shadow

prayer

Jesus Called

Posted on: by: Comments: Leave a comment

“As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. So they went on to another village. As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God (NLT).”
Luke 9:51-62 

Jesus calledAs His disciples, we are all called to “go and preach the kingdom of God,” but often we seek to do so on our own terms. We may verbalize our willingness, but the motives in our hearts are not pure. We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ – no terms or conditions attached.

Today, pray that God will search our hearts and align them with His own. As we seek to be disciples on mission for Christ, ask God to strip our hearts of selfish desires and develop within us a willing attitude to serve those God sends along our path. Finally, pray that we will adopt an attitude of flexibility, allowing the Holy Spirit to have complete control.

 

Prayerfully,

Madison

Pray On It!

Posted on: by: Comments: Leave a comment

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”

Colossians 4:2, NLT

Lady_PrayingOne day I listened to a young lady who was clearly exasperated. She said, “I’ve tried everything I know to do and nothing’s working out!” How many times had I spoken those very words and felt like there was absolutely no place else to turn?

When she finished recounting her situation, she asked me, “What do you think I should do now?” After quickly asking God to give me the words to speak to her, I found myself asking the young lady, “Well, have you prayed on it yet?” She said she hadn’t. In fact, she told me that prayer hadn’t even entered her mind concerning her predicament. The self-righteous me wanted to scream, “What? But you’re a Christian now! Don’t you know that you should ‘take everything to God in prayer’?” But, the I-feel-your-pain me thought back to when I felt that same horrible, helpless, exasperation. I certainly didn’t think of prayer as my first option either! I tried to handle things myself and subsequently struggled awhile with the same type of feelings and challenges. My change came after meeting with a mature Christian lady. She listened to me and then she’d ask the same question each time I asked her for advice. “Baby, have you prayed on it yet?” Then she’d offer to pray for me. Each time, she thanked the Lord for me and asked Him to help me tell Him something I was thankful for that day. Then, she’d thank God for giving me strength to make it through my situation. I wondered why she did that because in my mind He hadn’t helped me through my problems yet! I wasn’t thankful for what he had done. But, after some time, with her guidance, I’d gotten into the habit of praying every day and thanking the Lord for many things each day. That lady encouraged me, and showed me how to make prayer a priority in my daily life; and, to do so thankfully, through challenge-filled or challenge-free days.

So, I asked the young lady if I could pray for her…

When we pray we reaffirm our need for God and jog our memories to pay thankful attention to him. And, we become more and more mindful of his Spirit working in our lives to enable us to persevere through whatever challenges we find ourselves confronted with. Then, we can effectively encourage one another to get into the habit of praying regularly.

Have you prayed on it today?

By grace through faith,

Rita

A God Who Listens

Posted on: by: Comments: Leave a comment

For many years now, I’ve kept some form of an online blog as a place to let my journals overflow into the hands of my friends and family (and the occasional stranger). It’s been a strange experience to see the places those once-private thoughts have landed, but I believe that the Lord gives each of us stories of grace, redemption, hope, and imperfection that are longing to be told to display His glory. Since being back in Thailand over the past few months, I’ve found that my blog has stayed silent while I’ve hashed out my thoughts through my social media accounts. Despite many of my posts turning into mini-blogs, I’ve felt the stories crying out to be told fully, and so this week I’d like to invite you into the uncut versions of my social media feed, in hopes that the words of the Lord find you and lift up your weary or discouraged hearts.

 

A God Who Listens

I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he bends his ear to listen, I will call on Him as long as I live.

Psalm 116:1-2 (ESV)

TuesdayIn my journeys over the past couple of years, I spent a month in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It’s a city where you can’t stick your arm out without hitting one of three things: a backpacker, a motorbike, or a Buddhist.
I remember sitting in a coffee shop with a sweet new Buddhist friend learning about her life and about her current curiosity about Christianity. One of her Christian friends had begun praying over some personal problems she was having, and my new friend was seeing things change for the better. She was so confused how her Christian friend’s prayers were being answered while her prayers and offerings to Buddha were being ignored, and the words she said next rattled me to my core and rooted themselves in my heart forever. “Your God listens.” I still get goosebumps when I think back to that conversation in that coffee shop in that Communist country.

In Thailand, where I’m currently living, there is a saying: “To be Thai is to be Buddhist.” Despite being a country that speaks of religious freedom, the Thai identity is tightly secured to Buddhism. From the moment you are born, you are legally marked as a Buddhist. To convert is almost to betray your country and disrespect the king. All schools, even the Catholic schools, are required to teach Buddhism rather extensively.

Learning all of this has made me more and more curious about the testimonies of the people I work with, who are all Thai Christians. One day, I asked one of our teachers how she became a Christian and what it was that made her see Jesus as Truth over Buddha. She launched into her story of the way her sister’s conversion helped to peak her interest, and what she said next sent me back to that Communist coffee shop. “I realized that for all the offerings I gave to my idols, nothing happened. My sister told me that the God she believed in listened to His people and He even spoke to her. And I knew that a God who listens is what I wanted.”

Our God listens. It seems like such a simple truth, but it is one that I’m learning the true weight and beauty of more and more. Those three words hold such power: Our God listens. He hears your prayers, He hears your joys and your sorrows, and He’s listening.

Chelsey