Mothers Who Pray

I remember hearing this poem when we studied A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George for our women's small group. I typically don't like poetry but this one really impacted me, so I thought I'd share. Enjoy.

Some have had kings in their lineage,
Some to whom honor was paid.
Not blest of my ancestors - but,
I have a mother who prayed.

I have a mother who prays for me
And pleads with the Lord everyday for me
Oh what a difference it makes for me -
I have a mother who prays.

Some have worldly success
And trust in riches they’ve made -
This is my surest asset,
I have a mother who prays.

My mother’s prayer cannot save me,
Only mine can avail;
But mother introduced me to someone -
Someone who never could fail.

Oh yes... I have a mother who prays for me
And pleads with the Lord everyday for me.
Oh what a difference it makes for me -
I have a mother who prays.

(Unknown)

Are you a mother that prays?

Growth Group Week 6 - The Obedient Response

This past Friday was the last week of our study of Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer. We've enjoyed and learned so much from this study. It has been an incredible blessing for all the women in the group, myself included.

I was a little worried about this last study, because it was just one chapter, The Obedient Response. It spoke of responding right away, as Abraham did, not waiting or questioning God just because His request isn't something we'd normally do. It's about trusting in Him, because He can see how things will turn out, while we can't. It was such a short chapter, though, and I wondered how 90 minutes would be filled up. Well, once again God was in control. As we spoke about obedience, the topic turned to obedience in relationships. What does God want from wives? What is He saying to the Christian women about relationships with spouses, or spouses to be? There were many questions, but only one place to find the answers: God's Word. We went to Scripture and looked at what God had to say, and He spoke to every single one of us. Rather than worry about how to fill up the time, I was concerned how we could get so much done in so little time!

Once again, it turned into an amazing evening with God's voice clearly heard, through His Word, through other Christians, and through His Holy Spirit which we felt present the entire time. I don't think I can begin to say how sorry we were to have to leave! When God is present, you just want to cuddle up to Him and stay there. We all hugged and, while missing our Fridays together already, spoke of the next small group coming up in September. God has so much planned; what a blessing to be a part of it.

Growth Group Week 5 - Discovering God's Plan

This week's study was important, because now we understand that God wants to talk to us, that He wants to hear from us, but what is it He wants to say, and when is He going to say it? When we are unsure or impatient, we start to believe God isn't going to speak to us. These were two important lessons that needed to be learned.

Chapter 11 - An Invitational Voice. God doesn't force His will on us. He invites us to partner with Him to achieve His will in our lives. That shows how much He loves us. He wants us to do His will because we want to serve Him, not because we're functioning as robots. To accept this invitation means we have to let go of our own plans for our lives and submit to His. Letting go is often the difficult part. We want to be in control, women especially. We are so accustomed to being in charge of our homes, in charge of our children, in charge of our jobs (those that work outside the home), so when God says, "Let Me handle it," we SAY yes but we refuse to give in. We give Him a little bit and keep some for ourselves. Until we commit to giving God full control of our lives, we won't see the full benefits. Not sure what God's plan for your life is? Get connected at your local church. That's where God starts to show us our gifts and how He wants us to use them (Hebrews 10:25).

Chapter 12 - A Timely Voice. I think this was the most important chapter. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God isn't slow about keeping His promises, but we are sooo impatient! When we pray, we want answers NOW! What we don't realize, is that God knows the future and we don't. He knows why He holds back on answering certain prayers; if He answered right away the results would be disasterous. We have to trust God even when we don't hear from Him right away. He isn't ignoring us; He's right there with us each step of the way. He will speak at the right time.

One thing God reminded me of with this chapter was a song by BarlowGirl (one of my absolute favorite Christian bands) called I Believe in Love. The song was inspired by writing found inside a men's concentration camp. At the worst time of their lives, these words were found carved into a wall:

I believe in the sun
even when it's not shining.
I believe in love
even when I don't feel it.
And I believe in God
even when He is silent.

Can you imagine how silent God seemed to those in the concentration camps? Can you picture the kind of faith that is needed to speak these words? They were so powerful, and I was glad God had me share them with our group. The impact was noticable.

Chapter 13 - A Fatherly Voice. Our Heavenly Father knows each one of us by name, knows more about us that we know about ourselves, and as a loving Father talks to each of us according to our individual needs. Isn't that what parenting is all about? Those of us that have more than one child know we don't treat each one exactly the same, even though we love each one. We deal with each one according to their personalities, their likes and dislikes, their gifts and weaknesses. God does the same. We learned how wrong it is to judge our Christian brothers and sisters simply because they choose to do things differently. God gives each of us instructions; if we criticize what God has led someone else to do, who are we really speaking against? We need to focus on what God is saying to us, not to everyone else.

Chapter 14 - A Challenging Voice. God loves taking us out of our comfort zone. He wants to challenge us to step out in faith. Mind you, He doesn't leave us to our own defenses; He equips us with whatever we need so His will can be carried out. But it usually is something we would NEVER consider doing on our own. Leading a small group is something this introvert was not about to attempt, yet God kept showing me that it was exactly what He wanted me to do. Because I obeyed, the blessings have been gynormous! Of course, God would still bless me if I wasn't leading a group and just attended one. But I think of what I would be missing, and I'm thankful God called me to do that which seemed so scary to me yet has been so amazing.

This Friday will be our last chapter, and I admit it's bittersweet. I've gotten to know some wonderful ladies, the study has been enlightening, and the Holy Spirit has been present and has spoken to each of us, working in our lives and through our lives. I feel so blessed, and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for our group of God-fearing women. Thank You Jesus for Your words of wisdom and love!

Growth Group Week 4 - Revealing God's Character

As we continue in our small group study of Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer, I am amazed at how God is working in each of our lives and bringing us to a closer understanding of who He is. That was what this past Friday was about - understanding God's character as revealed in Scripture.

Chapter 7, A Revealing Heart, began with a powerful verse. Jeremiah 24:7 - "I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord." God wants us to experience Him in our lives; not just know about Him, but know Him. The Bible uses many different names for God, so that we can better understand His character. For instance, He is known as Jehovah-Jireh - God our Provider. He is Jehovah-Rohi - God our Shepherd; El-Shaddai - All Sufficient (Omniscient) God; Jehovah-Shalom - God of Peace; Jehovah-Elohim - All Powerful (Almighty) God; and many more. As He reveals Himself in all these different names, we experience these different facets of His character, which bring us closer to Him. What really spoke to me about this chapter was the words found in Psalm 119:10 - "Do not let me wander from Your commandments." David showed us here that it is our responsibility to get to know God, but it is God's responsibility to cause us to hear and recognize His voice. Proverbs 3:6 - "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Chapter 8, A Peaceful Voice. This isn't describing God's voice as meek and mellow. It is describing the feeling of peace we experience when we listen to and obey God's voice. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in a way that leads us to make God-honoring decisions, and these assure us of peace. Isaiah 48:18 - "Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling like waves." Most important note in this chapter: "The Holy Spirit will not lead us to do anything that in any way hinders peace and unity in the body of Christ." (Page 105).

Chapter 9, A Truthful Voice. God's voice will always guide us in the direction of truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and will NEVER lead us in a way contrary to God's written Word. The enemy would have us believe that Scripture is NOT absolutely true (just as he deceived Eve). He will use human traditions to substitute God's truths. That's why it's so important to read and reread Scripture throughout our lives, so that we aren't deceived into believing something is Scriptural when in fact it's only tradition. The enemy also uses strongholds, rebellious thoughts contrary to God's Word, to make us believe we aren't loved by God, or accepted by Him. The enemy uses these strongholds so that we can't experience God's triumph in our lives. We need to remember the words of Psalm 33:4 - "The word of the Lord holds true, and everything He does is worthy of our trust."

Chapter 10, A Powerful Voice. God's voice isn't wimpy. It is strong and powerful, because He is Almighty and All Powerful. We don't need to fear, because there is no one more powerful than our God. When we see how God changes our lives and the lives of others, we understand His power and authority and feel confident and secure in what He will do in our lives. Ephesians 1:19-20 - "I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of His power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms."

Understanding God's character helps us to know what pleases Him and what He despises. It then changes our character to match His own. We become more Christ-like as we know Him and strive to imitate Him.

The best part of our study group wasn't Friday; it was Sunday, when one of the dear ladies in our group was baptized at church. We laughed, cried, and praised Jehovah-Elohim, Almighty God, for His goodness, His kindness, His mercy and grace. What an awesome weekend! It is such joy to know that as we are reaching up to Him, He is reaching out to us as well.

Growth Group Week 3 - Communicating With God Today

After learning last week that God wants to speak to us and we should expect to hear from Him, this week we learned how God communicates with us today.

Chapter 3, titled A Marvelous Voice, showed us the different ways God has spoken with His people throughout the Scriptures. First, in the Old Testament, He spoke through His prophets, and confirmed His Word via a visible sign. Think Moses and the plagues, and Elijah when he challenged the priests of Baal (1Kings 18). When the Israelites wanted a word from God, they had to find the prophet, who would then speak God's Word to the nation more so than the individual. Next, Jesus came to earth. Now the world was hearing from God, manifested as man, and His word was confirmed by miracles. Jesus would forgive sins, which would bring incredulity and questioning of His authority. Then He would perform the miracle, and the people would be amazed, having to accept that He truly was the Son of God. What about today? We have an amazing gift, because today God speaks to each of us individually via the Holy Spirit, and His Word is available to us in written form. We can hear His voice no matter where we are, no matter the time of day or the present circumstance.

Chapter 4 is A Guiding Voice. The Holy Spirit is a guide Who can see what we can't. Know that saying, "Hindsight is 20/20"? Well, the Holy Spirit is our hindsight. He can see future events that we can't even understand in our current state. Of course, the Holy Spirit only enters into our lives by invitation; He's waiting for us to invite Him in. Once we do, He takes residence in our hearts and begins to transform us. This transformation is moved along as we apply certain disciplines in our lives: daily prayer, reading of His Word, and meditation on it. We learned how the Holy Spirit then accomplishes His work. We humans are composed of three parts, because we are made in the image of Almighty God. The material part is the body, the physical component. Our soul consists of the mind, will and emotions. The spirit is the essence of each of us, that part which connects us with the Holy Spirit. When we become believers, it's our spirit which receives the Holy Spirit, who then proceeds to renew us, body and soul. It's a process, but it's very orderly. The last important point in this chapter was that our conscience is NOT the voice of the Holy Spirit. Our conscience is the voice that guides and directs us, but it can be faulty. It can be evil (Hebrews 10:22), defiled (Titus 1:15), weak (1 Corinthians 8:7), or dead (1Timothy 4:2). We must allow the Holy Spirit to train our conscience so that it can work in conjunction with Him to guide us in our lives.

Chapter 5, a Verifiable Voice, emphasized the importance of staying in the Word. Nothing the Holy Spirit tells us will contradict the Scriptures, so if at any time we hear a word and are unsure if it is really God talking, we can verify it with Bible. This is why it's important to read the Word daily. Once a week at church is NOT ENOUGH!!! There are 168 hours in a week; spending one hour in the Word will not bring us closer to an understanding of God's voice. We need to discipline ourselves to stay in the Word, reading it, meditating on it, memorizing it, so that when issues come up in our lives we can be reminded of God's will. Especially in our day and age, when we're saturated from all sides with messages that contradicts God's truths, we must immerse ourselves in His Word. The more we do, the more closely our thoughts, emotions and decisions will align themselves with the Holy Spirit's message to us.

Lastly, chapter 6 was a study of the Persistant Voice. God knows us better than we know ourselves. Many times God finds Himself repeating things to us over and over before we realize He's speaking to us. How many times haven't we heard God's voice, only to look back and recognize that He's been talking to us through our Bible reading, messages at church, friends, radio programs, etc. We just weren't tuned in. But God, in His unending love for us, doesn't give us a message and walk away. He persists in speaking to us until we react. As a matter of fact, nothing in our lives happens by chance. One of the paragraphs in the book really spoke to me: "Never think that the circumstances of your life have nothing to do with God's will! They have everything to do with it. When you're seeking God's guidance, you should always reflect on the events the Lord is allowing to occur in your life." (Discerning the Voice of God, page 80). There was also a great quote by Steve Farrar: "When I hear the same thing from two or three different people in a very short period of time, I know the Lord is speaking to me. It's as clear as a Fed-Ex letter."

After we were done, the best part came. Testimonies! When I hear confirmation from these lovely women of how God has spoken to them during the week, when the study points specifically to an experience someone has had just recently, it lifts my spirit in adoration of a God who loves us and wants to dialogue with us. Not monologue, Dialogue!! He wants to speak to us AND hear from us. And He won't give up, either. I'm so thankful to the Lord for allowing me to be a part of this group. As I told the ladies last night, I may be leading the group, but I'm probably getting more out of it than they are! We are extremely blessed.

Growth Group Week 2 - Expect to Hear

I'm still in awe after our Friday night women's growth group meeting last night. As I mentioned before, we're reading the book Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer (daughter of Tony Evans). Yesterday we talked about Part 1, Hearing God's Voice. In the first chapter, Expect to Hear, we reviewed the book of Habakkuk and the kind of relationship he had with God. Habakkuk wasn't afraid to ask God why. "Why haven't You heard my cry? When are You going to do something about our circumstances?" (see Habakkuk 1:2-3). Habakkuk knew God enough to know that the situation in Israel didn't please Him, yet as far as Habakkuk could tell, God wasn't doing anything about it, so he asked How long and Why? We do the same thing when we reach that point of desperation; we want an answer from God and we want it NOW.

God's answer to Habakkuk is interesting. Verse 5 starts by stating, "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days." In essence God was saying, "I am doing something, you just haven't noticed it." Many times in our despair we don't see God's hand in our lives and we suspect He isn't listening to our pleas, but He's always there, behind the scenes, working miraculously in our lives.

The verse continues, "you would not believe if you were told." God knew Habakkuk would find His answer hard to believe. What about us? If we call out to God and are looking for a specific answer, the one WE think best, we may not hear Him when the answer is different, what He KNOWS to be best. Let's face it, many times we have selective hearing; we only hear what we want to hear or what we think God should be saying. But just as the answer to Habakkuk's question was shocking enough to have him question God again (verse 6), he also knew God would answer him, and he "stationed himself in the ramparts awaiting what God would say" (see Habakkuk 2:1).

Habakkuk expected God to answer him, and he waited faithfully. We discussed reasons why we might not expect God to speak to us. Busyness was one of the first obstacles. We get so engrossed in our daily lives we don't give God the opportunity to speak, or we're just too occupied to listen when He does. Impatience was another reason. We pray, pray, pray some more, God doesn't answer in the time frame we expect, and therefore we simply assume He won't speak to us. The other block we put up is fear and unworthiness. "Why would God want to speak to me? It's not like I'm in some big ministry. I'm not a pastor. I'm nobody important." This is a common belief, that God only speaks to preachers, or missionaries, people whose lives are dedicated to ministry. But as the Bible shows us, when God spoke to Moses he was a shepherd running from the law, who didn't consider himself worthy to do the work the Lord was calling him to do because he wasn't a public speaker. And what about Samuel? When God first spoke to him, he was a just a boy of 8. Anyone may think a murderer on the run or a small boy unworthy of hearing from God, yet God used both these men in a powerful way because they were willing to listen and obey. Are we?

There are 3 activities we can engage in to create an atmosphere for listening to God's voice: prayer, meditation on His Word, and worship. The ladies gave some incredible testimonies on how God's presence was felt in each life during this past week, but none was more amazing than what we experienced last night. As one of the ladies gave a prayer request, another lady spoke a word from God confirming a decision the first lady was asking guidance for! There were tears of joy as we realized that, just as we had been reading and studying a few minutes before, if we expect to hear from God, He will speak to us. As another of the dear ladies said, we were blessed to be there and witness the hand of God and the assurance that He wants to speak to each one of His children, in His own intimate way. I left the bible study last night feeling like I was walking in the clouds. It was such an amazing experience. I feel in my heart that God is going to continue to bless this group in a powerful way. What's more, I'm expecting it!

Growth Groups - Week 1

Last night was our first growth group meeting for the summer. Our church calls small groups "growth groups" because we are there to grow in our faith. Looking at the names of the women who signed up for my group I realized the only name I was familiar with was the hostess'. I will admit a bit of apprehension; I'm very much an introvert and leading a group of women in a Bible study when I haven't met them before makes me nervous. Still, it's not the first small group I've been in, and the friendships I've acquired have been worth the effort. I looked forward to the women God was putting in my path.

And once again, He didn't disappoint. Corny as it might sound, we bonded. It was a group of 5 (including myself), three who've only been attending our church a short time, yet I feel like I've known these women all my life. As we each shared our testimonies, I thought about how each story is different, yet what joins us together is the same: the realization that we need a Savior, that a life without God is meaningless. We talked about how Jesus' presence in our lives has affected not only us but those around us. It was such an encouraging time of praise that no one seemed to want to leave! All of us are eager to come together next Friday as we continue to grow as women after God's own heart.

As for today, we're hoping to go to the town park for an outdoor concert and fireworks. I say "hoping to" because it just rained again. We'll see if the weather clears up or not. Typically I'd be upset if I were looking forward to something and then couldn't enjoy it. Today, though, I'm still basking in the glow of a night of praise and worship, and no weather pattern can bring me out of it!