Worry Blinder

Have you noticed that horses pulling wagons or carriages often wear blinders as part of their harness? Blinders keep them looking forward away from all the distractions, from possibly being "spooked" or startled, from becoming anxious, worried and uncontrollable.

 

We moms can become fretful, anxious, and worried. And worry can easily cause us to become uncontrollable. Now that's a word with some serious synonyms: unmanageable, out of control, irrepressible, uncontainable, unruly, disorderly, wild, abandoned, and disobedient. No wonder worry is a sin. But there's more.

 

We strive to make everything perfect for our children.  We think our presence wherever they are is what will keep them safe, assuming our involvement in every detail of their day will protect them.  We spend our lives for them. 

We forget that God wants us to spend our lives for Him.  He wants us to be good mothers, but His priority for our lives is for us to be good disciples of Jesus. 

 

When our involvement in our children’s lives creeps up to replace His involvement in our own lives, the enemy has succeeded in deceiving us.  We have taken on the job of being the god of our children’s lives.  And that is sin! 

 

It is only when we release our children from our arms into God’s arms that they are truly in a perfect place.  That is why prayer for our children will always be essential—for them and for us.  Through prayer, we are constantly reminded that God is God and we are not. 

We cannot control what happens to our children, whether they are in the same room or across the world.  We cannot make everything perfect for them.  We could spend all waking moments with them—at school, at soccer practice, at baseball’s games, at club meetings, at play times, chaperoning their every activity—but in reality, we haven’t the power to keep them safe.  Only God does.  We cannot be more than one of many influences in their lives.  But God’s Holy Spirit can be their greatest influence when they are in His embrace.  We can have peace that He is fully with them as He is fully with us.

Sometimes, when we release our children into His care, we learn that His plans for our children differ from our own.  I would not have allowed my son to seriously injure his knee the fourth day of his freshman year of college. It was not "good" in my eyes.  But God allowed what was meant for harm to have some good. This injury resulted in my son having to come out of his comfort zone, literally, into a place where the staff and students around him would come out of theirs to get to know him. It was a difficult first semester, but my son did well through it all. His leg gives him pain occasionally, but it hasn't stopped him from running marathons with his bride. We can trust our God's everlasting arms.

So, praying moms, "wear" your worry blinder.

 

Be anxious for nothing,

but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known to God;

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 NKJ

Peace comes with God’s authority released in our lives as we pray according to His Word which doesn’t return null and void.

 

Shalom!

 

 

"Yadah" — Give Thanks!

I love Psalm 107, which my Bible titles, "Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance." (Thomas Nelson NKJ Study Bible)

 

Matthew Henry wrote that Psalm 107 celebrates the Lord's providential care of His people, that the "psalmist specifies some of the most common calamities of human life, and shows how God succours those that labour under them, in answer to their prayers."

 

Psalm 107 ends with—"Whoever is wise will observe these things and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord." (107:43 NKJ)

 

What things?

 

Perhaps it is what we see repeated. When reading Scripture, repetition is something to note, just like we do when we see the word "Selah" in other Psalms.

 

"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble." This is repeated in verses 6, 15, 19, and 28.

 

These words are followed by, what I believe, are the answer to "What things?"—

 

"He [the Lord] delivered them…led them…saved them…brought them…broke their chains…saved them…sent His word…healed them…delivered them…brings them out of their distresses…guides them to their desired haven…" (107:6-7, 13-14, 19-20, 28, 30 NKJ) And, the Psalmist goes on and on to list further actions of the Lord on the behalf of those who cry out to Him.

 

But, there's more.

 

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" These words are repeated in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31. 

 

The Hebrew word used to express "give thanks" is "yadah" and it means to throw, shoot, or cast. No apathy here. In fact, these repeated words sound out as a plea as if men were not giving thanks. Verse 2 adds credibility to this statement as it begins, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." As Matthew Henry wrote, this Psalm begins as a "general call to all to give thanks to God."

 

We who have experienced the lovingkindness and redemption (verse 2) of the Lord have voices that we need to use to vocally "say so."

 

What lovingkindnesses has your God shown to you? Are you saying so?

 

When those who know the goodness of the Lord say so, the result is priceless.

 

Good people see this and are glad;

bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks.

If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—

it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.

Psalm 107:42-43 (MSG)

 

So, praying moms, we must, as Paul wrote—

 

Rejoice 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)

 

 

 

 

Danger Zone

This time it was Hunter's turn to catch a mouse. I heard some odd noises in the back of the house where the bedrooms are. Something in the back of my mind was stirred and I almost took a look, but just then I heard my husband leaving in his truck to take the dogs training, so I thought he must have been the source of the strange sounds.

Not so.

 

Very, very shortly after the truck left, I saw Hunter coming into the dining room where I was working on my Precept's Bible study. He had a gray skinny tail hanging from his mouth. I could tell immediately by his attitude, not just the skinny tail, that this was a real mouse, not one of the toys he has all over the house.

 

I made many failed attempts to get the mouse from him. He'd drop it to play with it, but he'd pick it up as I reached down—and mumble growl at me! I attempted carrying both him and the mouse outside, but he'd drop it after I took a few steps—it's difficult to hold a mouse, mumble growl, and breathe. So I'd drop him to get it, but he was always quicker than me and would retrieve the tiny thing. We kept repeating this until, finally, he made a "toy mouse" mistake. He put the mouse in my shoe (yuck!), but that made it easy for me to "capture" the mouse and remove it from the house. I am so thankful we play the "hide the toy mouse in the shoe" game.

 

 

Poor little mouse.

 

Warmth and the possibility of food put it in the three, no, now four cat danger zone.

 

Interesting timing, though.

 

My Precepts lesson is on Genesis 3 this week—sin and temptation. Poor mouse gave into temptation. As James wrote, desire conceived gives birth to sin which when it is full-grown brings death. (James 1:15) Best to nip sin in the bud before it can grow. Or, even better, don't put yourself in the danger zone.

 

But, when sin is birthed, the best thing to do is quickly confess it and be cleansed. Toss it out of your house!

 

The Moms in Prayer International Booklet has some excellent advice as to how to confess our sin when we are convicted by the Holy Spirit, something we make a part of our weekly prayer meetings.

 

1. Name the sin specifically, agreeing with God that it is sin.
2. Repent concerning the sin. This will result in changed attitudes and actions.
3. Thank God that He has forgiven your sin because of what Christ did on the cross.
4. Ask to be filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Surrender your will and make a total commitment to God.
5. By faith, thank Him that He has filled you on the basis of His promise. Do not depend on your feelings. The promise of God's Word, not our feelings, is our authority.

As 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

 

The cleansing of confession is vital for intercessors—those who pray on behalf of others. God's Word tells us that our sins make a separation between us and the Lord, that our sins have hidden His face from us, so that He will not hear our prayers. (Isaiah 59:2)

 

So, if we find ourselves in the danger zone, we can be rescued out of it through confession and repentance—turning around and fleeing as fast as we can.

 

For creature lovers (like me), it does appear the little mouse was rescued in time—this time. It fled immediately upon coming to itself after I put it outside. Hopefully, it won't again enter the danger zone.

 

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD."

And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 32:5 NIV

Leaves for Healing

What fun my sisters and I used to have as children with leaves. We didn't see them as a chore but as a delight!

We made piles of crisp leaves to jump into with no worries about dirt or bugs. We were kids!

 

We raked them into orderly lines to create "walls" for houses. We shaped them into furniture. We brought out our dolls and their blankets and played for hours.

 

But, there came a time when the leaves were just no more fun. They'd deteriorated too much. That meant it was time for them to be raked and burned. Oh, the smell of burning leaves. Autumn was in the air.

 

Sadly, that's not so much the case anymore. My husband used a leaf blower to propel our leaves into piles at the edge of the street for city pick up. Hopefully, that will happen before the wind blows them all back into our yard—or the neighbor's.

The wind has already began redistributing them!

 

The first mention of leaves in the Word of God is in the Garden. When sin exposed their nakedness, Adam and Eve picked leaves off fig trees and sewed them together to create coverings.

 

Their effort to hide, though, was unsuccessful. It didn't "work." Not only did sin's consequences include exclusion from eating of the tree of life, Adam and Eve were sent from their Garden home wearing death—the skin of dead animals on the outside, the beginning of physical death on the inside and the death of spiritual oneness with their Creator.

 

Our first parents were taken away like the leaves, and so it is for all of us, their descendants. "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." (Isaiah 64:6 ESV)

 

Yet, the prophet Jeremiah wrote, ““Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV) Praise the Creator for His plan from the beginning for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Genesis 3:15)

 

The last mention of leaves in the Scripture fills those who serve the Lord with hope by telling us that we will have access to the leaves of the tree of life which will be used to bring healing for the nations. (Revelation 22:2)

 

The difference between hiding and healing is, as Jeremiah wrote, found in trusting the Lord. It is in listening to and heeding His voice, which clearly sounds through the "leaves" of His Word, the Bible.

 

Praying mom, when you bring your child to the Lord in prayer, be sure you are also bringing with you the Word of God, "leaves" that are for healing not hiding. The result will be anxiety healed and fruit borne of the Lord's powerful Word acting on behalf of your child.

 

God's Gravity

So much of our physical lives depend on the Earth's gravity. Think about it.

Gravity keeps our feet planted on the ground so we don't float away.

Gravity brings the rain down and makes waterfalls beautiful.
Gravity keeps our coffee in our cups.

Those are just a few things. I'm sure you can think of many, many more.

 

Gravity also is important in another dimension of our lives. Our spiritual lives depend on God's gravity.

 

In a recent article reviewing the movie "Gravity," just out in theaters, Eric Metaxas of Breakpoint wrote: "it’s hard to imagine a better metaphor for salvation than God’s gravity snatching us from the void of eternal aloneness."

 

That reminded me that not too long ago I heard Mike Glenn, pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church, say that because of God's glory, His weight, He is the only one strong enough to wrap His gravity around you to keep you in place.

 

The church I attended as a teenager had Sunday evening services. It was a bit less structured than Sunday morning. Our pastor taught us from God's Word—Bible study versus a sermon. And, we had time to sing more hymns. I loved the fact that we in the pews even got to choose some of them.

 

One of my favorite requests was "I Know Whom I Have Believèd." If you are unfamiliar with this hymn, here is a link to Cyber Hymnal's version: http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/k/ikwihb.htm.

 

The refrain echoes Paul's words in 2 Timothy 1:12.

 

But I know Whom I have believèd,

And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto Him against that day.

 

What was the point of Paul's words to Timothy?

 

Paul knew the hardships that Timothy was going through. Just the fact that Timothy was a follower of Jesus Christ with a "holy calling" was enough to bring suffering and tears as well as fear. But, on top of that, being a church leader has its own peculiar stresses.

 

So, Paul reminded Timothy that the One they both believed in and trusted "is able." Things may shake and drift around him, but Timothy could have unshakeable confidence and not join the drifting.

 

That is, if he remained persuaded that his Lord "is able," if he believed the One who is "the King eternal, immortal, invisible," the One who "alone is wise." (1 Timothy 1:17) Only the gravity of God, the glory and weight of the Lord God Almighty wrapped around him could keep Timothy from drifting.

 

Praying moms, when we begin our prayers by declaring through praise the character of the One in Whom we have believed, we will experience His gravity wrapped around us. Then, we can intercede for our children and others with unshakeable confidence, enabled to commit to Him the outcome of our prayers. We can be held in place without drifting by means of God's gravity.

 

 

 

Patient Stillness

Talk about patience! The other night, I saw our older cat, Sadie, sitting and staring at one of the baseboard water heater covers. When I see her doing that, I know she is aware of something hiding behind the cover, probably a spider, so I tell her if it comes out to be sure to get. She's a great spider hunter. I think cats must be able to hear them somehow. If I see Hunter doing this, though, I watch him. He likes to play with the spiders and carries them around the house!

Well, all of a sudden I heard a "thunk" and saw Sadie running through the dining room heading down the hall with not a spider but a tiny mouse! The alarm was given and we were all trying to catch Sadie—and the mouse. She dropped it, caught it, and dropped it again. It got away and ran to another heater cover. Hunter took over, though, and caught it. Then, the chase began again. This time, Hunter ran down the hall to the office with my husband close behind. Once in the room, Hunter dropped the mouse. Can't play with it if it's in your mouth, you know. That gave my husband the opportunity to scoop it up and put it outside where it belonged.

 

Whew! And, sigh. Again, Sadie is back staring at the heater cover. My husband says it is just a sign of autumn. I think it is a sign of living in an older home with a crawl space under it.

But, think of the patience of a cat. Haven't you seen them in fields, too, just sitting and waiting? Such patient stillness.

 

What about us, praying moms? Do we have patient stillness?

 

Sadie knew the heater held the promise of a mouse. Similarly, we know the promises of God's Word.

 

As we pray for our children, are we willing to wait for the Lord's perfect answer and perfect timing?

 

Or, do we follow the example of Abraham and Sarah and try to "help" God? God is our Helper, not us His.

 

When it seems like nothing is happening, take a Selah moment to let the final words of Psalm 46 sink into your heart and mind—

 

Let be and be still,

and know (recognize and understand) that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations!

I will be exalted in the earth!

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our High Tower and Stronghold).

Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Psalm 46:10-11 (AMP)

 

Nothing more exalts God than to show Himself as God. He is not just the God who speaks; He is the God who acts. His promises are as good today as they were yesterday because He is unchanging. He has promised to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9a).

 

Isaiah wrote these words for us to remember—

 

For from of old no one has heard nor perceived by the ear,

nor has the eye seen a God besides You,

Who works and shows Himself active

on behalf of him who [earnestly] waits for Him.

Isaiah 64:4 (AMP)

 

So, praying mom, as you lay your child at His feet in prayer, may you trust the Lord of hosts with an attitude of patient stillness.

 

 

 

 

Ants

Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise

Proverbs 6:6 (NKJV)

I have this childhood memory of waking up one morning to the sound of banging over my head. My bedroom was in the basement just under the kitchen. When I went up the stairs to investigate, I found my mom bending down in front of our refrigerator using a flip-flop to attack ants who had found the "mother lode," as my husband would say.

 

In more recent times, the ants have been invading our home, first the bathroom and then my daughter's room. The former only satisfied their thirst, but the latter gave them delightful discoveries, much to my daughter's dismay. A little cleaning was had, though, that soon brought that to an end.

 

Well, now they've found the kitchen. First, it was the counter by the sink. These ants are teeny-tiny, almost the size of "no-see-ums" or biting midges, but that could be because of my aging eyesight. My husband bought and strategically placed some deterrent, which worked well—for several days.

 

Then, just the other morning, they returned. And, this time, they found not the refrigerator but another "mother lode"—a not tightly closed dishwasher full of dirty dishes. My husband quickly counter attacked. Clean dishes soon filled the dishwasher.

As I reflected on our ant invasion, it made me admire these persistent little critters. If one way is unsuccessful, they try another. They just don't seem to give up. They know success doesn't come easy.

 

Jesus told a story found in Luke 11:5-8 to His disciples in response to their asking Him, "Lord, teach us to pray." My Bible titles it, "Parable of the Persistent Friend." (Thomas Nelson NKJ Study Bible) After telling the story, Jesus concludes that because of his persistence, the friend will end up receiving what is needed. To add emphasis, Luke 11:9-10 records Jesus' summary of His parable. I particularly like the Amplified Bible's version.

 

So I say to you, ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you;

seek and keep on seeking and you shall find;

knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you.

For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives;

and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds;

and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.

 

The translators note that "The idea of continuing or repeated action is often carried by the present imperative and present participles in Greek." You can see this in the Strong's definitions of the three words.

 

Ask: aiteō, meaning to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require.

Seek: zēteō, meaning to seek in order to find (strive after); to seek i.e. require, demand.

Knock: krouō, to knock as at the door. Gesenius' notes it is "to knock with a heavy blow…with the  knuckles" [a knock not easily ignored, I would think].

 

The key to opening the door is the continuing and repeated action in prayer. It is not giving up asking until you receive, not giving up seeking until you find, and not giving up knocking until the door is opened.

 

Because of the man's persistence, his friend rose from his bed and gave him as many loaves as he needed. (Luke 11:8)

 

Praying moms, how persistent are we to get what we need? To get what our children need?

 

May we be like the ants, persistent to the end.

 

PS In fact, these ants are so persistent they invaded my dreams. I dreamt they'd found the island on the other side of the kitchen which we sometimes use for baking. I was scooping up ants out of my flour!

 

The Natural Heart and the Spirit of God

Oswald Chambers wrote, "The natural heart needs the gospel of Jesus, but it does not want it; it will fight against it, and it takes the convicting Spirit of God to make men and women know they need to experience a radical work of grace in their hearts."

Jesus Himself said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." (John 6:44a ESV)

 

That is why evangelism via prayer is essential. We can talk the talk and walk the walk. We can be salt and light, but only God has the power to convict a heart.

 

Prayer is the work that is the foundation of evangelism.

 

Prayer is what invites the Spirit to work in this land of the living ruled by the prince of the air, "to convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." (John 16:8 NJK)

 

Prayer is what opens eyes to turn faces from the darkness to the Light.

 

For all who call themselves His people, prayer is where the real battle is to spread the gospel of Jesus. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that we are not battling flesh and blood but what is invisible to human eyes—principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual hosts of wickedness. That's an enemy you can't battle with physical weapons, only the spoken word of prayer.  

 

This world has hordes of people whose hearts are in the natural state of enmity with God. Jesus looked at them with compassion. But—

 

What did Jesus tell His disciples to do?

 

PRAY!

 

Matthew records His words, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send into His harvest." (Matthew 9:35-38) Jesus saw the weary and scattered multitudes. He knew their hearts and their need.

 

It is the responsibility of every disciple of Jesus—you and me—to pray and unleash the power of God among the people of this fallen world to do "a radical work of grace in their hearts."

 

This is what we do, praying moms, when we pray not only for our children but for those who influence their lives—their teachers, their coaches, their student leaders, their friends. May we be unrelenting in the labor of evangelistic prayer.

 

 

"The most important human factor in effective evangelism is PRAYER.

Every great awakening in the history of the Church from the time of the Apostles until today

has been the result of PRAYER."

R.A. Torrey

 

 

"Lord, Have Mercy!"

Those words were the pleas of three people in the New Testament, all recorded by Matthew—a father and two blind men. Although, we don't know how many times Jesus actually heard these three words, for some reason these are the only three who went on record for crying them out loud.

 

The father said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water." (Matthew 17:15—ESV, NKJ, NLT, NIV, NASB, KJV)

 

And, here is Matthew's account of the two blind men's pleas: "And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” (Matthew 20:30—ESV, HCSB, NASB) Matthew goes on to record their persistence: "The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” (Matthew 20:31—ESV, HSCB)

 

Robert Gelinas wrote, "Talking to God doesn't require a degree in theology. All you need is three little words."

 

The Psalmists also used these three little words which were then voiced by the people of Israel as they sang the Psalms as prayerful hymns.

 

"Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt." (Psalm 123:3—ESV, NKJ, NIV, AMP, KJV, NLT)

"Lord, have mercy on me. See how my enemies torment me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death." (Psalm 9:13—NLT)

"Lord, have mercy on me. Make me well again, so I can pay them back!" (Psalm 41:10—NLT)

"Hear, O Lord, have mercy and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!" (Psalm 30:10—AMP)

 

God is rich in mercy and has great love for us. This is a revealed truth shown through the work of the cross for us as sinners dead to Him, a work that reached backwards in time as well as forward, to offer mercy to the undeserving, to the blind and the unhearing.  (Ephesians 2:4-5; Romans 5:6-12)

 

These three little words, "Lord, have mercy!" speak volumes. They recognize God's authority, power, and sovereignty. They recognize His compassion on His creation. They recognize His ear to hear and His willingness to answer.

 

May we echo the father's words for his son before the Lord for our own children.

"Lord, have mercy!"