What if I’m praying wrong?

February 29, 2024

Maria God's will, Healing, Holy Spirit, James 5, Matthew 6, Prayer, Romans 8, The Lord's Prayer , , , Leave a comment

…we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us….. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will…..Romans 8:26-27 NLT

Wednesday night at the prayer meeting, knowing that most of the shared prayer requests involve physical healing, surgeries and care for loved ones and friends, Pastor Joe gave us some guidance.  Though God does want us to pray for bodily and mental wellness, we should also add petitions for spiritual healing in each of these cases. He cited James’ teaching on healing prayers that include requests for forgiveness of sins.

He further reminded us how God is working good in and through all painful situations for believers (Romans 8:28) and that the Holy Spirit prays for us.

I couldn’t remember where in Chapter 8 God teaches that the Spirit in us actually intercedes for us, so I looked up those passages this morning.

I felt relieved AND excited to read that the Holy Spirit continually aligns his prayers with God’s will.  And that the Father knows what the Spirit is praying for, on my behalf.

Haven’t you heard teaching that reassures us that if God knows what we need, that implies he’s going to act on it? But what if I’m not sure what I need?  What if all my prayers are just about what I want him to do? As in: just remove this XYZ suffering and make everything get back to normal!

How stunning to know that the Father actually has specific things he wants you and me to pray for. That makes me curious? What does our God want us to pray for?

Maybe Jesus’ model prayer pops into your mind. When asked, our Lord responded to his disciples, with:  Pray like this….. Father, may your name be made famous and honored by all, cause your kingdom to come more and more, and may all of your will be done…..

That’s a good place to start. Beyond that, if we don’t know all of what God wants, the Bible is replete with enough about his purposes that we can incorporate more of those into our prayers.

I want to grow in this way. For example, when I pray for one of Mike’s meetings ‘to go well’, I could add: Cause Mike to remember that you are guiding him always, so he has no need to be nervous.  ….or…… As you protect us on this trip, may we be looking for how you provide just what we need in every circumstance. Remind us to relax into your fatherly, loving and good care. For then we can praise you and share with others how you always come through!

I’m excited to expand how I pray AND I am grateful to God for providing the Holy Spirit as my safety net. Even when I pray ‘selfishly,’ unaware of all I COULD be asking for, the Spirit takes my prayers and aligns them with what the Father would like to have me pray. Thank you, three-in-one God!

How do you name or call your suffering ?

August 26, 2023

Maria Healing, Isaiah 46, Isaiah 54, suffering, Words , , , , , 2 Comments

I (God) declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’ Isaiah 46:10 Berean Study Bible

I’ve been reading a book about one’s identity, recommended by Graham, And David Perceived He was King. Dale Mast, the author, reminds his readers that whoever creates has the authority to give his ‘artwork’ a name. But in the Garden, the ultimate Creator, God, delegated that responsibility to Adam. Whichever name our primogenitor chose, so it was. Deciding what each would be called was just the first step in Adam’s given work. God’s mandate to be fruitful, rule and govern this earth illustrates our Father’s intention to transfer some of his power and authority to care for his world.

In one section of the book, Mast circles back to Adam’s first task with the animals by asking his readers: What are you going to name your future? He writes,

‘There are many things and situations that God will bring in front of us, waiting to see what we will name it – and what we name it, it shall be!’

I’m not a ‘name it and claim it’ believer.  Yet, undeniably there is power in what we declare.  Through this book, God has been rearranging how I think about one of his purposes in my life.  I’ve mentioned the pain experience God has ‘gifted’ me with in the past six months.  As a data gal, I have kept track of each day’s ups and downs and treatments.  And when people have asked me how I am, I’ve briefly described the seeming ‘ongoingness’ of the pain.

But several days ago, I stopped.  I said out loud: I’m done with this.  I’m NOT going to record each day in my journal. And when people ask me how I’m feeling, I’ll simply say, ‘I’m getting better, thanks for asking.’

Privately, but with my voice so Maria can hear, I DO give thanks to Jesus for healing me.  I sense that I am to declare this truth before I see and feel the evidence of its reality. Afterall, that is what a promise taken on faith is. The Centurion believed Jesus. The prophet’s widow obeyed Elisha. Peter trusted the Savior and stepped out on the waves as though they were solid and immobile. The list goes on.

This lesson in believing and declaring what God says is something I have to learn before the next adventure he has programmed. It’s possible that Satan has wanted to disable me, in order to discourage me. Other physical afflictions over the past 12 months have been bizarre.  But as the Lord says:  No weapon that is formed against you will succeed….. Isaiah 54:17 NASB

Yes, there has been pain, but the rich teaching from God has more than compensated. I have chosen to receive all as gift. Some of his bestowing has stung me emotionally. Once he pointed out, to my shock, the ongoing stream of negative silent judgments I habitually make about people and even about God, himself. I am learning immediately to repent.

Repentance is a good thing. Wasn’t it Martin Luther who said, ‘all of life is repentance.’?

My ‘suffering’ has been minor compared to many.  But suffering is suffering. And we are not to compare our God-ordained path with others so as to minimize ours. 

A friend at church recently shared about the 3 most difficult years of her marriage. Thanks to the providential initiative of a distant cousin with whom she hardly ever communicated; this lonely wife received boatloads of God-centered encouragement.  She felt the Lord’s presence in ways she hasn’t since, ‘almost to the point where I would go through those years again, just to know God’s presence’ she mentioned.

God still calls us to ‘name’ our experiences.  What we say out loud can change us.  So, I am choosing to declare that God HAS healed me. I’m certain that in the coming weeks and months, I will find out all the nuances of this healing.

Do you believe the minority report?

July 22, 2023

Maria Discouragement, Faith, Fear, Healing, Job 34, Mark 5, Pain, Romans 8, Satan, Trusting God, Unbelief , , , , 1 Comment

While He was still speaking, people came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher further? But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid, only believe. Mark 5:35-36 NASB

You’ve heard it said that God doesn’t waste any of our sufferings. That he works them for our good.  John Piper, pastor and theologian, has angled this principle in a challenging way, encouraging believers themselves NOT to waste the suffering appointed for them.

My daughter-in-law asked me the other day about sleep irregularities, “What do you think the Lord is showing you?”   Useful question, for it reenforced the truth that we should always be praying as did Job, ‘Teach me what I do not see!’ (34:32)

My latest adventure has been into the world of pain.  Specifically, hip and back pain. Today is day 65. (Yes, I’m keeping a record of this journey).

‘Father, this pain seems to have gotten worse in the last week.  I’m afraid I won’t get better!’ I confessed yesterday morning.  Mark gave me the first scriptural exhortation NOT to fear, but instead to trust what Jesus says and does. A little while later, the Holy Spirit asked, ‘Have you truly handed this pain and fear over to the Lord?’ I responded, ‘How can I, when IT keeps coming back each time I move?’ He shot back, ‘That’s a false report. This is only psychological warfare, employed by the enemy. Don’t believe it.’

This morning, my hip hurt even in bed. Once up, coffee at hand, I journaled to encourage myself: ‘The evidence points to ongoing ‘pain’.  But I will not fear.  I will trust you, Jesus.  No weapon formed against me will succeed, neither poor sleep, nor pain, nor any other distraction. Help me!  I bring my total self to you, Father, Lord, Spirit, Holy Three, worthy of my full attention.  I know you are working this pain for my good, as you do with all affliction and suffering.’

What next came to mind stunned me. A resolve, a conviction. I’m not going to believe the ‘Minority Report’ of:

  • My flesh
  • The world, or….
  • Satan

Instead, I am going to believe the ‘Majority Report’ of:

  1. 66 Biblical writers
  2. The Holy Spirit
  3. Jesus
  4. Father God
  5. All the angels in heaven
  6. the ‘Crowd of Witnesses’ who have gone on before me
  7. Phil and Adrienne, my 2 physical therapists.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but this day, I will look to the Lord.

Is anything too unimportant to pray about?

July 15, 2023

Maria Answers to Prayer, Healing, Luke 13, Patience, Persistence, Prayer, Self-Righteouness , , 3 Comments

…..everyone who asks receives… Matthew 7:8 NASB

“Oh, I don’t want to bother God.  I’m sure he’s got more important things to worry about than my______!”

Have you ever met someone who takes this sort of pseudo-pious posture?

When I’m feeling sarcastic inside, I’d LIKE to retort, “Oh, you believe you don’t need God for this, that you can handle this issue yourself?”

But more often than not, I experience sadness for any such dear soul who doesn’t believe that our Father in heaven CARES about every detail of her life and mine.  Has she forgotten that He created her! We tend to love what we paint or fashion or bring order to.  Do you know many artisans, composers, painters, sculptors or gardeners who aren’t partial to what they’ve labored over in love?

I regularly find delight in praying about the ‘little’ matters.  (One pastor I’ve read recently commented that from God’s perspective, ALL our requests are little.) I am comforted that Mike, too, depends on God for the many details of each day.  From tech issues, to conversations with colleagues to untangling sticky issues with a customer service rep and even a foreseen lack of time. On this earth 1.0, a fundamental law of nature is ‘As is the day, so too are its challenges’.  But, the good news is that God promises strength and wisdom and sometimes even a way out for each obstacle that challenges us, IF we stop and ask him. Nary a day goes by that we don’t both experience God’s provision and answers.

For example, yesterday a replacement single Airpod arrived from Apple.  Mike has faced various issues with these Airpod Pros he bought a couple of years ago. Since I was away doing errands when the replacement arrived, he texted me for prayer because he couldn’t seem to pair this new device with his cell.

Immediately responding, I typed out and prayed that he would trust God to provide patience and wisdom to figure it out.  Within 5 minutes, he signaled his praise for God’s timely provision!

Later when I was home again, we talked about God’s rapid help, juxtaposing his speedy affirmative answer with those many as-yet-unanswered, ongoing and long-term AND daily pleas for relief, ways forward, healing, conversions, solutions etc.

My theory about these ‘little things’ is this: Our Father wants us to depend on him for all that concerns us in order to train us to count on him for each and every one of our daily ‘ordinaries’.  He grants many, many requests in order to prove that he always responds to our cries for his help. Training us to cast all our issues, the teeny and the major, is how he creates in us an automatic and trusting response to life’s bumps and sufferings. 

For an example of something very long term, consider the woman who suffered as an outcast for more than a decade due to her constant bleeding. Nevertheless, she received from God’s hand food, work and some kindnesses during those seemingly-interminable twelve years.

We all have our long-term versions of this single woman’s desire. For one more example, how about the crippled woman Jesus heals on a sabbath?

….should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free…… Luke 13:16 NIV

So, dear friends, as you carry a heart heavy for the ‘biggies’ such as the salvation of a family member, or healing, or reconciliation with a friend, remember to keep asking the Lord for every one of your ‘little’ needs. His answers will strengthen your faith as you persistently pray, without doubting.  Rest assured, that when God deems the time is right, he will provide.

He’s ploughing my heart and it hurts!

April 21, 2022

Maria Ephesians 2, Healing, Shame , , , Leave a comment

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 NLT

 God’s been doing something different in my heart for the past 18 months. The changes started when Graham recommended a podcast. Listening to the interview with Jamie Winship shifted how I pray. My journaling turned into a conversation with Jesus.  I began opening my heart and writing down my fears, my longings, and my questions. Sometimes the Holy Spirit would right away open up new ways of thinking; other times, the insights came later through scripture or someone’s written meditation.

Honestly revealing to Jesus my dissatisfaction with myself was new. The pace of insights and painful memories accelerated after an overnight ‘retreat’ with a dear friend who is a good listener.  Then I found a Christian counselor and began to process some of my layers of toxic coping mechanisms long practiced over decades.

Then came the gift of a painful experience that caused me to confront feelings of shame. God kindly didn’t leave me alone. He directed a friend to gift me with two books that have turned out to be timely. Reading them, I’ve been able to recall past incidences when I have felt caught off guard by shame.  

Furthermore, a new friend directed my attention to the podcast channel ‘Win Today’ with Christopher Cook. These interviews with Christian authors have been a source of new ideas that promote emotional healing.

Four days ago, on Easter Sunday, some totally new insights touched a sore nerve that until then had been obscured. I was brought to tears.  I find my reaction so startling as an Enneagram 5 who normally doesn’t know what she feels until some time has elapsed. Yet crying spontaneously is fast becoming a new habit.  In the past, I have relied on thinking my way through situations.

How did I miss out on listening to my feelings for so long?   I think because early on emotions felt too dangerous and scary.

But now, God is ploughing my heart.  He’s overturning the stable earth beneath my feet and watering it with my tears.

This morning, listening to some news about some family members going through a dark patch made me wonder.

Could it be that God has some new ‘good things’ for me to do?  Is all this inner prep his way of equipping me?

I feel ready to be on the watch and to continue these programmed ‘beauty’ treatments.  I don’t think I’ll be surprised when that ‘for such a time as this’ assignment appears.