Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrier, Week 4

Previous posts in this Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior series are here: part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4; part 5.

A Shifting of Weight...from me, to Him.

Wasted hours...so many wasted hours...spent worrying about my children, my parenting, over the past nine and a half years.  Yes, my oldest is 9.5 now.  How different these years would have been, had I started out as a prayer warrior!

Certainly I covered worrisome issues in prayer, but I spent far more time lamenting.  My ratio of lament to prayer was probably 4 to 1--four times as much lamenting as praying.

By the grace of God, that has changed!  Now approximately 28 days into a daily, disciplined prayer habit, a knee-jerk reaction is born.  A worrisome thought comes to me, and I handle it with prayer--snippets here and there as the thoughts come, and later at night, as part of my structured prayer.

The Spirit has so convinced me that I'm powerless without Him, and so convinced me that my part is to pray and then obey the Spirit's instructions......that I believe with my whole heart, my whole mind, this very important truth:

I'm walking in His will!  I'm an approved worker in Christ!


The future is His.  Today is His.  I'm at peace, because I'm doing my part.

The Power of Confession

Even when I fail, which I still do of course.....I find peace quickly through confession.  Confession--part of a daily prayer habit--is a constant humbling.  

Confession brings immediate forgiveness, an immediate fresh start.  The enemy loves to drag us down over every failure. His way is to bring an hour or a half-day's depression over a two-minute failure.  Can't control your sharp tongue with your children?

You stupid, no good, failure of a parent!  You don't even deserve these children.  You're ruining them.   

These whisperings are not of God. Defeat them, through immediate confession.

Remember that the only thing keeping us from a habit of confession, is a preoccupation with Satan's lies.  Drown his voice out....with Truth!


Choose humility and peace, through confession.


Improve Your Marriage Perk


Do you and your husband spend a lot of time--waste a lot of time--discussing each child's difficulties and failures?  Does it ever help...or just drag you down...drag your relationship down, as you argue over what should be done?

Sadly, we used to do this.  With a special-needs child in our midst, and another entering a heavy whining phase (4.5-year-old Mary), together with an into-everything 2-year-old, and a 7-year-old who suffers from moderate insomnia, perfectionism, and a picky-eating habit.......well, we always had plenty to discuss.

And due to second-shift hours, we have precious little time together...certainly none to waste.

Tense discussions about the kids can kill libidos, too, which is unhealthy on many levels.

Satan attacks marriages in many ways, and instigating arguing--drowning out prayer--is one of his favorite tactics. Don't succumb.

We've defeated this unhealthy cycle by a consistent, three-times weekly husband/wife prayer habit.  We're doing our part.  The answers will come to us, through the Spirit.  We just have to be on alert for His instructions.

Pray....and walk away.

That's my new self-speak.  Pray...and walk away.

A life without consistent prayer stalls you, keeps you spinning....rather than moving forward.

Pray....and walk away.  Walk away from pain, depression, failure, lies.  Walk away from stagnant Christianity.

Guest Post: Amy's Prayer Warrior Journey, Vol. 2

To read Vol. 1 of Amy's Journey, click here.


Hearing the Spirit

Continuing my prayer this week, I've realized how much easier it is to hear the Spirit speaking to me because I have put time into my relationship with the Lord--praising Him, thanking Him, and asking for help.  

This week the Spirit has revealed to me that I need to ask to be filled with the Spirit each night and morning and throughout the day.  I can tend to be a perfectionist and want to do things in my own strength.  The Lord has revealed this to me before, but it's a continual struggle.  

For His Glory

What's even more important is that I ask to be filled with the Spirit so I can do all things for HIS GLORY.  This was an ah-ha moment for me when I read one of Christine's posts and then heard it again at church Sunday morning.  I want to be a good wife, mother, sister, and friend, but I believe I was thinking of it in a more self-centered way.  I wanted to be better, more like Jesus, because then I would feel better, but it's not about me, it's about HIM.   

I heard the Spirit speaking because I made the time to listen. 

I must admit that one night I did not pray.  I really don't know why other than I was tired.  After I pray each night, I feel a sense of peace that often gets lost throughout my day of caring for children, the house, and some days, going to work.  I often forget to pray during the day and my scheduled prayer time brings me back to God.  I can't figure out why I would choose to skip praying because it was a choice.  I just didn't pray one night.  At all.  

I was so filled with anxiety the next day.  I struggle with anxiety at different times.  Change of seasons or other big changes seem to bring it on.  It's probably related to hormones too.  My anxiety often leads to fear, which is such a difficult thing to deal with.  I need to pray and read the Bible to help me gain the right perspective.  I know anxiety and fear are not from God.  He is not communicating to me through these feelings.  

Experiencing His Faithfulness, His Grace

When I spoke with my husband about my feelings, he asked if I had prayed about it.  The answer was "no."  I can't explain why I didn't other than my sinfulness, pride, selfishness.  I ended up praying earlier that night as my husband watched over the kids....because I needed the Lord's help.  This prayer was not as structured, but Jesus answered my prayer and my fears were relieved.  

I continue to pray for help in this area.  I am so thankful that Jesus always forgives and loves me, not for my actions, but by His GRACE.

caddishness of women; are you guilty?

I have a question for you.  

Warning:  It will make you defensive.  You might even get mad.


When was the last time you remember tearing down another woman with your words, behind her back?


Got the image in your mind now?


Okay, then, what preceded your comments?  


Did she just get a promotion, a bigger house, a coveted ministry position at your church?  Did her house look far more organized than yours?  Were her kids far less boisterous?  Is her husband better than yours, in some way?  Did she lose the baby weight?  Does she have money in savings and a fat retirement account....and she gives tons to charity?  Did she pay cash for her car?  Just publish a book?  Redecorate her house?  Did her cake get the most compliments at the church potluck?  Does she stay at home, while you work?  Does she work, while you stay at home?  


Women can be nasty, jealous, caddish. 


When something great happens to another woman, we think about how we measure up, and suddenly, we're frustrated. Next thing we know, some ungracious criticism flies off our tongue, landing like rotten fish on an innocent bystander's lap. (Hopefully the innocent bystander is just our husband.....to whom we apologize later.)


Not pretty.  


I told you this would make you angry.  Defensive.


But it's true.  Most of us can't deny it. 


I've been thinking about this topic these past few days because of a post Shaun Groves wrote about the caddy e-mails he gets in his inbox from women, about women, preceding or following Compassion Blogging trips. An excerpt of his post is in red below:

They come out of the woodwork during every blogging trip. Women – always women – posting and e-mailing and calling Compassion because they don’t like a woman – always a woman – I’ve chosen to take overseas.

Don’t you know…Her marriage is broken.
Her past is checkered.
She’s so dramatic.
She’s lying about not having a TV.
She’s fat.
She’s a hypocrite.
She’s a Republican.
She meditates.
She’s just plain annoying.

Suspicion. Assumption. Judgment.

Or is that my judgment? So hard to tell.Their words are not always without merit, mind you, but so often strike me as judgment nonetheless. Not the timbre of concern or love but hate – riddled with name calling and threats and depleted of all rationality by CAPITALS and exclamation marks!!!!!!!!

Now, I think few of us would be foolish enough to e-mail Shaun Groves about some woman we didn't like.  The stupidity and futility of such an act would not be lost on us, especially given that his only mission in life is to glorify God and release children from poverty in Jesus' name.

His post speaks of the extreme, the ridiculous, but it got a lot of women thinking (51 comments).

What's at the root of our caddiness.....even when it's only uttered in private to our husbands?

My conclusion thus far, after two days deliberation, is that we feel unduly frustrated by two separate scenarios:

1.  Someone is getting recognition, but we're not getting any recognition for our work, for our achievements.

2.  Someone is getting blessed, but we're still struggling along.

After narrowing it down, I then had to decide.....what are the spiritual problems involved?

1st spiritual problem:  We are seeking glory for ourselves.


Only God deserves glory.  It is only through Him that we accomplish anything worthy.  We are to value a lowly position.

Matthew 23:12
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.


Proverbs 29:23
A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.


James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.


2nd spiritual problem:  We are grumbling about what we have; we're discontented.

God is sovereign.  He gives and takes as He wills.  We're to submit to His will in all things.  We're to seek and find joy in relationship with Him...not through things...He is the blessing.

Hebrews 13:5
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" 


Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.


Psalm 36:7
How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.


Psalm 36:8
They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.


3rd spiritual problem:  We are seeking the things of this world.


1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.


Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.


James 4:4
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.


James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.


How can we stop?
Prayer is the only answer. We must have a rich, consistent prayer life.....to daily fill up our cups with Him.....to daily cleanse our souls.  Also, The Lord's Prayer contains some words most of us ignore:  Lead us not into temptation...but deliver us from evil.  We need to ask the Father to help us avoid sin.  That asking, that humbling of ourselves, must be a component of our daily prayer life.

A Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior, Week 3

The other installments of this Day in the Life series are here, here, here, and here, with the final link being the most recent.

A Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior, Week 3

Thoughts and Observations this week:

Something Happened
One night as I prayed, the Spirit intervened.  Ha!  That sounds weird, right?  Just give me a minute here.

Prayer was going along the usual lines, until I got to supplication.  I began praying for our country.  The Spirit stopped me cold, making me pray for a friend in Washington state, instead.  I pray for her every night, but I do the country before individual people. I thought....okay, God...I'll pray for her right away. Did she have a bad day?  Was she depressed?  I wondered.  I prayed for her differently than I had the previous nights--this time including more about her day to day peace and joy, and less about her macular degeneration.  Somehow, the Spirit intervened on her behalf--possibly at the hour of her greatest need!  Since she is three hours behind me in time, I prayed for her around her dinner hour, which can be lonely for a widow.

This happens to all of us, I know.  A name, a face, will pop into our head while we do the dishes, and we'll know to pray right away.  This is common, but it has never happened to me during a structured prayer time.  The Spirit has never changed the order of my prayer plan.

After I finished prayer that night, I was very excited. Overjoyed, in fact!  The Spirit is praying, through me, for a beloved friend!  It made me realize....He really does guide us in prayer!  He really is there!

Friends, I have gone into prayer since then with a greater joy. With more anticipation.  Somehow, it's as though I'm not sitting here alone anymore....with the kids all in bed...with husband away at work until late.  The Spirit is my companion....through prayer.  


This makes it sound as though I've never had a prayer life, I know.  But the truth is, I've never had a consistent one.....as in twenty days and counting of structured evening prayer, along with snippets of prayer during the day.

Prayer is more than I thought it was.  There really is more for us, in terms of relationship with the Father.  I thought there was more.  I was told there was more.

And now I can tell you...there is more!

Do this!  Pray day after day.  Don't allow space between you and the Father.....see what happens.

I Learned to Ease In 
One night I was particularly stressed.  Nevertheless, I sat down to pray right away, not wanting anyone to wake up and thwart my efforts.

It didn't flow well.  It felt like a chore.  It seemed mechanical.

I analyzed it afterward, thinking immediately about foreplay and women, and how we need to ease into relationship by relaxing first.  Don't send me hate mail, please, for using that word foreplay.  I can't think of a better analogy right now, to describe what is needed when our spirits are tormented by really bad days.

My usual pattern is to read the Bible in the mornings, pray in the evenings, and sometimes read a devotional or spiritual book at night as well.

But my plan now, for really stressful times, is to read a few Psalms at night before prayer, or listen to a worship song, to get in touch with the Spirit of God.  I need Him to soothe me some nights first, before I can make prayer a worshipful activity.  This isn't always necessary, but I need to intentionally take the step when I know my spirit needs it.

Being Intentional Blesses the Body of Christ
The other thing I learned this week was that being intentional about my prayer plan blesses the Body of Christ.  When I took the time to list prayer needs in an organized way, I found my prayer having greater reach.  More people were impacted--both saved and unsaved.

For example, my sister, years ago, cared for two young foster sisters, and another time, for a foster baby boy--both times for short periods. They would all be much older now, and over the years I've prayed for them only intermittently--maybe several times a year.  Now I pray for them five times a week!


Maybe one of them, or all of them, will come to know the Lord.  I don't know....but I love praying for them.

Someone prayed for me as I grew up, at least intermittently, for salvation.  It was my Aunt Erma, who now lives five minutes away, but rarely saw me growing up.  She was just praying for a name.

Currently, she is busy with her own grandkids and family, so I don't see her much, but I know she prays much for us, especially since the 2009 job loss and the subsequent underemployment. No, husband hasn't secured a full-time job yet, but neither are we a family in crisis, which might easily happen in our situation.  We are holding steady....so I would say her prayers are being answered.

Do you know what Aunt Erma is?

A Prayer Warrior!  A strong and steady one.

Hallelujah!

Friends, be a prayer warrior!  Bless the Body of Christ.  Pray for salvation for a greater number of people. Be intentional about your prayer plan.

A Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior, Week 2

To read about Day 1 of A Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior, click here.
To read about Days 2 & 3 click here.
To read about Days 4 & 5, click here.


Today I will report on Week 2:


I'm grateful to report that prayer is going very well!  The more days I stay faithful, the smoother and more intimate my discourse with God becomes. My joy is greater; my peace is deeper.


Being faithful in prayer means God can finally make big things happen--the spiritual changes our hearts dearly desire!  


He impressed an important basic fact upon me this week.  It's not new to me, and it won't be new to you, but it's profound and essential knowledge--knowledge we simply must take to heart.  


Mothers fret.  They just do.  About the kids' eating habits, playing habits, school habits, spiritual habits, chore habits.  We imagine that every ungodly mistake we make will somehow change our children's futures for the worse.  


And our fretting doesn't stop there.  We fret about the grocery bill, the broken things around the house, keeping up with the messes, the state of the yard and the car, the unfolded laundry clutter, the paperwork that never ends, and finally....we also fret about whether we've given freely enough of our bodies to our husband, who counts on us and only us for those needs.


Fretting takes up a lot of time, no?


This is what the Lord said to me this week:

I only ask one thing of you:  Make time for me; make me number one.  When you wake up and when you go to bed, you will have peace, if you make time for me.  

All these things you fret about?  They're my areas.  You have but one area to worry about........being with me........through prayer, through Bible reading, through worship.  I will order your days, change your ways, take care of you and yours.  

Just be with me.

So friends, let's stop complicating it all, shall we?  


One thing.  Let's be faithful to that.  


Chant it to yourself if you have to--especially when you feel even slightly flustered.  


One thing.  One thing.  One thing.  He only requires one thing.


So tell me, how's the prayer going for you this week?  What have you learned?  Only one person has chosen to share about her prayer life--that post is coming later next week--but if anyone else has a few minutes, could you tell us about your week, just this once?  




Luke 10:41-42
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”


Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength


Matthew 6:33-34
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.


1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.


Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the LORD: and he shall give you the desires of your heart.


Isaiah 58:14
then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.


Nehemiah 8:10
The joy of the Lord is your strength.


Job 33:26
"He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto Him: and he shall see His face with joy: for He will render unto man His righteousness."


Matthew 21:13
My house shall be called the house of prayer.


Psalm 5:11
"But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them: let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee."

I Need Your Help!

In order to truly bless readers with a prayer series, I need some volunteers.

Yes.  That means you!

I have enabled anonymous comments, and would like three volunteers to comment once a week about their prayer lives.  You will follow a simple format, such as:

- What went well
- What was difficult
- What did you learn?

You don't have to chronicle each day.  Just tell how it went for you in a week's time, as a whole.

I will give you code names, such as anonymous 1, anonymous 2, and anonymous 3.  It would probably be helpful to give a little information up front about the number of children you have and their ages, whether you are twenty-something, thirty-something, forty-something....and how long you've been a Believer.

If you say no to this, let it not be because you think you pray less than most people.  Most people don't pray much.  Or, they pray a lot for a week, and then not at all for three weeks--except for a few desperate sentences uttered to the Lord here and there (which is better than nothing--any discourse with God is good).

And the Bible does say we should pray without ceasing, so sentences uttered here and there, all day long, are excellent.  If that is where you are right now, than write about that.

God works with us right where we're at. I've been a Christian for fourteen years, and His message to me now is this:

I expect more discipline from you now. I expect you to live the Word, not just read it.  


I've learned over and over that I can't live the Word, without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives the Word through me.  Self-effort gets me no where--except at the very moment I sit down to pray.  The Spirit gives me the words--I don't even do the actual praying.

My part is to make regular full stops, and utter the first word.   Same as with Bible reading.  Our part is to sit down at regular intervals, and open the Bible.  I believe most people will agree, that simply sitting down and opening the Bible, is the hardest part.

Prayer is communing with the Spirit.


Prayer is the avenue by which we live the Word.

Bible reading is the avenue by which we learn the Word.


The Spirit is with us during both.

Please join me?  By volunteering, you will automatically have some accountability--something we all need.

Don't worry about how well you write.  Just jot it all down as an anonymous comment, or in an e-mail to me, christine4431(at)ymail (dot)com.  I will edit each entry for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation. Once a week, I'll publish them in a Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior post.


Please help?

Edited to add:  On second thought, I think it would work better if you just give me the name you want to use to identify your posts.  Either your real name, or a name you pick out.  Thank you!

Why Do We Struggle With Prayer? Into a Life of Prayer: A Journey, Part 2

To read part 1, click here.

The sad truth is that only a remnant in the Church has an effective prayer life.  If your own prayer life is lacking, don't be ashamed.  You are not alone.

Why is it so hard to pray?  Why do so many of us fail?

Matthew 26:41
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”


We are born again Christians--new natures, in old bodies.  Our desire is for holiness, but we live in a body of sin.  Until we die and go to Heaven (and get new, perfect, sinless bodies), we are stuck in our present body, constantly struggling to be Holy.  (Romans 7:18 - 8:4)  God designed it this way so we would be dependent on Him--so that all glory would go to Him.

2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

Many things hinder our prayers, all under the umbrella of the flesh. Here are some examples:

- unbelief in the power of prayer; hopelessness

- chasing after the things of this world; worldliness

- broken relationships; discouragement

- ongoing sin

- the enemy

But, there is hope!  Though our flesh is weak and hinders our prayers, it does not prevent them.  Nothing can separate us from Christ--from communing with Him in prayer.


Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:


   “For your sake we face death all day long;
   we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.


No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 


If you're having trouble praying, or sticking to a habit of prayer, the answer is.....wait for it......more prayer!  More prayer is more of Christ. 

When we choose to walk with the Spirit instead of the flesh, the Spirit intercedes for us, helping us to be holy.

Romans 8: 26-27
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.


Friends, I beseech you, walk with the Spirit.  Pray.  Do it with me!  There are a mere seventy readers out there.  A remnant.  Seventy people, praying like warriors, can do mighty things for Him.


Choose prayer.  Choose Him   Choose life abundant.  Choose holiness.  


Are you in?


What are you waiting for?  

Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior--Days 4 & 5

I published something this morning about art, but since I don't think I'll get any writing time tonight, I wanted to update you now on my praying.

To read about Day 1 of a Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior, click here.

To read about Days 2 & 3 of a Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior, click here.

To read the first post in my prayer series Into a Life of Prayer--A Journey, click here.

Here I will chronicle Days 4 & 5:


Day 4 was my day to pray alone.  On the other pray-alone days, I started almost immediately after putting the boys to bed (unless there were dishes to do).  On night 4, however, I was thinking about the cute, new-hat pictures I wanted to download of my girls.  It had been a difficult evening with my older son, and I wanted to drink in the blessing of my girls--in photos.

Now friends, let me tell you, I failed.  The Holy Spirit said to me:  No!  Do it like the other nights. Put God first.  No photos, no e-mail, no news, no other writing.


I told myself I would just download the pictures, writing something about them another time--thereby getting to my prayer in a just a few minutes.

But no, my desire to put me first--my desires first--trumped my desire to be a prayer warrior.  I ended up writing about what my girls meant to me, instead of getting to the prayer.

In the midst of my post about the girls, Beth woke up coughing from allergy-related post-nasal drip.  After settling her back down, my Mary had a night terror, which occasionally happens lately.  I held her through it until she fell asleep.  While holding her, I fell asleep until Beth cried out again from her room.

You've heard people say you'll never sleep well again until your kids leave home?  Yeah.  Right on.

I'm not complaining, mind you.  I love my little ones.  And I'm sure I'll love staying up late, listening to my teenagers pour their hearts out.  That is coming, people tell me.  Teenagers take up your sleep time too, not with their snotty noses or night terrors, but with their complicated feelings.

I never got back to the living room at all that night.  I awoke at 1:30 AM, brushed my teeth and washed my face, and headed back to sleep.  If I had attempted to do much more, I probably would have suffered insomnia the rest of the night.

I was horribly disappointed in myself.....but I learned a lot.  Always put God first. I can't even entertain other ideas for my time, until I've put God first.  To experience all that He has for me, and for my family--in terms of relationship--I simply must put Him first.

The next day I tried to make up for the previous night's prayer time, by praying as I was nursing Beth to sleep for her nap.  This is a regular prayer time for me, but not a long one, or a particularly organized one.  I kept losing my focus, and never got beyond Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving.  My mind skipped around shamefully.  It made me realize that my prayer blog is my saving grace, in terms of disciplined prayer.  I can focus so well there, praying for thirty minutes without even thinking about it.

The next night, Day 5, was husband and wife prayer night.  We got back from church at 8:45 PM, and started putting the children to bed.  Peter's OCD flares up after church for some reason, so Sunday night is always emotionally exhausting.  As well, the children are all over-stimulated, which makes for a fun night  exhausting tuck-in time.  I can't wait until our schedule allows for morning church!

As soon as the last child fell asleep, I went right to the living room to join my husband.  I starting praying as soon as I sat down, so the enemy wouldn't have a single minute to work on me.

I prayed for about fifteen minutes, then it was husband's turn.  From sheer exhaustion, I partially reclined in the easy chair as he began praying.  I spent time in the sun that day with the children, which always seems to sap my energy.

Not that four young children can sap your energy or anything.

Yeah...it was the sun.

My poor husband.


I actually fell asleep toward the end of his prayer!   Can you believe how spiritual I am?

Other than this revealing information, I wanted to tell you about something I'll definitely use for tonight's prayer.

A list.

Yes, in order to consistently pray for the people in my life, I can't do without a list.

I plan on keeping a list taped to the side of the computer, which will include:

- my immediate extended family, husband's immediate extended family
- other family, less known to us
- neighborhood families
- friends from other states
- friends from Ohio
- my online friends
- church acquaintances, pastors

I will rotate praying for all the people and needs on this list.

So, friends, that's my update.

How is it going for you?

Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior--Days 2 & 3

To go back to Day 1 of Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior, click here.

To read the 1st post of my prayer series, Into A Life of Prayer--A Journey, click here.


Days 2 & 3 chronicled below:

My husband and I worked out three days a week for husband/wife prayer. This will occur on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday--days he is home by 10:00 PM.  On the remaining days I will pray on my own, after the kids have gone to bed, and husband is at work.

I also decided to give the boys three days a week to pray on their own, saving four days for corporate family prayer in the mornings.  The earlier they develop this pray-alone discipline, the more impact it will have in their lives, making them mighty warriors for Jesus.  They already read the Bible on their own seven days a week--from Psalms or Proverbs, or rereading what we've read together.

On Day Two of my prayer warrior journey, then, I prayed with my husband.  We used the ACTS acronym and prayed for twenty minutes.  It would have been longer, but he had a sneezing allergy attack halfway through our prayer.  He is so ready to move to Arizona.  The allergy shot series he had in California left him feeling good for several years, but now he is miserable again, and showing signs of mild asthma on exertion.  We had a lot of health issues to pray about!  Paul has had a few incidents of wheezing, but nothing like I've heard from husband.  This has turned out to be a severe allergy season for our family, for whatever reason.  Excessive rain--record breaking rain--is the only environmental change I've noticed this year. Rain itself is not supposed to aggravate allergies, but maybe it leads to more tree pollen over a season?

Anyway, we appreciated the time to pray together, uninterrupted by children, and we were happy to set regular dates for our prayer.  Being intentional is so important!  Marking a calendar or creating a prayer schedule helps the whole family draw closer to God.

I didn't have to convince my husband of anything to make this happen. While I wouldn't describe him as a prayer warrior, he definitely does value prayer.  We started our marriage being very consistent about husband/wife prayer, but when our first colicky baby came along, joint prayer suffered.  It has been good at times since then, and spotty other times.

If your husband is less receptive to husband/wife prayer, just pray about it consistently, letting God do the work in your husband's heart.

On Day Three of my prayer warrior journey, I was alone in the house, after putting the kids to bed.  I was exhausted, but thankfully I had done the dishes and shuffled the laundry earlier in the evening.  I drank some water and then sat right down to begin praying, using my new prayer blog.  I considered how nice it was that I didn't have to look for anything--pen, pencil, pad of paper, etc.  I just had to sit down and start typing.

As an aside:  I had done about an hour of research the night before on The Lord's Prayer, using sermons given by John Calvin (1507-1564),  John Wesley (1703 - 1791), and Charles Spurgeon (1834 - 1892).  I wanted to know why the ACTS acronym has us praying confession second, but the Lord's Prayer (not meant to be recited, but to model prayer after) has confession further down.  It makes more sense to me to ask for forgiveness up front, but I wanted to model my prayer along the line of the Lord's Prayer.

I will do a post on structuring prayer as soon as I'm done with my research.  Husband pointed out that the Bible, when taken as a whole, seems to point to the importance of confession up front, after admiration--though he agreed The Lord's Prayer clearly isn't structured that way. Interesting subject that I will look into more--although as I said before, I think the Lord is happy with any discourse, and his Holy Spirit will help us structure our prayer in a way that pleases God.

Anyhow, for Day Three, I continued to pray using the ACTS acronym.  The typing definitely kept me very focused and disciplined.

I had about thirteen minutes of prayer time before Beth woke up.  After nursing her for fifteen minutes, I came back out and resumed my prayer, going for another fifteen minutes.  I really think I've found what works for me!  It was so easy to sit right down and get started, despite my exhaustion.

So tell me....how is it going for you?

Day in the Life of a New Prayer Warrior

My prayer profile thus far:
My custom has been to pray throughout the day for people who come to mind, for my family's immediate needs, for peace to return on difficult days, for my headaches or for my husband's and children's health issues to be healed or lessened.  In addition to this random, unorganized prayer life (it is far better than nothing), I also pray in an organized, disciplined fashion with my children, and my husband (less often with husband since he works nights and I have to keep a close eye on my Beth all the time--any daytime prayer is very broken and frustrating, between husband and wife here.)

My wrong thinking:
I was wrong to think that my disorganized, random prayers, and my corporate prayers, are enough.  Being a busy mom was just an excuse to avoid doing something that has always been hard for me--disciplined, sit-down, private prayer.  Keeping myself focused is the issue; my mind wanders the most when I'm at rest. While staying prayer-focused in the midst of husband and children is very easy, there are some issues that seem too personal, or perhaps too hurtful, to pray about in front of my family.  This is another reason we need to pray by ourselves--though a deeper relationship with God is the primary reason.

And consider this: Our family members could die in a sudden car accident. Where would we be then, if we didn't have intimacy with our Lord?  All things can and will pass away, except for our relationship with God.  It must be nurtured.....through prayer.

Writing out my prayers works to keep me focused, but I get fatigued from the handwriting. On a whim, I decided to start a private blog, not found by search engines, for my prayer time.

Day One
Nighttime is the best for me.  After putting the boys to bed, I headed to the kitchen to do dishes, wipe down counters and table, and shuffle laundry one last time.  My two-year-old woke in the midst of the cleaning, and I nursed her back to sleep.  Coming back out, I finished the kitchen and started my new blog, which just took a few minutes, since I already have a Blogger account.

I got through about ten minutes of prayer, which went very well.  The typing kept me focused, and I felt close to God.  I reread everything I wrote, speaking the words again to my Lord--this time without any typing, of course.

My time was not complete yet, when Beth woke again.  She has some issue lately--teething, or post-nasal drip from allergies...I don't really know for sure, but she is fine during the day.

I nursed her back to sleep and I ended up falling asleep in there for about an hour.  Coming back out, I prayed for another twenty-five minutes.  She woke again before I did my closing, so I closed my prayers while in bed.

As I fell asleep, I did feel closer to God.  I am excited and I look forward to a deeper intimacy with Him!  It's not that I've felt terribly distant from Him, but I have a desire to experience all that He has for us, in union with Him.  I know there's more!

Decide what your own stumbling block is, and brainstorm ways to get around it.  Might your solution be a prayer journal, a quieter place, or a different time? Experiment until something begins to work.

I am copying and pasting my prayers--just this once--in case someone needs a model for structuring prayer time.  Any structure is fine.  There is no right or wrong way to converse with God.  It probably seems ridiculous for me to do this, but I am mindful that some people are just beginning their relationships with God, and having some idea for how to proceed might be helpful.

I will post more about structuring prayer later this week.

I fixed the punctuation and such for your easier reading, but when I pray, I don't go back and fix errors.  I used the ACTS acronym, because I find my prayers are more complete this way.  I kept praying and writing until I couldn't think of anything more for each category.

Admiration:

You are glorious, magnificent, wonderful, all-knowing, all-powerful, faithful, loving, omniscient, trustworthy, you are mine to love, to honor, to please.  You gave it all so I could have peace in my soul, now and forever.  I love you.

Confession:

Search my heart, Lord.  Show me the ways I was far from you today--far from your spirit and your Word.  I am sorry I didn't always respond peaceably and with grace toward my troubled one today.  Help me tame my tongue.  Help me love him with your patience and grace.  Help me to understand his ways, his shortcomings, remind me that he can't help the most annoying things.  Show me how he is weak and help me to make him strong, with my love and devotion and belief in him.

Thanksgiving:

Thank you with my whole heart Lord.  Thank you for space to raise my children, and appliances to make my days easier.  Thank you for used books to delight my homeschoolers.  Thank you for creativity and love and laughter and birds and trees and husband's hugs.  Thank you for salvation, for forgiveness, for your presence here on Earth.  Thank you for the opportunity to be with you in prayer.

Supplication:

Salvation:  I ask for salvation for my mother, father, step-father, sister, nephews, niece, brother.  May we be with them in  Paradise, Father.  I ask for salvation for the neighbors on all four sides of us, and down both sides of the street, and in the stores we frequent.  May we be a light for you in this community.  I ask for salvation for all those on both sides of my extended family--many of whom I don't even know, Father.

Leaders:  Give our leaders godly wisdom, give them saving faith, protect our country and its citizens from ugly attacks.  Provide your divine grace and blessing and protection to those who have fought and are fighting for our freedom, and for their families, some of whom are grieving their loss.  Urge hearts to help them in every way, in their daily lives.

Disasters: Provide divine grace and earthly help to those who lost their loved ones and their homes through disaster.  Show them love through their surrounding neighbors and communities.  Urge hearts to give, to love, to listen.  Give them peace and salvation.  May they seek your face.

Husband and children: I pray for daily peace and for a new full-time job for my husband.  Give him confidence, wisdom, stamina.  Fill him with your love, your divine comfort.  Erase the affects of  the ADHD, if it be your will.  Help him in his leadeship roles--his father role, his husband role.  May he seek your face daily, may he rely on your mercies.  Help me to honor him with all my deeds and my words.  Help me to provide for him what he most needs from me.  I pray for a long, saving relationship with you, for all my children, grandchildren, future in-laws.  May my children develop deep prayer lives, may they always seek your face in their daily lives and in their trials.  May they especially seek your face in choosing spouses.  May we have strong, trusting relationships with them always and with their future families.  Help us to be healthy enough to help them with their own children, to provide physical and emotional support, despite our old ages.  Help us to take care of ourselves a good long time, to avoid being a burden on their young families.  Provide grace to them in any situation brought about by our advanced ages.  I pray for strong support for them from each other.  Bless their friendships with each other always--may they be lasting and full of grace and love.  May they somehow stay in the same cities or towns, to provide for each other all that is needed from a loving extended family.  I pray for their studies, that they will be hard-working and pursue knowledge with joy and eagerness.  Help me to be a loving, patient, kind, attentive teacher--all that they need on a daily basis.  Help the younger three with grace toward their brother and his ADHD.  If it be your will, may the disorders pass away.  May my son learn self-monitoring and self-soothing, so that fits begin to disappear.

I closed these prayers in bed.  And then I stayed still, trying to listen for whatever wisdom or love words the Holy Spirit had for me.  You can stay still and quiet before your prayers, or after them, as a way to listen.  We must listen to, as well as speak to God, so that it's truly a discourse.  That's what He wants....discourse with us...true fellowship!

Into a Life of Prayer - A Journey, Part 1

Dear Friends, we are embarking on a journey.  Today is day one of our journey.  Into a life of prayer.

I have some homework for you:  

1. Add up all the minutes you've spent in prayer in the last week (you and God alone).  If you are satisfied with that amount, stop reading now and move on to another blog.

2.  Next, list the reasons you haven't prayed more. (company over, sick child, etc.) After you've made your list, consider this:  Do we fail to pray because we don't have time, or because we aren't close enough to God to want to pray?  I submit to you that it's the latter.  We have to pray to get close to God, so that we will want to pray--so that our hearts will urgently need to pray.

"We learn prayer's deepest depths in prayer, not from books.  We reach prayer's highest heights in prayer, not from sermons.  The only place to learn prayer, is in prayer, bent and broken on our knees." Dick Eastman

3.  Plan for a ten minute prayer time--just you and God in a room.  Commit to just ten minutes.  Today.

4.  Why should you commit to prayer?  First of all, God commands us to pray.  Read the six verses below.

5.  Next, read the quotes below from people who have contemplated what prayer is, and what prayer does.

That's all for today.  I'll meet you back here in a few days, to embark on day two.   

Matthew 26:41  “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Colossians 4:2

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

Luke 18:1

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart

1 Timothy 2:1

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men

Ephesians 6:18

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints

Romans 12:12

rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

You'll find more prayer quotes here.


"I would rather train twenty men to pray, than a thousand to preach; A minister's highest mission ought to be to teach his people to pray." -H. MacGregor


Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work. --Oswald Chambers


There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. --Brother Lawrence


Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer as a means for getting something for ourselves; the Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself. --Oswald Chambers


Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one's heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend. Tell God your troubles, that God may comfort you; tell God your joys, that God may sober them; tell God your longings, that God may purify them; tell God your dislikes, that God may help you conquer them; talk to God of your temptations, that God may shield you from them: show God the wounds of your heart, that God may heal them. If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. Talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration say just what you think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God. --Francois Fenelon


Why is it so important that you are with God and God alone on the mountain top? It's important because it's the place in which you can listen to the voice of the One who calls you the beloved. To pray is to listen to the One who calls you "my beloved daughter," "my beloved son," "my beloved child." To pray is to let that voice speak to the center of your being, to your guts, and let that voice resound in your whole being. --Henri Nouwen


We hear it said that a man will suffer in his life is he does not pray; I question it. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God within him, which is nourished not by food but by prayer...Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished. --Oswald Chambers


The Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer. --John R. Mott


The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men…Men of prayer." --E. M. Bounds


We lean to our own understanding, or we bank on service and do away with prayer, and consequently by succeeding in the external we fail in the eternal, because in the eternal we succeed only by prevailing prayer. --Oswald Chambers


When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy. --Corrie Ten Boom


Is the Son of God praying in me, or am I dictating to Him?....Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is a most initial form of prayer; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God. If the Son of God is formed in us by regeneration, He will press forward in front of our common sense and change our attitude to the things about which we pray. --Oswald Chambers


Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?-- Corrie Ten Boom


I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go. -- Abraham Lincoln


Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God. --Andrew Murray