Yes, there is a such thing as selfish prayers.

What do your prayers sound like? Are they littered with requests for yourself and those you love? Or, are your prayers focused on the One that you're praying to?

There is a time to make requests of God. We have clear examples of making requests in prayers from scripture. But, as you pray, your heart should be drawn closer to God and praising Him. There is a reason the ACTS acrostic is so helpful in praying. It gets your heart and mind thinking about God, Who He is and what He has done for us.

• A-Adoration
• C-Confession
• T-Thanksgiving
• S-Supplication

When you spend time praising God, confessing sin and thanking Him for blessings beyond measure, your supplications change. For example, being truly thankful for the car that you have may change your request for a new one.

Another way to make sure your prayers are God centered instead of self-centered is to pray Scripture. Psalms is the easiest way to start praying God's Word back to Him. Read Praying the Bible by Don Whitney. I've said it before and it's still true. It will transform your prayer life.

Questions

Mommy, have I sinned today?

Are we going to go to heaven?

Can we pray right now?

The questions of my littlest ones never cease to amaze me. Abigail was sitting on my bed and doing some real thinking and shooting questions out with both barrels. I didn't jump up and make her pray the "sinner's prayer." But, I did pray that Jesus truly would save her from her sins, give her an abundant Christian life and bring her to heaven when He does take her home. I am reminded again the importance of memorizing Scripture.

2 Timothy 4:2 ...be ready in season and out of season...

Joshua 4:21-22 ...when your children ask... then you shall let your children know...

How to Pray Based on Psalm 5:1-8

Ray has been preaching out of the Psalms for a few months and every week I have been encouraged.  Some weeks I'm actually even able to take notes. This is the result of my notes from his sermon on this past Sunday.

I. Pray with a Passion - groaning, cry. Verse 1
The psalmist prays
- with an expectation that God will hear him.

- that God's name would be great and that the Lord is lifted up in every situation. King, God.

- for God's provision.

- to a personal God who knows your needs, heart and desires. He is my King and my God.

II. Priority of Prayer - in the morning, it's his practice. Verse 3
The psalmist

- makes his first thoughts upward to God.

- disciplined, regular routine.

- watches in faith that God is going to act.

III. Purity of prayer - Verses 4-6
God
- does not delight in wickedness, evil cannot dwell with Him.
- abhors the bloodthirsty and evil man.
(Only through Christ can anyone stand before God. Psalm 66:18 Iniquity hinders prayer life. Repent of sin which hinders prayers.)

IV. Promise of prayer - psalmist appears before God through the abundance of God's love. Verse 7
We
- cannot separate ourselves from God's presence.
- enter with humility and fear and trust, because God has made the way and provided access.

V. Petitions of prayer - Verse 8
- lead me, personally, because of my enemies and the enemies of the people of God.
- make the way straight.

Our Thanksgiving Circle at church last week

New Year's Has to Wait

Two weeks of sickness really brings out who we really are... sinners.

We have to be careful not to sin. Everyone is tired, feels bad and bored. Life and any semblance of routine is nonexistent. Placing one foot in front of the other is a chore, not to mention the mounds of dishes and laundry.

My goal for Christmas decorations every year is to have everything down and put away before Mary's birthday on the third. We were so far behind that we actually didn't even celebrate her birthday until the fifth.... And the decorations are still up and shining brightly, well, not too bright, they are covered in dust now. You know your Christmas decorations have been up too long if they need dusting this badly.

So, now that we have mostly recovered, I am trying to retrain an especially spoiled three year old. Abigail has been to two birthday parties in the past few days and revealed a serious sin nature! Having spent the past two weeks "Christmasing" and doing whatever it takes to survive, child training has been lacking here!

But not only is my three year in need of remembering how to behave, I am too. I have to keep reminding myself that just because I feel bad, I do not have permission to sin. The dishes can wait, I need to recover. The girls have felt bad too, they can wear wrinkled clothes.

The temptation is to feel sorry for myself when I look at how far I am behind. I'm not allowed to be grumpy and irritable about getting back to the routine. Tempers can easily get out of hand and the blame game could escalate.

Knowing these things, I decided to unplug my Christmas lights and let them continue gathering dust for a while longer. I am spending the afternoon looking at where we are in school and praying through those needs and other New Year's goals.


Here is the best picture I got of Mary blowing out the candles on her lame birthday cookie cake. (Much of the cake spilled all over the oven and is still there.) Maybe one of my New Year's goals should be to clean the oven....

Colossians 3:15-17

My Thanksgiving prayer for our body of believers and the church universal.

 

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Praying

On Sunday mornings in our church we spend a lot of time praying. There is often extended time for praying for Christians who are being martyred in other parts of the world. I find myself so easily distracted during prayer and don't know how to keep my heart focused on prayer. Praying for martyrs shakes me out of my distracted thoughts which include but are not limited to-

• why doesn't Lydia wear that dress more often
• I wish I had painted my nails yesterday
• I hope Abigail doesn't need to go potty or have an accident
• I hope I remembered to turn on the oven so lunch will be ready

And that's just in my own family on my own row.  If I am not working hard to focus on prayer, my heart wanders. Being shaken by the needs of others helps bring me to the reality that I live a very easy life. I am deeply humbled when I realize my own thoughts compared to what Christians in other lands have to face. What a blessing that in this day and time right now, I do not have to wonder if my family or I will be persecuted for our faith.

A Letter to My Daughters on Getting Along

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Psalm 133:1

Are my daughters fighting? Having trouble getting along? At odds over anything at all? No, but they have in the past and probably will be again. I wanted to take this moment to make sure they know how I feel about their relationships with one another.

The verse above was one of the first verses that I taught Rachel when she was a little girl. I wanted to be very purposeful in making sure my girls didn't fight, argue, bicker or, in general, be just plain mean to each other. They had to learn from the beginning that even though they weren't always happy with each other, they still had to love each other. They haven't always been perfect angels to each other and I don't expect them to be, but I do expect them to apply Scripture to their relationships with one another and others. But this letter is specific to them about their bonds with each other.

What does it look like for brothers, in this case, sisters to dwell together in unity?

• At three, it means giving your sister the bigger half of the cookie.
• At five, it means letting your sister have the prettiest hair bow.
• At seven, it means reading each word carefully so that your sister can pretend she can read too.
• At thirteen, it means doing your sister's part of the chores, again, when she has too much going on.
• At fifteen, it means teaching your sister how to curl her hair.
• At eighteen, it means teaching your sister to shave because your mom is too busy at the moment.
• It means laughing your head off at the dumbest inside jokes that no one else will ever possibly understand.  (By the way, who is Fred?)
• It means loving your sister's choice of a husband, even when you don't like him (at first).
• As an adult, it means weeping with your sister as she suffers her biggest losses - whether it's a job, a boyfriend, a house, a baby, a husband.....
• It means rejoicing with your sister at her greatest joys, even when you don't want to.
• It means praying for her often, encouraging and admonishing her in a way that you would want.

When you are all grown up, I won't always be around. I can't even be a part of every thing now. You must apply what you know about Scripture to your relationships. You all will face challenges so much greater than you can think of now. In the adult world, problems like not getting to start in a basketball game seem minute. Your biggest heartache will not be having to go to church with less than perfect hair. There will be really hard things that you will face. As you follow Christ and love your own individual families, remember, how good and pleasant it is for sisters to dwell together in unity.

It means NOT laughing when your sister falls off of the top of the pyramid :)

Thankful

As I sit on my front porch, rocking my sweet Susannah,  listening to the leaves fall and simply enjoying this amazing weather I am reminded to pray. Not everyone is enjoying the benefits of one amazing season turning in to another. They are still recovering from floods, typhoons, tropical storms and other natural disasters. God has blessed us abundantly in North Georgia with the perfect weather and for that I am so very thankful.

Ecclesiastes

"I don't think it is just the English teacher in me that leads me to this conclusion about our basic problem in Bible study these days: we've forgotten how to read! We're so used to fast food that we think we should be able to drive by the Scriptures periodically and pick up some easily digestible truths that someone else has wrapped up neatly for us. We've disowned that process of careful reading...observing the words...seeing the shape of a book and a passage...asking questions that take us into the text rather than away from it...digging into the Word and letting it speak! Through such a process, guided by the spirit, the Word of God truly feeds our souls."

I am so excited to begin a new Bible study this week from Kathleen B. Nielson on the book of Ecclesiastes. I am guilty - I read short clips of things and avoid those things that require long term energy and focus, even the Bible sometimes. My Bible reading often falls under the headings of habit, perfunctory, bland, ...drive through, fast food. My prayer through this Bible study for me and the other ladies engaged in it with me is that of Nielson's, "that, by means of these studies, people would be further enabled to read the Scriptures profitably and thereby find life and nourishment in them, as we are meant to do."

Sins - The Valley of Vision

This book of Puritan prayers never ceases to amaze me. I am always struck by how thouoroghly they pray. My prayers often seem weak compared to theirs. This prayer covers every sin in need of forgiveness.

Merciful LORD,
Pardon all my sins of this day, week, year, all the sins of my life,
Sins of early, middle, and advanced years,
Of omission and commission,
Of morose, peevish, and angry tempers,
Of lip, life and walk,
Of hard-heartedness, unbelief, presumption, pride,
Of unfaithfulness to the would of men,
Of want of bold decision in the cause of Christ,
Of deficiency in outspoken zeal for his glory,
Of bringing dishonor upon thy great name,
Of deception, injustice, untruthfulness, in my dealings with others,
Of impurity in thought, word and deed,
Of covetousness, which is idolatry,
Of substance unduly hoarded, improvident lay squandered,
Not consecrated to the glory of thee, the great Giver;
Sins in private and in the family,
In study and recreation in the busy haunts of men,
In the study of thy Word and in the neglect of it,
In prayer irreverently offered and coldly withheld,
In time misspent,
In yielding to Satan's wiles,
In opening my heart to his temptations,
In being unwatchful when I know him nigh,
In quenching the Holy Spirit;
Sins against light and knowledge,
Against conscience and the restraints of thy Spirit,
Against the law of eternal love.
Pardon all my sins, known and unknown,
Felt and unfelt,
Confessed and uncontested,
Remembered or forgotten.
Good Lord, heat; and hearing, forgive.

The Broken Heart

O LORD,No day of my life has passed that has not proved me guilty in thy sight.Prayers have been uttered from a prayer less heart;Praise has been often praise less sound;My best services are filthy rags.Blessed Jesus, let me find a covert in thy appeasing wounds.Though my sins rise to heaven thy merits soar above them; Though unrighteousness weighs me down to hell,thy righteousness exalts me to thy throne.All things call for my rejection,All things in thee plead my acceptance.I appeal from the throne of perfect justice to thy throne of boundless grace.Grant me to hear thy voice assuring me:that by thy stripes I am healed,that thou wast bruised for my iniquities,that thou hast been made sin for methat I might be righteous in thee,that my grievous sins, my manifold sins, are all forgiven,buried in the ocean of thy concealing blood.I am guilty, but pardoned,lost, but saved,wandering, but found,sinning, but cleansed.Give me perpetual broken-heartedness,Keep me always clinging to the cross,Flood me every moment with descending grace,Open to me the springs of divine knowledge,sparkling like crystal,flowing clear and unsulliedthrough the wilderness of life.

Valley of Vision, Puritan Prayers and Devotions

What About My Own Heart?

While talking to a friend about the Immediately, Completely, Cheerfully post, she made an important point. She wondered how often she does that herself, how often does she go about her duties immediately, completely and cheerfully? I was thinking that about myself too. My attitude is what often shows up in my children's attitudes and it isn't very nice sometimes.

One of the things I like about Tedd Tripp and Paul Tripp's writing on parenting is that they deal with the parent first. Before you can "fix" your children, you must "fix" yourself. If your own heart isn't right with God, it will be impossible to shepherd your child's heart. Being a parent is hard! It takes an intimate knowledge of God, walking with Him, and resting in His grace and mercy when you fail. I know from experience.

You waking before the children, not skimping on prayer and Scripture reading, spending time sitting under the preaching of God's Word, and fellowship with other believers are key aspects to parenting. As shocking as it may seem, those things are more important than the best education, the perfect playmates and most well balanced meals possible for them. It seems backwards and it's very hard to make it happen, but when your heart is right before God, you will be in a great place to guide their hearts.

I struggle with every part of the equation. I want to sleep late, get through prayer and Scripture reading quickly, skip church and stay home alone sometimes. I can come up with as many excuses as the next person to keep from tending my own heart, but they will just be excuses. Planning to guard my spiritual life is what it takes.

How does that planning happen? First of all, with Ray. He is my spiritual leader and has my best interests at heart. If I have a need in this area, he is the first person I go to. If I don't get out of bed before Abigail wakes up, he will try to keep her quiet and contained until I have some time to read and pray. This is not easy for me because I know he has a lot of work to do. He is usually out of bed before five in the morning so that he can get his work done. If I lay in bed too long, I am taking him away from his work. That is a huge motivation for me to get up. I know this kind of plan doesn't work for everyone, but the working out your time to get in prayer and Scripture reading is possible.

Also, if I don't give myself plenty of time for my 'quiet time', I rush through. Having to get breakfast ready for the girls who leave early, getting chores and homeschool done in a timely manner are more motivations to get out of bed. Strangely enough, because of the succession of events of any given morning, if I sleep thirty minutes late, it puts our homeschool day behind by an hour or more. And no one wants to be doing school at supper time.

As far as church is concerned, I am as guilty as the next person to want to skip. It's hard to teach a baby to sit still and be quiet during the service. I get distracted by things in the service and miss parts of sermons and songs. (Just this past Sunday, Hannah had a strange rash show up during the service. Who knows what that message was about!)  But unless we are out of town or really sick, I show up, because it isn't good for the pastor's family to skip church :) Being in church isn't an option, we will be there! (I also really like the preacher.)

I love to get together with friends. Other ladies often encourage me and spur me in my walk with God. But I also really like to stay home a lot. I like to be at home with my family and do things with them. It isn't good for women to hide in their own homes all the time from other people. Proverbs is full of words about the benefits of godly relationships.

All of these things work together to make my heart right with God. Because I love Him and want to know Him, I want to be a better parent. Because I want to be a better parent, I want to know Him and love Him more.  Because I want to know Him more, I am going to work hard to develop my spiritual life.

Seasons of Life

There are many seasons of life that we go through. Some are crazy busy, some have more time for contemplation. I was bemoaning with my sister-in-law recently about how much I had to do, getting in bed late and waking early. Both of us were functioning on about four hours of sleep on that particular morning, only she had gotten in bed at the same hour I had gotten up.

Every one's 'seasons' look a little differently. My 'young married with young children' has changed to 'middle aged married with children' and even that doesn't look the same as the next person's stage of 'middle aged with children.' We are in different places with different challenges, but we all have challenges. God has given us twenty-four hours in each day and the time we need to accomplish what He wants us to accomplish. There are so many things that I want to do, good things that I think would help my family and others. When I dropped into bed last night I was overwhelmed with the amount of things that I didn't get accomplished. I know have to readjust my thinking.

Having a small baby in the house means that I can't just pick up and run somewhere, it takes a calculated effort to go somewhere for a few hours. There are feedings, diapers, naps and teething to consider. Does that immobilize me? Should I just sit home because it's just too hard to 'go and do?' Maybe! There are many times I have to 'just say no' to 'going and doing' when I really don't want to. I have to make a choice between really good things, when I want to do it all. But I can't let Abigail be my excuse for not serving the rest of my family and others. So while I really think it's necessary for babies to be in their own home and on a good schedule, they need to have some time scheduled to serve others too. I have to learn (again) to put her on the floor while I "hold" my other girls. Anytime one of them asks,"When is my turn for some of your attention?", I know I'm failing them. (And yes the older they get, the MORE they need me sometimes.)

As I sit in this 'season' of life, I have to depend on God to lead me, to give me wisdom to do those good things He wants me to do. And what do I do with my 'to do' list that never empties? I'll wake up tomorrow and pray that God will give me the wisdom again to do that which He wants me to do.

Early last summer I planned my Bible reading to end this year in the book of Psalms since we were having a baby and planning a wedding. I have been so grateful to God for the encouragement and prayers found there these past couple of weeks. When we don't know what to pray for ourselves, scripture is sufficient. Psalm 63:1-8 was a great praise to God on a day that I thought I was too busy to slow down enough to pray.

A Mother's Love

We've all known the fierce love of a mother when her child has been wronged. It is often likened to that of a "Mama Bear." I've experienced it many times in the past twenty-two years. Whether my child is in the right or not, there is a fierce desire to protect and defend.

This week I have felt another type of great love - a grateful love. If I had to go over again the past eight years to get to this point, I would would do it a million times over. Enduring being pregnant over and over again would be worth it to know this great treasure I have now. I am most grateful to God for for allowing this amazing gift to come to our home. Every time I stop to think of what happened for our family on Monday, I have to fight tears.

Just one of many moments of thanking God with our tears! We have not prayed for anything more in our marriage than for the birth of this baby.

Every birth has its momentous experiences and this one was no exception. I am so glad the older girls and my mom got to be in the room with Ray and me when our sweet baby was born. The cameras were flashing and the tears were flowing freely. Mary and Lydia came into the room very quickly after to see their new baby.

What are first thoughts every morning? The very first thought when you realize you're awake? I have always wanted my very first thoughts to be on God when I wake up, but I didn't know how to make that happen. I don't usually read anything else before I read the Bible and I try to purposely think about the things of God when I open my eyes. But how could I, in my half awake slumber, think about God? Then (as if magically, hehe) it happened. Several times now, I have realized that I was praying when I became fairly conscience of my surroundings. The prayers were something like, "God , please be glorified in my life today... Or, how can I glorify You today." I truly want me every thought, waking or sleeping, to be glorifying to God.

Psalm 68

God's Word is such an encouragement as I live in this daily battle called life.

68:1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
Praying for the weak to be protected has a new meaning now. God will drive away the wicked. They will vanish as a vapor.

3 But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
I have no righteousness in me. It is the blood of Christ that causes God to see me as righteous. I will be glad in the end.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!
I can sing praises to Him. (I sing quietly because it doesn't sound pretty.)

5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
What a comfort! Thank you God that you protect those without protection.

6 God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
You are our great Provider!

11 The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
Not only do you provide, but you provide abundantly. We are truly blessed beyond our needs.

14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.
15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
Thank you Lord for the daily bearing. We need help every day.

God is our salvation. Selah
No matter what I do, I can't save myself.

20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
Because You Alone are the God of Salvation, you can be trusted to save those in need.

21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
God will punish those who are in authority and walk in evil ways.

22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
24 Your procession is seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them virgins playing tambourines:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel's fountain!”
27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 Summon your power, O God,
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
thank you that You are the God of all power and You are working for us.

29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Nobles shall come from Egypt;
Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!

Blessed be God!

Mighty to Save

Sometimes in the midst of praying for the lost, things might look hopeless. Here is encouragement:
“Christ is not only ‘mighty to save’ those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him….Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is ‘mighty to save.’ You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm and rouse it to put forth its strength…Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is ‘mighty to save;’ the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you.” Charles Spurgeon

Wolfgang

What do you do when you think the love of your daughter's life is dying? Well, you cry with her and pray. Even though he's a horse, you pray. One of the sweetest things I've seen Ray do for Rachel is lay his hands on Wolfgang's head and pray for him. Yesterday we got the call that Wolfgang was down and we needed to come. After several hours with the veterinarian and Nana Jarrard care, he was back on his feet and trotting around. Rachel spent the night with him and he is much improved. It looks like Wolfgang had a bad case of colic and apparently he thought he was dying too.
Rachel was given Wolfgang when she was about eleven or twelve and the rescue barn where she was working for her lessons closed. I am sure that horse has helped protect her heart. When a young girl has to work with an animal and care for him so much she doesn't have any inclination to chase boys. Besides, at that age I had been working hard to tell her boys had cooties. (I had to stop telling the girls that when I realized that they were actually going to have to marry one of those boys one day.) I'm not saying the best way to protect your daughter's heart is to get her a horse, but it sure helped us.

Prayers

After reviewing my post on waiting, I feel like I am stuck in a rerun... a really bad one. We found out yesterday that the baby I am carrying has no heartbeat. I will have yet another D&C on Monday and continue to greive the loss of another of God's tiniest treasures. Please pray for our family at this sad time as we know that God is in control of all things.