Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches!
Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord!
Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.

Lamentations 2:19 ESV


Monday, May 20, 2013

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

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