I'm Praying for Me

Weekly Word Decades ago, I embraced what I believed to my calling to be an intercessor. Back then there were suggested formats to help focus one’s prayer. Among these were ACTS — adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, or PRAY which stands for praise, repent, ask, and yield. One of my favorites is definitely PUSH which is not a template but a reminder: pray until something happens. I still do that. The trouble is one can be so schooled into praying for others we forget one important person — ourselves. In fact, we may even think we are doing a great job praying for the needs of the world and then basking in the afterglow of time in God’s presence. Or maybe, praying for ourselves evoke feelings of selfishness because we know there are people with worse problems who have no prayer support. Whatever the reason, we skimp on persistent personal petitions. Using the Psalms as our example, it is safe to say there are more specific and very personal prayers in this portion of scripture than anywhere else in the Bible. Praying for ourselves forces introspection, and by God’s grace, complete honesty. We are given insight into who and where we are, and by the Holy Spirit, are able to pray according to God’s perfect will for our individual lives. Being intercessors does not make us immune to the contaminants of the world. And it is easy to “lose our shine” if we are not taking deliberate steps to submit to the washing of the Word and the gentle counsel of the Lord to us, as we talk with him. The old spiritual “It's me, it's me oh Lord/ Standing in the need of prayer” packs a powerful truth. We will never be as effective as we can be until we stand in the place of prayer, often, on our own behalf and PUSH. It is not selfishness, just good sense to bind up our wounds before we engage in healing the world. When was the last time you prayed a “no holds barred” prayer for you?

Losing it

Weekly Word Conversation flows freely as we are sitting socially distant, scattered around the lunchroom. Inevitably, someone looks at their lunch, either the quantity or the quality, and starts the lament. “I need to lose X number of pounds.” “Me too,” another person answers and usually, this number of pounds to be lost is always a little more than the first. “Well, I know what I’m doing wrong.” Then, the roll call of foods and their matching negative symptoms whether as a chronic disease trigger or weight gain would begin. We are all nurses we know this. Still, many of us have had this same conversation for years along with cycles of good eating patterns, only to fall off the wagon weeks down the road. The issue is not what we know but the will to begin and follow through for our own well-being. The problem is not knowledge but nature. Here is what the Apostle Paul said when he found himself with sinful habits he needed to lose: I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:21-25). In the same way that health professionals develop and keep unhealthy habits all while knowing the consequences, you will sometimes do the wrong thing despite having the right resolve. The victory comes when we do not stop doing what is right because we are not able to get it done perfectly every time. Every right deed or thought is a step in the right direction whether we are on the road to health, weight loss, or heaven. Don’t be sabotaged by imperfection. You may fail, correction, WE will fail at times but that does not make us failures. Thanks be to God who causes us to walk in triumphant procession with Christ (despite who we are).

Galatians 5 – Driving a Point Home

I approached the intersection preparing to stop if the U-Haul decided to come through instead of making a right turn. It stopped made the turn, to the sound a two loud bangs as a child-size sports car and a box loaded with “stuff” fell from the truck and into the street. I was on my walk, but I waved frantically hoping by some miracle he would see me and possibly notice he was losing his load. But he kept going. I smiled as I heard myself use the biblical expression, “to what shall I liken this? The more I pondered as I resumed my pace was that’s all of us. We pack things up, store them in our hearts and no one sees what those things are until we hit a bump in the road. Then whatever is inside, comes flying out. The people around us are either left to pick up the pieces or reap the rewards. God says we all speak from the fullness of the storehouses of our hearts. When I am full of the fruit of the Spirit and I hit a bump, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. On the other hand, no matter how great I look or if I seem to be just cruising along with everything under control but my heart is full of what the world has, this is what happens when I hit a bump. Out comes, sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. Fill up on the spirit! And if you are moving and using a U-Haul, (or any kind of vehicle) make sure it's securely locked so you don’t’ lose your valuables on the way to your destination.