Gather Round, My Children

7/30/18

sleep or pray

It's 3:30 a.m., and I'm so tired. My body would certainly rather be asleep in my warm bed, resting and enjoying this home He has given to us, perhaps dreaming of heavenly things.

I'm so thankful, Lord, for the beautiful moon that I know is just outside my window, hanging with the stars, casting a lovely glow on this world below.

Thank you, Lord, that You have brought me to this point – to this night – that I might pray for my beloved children. I cannot stop the flow of Your love – for them – through me. Was I brought to this very moment in time so that You could love them tonight and they would know it? I have prayed that you would give me the words – the very words – the exact words – to strengthen them and fill them with joy. Dig deep in the clay of my heart and till that ground until it perfectly matches Your perfect heart. Break up the clots of hardened dirt and replace it with the good soil.

Let Your roots grow into my heart and from there bear fruit. Fruit for my children.

Tonight I come to Your throne, to ask permission to speak with authority of Your love to them. I ask that the seed that comes from my heart that You have grown there would fall where you will – in all parts of their lives, and nourish them the way it was intended.

There have been times when I have complained and moaned and wished that my time was up, but tonight I am brought to that place of thanksgiving and pent up joy over the fact that I can still be used to bless them! They are still here, and I am still here.... Oh, dear God, let Your love be perfected through me and in me. Love my children through me. Hear my prayer and forgive my sins that would block the flow of Your love to them, if I were not careful – careful to yield all that I am and all that I want or ever will be to You!

In the name of Jesus – who is our Savior – bring shalom to us all. They are Yours and Yours alone, Heavenly Father. Forgive their sins, give them grace to repent, and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. Let your purpose for each one be fulfilled. Let not one be lost.

This prayer could easily carry on through the hours that bring dawn. And I pray let it be so. When I have lain down upon my bed once again tonight, may wordless prayers go up without ceasing like incense to please You. I lay before You my request for the eyes of Jesus to be Your eyes upon my children. I love them Father. I am what I always wanted to be – their mother....

Goodnight.

Anna

A True Story

7/29/18

a true story

I want to tell you a true story. I know it's true, because it happened to me. Here's what happened:

The Lord had given me an incredible job. But that's a different story for another day. I was scheduled to fly from New York to Seattle that week for my job. I wasn't feeling well and almost cancelled, but decided to trust the Lord to provide strength and courage to get me where I needed to be. I boarded the plane, and in a short while, we landed where I would make a connecting flight that ended in Seattle. I remember thinking I would have a few minutes to go and get a bite of something to eat at the food court before boarding my connecting flight, but I had a problem. You see, I have Parkinson's Disease, and I was familiar with unpredictable and sudden attacks of weakness that would come over me causing embarrassment and frustration. Well, I couldn't move my arms well enough to open my backpack, get my wallet out and pay or even pick up my food. At times like this, it was just easier to go without eating, avoiding the curious stares and sometimes rude or thoughtless comments from those nearby.

It was then that I heard someone call my name. I looked up, my eyes following the sound of my name.... And there he was – a young man that I work with! He was headed to Seattle also, and I said to him: “God has put you here for me. I need help and here you are, not a minute too soon. Can you help me with my wallet and get me to a table where I can just eat a bit? It turned out that he was also flying to Seattle on the same flight. He helped me onto the plane, and traded seats with the stranger that was seated next to me.

As if that weren't enough, he picked up my luggage, got us to the hotel where our group was staying, and made sure that I got checked in.

You know, I never saw God on that plane, or in the airport, or at the hotel but He was there! He sent a helper that He could trust. I don't doubt that there was also a guardian angel that watched over me....

Well this attack of infirmity did not abate, but persisted all week. I began to wonder how I was going to get home by myself. On the morning that I was scheduled to fly home, I got up hours before so I could shower, dress and pack. I knew it would take me forever to accomplish just this. I sat in a chair by the bed and prayed. I asked for help getting home, healing and I prayed that God would seat me on the plane, next to the person of His choosing.

Well somehow, I managed to get downstairs to check out and got into the van that had been scheduled to take me to the airport. As it turned out, I was the only passenger he had. With every mile, I felt worse and worse. I finally told the driver that I was ill and would he kindly get me into a wheel chair and checked in. He was so kind.

I waited in the wheelchair at the gate, and I was helped to board the plane when it was time. Somehow, I made it, and found that I had been seated with a man and a woman that were celebrating their 40^th anniversary, and coincidentally had been donors for years to the organization that I worked for. We chatted and they were very friendly. They could see that I was not able to move very well. I let everyone de-plane before me, as I was moving so slowly. We exchanged pleasantries and said goodbye, but not before I mentioned the prayer I had prayed earlier that morning about God choosing who I would sit next to. Her eyes widened as she told me that they were not supposed to be on that flight,. The airlines had called them very early, asking if they would consider flying out on this flight instead!

Wow! I could see God's hand in it all, though I did not know what He was doing.

I made it off of the plane and up to the gate somehow, where there was to be a wheelchair waiting for me. It wasn't. I was just about to collapse when I looked up and saw the couple I had met on the plane. She saw me first. He stepped away for a moment, then returned and said, “Come on, Pam, we've got another flight to catch. We have to go.”

She said, “You go ahead, I want to talk to Anna for a bit,” First she got me into a wheelchair, then offered to help me with the restroom, get something to drink, and anything else I needed. She asked if it would be alright if she prayed for me. “Of course it would!”, I said. She put her hand on my thigh and prayed for me. Then she said, “I just wanted to tell you that from the first moment I saw you, God told me that you were a wounded warrior.... Then she prayed for me again. Afterwards, I felt no different. But she helped me onto that plane and I was headed home on the last leg of my trip.

A miracle - . When I arrived in New York, my strength had returned, and I got off of the plane without help. I jogged – yes jogged – through the airport and made my way to baggage claim where I picked up my luggage and met my husband outside.

Thank you for this incredible miracle, Lord. I don't know what it meant, or why, but I know You were with me – every moment – and that You love me....

And I love You!

Anna

Prayer Starts With

Prayer starts not just with the ticking away of minutes until the the published hour that we are obligated to begin our dialogue with God has arrived. No. Prayer is not bound by the hands on the clock, though regularity is a must so that our plans support the very important place that prayer deserves.

It begins actually in the days before our scheduled sessions, as we study our Bibles and meditate on His Word. We have to “show up” for our personal time for Him. If it's not already a joy – something we eagerly look forward to – it soon will become just that, for He delights in revealing Himself to us.

How do you receive an honored house guest? Do you put off your time together, or show no interest in conversing and sharing opinions? I hope not!

If you think about it at all, how could you not look forward to entertaining the Creator of the universe, and knowing His thoughts on our encounters with His enemy, or His joy in our telling of the sharing of the gospel?

As the time approaches for our get-together, we find that we have growing concerns that relate to our families, our churches, our jobs, out cities and our nation. We even have personal issues that concern our own need for righteousness in a dark and dangerous world. We have questions and need answers. We are weak, and need strength. We are not holy, but need to be. As the week goes on, our lists grow longer and we feel the need for God to answer our corporate prayers, as there is power in numbers. There is power in unity. There is encouragement in many voices lifted up to petition God for the things we might refer to as “ours” as well as “mine”. Together we offer thanks and praise. We are cleansed with confession....

Prayer is what we do alone with God, and it's what we do together with God and others. What began as an exercise will become a staple of life. Like breathing, we do it without stopping and without thinking we do it without reasoning.

Joy Has Come in the Morning

I awoke at about 3:15 this morning.  I wasn't sleepy at all.  So I began to go over scripture, and praying for my own health, and for my precious children.  I spoke Truth over them.  I claimed health for them (in body, soul and spirit).  My compassion was stirred as I considered the world they live in, and the limited understanding they have - they haven't had nearly as many years as I have to learn the many things that I know by now.  

When I speak Truth over them I imagine all kinds of blessings on them.  Tonight I prayed specifically for their bodies - which is the Temple of the Holy Spirit - and for an ever-increasing Spirit of Wisdom and Discernment, so that when they are at a crossroads and have to figure out which way to go, they will know right from wrong - and they will be able to reason their way from "God's principle to how that will manifest in their daily lives.  

This prayer - though I was aware that strength fueled it - did  not cause weariness, and I am not drained.  When prayer is inspired by the Holy Spirit, your heart is engaged and there is a sense of peace.  

It is now a minute past 6 and I hear the birds beginning to sing.  Though it is still dark, they have begun to announce the coming of the dawn.  It is so with my prayers....  In the quiet, dark places of a desperate heart, my prayers begin to ascend to God in His heavenly tabernacle.  Their fragrance permeates the atmosphere, and like the pervading smell of sweet incense, slowly a change begins to occur -  and movement begins within my Father's house.  Angels are sent out on heavenly missions, battles are fought in the heavenlies, and people experience miracles both great and small.  New roads are taken, forgotten promises are remembered, and like the sun as it rises upon men, the light grows ever brighter; the shadows disappear; praises ring forth to the Creater, and I am still -

Because Joy has come in the morning!

Send More Messengers!

This morning, I watched the news and prayed.  It was hard to know just what to pray.  So, rather than launching into specific prayers that seemed good to me, I prayed a little differently.  I do not know what direction the leaders of the nations of the world should take.  I don't have even a notion of what it's like to be the president, queen, prime minister, or any other leader of a nation in the world today.  I don't live in the same places that they do....  There are so many differences between me and them.  I am one small person in one tiny corner of the world, who  cannot relate to most of what they are faced with every day.  So how do I pray, Lord?
As I pondered this question, and listened for His voice, it seemed to come to me:  pray for the Father to send more messengers/angels to those making decisions today around the world.  Send more messengers/angels to London - to the people and to the rulers, and those who influence others....  Send more messengers/angels to teachers, law makers and interpreters of the law, for men and women who lead us through government, for members and leaders of the world's armed forces....  Send more messengers/angels with words of comfort,and words that bring unity to the men, women and children of the world, in His name, wherever they are.  Send more messengers/angels of light and truth into dark places where there is none. Send more messengers/angels with words of healing for those who are sick and dying, and for those caring for them.  Send more and more of these messengers/angels with God's directions for bringing peace to everyone with a voice. Dear Heavenly Father let your messengers/angels come to the world today in GREAT numbers.  Let them drown out and overwhelm, and be infinitely greater than the messengers of darkness.  Dear Lord, cause the awesome show of force that you bring to proclaim that which gives the world hope, put terror into the hearts of evil messengers.
And let it all start, Lord, in my corner of the world....  Let me be a gateway into the world that is open to God's messengers/angels.  Keep me on track all day.  Keep me praying without ceasing - all day.  And help me to use creatively, whatever my gifts are, to make a difference in the world today.

SEND MORE MESSENGERS!!!

What is Prayer?

At its most basic level, prayer is something that I do.  It is a bursting forth or a calling out to Someone who is greater than I am; someone who can see better than I can.  Prayer is like the cry of the infant to its mother - a wordless need put forth in the form of a cry and a tear, that stirs the Compassion of its parent.  Prayer is the cry of the hungry upwards to the giver of food.  It is cry of someone who is in need of goods or mercy and kindness directed to One who can fill this need.  I call to the Creator of wisdom, and the Giver of purpose.  It is to the One who knows all mysteries and their outcomes.  It is to One who sees not just with eyes, but is moved by perfect understanding.

It is not just a desire that is flung into space in hopes that a response will come.  It has everything to do with who it is sent out to.  

I pray to the One God:  the God of the Bible.  

Now that I have answered "what" and "to whom", I will also say it does not matter how eloquent I am or even what words I choose....  It doesn't have to be a required length....  It is only an expression of some part of me that is reaching out to touch the hem of my God's robe so that I may be whole.
My prayer can be motivated by heartbreak or sadness; happiness or joy.  

When I am so full of God's broken heart - when I am brimming full of gratitude to Him - when my need is desperate enough - when I have the tiniest sense of His infinite grace - then I pray.  It is what wells up in my heart and overflows like the Shepherd's cup.  It overshadows every other thing and it must be released to rush back to its source - El Elyon (the most high God), the great I AM.

Sometimes it is like the waters that rush from the mountains to the sea... carving new paths, changing shorelines, or slowing to pool here and there - sustaining life or speeding up to dash the enemy to pieces.... always moving back to the heart from which it was broken.

Eventually, I am still before Him.  He shares His heart.  I embrace all that He is, and I trust Him in high waters and low.  I pray His heart.

Like the spray from the waterfall that joyously flings itself over the edge - so should our prayers be - finding their way back to His heart