This morning, I became aware that my spirit was singing a song. As the words bubbled up within my consciousness, I recognised it as the opening words of a hymn, one I had not sung for a very long time. I decided to look for the words and sing it during my devotional session. The song is Crown Him With Many Crowns and as I sang the words this morning, I became overcome with emotion.
Now, since this month’s Praise Prayer & Worship Wednesday post falls just before Easter, I decided to share two of the hymn’s verses below, as the praise element.
Praise
Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing,
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.
[…]
Crown Him the Lord of years,
The Potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres,
Ineffably sublime!
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For Thou has died for me;
Thy praise shall never, never fail
Throughout eternity.
(Matthew Bridges & Godfrey Thring)
Prayer
Father God, what a privilege you have granted us to be able to come directly into the Holy of Holies, and fellowship with you. O Lord Jesus, thank you for making this possible. Thank you for inaugurating this new and life-giving way into God’s presence. We step boldly over the threshold of guilt and condemnation, into the welcoming atmosphere of acceptance, grace, and unconditional love.
Lord Jesus, as the Easter season approaches, we take time to consider your amazing act of love in laying down your life for us… in choosing to die an ignominious, shameful, and painful death, so we can be set free from the clutches of Satan, our Enemy. We can never, ever, thank you enough!
Father God, thank you for your ingenious plan of salvation. Lord Jesus, thank you for your commitment to God’s plan and purpose for your life. Thank you for allowing your body to be cruelly chastised and broken, and your blood to be so callously shed, so that we can be reconciled to God, so that we can escape the eternal damnation of our souls.
Holy Spirit, we ask that you stir up within our hearts an ever-increasing love for the Father, a dogged determination to honour Christ with our lives, and a supernatural joy that permeates our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviour as we seek to walk in harmony with those that are a part of our lives.
Amen.
Worship
Wishing all my readers and visitors a wonderful time of peace and joy over the coming Easter season.
With love,
Carol
Author, Blogger and Victorious Overcomer!
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Thank you for taking the time to visit today. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Many thanks!
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RESOURCES:
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
When you ask God for an oak tree, He gives you an acorn. Now if you don’t understand, you might conclude that He either didn’t hear your prayer, or that He said no. Not so; the oak tree is already in the acorn; it’s only a matter of time until it comes out. The seeds of whatever God has promised are already within you. Water them, nurture them, and whatever you do don’t let anyone uproot them through unbelief.
(Praying… and Getting Results – Bob Gass)
Question:
Have you sent Jesus your knee-mail today?
Best wishes,
Carol E. Hind
Author/Blogger/Prayer Advocate
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
*** *** ***
Need a resource to develop a confident and consistent prayer life?
Then don’t hesitate to check out my book Petitions From My Heart (see links below).
How has the past two months of 2024 been for you? I trust it has gone well and that this post finds you enjoying good health and strength—emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
And if that is not the case for you for whatever reason, I pray God’s amazing grace, peace and strength be with you in the coming days, weeks, and months, and I also pray that God will touch your life afresh, in a new, noticeable, and undeniable way!
For myself, thinking back to just over one year ago, the unexpected death of my dear sister threw me off target, and since I’m still struggling to get back on track, I do feel for, and commiserate with you, if you are dealing with some sort of tragedy or misfortune.
Dear reader, I wonder how you are doing with your goals/resolutions. Did you set any at the beginning of this year? If you didn’t, I hope that you at least picked a meaningful word for the year (WOTY), to encourage and motivate you during the months ahead. My WOTY is LIVE!
So, here we are in a brand-new month. I was wondering how I may encourage myself and my readers, to use the new opportunities that a brand-new month offers. Okay, maybe we are not used to looking at each new month in the same way that we view a New Year, but I found myself wondering, why not? Why not capitalize on that feeling of turning a new page and use each month to re-motivate yourself? So, my dear friend, why not climb aboard and embrace the idea of “New Month – New Me!”?
After all, if we did so, then we’d have 12 fresh opportunities to plan, pursue and execute… 12 new opportunities to assess our growth and plan our ongoing development. And whilst I suspect most of you reading this are thinking that I mean personal development or health goals, in the secular sense, what I am referring to and seeking to get you to think about, are spiritual goals.
Did you set any?
If not, why not challenge yourself to do so, beginning with this month?
The above image comes courtesy of Unsplash
Perhaps you may be wondering what kind of spiritual goals you could pursue. Let me help you with some ideas:
Read the entire Bible in 1 year but if you’d find that too daunting, take 2 years (Old Testament in year 1 and the New Testament the following year). And why not try an unfamiliar version?
Journal about your devotional sessions for 1 year
Pray regularly for 1 or 2 unsaved friends / family members to commit their lives to Christ
Read 2-3 Christian books in an area you would like to grow in, takes notes and review regularly. Decide on which aspect intrigues / challenges you, begin applying to your life, then journal about the results
Fast (1 meal per week, or try 1 day per month, or per quarter)
Increase your current time spent in fellowship with God by 5-15 mins (more if you wish) and try to introduce a new or creative element every month (e.g. write a “Dear God” letter, compose a poem or song to the Lord)
Learn a minimum of 5 Bible verses related to an area you struggle with (e.g. anger, fear, forgiveness, ill health, or insecurity) and start meditating on these.
I hope I have given you something to consider and strive for.
Dear reader, may I invite you to make a concerted effort to pursue at least one spiritual goal this year, and to begin doing so this month? If you forget, become discouraged, or get side-tracked, start again next month. And by way of encouragement, let me remind you of a well-known proverb:
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again!
Now, if you are someone already pursuing a goal for your spiritual growth and development, well done! And keep going!
Prayer Focus:
Let’s pray firstly, for one another’s spiritual growth and maturity this year and secondly, that we will maintain our motivation as we pursue our spiritual goals.
PS: Are you wearing your spiritual armour daily? You need to, if you are to walk victoriously in life, remain resolute in your faith, and stand firm on the battlefield of prayer!
PRAYER:
Abba-Father,
What a privilege you have given us—to be a member of your royal family!
We thank you for welcoming us into your holy presence without reservation and accept the invite to visit your throne of grace, to seek specific help in our moments of need.
Father-God, we want to please you, and live our lives in a way that honours and glorifies you. We seek to comply with your command that we don’t conform to the ways of this world but allow ourselves to be changed into the image and nature of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, grant us daily strength and motivation to complete our goals. May our efforts to make spiritual progress bring you pleasure and align with your purpose for our lives.
Holy Spirit, you know our failings, our shortcomings, our areas of weakness. Show us those aspects of our lives where we need to develop and grow. Help us to pursue an achievable program to address them. We ask that you bring relevant scriptures to our remembrance that will challenge, or encourage us, as occasion demands.
We acknowledge that success will not be by personal might or willpower alone but by your enabling grace and therefore ask for your sustaining help, so that we may earnestly pursue and achieve our spiritual goals.
Heavenly Father, thank you for supplying every spiritual resource required to help us on our spiritual journey. Thank you for hearing our petition today and for granting our requests.
Sunday’s Supplications invites you to not only read the posts but also participate in the prayers. Let’s pray for ourselves and for each other. Let’s obey God’s command to watch and pray for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18)
Please note, you do not have to be a blogger to participate in this praying community.
Women of Warfare followers and visitors I wish you a victorious week and a successful month pursuing your spiritual goals.
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Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Today’s post is dedicated to those of you who, like me, have an ongoing situation in your life which has not yet been resolved. You’ve held on, and on, and on to God’s Word. You believe. You’ve prayed. You may even have resorted to begging. Or bargaining! Yet still the problem remains. Unchanged. Unresolved.
It’s in long-standing situations like these that your heart can become a little weary, a little hardened. Or you can become offended. After all, God knows your plight. Why doesn’t he change it? Why won’t he intervene? When will he answer your prayer?
Dear friend, may I encourage you today?
The Bible has several examples of characters in difficult situations. Circumstances that seem hard and unfair. Predicaments that are in stark contrast to the individual’s dreams and expectations. Vexatious trials that appear to be at odds with God’s will, and his promises, even the prophetic words uttered over, or to, them.
For example, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, then later imprisoned for something he did not do. Surely, he must have wondered what would become of those God-given dreams about becoming a man of prominent power and authority.
David, the shepherd boy, was anointed as God’s chosen king when Samuel came to his family home looking for Israel’s next ruler. However, he spent years fleeing for his life from the incumbent king. As Saul pursued him relentlessly, no doubt David wondered what the heck was going on!
I’d recently been wondering what God was doing about a certain situation in my life. Every now and again I feel aggrieved that God has not stepped in before now and resolved it, once and for all.
Last week, the words of a song I used to sing in church started to bubble up within my heart. I recognised that the Holy Spirit was encouraging me, whilst at the same time gently reproving me. The time had come for me to decide how I was going to see the situation going forward. Was I going to focus on the big issue, or remind myself I served a BIG God?
I share the words of this song below and trust God will use them to encourage anyone reading this post, who feels in need of God’s supernatural peace, assurance and staying power.
We thank you that you are not a God who has ears yet cannot hear, or eyes that cannot see. Thank you for your assurance that before we call, you will answer and whilst we are still speaking, you will hear.
Thank you, Father-God, for inviting us to come to your throne of grace and find help in our moments of need. We come today and ask that you grant us heartfelt and abiding peace, regardless of any problems we may face. Forgive us when our faith fails and we look at the impossibilities of our circumstances, instead of contemplating your magnificent might.
Lord Jesus, by faith, we confess today that we can endure all things through you, who continues to strengthen us.
Holy Spirit, help us to focus our attention upon Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Grant us that inner strength and resilience, so we may walk today and every day, as victorious overcomers!
Amen.
WoW friends and visitors, may you enjoy God’s peace and victory throughout the rest of this week!
Worship
With love,
Carol – Author, Blogger and Prayer Advocate
Thank you for taking the time to visit today. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Many thanks!
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RESOURCES:
Do you long to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
The KINGDOM OF GOD is an international organisation with current opportunities all over the world. Having been established in the realm of miraculous intervention since year dot, the founder now seeks to deploy discreet and discerning men and women all over the globe for the above position.
Candidate Profile
Must have a BA (Born-Again) degree
Will have 0-many years of experience in prayer
Should be proficient in “God-speak”
Must either be competent in using spiritual warfare weaponry, or be willing to learn
Will ideally demonstrate a caring and compassionate personality
If you are willing to accept various prayer missions and work anonymously behind the scenes of other people’s lives, please don’t hesitate to apply.
INTERESTED APPLICANTS SHOULD CONTACT: Yeshua’s Prayer Headquarters, Prayer Warriors’ Walk, United Kingdom of Intercessors (UKI).
Kindly note these roles are voluntary!
CLOSING DATE: Due to the ongoing requirement of these roles, there is no closing date
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The earnest prayer of a righteous man [or woman] has great power and wonderful results. (James 5:16 The Living Bible)
Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
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Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
To be an intercessor is costly in terms of time, commitment, availability and obedience. It also requires humility, for it is mostly a quiet, even secret work.
(The Way Of An Intercessor – Audrey Merwood)
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God looked and saw evil looming on the horizon—so much evil and no sign of Justice. He couldn’t believe what he saw: not a soul around to correct this awful situation.
(Isaiah 59:16 TM)
Question:
Have you sent Jesus your knee-mail today?
With love,
Carol E. Hind
Author/Blogger/Prayer Advocate
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
*** *** ***
Need a resource to develop a confident and consistent prayer life?
Then don’t hesitate to check out my book Petitions From My Heart (see links below).
I have a question to ask of you today. Are you a hothouse Christian?
What a strange question to ask (you may be thinking), and what on earth is a ‘hothouse’ Christian?
Let me explain.
A hothouse Christian is a term used by revivalist, Tommy Tenney, in his book The God Chasers. He describes this type of Christian as those who:
…bloom as long as they are kept in a protected and carefully controlled environment far from fear, distress, or persecution.
Tenney goes on to say the following:
…if you take hothouse Christians out of their protected environment and put them into the real world where the wind of adversity blows and the rain of sorrow falls; if they have to endure the hot sun and the drought it brings, then they discover that they never developed a root system in the hothouse. So they wither…
Is there a biblical precedent for this kind of thinking? Well, yes!
Jesus shared two parables warning his listeners about:
the folly of not taking his teachings to heart and therefore building their spiritual house on a foundation of sand, and
the fate of those who do not allow God’s Word to fall on good ground (i.e. fall into hearts prepared to hear and act upon the Word, allowing it to bear fruit in their lives).
You can read or refresh your memory about these parables in Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 8:11-15.
Now obviously, you can’t put into action what you don’t know, or don’t recall, so are you regularly reading God’s Word?
And sorry friend, I do not mean a single scripture verse or two, every now and again. I do not mean Psalm 23 whenever occasion demands. I mean, are you regularly reading ample portions of scripture?
If the unthinkable should happen, and you find yourself a persecuted Christian… if the unimaginable should take place and you as a Christian find yourself having to endure hunger, war, or religious persecution, could you cope?
I don’t mean to alarm or depress you dear friend, but as world events draw us closer and closer towards the end times, we should be asking ourselves these things.
How would you or I fare if what happened in the Ukraine, or Israel and Palestine, was to occur in our own part of the world? Would our faith remain intact?
Dear believer, since the Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing faith comes by (or through) the Word, can you see… can you appreciate how important it is to know God’s Word? I do hope so!
Let us pray.
Prayer Focus:
During the coming days, weeks, and months, let us pray for ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ (both nationally and internationally), that if we are guilty of neglecting the Bible, then we will fall in love with God’s Word and make it a priority in our lives.
PS: Are you wearing your spiritual armourdaily? You need to, if you are to walk victoriously in life, remain resolute in your faith, and stand firm on the battlefield of prayer!
PRAYER:
Father God,
We want to thank you today for the privilege of being able to call upon you and offer prayers and petitions with full assurance that you hear us.
In obedience to your direction that we remain watchful and offer supplications for all saints, we approach you on behalf of ourselves and our fellow-Christians around the world.
O Lord God, in a secular, political and spiritual climate that is constantly changing and feels erratic and unstable, we thank you that your Word is forever fixed and unchanging, a valuable spiritual resource to which we can anchor our souls.
Lord Jesus, we acknowledge your role as our faithful High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us, and we thank you for your representations to the Father, on our behalf.
Holy Spirit, we repent for neglecting to pay proper attention to God’s Word. We ask that you stir up within our hearts an ever-increasing hunger for the Word. Help us to give it a place of true priority in our lives. As we commit to reading and meditating upon it regularly, open the eyes of our understanding, so we can receive its encouraging, life-changing truths, so we can obey its commands, and so that our faith becomes rooted and grounded in that which is solid and stable.
Holy Godhead members, our eyes are upon you. We invite you to do the necessary work within us so that we are fully prepared for whatever may lay ahead of us.
Father-God, we offer this petition in faith, and ask in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Women of Warfare followers and visitors I wish you a victorious week!
Are you reading your Bible regularly, or were you challenged by this post? Please share your response in a comment box below. I’d love to hear from you. And if there is someone you believe could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it.
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Sunday’s Supplications
Sunday’s Supplications invites you to not only read the posts but also participate in the prayers. Let’s pray for ourselves and for each other. Let’s obey God’s command to watch and pray for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18)
Please note, you do not have to be a blogger to participate in this praying community.
***** ***** *****
If you would like some help with your spiritual growth, here’s a resource that will encourage you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life. Why not check out one of the links below?
You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require my presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face [Your presence], Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].
(Psalm 27:8 TAB)
God’s Word invites us to seek his face. To seek God’s face is to seek his presence. It is his desire that we come daily into his presence. Can you imagine how awful it would be if God were to turn around and withdraw that invite and forbid us access to his presence?
He did it with Cain, who declared that God’s punishment was greater than he could bear (Genesis 4:13-16).
In another Bible story we read about King David and one of his sons, Absalom, who incurred the king’s wrath and displeasure by murdering Amnon, one of his own brothers and David’s firstborn.
Absalom fled but after a few years David agreed he could be brought back home to Jerusalem. David however, refused to see Absalom, repeatedly declaring that he did not wish to see his son’s face (read 2 Samuel 14:21-24, 28).
Now, for me, this story highlights the magnanimous grace of God, because no matter what we do, have done, or will do, to incur our Father-God’s displeasure, he will never, ever forbid us to come into his presence.
Thankfully, Jesus’s blood (which speaks on our behalf and in our defence), grants us unrestricted access to God’s presence, unlike Abel’s blood which had cried out from the earth seeking vengeance and resulted in Cain’s banishment from the presence of God.
Praise
Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice
who seek the Lord!
Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
(1 Chronicles 16:8-12 NKJV)
Prayer
Precious Father-God,
What an honour it is to be invited into your holy presence. We do not take this privilege for granted.
Our thanks to you, Lord Jesus, for making it possible for us to enjoy unrestricted access to God’s presence through the torn veil of your own flesh. We thank you for your precious, incorruptible blood that speaks favourably on our behalf from the mercy-seat in heaven, and we come with boldness to God’s throne of grace for his help and support during times of need.
Holy Spirit, refresh our hearts today. May they never become jaded regarding the privileges of our salvation.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!
Worship
Wishing you all a joyful and victorious week.
With love,
Carol
Author, Blogger and Prayer Advocate
SELF SCRUTINY:
Examine your heart today – are you taking access into God’s presence for granted?
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Thank you for taking the time to visit today. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Many thanks!
Friends and followers of Women of Warfare! I’m grateful for your support. I appreciate your visits and your engagement with me regarding my posts. My particular thanks to those of you who recognise and have endorsed my calling.
A blogger friend of mine (Jacquie) introduced me to the concept of speaking a blessing over others. If you are interested in reading a free resource relating to this, please click here.
Meanwhile, I’d like to pray the following blessing over you all.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV)
Furthermore, throughout 2024 I bless you with the following:
Amazing encounters in God’s presence as you take time to fellowship with Him;
An all-pervading Peace within your mind and inner being, irrespective of circumstances;
Clarity of thought and an ability to draw upon godly wisdom when making important decisions;
Full assurance of God’s unconditional love and daily mercies;
Genuine, loving and mutually beneficial relationships;
Miraculous answers to prayer;
The capacity to walk consistently as a victorious overcomer.
Now I’m expectant that God will honour the above, so do come back and share with me in a comment box below, any breakthroughs or blessings you experience throughout this year, so others can be encouraged and so we may celebrate God’s goodness with you.
It is hard not to feel a sense of disquiet within my soul.
I sit in the safety of my own home. I look out of my window at the sun-splashed brick walls of neighbouring homes. I can see a small section of the main road which intersects with our secluded cul-de-sac. Apart from the odd car passing, the gentle ticking of my clock and the clacking of my fingers across a keyboard, all is quiet, all is at peace, all is at it should be.
But if I allow myself to contemplate, and turn my thoughts toward Gaza, then a very different scenario unfolds.
There is the carnage and rubble of bombardments. There is the displacement of citizens. There is the cry of innocent babies oblivious to the military tit-for-tat incursions taking place around them, which have left both them and the medical staff caring for them, without the necessary fuel, food, and infrastructure to care for them properly, to sustain their lives. There is the fear and despair of hostages not yet released. There is the stench of death and foreboding. There is neither peace nor safety.
Taking sides does not help. Airing opinions will not change the situation. Political and international discourse can only go so far.
So, who, or what is the answer?
God is the answer!
And seeking God’s intervention in this world’s affairs, in this ruinous war between Israel and HAMAS, inviting His assistance (through our intercession, prayers, and petitions), is the way forward.
It is God who has the power to change and direct hearts. It is God who is able to tread down His enemies. It is God who has the wisdom and ability to devise a way through impossible scenarios.
Dear reader, God does not sit back upon his sapphire-paved throne and leave humankind to “get on with it”, whilst the forces of evil behind terrorism and war, destroy nations, neighbourhoods, and native citizens. It is not God’s will for Satan and his cohorts to carry on their diabolical work without restraint.
So, if God is so mighty, why doesn’t he just up and do something? Why do we even need to pray?
Because God gave over the responsibility of dominion and the care of this earth to humankind. Having done so, he requires us to ask him to intervene. Because to intervene without being asked, would be akin to a relationship counsellor barging their way into the marital home of a quarrelsome couple and imposing their counsel and will, unasked! To intervene without being asked would make him no better than the despotic leaders or mercenaries of politically unstable lands, who decide to mount a coup.
That is why, Jesus’ model prayer includes the request: Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
That is why Jesus said: Men always ought to pray and not lose heart.
That is why God said: If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray…
So, will you pray? Will you take time out of your day or your week, to intercede for your beleaguered brothers and sisters in Christ, who reside in *Israel and Palestine? Will you have compassion for those who have been left destitute, disheartened, and displaced?
Prayer Focus:
Let us pray for one another to be faithful, fervent supplicants, and let us also pray for those in war-torn lands, particularly for the Israeli and Palestinian residents caught up amid a horrific battle.
PS: Are you wearing your spiritual armour daily? You need to, if you are to walk victoriously in life, remain resolute in your faith, and stand firm on the battlefield of prayer!
Let us pray.
Father God in Heaven,
We come before you to present our petition on behalf of those men, women and children who live in war-torn lands.
We pray especially for those who are members of the Body of Christ. We ask that you grant them inner peace and well-being, despite their circumstances. We ask that you grant them hope for their future. May that hope act as an anchor for their soul. May it keep them grounded and settled in their faith and in their relationship with you. Cast your canopy of divine protection over their lives. Comfort those who have suffered loss of home, family members, and livelihoods.
Almighty God, we cry out to you on behalf of both Israel and Palestine. We ask that you intervene and bring a solution to end the conflict on both sides. We thank you that what seems, or is, impossible for man, is possible for you.
Summon your miraculous might and awesome power Lord God and cause your good and perfect will to be done. We ask that you thwart the plans and devices of terrorist organizations and bring their counsel to nought. Orchestrate those circumstances that will lead to peace and reconciliation.
Prince of Peace, we ask that you take full control in these combat zones. Cause your spirit of peace to override animosities. Take captive and rule the hearts of leaders and citizens. May your good and perfect will prevail in these territories.
Father God, we ask in faith and seal our request with the all-conquering name of Jesus. Amen.
Sunday’s Supplications invites you to not only read the posts but also participate in the prayers. Let’s pray for ourselves and for each other. Let’s obey God’s command to watch and pray for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18)
Please note, you do not have to be a blogger to participate in this praying community.
Women of Warfare followers and visitors, I wish you a week of peace and victory!
With love,
Carol,
Author, Blogger & Prayer Advocate
Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life?
*Are you unsure about how to pray for Israel? Petitions From My Heart, includes four ready-made prayers focused on Israel.
Have you ever sat in the presence of someone and wished you could get up, give them a piece of your mind, and then walk out, or else just suddenly disappear?
I have!
I’ve sat in the presence of a bigoted interviewer, who because of my name, qualifications, and experience, had not expected to see a black candidate. And even though I sat in his presence with a pleasant smile, pretending that this invisible (yet perceptible) wall of racial prejudice was not there between us, even though I presented myself capably, I did so, knowing full well I was wasting my time, knowing full well that the colour of my skin had already disqualified me from securing the post.
And, dear reader, I’m sorry to have to report that I’ve even sat in some church meetings and felt not the sweet presence of warm acceptance, but the frosty arms of rejection.
I have never, ever come into God’s presence however, and been treated by him in a way that made me feel unwanted, unworthy, unloved. And yet, this awesome God, this holy God, this magnificent and supreme being has every right, every reason, to reject me.
I would therefore like to publicly appreciate my Father-God today for his gracious, capacious love, for his amazing acceptance of me. I want to bask in the warmth and sunshine of his glorious presence. Will you join me?
Dear fellow blogger or visitor, I am sure that somewhere along your life’s journey, you have also experienced the pain of rejection. Whether because of your appearance and/or shape, your age, your class, your gender, your skin colour, or some other obscure reason; someone, somewhere (a parent, a friend, a family member, a lover, a community), has rejected you.
So let us take time out today, to acknowledge the acceptance, love, and generosity of our glorious God. And let us exalt his name together!
Praise
Thank you! Everything in me says “Thank you!”
Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
And say it again: “Thank you!”
Thank you for your love,
Thank you for your faithfulness…
(Psalm 138:1-2 The Message)
I lift you high in praise, my God, O my King!
And I’ll bless your name into eternity.
I’ll bless you every day,
And keep it up from now to eternity.
God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough.
There are no boundaries to his greatness.
(Psalm 145:1-3 The Message)
Prayer
Awesome Father-God,
I come into your holy presence today with joy and gladness. I come knowing I’m acceptable in your sight, not because of my own goodness, but because you have imputed to me the righteousness of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Father-God, in a similar vein to King David, I often wonder: Who am I that you should delight in me, deign to reach down to me, deliver and take care of me? Who am I that you should take notice of me and love me unconditionally?
Father-God, let me bask in the sunshine of your holy presence today. Let me revel in the richness of your unadulterated acceptance. Let me luxuriate in the wealth of your mercy and forgiveness. Let me rejoice in the truth of your Word that grants me spiritual freedom.
I ask this in the matchless name of your precious Son, Jesus. Amen!
Worship
Women of Warfare followers and visitors, I wish you all a joyful and enriching week in God’s presence.
With love,
Carol
Author, Blogger and Prayer Advocate
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Thank you for taking the time to visit today. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Many thanks!
As a young, zealous babe in Christ I often prayed what I’d now describe as “dangerous prayers” and I meant them with all my heart.
These prayers went as follows:
Change my heart O Lord…
Not my will but your will be done…
I choose to decrease that Christ [the Anointed One and his anointing], may increase in me
I want to know him [Christ]… and the fellowship of his sufferings…
Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee…
I surrender all…
How God must have smiled!
And how the Enemy must have rejoiced and rubbed his hands together with glee.
But how could I have known what such prayers would entail?
Ignorant Bliss
I didn’t realise the cost I’d have to pay. So, I merrily prayed these types of prayers regularly and felt quite spiritual doing so. In praying such prayers, I hoped to arrive at an elevated spiritual dimension in my life. I believed I’d soon be on a spiritual par with the likes of Moses, or Elisha, or the apostle Paul.
I loved God and I was determined to be an exemplary disciple of Christ. I wanted to be the best Christian I could be. I wanted everything God’s Word indicated I could have and everything His Word indicated I could be. I wanted to experience the reality of his promises and I wanted to operate in his power.
I did not want to be a nominal Christian. I did not want to be a Sunday-only believer. I did not want to live below the standard of a dynamic, faith-filled, and joyful life. I wanted to experience the miraculous and I wanted God to use me to preach powerful, life-changing messages. I wanted to please God. I wanted to be effective in the service of his kingdom. I felt that after all my Father God and Jesus had done for me, it was the least I could do. And so, not realising the cost, I continued to pray these dangerous prayers.
Now whilst experiencing the awesome presence of God during meetings, or enjoying sweet fellowship during my devotional sessions, I felt ready and happy to pay the price. I felt certain I was willing to pay the cost. But I had no idea what I’d been praying, or for what I was signing up. I had no way of knowing the extent of personal suffering involved, no conception of the significant price I’d be asked to pay.
A Painful Price
In my case, the price was unrelenting persecution. The cost was death to me, myself, and I. Death to my personal confidence. Death to my reputation. Death to my self-esteem. Not just for a week or so. Not merely for a month or so. Not even for a year or so. The price to be paid seemed never ending and required me to continue picking up that cross, despite my bleeding wounded soul.
I tried to follow the path laid out for me, albeit reluctantly, and at times bitterly but after a while, in the day-to-day grind of daily life, I baulked. I struggled. There were even instances when I lay down beneath the weight of my cross too angry, too crushed, and too past caring, to pick it up and move on. I no longer wanted to pay that price. It was too painful, too demeaning.
At this point my attitude became less than sweet and compliant to God’s will. I no longer wanted to “decrease so that Christ, the Anointed One, could increase in me”. I wanted out! I saw myself as a victim and became incensed with both God and man. How dare they treat me this way! Do they not know I am a child of God?
My prayers became: Lord, why are you allowing this to happen? Why don’t you do something? When are you going to take vengeance against my enemies?
It took many years for it to happen but eventually, the penny dropped. I put two and two together and realised my sufferings were a response to my fervent declarations, my zealous vows of commitment. So, what did I do? I stopped praying these types of prayers. I felt I couldn’t take another dose of persecution. I couldn’t stomach another season of rejection.
What Does It Mean to Carry One’s Cross?
Carrying one’s cross is a necessary part of our Christian journey. In doing so, we identify with the Lord’s experience of rejection, pain, and shame. In doing so, the ugliness within our character, the weakness of our faith and the fickleness of our self-confessed devotion comes to light. In doing so, we are transformed from one level of glory to another and shaped into the image of God’s Son.
In my case, fears and trepidation regarding what else God would demand of me, turned into resignation (in for a penny / in for a pound!) and finally into humble acceptance, adoration, and dutiful submission. I resumed praying my dangerous prayers, but this time with an understanding of what this could entail.
Are you someone currently experiencing the pain and indignities of cross-carrying? Then my heart goes out to you! May I encourage you today? Please don’t give up! Listen to what God has promised:
When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown!
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
You will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you.
(Isaiah 43: 2 The Living Bible)
Dear reader, carrying one’s cross requires us to die to ourselves, to the fleshly carnal part of our beings that is at odds with God’s Word, His will, and his specially designed programme for honing our characters, and cultivating spiritual resilience. We may quibble and squirm, flinch and fret, as much as we like but as delegates of his ‘Conforming to the Image of Christ Program’ there is no getting away from the course requirements of our Father God.
My dear friend in Christ, it is imperative that you establish and maintain a strong relationship with the Lord… that you pursue a meaningful and consistent prayer life, so that whatever lies ahead, you will not only survive, you will thrive… you will not only cope, but you will also maintain biblical hope, for your future.
I can honestly bear witness to the fact that a sound knowledge of God’s Word and ongoing communication with the three Godhead members through prayer, will guarantee that you emerge as a victorious overcomer.
Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Epaphroditus became so ill he was practically at death’s door (Philippians 2:25-30).
Daniel was so overcome with heaviness by God’s revelations of future events (which wouldn’t even affect him), he couldn’t eat or drink (Daniel 10:2-3).
Even Jesus, having reached the end of his tether in the Garden of Gethsemane, felt so overwhelmed that his sweat became as drops of blood.
I say all the above, to bring your attention to the fact that prayer warriors are human, can become discouraged, sick, or overwhelmed by their zeal for God’s kingdom, by the weight of responsibilities, by the endless prayer needs they see around them.
So, my question to you today dear friend is this: Are you pulling your weight?
Abraham did his best to negotiate with God, in a bid to save any righteous people left in Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:22-33). And Epaphras, a fellow-prisoner with the Apostle Paul, was described as one who laboured fervently in prayer (Philemon 1:23; Colossians 4:12). You’d think he’d be too busy having a pity party!
When 1 Thessalonians 5:17 asks that we “pray without ceasing”, this request seems burdensome, even impossible. But the apostle Paul was not asking us to pray ad infinitum (without a break). He was giving the exact same instruction as Jesus had given but expressed in different words.
Jesus said we always ought to pray and not faint (i.e., become disheartened, weary, or give up). Easier said than done – right?
To be a prayer warrior, an intercessor, can often seem like a never-ending task, at times an onerous responsibility.
Take recent events involving Israel and the brutal invasion of HAMAS. Prior to this was the invasion of Ukraine by the Russians.
My dear Christian friend, how have you been responding to these issues? Are you hearing God’s clarion call to enter the spiritual battlefield in prayer? Can you appreciate the need for more volunteers to take their place on the intercessory frontline, to lessen the burden on others and provide more firepower against our Enemy?
I believe that since the appearance of Covid19 which upended normal life for everyone, right across the globe, plus the escalation of needless destruction and violence in the two regions of conflict mentioned above, it is clear we are moving towards (if not into) a season of perilous times.
I may be wrong, but if I am not and this is the case, will your relationship with the Lord and your current prayer life be up to the challenge?
Dear follower of Christ, if you know it will not, or if you are unsure, may I kindly suggest that you take stock now (not tomorrow, not when it seems more convenient), but NOW and get your prayer life in order?
Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts…
(Hebrews 3:15 NKJV)
Understand my dear friend that I am not seeking to alarm you or be a harbinger of doom. I am just acting on what I sense in my spirit and what I believe the Lord would have me say, as a spiritual watchman.
So, as Jesus said to the various church communities in Revelation (paraphrased): Let him/her that has ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying. And to the Lord’s warning, I would add this: hear NOW, act TODAY!
With love and deep concern,
Carol
Author, Blogger and Prayer Advocate
Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
I have a question for you today: Are you a bruised reed?
What do you mean? (I hear you ask)
Allow me to explain.
I am meaning someone who has been crushed by life’s circumstances. Someone who has had the wind knocked out of their spiritual sails. Someone who feels at the end of their tether. Someone who has begun to question whether God will ever show up in their life and the lives of their loved ones, as deliverer, healer, restorer, and vindicator?
Are you that person?
Has tragedy struck your household?
Has the wheel of misfortune devastated your prospects?
Has a prolonged season of adversity blunted your faith?
Spiritually speaking, do you feel like a reed? Do you feel helpless against the vicissitudes of life? Do you feel as if your faith has been shaken? If so, believe me when I say, I can understand. I’ve been there!
So, what do you do when your faith has taken a knock? When beliefs you’ve held onto for years, decades even, suddenly seem foolish? Where do you go when the foundation on which you have built your life suddenly feels unstable?
You do what Job did. You praise and worship God. You refuse to move away from the hope of the gospel.
You do what David did. And trust Father God regardless of how things look, or how you feel.
You do not do what Elijah did and despair of life itself.
You look towards Jesus, who is the author and finisher (perfector or completer) of your faith.
I mentioned a moment ago that I’ve been in that place of spiritual despair. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit (to whom I appealed), helped me and gently hauled me out of my pit of despondency. He led me back towards the loving arms of Jesus – the Good Shephard and Overseer of my soul.
And Jesus ushered me into his beautiful, green, and pleasant pastures of renewed hope. Steering me away from the path of disillusionment, my precious Lord settled me besides his still, quiet waters of spiritual refreshment. I am grateful.
You see, when my sister died earlier this year, I was devastated. She was not just my sister. She was a dear close friend. We spent decades of our lives together, sharing dreams and experiences, shopping, discussing our likes, dislikes, and opinions – on fashion, home décor, gardening, those in the public eye whom we admired, and much more. We holidayed and socialised together. We fought and fell out at times, but we truly loved one another and had a deep connection.
So, when she died, I felt like Naomi. I felt angry and disappointed with God. Why had he not heard and answered her prayers? Why had he not heard and answered my prayers? Why was there this ever-increasing sense of spiritual dissonance between my faith-motivated expectations and the subsequent results of my experiences, in comparison to the miraculous accounts in God’s Word?
Why? Why? Why?
Now such honest questions need to be asked and I don’t believe God is offended when we do. After all, throughout Psalms we see similar questions being asked. However, we do need to watch out that the Enemy of our souls does not ride in upon the tide of our discouragement and add his evil, disingenuous suggestions to the mix…
If God loves you, why did he allow her to die, knowing what a big hole her absence would bring to your life?
Didn’t God say: You shall pray for the sick and they will recover? Why didn’t she recover?
Where is that miracle-working power in which you so firmly believe? Where is it when you need it?
…because once you start listening to Satan’s goading, designed to make you doubt God and the veracity of his Word, he then turns his faith-poisoning darts upon you.
Perhaps you are just not spiritual enough. Perhaps… Perhaps… Perhaps…
And if you allow this kind of mental dialogue to continue, then it won’t be long before (as Elijah did), you feel so despondent you want to throw in the towel… you want to bow out (i.e., commit spiritual suicide!). You feel tempted to abandon your beliefs, dismiss your faith and give up your hard-fought ground of spiritual territory.
If that’s you my beloved friend and sister in Christ, and you feel like a crushed or broken reed, God wants to encourage you today. Refuse to listen to the lies and taunts of the Enemy against yourself. Refuse to consider the false accusations he is levelling against the Lord. Ignore your feelings and lift that shield of faith today (and every day), to quench Satan’s fiery darts of doubt and fear.
Listen my friend, Jesus can relate to every situation you might go through. He lost a close family member in the most horrendous fashion (His cousin John the Baptist was decapitated). He was sensitive to Simon Peter’s complete lack of spiritual confidence, after denying that he knew Jesus. And the fact of Peter’s denial seems even more awful once you realise that Jesus was his half-brother (Matthew 13:55).
Although Jesus had re-named him from Simon “a reed”, to Peter “a stone”, I can imagine that at this point (following his betrayal), Peter saw himself more as a reed – and a crushed one at that!
God’s Word tells us that that Jesus is so loving and compassionate, he will not crush an already bruised reed (see Isaiah 42:3). In the same way Jesus reached out to and restored Peter after his crisis of spiritual confidence, he will reach out to you.
And so today, my heart goes out to all broken, crushed, or shaken reeds (past, present, and future). I pray your faith will not fail. I pray God will meet you where you are at and minister to your deepest hurts and cries.
PRAYER:
Loving Father and Faithful Friend,
I ask that you reach out right now and touch the heart and soul of any reader who fits the description of a bruised reed, regardless of how they arrived at this situation. Let not the deception and plan of the Enemy prevail within these precious lives.
Holy Spirit, hover over and minister to each one until they experience healing from their hurts and fresh hope to face their future.
In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.
Have a wonderfully blessed and victorious week!
With love,
Carol E. Hind
Author/Blogger/Prayer Advocate
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Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
Are you a passionate, prideful, or petulant pray-er?
Do you pray in faith, with expectation, or do you pray from a sense of entitlement?
Many of you will be familiar with the idea of asking God for something. In fact, for most of us perhaps this is the only, or the main feature, of our prayer lives. To ask… and ask… and ask…
And there’s nothing wrong with that of course. Even Jesus in his teaching on prayer invites us to ask. He said:
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
(Matthew 7:7 NKJV)
However, what I want to bring to your attention today is the way in which you ask. Because, in this modern age, we live in a world where a sense of entitlement is played out with regularity in our lives – upon our TV screens, digital devices and written publications, within relationships, mindsets and attitudes.
Entitlement is the name of the game, and it is reinforced in our hearts by the idea we can get something for nothing!
These days, that “something” sought, is not the piddly prize of a book or a gift token, but is more likely to be the grand, attractive, and desirable prize of becoming a lottery-win millionaire, or inheriting a large fortune, or becoming a Reality TV celebrity, a social media influencer, even an overnight music star.
Fame and fortune. Recognition and rewards. But even if our aspirations do not run along such lines, we can become subtly influenced (infected) by the superstar virus which drives such ambitions. We want things to happen quickly. We want mega-visible results, and we want it NOW! And this worldly attitude can seep out into our prayer lives.
I must admit that the Bible stories of Jesus’ miraculous accomplishments (the healings and displays of supernatural power that invariably occurred with immediate effect), had raised certain expectations, influencing my prayers, causing me to fall into this same entitlement trap. I wanted miraculous answers to prayer, and I wanted it NOW (within my timeframe). Can anyone relate?
Having embraced the prayer warrior mantle, it’s easy to start believing that effectiveness in prayer comes about simply because you’ve seen it, done it, and own the tee-shirt!
However, as the above definition reveals, there’s a difference between asking with a sense of entitlement, and asking humbly, asking earnestly.
To ask humbly is to recognise that the answer is not dependent upon you, your knowledge or past prayer experiences. To ask humbly, is to recognise that the person to whom you are making your request is an almighty, awesome being, who is bigger, higher, wiser than you, the supplicant. To ask humbly is to recognise that God works to his own timetable – not yours!
And as implied in the definition above, as supplicants, we are to ask earnestly. Not selfishly. Not petulantly. And certainly not from an attitude of entitlement.
So, what does it mean to be earnest?
It means to show serious feeling and intention. It means to show determination, sincerity, strong emotion.
Like Moses, who when God threatened to wipe out the entire nation of Israel and start afresh with himself, was more concerned with God’s reputation than his promotion.
Like the apostle Paul, who preferred for himself to be excluded from God’s grace and favour, if it meant that the entire nation of Israel could be included (see Romans 9:1-3).
Like Elijah, who was so zealous for the spiritual well-being of his nation and for the reputation of God, that he challenged Israel to an incredible competition between Jehovah and Baal. In fact, Elijah is pointed out to us as an exemplar, when it comes to effective and fervent prayer (James 5:17-18).
And so, my dear friends, let me ask you today:
How do you pray?
Like a child with a long wish list for Father Christmas?
Like a fearful slave begging for scraps of favour from a hard-hearted master?
Like an ungrateful child who has begun to take for granted their relationship and position of grace with their heavenly father?
Or
Like a humble supplicant? – someone who respects their relationship with the Lord and recognises they are both a co-labourer with God, and a conduit, for His mercy and power.
We are privileged in that we’ve been made priests and kings in God’s kingdom. Let us not behave like King Ahab, with a sense of entitlement. Let us not pray like the Pharisee exposed in Luke 18:9-14, harbouring a secret sense of superiority that soon becomes evident by our prayers.
Let us choose to be like John the Baptist, humbly realising that Christ (his Word, his will, and his character), must increase in our hearts and lives.
Prayer Focus:
Let us pray for one another to be faithful, fervent supplicants, giving our Father God, the reverence and respect he is rightly due and reflecting such attitudes in our prayers.
PS: Are you wearing your spiritual armour daily? You need to, if you are to walk victoriously in life, remain resolute in your faith, and stand firm on the battlefield of prayer!
PRAYER:
Father God,
We want to honour you today, as the God who does all things after the counsel of your own will. We want to recognise that your thoughts and ways are much higher than our thoughts and ways. We choose to acknowledge that your plans are beyond our comprehension and finite capacity.
We exalt you in our hearts and in our lives, as the only true and Living God, the one who is in complete control of all events and situations, the one who is all-powerful, all-seeing, and ever-present everywhere.
We want to thank you for the privilege of being a co-labourer with you through our prayers and our deeds. We want to acknowledge that we are nothing of ourselves and can do nothing by our own efforts, which will make one iota of difference in the supernatural realm.
Jesus, it is in you we live and move and have our being. Holy Spirit, we acknowledge it is not by our personal might or prayer power that we can accomplish the Lord’s will or fulfil His purpose. We thank you in anticipation of your assistance, Holy Spirit.
Help us to pray effectively and fervently. Remind us to offer our supplications to God in a spirit of humility. Remind us that our prayers should serve God’s purposes and not our own. Let us not be prideful or petulant petitioners but enable us to pray in sincerity for others, in accordance with God’s will, in faith, and with the right attitude of expectation.
We ask this Father God in the matchless name of your son, Jesus. Amen.
Sunday’s Supplications invites you to not only read the posts but also participate in the prayers. Let’s pray for ourselves and for each other. Let’s obey God’s command to watch and pray for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18)
Please note, you do not have to be a blogger to participate in this praying community.
Women of Warfare followers and visitors I wish you a victorious week!
I trust you are keeping well. I have missed connecting with you all.
I know – I’ve been away for a long time but now I’ve returned and am eager to get back into the blogging saddle.
First off, let me wish you all a happy September! May you flourish in your ongoing relationship with God both in terms of your prayer life and in walking out your faith as a victorious overcomer.
It has been a difficult time for me. I am not really someone who divulges their personal business to others, but I’m learning to be transparent, and I have no wish to appear to this community as though I’m someone who is always on a spiritual high, and for whom everything in the garden is forever rosy. Anyone who has lived long enough to experience life in all its varying colours, will know that this is just not so.
The observant ones among you will have noted that I generally sign off my posts with “prayer advocate” in the signature line.
What do I mean by a prayer advocate?
I mean someone who champions the discipline of prayer, who vouches for the benefits of prayer, who enjoys and seeks to maintain an active prayer life, who believes wholeheartedly in the God to whom we address our prayers and who is convinced that prayer (an ongoing dialogue with God), is essential for spiritual growth and well-being.
As such, I take prayer and intercession seriously. I am not one who sees prayer as boring, or a duty, or who struggles with maintaining a meaningful prayer life. I suspect that my commitment to prayer comes across in my blog posts, since during my time here as a blogger, I’ve been approached by several blogging acquaintances, seeking my prayer support, which I gladly gave.
I have over the many years of walking with the Lord experienced wonderful answers to prayer. There are however instances where the answer is either long delayed, or a “no”.
Tragedy struck our family when a young relative was murdered by an ex-girlfriend. I wondered whether I was guilty of not praying sufficiently or fervently enough to prevent such a terrible thing happening. Was I guilty of neglect?
Following a stressful court case this year, the culprit was sentenced to a total of 30 years imprisonment. Justice had been served – a definite answer to prayer, for which I am thankful. Still, I wondered could this needless death of a 19yr old man have been averted?
Added to this loss, has been the unexpected deaths of two other family members, one a dear sister, with whom I was very close. As I write these words, I still cannot believe she is no longer around. In this instance, I believe I did everything I possibly could, yet God did not answer my prayers as expected.
The above blog post title (Missing), refers to both those who are no longer a part of our family circle and to myself, absent from the blogosphere whilst endeavouring to support my loved ones during our time of crisis with my presence and my prayers… whilst tussling with my disappointment and despair over the unexpected demise of our loved ones… whilst absorbed with the finer details of funeral arrangements. I’ve struggled with disappointment with God, even anger towards him, feeling he could have, and should have, prevented these devastating events from occurring.
Dear reader, I have been amazed about how patient, gentle and gracious the Holy Godhead members have been with me, given my petulant accusations, my declared frustration over the huge gap between my faith’s expectations and the actual results. I’ve questioned why when it came to certain situations (both long-standing and recent), I’m not experiencing the miracle-working God showcased by Jesus in the gospels and demonstrated by the apostles in the book of Acts.
I’m so glad I keep devotional journals, which bear record to the countless times God has answered my prayers, intervened in situations, and showed up as God in my life and in the lives of my loved ones. And, I have been astounded by just how humble, gracious, and loving God has been to me during my spiritual wobbles.
As King David has expressed in so many of his psalms, on one hand I felt God had let me down, yet on the other hand, I could not deny his God-ness. I could not deny the reality of his awesome being. I could not deny the measure of his amazing love and mercy towards me. And if I could not deny these things, then I cannot deny that God is sovereign and does all things according to his own counsel and will. I cannot deny that he sees the bigger picture and his ways and thoughts are exceedingly higher than my own.
I may not understand why things happened as they did. I have certainly not experienced anything like the trials of Job, who challenges me with his utter commitment to God, expressed in this vow:
Though He slay me, yet will I trust him.
(Job 13:15 NKJV)
I can say that I still love the Lord and continue to desire to love him the way he demands and deserves (with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength). And I can hand-on-my-heart truthfully say that I am still a prayer advocate.
With lots of love,
Carol
Author, Blogger and Prayer Advocate
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Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Has anything I said in this post resonated with you? Please share your response in a comment box below. And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, then please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Without further ado, I’ll just launch into the second part of my post shared yesterday. If you missed Part 1 of this message, you may access it here.
Engage the Help of the Holy Spirit and Use Your God-Given Authority!
Do you have what seems like an insurmountable problem in your life? Is there a recurring issue that has been troubling you for longer than you care to admit? These are what the Bible refers to as “mountains”. Maybe your problem is that you are trying to scale, or climb over them in your own strength. BIG MISTAKE! In Mark 11:22-23, Jesus says that we are to speak to them! So, adopt the same attitude as Zerubbabel (see Zechariah 4:6-7) and speak words of faith (i.e., scripture) to your mountains.
Don’t know what to do, or how to pray about an issue? Then ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Invite the Holy Spirit to strengthen you internally, so that you have the necessary resilience to go the distance. Ask him to give you wisdom and to help you pray appropriately and effectively, then turn the matter over to the Holy Spirit, allowing him to pray with, for, and through you, using your spiritual prayer language. I can assure you from personal experience that 10-15mins praying in tongues, yields better results (i.e. quicker breakthroughs) than hours of agonising in your native tongue.
Pray for Others
Don’t subscribe to the me-myself-and-mine philosophy. Have a generous heart and demonstrate concern and compassion for others. Jesus modelled this whilst here on this earth and even now, after all he has done to secure our salvation, he is still engaged in intercession for us.
The New Testament has many prayers that the apostle Paul prayed for fellow believers, which we can use in our own prayer life to support other Christians. And, in Colossians 4:12, one of Paul’s helpers, Epaphras, is brought to our attention as someone who was “always labouring fervently” in prayer for his brothers and sisters in Christ.
As someone who values prayer highly and considers it to be the most precious gift of time that anyone could bless me with, I’d be thrilled to know that there’s an “Epaphras” somewhere out there amongst my acquaintances, wouldn’t you?
Embark on a love journey with Jesus
How would you feel if the only time your family members, friends or significant other contacted you, was when they wanted something?
Jesus is looking for a bride for himself and accordingly seeks to woo you into a loving, committed relationship.
Are you too busy, working for Him? Or too self-absorbed by your own life, to care about Jesus’ desires?
Perhaps you have focused your prayer life on relating solely to Father-God. Why not bring some spiritual romance into your devotional life and pursue a love relationship with His Son, Jesus?
Be like the Shulamite woman in Song of Solomon and respond to his affectionate attentions. Listen out for His gentle knocking upon the door of your heart. Open without reservation, allow him to come in and bless you from his banqueting table of love.
Enable this lover of your soul, to sing songs of deliverance over you, to soothe and tenderise your heart with his attentions. Submit yourself to him so he may transform you from a tortured or complacent individual to a contented, spirit-kissed soul. Then you will be able to join in with the chorus of those who passionately yearn, seek out and discover the fragrance of his abiding presence.
I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying
“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one […]
(Song of Solomon 5:2 (NKJV)
“Pray” is a verb – so do it!
“I don’t know what to say!”
Do you give this as your reason for not praying? Then let’s explore this further.
Is this because you are intimidated by who God is? Or is this because you feel you need to have a certain type of language to speak to him? Or is it because you really don’t want to, and this serves as a useful excuse?
I was brought up in a family where children were to be seen but not heard. We were not allowed to watch TV in case we were corrupted by what was being shown. I was therefore unable to communicate with other children about Popeye, or other characters of children shows, because I’d not seen them. I grew up feeling awkward and strange, not used to articulating my opinions or feelings.
By the time I became an adult, I had to learn how to make general conversation with people outside of my immediate family. I’d agonise about whether I was interesting, or intelligent, or saying things in the right way. I learned how to keep a conversation going simply by listening to the general chit-chat of work colleagues.
If you really don’t know how to pray, get with someone who does. And if you don’t know anyone or are too shy to ask, listen to those online who do pray and even offer a prayer ministry to others. Grace for Purpose is one such ministry that I highly recommend. Check them out on YouTube. I include a short video below for those interested.
For further assistance, read your Bible and read books on prayer. My own book, Petitions From My Heart, (see purchasing details below), offers you a prayer chart and gives you a whole range of ready-made prayers you can use. In this age of information technology and global reach, there is simply no justifiable excuse.
Finally, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you. He is right there within you and his assignment is to come alongside you and help.
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To those who stuck with me through both parts of this blog post, I thank you for your patience and for blessing me with your time and attention. And to those who have a true desire to upgrade their prayer lives, may God use these two posts to convict, challenge or inspire you.
Wishing you a tremendously blessed year of spiritual growth, victory, and peace!
With love,
Carol E. Hind – Author/Blogger/Prayer Advocate
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
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Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
__________________
Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
Greetings my dear friends, fellow-bloggers, and followers!
I wish you a tremendously blessed year of spiritual growth, victory, and peace!
I’m interested in your prayer life.
Why?
Because I agree with Charles Spurgeon, an eminent man of God, who said:
Prayer is the vessel that trades with heaven and comes home from the celestial country laden with treasures of far greater worth than [any] Spanish galleon brought from the land of gold.
Isn’t that a beautiful picture? Does it not elevate the perception of prayer as a boring, dry, or dutiful exercise?
As ‘born-again’ believers, God invites us to trade our anxieties for his supernatural peace. In Isaiah 55, He invites us to buy wine (intoxicating joy) and milk (spiritual sustenance) without price and encourages us to delight our souls in abundance.
In terms of genuine spiritual experience, are you there dear friend? Are you at peace? Are you truly joyful, irrespective of whatever is going on in your life? Are you enjoying a rich life of fulfilment?
Does your prayer life look like Spurgeon’s description above, or would you more describe it as a small dinghy that has capsized in an ocean of troubles, or is forever circling within a river of discontent?
If you are aware that your prayer life is just not where it should be and you would like to do something about it, allow me to share the following suggestions, which I trust will move you towards that desired result.
Observe Heavenly Protocol (click here to read a related in-depth post)
Psalm 100:1-4 lets us know that there’s a prescribed protocol for coming into God’s presence. That protocol is thanksgiving followed by praise. So don’t just turn up with a wish list or spew out bitter complaints.
Recognise that you are approaching an awesome and holy God. Treat him with the same honour and respect that you would give to any earthly dignitary. If you are not sure how to, or run out of fresh ideas, the psalms are littered with tributes and paeans, which you can borrow to express your heart.
Come In Faith and With an Expectant Heart
As human beings, we are generally people-pleasers. We want to get along with those within our acquaintance circle. Whether the boss or our colleagues, friends, family, or neighbours, we can spend a lot of our time either appeasing or pleasing them.
There are those who worship false gods and because they have only a one-sided relationship with these ‘gods’, they are often in the position of trying to appease them or hoping to gain their favour.
Not so with God! He is not only accessible and approachable, he is favourably disposed towards you. He has your best interests and welfare as a primary concern, upon his heart. He does however require you to have faith in and trust Him. If you want to please God, then have faith in his Word, in his promises, in his ability to help you whatever the problem (see Hebrews 11:6).
Perhaps we find it difficult putting complete trust in a God we cannot see. Yet, when it comes to our everyday life, we will often place our confidence and trust in people we’ve never seen and know nothing about their character or background. Take for example, an aircraft pilot. How many times have you run a background check on him/her before flying? My guess is: never! We put our trust in the airline that has employed him/her and we take it for granted that this person has passed the necessary tests, has the necessary experience, and will not do anything to endanger passengers.
Dear friend, the God who created this universe, who upholds and runs its entire existence merely by the power of his word, the one who knew you before you were even conceived in your mother’s womb, the one who came up with his ingenious plan of salvation, the one who knows the end from the beginning, the one who is able to cause all things that happen in our lives to work together for our good, is surely worthy of our trust. He has proved his character and ability again, and again, and again.
If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you know that God is good, loving, kind, capable and has an unimpeachable character. You know it from reading His Word, and you know it from personal experience. Do you know anyone who’d sacrifice their beloved child to die for someone else (whether good or bad), let alone for the entire world? Again, my guess is: probably not!
In Romans 8:32, we are told that:
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Based on this verse of scripture alone, I believe God has fully earned our trust – don’t you?
Invite the Lord to search your heart
As a commuter travelling into work 5 days a week by public transport, when it came to my face cleansing routine, I noticed a big difference at weekends – there was less grime! And travelling at close quarters with other commuters meant that if there were colds or flu going around, there was a fair chance I’d catch it.
As fellow citizens in this world (yet not of it!), our journey in life means that the same susceptibility to absorbing grime (sinful attitudes) or catching undesirable infections (ungodly thoughts or desires) applies to us. Relationships with others demand that we rub-up against them, so we are certainly not immune to contagious germs such as anger, pride, strife, or temptation.
1 John 3:21 tells us that if our heart does not condemn us then we can have confidence toward God. Since we are often blind to our own faults and shortcomings, asking the Lord to search our hearts should be a necessary feature of our prayer lives.
A good prayer to use from God’s Word is the one King David penned:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalm 139: 23-24 NKJV)
To be continued…
I realise this is a long read, so to anyone who stuck with me to the end, I thank you for your patience and for honouring me with your time and attention. I do hope you will join me for Part 2.
With love,
Carol E. Hind – Author/Blogger/Prayer Advocate
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
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Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
__________________
Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
Once again, we come to that time at the beginning of a new year when we look back at the year gone by and look forward to the year ahead.
May I take this opportunity to thank everyone who has kindly supported me throughout 2022 with their “likes”, comments, and purchase of my books.
I’d like to say a special “thank you” to those who have gone the extra mile and left me a review. Thank you also to those who’ve reached out to me through email with your encouragement. I sincerely appreciate you!
My prayer for you is that throughout 2023, God will bless and empower you to rein in your circumstances, to walk victoriously day-by-day in his awesome grace and favour. May he envelop you in the security of his abiding peace, and may you ever experience the fragrance of his steadfast love and mercy.
Without doubt, we are living in difficult times. Governments come and go. Economic systems are proving unsustainable. The cost of living is such that some people are facing the difficult choice of whether to eat or heat their homes.
After the unexpected disruption of our lives by Covid 19 and the global pandemic, we were perhaps looking forward to some semblance of normality. Alas! For many people this is not to be.
The good news, however, is this: wherever we happen to live in the world and whatever challenges we face, God remains the same. He is an unchanging God. He is a covenant-keeping God. It would be natural to look around us and despair but as people of God, we are asked to put our trust in the One who knows the end from the beginning.
Dear reader, will you accompany me today on the pathway of praise?
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Praise
I will love you O Lord with all my heart
I will worship you my God, in Spirit and in truth
I will draw closer to you my Lord and Saviour
I will celebrate your goodness, steadfast love and unfailing mercies
For you are worthy of all glory, honour and praise.
Therefore by Him [Jesus] let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His Name.
(Hebrews 13:15 NKJV)
Prayer
Father God, your Word says we should not be anxious about anything but through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make our requests known to you. Your Word also states we should not be concerned about our material needs for you are aware of these.
Heavenly Father, the psalmist David declared he had never seen the righteous forsaken, nor their descendants begging for bread and the Apostle Paul said that you would supply all our needs. We therefore hold onto your Word and stand upon your promises during these difficult times.
Gracious God, remember our obedience in giving tithes and offerings for the purposes of ministry and for the poor. We ask that you demonstrate your ability and willingness to bless us and thank you in anticipation of your generous provision. Jehovah Jireh, we declare that you are our source of supply.
We believe that just as you provide for the birds of the air, so you will also meet our material needs for we are your children, and we are of more value to you than a sparrow. You said we should ask, and you promised our request would be granted.
Bountiful God, we thank you in advance for your timely provision.Thank you for your faithfulness, Father God, and thank you for this opportunity to exercise our confidence in you as our provider. Amen.
When you’re ruled by circumstances and emotions you live on a rollercoaster. But if you look to the Lord of your circumstances and praise Him, you move from weakness to strength. (UCB Word For Today – written by Bob and Debbie Gass)
*UCB Word For Today – For the current online version of this devotional please click here:
Worship
Wishing you all a peaceful and victorious week.
With love,
Carol – Author, Blogger and Prayer Advocate
Thank you for taking the time to visit today. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who would benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Many thanks!
RESOURCES:
Do you long to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
I’d like to share an excerpt from my favourite devotional, which I trust will not only be an encouragement to you, but also be a word “in season” to someone who is feeling confused, discouraged, fearful or weak.
I’ve been there! And I can assure you that when you engage in prayer, praise and worship, it is as if you are miraculously transported into a different sphere where God is able to minister his comfort, his peace and his perspective to you.
So, wherever you are right now in your relationship with him, or with others, or however you may be feeling about life, why not take this moment to refresh your heart in his awesome presence?
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Praise opens doors. Praise breaks chains. Any time you praise God in spite of the circumstances, the forces of heaven come to your aid. You say, ‘But sometimes I don’t feel like praising God.’ The psalmist wrote, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times’ (Psalm 34:1 NKJV).
Sometimes praise is an emotional response to God’s goodness; other times it’s an act of your will. Anybody can praise God in the good times. But when you have to rise above your feelings and your circumstances, that’s when it really counts.
The battle of Jericho teaches us that sometimes you have to shout God’s praise when:
You are up against a brick wall.
It feels like you’re going in circles.
Your circumstances seem to mock you.
Your rational mind thinks, ‘This plan doesn’t make any sense.’
It’s the last thing you feel like doing.
But when you praise God anyway, you discover the truth of Nehemiah’s words: ‘The joy of the Lord [the joy that comes from knowing He is present with you and has gone before you to work things out in your favour] is your strength’ (Nehemiah 8:10 AMP).
When you’re ruled by circumstances and emotions you live on a rollercoaster. But if you look to the Lord of your circumstances and praise Him, you move from weakness to strength.
(The above excerpt was taken from: *UCB Word For Today – 5 July 2016 – written by Bob and Debbie Gass)
Free postal copies of UCB Word For Today are available from: FREEPOST RLTX-ABUL-GRAR, United Christian Broadcasters, Westport Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 4JF (UK and Republic of Ireland only).
For the current online version of this devotional please click here:
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Praise
Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For YAH, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.
(Isaiah 12:2 NKJV)
Prayer
YAHWEH, you are our God. We are grateful to be able to call upon you at any time of the day and night. We are grateful that we do not have to make a prior appointment, nor do we require a third party (other than Jesus), to be able to access your presence.
We come humbly today before your throne of grace. We simply wish to bask in your holy presence. We simply wish to lift our eyes away from our circumstances and gaze upon your bright and beautiful countenance. We raise our hands to you in praise and worship and declare you as our Lord and our God—the Lord of all our circumstances, the God of all our hopes and dreams.
Thank you, Father God, for your extravagant and steadfast love. Thank you for your pre-ordained plans and purpose for our lives. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your ability to transform us into the people you have called us to be.
We choose to yield to your Will, your Word, your Wisdom. We ask that you take these earthen vessels and make us fit and suitable for your use. Help us to express the excellency of your name and nature, in a way that truly glorifies you.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen!
When you’re ruled by circumstances and emotions you live on a rollercoaster. But if you look to the Lord of your circumstances and praise Him, you move from weakness to strength.
Wishing you all a stress-free and victorious week.
With love,
Carol E. Hind – Author, Blogger and Prayer Advocate
Thank you for taking the time to visit today. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Many thanks!
RESOURCES:
Do you long to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
Father God in heaven, may your name be exalted and magnified throughout the entire earth. You deserve all glory and honour, so we offer to you the fruit of our lips and render jubilant praise, with thanksgiving. We salute you, O Lord God of Angel armies.
Jehovah Nissi*, hear our petition today, on behalf of all those who are residents of war-torn lands. Summon your power O God, and reveal your awesome strength and might against those who bring bloodshed, fear and turmoil to law-abiding citizens and vulnerable communities. Spread your canopy of divine protection over those whose lands and lives have been invaded illicitly and without mercy. May your spirit of peace reign over these borders and battle fields.
You are the God, who sees and knows the hearts of men and their motivations. We ask that you frustrate those who muster their military might without just cause. We ask that you punish those who execute devastation and violence against the innocent. We ask that you bring a speedy resolution to the issues that triggered the conflict and acknowledge that there is nothing too difficult for you, nothing impossible to you.
O Lord God, comfort the afflicted and bereaved. Exercise your good, gracious and perfect will, so that it ultimately prevails in these combat zones.
We ask in faith, and in the name of your precious Son, Jesus – the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone you could bless with its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
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Would you like to learn how to offer scriptural petitions to God that are effective? Would you like to develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out my book. You can buy now by clicking on the links below.
Two inmates looked out of the window of their prison cell.
One saw bars and the other saw stars!
My dear friend, blog follower or visitor,
As you negotiate your life’s journey, what do you see ahead – prison bars, or celestial stars?
Do you feel imprisoned by your past history or current circumstances? Do you wonder whether you will ever be free of that emotional cycle of depression, or rejection, or low self-esteem? Or do you feel you will never be one of those fortunate people who makes that quantum leap out of life’s debilitating set-backs?
May I tell you something?
And when I do, will you believe me… will you accept the life-saving branch of hope that I’m holding out to you?
There is Hope for Tomorrow
My dear friend, this is my heart-felt message of encouragement and hope. You can break free of your past and experience joyous freedom and liberty.
Yes. You. Can!
You can see the beauty of life, rather than the devouring beast of wretchedness.
You can see beyond the bars of perplexity and reach for the stars of possibility.
You can put victimhood behind you and walk on in life, as a victorious overcomer.
Yes. You. Can!
Why am I so sure?
Because it has happened for me. It has happened for others.
Grab Hold of God’s Goodness
God is no respecter of persons. That means, the same opportunities for breakthrough, deliverance and freedom promised in his Word, are available to you, as well as to me. Isn’t that good great news?
Dear reader, I have even more great news for you. Jesus has already done the ground work for you. And God is committed to helping you. You are not doing life on your own.
Listen to what your Heavenly Father has done for you, as relayed to us in The Passion Translation:
You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. […] You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past.
(Psalm 139:3-5)
Learn from inspirational stories
A few years ago, I watched a YouTube video that deeply affected me… in fact, it totally inspired me.
It was about a man who’d been imprisoned for 30 years (28 of which were spent on death row), for a crime he did not commit!
When I looked into the face of this man and heard him speak (he was being interviewed by Oprah), there was not a trace of anger, bitterness, hatred, resentment, or self-pity. Not a single trace!
If there was, then he hid it well. I’m not saying there never has been, at least in the beginning. In fact, I’d be very surprised if there wasn’t. However, by the time he walked free from prison, this man had not only made lemonade from the sour lemons life had served him, but he also sought to serve others around him with the sweet beverage of encouragement.
What this man had endured at the hands of America’s justice system, put all that I have “suffered” into perspective. I may not have been unduly incarcerated in a literal prison, but I had certainly allowed myself to become imprisoned within the confines of victimhood.
Now, when I think of how I allowed a few people to make me deeply unhappy for years… how I allowed them to make me a victim… make me feel like I was a nobody, and when I consider how I allowed that cycle of negativity to affect me for years and years, I feel ashamed.
The truth of the matter is, people may have provided the materials, but I was the one who took those materials (the malice, rejection, scorn and ridicule), and shaped myself into that victim.
Christ’s Cross or Satan’s Constraints – which will you choose?
In comparison to this man, what I’ve been through is nothing. And I’m so grateful to God that I did not have to carry that particular cross.
Every follower of Christ has to carry their own cross of suffering, pain and shame, and God knows exactly what type of cross we can carry, and how much we can bear. He knows just what it is we need to hone our character, strengthen us emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.
I do not believe I could carry the cross of a Joseph, who was also unjustly accused and imprisoned (see Genesis 39:1-20). And I hope I am never put to the test of those individuals who find themselves incarcerated, or placed on Death Row, for a crime they did not commit.
I salute this man – Anthony Ray Hinton. I salute his mother, who single-handedly looked after him and 9 other kids, after his father developed mental health problems when Anthony was only 4 years old. I salute Anthony’s friend, who went to visit him every single week over those 30 years! What an amazing friendship! What an incredible show of loyalty and commitment! And, I also salute the lawyer, who battled for 16 years to set Anthony free.
I am challenged in terms of my Christian conduct when I consider this man’s story. I am challenged in terms of my thought life and self-mastery. I am challenged that this man endured what he did for 30 years, yet managed to walk out of prison resentment-free, write about his experience and have his story published. In my book, this man is an exemplary Christian, an amazing and most wonderful figure of inspiration.
If Anthony Hinton can walk free from captivity without the stench of bitterness hanging around him, if he can walk out of prison after 30 years, without the stamp of anger and hatred imprinted upon his face, or the seal of victimhood branded upon his soul, then regardless of what we face, or have suffered, you and I can also walk forward into our future as victorious overcomers. If Hinton can take his terrible ordeal and use it to encourage, motivate or fight for others, then so can you and I.
Aim for the Stars!
So my challenge to you this week dear reader is this – when you consider the difficulties of your past or present circumstances, when you view them through the murky windows of remembrance, do you see bars, or do you see stars?
Wishing you a stress-free and victorious week.
With love,
Carol E. Hind – Author, Blogger & Prayer Advocate
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
Related Reading/Resources:
Listen to this moving video (11mins) about Anthony Hinton’s experience.
May I also recommend a book by a dear blogger friend of mine (Shell Vera) who travelled the paths of victimhood and emerged a victor? I have also written a review on this book, which you might like to read. If so, please click here.
Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17 (KJV)
How Can I Not Praise Him?
Jesus, the Son of God, is the Heavenly Father’s wonderful gift to the world. And salvation, i.e. ultimate deliverance from eternal death (which is permanent separation from God), plus access to God’s spiritual resources such as peace, healing and deliverance, are just some examples of God’s goodness and generosity.
Today, I found occasion to be truly thankful to my Father God for his unchanging nature. Regretfully, I cannot claim to be the same, even though God expects me to imitate him. I can be up and down in my responses to him and today, as the Holy Spirit convicted me, I just had to repent.
A Confession!
You see, every now and then I find myself having a bad attitude towards God. Let me explain. Because I had not seen spectacular results from my significant seasons of devotional activities, I felt aggrieved. I had certain expectations and when these were not satisfied, I foolishly adopted the stance of the Children of Israel in Malachi 3:13 and allowed the Enemy to suggest God was holding out on me, so what was the point of continuing with certain spiritual disciplines, such as fasting.
The Holy Spirit used two scriptures to gently reprove me.
The first reminded me that I need to be patient and consistent:
Who [God] will render to each one according to his deeds:
Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality (emphasis mine).
(Romans 2:6-7 NKJV)
God Owes Me Nothing!
God sent his Son to die for me and Jesus sacrificed his sinless life for me, so that I can have a relationship with God… so I can be redeemed from the evil influence of Satan and from the curse of being unable to fulfil the requirements of God’s Law to the letter. As a result, when I die, I will not spend eternity in hell, a place originally designed for the devil and his cohorts.
So, anything God does for me over and above his provision of eternal life, is a wonderful bonus. I don’t want to adopt the wrong attitudes of this world, where people feel that their expectations of life are their absolute rights. Particularly as Jesus had given up his rights, in order to come to earth, identify with, and die for me.
Commitment is the little choices every day that lead to the final results we’re striving for. (Anonymous)
The second scripture the Holy Spirit used to convict me, is as follows:
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
(1 Corinthians 13:11 KJV)
A Christian behaving badly?
I believe many of my readers will be familiar with the scenario of a child screaming and throwing a tantrum in the supermarket, because he or she could not have what they desired (usually sweets).
My behaviour towards God is the equivalent. Because things had not happened the way I expected them to happen and within the timeframe I wanted, I was prepared to throw my spiritual toys out of the pram. I was behaving like a spoilt child!
In the above quote, the apostle Paul reminds us that as Children of God, we are expected to grow up, to put away childish thinking and behaviour.
Today, I am giving God extra special thanks and praise because despite my unjustified thoughts and accusations towards Him, despite my childish behaviour, He remains the same towards me—ever loving, ever forgiving, and ever merciful.
Thank you Father God!
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
What an awesome God you are!
I am so grateful that you never change. I can always rely upon your loving kindness, your tolerant heart and constant forgiveness.
Lord Jesus, thank you for your wonderful example of submission to the Father, even when his will meant dying for the very people who rejected, conspired against and crucified you.
Holy Spirit, I am committed to change and know I am incapable of achieving this by myself. Help me to imitate Father God’s consistent behaviour, in both my relationship with him and with others around me. Help me to put away childish ways and expectations. Help me to be more Christ-like. Help me to resist the Enemy’s false accusations against both God and myself, and to actively arm myself with the weapon of God’s Word, so that I don’t fall victim to his deceitful ploys.
I ask in faith, believing that you will grant my request, since I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
You don’t get 100% results with only 50% commitment. (Anonymous)
As part of my repentance, I partook of communion, since I wanted to show God that I’m committed to changing and I also wanted to avail myself of Christ’s resurrection power.
The following song was brought to my attention by a dear blogger friend of mine at Distillations (do check out Jacquie’s post sharing about her own commitment to change). I hope this beautiful song ministers to you, as powerfully as it does to me.
Thank you dear visitors for reading this post. I hope you found it helpful to you in your own spiritual journey and I trust that as a follower of Women of Warfare, your heart’s desire is to be conformed to the wholesome image of Christ, and not to the ways and wisdom of this world.
If you have been challenged by what I’ve shared above, or would like to add your thoughts to this post, please don’t hesitate to comment below. Alternatively, please share what change you are committing yourself to this year. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Carol
Author, Blogger and Prayer Advocate
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Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
And if you’d like to read an honest review on my book Ritual, Routine or Remembrance? please don’t hesitate to check out this post:
PS: the only reason this review is not on Amazon is because they refuse to upload it, stating she has not spent a certain amount with themastheir reason!
Have you ever blessed someone but your gift was met with indifference, or plain ingratitude?
It just doesn’t feel good – does it?
Now, I don’t know about you but if someone does that to me, I am less likely to want to bestow any further blessings upon that person again. And I’m sure I speak for most people when I say that we all like our gifts or our service to others, to be recognised and appreciated.
Well, you know what dear friend? God is no different!
He loves it when we acknowledge his goodness, his provision, his protection and his power.
That’s why today I am publicly giving thanks to Him.
You see, I’m celebrating a significant achievement. I have recently published my second book – Yay! Double Yay!
Of course I can’t take all the credit for myself.
Major thanks goes to my creative partnership – the illustrious Holy Godhead! I could not have done it without the enabling grace of my loving Heavenly Father, or the intercession of Jesus, my faithful High Priest, or the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
And because I also appreciate two fellow bloggers who kindly supported me with their prayers, I’d like to give a shout out to Jacquie and Holly. A big heartfelt “thank you” my dear friends and sisters in Christ.
Friends and followers, please do take the time to visit their blogs, read a post or two and bless them with your ‘likes’ and comments.
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. (William Arthur Ward)
And now, without further ado, here’s the reason for my gratitude and appreciation.
Won’t you celebrate with me?
Have a great weekend!
With love,
Carol
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
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Dear reader, your visit is appreciated.
Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And please don’t hesitate to share it with your social network. It would be so much appreciated. Thank you!
The kiss of the Sun for pardon, The song of the birds for mirth, You are nearer God’s heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth!
Hello, my dear family, friends and followers,
I am trusting that you are well and have emerged from the Covid-19/Lock-down drama with your faith intact.
I have a question for you dear ones.
Where are you?
Now before I unpack what it I’d like to say, to encourage you on your spiritual journey, let me ask whether this question raises any recognition bells in your mind. I’ll give you a moment to think.
Finished?
Now, given that I’m speaking into the context of those who love God and are followers of Christ, and trusting that you are familiar with your Bible, I believe you will recognise that this is a question God had asked Adam and Eve, in the book of Genesis (see Genesis 3:9).
Where are you?
Why did he ask this?
Because when he came into the Garden of Eden to fellowship with them (as was his usual custom), on this particular occasion, they were nowhere to be seen.
Why?
Because Adam and Eve had hidden themselves away. They were ashamed to meet with God because they had disobeyed his command and as a result of their disobedience they became aware of themselves in a negative way. They were naked and ashamed. But hang on, they had always been naked. Previously they’d not been ashamed. So what had suddenly made the difference?
Satan. The Devil. Mr Diablo. The Enemy of our souls!
He had made the difference. And the difference he brought into Adam and Eve’s lives was not positive. It was not life-enhancing. In fact, it brought a curse upon all humanity.
Satan had lied. He’d manipulated the truth. He’d implied by his words that perhaps God had misrepresented facts and was withholding something desirable from Adam and Eve. He suggested they could be their own gods, operate in their own wisdom, experience life on their own terms. And all Eve had to do to make this happen was eat of the forbidden fruit from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. So she did. And the rest as they say, is history!
Before this event took place, it was Adam and Eve’s practice to fellowship with God daily. After the event however, they hid from His presence. They felt naked and exposed and no longer saw themselves as worthy.
Now when God called and asked “where are you?” do you think he didn’t know the answer to his question? Do you think that the One who is omniscient, didn’t know what had happened and why his two friends, his son and daughter had not kept their fellowship appointment as usual?
Of course he did!
He asked because he wanted them to own up to what they had done. He wanted them to be honest.
Behold You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
(Psalm 51:6)
He asked because he wanted them to know that just because they had sinned, he did not love them any less than before they had sinned. He still wanted to fellowship with them. He asked because he wanted them to realise that disobedience brings consequences. He wanted them to understand and learn that the Enemy is a deceiver, who will manipulate you into thinking and doing something contrary to God’s will, contrary to whom God called and made you to be. He expected them to recognise and admit their error and take responsibility for their actions.
Do you know that God still desires open and honest fellowship with you today?
Dear friends:
if you have cooled somewhat in your relationship with him;
if you have accepted the lies of the Enemy, and doubted God’s goodness, or faithfulness, or ability to help and deliver you;
if you feel spiritually naked, exposed and ashamed because of life experiences and your responses to them;
if your choices have led you out of God’s perfect will so that you feel uncomfortable in, or dismissive of, God’s holy presence;
if you feel complacent about your commitment to him;
if you feel discouraged or bewildered by the disconnect between God’s assurances of blessing in His Word and the contrary evidence of your personal life…
Are you aware that God is reaching out and calling to you? Can you hear your heavenly father asking: where are you?
Whether saint or sinner – God loves you! He wants to associate with you. He wants to fellowship with you. He wants to protect you. But he will not force you to come to him!
Dear friend, if your fellowship with God through prayer, reading His Word and worship has deteriorated, is no longer a priority, or is non-existent, I’d like to encourage you today, to draw close to him. The Bible assures us that when we do so, he will reciprocate.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
(James 4:8)
No matter how worldly-wise you may believe yourself to be, no matter how ‘got-my-streetwise-head-screwed-on-tight’ you may judge yourself to be, no matter how ‘self-sufficient’ you may feel yourself to be, you are not, and never will be, in complete control of your life. The past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic has been proof of that!
And so, if you don’t want to continue through life without the benefit of the One who is in control, taking care of you… looking out for you… helping and guiding you… then you need to return to the garden of fellowship. You need to return to the terrain of obedience. You need to return to the land of loving submission to God’s will.
Can you hear God’s loving enquiry to you today?
Where are you?
If you can hear him calling, what’s your response?
Dear friend (I speak to both saint and sinner), if you can hear his voice, don’t ignore and don’t harden your heart. Don’t wait to get your life ‘together’, or for a more convenient time. You never know what’s around the corner of life!
Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are discouraged, or who have become a casualty of the serpent’s bite of deception and wandered away from God’s perspective.
PRAYER:
Father God,
You are an amazing God! What a privilege it is to be invited into your holy presence and fellowship with you. Thank you for your steadfast, unconditional love and acceptance. Forgive us for our disobedience, rebellion and ignorance.
In accordance with Ephesians 6:18 we lift up to you every member in the body of Christ, who is struggling in their relationship with you. We pray for those who have been deceived by the Enemy and are reaping the consequences of their actions. We apply the protective covering of the blood of Jesus to their lives, homes and loved ones and ask that you show mercy to them.
We pray for those who have been caught up in the busyness of life, or whose love for you has waned and ask that you kindle within their hearts a deeper love and passionate devotion for you. We pray for those whom the Enemy has targeted with lies and deception. Open their eyes to the truth Father God and deliver them from evil.
Jesus, you said that your sheep hear your voice and follow you. We therefore ask that your voice be raised within our consciences above the subversive voices of our social culture and our self-will. May your voice stir faith in our hearts and bring lasting assurance and hope. May your voice speak wisdom and guidance into our lives.
Holy Spirit, help us to tend to our gardens of fellowship with diligence. Help us to be vigilant against the wiles of the devil who seeks to undermine our confidence in, and relationship with, God. Help us to love our Heavenly Father the way he deserves, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.
We ask this in the mighty matchless name of Jesus. Amen.
Sunday’s Supplications invites you to not only read the posts but also participate in the prayers. Let’s pray for ourselves and for each other. Let’s obey God’s command to watch and pray for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18)
Please note, you do not have to be a blogger to join this praying community.
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Women of Warfare followers and visitors have a wonderful and victorious week!
We give thanks to you this day O God that One so mighty, high and lifted up, One so awesome in holiness, One so glorious with the brightness of your splendour—would deign to think of us, care about our lives and stoop to rescue us from eternal damnation, and even lift us out of our pits of depravity, depression and self-centredness.
Open our spiritual eyes and ears, and sharpen our perception regarding the magnitude of your greatness. Help us to remove you from the limiting cage of our human understanding. Extend our knowledge and personal experience of your greatness, since we desire to truly love and honour you to the maximum of our capability.
We ask this in the matchless name of your precious Son, Jesus.
Amen.
With love,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
NKJV = New King James Version
TPT = The Passion Translation
Why not share in a comment box below, which aspects of creation, or what personal insight you have which helps you to appreciate God’s greatness. I’d so love to hear from you and perhaps your contribution could be just what someone else needs to help them today.
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Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
The following is an intro to a previous post, which I’d like to draw to the attention of new followers in particular. However, those who have faithfully followed me from around 2016 when this post was originally written, may also wish to read and refresh their memories.
Whilst I am happy to re-purpose old material, my main desire is to stir up your hearts and galvanise you into action with regards to prayer and intercession.
Given the condition of our world following Covid-19, the implementation of lockdown measures, and the threat of virus variants, I am sure you’ll agree with me that the call to prayer, the call to seek God’s urgent and merciful intervention, is sorely needed.
Do read and please act. Send Jesus your kneemail today!
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Que Sera Sera?
Have you ever looked at this world in despair?
I can relate!
It is a rare event when media reports on current events raise a smile from me, or a sense of belief that all is well with the world. I think I can honestly say that most times after listening to a news channel, or reading a newspaper, I feel disgusted, disquieted or depressed. And sometimes I can even feel ashamed to admit that I belong to the human race – in fact, somebody stop the world – I wanna get off!
If you are looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life, please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
I’ve ‘known’ Shell Vera for a number of years now as a fellow-blogger and recall her being one of the very first to engage with me in a meaningful manner, regarding one of my posts. As a newbie blogger, I appreciated this so much. To date, Shell Vera is still a regular reader and commenter at my blogs, so I had no hesitation about supporting this publication of her creative endeavours.
BOOK REVIEW: When I Stopped Remembering Tomorrow
Hang on I thought, how can someone remember tomorrow – let alone stop remembering it?
I was intrigued from the get go!
Apart from my curiosity over the title, it’s not often we have the pleasure of having a personal insight into the lives and hearts of people we know. Granted, I only ‘know’ Shell Vera as a fellow blogger but it’s still somebody I know a lot better than most authors I’ve read, whether famous or otherwise.
I bought the book.
I loved the book!
And now I’m sharing my response to Shell Vera’s powerful, poetic pieces.
I don’t know about you but when I don’t really know the author, I hardly ever read the front matter, unless it is pertinent to my understanding of the book. Now that I’m a published author and when I’m reading books from fellow bloggers, I peruse these pages with eager anticipation.
I was happy to see a dedication to fellow warriors and overcomers. Well that includes me! So from the short distance of the title to the dedication page, already my attention has been piqued.
But then I felt slightly put off after reading a comment regarding the church, which seemed harsh and unfair, and to which I could not relate – was I going to like this book after all? Is there more of this kind of thing to come?
I read on.
The long and the short of it is that Shell Vera fell in love, met her true self for the first time and in doing so “truly met God.”
I like the framework.
Part 1 shares poetic pieces about her yesterdays followed by a separate prose section in Part 2, providing background information, or explaining what Shell had sought to convey in those pieces, or providing encouragement to hurting souls who have suffered similar abuse, and feel their dreams are impossible.
Often, we readers interpret poems according to our own, or vicarious experiences, according to literary evaluations, personal perceptions and conclusions, which usually differ to what the author originally meant or intended. It is therefore nice to actually know what the writer had intended to convey.
And now for my assessment of Shell Vera’s creative endeavours (bearing in mind the fact that I am not a poetry expert). I discuss in terms of my personal reactions to her work.
Heartfelt compassion stirs the heart of the reader, and contrasts with the cold uncompromising truth of the writer’s experience in pieces like Alone and Detached (1992): Here’s an example:
This girl has given up hope for the future,
She’s only living still because when she knocked,
Death refused to open the door for her.
Powerful pieces like The Final Nightmare (1999) will haunt you.
And in her poem The Dance (1999), Shell Vera’s beautiful and clever depiction of the dance of life, reminds us that either we ourselves, or the people with whom we tango, can become catalysts of change, for the good.
Her poems make you think. Force you to consider what it is you believe, how you interpret the gospel and how you embrace it within your own life. After reading Wandering (2012), I wonder, how many of us need to take Jesus down from the cross of our limited imaginations and actually invite him to be a living breathing being in our day-to-day lives?
When you think of warriors, you tend to picture someone strong, staunch and solid, someone tough and triumphant, despite the odds. We think of people like Hercules, or Alexander the Great, or even King David, who was known to have slain his 10,000s.
But in our normal every-day life, particularly as a Christian where there is often pressure to present a false ‘super-spiritual’ picture, a true warrior is someone who faces the rigours and injustices of life and survives. They are warriors because they live to tell the tale. They are victorious overcomers because instead of remaining as downtrodden victims, they drag themselves up from the dust and mire of catastrophe or rejection, and push forward through the doors of hope.
Women of Warfare friends and followers, only when you have truly met and committed your life to the Lord, only when you have engaged in prayer warfare and entrusted your well-being into the hands of your Creator-God, will those negative circumstances of life become a spiritual launching pad, enabling you to soar as victorious overcomers.
So, if you are guilty of doing this, stop wasting your life yearning for tomorrow.
Start living in the present, praying in earnest, and yearning for meaningful spiritual encounters with the God who holds your tomorrow.
I realise this is the season of Lent and whether or not you have jumped on board with the whole denying-self routine, here are a few things I’d like you to consider, as part of your journey as a victorious overcomer.
How about denying yourself the “luxury” of thinking about yourself in negative terms?
How about taking the time to meditate on those scriptures which build your confidence about who you are in Christ?
How about you making a quality decision to oust from your consciousness, the malignant lies of the Enemy?
Proverbs 23:7 tells us in no uncertain terms that as a person thinks (habitually) in their heart, so that is who they will eventually become.
Are your predominant thoughts and habitual thinking focused on what other people think about you?
If so, how is that serving you, particularly if most of the time those thoughts and opinions undermine, rather than raise your self-esteem?
Why not take this season of Lent to minister some spiritual self-care and love?
Begin with how you perceive yourself!
Have you ever been treated as if you are a person of no value?
How did you respond?
It is easy to take on board the negative opinions of others (e.g. ageist, racist, sexist) but I am here to tell you today that there are only two opinions in this world that counts – God’s and yours!
Now if God feels you are worthy enough for him to send his Son to this earth to die for you, then who are you, in fact, who is anyone else, to think or say otherwise?
My dear friend, you are of value!
Stop dwelling on the unkind behaviour or negative opinion of others, which are (or were) designed to undermine you.
The Bible is FULL of God’s positive thoughts and ideas, towards and about you.
Here are just a few thought seeds to sow in the garden of your heart:
I AM created by God with infinite care and love
(Psalm 139:13-18)
I AM loved by God with a love which never changes!
(Jeremiah 31:3)
I AM chosen by God and precious
(1 Peter 2:4)
I AM so loved by God that he has adopted me into his family
(1 John 3:1)
God has so many wonderful thoughts about me they cannot even be counted
(Psalm 40:5; Psalm 139:17-18)
God’s innumerable thoughts towards me are thoughts of peace, and they give me hope for my final outcome
(Jeremiah 29:11)
There is a banner of love over my life, which speaks of Christ’s undying love for, and commitment to me.
(Song of Solomon 2:4)
Consider this.
Just before Jesus was driven into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, he received God’s ringing endorsement:
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.
(Matthew 3:16-17)
Child of God, you are much loved.
Believe it. Accept it. Declare it.
You are loved and you are valued. End of!
With love,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
A God-Seeker in His Secret Place (Psalm 91:1)
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SELF-SCRUTINY
On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest), how valuable do you feel in terms of God’s economy?
What steps will you take to raise that value (presuming you have not scored yourself a 10!)?
Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And, if you know someone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
I’m celebrating the publication of a guest post, which has been published by a good friend (Holly) at her blog site, Wholeness Haven.
Whoo hoo!
Could you help me celebrate by visiting her site and supporting her? I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! She’s done a sterling job with the presentation of my message, and I feel so honoured and proud to be featured there.
My post has been set out in two parts and the links to these are as follows:
Please don’t forget to leave your likes and comments and also share with your social networks. Many thanks dear ones.
Have a blessed weekend!
With love,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Hello Women of Warfare followers and visitors. A belated welcome to a brand new year!
When the clock struck midnight this year and Happy New Year wishes rang around the globe, how did you feel? How did you respond?
Did those words ring hollow in your ears?
I do hope not!
I do trust that you were able to give and receive such greetings with a genuinely positive heart.
The word “happy” seemed to stand out for me today, as I was thinking about what to write. On checking my mini Oxford dictionary, I saw that Happy is defined as:
Pleased
Contented
Fortunate
I wonder, do any of these words describe how you felt throughout 2020? And how are you feeling this year?
For myself, I can say that I am pleased to be alive. Thousands of people have lost their lives to the Covid-19 virus. It grieves my heart to know that so many people met with an untimely death and I cannot help but wonder, where are they now?
Did they have a chance to hear the gospel? If they had been given the opportunity, what did they do with it? Did they reject, or accept Christ? Or did they postpone to a more convenient time, which never came?
Dear reader, if you are reading this post and you have not committed your life to Christ, then you are in a precarious position. Please take some time to read my outreach post which informs you why ignoring God’s free gift of salvation could put you at your peril. Believe me, I am not scaremongering. I am merely concerned for your spiritual well-being.
And now back to my message for this post.
As previously mentioned, I am pleased to be alive. I am also learning to be content.
It is not always easy in this world of have more, give more, do more and be more. And it is all too easy to get pulled into the secular world’s never-ending cycle of competition and covetousness. As the Bible says, the eye is never satisfied (Ecclesiastes 1:8).
For a long time (even after I became a Christian), I entertained the idea that my life was blighted with misfortune. Today, I am glad to say that my mind-set has radically changed. I have become way more positive. I believe the fact that God has adopted me into his family… that I have a wonderful relationship with him… that he has promised never to leave me, to protect and provide for me, makes me a fortunate person indeed.
In the United Kingdom, polls have been taken to see which area of our nation happens to be the happiest. As children of God, I think we should be the happiest people on earth, period! Unfortunately, I realise that is not always the case.
Perhaps assessing our happiness status should be something we do for ourselves every now and again. When last have you checked?
Why not take some time out this weekend, or as soon as practicable, to assess for yourself? Not in order to make yourself miserable, or to crow inwardly with ungodly pride but to give you something meaningful to come before God and be thankful for.
After all, if not for the Grace of God, who knows where you would be, or even if you would have made it to see 2021!
Have a blessed weekend.
With love,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
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Do you want to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then Petitions From My Heart could be just what you need. Please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
If you want to know about prayer, examine the life of Jesus:
He prayed when the pressures of life increased.
He prayed when important decisions had to be made.
It’s when you think you don’t have time to pray, that you need to pray most. Spending time with God is the secret to having power with Him.
UCB Word For Today* (Excerpt from Devotional 26 June 2017)
In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.
(Proverbs 3:6 – The Living Bible)
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(2)
Whether placing stars or healing scars, no situation is too big or too small to get the attention of our loving God. To understand God’s healing expertise, look at the life of Job. No one in history lost more than Job did, yet God brought him through it all.
…Are you sad and heavy-hearted today? Do what Jesus did. Take time to pray about it.
UCB Word For Today* (Excerpt from Devotional 27 June 2017)
He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great he is! His power is absolute! His understanding is unlimited.
(Psalms 147: 3-5 – The Living Bible)
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Prayer shouldn’t be your last resort, it should be your first response. Prayer takes the situation out of your hands and puts it into God’s. #Christian #Prayer #SaturdayThoughts
Jesus prayed when the pressures and expectations of others threatened to derail God’s plan for His Life.
…When you’re prayer-less you get careless. God has a plan for your life, and a schedule. To stay in sync with both you must pray regularly. Jesus realised He had only enough time to do what His Father wanted done, and that gave Him the ability to say no to other things.
UCB Word For Today* (Excerpt from Devotional 28 June 2017)
To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
(Ecclesiastes 3:1 – NKJV)
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Jesus prayed when He was concerned about the people He loved.
…Prayer shouldn’t be your last resort, it should be your first response. Prayer takes the situation out of your hands and puts it into God’s.
…Invite God into the situation, then stand back and allow Him to work.
UCB Word For Today* (Excerpt from Devotional 29 June 2017)
Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly].
(1 Thessalonians 5:17 – The Amplified Bible)
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(5)
Jesus didn’t wait until the hour of His greatest crisis before he prayed. For three and a half years during His early ministry, He had built a life of prayer.
…Jesus had such an intimate relationship with His Father that in times of pressure and pain He could go to God, confident He would receive His sustaining grace. Can you do that?
UCB Word For Today* (Excerpt from Devotional 30 June 2017)
…Men ought always to pray, and not to faint…
(Luke 18:1 – KJV)
Wishing you a peaceful and prayerful weekend.
With love,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
A Student in His Secret Place (Psalm 91:1)
*Free postal copies of UCB Word For Today (UK and Republic of Ireland only) are available from: FREEPOST RLTX-ABUL-GRAR, United Christian Broadcasters, Westport Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 4JF
Are you looking for a resource that will help and encourage you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life? If so, don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
What’s your response to this post? Please share your thoughts in a comment box below. Do you know someone who could benefit from its message? Then please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Ever walked into a room and realised you’ve just interrupted a conversation, where you were the subject of discussion?
It’s happened to me quite a few times!
The chief culprits were ex work colleagues. Not a nice feeling is it?
Especially when you realise that whatever was being said about you, was not complimentary.
During such times, you sense the tension in the air as the culprits desperately try to cover up by changing the subject. Sometimes the conversation would just cease abruptly, yet a strong signal is silently communicated: You are not welcome!
Why have I mentioned this?
Well, it’s not because I want to drag up the past. And it’s not because I want to share a story designed to make you feel sorry for me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all in my past and that’s the best place for it!
However, I mention it because I want to use the scenario to highlight a complete contrast. A contrast between those who make you feel unwelcome and my Father-God, who fully embraces and welcomes you into His presence. I want to remind you that our Father-God, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, has pulled out all the stops, to signal their sincere love and acceptance, for me and for you.
An Attitude of Gratitude
This week, I’ve been experiencing some wonderful times in God’s presence. I am always grateful and regularly express my gratitude to him for accepting me into his family, for welcoming me into the awesome, holy presence of his throne room. And whenever I’m reminded that God’s acceptance and welcome was not always available to me, I am even more grateful.
After all, as a Gentile, I had no covenant with God and was alienated from his mercy, love and favour. But now, my wonderful Father-God, who previously couldn’t even be approached by his own people (the Jews), unless they observed the correct protocol, now operates an “open door” policy to all and sundry.
Christ’s sacrificial and vicarious death upon the cross, means I can come into God’s presence without a prior appointment. I can come without the need of a third party to announce me, or enquire whether he’s free. I can come at any time of the day and night and I can come to him as many times in the day (or night), as I wish, or feel I need to. And each time I come, I am welcome. I know it. I experience it. And it’s a beautiful, warm feeling.
Now, there are people in this world (whether ordinary folk, celebrities, the great and the good), who would not necessarily welcome me into their midst. And, let’s face it, there are those whom I would not necessarily welcome into my orbit!
In all areas of life, society operates on a pre-determined level of acceptance, such that I could find myself excluded from potential opportunities, on the basis of skin colour, gender, class, or a myriad of other reasons.
And yet, the one who is Supreme, the one who is most High and Holy, the one who is Mighty, the one who has every right to reject me on the grounds of unworthiness, has seen fit to make it possible for me to come and fellowship with him at any time, for as long, and as often as I desire.
A Royal Invite – A Red Carpet Experience
As mentioned, lately I’ve been enjoying God’s company whilst he rolls out the red carpet of acceptance and hospitality. In fact, I’m experiencing richer, deeper levels of relationship with the three members of the Godhead. And because I’ve been so, so, blessed by these special periods of intimacy with God & Co, I’d like to encourage all my readers and visitors to make a special effort to develop a deeper, richer relationship with Him. Father-God promises in his Word that when you make the effort to move closer to him, he will draw closer to you. (James 4:8).
We are moving rapidly towards the end of this year, a year which I’m sure many of you will agree, brought unwelcome changes into our lives. Changes which have forced upon us a “new normal”. Changes which have thrust upon us unexpected instability, uncertainties and insecurities about what the future may hold.
Whilst for many of us, these changes came out of the blue, our omniscient God was not surprised. He was not caught out unawares. It therefore behoves us to draw as close as we can to the one who is unchanging… to the one whose thoughts and intentions towards us, are for our best interests, whether we see it or not, whether we believe it or not… to the one who is able to cause all things (even this pandemic crisis), to work together for our good. (Romans 8:28).
Unsavoury media reports may be unwelcome. Politicians and international policies may confuse, and even make us feel unwelcome. Racists, or religious fanatics may commit reprehensible acts, in a bid to show us we are not welcome. And, contrary to Christ’s message of inclusiveness, Christian cliques may signal to those of us outside their circle that we are unwelcome.
But our God, who is unchanging and ever dependable, will never change the rules or move the goal posts when it comes to his criteria for acceptance.
Fellowship – Your Spiritual Key to a Victorious End of Year
Jesus has already paid the price for our inclusion! He has made the way open for anyone (Male or Female, Jew or Gentile, Black or White), to come into God’s presence and to come without fear, guilt, condemnation or any sense of inferiority.
So my dear friend, don’t waste precious time or opportunity. Spend quality time in God’s presence through prayer, praise, thanksgiving and worship. He will welcome you with open arms!
Women of Warfare friends and followers, I encourage you to end this year and make preparation for the next, by choosing to develop your God-connection and increase your spiritual awareness, so you can confidently walk forward in life, as victorious overcomers.
Wishing you a safe, blessed and happy week ahead!
With agapē love and affection,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
A Student in His Secret Place (Psalm 91:1)
The secret to enjoying a red-carpet experience with God is loving him with all your heart, mind and soul. Have you discovered this secret?
Need further tips for ending your year well? Click here
Poetry lovers, if you enjoyed this post, you may want to read a related poem I’ve written – click here
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Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Do you relish it when other people have the upper hand over you?
Are you quite happy to let those who feel so inclined walk over you, or play their petty mind games and pull down, even crush your carefully erected but fragile self-esteem?
Now, if you are anything like me, or like the average human being, I’m sure you’ve nodded your head vigorously, indicating NO! No way! Absolutely not!
Dear reader, I admit there have been a number of unpleasant occurrences in my past, which left me feeling weak and helpless. It left me feeling a victim. And, as far as I was concerned, God did not seem to care one hoot, because if he did where was he? Why didn’t he exercise his power and deal with those infernal thorns in my flesh? Prompto!
Ever felt the same way?
Well I don’t know about you but when I thought along these lines, I knew full well in my heart of hearts that God did care. He always does and always will! I knew it. But because he was not intervening in the way I wanted, and because he was not intervening within my time-frame, I became angry and accepted the lies of the Enemy, who was quick to suggest that God did not care. After all, if he did, surely he would… blah, blah, blah!
Now when you are hurt and angry, all you care about is your pain and all you want is for that pain to be eradicated, or at the very least, alleviated. And you want it to happen yesterday!
And so, let’s recap. I’ve been mistreated. I’ve been deeply hurt. I’m been left feeling a victim. I’m licking my wounds.
Furthermore, I’m angry with God and I’m sulking because he hasn’t come flying to my defence. I’m so out of sorts that I hardly even noticed that the devil has gate-crashed my pity-party!
Perhaps you too have been there, done that, and got the proverbial tee-shirt!
During my Bible reading recently, I was reminded of the following:
…My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
(2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV)
It set me thinking.
I’ve been praying and believing God for a manifestation of his power in my life. And it has been a heart-felt desire and prayer throughout my Christian walk.
Without realising it, I’ve received prime opportunities for this desire and prayer to be answered. And also without realising it, I have failed to avail myself of these God-given opportunities.
How is that? (I hear you ask).
Read the above scripture quote again.
Did you notice? Have you clicked yet?
Paul is quite clearly saying that God’s power rests upon us when we gladly suffer those occasions which leave us feeling weak, powerless and afflicted. In fact, he is also saying we should glory (take pleasure in, boast about, or Big-up), our infirmities (our inability to obtain or sustain desired results).
The thing is, we don’t like feeling weak. We want to be Superman or Wonder Woman. We want to be seen as “having it all together”. We want to feel in control.
However, God wants to be God in us, for us and through us, and he wants us to acknowledge that he is indeed God, no matter whether circumstances or Satan, tells us otherwise.
Dear friends, if you are praying about a situation that does not seem to be changing, consider this, perhaps God is using the situation to change you!
Women of Warfare readers and followers, if the message of this post applies to you, may I counsel you today? Don’t just go through it – grow through it!
Prayer Focus:
Let’s pray for those in the Body of Christ, who feel broken by their circumstances, forgotten by God and forsaken. And please don’t forget to put on your spiritual armour before entering the battlefield of prayer!
PRAYER:
Father God,
You are the Ever-living God, who endures for ever. We bless and praise your holy and most awesome name.
Heavenly Father, you are a God of compassion and your mercies are new every morning. They are extended toward us every single day.
I commit into your tender care, all those within Christ’s Body, who feel alone and afflicted by their circumstances. I ask that you send your Holy Spirit to come alongside each one, to comfort and strengthen them. Minister your peace to their hearts, the peace that surpasses natural understanding. Minister hope for their future and cause that hope to act as an anchor for their soul. Anchor them to an unwavering belief that you are with them and will never leave or forsake them. Anchor them to the revelation truth within your Word that is able to set them free from every taunt, lie, and false accusation of the Enemy.
Afflicted child of God, I speak to your heart, to your spirit being, in the name of Jesus. Whoever you are, and wherever you may be, I command you to arise now in the strength and grace of God. I command you to arise and anoint yourself with the oil of joy. I declare that you will choose to cast aside your spirit of heaviness and you will arise in faith and put on your garments of praise.
Lord Jesus, I thank you for all that you suffered on our behalf, so that we may be redeemed from the hand of the Enemy and from the curse of the Law. I thank you that you ever live to make intercession for us. I thank you that you are a Good Shepherd and the overseer of our souls. Help us, both as individual members and corporately as your body, to keep our eyes and hearts fully focused upon you, the author and finisher of our faith. Help us to walk victoriously in life.
Holy Spirit, we call upon you as the one sent to come alongside us and help. Teach us to know who we are in Christ. Empower us to exercise our authority over the Enemy. Motivate us to die to every inclination and desire of our carnal lower selves, so that we may grow into the full measure of the stature of Christ.
Father God, we ask this petition in faith, and in the mighty, matchless name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Sunday’s Supplications invites you to not only read the posts but also participate in the prayers. Let’s pray for ourselves and for each other. Let’s obey God’s command to watch and pray for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18)
Please note, you do not have to be a blogger to join this praying community.
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Women of Warfare followers and visitors have a wonderful and victorious week!
Credits: The above CC0 images come courtesy of Pixabay.com
If you are looking for a resource that will help and encourage you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life, please don’t hesitate to check out the links above.
What’s your response to this post? Do share your thoughts in a comment box below. And, if you know someone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Hello dear friends, fellow bloggers and followers,
I’d just like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to recent new followers of Women of Warfare and I’d also like to acknowledge those who’ve joined me over this past year. Your interest and support is so appreciated.
If you don’t do so already, may I encourage you to engage with me by sharing your thoughts and responses to my posts? Even if you do not agree with me, I would like to hear what you have to say.
Trusting that you and your loved ones are safe and well.
Is there anyone else out there who feels as frustrated and annoyed as I do with the new block editor being set as the default way of writing your posts?
I have been away from blogging for a little while only to come back and meet this frustrating and annoying way of working. Why should I be forced to take my valuable time to learn something new at my inconvenience? Why could not the new way of writing posts using block editor be a choice, rather than the default?
And can I send a simple email or message to ask whether I can have my sites revert to the old way of working? No!
I’m sorry blog followers but I may not be posting anything new for a while.
The above CC0 image comes courtesy of Gerd Altmann at Pixabay.com
Our Heavenly Father planned for us to be conformed to the same image as his Son, Jesus Christ. In other words we are to emulate him.
However, our carnal flesh prefers to conform to the ways of this world. Now, the celebrity culture means many of us seek to live our lives as close as possible to those we admire and believe represents the epitome of success.
Jesus is, and was a celebrity in heaven, before he came to earth. However, he chose to set his privileges aside and made himself poor, so we could become rich in the things that truly matter, such as an eternal destiny beyond our wildest dreams, peace of mind, freedom from guilt and fear, hope for our future, and the absolute assurance of an Almighty God’s protection and provision.
Now in this current climate of the Covid-19 virus and the resulting havoc wrought by each nation’s lockdown measures, doesn’t this sound attractive?
Unfortunately, even though Jesus has already paid the price for us to have and enjoy an abundant lifestyle of Kingdom privileges, we have a spiritual enemy, who is determined that we should not.
So he fights. He intimidates. He lies, both about us and to us!
And when you measure the quality and effectiveness of our lives against the life of Jesus whilst he was on this earth, it would seem that Satan’s tactics are succeeding in most of our circumstances.
Dear reader, we can either remain passive, or fight back. We can either accept the status quo, or get on board with God’s programme and engage in spiritual warfare.
How do we do this?
In prayer! By standing our ground in faith. By choosing to live our lives as victorious overcomers.
So, are you praying?
Are you praying effectively?
Are you praying without ceasing (i.e. developing a consistent prayer lifestyle)?
Are you emulating Christ, or seeking to emulate an ungodly celebrity’s lifestyle?
If the former, you are ensuring a victorious future. If the latter, you are most likely heading towards a disappointing denouement.
Apoorva Gupta, a writer at the Thought Catalog, makes the following observation:
The choices you make and the decisions you take have a long lasting impact on your life. They make us special, put a bar of distinction between us and everyone else. Our lives are a series of choices we’ve made so far. We live with those choices for the rest of our lives.
[…] We can’t undo the past, but we can always learn from it. Choices are the building blocks of our lives and despite all the mistakes one makes, a new day brings with itself new opportunities and a whole new world of choices.
If you are interested in reading the rest of what Gupta has to say regarding how choices shape our lives, click here:
Reader – you have a choice. So, choose you this day whom you will serve, whom you will emulate!
With love,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
Effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
Do you need a resource that encourages you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life? If so, don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Were you challenged by this post? Do share your thoughts in a comment box below and if you know anyone who could benefit from its message then please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
I recently shared a post about Iago (a character in the Shakespearean play Othello), who became so angered when his superior did not choose him for promotion that he set about destroying this man’s marriage.
The Bible tells us that anger rests in the bosom of a fool. Well. I certainly don’t wish to be a fool, nor do I want to be considered a fool in God’s eyes.
In fact, I don’t want anger to rest within me, to make its home in me. I don’t like the idea of me making anger comfortable in my life, allowing it free bed and board, so to speak.
I am referring to the type of anger that is corrosive. The kind that destroys either yourself as you harbour it within your heart, or motivates you to hurt others.
The Bible shares various stories which reveal how unrestrained anger can eventually escalate out of control and manifest itself into something evil. Cain killed his own brother (Genesis 4:3-8) and Haman plotted to annihilate all Jews (Esther 3:1-6).
I recognise and admit that I’ve struggled in the past to reign in my anger, so that it does not harm me, so that I do not stew in resentment or bitterness because of what people have done, or said, which has hurt me.
When I look back over my life, I can see that I failed to obey the Bible’s command to let go before sundown, any issue which arouses my anger. And, if I’m honest, I still struggle with this sundown deadline.
However, as I seek to be changed into Christ’s image, and as I consider more and more all that Jesus willingly suffered on my behalf, in order that I might become a member of God’s family and be conformed to the image of his Son, the greater has been my desire to deal with those areas of my life which are contrary to God’s will, contrary to his Word, contrary to my standing as a disciple, and decision to take up my cross and follow Christ.
To me, unrighteous anger is like an illegal immigrant. It needs to be discovered and deported! In fact, unchecked anger has to go, since it opens the door for the Enemy to come in and take up residence within our lives! I am sure you are familiar with that old adage about giving someone an inch and them taking a mile. We can be sure that the devil is no different.
Dear reader, are you seeking to walk in life as a victorious overcomer? Then let me encourage you today to examine your hearts. And if anger, has been a long-term bed-fellow in your heart, recognise it has the capacity to cause significant internal damage.
Jesus went to a lot of trouble and suffered immense pain, so we can be made whole, so we can lead victorious lives. Now, we can acknowledge the huge cost Jesus paid on our behalf, and avail ourselves of the abundant life he desires us to have, or we can pander to the carnal dictates of our flesh and continue to live our lives, as victims. The choice is ours!
Victim, or victor? Which will you choose?
With love,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
Choosing to walk as a victorious overcomer
Are you looking for a resource that will help and encourage you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life? If so, don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Did you enjoy reading this post? If so, please share your thoughts in a comment box below. Do you know someone who would benefit from its message? Then please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
One of my favourite comedy programmes is Everybody Loves Raymond.
There is an episode where an Italian aunt comes to stay and she makes a big difference to the dynamics of the family.
They become united, even loving, have singalongs and joyful meal times. Everyone agrees that she is the best thing to happen to them.
But then they discover that she is not their aunt after all and their Italian heritage may not even be genuine! And so, without the aunt’s good influence, they slip back into their old dysfunctional ways.
I wonder, do you recall how you felt when you first gave your life to the Lord… when you invited Jesus to come into your heart… and the difference he made with regard to the way you previously felt about, and lived your life?
A divided heart
Compare those days to your relationship with God now. As time has passed, have you lost that “loving feeling”?
In the book of Revelation, Jesus sent several messages to various churches in different regions.
In particular, I’d like to draw your attention to his message to the Laodicean church. He said:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth…
…Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
(Revelation 3:15-16, 20 NIV)
Again, in another passage of the Bible, God takes issue with his covenant family, the Children of Israel, because they’d abandoned him as their God and started adopting the practices of the heathen nations around them.
In no uncertain words, He tells them:
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
(Isaiah 55:6 NIV)
Friends and followers, may I ask you where you are at in your relationship with God?
Since around March this year, what we once perceived as normality in our individual lives, in our nations, indeed in the entire world, changed overnight. And we are still endeavouring to negotiate the new paths of uncertainty and change.
Who knew at the beginning of 2020, when we celebrated the New Year and the ushering in of a new decade that, just a few months down the line, our everyday lives would be changed beyond recognition?
Who knew that our liberties would be curtailed? Who knew that our health would be threatened, indeed many lives lost, as a result of an unknown and deadly virus, which hit us out of the blue? Who knew?
Jesus! That’s who!
Our Father God in Heaven. That’s who!
Now I believe that this pandemic is an opportunity for those of us who know the Lord, who confess to be his followers, to examine our lives and our hearts and see whether we are truly abiding in a position of faith and integrity.
It is an opportunity, to draw closer to the three members of the Godhead because they (along with the Word of God), are the only stable and unchanging aspects within a changing and troublesome world. And, if we’ve allowed our relationship with Christ to grow lukewarm, it’s also an opportunity to rectify this, before it is too late!
Now, whilst the Enemy would like to fill our hearts with fear, despair, and perhaps even resentment over lost liberties and livelihoods, as children of God, we can hold onto hope for our future and that hope (the God-type of hope), acts as an anchor for our soul (our mind, will and emotions).
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.
God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure…
(Hebrews 6:17-19 NIV)
The Laodicean church is an example of God’s people who may believe they are in the right place with God but they have somehow lost their way. The Laodicean church is often considered to be a picture of the Body of Christ during the “Last Days”, i.e. the days before Jesus is expected to return.
If this is the case, are we paying heed to Jesus’ warning? If we examine our hearts and our lives and compare them to how we used to be at the beginning of our salvation, have our hearts grown lukewarm?
Has our commitment waned? Have we allowed compromise or other priorities to creep into our lives? Have we, like the Children of Israel, adopted secular practices, entertained worldly desires and worshipped at the shrine of self-gratification?
If the Lord were to weigh us in his scales and balances today, would we come up short?
Unlike the family in Everyone Loves Raymond, if you are born-again (i.e. you’ve committed your life to Christ), there should be no question mark in your heart on whether you are a true member of God’s family.
And unlike the aunt, who turned out not to be a true relative, Jesus our brother, and God our heavenly Father, will never turn out to be of questionable origin. We can be absolutely sure that any confidence we have, based on our relationship with them, will never, ever, turn out to be unfounded.
So let me ask you, even if you were to wake up tomorrow to find the world you know has turned completely upside down, is your relationship with God such that you share the confidence of Habukkuk?
Listen to his uncompromising confession:
Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
(Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV)
Now whilst I am not happy that the pandemic has altered the way I live my life, such that I don’t feel at liberty to enjoy normal pursuits such as shopping, entertaining family and friends, and taking trips abroad, I recognise that there is a bigger picture here.
My future is in God’s hands. He’s not only in control of my life, he’s in control of my nation, he’s in control of the entire world, regardless of whether events seem to indicate otherwise.
And there’s an even bigger picture beyond the concerns of this present world. There’s the issue of eternity and where I, and others spend it, once our days on earth are ended.
And there’s also my responsibility to tell others about Jesus, to let them know that he alone is able to offer them peace and safety in this present unstable world, plus a glorious future in the world to come.
And it’s my responsibility through prayer, to invite God into the affairs of my nation and this world, and to pray for his will and purpose to be done.
Now, if you are a member of God’s family, then it is your responsibility too!
With love,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
A Student in His Secret Place (Psalm 91:1)
Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?
Are you familiar with the good news of God’s Gospel?
If you answered “No” to both questions, but would like to know more, please clickhere
Do you need a resource that will help and encourage you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life? If so, don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
What’s your response to this post? Please share your thoughts in a comment box below. If you know anyone who would benefit from its message please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
The above CC0 image comes courtesy of Gerd Altmann at Pixabay.com
Q: What is Five Minute Friday?
A: It is a 5min free write blog event hosted by Kate Motaung. Every Thursday Kate announces a one-word prompt at 10pm EST. The link-up is open for a full week, until the following Thursday evening. For further details on how to participate click HERE.
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FMF WORD PROMPT: RESPECT
Respect.
I have a lot of time, respect and admiration for those who have walked the Christian path before me successfully. People like my mother. Like Bob Gass (writer of the UCB Devotional*) and my very first pastor and Father in the faith, Archbishop Malachi Ramsay. I have great respect for those who not only talk the talk, but walk the walk!
Respect.
It is earned. Not demanded.
We give respect to one another for various reasons and under various circumstances. However, the fact that certain organisations exist, show that there is a need for people to be forced to give others respect. I refer to organisations such as Black Lives Matter, which exists solely because respect has been withheld from fellow human-beings, simply because of the colour of their skin!
As Christians, do we truly respect one another? And if we say we do, do we only show respect to those who fall within our cultural comfort zones? Do we only respect those whom we like, or are like us?
The Pharisees, Sadducees, priests and scribes did not respect Jesus. They insulted him (he casts out demons by the prince of demons), they plotted against him, and they questioned his pedigree.
[End of 5 mins]
Do you know God shows every single human being on this planet respect? He grants every one the respect to choose. To choose to acknowledge him and live a life that honours and glorifies him, or to go your own way and live your life, as you see fit.
God does not force anyone to serve him. And even when we make that commitment to follow Jesus, to acknowledge and accept God’s magnanimous gift of salvation, he does not force us to obey him. He respects the fact that he has given us a free will and he respects our decision to exercise that free will, in whatever way we choose.
Now the individuals named above (my mother, Bob Gass and Malachi Ramsay) have all passed on from this world but I have no doubt they have entered into glory. Whilst they were here on earth, they respected the gifts and callings God placed upon their lives, they respected the privilege they’d been given as Children of God, and sought to live their best lives, sought to love, encourage and influence those around them. I thank God for their lives. I thank God for their legacies.
But I cannot conclude this post without giving thanks to Jesus. If it were not for him, if it were not for the fact that he chose to despise the cross and endure the shame, if it were not for his choice to leave behind his prestigious position in heaven and come to earth, to suffer a cruel and ignominious death, then my mother, Bob Gass, Malachi Ramsay would not have had the opportunity to be reconciled to God. They would not have had the choice of serving him and blessing the Body of Christ and being an example to those who came within the sphere of their influence.
So today, I pay homage and utmost respect to Jesus, my Lord, my Saviour, my soon-coming King!
Are you looking for a resource that will help and encourage you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life? If so, don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Did you enjoy reading this post? Please share your thoughts in a comment box below. Do you know someone who would benefit from its message? Then please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
*Free postal copies of UCB Word For Today (UK and Republic of Ireland only) are available from: FREEPOST RLTX-ABUL-GRAR, United Christian Broadcasters, Westport Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 4JF
Are you looking for a resource that will help and encourage you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life? If so, don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
What’s your response to this post? Please share your thoughts in a comment box below and if you know anyone you could bless with its message, don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
The following is a conversational drama piece between God and a believer who feels she is just too busy to pray.
DAY 1:
Anonymous Speaker: Hey! Are you busy?
Clarissa: Can’t you see that I am? What do you want?
Anonymous Speaker: I’d just like to spend some time with you!
Clarissa: Oh! Well sorry, I’m just too busy!
Anonymous Speaker: Anything I can help you with?
Clarissa: I can manage, thank you.
Anonymous Speaker: So what are you doing?
Clarissa: Well, I’m trying to make my life a success.
Anonymous Speaker: Okay. Well I can help you with that.
Clarissa: Hmmm. I don’t really see how you can.
Anonymous Speaker: Just spend some time with me.
Clarissa: Look, I’ve already told you, I don’t have the time (mutters under breath), or the inclination! I’ve got places to go, people to see, a life to live, so I really can’t spare the time to talk right now.
SIX MONTHS LATER:
Clarissa: Oh God, my life’s a complete mess. Help me!
Anonymous Speaker: What’s wrong?
Clarissa: Where do I begin? (starts crying)
Anonymous Speaker: Just tell me what’s wrong.
Clarissa: I’ve fallen out with my best friend and my boyfriend dumped me last week. I hate my job but I’ve a mortgage to pay and now my ex wants to move out of our flat. How on earth will I manage?
Anonymous Speaker: And you are telling me this now because…?
Clarissa: Well, you’re God aren’t you? I need you to do something! I need your help. I want you to get me out of this mess. I have nobody else to turn to.
Anonymous Speaker: Well now, let me see. Did you set up a prayer account?
Clarissa: What’s that?
Anonymous Speaker: It’s a type of Investment account. You invest time into building a relationship with me, so that when situations like this occurs, you can have peace and confidence in me, instead of feeling stressed and angry, like you are now.
Clarissa: Sorry. I didn’t realise that. I don’t have such an account. Does that mean you can’t, or won’t help me?
Anonymous Speaker: Of course not! But because you have not invested into a consistent prayer life, your capacity to trust me is not where it could or should be.
Clarissa: But I do trust you!
Anonymous Speaker: Do you?
Clarissa: Y-es.
Anonymous Speaker: You don’t seem too sure there. Will you trust me despite what your circumstances look like, and trust that I know what’s best for you, even should I not answer your prayers in the way that you’d like, or as quickly as you’d like?
Clarissa: I have no choice! So, will you help me or not?
Anonymous Speaker: What do you think?
Clarissa: I know you can. I’m not confident though that you will.
Anonymous Speaker: And why is that?
Clarissa: Because I’ve neglected you all this time. Because I’ve not been truly appreciative of your blessings. Because when my life was tickety boo, I acted as if I was self-sufficient and didn’t really need you. Because I ignored that niggling feeling in my gut, which tried to warn me that if I continued to consign you to the back burner of my life, I’ll be sorry.
Anonymous Speaker: And are you?
Clarissa: Yes. I am. Truly sorry.
Anonymous Speaker: And why else?
Clarissa: Pardon?
Anonymous Speaker: Is there any other reason why you don’t feel confident that I will help you?
Clarissa: Only that I don’t deserve it. I’ve sinned. My ex should not have been living with me. I knew it was wrong and I knew that this was at odds with your Word and with my claim to be a Christian, yet I still went ahead and did it anyway. I compromised big time!
Anonymous Speaker: My dear Clarissa, have you forgotten what my Word says you should do whenever you fall into sin? All you have to do is repent (i.e. be remorseful and change direction), and ask for my forgiveness.
I am willing to forgive and I am willing to cleanse you. That’s what grace means. It means I am prepared to extend my unconditional love and mercy towards you, no matter what you’ve done. You do not have to “deserve” it!
Clarissa: Father God, please forgive me. Cleanse me. Help me.
Anonymous Speaker: How do you feel now?
Clarissa: All warm and peaceful inside. Forgiven and cleansed. Prepared to trust you. Hopeful of my future.
Anonymous Speaker: I am so happy to hear this my child. Your investment account is now open. Keep topping it up and watch your confidence in me grow. Watch your life straighten out, as you make consistent spiritual deposits.
Clarissa: O Thank you Father God! You are so gracious Heavenly Father. Why on earth did I think I could live my life without your help? I recommit myself into your hands. I am re-inviting Jesus to reign and govern my life according to your purpose. And I’m asking your Holy Spirit to come alongside me and help me to live a life that glorifies you.
Anonymous Speaker: My dear child, it will be my utmost pleasure to see you grow and develop and pursue your destiny in Christ. Meanwhile, do enjoy the benefits of your salvation and the pleasures of my kingdom.
Are you too busy to pray, to spiritually invest into your future?
With love,
Carol (aka Lady Cee)
If you’d like to purchase a resource that will help and encourage you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life, don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
Did you enjoy reading this post? If so, please share your thoughts in a comment box below. Do you know someone who would benefit from its message? Then please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Hi folks,
Thought I’d share this blogger’s post today, since she has kindly written a review of my book. Do please visit and support her with your ‘likes’ and/or comment.
Indeed, if you’re looking for a few “quickie” prayer ideas to zip through on the run or a “shotgun approach” to praying, this isn’t it. PFMH is for serious prayer warriors who are committed to “raising the roof” from their knees.
Are you looking for a resource that will help and encourage you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life? If so, don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
What’s your response to this post? Please share your thoughts in a comment box below and if you know anyone you could bless with its message, don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
Are you looking for a resource that will help and encourage you to develop a consistent and confident prayer life? If so, don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
What’s your response to this post? Please share your thoughts in a comment box below and if you know anyone you could bless with its message, don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
![Petitions From My Heart: A Scriptural Guide for Effective Prayers by [Carol E. Hind]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+5PJT24PL._SY346_.jpg)
Women of Warfare! (WOW!) 