaim our schools, neighborhoods and communities one prayer at a time.

His kingdom come. His will be done.

Life is sweet. Pray!

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Copyright 2016

Short & Sweet: The Book

Short Bible studies, quick devotions

8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the LORD.” 10 Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 2 Kings 22:8-10

I found it crammed in a dusty corner of my bookcase.

I had lost books before, but this incident took my library crimes to a whole new level.  My stomach churned and my hands shook when I unearthed a library book. I blew away the dust, opened the cover and discovered it was overdue. Not just overdue but OVERDUE — by about 5 years. The penalty would probably be huge. Probably jail time. Orange suit. Shackles. I’ d most likely get out about the time I’d be ready to enter high school.

They found the Book of the Lord.

After years of neglect and idolatry, Israel has a good king; one who follows God with all his heart. Repairs were being made in the temple, a biblical “Fixer Upper.” Suddenly, Hilkiah discovers the Book of the Law. The high priest gives the Book to Shaphan who reads it to King Josiah. And a nation is turned upside down.

I found the book of the Lord.

I remember very vividly, many years ago, the night I found the Book.  The evening I became a Christian, in my bed with a flashlight, I opened my heart to God and He opened my eyes to His word. I wish I could say I had never lost the Book since that time, but there have been seasons when His word lay in a dusty corner under the rubble of my broken life. Then God sent His worker, a “Hilkiah” to help me rediscover His word.

Have you found the Book of the Lord?

Do you remember the day you found the Book of the Lord? Where is your Bible right now? What place does God’s word hold in your life? Does it keep you up at night wondering what will happen next? Do you swipe and click the moment you have a question or need counsel? The Book is not meant to be kept on a shelf or returned by a certain date. There is no penalty for keeping the Book, but there is a penalty for not following the Book. Even then, the fine has been paid in full by the blood of Christ.

Is your life in shambles? Is it a pile of rubble, or a fixer upper? God is in the renovation business. His tool is His Book. Renovation is a process, but if we cooperate God will give us beauty for our ashes.

Action Points:

  1. Get in the Book. Read His Book. Study His Book. Join a Bible study. Add an extra study time to your daily routine. Download an e-version of the Bible on your device and study when you are waiting in line or in traffic.
  2. Get the Book in you. Memorize Scripture. Commit to memory verses that deal with temptations or problems you face. Go big and memorize a whole book!
  3. Get the Book in others. Who can you invite to church? Who can you invite to do a Bible study with you? Who needs you to send them a text with a verse today?

PS: In case you are wondering, I received a full pardon from the librarian when I confessed my crime and returned the goods.

Leave me a comment below about your adventures in the Book.

Life is sweet when you are in the Book.

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Short & Sweet: 3 Signs You’re Building on the Rock

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We live very close to Lake Michigan.

While we go to the big lake most often in the summer months, we enjoy it best in the fall and winter, after the tourists have gone home for the season. This winter the Midwest experienced days of turbulent wind, especially along the lake shore. The waves reached incredible heights, crashing the coast and pounding the beaches. Churning. Tossing. Stirring. [Read more…] about Short & Sweet: 3 Signs You’re Building on the Rock

Short & Sweet: Bread Enough and Some to Spare

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“But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!”
Luke 11:15-17

 

 

I am starving.

I said these words just the other day when I came home from work. The truth is, I was not starving, I was only hungry. Just like every other day of the week, I had eaten breakfast and lunch and there was plenty in the Frigidaire for dinner. I’ve have always had plenty of food. Other people — not so much.
When I was little someone broke into the garage and stole not our car but our spare food. I remember my dad saying he would not call the police because he didn’t want anyone to go hungry while we had bread enough and some to spare. People are hungry.

[Read more…] about Short & Sweet: Bread Enough and Some to Spare

Short & Sweet: 5 Ways to Fear God, Not Man

Princes also sit and speak against me, but your servant meditates on your statutes.

Psalm 119:23

I have struggled with the fear of man for a long time. For many years it got the better of me and cost me plenty: lost sleep, decreased fruitfulness, and lack of peace. Fear of man has caused me to blindly stumble by sight instead of walking by faith with my Savior.

The fear of man.

The fear of man is a horrible way to live—peace depends on the acceptance and affirmation of others. And those who don’t affirm and accept us, own us. Like puppets on a string, we jump and dance, striving to gain approval. Our mind, heart, soul and energy are focused on keeping them happy, and they will never be happy. The only One who can be trusted to own us is Jesus.

When we are in bondage to the fear of man, we are not free to serve God.
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If we follow God, men will not be happy with us, and in some cases, Christians will not approve either. The key to freedom, however, is embedded in the verse above. Instead of meditating on what men say, we purposely and intentionally shift our focus to what God says. Focusing on God’s Word frees us from the fear of man, and when we fear God, He blesses us.

The choice is ours.

From the verse above, we see we have a choice; we can either meditate on the lies and slander of men OR the truth and grace of God’s Word. Man’s word or God’s Word? Man’s word kills, steals and destroys, but God’s Word creates, builds and empowers.  Even when He rebukes us, He’s busy developing greater character, faith and fruit in our heart.

Meditate=Create5 Ways

In Hebrew the word meditate transliterates as siyach, which means “to put forth, mediate, muse, commune, speak, complain, ponder, sing.” It also means, “to talk to oneself.” In addition, siyach means “to produce, to bring forth, to germinate, to put forth shoots and buds.”  Do you see the progression? Whatever we choose to focus on will produce fruit.

Our Choices:

 The Words of Man

  1. We hear what others say about us.
  2. We think about what they say about us.
  3. We tell others what they said about us.
  4. We TELL ourselves what others have said about us.
  5. We focus and act on lies.

We cooperate with the enemy as he works to destroy us.

 The Word of God

  1. We read what God says about us.
  2. We think about what God says about us.
  3. We tell others what God says about us.
  4. We tell ourselves what God says about us.
  5. We focus on God and act on truth.

We cooperate with God as He works to transform us into the image of Christ, and further His Kingdom on earth.

If you are like me, you sometimes have trouble eliminating the lies echoing through your mind. How do we silence the broken record of the lies?

5 Ways to cultivate the fear of God.

  1. Get a new broken record. Memorize scripture and say it over and over in your mind.
  2. MEDITATE on what God says about you. Whenever Satan attacks you with a lie (he often does this through other people), speak scripture in your mind and out loud.
  3. Reboot your mind. When a depressing thought enters your mind or your self-talk turns south, immediately shut it down and go back to step 2. Replace lies with truth.
  4. Hold your ground. Do step 3 as often as needed.
  5. Praise God. Turn the temptation to despair into opportunities to praise God. Say something like, “God, thank you that You are using what so-and-so said for my good. I thank you that You are stronger than this situation.” Satan will be silenced.

Repeat steps 1-5 as often as needed. There are days when I carry my Bible verse cards with me every where I go.  The enemy can be that relentless. But God has given us the victory, if we will only hold our ground and walk by faith.

Life is sweet. Fear God.

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