{continuted from previous post}
Because God will answer your prayers, I challenge us to be moms who acknowledge the results of prayer. I think this helps us pray expectantly and it reminds us that we are not doing this on our own. When we watch for God to answer our prayers, and acknowledge the answers when they happen, we see that He is faithful. When we experience His faithfulness we will expect Him to continue being attentive to our prayers. Even if we cannot see anything happening, God is working. Answers might come days, months, or years from now, and in a way we’re not expecting, but God will answer according to His plan. Acknowledging God’s answers to our prayers keeps us humble, too. Did you pray that prayer before you took the kids to the grocery store…and did things go amazingly well? Remind yourself and your kids it wasn’t because you’re supermom…it’s because the Lord answered your prayer, so thank him out loud on the van ride home. Have you prayed diligently for protection for your "wild child" two year old? And did he only rip his fingernail out of the nailbed instead busting out his front teeth and giving himself a concussion when he tipped the jogging stroller? Acknowledge the results of your prayers even when you would have expected something different...like no injury at all. When we look for the answers and results, we become fully aware that it is not our work that is accomplishing things in our families…it is our reliance on God that gets things done and ensures their protection.
{I left the following three paragraphs out of my talk for time's sake, but figured time isn't an issue here :o). This story actually comes from a post I wrote a while back.}
I want to share a quick story about something that happened in our home about a year and a half ago. I don’t share it to make you think that things always play out this nicely for me…believe me, there are many times I’ve offered sarcastic prayers in moments of frustration and dealt with a mess of a situation as a result. There have been times that I’ve been too self reliant to remember to pray and paid the price. This experience, though, turned out to be great example of how things can go when we pray continuously, specifically, and expectantly…and then acknowledge the results. I share it as a call to myself to face this challenge to be a praying mom with renewed fervor.
Just to give a little background, we had a 2 year old in the house for the fourth time in our lives...and it really wasn’t any easier than the previous three experiences…in fact it might have harder. Levi had recently formed a strong opinion about wearing clothing with balls on it...like if it didn't have a ball on it, he's wasn’t wearing it and, once he got it on, he wasn’t taking it off. He had fallen asleep the previous night on the way home from church and, therefore, slept in his clothes, so I felt it somewhat important to change him that morning since he had sat in a puddle of bubbles, hiked the nature center, dribbled milk, and done who knows what else in those clothes the day before. He, of course, did not think taking off the ball sweatshirt was a good idea and proceeded to throw a fit, fighting me tooth and nail about getting dressed. In an effort to reach a compromise, I had taken him up to his room (where Natalie was still sleeping) to see if we could find something he was willing to put on. He continued to fight and, sure enough, he disturbed Natalie, who, of course, flipped out because I couldn't stay up there while she fully woke up because while all of this was going on I was still trying to get Ethan and Karis ready for school and out the door for the bus.
At the time, I had been trying to get myself in the habit each morning of asking Jesus to just wash over our home and help us fight the battle against Satan as we went through our day. Although I had had my quiet time that morning, I hadn't prayed that prayer and, in that moment, knew I needed to because I was ready to lose it. I left both babies screaming in their room and prayed that prayer as I walked out of the room and down the stairs to help Ethan and Karis…waiting to see how the Lord would make this work. As I got breakfast, juice, lunches, etc. ready, Ethan went up the stairs in an effort to calm Natalie down. Levi had made his way down the stairs, half dressed and still crying, and Karis purposefully caught his attention with a few small toys. I hadn't asked them to do this (as I had on some occasions), but it was almost like they knew it would take that big brother/big sister love to change a situation that could have unfolded much differently. Peace settled quickly into the house. I hadn’t expected that God would use Ethan and Karis to answer my prayer, but I know He did. And maybe the most amazing part of it was that when I realized what He had done, I thanked Ethan and Karis for their help and told them that God had used them to answer my prayer. If you could have seen the smiles that crossed their faces...it still gives me chills when I think about it.
I want to leave you with one last verse...perhaps my most favorite on the topic of prayer. In Matthew 18:18 Jesus tells this about prayer: “Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” He’s given you authority, moms, to impact those eternal souls of your children. I pray that you will do just that.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
A Mom Who Prays Specifically and Expectantly
{continued from previous post}
Praying through our house brings me to my second challenge…that we be moms who pray specifically and expectantly. I have used the Power of a Praying Parent book when it comes to this aspect of my prayer life as a mom. She goes through 29 specific things that we can pray for our children and I’ve used it as a tool to make lists of things to pray for and to find Scripture to claim as I pray. Scripture is your weapon. In Isaiah 55:11, God says “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” God’s word is living and it always has an impact when we speak it.
For me, getting specific has been the easy part. I could easily go on for pages with examples on this one. Here are just a couple ideas: When I pack a lunch, I don’t just pray that they’ll have a good day at school, I pray that God will find them a seat next to the right friend at lunch, that they will make wise choices in the words that they say and the things they laugh at, that they will remember to put their name on their paper {we've had an issue with this this school year}, that their hearts and minds would be protected from bullying or false teaching. A verse that I love for these “off to school” prayers is Psalm 91:11 “For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!”
For those of you with babies, especially girls, I encourage you to, at each feeding, pray against eating disorders and food addictions. Pray it now before they’ve developed the insecurities or habits that will lead to these things. Include Romans 12:1 in your prayer…put your baby’s name in the verse. “Lord, I pray that Karis will honor you with her body because of all You have done for her. That she will be a living and holy sacrifice-one that You find acceptable.”
When you see your baby boy play with his tool set, pray that he will grow into a man that values hard work and is willing to work to provide for his family. Pray Colossians 3:23… “God, I pray that Ethan will work willingly at whatever he does, as though he is working for You, rather than people.”
When you wake each morning, pray that your children will come to know Christ as their savior. When you tuck them in at night, pray that God will reveal to you the gifts he’s given each of them and that, as their mother, you will seize opportunities to grow those gifts in them. When you wake in the night with a fussy baby or toddler, pray that they will live a life free of fear.
When you pray these specific prayers, be sure that you are praying with the expectation that God will answer them. This expecting part is important. Praying expectantly is about having faith that God is listening and trusting that He is working. All too often, I have underestimated the power of God to really answer all the little prayers I send up as I go through my day...either I have felt like He's got better things to do than pass me some extra patience for the 800th time or He’s too busy to give my 2 year old more self control in the throes of a tantrum.
I can’t give you a formula for expecting God. The thing that has made a difference to me, is reminding myself who I’m praying to. I am praying to the God who designs each snowflake, hand paints each sunrise, raises up kings and takes them out. He is the God that selected every personality trait our children have, every strength and every weakness, and He is the God that placed them into our care for a reason. He is the God that sent His son to die for me and my children. Would this God really not be attentive to the details that I pray over? I think not. He is about details and He is about the hearts of His children. He will answer these prayers.
Praying through our house brings me to my second challenge…that we be moms who pray specifically and expectantly. I have used the Power of a Praying Parent book when it comes to this aspect of my prayer life as a mom. She goes through 29 specific things that we can pray for our children and I’ve used it as a tool to make lists of things to pray for and to find Scripture to claim as I pray. Scripture is your weapon. In Isaiah 55:11, God says “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” God’s word is living and it always has an impact when we speak it.
For me, getting specific has been the easy part. I could easily go on for pages with examples on this one. Here are just a couple ideas: When I pack a lunch, I don’t just pray that they’ll have a good day at school, I pray that God will find them a seat next to the right friend at lunch, that they will make wise choices in the words that they say and the things they laugh at, that they will remember to put their name on their paper {we've had an issue with this this school year}, that their hearts and minds would be protected from bullying or false teaching. A verse that I love for these “off to school” prayers is Psalm 91:11 “For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!”
For those of you with babies, especially girls, I encourage you to, at each feeding, pray against eating disorders and food addictions. Pray it now before they’ve developed the insecurities or habits that will lead to these things. Include Romans 12:1 in your prayer…put your baby’s name in the verse. “Lord, I pray that Karis will honor you with her body because of all You have done for her. That she will be a living and holy sacrifice-one that You find acceptable.”
When you see your baby boy play with his tool set, pray that he will grow into a man that values hard work and is willing to work to provide for his family. Pray Colossians 3:23… “God, I pray that Ethan will work willingly at whatever he does, as though he is working for You, rather than people.”
When you wake each morning, pray that your children will come to know Christ as their savior. When you tuck them in at night, pray that God will reveal to you the gifts he’s given each of them and that, as their mother, you will seize opportunities to grow those gifts in them. When you wake in the night with a fussy baby or toddler, pray that they will live a life free of fear.
When you pray these specific prayers, be sure that you are praying with the expectation that God will answer them. This expecting part is important. Praying expectantly is about having faith that God is listening and trusting that He is working. All too often, I have underestimated the power of God to really answer all the little prayers I send up as I go through my day...either I have felt like He's got better things to do than pass me some extra patience for the 800th time or He’s too busy to give my 2 year old more self control in the throes of a tantrum.
I can’t give you a formula for expecting God. The thing that has made a difference to me, is reminding myself who I’m praying to. I am praying to the God who designs each snowflake, hand paints each sunrise, raises up kings and takes them out. He is the God that selected every personality trait our children have, every strength and every weakness, and He is the God that placed them into our care for a reason. He is the God that sent His son to die for me and my children. Would this God really not be attentive to the details that I pray over? I think not. He is about details and He is about the hearts of His children. He will answer these prayers.
Friday, November 11, 2011
A Mom Who Prays Continuously
{Continued from previous post}
My first challenge is that we be moms who pray continually…or without ceasing…as some versions of I Thessalonians 5:17 read. I’m sure this sounds like an overwhelming…maybe even impossible task…especially with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers running rampant around your house at all hours of the day and night. But I want to encourage you that it is not. For a while I believed the lie that Satan fed me…that I didn’t have time to pray. I was too tired to wake up before my munchkins, too busy dealing with the results of the day after I put them to bed, and too distracted in the hours in between. It was true that I didn’t have time to spend an hour on my knees praying every morning, but I learned that I did have time and opportunity to pray continually throughout the day. I had two minutes here and four minutes there…I just needed to train myself to use them for prayer. Here are some of the ways I’ve kept myself praying throughout the day: I have done things like set my watch to beep on the hour every hour. At least 10 out of the 18 times a day I heard that watch beep, I’d be doing something where I could mentally say a 1 minute prayer for one of the kids, my husband, or even myself. I have taken bath crayons and written the Scripture that I want to pray for one or more of our kids on the wall of the shower so I could wake up praying that for them. I pray for the next day as I lay clothes out on bedroom floors the night before. I pray at school desks at the beginning of a new school year. I pray as I fold laundry. I pray as I pack lunches. I paint Scripture on the walls of our house and pray those verses for our family.
Here are two other big things that have made a difference as to how often I’m praying during the day…and I fear I may step on some toes with them, but just know that the Lord has laid this on my heart: One thing we do is keep Christian radio on in the van and many of the hours we are at home {sometimes it's even on when we're not even there} and I pray the songs over our home and the lives of my children and husband. Take a minute to think about what the background noise is in your vehicle or at home. What’s on your TV…Dr. Phil, Days of our Lives, Keeping up with the Kardashians, The Office, Bones {I don’t know…maybe some of these shows aren’t even on air anymore? Tells you how much TV I watch}. What’s on your radio or in your CD player? Y105, Taylor Swift, U2 …I don’t even know who’s popular in this realm either, but I am certain these things….these things that we believe our children are too little to understand, that they’re not even really paying attention to or that really aren’t that big of a deal…play into the attitude and behavior of our kids {and us} so much more than we are aware. I’m not saying get rid of your TV or CD’s, but imagine the impact you could have if you exchange even just half of those minutes or hours of background noise with life-giving prayer and praise through music.
The other thing is one that I’m still working on...it required me to take inventory of ways I’m investing or wasting time. It’s the computer or phone… or whichever gadget you access the internet on… Facebook, blogs, and I’m sure there are some of us onto this new thing I’m hearing about called Pinterest. I fall victim to these time wasters so easily since I teach online classes….I’m waiting for a student to Skype or need a quick distraction from grading papers and before I know it I’ve lost 30 minutes of my life reading about who’s making homemade spaghetti sauce from their homegrown tomatoes or the life story of some mom across the country who’s struggling with whether to stay home or go back to work, or even updating my own status and vigilantly waiting for comments to affirm whatever I’ve posted. You know how it goes. I’m determined to redeem those minutes and give them to the Lord on behalf of my family. When I need a distraction during my work time, I have a list of things to pray for the kids that I leave next to the computer, and instead of heading to Facebook, I pray for one of those things. I’m laying my Bible out on the table opened to the Psalms or Proverbs and praying a few of the verses for myself when I have just a minute or two between phone calls. I’m quite sure we’ve all got opportunities to exchange some of our activity for time in prayer….redeeming some of our time to better carry out this mission God has laid before us.
If we really want to be praying continually it’s also so important to incorporate our family and pray with them. Let your children hear you pray frequently over day to day things. No detail is too small. God is always bringing things to our attention through circumstances and interactions. These are perfect opportunities for us to teach our kids how to pray. As you’re driving down the road and your three year old notices a beautiful sunset, take the chance to let him hear you say a prayer of thanks to the Lord for this amazing world He created for us. How about if before you make that dreaded trip to the grocery store with kids in tow, you let them hear you pray for their behavior, for your patience, for wisdom as you make choices about what things to spend money on, and give thanks that the Lord has provided the means for you to even make this trip to the store. Pray out loud during colicky crying fits and temper tantrums. Pray as part of your discipline process. Pray at mealtime and bedtime. Something that we tried out recently, and will definitely do again, is praying through the rooms of our house as a family. I know that Jesus was walking with us as we moved from room to room praying for all different sorts of things….like discretion in our choice of television viewing, gratefulness for a full pantry, kindness as we play together, protection for our home as we burn fires in the fireplace this winter…our 4 year old {who I truly believe the Lord has revealed that He has given the gift of prayer to} even prayed that mommy and daddy would have fun in their bedroom….which, of course, gave us a good laugh. If she only knew, right?!
My first challenge is that we be moms who pray continually…or without ceasing…as some versions of I Thessalonians 5:17 read. I’m sure this sounds like an overwhelming…maybe even impossible task…especially with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers running rampant around your house at all hours of the day and night. But I want to encourage you that it is not. For a while I believed the lie that Satan fed me…that I didn’t have time to pray. I was too tired to wake up before my munchkins, too busy dealing with the results of the day after I put them to bed, and too distracted in the hours in between. It was true that I didn’t have time to spend an hour on my knees praying every morning, but I learned that I did have time and opportunity to pray continually throughout the day. I had two minutes here and four minutes there…I just needed to train myself to use them for prayer. Here are some of the ways I’ve kept myself praying throughout the day: I have done things like set my watch to beep on the hour every hour. At least 10 out of the 18 times a day I heard that watch beep, I’d be doing something where I could mentally say a 1 minute prayer for one of the kids, my husband, or even myself. I have taken bath crayons and written the Scripture that I want to pray for one or more of our kids on the wall of the shower so I could wake up praying that for them. I pray for the next day as I lay clothes out on bedroom floors the night before. I pray at school desks at the beginning of a new school year. I pray as I fold laundry. I pray as I pack lunches. I paint Scripture on the walls of our house and pray those verses for our family.
Here are two other big things that have made a difference as to how often I’m praying during the day…and I fear I may step on some toes with them, but just know that the Lord has laid this on my heart: One thing we do is keep Christian radio on in the van and many of the hours we are at home {sometimes it's even on when we're not even there} and I pray the songs over our home and the lives of my children and husband. Take a minute to think about what the background noise is in your vehicle or at home. What’s on your TV…Dr. Phil, Days of our Lives, Keeping up with the Kardashians, The Office, Bones {I don’t know…maybe some of these shows aren’t even on air anymore? Tells you how much TV I watch}. What’s on your radio or in your CD player? Y105, Taylor Swift, U2 …I don’t even know who’s popular in this realm either, but I am certain these things….these things that we believe our children are too little to understand, that they’re not even really paying attention to or that really aren’t that big of a deal…play into the attitude and behavior of our kids {and us} so much more than we are aware. I’m not saying get rid of your TV or CD’s, but imagine the impact you could have if you exchange even just half of those minutes or hours of background noise with life-giving prayer and praise through music.
The other thing is one that I’m still working on...it required me to take inventory of ways I’m investing or wasting time. It’s the computer or phone… or whichever gadget you access the internet on… Facebook, blogs, and I’m sure there are some of us onto this new thing I’m hearing about called Pinterest. I fall victim to these time wasters so easily since I teach online classes….I’m waiting for a student to Skype or need a quick distraction from grading papers and before I know it I’ve lost 30 minutes of my life reading about who’s making homemade spaghetti sauce from their homegrown tomatoes or the life story of some mom across the country who’s struggling with whether to stay home or go back to work, or even updating my own status and vigilantly waiting for comments to affirm whatever I’ve posted. You know how it goes. I’m determined to redeem those minutes and give them to the Lord on behalf of my family. When I need a distraction during my work time, I have a list of things to pray for the kids that I leave next to the computer, and instead of heading to Facebook, I pray for one of those things. I’m laying my Bible out on the table opened to the Psalms or Proverbs and praying a few of the verses for myself when I have just a minute or two between phone calls. I’m quite sure we’ve all got opportunities to exchange some of our activity for time in prayer….redeeming some of our time to better carry out this mission God has laid before us.
If we really want to be praying continually it’s also so important to incorporate our family and pray with them. Let your children hear you pray frequently over day to day things. No detail is too small. God is always bringing things to our attention through circumstances and interactions. These are perfect opportunities for us to teach our kids how to pray. As you’re driving down the road and your three year old notices a beautiful sunset, take the chance to let him hear you say a prayer of thanks to the Lord for this amazing world He created for us. How about if before you make that dreaded trip to the grocery store with kids in tow, you let them hear you pray for their behavior, for your patience, for wisdom as you make choices about what things to spend money on, and give thanks that the Lord has provided the means for you to even make this trip to the store. Pray out loud during colicky crying fits and temper tantrums. Pray as part of your discipline process. Pray at mealtime and bedtime. Something that we tried out recently, and will definitely do again, is praying through the rooms of our house as a family. I know that Jesus was walking with us as we moved from room to room praying for all different sorts of things….like discretion in our choice of television viewing, gratefulness for a full pantry, kindness as we play together, protection for our home as we burn fires in the fireplace this winter…our 4 year old {who I truly believe the Lord has revealed that He has given the gift of prayer to} even prayed that mommy and daddy would have fun in their bedroom….which, of course, gave us a good laugh. If she only knew, right?!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
A Mom Who Prays
This past week at MOPS I partnered with two amazing {inspiring, challenging, beautiful, humble, Jesus-lovin'} mommy friends to share on what we see as the mission of motherhood. It was probably one of my top 3 or 4 favorite meetings in the 8 years I've been doing MOPS. The Lord just "brought it" on Tuesday morning! It was so awesome to see the moms going away from the meeting with a fresh challenge to be the moms that God created them to be! I thought I'd share my notes as a few blog posts. I talked about prayer {Andrea talked about intentional mothering and legacies. Brooke talked about discipleship and evangalism}. Now, mind you, praying is something I'm passionate about...but I'm definitely not perfect at it. There are days that only one or two prayers will cross my lips. Other days, my conversations with the Lord are frequent. My challenges were as much for myself as the rest of the moms.
So, if your children are your mission field, then prayer must be a part of the work you do for and with them each and every day. I liken parenting, without expectant and intentional prayer, to running on a treadmill….you might be working hard and racking up the miles, but you’re not really getting anywhere. Prayer is a key to making good things happen in our children’s lives today and in the future…it’s a key to growing them into adults that chase after God’s will for their lives. We live in a day and age when we cannot afford to leave the destiny of the eternal souls of our children to chance.
As a mom, you should be covering as much of your children’s lives in prayer as you can. I love how Stormie Omartian describes prayer in her book The Power of a Praying Parent, which I highly recommend. She says “Prayer is much more than just giving a list of desires to God, as if He were the great Sugar Daddy/Santa Claus in the sky. Prayer is acknowledging and experiencing the presence of God and inviting His presence into our lives and circumstances. It’s seeking the presence of God and releasing the power of God which gives us the means to overcome any problem”.
When we pray, we are recognizing our need for God’s power and His presence…that we can’t do this mothering thing on our own. This means that each of us have the privilege of being used by the God who created the universe and knit each one of our children together, to focus His power on the people or circumstance we are praying for. How amazing is that?
Each day, especially now that my two older children are attending public school, I’m becoming more and more aware of the unseen battle that is going on for the lives of our children. Praying is my chance to get into that battle alongside of them…to hold a shield in front of their tender souls. It’s my way of foiling Satan’s plan for my children and helping God carry out His plan for them. Don’t think, though, that just because you’re a mom who only has a newborn, and that baby isn’t even mobile yet and is rarely out of your site, that this battle hasn’t begun for you...that you’re exempt from this part of the mission for a couple more years. Satan seeks to destroy those precious souls from the very first day that the Lord entrusts them to us. If you haven’t already started praying for and with your children it’s never too early and it’s never too late to embark on this part of your mission.
Lamentations 2:19 says “Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children.”
So here’s my challenge for all of us...
{Come back tomorrow to read more :o)}
Motherhood provides us with an opportunity to lay down the things you cannot keep on behalf of the people that you cannot lose. They are eternal souls, they are your children, they are your mission field.
-Rachel Jankovic
So, if your children are your mission field, then prayer must be a part of the work you do for and with them each and every day. I liken parenting, without expectant and intentional prayer, to running on a treadmill….you might be working hard and racking up the miles, but you’re not really getting anywhere. Prayer is a key to making good things happen in our children’s lives today and in the future…it’s a key to growing them into adults that chase after God’s will for their lives. We live in a day and age when we cannot afford to leave the destiny of the eternal souls of our children to chance.
As a mom, you should be covering as much of your children’s lives in prayer as you can. I love how Stormie Omartian describes prayer in her book The Power of a Praying Parent, which I highly recommend. She says “Prayer is much more than just giving a list of desires to God, as if He were the great Sugar Daddy/Santa Claus in the sky. Prayer is acknowledging and experiencing the presence of God and inviting His presence into our lives and circumstances. It’s seeking the presence of God and releasing the power of God which gives us the means to overcome any problem”.
When we pray, we are recognizing our need for God’s power and His presence…that we can’t do this mothering thing on our own. This means that each of us have the privilege of being used by the God who created the universe and knit each one of our children together, to focus His power on the people or circumstance we are praying for. How amazing is that?
Each day, especially now that my two older children are attending public school, I’m becoming more and more aware of the unseen battle that is going on for the lives of our children. Praying is my chance to get into that battle alongside of them…to hold a shield in front of their tender souls. It’s my way of foiling Satan’s plan for my children and helping God carry out His plan for them. Don’t think, though, that just because you’re a mom who only has a newborn, and that baby isn’t even mobile yet and is rarely out of your site, that this battle hasn’t begun for you...that you’re exempt from this part of the mission for a couple more years. Satan seeks to destroy those precious souls from the very first day that the Lord entrusts them to us. If you haven’t already started praying for and with your children it’s never too early and it’s never too late to embark on this part of your mission.
Lamentations 2:19 says “Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children.”
So here’s my challenge for all of us...
{Come back tomorrow to read more :o)}
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