The House You're Building

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...

The past few years have taught me the stark reality of the seasons of faith.  God is so good to us; he constantly gives us pictures of what the inner life is like by the things around us that He has created.  Dear reader, I don't know where you are in your journey currently, but here are some of the seasons I have been through: Summers-a season of vibrancy, strength, and light.  Where all is well with my soul because faith seems easy.  Worship, praise, gratitude bubble up from within me and I can't hold them back.  It feels like God's pretense comes easy and it will never change.  I'm filled up by every spiritual discipline and my cup overflows. Fall-decay, slowing down, and strain seem to mark this season.  It hums between bright skies and clouds.  There is an undercurrent that I need to pay attention to something or hold on while it lasts and that a stark season is on the horizon.  Yet there are times of cozying up to God, wrapping him ...

I don't know about you, but I read Scripture to hear God's unique words for me.  I've been starting a new practice and thought I'd share it with you.  This past September, I started a plan to read through the Bible in a year.  Each day, whatever verses the Spirit shows me are important, I meditate on and try to hear what God is saying unique to me through the verses.  What follows is the words God gave me last month to meditate on and remember.  You may like this technique if you like devotionals like Jesus Calling.  I hope that you too get something out of it; fruit bearing fruit! --Rayna Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. 14So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Exodus 13:3, 14 As you hea...

I did something really crazy today, really unlike me.  I didn't buy a sweater. That may make no sense to you but it is not my everyday choice.  You see I've found myself lately a very tempted person.  I really like new clothes and on-line shopping.  Surfing my favorite shopping sites and then when a big sale hits I can swoop in for the kill.  I love the email in my inbox saying it's on it's way and when the package comes, opening it up and trying it on.  It hangs in my closet like another conquest. Lately I've felt like this has too big of a hold on me.  I've started looking online when I'm bored, upset, or need a distraction from something I don't want to face.  Sometimes like a fabric bulimic I do a big order and then feel really guilty because I don't need all those clothes so when my order comes in I return most everything I just bought. I've binged and I need to purge.  That twinge of regret when I take a lot of clothes to consignmen...

Blog readers, Does it feel like I am a one topic soapbox sometimes?  I feel like I am, no matter where I'm at spiritually it seems I always come up against the same wall of performance.  I do believe that we get caught up early in life in a lie that the rest of our journey towards being more Christlike has to correct.  For me that is perfectionism, Type-A, achievement.  I'll aways come back to this topic on my blog in some form or another.  It's the times when I have the most time to reflect and rest that I feel that tendency the most.  When the pull of where I am and where I want to be causes tension.  Here is an expert from my journal today.  I hope it blesses you! Lately I've been feeling burdened by guilt.  Not conviction.  That is a huge distinction because as I've paid more attention to my inner voice I feel like there are a lot of "should" rolling around in my head.  Nothing from the Lord, where He is directing me ...