Recently, I prayed with a young woman I had not previously met who was suffering many stresses in her young life: a struggling child, her grandfather’s recent stroke, a difficult ex-husband and a lack of peace. She is a born-again believer and deeply desires God to move in her life. As we prayed through these issues one by one, I sensed the Spirit urging me to ask her if she had forgiven her ex-husband. I had no idea what had transpired between them…only that this was a sticking place in her journey of transformation. I took a deep breath and asked the question, “Rosa, have you been able to forgive your ex-husband?”

Her eyes opened wide, and she looked startled. “No, I haven’t been able to go there. There was so much abuse.” I prayed for the painful situation in her marriage. Then, I prayed for her ex-husband, asking God to transform him by the renewing of his mind and to change his story and draw him to Jesus. Afterwards, I asked her, “Rosa, do you think you could begin to pray prayers like these for him?” I explained that un-forgiveness and bitterness were harming her spiritually and that as she learned to pray for her ex-husband’s salvation and transformation she would gradually begin to see God change her heart and bring her to a place where she could truly release all of the pain she had experienced into the Father’s hands. She could be free from the bondage of un-forgiveness and be delivered from her anger and resentment towards him. Rosa agreed, although a bit reluctantly, to begin to pray for him and to consider the possibility that her prayers could make a difference in his eternity as well as give her greater peace in her own journey. I am excited to watch God move in the lives of this family as He begins to work in response to Rosa’s prayers.

Is there someone you need to pray for today who has damaged or hurt you in some way? Perhaps you are angry with people you don’t even know – politicians, workers on strike, someone who continually parks in your space, etc. Can you ask God to give you the grace to pray for them? So often an inability to pray for certain people blocks the fullness of God’s blessing. We allow the “enemy” to give us feelings of hatred and a desire for revenge…when Jesus says, “…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).  This is not an easy or simple assignment for many…but it is the way of the kingdom.  If we desire a life that follows Christ, we must obey this directive from the One who prayed from the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Prayer as everyday life compels us to connect with the Father through the Son no matter who or what circumstance tries to trip us up in the midst of our journey towards Christlikeness. Neglecting to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us is sin, which Psalm 66: 18 says, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear…” Instead, Jesus tells us, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

May the ministry of forgiveness continually be part of us as we step into each day’s journey so that God will be honored and glorified in the midst of His people.

A few years ago, a dear friend went through a major health challenge. She walked through a lot of darkness and difficulty. Yet, in the midst of her struggle, she said to me, “I would not have chosen to miss going through every bit of this struggle because of all God did in and through me.” Knowing how much she had suffered physically, mentally and financially through an intensely dark time, this gift of grace to her was supernaturally significant! We had been praying together (along with many others), that God would receive honor and glory in her victory…and indeed He has! She was able to lead two people to the Lord, including a Jewish woman…and helped another person with a personal struggle of his own. Focusing upon the needs of others had pulled her from her anxiety over her own condition towards the kingdom purpose of God – which was to redeem her situation for His own glory.

I share this to say…prayer isn’t always about the end result…but also about the journey. It is, as the Apostle Paul says, being able to be content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in (Philippians 4:11). Author, Jonathan Graf, calls this “praying the process.” If we focus on the end result only, we often miss the blessings, lessons, growth that comes from the process of walking through the situation. It is often the process of going through trouble or adversity that strengthens us for kingdom work. As a friend of my says it, “When you can’t see His hand, trust His heart!”

The Apostle Paul said in Romans 5:3-5: “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (NLT).

God loves us enough to allow trials in our lives for His purposes. As we “pray the process” we can ask God to work in and through us rather than bemoaning our circumstances. God is a redeemer and will not let anything we walk through be wasted. And, in the midst of our situations, we are always to be thankful: “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This is harder than it sounds! How can we be thankful for illness, tragedy, etc.? Go back to Romans 5 – when we run into the tough things of life, God has a purpose to use it for His glory…even if we can’t comprehend, imagine or see it. This is where the true prayer of faith takes place. When we begin to pray through the journey (process) of our situations, God is there, walking with us. He hurts alongside of us, sees and feels our pain, knows our frustrations…none of it is a surprise to Him.

Sometimes we have no idea what or how to pray in the midst of a difficult circumstance. But, Paul gives us this amazing encouragement in Romans 8:26: “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words” (NLT).

So – in a nutshell, here are some guidelines, based on the Scriptures we just read, to help you pray through the dark, uncertain times in life:

• Pray the process – don’t just ask God for the end result you want…trust God’s heart even when you don’t see Him at work in, through or around you. Know that He is able to overcome and/or redeem whatever you go through.
• Focus on praying for (and with) others who are going through trials as you are. God will use your circumstances to uniquely encourage or strengthen someone else.
• Ask God to give you the spiritual eyes to see His kingdom through your situation.
• Rejoice and give thanks in the midst of trials, knowing that He has a purpose for them that will be for His ultimate glory.
• Pray for greater faith to know that God’s hand is at work to develop endurance, strong character and the hope of salvation within you.
• Ask God to help you to be content in the midst of whatever situation or circumstance you find yourself.
• Ultimately, when you don’t know what else to do or pray, ask the Holy Spirit to share your heart with the Father.

May God bring your prayer life sharply into focus in the midst of trials so that God is glorified as His will for His kingdom is fulfilled in and through you.

Sometimes God just puts things into perspective and smacks me upside the head! I was struggling to write this blog today…nothing was coming to mind, even as I prayed and searched the Scriptures for a jump start. I was beginning to get frustrated and was feeling a bit sorry for myself. And then – God intervened! A phone call came into the office from a desperate woman whose son has been missing for two days. She was weeping from fear and grief over not knowing where he was or if he was okay. Simply – she just needed someone to pray with her.

Usually I ask all kinds of questions to get more information so I can pray an informed prayer. But today, all I asked her was for her name and the name of her son…and I went before the throne of the Almighty Father, who loves her son more than she could ever imagine loving him. He allowed my mother’s heart to resonate with hers in that moment, trusting Him for the right words to comfort and strengthen her. When we were done, she thanked me, I said I would keep praying for her today, and she hung up. Was she filled with peace? Did she sense that the Lord was watching over her son? Did I even pray in a way that opened her up to the possibility that God is able to bring him home safe and sound? How will God respond to this prayer? I will likely never know this side of heaven – but I believe that our loving Father is already sending ministering angels to this woman’s side, and trusting that her son will come home.

So – in the midst my little feeling sorry for myself hissy fit this afternoon, God brought me into the reality of real life and used me for His purposes in an entirely different way to minister to a hurting person…without knowing circumstances or details…just simply trusting that He knows what is needed in this moment of time and will pour out His grace and mercy in response. It was a divine appointment between one mother and another. Thanks Father, You knew just what I needed today too.

“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god” (Psalm 24:3-4).

When my husband and I were preparing for a three month sabbatical in 2015, it was our sense that our most effective years of ministry lay ahead, and we felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to spend some time in rest and play…but also much time in silence and solitude…drawing apart to hear clearly from God without being encumbered by all of our day to day ministry activity.

I never realized how difficult it would be to prepare to disengage and unplug from ministry for a season of rest and seeking the heart of God. As the time drew near for our departure (our first two weeks was spent in Israel), there was a sense of near desperation to “get it all done” and to “get ahead” on all of my deadlines, etc. As this process was taking place, I discovered some serious iDolatry in my life. The iDols are iPhone, iPad, and  iNternet.  I had no idea how addicted I had become to the technology that is so pervasively important to the work I do – writing, posting, communicating, compiling newsletters, blogging, etc. Although I spend much time in prayer and the Word, I believe the usage of “devices” far exceeds the time I spend in heartfelt devotion. And, since I was  committed to the disciplines of silence and solitude during much of our sabbatical time, I was able to see how the enemy can easily distract me and trip me up here!

I was prompted to do a study on idols and idolatry as it would relate to my own lack of proper balance, and what I now know has tempted me to cross the line into sinfulness. I have often trusted in the iDol of technology, which Psalm 24 warns about. It has quite literally become a false god in my life. 1 Samuel 12:21 says, “Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.”

And I want to scream out – “But they aren’t useless – they are very useful to me!” And so, as I read “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols” (Isaiah 42:8), I must wrestle with this! Technology is surely an iDol the enemy of my soul has used…surreptitiously invading my day to day living, and covertly inserting a cancerous addiction to challenge my journey towards Christlikeness.

Certainly I use my phone, iPad and computer for God’s purposes, but I also waste a lot of time uselessly becoming distracted by all of the amazing things the internet has to offer me. Where is the balance that will help me to step back over the line I have crossed and put technology back into proper perspective? How am I to “…flee from idolatry” as Paul admonishes and to keep myself form idols, as John warns?  I certainly don’t want to “cling to worthless idols,” forfeiting the grace that could be mine (Jonah 2:8).

As I prayed about this issue in my life, the prophet Jeremiah brought perspective: “Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this” (Jeremiah 14:22).

This verse makes me evaluate: Am I putting my hope in technology – giving it too much of my discretionary time…looking at my email during meals with my family, asking Siri endless questions about this or that, pinning and Facebooking things that are not ministry related, etc.? There must be a balance. As I unplug from it all during the sabbatical (I’ve already reduced my daily emails substantially by simply unsubscribing from MANY things I never have time to read and just spend time deleting everyday), it feels good – freeing! I actually am beginning to feel the weight lifting as I intentionally leave my phone turned off more, and am not checking Facebook “one more time” before going to sleep, etc. This allows my first and last thoughts of the day (as well as most of the time in between) to be tuned in to the voice of my Lord rather than to be turned aside by lesser things.

My prayer is that by unplugging from technology from time to time, my heart will be pure and my hands clean so that I may give myself to standing in the Father’s holy place, fully committed to Him alone!

2 Thessalonians has become one of my favorite books of the Bible. It is filled with blessings to pray for and over others! What I love about these verses is how simple it is to adapt each prayer for believers wherever they may be and whatever circumstance in which they find themselves. It is easy to change pronouns or put in the names of the person/persons you wish to pray for as you bring them to the throne of God with His kingdom purposes for them in your heart and upon your lips:

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: “…we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Example: “Bill, I pray that our God may count you worthy of your calling…etc.”

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Example: Tina, I always give thanks to God for you, as a sister beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you…etc.”

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”  Example: “Joe, may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us…etc.”

2 Thessalonians 3:5: “And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ”  Example: “Sarah, may the Lord direct your heart into the love of God…etc.”

2 Thessalonians 3:16: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!”  Example: “Don, may the Lord of peace Himself…etc.”

I can’t think of one of these prayers I would not want someone to pray over my life. Blessing people in prayer is a powerful way to reassure, inspire or support other believers. These prayers can also become part of your personal prayer time, praying over individuals, couples, families, your church, the churches in your community, government officials…well, you likely get the idea! Example: “Father, I lift my pastor, Tom, up to You! May You count him worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in and through his life…etc.”

Perhaps you could look over these Scriptures and ask God to assign each one to someone you know: family members, pastors, missionaries, people you work with, friends, etc. If you can’t personally seek them out to pray over them, call or email these prayers of blessing to them. Who knows how much encouragement each one of us could give to the body of Christ today if we all take this challenge! If just ten of us do this, fifty people will receive power, peace and/or purpose from God’s Spirit. I’ll go first!