One of my goals for 2013 is to spend the first ten minutes of my daily devotional time in prayer.  I had been praying at the end of my devotions and found that I usually ran out of time.  This new plan is working very well!

We are told in I Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing.  What a blessing it is to know that we can pray anytime and anywhere.  Indeed, we should always be in an attitude of prayer.

However, in studying Bible passages on prayer lately, I’ve been motivated to look at setting more specific times of prayer.  David says in Psalm 55:17, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud…”  After learning of the king’s command that no prayers were to be offered except to the king himself, we read in Daniel 6:10 that Daniel “kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” 

These men are an inspiration to me to set aside 3 times a day to pray.  I have the morning covered, but I would like to add a few minutes to pray in the middle of the day, perhaps right before or after lunch.  That part of our day tends to be busy, so I will have to be purposeful in making this happen.  I also want to add a time of prayer just before I fall asleep. 

At each of these times, I want to pray for specific needs.  In the morning, it’s my family and friends.  At lunch time, I can pray for missionaries and our country.  In the evening, it could be for our church, its ministries, and the needs of fellow members.

Strengthening my prayer life is a focus for 2013 and I hope that establishing this habit will help in that area.

Do you have any other suggestions for setting specific prayer times?

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As I mentioned in my 2013 goals post, I want to focus on strengthening my prayer life this year.  Each Monday for the next several weeks, I’ll plan to share what I’m learning as I study Bible passages about prayer.

II Chronicles 7:14 is a fairly well-known verse.  The verse begins with the following phrases:  “If my people…shall humble themselves, and pray….”

Praying is an act of humility.  If I am coming to God and asking for His help, I am admitting that I am insufficient to meet the need.  This is the case with salvation – we, as sinners, come to God in prayer, admitting that we cannot save ourselves from our sins, and asking Him to redeem us.

So it continues as we walk through the Christian life.  I must be humble enough to realize that I cannot fight Satan’s temptation alone, but need the power of Christ to overcome.  I cannot make wise decisions regarding marriage, parenting, work situations, or anything else without God’s direction. 

As I bring my requests to Him daily, may my state of mind be one of humility, recognizing my own weaknesses while acknowledging God as the all powerful One who has the ability to answer my every prayer.

I love new beginnings.

From a fresh start every morning to the first day of a new year, I welcome the chance to evaluate where I am and make plans for where I want to be. 

Along with the excitement however, can come a tinge of apprehension, wondering what lies ahead.

As we step into 2013 today, I find the words of this hymn particularly comforting.

Be Still My Soul

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear
patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and
provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy
best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful
end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as
He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now
mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds
still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

~Katharine von Schlegel

Praising the Lord for His blessings in 2012, thanking Him for His grace and protection, and looking forward to seeing His plan unfold for our family – and yours – in 2013!

You don’t usually notice them. 

At the church potluck, they’re the ones who make sure everyone else has been served before they sit down. 

They volunteer for the jobs that no one else wants, like cleaning the bathrooms.

Sometimes they spend days preparing for an event that lasts a few hours, and then, while everyone else heads home, they clean up. 

They say, “I’ve been praying for you,” and you know they mean it. 

They arrive unannounced with a pick-up-truck-load of food. 

They take care of things you didn’t even realize needed to be done. 

They’re always behind the scenes, never pushing their way to the front, avoiding public praise or recognition. 

Over the past week, our family has been privileged to be served in many of these ways.  With the passing of my father-in-law and the celebration of my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, we have received love and generosity from many of these precious servants.

They make me want to be one of them – to serve with an unselfish spirit, expecting nothing in return, wanting only to be a blessing to others. 

These servant-hearted men and women are my heroes.

Yesterday I had the privilege of talking with an experienced homeschool mom.  She has already graduated two sons and her daughter is finishing the tenth grade.

Since this is our first year of homeschooling, I like to”pick the brain” of those who have walked this road before me.  Both Kathy and I are former teachers, so I enjoyed hearing what she’s done along the way – especially her curriculum choices and how she’s synchronized those with her children’s learning styles and personal interests.

I don’t know how long our family is called to homeschool.  This year has been a wonderful experience, and we do plan to homeschool again next year.  After that, it’s unclear.  But I thought the advice Kathy gave me was great for all of us, no matter how we are choosing to educate our children or where we are in the journey – just take it one year at a time. 

I’ve been reading passages in the Bible lately where faith and trust are the theme.  While I like to plan ahead and see the future laid out neatly before me, that’s not always what’s best for me.  Being open to change, as God leads, is a good thing.  In life, situations arise that may cause us to take things not just a year, but a month – or even a day – at a time. 

How thankful I am that, as I walk close to the Lord and listen to His voice, He will guide me, day by day, in the right way.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” ~Philippians 4:6

Last week, I was blessed to see God answer a prayer that’s been on my heart for months.  In His goodness and faithfulness, He granted the request.

As I thanked Him for His answer, I pondered these five things that answered prayer does in my life.

1.  It reminds me that God loves me. He hears my prayers and understands my concerns.

2.  It encourages me to continue praying for other requests that I have.  

3.  It helps me understand that God always wants what’s best for me and for those for whom I intercede. If it seems that He’s not answering my prayer, I can trust that He will work in His own way and in His own time to bring His will to pass.

4.  It reaffirms in my mind that nothing is too hard for God.  There are times when it is especially evident that God has worked in ways that man cannot explain.

5.  It gives me another reason to praise Him.  While I already have so much for which to be thankful, answered prayer is yet another reason to give God honor and glory by sharing with others what He has done for me.

May God grant us all the blessing of seeing answered prayer in our lives!

“But he that is spiritual judgeth all things…” ~I Corinthians 2:15

In this verse, the word “judgeth” has the idea of “discerneth.”  Our daughters and I have been studying discernment in the Bright Lights Bible curriculum we use in homeschooling. The definition of discernment given there is “skill in separating the good from the evil and understanding the bigger picture.” I love the way that is worded!

As the keepers of our home, we must have discernment. It begins in our own lives, as we examine our attitudes and actions for any sin that needs to be forgiven and forsaken. Beyond that, our responsibility extends to our family. From media and other materials that enter our home to the friends our children have to the activities we participate in, we need wisdom to see what is potentially harmful. How often we need to pray for help in not giving evil a foothold, even unwittingly.

As we seek to be discerning, we are not to judge according to arbitrary standards, but base our decisions on Biblical standards. I also believe that as we seek God’s leading through prayer and study of His Word, He will even give us instincts that will help us avoid potential pitfalls. Surely our discernment, like other skills, can be improved as we use it in our daily lives.

Finally, as our definition of discernment states, it is valuable to remember the big picture. Perhaps there is some activity or influence that might seem acceptable today, but could cause problems as our children get older. All of our decisions can be passed through the filter of I Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

I want to be on guard and actively evaluating the choices we make for our family. As mothers who seek to rear our children as servants of Christ, may we ask for His wisdom and guidance in discerning those things that are best for our children.

The Lord gave us a baby with a neural tube defect, and took away my sense of control over my life.

The Lord gave me eight months to carry that precious child, to feel her kick and move in my womb, and took away any bitterness that threatened to creep into my soul.

The Lord gave doctors, nurses, family, and friends who supported us, loved us, and prayed for us.  He took away our loneliness.

The Lord gave us moments to hold her still body, to kiss her soft cheek, and took away any fears about bonding with her.

The Lord gave sweet assurance that we will see her again in heaven and took away some of our sense of loss.

The Lord gave peace that His will is always best and took away my desire to change the path He had chosen.

The Lord gave us time to heal and took away the sadness and emotional pain.

The Lord gave two whole and healthy daughters and took away my barrenness.

In the words of Job, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Fourteen years after the birth of our Angel, I can say with all that I have that God is good and His ways truly are best.