Invoking God on Bended Knee

I love Matt Redman's song, "10,000 Reasons," or as many call it, "Bless the Lord, O My Soul." In fact, its echoing in my thinking helped me through a tough time not too long ago.

The song is much like the words of David in Psalm 103, which begins, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!" (Psalm 103:1 NKJ)

 

Let's take a closer look at a few of these words.

 

To bless God means our speaking well of Him. When we bless the Lord, we are exalting and honoring the person of God. The Lord God is owed blessing because the weight of His glory exceeds anyone or anything.

 

Bless is the Hebrew word, barak, which means to praise, celebrate, or adore. Yet one of the ways Strong's defines the word is to kneel. And Gesenius's Lexicon Help goes further to say that blessing God is invoking God, on bended knee. Just as Psalm 22:3 tells us that God inhabits or is enthroned on the praises of His people, when we bless God, we are invoking His presence—in essence, we are opening up a pathway for His interaction with us.

 

The name of God speaks of the entirety of who He is—His character, His reputation, fame, and glory—the totality of His attributes.

 

The use of the word holy to describe the Lord refers specifically to the apartness, sacredness, separateness, and otherness of God.

 

And soul, well, that is the wholeness of me—my "self," my life, my person, my appetite, my mind, my living being, my desire, my emotion, my passion; the activity of my mind, will, and character—all that is within me.

 

Matthew Henry wrote: "we make nothing of our religious performances if we do not make heart-work of them, if that which is within us, nay, if all that is within us, be not engaged in them."

 

Commentator Barnes adds: "The soul of man was made to praise and bless God; to enjoy His friendship; to delight in His favor; to contemplate His perfections. It can never be employed in a more appropriate or more elevated act than when engaged in His praise."

 

Our praise is meant to be a daily exercise that rises not from our circumstances but from 10,000 plus reasons based on the great name of God. He is our God who is rich in love and slow to anger, our God who has a heart of kindness the depths of which we cannot comprehend, and our God whose goodness wraps around our existence.

 

This is the God to whom we pray. This is the God to whom we speak for our children.

 

"But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them… Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

Psalm 103:17-18, 22b

Bothering God

I was sitting at my desk one day working away when I heard a voice behind me. It was startling as I was the only one in the house, only human, that is. The desktop computer was behind me but it wasn't "awake." A bit more searching and I found the source. My husband's GPS was connected to the desktop's tower. I'm not sure the instruction it voiced to me was correct, though. I was already at my destination.

I am reminded of Isaiah 30. The Lord God is addressing a rebellious people, telling them that in making Him their destination, in returning and rest, they will find salvation, and that in quietness and confidence—in Him—they will find strength. He tells them His desire is to give them mercy, to be gracious to them at the sound of their cry. The prophet Isaiah wrote in verse 19b—"When He hears it, He will answer you."

 

Do we believe that?

 

Isaiah's words tell us that the Lord in His mercy and grace will answer. Our ears will hear a word behind us saying, "This is the way, walk in it." (30:21)

 

Praying moms, know that the Lord hears our cries for our own rebellious children.

 

We are able come boldly with confidence and speak directly to the One seated upon the Throne knowing there is the mercy and grace needed to help our children. When our voices address the King, we stand in the gap between Him and them. Through our prayers, the kindness of our God will work in their lives to turn their hearts and their feet to follow Him and walk in His ways.

 

Oswald Chambers wrote that there is an incalculable power of intercession, that through a Christian mother's believing prayer, the Spirit of God "holds off the world, the flesh, and the Devil and introduces the Friend of friends, the Lord Jesus Christ."

 

My prayer is we will be like the woman in Luke 18. Jesus used her example to teach His disciples that they always ought to pray and not lose heart. The Greek word used is egkakeo. Thayer's Lexicon explains it is to not be weary, to not lose courage, to not flag or faint—simply put, to not give up. Unlike the unjust judge of Jesus' story, God wants us to "bother" Him with our pleas for our children.

 

In essence, this is what Jesus is telling us—

 

Keep pleading, keep coming!

 

Don't give up. Your voice is in the ear of the One who hears. We may find ourselves in the desert with seemingly no hope, but our God hears and sees. And our God will send the rain for our "seed." Isaiah 30:23

 

"Blessed are all those who wait for Him."

Isaiah 30:18b

Joy Traveling the Main Road

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)

How is your joy? From Paul's inspired word to the Thessalonians, joy is a state of being. But, one thing I've experienced is that being joyful isn’t easy when the world keeps attempting to climb on my back.

 

If it's the world you are carrying on your back, shrug it off! You can do it! It’s not yours to carry! Yours is only to obey in the things God calls you to, only in the “property” that The King has allotted to you.

 

King Jesus tells us that His kingdom, His rule, His yoke is light. He tells us that we find rest for our souls when His yoke is on our shoulders. (Matthew 11:28-30)

 

But, what if that yoke takes you to circumstances you don't desire?

 

Guess what? The King is still the sovereign over your life. As Perry Noble wrote, the reality is that God is “FAITHFUL … and if He leads you TO IT, then He WILL lead you THROUGH IT!” (His capitalization.) And be sure, what God leads you to has significant purpose, because as Ron Hutchcraft wrote, “When God is leading His people, the detour is really the main road.” That's basically what Paul teaches in Philippians 1:6.

 

The truth is that as praying moms we are involved in a story that is much grander than what we can currently see. We are doing something huge that has an impact on the generations to come. We need to have a forward, eternal perspective that trusts God, the same one that Jesus had before going to the cross—that’s the reason that He had joy. It is why we can today worship the Lord with gladness and come before Him singing with JOY! (Psalm 100:2 NLT)

 

"But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And may You shelter them,
That those who love Your name may exult in You."

(Psalm 5:11, NASB)

Rise Up, Women!

 

"The hand that rocks the cradle steadies the Nation."

Unknown

 

"Women set the tone of our homes, and even the tone of our world."

Brady Boyd

 

“All the Hebrew prophets knew that for the temper and quality of a civilization, the women are greatly responsible. A country is largely what its women make it; if they are careless or unworthy, the country is on the road to ruin.”

J.E. McFayden, Scottish theologian and professor

 

 

If this is the true way of things, then our priorities—how we spend our time—really makes a difference for the future of our country and particularly for our families.

 

Every one of us has 24 hours each day to spend. And in our culture, we have a lot of wonderful, indulgent ways we can fritter that away. The truth is, we can find ourselves so wrapped up in these "good" things that before we realize it, we have become complacent—self-satisfied and unaware of possible dangers. Isaiah 32:9-14 tells us daughters of the King that the fruit of complacency is far reaching—trouble, anxiety, fear, grief, failed harvest, and the loss of joy and happy homes.

 

With so many choices offered to us, it takes diligence to stand firm in our calling to pray for the next generation.  Yet, our persistence in prayer and turning others to prayer is HUGE. 

 

Derek Prince in "Secrets of a Prayer Warrior" wrote that praying believers are, according to Scripture (Daniel 10), the “ones who tip the scale for victory on God’s side,” and that our prayers “are the decisive issue in the entire spiritual conflict.”  THAT is how important praying women are in the scheme of things!

 

Another author, Professor David F. Wells, wrote that the nature of petitionary prayer is "rebellion against the world and its fallenness; the absolute and undying refusal to accept as normal what is pervasively abnormal. It is in this negative aspect, the refusal of every agenda, every scheme, and every interpretation that is at odds with the norm as originally established by God.”

 

In “The Power of a Praying Woman Bible,” Stormie Omartian made this observation about the work of prayer, “Because of His greatness in us, He will accomplish great things, through us. Perhaps the greatest things we will do in life are acts that no one will ever know about—such as interceding in prayer…the impact of which we will not comprehend this side of eternity.”  Our prayers are works the Lord planned for us to do long before we were a twinkle in our mother's eye.

 

When we are given a choice as to how to spend our allotted time on this earth, we should weigh it carefully with the Holy Spirit's help.

 

So, praying moms, when the indulgences of this culture distract, we must remind ourselves of what matters most. As Valorie Burton advises us, “Don't spread yourself so thin there are no resources or energy to focus on what matters most!" 

 

 

"Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin;

Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.

Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children,

Who faint from hunger at the head of every street."

Lamentations 2:19

Elpizo--HOPE

One of the verses our Moms in Prayer group read this week to prepare us for our praise time was Romans 15:4.

"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (NKJ)

 

Or, from the Amplified Bible—"For whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope."

 

It struck me even more so how important the Word of God is to maintaining and sustaining our hope. Not just a verse here and there, now and then, but the whole Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. That includes Leviticus and even those places where we read lists of name after name.

 

Every word of the Word is vital to our living in hope.

 

We call Hebrews 11 the Faith Chapter. But, really, it is a chapter of hope. It is a Reader's Digest version of the rest of Scripture, of the lives of those who clung to the God of Hope.

 

Biblical hope denotes confident expectation and anticipation, the meaning of the Greek word, "elpis," used by Paul. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the proof of hope. Here the word is "elpizō", meaning to wait for salvation with joy and full confidence. Faith is the evidence to all watching us of the hope we hold on to. It is the outward visual affect—joy and confidence—of the reality of the hope we have.

 

As we read Scripture and follow the lives of those who've gone before us, we are encouraged to follow their example, to keep stepping forward and not give up—even if what we see with our eyes appears hope-less. We, then, become living examples to others as we travel strength to strength, glory to glory, walking out in faith the hope that indwells us. (Psalm 84:5-7; 2 Corinthians 3:18)

 

It makes me think of the Denver airport's traveling sidewalk. It's moving, you're moving, yet sometimes the people congestion in front of you makes you feel the urge to get off and run. Instead you relax, enjoy the ride, and soon your faith becomes sight.

 

That is what praying moms who live in hope do. They keep praying and don't give up. That is faith. That is the revealed evidence. That is the lived out reality in human lives of our God who is Hope.

 

Our hope shared is what turns others to the Lord because those who live in hope lean back into the river of peace that will carry them through the roughest of circumstances.

 

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

 

 

Keep believing—God is working!

Pots

A favorite class at our local high school is pottery. Numerous pots around our house prove that this class was indeed enjoyed by my son.

During last week's Moms in Prayer group meeting, we praised God the Potter using Isaiah 64:8 and Jeremiah 18:1-10.

 

As I was preparing the Prayer Sheet beforehand, I researched online and came across several interesting articles about pottery.

 

Given what I read in the articles, there is much to making a pot. And each step a potter takes is important in the process.

 

First, the potter imagines what type of pot to make, i.e. purpose, size, shape, color. Then, a method is chosen for making that pot. He might use the wheel, twist the clay by hand, or use clay "strings" to be coiled together. Then he begins with clay in hand.

 

Water is constantly added during the slow, steady process of molding, shaping, and even pruning the clay to bring about its fullest potential. All the while, the potter never takes his eyes off the pot.

 

After that, comes the drying out process and the kiln where high temperature hardens the clay. When the pot is cooled, it is painted and covered with a clear glaze. The pot, then, is reheated to seal the glaze. When it cools, the potter files the bottom a bit so it will stand without wobbling. After all this, the potter stands back and admires his work.

 

All in all, from the pot's point of view, it is a lengthy and troubling process.

 

Perhaps the reason God sent Jeremiah to the local potter was to give him a visual picture to bring to life the words he would be charged to speak to the people of Israel. Jeremiah could cling to this picture in his heart. For the most part, Jeremiah's kinsmen were out for themselves, living in violence and idolatry. No one seemed to care. AND, the Lord was speaking words of judgment.

 

Yet, the Lord wanted to remind Jeremiah of His mercy and compassion to do what it takes to make a ruined pot whole again. His Word, the Word Jeremiah kept bringing to the people of Israel, was meant to wash them while with compassion, then, God would transform those pots loose to His shaping. His great purpose was, and still is, to bring His people back to Him, just as He tells us in Jeremiah 18:11.

 

As praying moms, we sometimes need a reminder that it is the Lord's hand that is shaping our children. The shaping of a pot is a process. In God's mercy as we keep our prayers before His face, He will do the work of the Potter. He will even take a ruined pot and make it good again. We must never give up.

 

"Whenever a clay pot he was working on was ruined, he would rework it into a new clay pot the way he wanted to make it." Jeremiah 18:4 (GW)

 

As clay in the potter's hands, so are our children in the hands of our God, the Potter!

Recalculating

Have you ever been in a strange city and found yourself so lost even the car's GPS wasn't sure where you were?

That happened to me a few years ago, only I wasn't driving, just trying to help the driver find our way out of a "maze" of streets back to our hotel. There was just too much road construction and too many detours. We kept hearing the GPS's voice, "Recalculating." Poor thing. We weren't listening.

 

After much driving in circles, passing again and again now familiar sights we didn't want to see again, and with much praying for help, all of a sudden I saw a sign that said "Drumheller." I told the others, "That's my street!" Well, in another city it is. But, truth be, in that city it was a friend's street. And in fact, there on the corner right in front of us was her house! I'd never, not once, been there—didn't even know the street numbers, but, years prior, she had shown me a photo of her home. So the driver stopped the van. I got out and bravely knocked on the door. And, indeed, there was my friend's smiling face! Surprise, surprise!!

 

As I hugged her, I told her we were lost and desperately needed help. She gave us a simple map and we were soon on our way—our correct way.

 

God did that! We found our hotel AND I got to hug a friend I hadn't seen for quite a while!

 

That's what prayer does. Prayer gives the answer right where you are. No need for constant recalculating when you have the map in front of you. And, the answer often turns out better than what you could have even imagined!

 

What is lost that needs recalculating in your life? Prayer is the answer. Prayer will bring God's map into your life. Prayer does that as you bless God and "bend the knee" before Him, invoking His presence. Then, ask, child of the King. Your Father is listening.

 

 

"The Lord’s eyes scan the whole world to find those whose hearts are committed to him and to strengthen them." 2 Chronicles 16:9 (GW)

Air Dancer

I was driving home from my Moms in Prayer group recently and had to wait at a stop light just within view of a car wash where one of those "air dancer" advertising characters was rising and falling. Of course, down his "body" it said "car wash." As I waited for the light to turn green, Matt West's song, "Hello, My Name is," was playing on my radio. And, it seemed that this air dancer was lifting its arms and fingers in praise with the song!

Matt West's song moves from being named "regret" and "defeat" to "child of the One True King." What love that the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called His children! That is worthy for all of us to gather around this air dancer to lift our arms up in praise.

 

Are you feeling like your name is regret? Or, like your name is defeat? Then it is time for you to take some "Selah" time with Jesus so you can listen and believe His voice, not the lies of the enemy. Like the word "Selah" suggests, just pause and rest with Him.

 

I know. I know. That's easier said than done. We're so busy, caught up in a culture of doing. And there are so many choices. We want to do it all. Perhaps that is why we live in defeat and regret, dragged down. 

 

Like Martha, we get worried and troubled by those many things. It is time to let go of "everything" and do that one thing that is needed, like the good part that Mary chose (Luke 10:38-42).  We need some time just sitting at the feet of Jesus, just sitting and soaking Him in. He said that is something that won't be taken away from us.

 

Amazingly, when we do that one thing, we find life becomes much more focused and purposeful, more productive. That is what happens when we are refreshed, renewed and rejuvenated. We don't feel the need give into the tugs to do this and do that. Instead, we can settle into the place the Lord created just for us, that work Paul wrote about in Ephesians 2:10. And, praying mom, you know prayer is work!

 

So, put on your thinking cap, get out your calendar, and set aside a morning, an afternoon, or even a whole day for an appointment with your best Friend, Jesus. This is what He tells us—

 

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]" Matthew 11:28 AMP

 

It's a message He has been repeating over and over throughout Scripture because our ears can get blocked to His voice. Many years prior, the Lord God called to His people, saying, “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David." Isaiah 55:3

 

I don't know about you, but I want relief and refreshment and life. And I want to lean back into the Lord's unfailing love.

 

There's room at Jesus' feet for us all to snuggle up.