Verse of the Week

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Jude 1:20-21

My Prayer Point of View (Part 2)

"How often have we prayed something like, 'O Lord, be with cousin Billy now in a special way'? Have we stopped to consider what it is we're requesting? Imagine that you are a parent who is preparing to leave your children with a babysitter. Would you dream of saying, "O Betsy, I ask you now that you would be with my children in a special way"? No way. You would say, "Betsy, the kids need to be in bed by 9 pm. They can have one snack before their baths, and please make sure they finish their homework. You can reach us at this number if there's any problem. Any questions before we go?" We are very specific with our requests and instructions for our babysitters. We want them to know specifics. It should be no different with prayer. "-David Jeremiah

Isn't it odd that such simple principles can often seem so hard to grasp?

"A centipede was happy till one day, a toad in fun said, ‘Pray, which leg goes after which?’ Which strained his mind to such a pitch he lay distracted in a ditch, considering how to run. I think there are a good many toads in the world, and sometimes, not in fun at all but very seriously, they manage “to strain our minds to such a pitch”, that instead of going on in simplicity we may easily find ourselves distracted in a ditch, not running, but only considering how to run.
-Amy Carmichael

So often I am my own toad. (Oh, that sounds wierd.) I spend so much time asking God to "help me with this" or "show me this" when He has already given me answers in His word! I remember a particular period when I spent so much time wondering (and dispairing) "in a ditch on the side of the road" because I felt I could recieving no answer.

The Lord opened my eyes to what I had so pridefully ignored and I saw when I asked for strength He answered, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor 12:9) I asked for joy and He said, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (Jn 15:10-12) I could find joy in obedience, do all things through His strength, find His will for my life (1 Thes 5:16-18) -even my prayer life.

You see, so many principles of prayer that are laid out plainly in the Scriptures have been very difficult to grasp. There was a point in my life when I knew the foundation of my life in Christ was supposed to be fellowship and communion with Him, but I had so much trouble in proceeding. I could easily spend time praising Him, but I was confused and concered about how to bring my petitions before Him. Was I supposed to ask God for something only once, and the wait with a spirit of longsuffering for the answer? If I asked two or three times (or more) was I whinning and begging or not being grateful enough.

I thought, what about the parable of that persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8), and the story of Elijah's prayer (1 Kings 18:41-45. Seven times he bowed down, praying for rain, and when he finally saw a cloud as small as a man’s hand, he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”)? I read Luke 11 and saw that right after Jesus was asked to teach about prayer, Jesus gives a pararble of a man who came at midnight asking his friend to get up and give him bread, and Jesus said "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs." And for the next five verses Jesus tells us to keep asking, seeking, knocking.

Leslie Ludy said, "Instead of assuming that Christ doesn't desire to answer our prayers when we don't recieve an immediate response, we are to press in with even more persistance not letting go until our requests are granted. Just as Jacob wrestled all night with God saying, 'I will not let you go until you bless me,' we are to wrestle in prayer until the breaking of day. (See Gen 32:26)"

There are times when repeated prayers are inapropriate. (see Matthew 6:7, and in 2 Corinthians 12:7,8 three times was enough.) Though as we see in Elijah's case, it was God's will for the rain to come, and yet the Lord required Elijah to show faith and persistance until He answered Him. Jesus repeated prayers, Matthew 26:44, "So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words."

Prayers that are in accordance with God's will, and prayed in faith (we must be certain of the nature of God) with persistance, (do not falter), and prayed with purity (prayers can be hindered by sin, 1 Peter 3:7, Matthew 5:23-24) are prayers that God takes pleasure in answering. Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Ps 37:4

Perserverance is an indespensible factor. Spiritual victories are rarely won in single battles.
Faithful prayer can be established by persistantly resisting hinderance. But every rich approach to God is bound to meet resistance. The enemy will never entirely quit. He returns time after time after time using many different means. Do not grow weary, keep praying again, and again.

My Prayer Point of View (Part 1)

I was pondering today the parable Jesus told about a bunch of wise and foolish virgins waiting for their bridegroom.

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. -Matthew 25:1-13

There is no such thing as secondhand salvation. We might go to church every Sunday, and read our Bible every morning, but until we really have our own fellowship with our Saviour we aren't living a fruitful Christian life. I'm not saying hearing a sermon every Sunday and reading our Bible isn't profitable, but with out a life a prayer our intentions often end with un-intended results!

“Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.” -Corrie ten Boom

Many times I have times I have made the primary focus of my growth Bible reading. I think many Believers, just like me, spend much of their energy on Bible reading and Bible studies and church attendance with the intent of spiritual growth. But when I made Bible study my principal focus, I became much more of a hearer than a doer. (James 1:22) The Word of God is the surest source of truth, but I began to realize that that cannot be my rock. Jesus, Himself, is my Rock! And the best root for spiritual growth is crying out to God as you seek Him. Even Christian acts of service and Bible study can be unknowingly fruitless, self-led, and for me, destructive without my calling out Jesus. (2 Tim 3:7)

Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. -Is 55:6

The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. -Psalm 6:9

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men -1 Tim 2:1

God just permeates His word with invitations to lift up your voice to Him. Ps 55:1-2, Is 24:14, Eph 6:18, 1 Kings 8:28, Ps 71:16, Ps 28:6, Psalm 55:17, Ps 5:2, Ps 142:1, Ps 130:2, Rom 1:9, Lam 3:56, Ps 143:1, 2 Sam 22:7, Ps 119:13, Ps 28:2 just to pick a few. There are so many more!

As I mentioned, I would spend time reading God's word but then I continued living a life of defeat. I was getting the Word but not living the Word. The Bible has so many phrases about having "eyes to see" and "ears to hear", but I realized that I was trying to open my own eyes and ears and the result was a spiritually blind and deaf me, thinking I was seeing and hearing all that God was saying to me. But the Spirit began to show me how futile it was to try to "see" and "hear" on my own. I came to the realization that only the Lord makes deaf hear, opens eyes, and softens hearts. And if we desire to soften our hard hearts we must each have our own private search for this.

"But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" -Matt 6:6

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." -James 4:8

This is key if we desire an close relationship with our Heavenly Father. The depths of knowing God is beyond knowing about Him, it is knowing intimately Who He Is!

I've heard many people's advice on prayer be, "You're busy just like anyone else, so the best tips I can give would be to pray while you brush your teeth, while you're driving, when you take a shower." I don't think it is wrong to pray when you go on a walk or make breakfast or anything like that, but we must also make time for fellowship with God. He is the High King above all, He is the Creator of the universe.

If you were to get to talk with Queen Elizabeth II, would you even think about saying, "Well you know, Elizabeth, I need to get my exercise so let's walk and talk, okay?" Or would you ask her to talk while you brushed your teeth? The Lord wants to hear our individual voices lifted up to Him, just as any bridegroom wants to spend one-on-one time with His bride. He is the Master of our time. It is an honor and a privilege and a joy to be able to give Him whole-hearted one-on-one attention, and know that He is actually as pleased with us and that He takes as much joy in our communing with Him as we do. (And infinitely more.)

I encourage you to not just pray when you feel like it. But to "have an appointment with the Lord and keep it." Find a place where you won't be heard, and actually spend time praising, petitioning  and praying out loud. It won't be easy at first, but God promises to hear those who call out to Him, and to draw near to those who draw near to Him, and He cannot go back on His word! Soon you may learn to love your time with Him more and more so that you will wish it never had to end! I have experienced the joy in coming to Him, even when I don't feel like it. It is a beautiful thing to know that the God of the universe is mindful of me, I cannot fathom a love so deep!

Until next time,

Ashlin

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

1 Timothy 6:6-8

Snares

“I do — oh, indeed I do — desire to live up to my profession, to be His, for time and eternity. But I am learning to see how very weak I am, and how easily Satan can conquer me even when I do strive against him. I do believe with my head that Jesus can, and will give me His grace, and I do not need to fear, yet somehow my heart seems to be hard and cold and not to take it in. Oh, if we were but there — where there is no more sin ! Oh do not forget to pray for me, and don’t ever doubt the love of your unworthy friend.” – Francis Havergal

When I do not strive, when I don't make great effort to fight the good fight, then my heart becomes hard and Satan can easily conquer  me.

At times, my heart is hardened slowly, it becomes numb so that I do not feel hungry for the fellowship with my Saviour each morning. I may not go in out right rebellion and sin, in fact it is almost always just the simple "non-actions" that begin my faltering. James 4:17 so plainly states that that is sin. Even as a Christian, "the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." (Mark 4:19) [emphasis added] It is so easy to get distarcted to kick off our shoes and watch TV, or spend our morning time with God sleeping in instead.

But when we are not focused on Christ what happens? When we are in the very action of obedience what consequences come?
We are given so many examples. When David comitted his sin with Bathsheba was when he ought to have been doing his kingly responsibilities and been out with his men at battle. When Peter obeyed Christ he could walk on the water, but as soon as his eyes were off of Christ and on the worries before him he began to drown. When Moses had his eyes fixed on what God could do he didn't fear when in the middle of a sea and the armies of pharoh. When they stoned Stephen he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” because of his faith!

When we set our hearts on Jesus, He promises to give us the strength we need to endure. Sometimes it’s through the very trials and weariness that we’re experiencing that God is using to help us find the strength to get through. Even when He doesn’t relieve our trials right away, we must have faith that He will give us what we need to persevere through them.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were able to look king Nebuchadnezzar in the face and bodly say, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (emphasis added) Daniel 3:16-18

Whether God shows us a way around the fire or brings us thru the fire to safe ground we are to have faith. God uses the hardest time in our lives to bring us closer to Him. I have no greater desire than to become more like the One who has stolen my heart. And my Jesus uses hard times to stretch, mold, and prune me into the child of God I was called to be. "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. " 2 Corinthians 12:10

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

Through it all I can look to Him and give thanks! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9

I don't want to let the seed the Spirit planted inside me become choked by the cares of this world, and desire for other things. I want to be the one "which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."(emphasis mine)  Luke 8:15

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." 1 John 5:4

God is the one who prepares the light for the sun each day. Psalm 74:16  He can undoubtedly give us the strength we need to have victory all that He called us to do!

May your eyes be fixed on Him,
Ashlin

Oh Lord, You're Beautiful

Happy Mother's Day

A  mom takes a house and makes it a home.

A godly mother is one who aspires to be all that Christ has called her to be.

Mothers have a special way of filling homes with love, and when the home is filled with love - you'll always find God spoken of there. - Helen Steiner Rice -

"Every wise woman builds her house." Psalm 14:1

The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom. - Henry Ward Beecher

"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

No man is poor who has had a Godly Mother. - Abraham Lincoln

"Her children rise up and call her blessed." Proverbs 31:28

Thank the Lord for godly mothers who know how to pray, how to share the importance of the Holy Word.

Thank you God, for moms who always strive to be loving, gentle, and kind, helping her children grow wisdom, and grace.

Happy Mother's Day!