4 Reasons to Create Memorials in Your Home
We observe, we talk, and we remember. We remember what was done, what was said, and what happened.
How we choose to view our past informs our future. We can sit down and frown. We can talk about how life isn’t fair.
We can wonder, “Why is this happening?”
Continue reading 4 Reasons to Create Memorials in Your Home
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6 Years Healed!
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:28-31
Six years ago, I suffered from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. I was to the point of resigning from the job of my dreams. I believed that God had placed me there to make a difference. But the pills and alternative therapies no longer worked. My doctor wanted to put me on disability, but I refused, so he reduced my days of work. I was devastated. Continue reading 6 Years Healed!
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4 Questions About Your Prayers
“Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.” 1 Samuel 26-28
Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had sons and daughters, and Hannah had no sons or daughters. Year after year, the family would go to the house of the Lord to worship and sacrifice to the Lord. Peninnah taunted Hannah because “the Lord closed her womb.”
We know in Chapter 2 of 1 Samuel that Hannah was a Godly woman, and this must have deeply hurt her. First, she wanted a son. Second, she wanted to please God. She must have asked, “God, why have You closed my womb?”
No doubt, Hannah had prayed for a son for years. Perhaps she prayed for a son, so that Peninnah would stop tormenting her. That was a small annoyance. A woman’s natural desire is to give birth to children. Hannah wanted a son to nurse at her breasts, to love, to satisfy her motherly desires.
The family had sons, sons of Elkanah and Peninnah. Yet, Hannah prayed for a son of her own. Hannah was focused on herself.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:3
One year, Hannah was so distraught that she wept and would not eat. Sitting by the doorpost of the temple, she poured her heart out to the Lord.
Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.” 1 Samuel 1:11
Eli, the priest, saw her lips moving, but heard no words and accused her of being drunk. She told him her desire, and he told her, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition.” 1 Samuel 1:17
Hannah’s demeanor completely changed. She trusted the word of the priest as a word from God. She went home, ate, and was no longer sad.
Prayer of Dedication
Sitting near the doorpost of the temple crying out to the Lord, Hannah transformed her prayer into a prayer of dedication. She prayed for a son to give back to the Lord for a life of ministry. Now she was focused upon God. Her motives were right.
Personal Application
I had a season of desperate prayers for healing. There was no hope for healing except hope for a miracle from God. God gently brought me to the end of my hope in doctors and in myself, and my prayer changed. The night that I told God that I did not care about healing and all I wanted was more of Him, He healed me of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. God also gave me the desire of my heart … more of Him. That was November 21, 2010. God still heals.
Four Questions to Ask
Whatever your need is, God is there for you.
- Have you examined your prayers?
- What are the motives behind your prayers?
- Are you abiding in God’s Word, His will, in Jesus?
- Are you willing to give your fulfilled request back to God?
We pray for our needs, and yet, the greatest need we have is to sit at the feet of Jesus and behold His glory, His majesty, His provision. Whatever the need, give it back to Jesus to serve Him.
God has great plans for His children. They are good and better than we can imagine.
My prayer
Father, thank You for Hannah’s story. We’ve prayed desperate prayers. Some for the wrong motives. Guide us in Your will. Give us Your wisdom. Turn our requests into ones that will glorify Your Name and bring honor to You. Amen.
Please share in the Comment Section how God has worked through your prayers.
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The Promise Walk Is About Waiting
My life’s verse was given to me when I was 19 and in the hospital.
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
The “wait” is active.
It’s hoping so intensely that action explodes from the hope. It’s looking for the renewal. It’s flexing muscles and feeling the new strength. It’s dreaming of soaring with the eagles. It’s buying running shoes. It’s getting a Fitbit in anticipation of the walk.
It’s all consuming. It’s the name of this blog.
It’s waiting on the Lord.
It’s a promise.
It’s worthy of renewing, mounting up, running, and walking.
I’ve been a Christian for more than 50 years, and I’ve learned to be content in the waiting, trusting that God is in control. And in the waiting, there is much for me to do. After God told Keith, my husband, and me that He was going to heal me of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, we waited two years. Those two years were filled with prayers thanking the Lord for His healing, consuming the Scriptures and books on healing, and walking with God. The wait was intense, filled with gratitude, and anticipation of what it would feel like to be well.
The word “wait” appears 106 times in the Bible. God must value waiting.
Abraham waited 25 years for the promise of Isaac. The Israelites waited for centuries for the Messiah, and God brought Jesus to them at just the right time.
Jesus came into the world as a poor child. He waited to accomplish the work that He came to do. He grew as a child in truth and grace … waiting and preparing for His ministry and for the cross. His mother pushed Him to take care of the wine at the marriage of Cana, and He responded that His time was not yet. When His disciples encouraged Him to go to Jerusalem, He told them that His time had not yet arrived.
Today’s world is focused upon instant gratification. We are able to contact our friends and families instantly through our cell phones and the Internet. Businesses are focused upon providing quality products more conveniently and faster.
Sometimes, we shift that instantaneous approach to our Christian lives, and we’re disappointed that we are not instantly changed. We’re not instantly “holy.” We’re not instantly possessors of God’s promises for us.
The Christian life is not like a business transaction.
It’s a Promise Walk.
A slow walk.
A meditation walk.
A power walk.
A walk waiting for God.
- Take a moment and share this post with others.
- Tweet this post or share on Facebook.
- Ask your followers what steps they are taking on their Promise Walk.
- Tell us what you learned in the Comment Section.
I look forward to learning how your Promise Walk is going.
My prayer
Father of the Promise, thank You for Your great grace. Thank You for showing us throughout Your Word that You are waiting on Your children. Through the waiting, You have chosen to reveal Yourself to us. Bless, we pray, Your followers with the knowledge of the value of waiting in Your presence. We love You, Lord.
