The House You're Building

Sisters and Seekers, This is the post that started my recent quest to grow in prayer.  Throughout my faith journey, I've counciled many women, taught God's word as a way to help us grow in faith, and basically been at the front lines of walking with women through every season of the soul.  I've had consistently in all the things that have cultivated my own deep life of faith over the past 20+ years now-- regular time with God through prayer, study and worship, fellowship with other believers,  receiving great teaching, and  serving others.  Because of my role in the body of Christ, a women of exhortation and a teacher, I'm often asked by others to pray for them. Prayer is something that has come naturally to me because prayer is just talking to God and I have a great intimacy with Him and a sensitivity to His spirit.  John in Moving Mountains calls this type of prayer a Cry of the Heart (see a previous post for more of my reflections on this).  ...

Matthew 8:5–10 The Faith of a Centurion [5] When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, [6] “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” [7] And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” [8] But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. [9] For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” [10] When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. (ESV) My posting today will cover the topic of authority as we pray.  It is a natural extension to thoughts I shared in my last writing on this series on prayer because if we know who we are as we pray, we will know our place in God's kingdom as well-and all the applicati...

From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe .  Psalm 61:1-3 What is effective prayer?  That has been a thought in my mind since starting this series.  Is it a prayer that gives you the outcome you desire?  Is it a prayer that makes you feel the presence of God and that He's listening?  Is it a prayer that brings peace in the face of turmoil or courage in the face of fear? I have sat through many sermons that tell I should pray and read books on it's importance.  I've read verses in the Bible like pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and agree that biblically it's important.  I am on board!  I agree yes, I need to and I even do it as a common practice but it's hard to learn how  to pray or know if my prayers matter and are making a difference.  I'm so grateful for biblical examples and great...

In my journey in prayer this year, God is using the book Moving Mountains  by John Eldridge to help me think through beliefs about prayer and how those understandings have shaped my practice of it.  As I'm unearthing my conceptions and facing my questions, I'm drawn more to prayer and seeing the need for more of it in my life. First, I want prayer to be easy.  We say God is holy, yet something in us wants Him to meet our demands much like a genie in a bottle.  We throw up a quick, Lord help me with...or Lord I need...or Lord please change.  We see life as circumstances that need to be changed around us.  When I utter these kind of prayers, I'm saying that life is about me and I see best.  I want my will to be God's will.  This is the opposite kind of prayer that Jesus prayed.  He asked "Your will be done on earth" Matthew 6:10.   I often jump into prayer without asking God what He wants, I just share my point of view without settling m...

For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of a mustard see, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.   Matthew 17:20 Confessions of a One Who Prays.  This is kind of a working title in my mind as I’m considering what to call this series I'm writing.  My intention is to let you in on the why that I don’t pray like I want to, like I know I should, like in this passage Jesus tells me I could pray like.  Do I really believe I could have prayers that have that much affect?  That nothing is impossible for me? I believe in the authenticity of the Bible and that those are really words that  Jesus really said, so why is so hard for me to show in my prayer life that I really believe that? The reflections and questions are coming from thoughts I've had as I read a book by John Eldridge called Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Power.   The title alon...