Other People's Prayers

 

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Some of us explain everything in detail to God about a situation, as if we're explaining everything FOR God. This reminds me of a method of writing a report that needed to be a certain number of pages long, where we might include abstract points just to take up space on the pages.

Some of us are a bit flowery with our prayers, as if the beautiful, flowing words of our prayer will impact their power. 

Some of us insert a phrase or title for God multiple times in each breath of a prayer. 

Some of us equate the length of our prayer to how well it will be received, trying to impress God with the effort we've put into it. 

Some of us interrupt ourselves while we pray, perhaps to talk to someone else in the room or to mentally make note about things we need to do later in the day or week...

Some of us are pithy or pray bullet points, giving just the facts to God, as we see them. 

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Some of us pause often, perhaps listening for what God is saying in response, or maybe we've lost our own thought. 

Some of us cry while we pray, maybe we feel our prayers are more earnest when accompanied with tears, perhaps because what we're praying about truly moves our heart and we expect that it will move God's heart, as well.

Sometimes our prayers may come out sounding vain and repetitive. Only we know if they're coming from the heart or are merely a grouping of words we've memorized. 

Sometimes our prayers sound desperate - sometimes we ARE desperate. 

Sometimes we can't find the words to pray. 

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Some of our prayers may sound trite and unimportant to anyone but us.

Some of us may even think our prayers are unimportant to God, Himself. 

Some of us may feel unworthy to pray, bringing our prayers and needs before the perfect God of all. 

Some of us pray very loud, perhaps thinking the louder our voice, the better God will hear us. 

Some of us refuse to pray out loud or in front of others. 

Some of us fall asleep while praying. 

Some of us repeat ourselves when we pray, perhaps we've forgotten we just mentioned it to God or we're making sure He takes special note of this particular request. And then, we repeat it again. And again. 

Some of us kneel when we pray. 

Some of us stand or walk around or sit or lie down when we pray. 

Some of us write out our prayers.

Some of us close our eyes when we pray, some of us keep them wide open. 

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Some of us are embarrassed to pray. 

Some of us are very proud to pray. 

Some of us pray bossy prayers. 

Some of us pray as if we have no clue what to say. 

Some of us pray as a tradition or habit (over our meals, for example) without giving thought to what we've prayed.

Some of us pray spontaneously. 

Some of us fold our hands when we pray. 

Some lift our hands toward heaven. 

Some of us pray, not believing God hears us. 

Some of us ask God for things like we're reading off a Christmas wish list. 

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Some of us judge the way others pray. 

 

Some of us pray..... 

 

Other people's prayers are theirs to pray. 

Our prayers are ours to give up to God. 

God desires our company, our attention, our time and our love. He'll direct our prayers if we'll allow Him into our prayer time. He wants to hear our hearts, yielded to Him. Honestly, humbly and boldly. 

We're not being graded on the quality or style of our prayers. We're making way for and creating a time of communion with God; unity between Creator and creation. We're surrendering our heart.

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 "Pray without ceasing."

1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV

 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Philippians 4:6 NIV

 

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

Matthew 21:22 KJV

 

"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

Mark 11:23 KJV

 

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession."

James 1:2-18 NLT

 

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An Old Plea

(bethanychapel.com)

Sometimes old prayers are worth rereading; re-praying. Today as I searched through my computer files, I found this prayer from a few years back.  There was more, but, this is more than enough.

"Father God, I love you. Why am I afraid? What do I fear? How can I fear when You are with me, knowing You are in me? 

As I sit here embracing and contemplating what I’ve just read in Frances J Roberts’ Come Away My Beloved, I breathe in both sighs of longing and expectation – and breathe out yet more questions.

Do I think somehow, I’ll find peace or comfort or freedom of some sort in finding answers?  I’m afraid that perhaps I won’t find the answers or that I’m asking the wrong questions. Are You in the answers, or are You there in my questions?

If You’re here in the questions, I don’t feel so hard pressed to find the answers. All I want is You. I want Your peace, Your presence, the freedom found only in You. I am so afraid of not finding You – or of not having You here with me, in me. I find myself caught up in wanting to be sure I look the part, so no one will discover I’m afraid that sometimes, I am not found in You .....

As Your own mouthpiece, Ms Roberts tells me, that as I feel Your pulse, as I lay my head on Your breast and lose myself in You, I will experience resurrection life and peace and joy and that I will receive insight that will give me sustaining strength. But I find myself afraid of ‘doing it wrong.’ Is there even a wrong way to lean into You? Either I think too much or too little of myself to think I can do something wrong that has no way of being done incorrectly.

(crosswalk.com)

I know You bore my sins and desire to carry my burdens. I feel compelled to convince others to hand their burdens over to You, yet cling dearly to my own. I don’t want them; I know You do the caring FOR me! I know this in my head, help me to embrace this with my heart.  Help me to let go – to unburden on You.

I’m playing with the word ‘expectations’ – I hear You tell me that they’re all mine, not Yours. You are not burdening me with any expectations – You simply want me to enjoy You. Not to fret, not to worry, not to wring my hands over details that You have completely in Your control. 

Complete. I am complete in You. I can rest here, safely and without fear or anxiety. 

She writes: ‘You may take the gift of a light and merry heart, for My love dispels all fear and is a cure for every ill.’

I may take this gift? I desire a light and merry heart, I desire not to burden those You place in my path with my petty sorrows, but rather bless them with Your grace, Your mercy and Your love.

Yes, I’ve come here today with expectations Lord. I’ve come with the expectation of finding my freedom in You. I believe I am in You and that You are in me, what am I lacking?

I turn the page – and James 1:5 slaps me in the face, almost playfully. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.’ – She goes on, ‘Apply your heart to learn wisdom. This goal transcends every other aim, and any other good that come out of a pressure period is an added blessing in excess. Seek Me above all else.’

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Seek You! Not stories, not publishers, not purpose – seek You! Matthew 6:33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you – Lord, don’t You get tired of having to take me back to the beginning over and over and over again? I rejoice that Your patience never wears thin, with me, or with anyone on earth. You are my treasure.  You are my words, because You are THE WORD!

How can I feel so lost and yet expect to help others to find their way to You? My feelings betray me. The enemy of my soul has beguiled me. I pour out my heart to You, oh Lord.  Forgive me for allowing the snares of the enemy to entrap me. Suck me into Your Word where I am forever safe. 

A few tears, a few rants, a few fits of fear and trembling – and I am safe in You. You are here with me. You are smiling: at me! 

I have to laugh here. The very next scripture Ms Roberts takes me to is, Matthew 6:33. I thank You, Lord, for my friend Diane. She gave me this book, now, knowing it contains my hearts cry – and Your cry to my heart. Every other sentence snatches away my breath.  

(stpeterscomox.ca)

Though I look here and there for direction and purpose and meaning for my life – and suppose that the words you give me to write should be going somewhere and I try in vain, in my flesh to find their place, You have my purpose tucked there in Your heart, where You deeply long for me to resign myself. In seeking You my purposes will reveal themselves.

My heart catches as the thought dashes across my mind, seek God? How? How do I seek God?  Suck me into Your Word, Jesus!

Clutch my children to Your heart, oh God. How can I possibly think I love them more than You do??? Why do I cry over them, when You oh God, rejoice over them? Why do I grieve, yet You sing and dance over them? Yes, I’m proud of them. I know Your heart protects them, and by Your loving kindness You draw them to Yourself. I trust You with them. That is the bottom line. I no longer shoulder sorrow or apprehension. You oh God love them, treasure them, cherish them, hold them, cover them and protect them. You oh God draw them, You woo them, You test and try them, because You trust them. Why do I cry? Why do I tremble? I have a hard time believing it’s because of lack of trust in You. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. I trust You, help my distrust.

(victorycville.org)

Lord, why is it that I get excited about something You’ve shown me, yet when I try to share it, no one seems to care or be blessed by it? Surely, You’re not just showing me something trivial. Everything You touch is big. Everything You’re in, is great. Help me not to be saddened or to turn away from something You’ve revealed to me simply because no one else seems to care about it.  Help me to never turn away from anything You bring me to, or bring me through – or bring through me!

Why this quiet place? Why have I longed to be here with You? You’re everywhere. Will I leave here somehow closer to You? That is my desire. You know the desires of my heart, oh God. You, oh Lord know me inside and out. If You care to know how many hairs are on my head, You surely care about the cares in my heart. I hand them over to You. Here they are Lord. They’re Yours."  

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Wrestling With Something?

Child of God,

When outsiders (close to you, or strangers) look into your world and see your hurts and your struggles, it may seem a slight thing to them. They may see that your blessings so much outweigh your complaints that they scoff at how ridiculous you sound; especially in light of all they suffer. They don’t see you, they compare your world to theirs, never stopping to consider that what you wrestle with is the very trying of your faith.

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As others grapple with their own faith and get frustrated with their own doubt and unbelief, they may hold you in high esteem and wonder how you could even bring up your struggles in light of theirs, whether you know how much they struggle or not.

But, know this, God sees your heart. When no one else seems to understand what you’re going through or how much you hurt, God sees you and understands. He’s not ignoring you or playing on His cell phone there on the sidelines while you’re getting tackled on the field.

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God sees you. He holds your breath in His hands. He’s continuously pouring His life into you, even when it seems you’re at your weakest.

God hears you. He saves your tears as treasures, because He knows how much they cost you. He knows when it’s a battle to even shed those tears, when they won’t quite breech the surface of your eyes.  (Psalm 56:8)

God feels your heart break. He’s forever joined to your spirit, facing your pain and anguish with you.

No matter how you read Isaiah 59:19 – God is there to rescue you.

“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”

“When the enemy shall come in, like a flood the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” 

(videoblocks.com)

Moving the comma only accents where the flood is coming from; do you feel the raging flood of your enemy? Or do you allow the flood of God’s raging rescue?

No matter how small your struggles feel when you compare them to the struggles others face – they are the trying of your faith.

Stop comparing battles, don’t be discouraged if others don’t take you seriously.

God is in this with you all the way. ---All. ---The. ---Way.

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“…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

The trying of your faith proves the power that’s within you. God already knows how strong you are; He IS the power that’s within you. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead – LIVES IN YOU!  (Romans 8:11)

He’s merely exposing that power, so that you can see it and use it!

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” – Luke 12:32 (KJV)

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