One-Minute Victories

Today I tried the one-minute prayers at work. I wrote "one minute" at the beginning of each hour, from 8 am to 5 pm, on the calendar on the laptop. I made it repeat every Monday through Friday. Then I added an unobtrusive alarm sound that only lasted about one second.

On the hour, I hear the sound of a glasses clinking as if someone has just proposed a toast. At that point, I reset my timer on the iPad for one minute. I pray until the timer sounds. Isn't technology wonderful?

It was great. At 8:00 this morning, I was still at home, so I prayed the one minute at home. I thought about what I could pray about for one minute. I decided that I would pray for my friends who are joining me in this What Would Happen If You Prayed 40-day challenge. Each of you who asked for a prayer scripture booklet received one minute of prayer this morning. :-) For some of you, I prayed for more than a minute. HAHAHA. And TWIMC: yes, you do need to be prayed for. :-) We all do.

It was fun praying in that way. It was difficult to finish praying in one minute though. At work I was a little distracted by . . .  you know . . . work. It's not easy to type and pray. On some hours, I had to start over a few times.

I thank God for showing me simple ways to do things. It sounds complicated by the time I set the calendar here and the timer there, but it works for me. I pray anyway throughout the day, but it was nice to take a break on purpose to acknowledge God and to thank Him for all that He's doing in our lives.

I am working on my goal of creating a culture of prayer in my life so I can fulfill:

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2 NLT

Lord God, thank You for giving me wisdom and a strategy to help me remember to stop and praise You throughout the busy day. Thank You for my friends who are praying with me and reading the Word with me. Did I mention to You that I am truly thankful for my friends? You've given me some of the best friends ever. I don't feel like I deserve them, but You've been gracious to me because You know what and who I need in my life. They all add something precious to me; I want to do the same for them. You're a wonderfully awesome Father. Please bless my friends. Help them to draw closer to You and to know You better. Show Yourself strong and loving to each one of them. Bless them with good health, peace, joy, and prosperity. I know this is Your will for them so I am confident that You will answer in Jesus' name. So be it!

Beyond Contemplation

I hope by now that you're joining me in praying about everything. I'm doing much better because I have a plan. (By the way, I drank more water today, too.) When I tell you my plan, you'll probably think it's an obvious solution. You'd be right, but my brain doesn't always work like everyone else's. I'm special. :-)

My plan for praying more is *drum roll* that when I think about praying, I'm going to open my mouth and talk out my thoughts. In this way, my thoughts will be voiced as prayer. Go ahead and say "duh" if you want. I know it's not deep, but I have to do what works for me. And for me, simple is best. Prayer is not complicated. Prayer is talking to God.

A few minutes ago, I set the calendar on a different computer to remind me to pray for one minute, every hour at work. This calendar is not my main calendar, so it will be separate from my work calendar. I'll try it out tomorrow and let you know how it works.

My simple plan came as a result of prayer. I asked God how to do this. I was a "doer" of this verse:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.     James 1:5 NKJV

I lacked wisdom on how to pray more than I think about praying and how to remind myself to pray throughout my workday. God gave me practical wisdom. He did not refuse me because I should know how to do this by now. Instead, He freely gave me a solution. I believed and was confident that He would respond. James goes on to say,

⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.                James 1:6-8 NKJV

Or as my friend would jokingly translate that last verse, "a double-minded man is CRAzy!"

God gives wisdom. You see, I had knowledge. I knew that I needed to pray instead of just thinking about prayer. I had understanding. I understood that if I only heard/read the Word instead of doing it, I was deceiving myself. But I didn't have wisdom—how to do what I know and understand. Wisdom is practical application of what you know. Alas, wisdom is a whole 'nother story – possibly another scripture booklet. :-)

Suffice it to say: Thank God for Wisdom on how to do the Word.

Pray with me:

God, You are a wise God. You are a giving Father. Thank you for being who You are. Thank You for having wisdom, practical application of knowledge, available for me. Walking Your path is not complicated and You help me at every step, if I ask. And when I ask, You don't reproach, refuse, or find fault with me. Instead, You give me wisdom freely. Please grant me the desire and the wisdom to do Your Word. Grant me wisdom on how to increase my prayer life and become a more effective pray-er. I do not doubt that You will do it. I refuse to waver; I ask in faith and in the precious name of Jesus. Thank You for wisdom. Amen.

My Food and My Water–The Word and Prayer

I tend to look at natural patterns in my life as having spiritual roots or at least a spiritual relationship. So if I do something naturally, I wonder how it pertains to my spiritual life.

I like to eat . . . a lot. My palate is eclectic—I enjoy a variety of cuisines. If it's well prepared and/or made with love, I'll probably try it. I rarely lose my appetite for food. Eating comes naturally for me and I've done it all my life. On the other hand, I have to force myself to drink. I learned to drink at a very early age. For some reason, I just don't care to drink as much as I need to. I try to drink water more than anything else, but it's difficult. I prefer eating.

This is not a healthy habit though. Our bodies are mostly water, or at least they should be. Our blood needs water. We need water to carry toxins out of our bodies. Water also carries nutrients from our food to all parts of the body. And we need water to maintain a normal body temperature. Many times I drink water because I know I should not because I want to.

Our need for water may increase at times: before and after exercising, in hot weather, if we're ill, and for women: when they're pregnant or nursing.

As I said at first, I wonder how natural patterns relate to spiritual patterns in my life. To me, and it's in scripture, the Word of God is for the soul/spirit as food is for the body.

But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. '" Matthew 4:4 NKJV

Eating spiritually is rather easy for me just as eating naturally is easy. I read or listen to the scriptures. I read books written about the Word. I listen to preaching of the Word. I can listen to different teachers of the Word as long as I can tell that it matches what's in scripture.

One day I realized that not only is the Word spiritual food, but for me, prayer is like water. I need to pray to maintain my communication with God—my life force. After reading the Word I need to pray to help my soul process and digest what I've read. I can pray a prayer of repentance to get rid of the toxins in my mind and emotions.  I need to pray to help me stay on the right track—normal body temperature.

There are occasions when I may need to pray more: before and after sharing the word or helping others; in hot/hectic/stressful times in life; if I'm ill in my body or in my soul; and if I am pregnant with a dream or if someone is depending on me to feed them spiritually. Even in the case of writing this blog to share with others, I have to pray about what I'm writing.

Just as it is more difficult for me to drink than it is to eat for my physical body, at times it's more difficult for me to pray than it is to read the scripture. As I said before, prayer is active. It takes a little more effort for me to pray than to read scripture. Sometimes I just don't feel like opening my mouth to pray and that's how I end up thinking about prayer instead of praying.

Don't misunderstand. I pray. I like to pray. My goal, however, is to pray more and to pray about everything. I want my prayer life to be such that I'll be able to say that I obeyed this scripture:

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2 NLT

Pray with me:

Gracious Father, I praise You because You are worthy to be praised. You are a patient, loving Father. Help me to realize the importance of prayer in my life. It is my communication with You. It helps me stay connected to You. It is the way I process the Word that I read and hear. It helps to cleanse me of anything that is not like You.  I want to devote myself to prayer. I know that I can because of what Jesus has done for me and through His name. So be it.

Thinking About Prayer

Prayer is active. Prayer is something we do. Throughout our 40 days of prayer, we're building a habit to pray about everything. There are times when I have to resist the deception of only thinking about praying and reading about praying and writing about praying. I have to pray.

I use the word "deception" because of this scripture:

²²But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].

²³For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror;

 ²⁴For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like.

 ²⁵But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience).     James 1:22-25AMP

The New Living Translation is to the point:

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. James 1:22-25 NLT

So if I am thinking, reading, and writing without actually doing the praying, I am only fooling myself. I might wonder why I am not seeing results. Hmmm, maybe it's because I'm not opening my mouth and praying. I'm not only deceiving myself, but I'm being a fraud and a hypocrite. I certainly don't want to do that, for your sake and for mine.

Sometimes I have to come up with plans to do the simplest things. I used to have my calendar on my computer at work set so that every hour I would be reminded to stop and pray for one minute. Then I would set the Internet timer for one minute. You might be surprised how difficult it is to pray quietly at work for one minute. Somehow my mind would start wandering in less than 60 seconds. I don't set the calendar anymore because I have a different one and it would just be a mess. I have to devise a new plan. If you can think of something, let me know.

Pray with me:

Lord God, You are the one who is teaching us to pray. Help me to not fool my own self by reading about prayer and thinking about prayer without opening my mouth to pray. I don't want to read Your word and then forget what it says because I don't put it into practice. I don't want to be a hypocrite. I want to do the Word that I read. I choose to be an active listener by obeying Your truth. I want to increase my prayer life and affect change in my life and the lives of people around me. I want to increase my prayer life to know You more. Thank You for giving me a desire to pray. Thank you miracles and other answers to my prayers. Amen.

Go To Your Room; Stay In the Closet

‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’                   Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV

Solutions are found in God's presence. He tells us to call to Him. This is more than an invitation. It's a summons to the throne of the King. Back in the day, you could only approach a king if he said you could. The King is compelling us to inquire of Him and call to Him.  The possibilities are limitless.

The question is how bad do we want to know those things that we cannot figure out on our own? More than that, how much do we want to know our Father, the King?

How do we approach Him? Jesus would be the one to answer that. This is what He said:

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.               Matthew 6:6 NIV

We've heard the phrase "come out of the closet." But I like the way the KJV translates that verse.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:6 KJV

Nah, let's not come out of the closet. We need to stay in the closet and not come out until we know that we've heard from Him. There is wisdom in the closet. There are solutions in the closet. There is love in the closet. There is a reality check in the closet—He reveals who He is and who we are and where we need be.

The closet can be any private place. Sometimes my closet is in the car on the highway. I'm relaxed and alone and not overly distracted. At home my closet is a quilt that a friend gave me when I moved to Alabama. I spread the quilt on the floor and that's my spot. Then I may put a blanket over me and kneel or lay facedown. It's my quiet, cozy prayer place. It's my altar.

The 40 days of prayer is not passive like the study of joy in which we were just reading scriptures. This one is very active—after reading about prayer, we pray. If you don't have a private place of prayer, do something about it. To quote Woody from Toy Story, " If you don't have one, GET one!" It may be a literal closet, or the bathroom, laundry room, or under a blanket.

Go to your room, my friend. Stay in the closet. There will be blessings waiting for you when you come out.

Father, thank You for meeting us in the secret place. Help me and my friends to find our special place with You. I go to my closet and pray for them. Bless each one of us to recognize the importance of time alone with You. I ask that You will open our ears to hear You say, "call to me." Thank You for building our faith and an excitement about prayer so that we won't just read about prayer, but we will pray. Oh, and thank You that when we pray in private, the results of our prayer will be seen in public. Thank You that I can request all of this in Jesus' name. You are a kind and gracious God. Amen!  

What Would Happen If You Prayed?

A couple of years ago, this thought kept passing through my mind: what would happen if you prayed?

I believe it was a challenge from my loving Father to expand my prayer life and to open doors to see His work in my life more. That question is fully loaded. There are so many ways that we can add to that question to show its many facets. Finally, after much nudging from Him, I am going to answer that question. I am happy to have my friends along for the ride to answer that question in their lives, too.

Let's think about the possibilities. I have taken the liberty of completing the question to stir up our curiosity. Maybe one or two would be something you can ask yourself. We have a booklet of scriptures of God promising to answer when we pray. If we believe God will respond, let's imagine as we ask ourselves . . .

What would happen if I prayed. . .

·      for my family, friends, neighbors?

·      with my family, friends, neighbors?

·      to start my day?

·      to end my day?

·      about my job/work environment?

·      for my physical/emotional/mental health?

·      for the physical/emotional/mental health of others?

·      for my spouse?

·      with my spouse?

·      five minutes longer?

·      the will of God?

·      for God's best in my life?

·      about my purpose in life?

·      to understand who God is?

·      for wisdom and understanding?

·      without doubt or fear?

·      without giving up?

·      for local/state/national leaders?

·      instead of complained?

·      for my church?

·      for my supervisors/employer/company?

·      for my employees/coworkers/repairman?

·      with thanksgiving in my heart?

·      about my business/business idea?

·      for my enemy?

·      about my finances or lack there of?

·      about the big things in my life?

·      about the little things in my life?

·      to break a bad habit?

·      to begin a good habit?

·      before I make a decision?

·      about some problem I think I can never overcome?

·      for the success of an event/speech/presentation/project?

·      to rid myself of fear/doubt/worry/anxiety/grief/depression?

·      and then listened?

·      until i see the answer?

Lord, I pray that we will be filled with excitement as we consider the possibilities of how our lives and the lives of people around us can be blessed as we pray about everything.

 ¹ Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
   to you our vows will be fulfilled.
² You who answer prayer,
   to you all people will come.
³ When we were overwhelmed by sins,
   you forgave our transgressions.
⁴ Blessed are those you choose
   and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
   of your holy temple.

 ⁵ You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
   God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas,
⁶ who formed the mountains by your power,
   having armed yourself with strength,
⁷ who stilled the roaring of the seas,
   the roaring of their waves,
   and the turmoil of the nations.
⁸ The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
   where morning dawns, where evening fades,
   you call forth songs of joy. Psalm 65:1-8 NIV

Amen.

40 Days of Prayer

My challenge question for the next 40 days is "what would happen if you prayed"? I will answer this question by praying like I've never prayed before. It's more than reading the scriptures of Faith to Pray. It's about praying as a result of those scriptures. Every day for the next 40 days, I will read the scriptures in the Faith to Pray booklet. I will then apply the scriptures as I learn to pray about everything.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 NKJV

As we continually read the word about prayer, especially when we read it out loud, our faith will grow concerning prayer. We will have confidence that we can and should pray to God the Father in the name of the Son, Jesus.

As we pray together for the next 40 days, we hope that prayer will become a lifestyle and part of our culture. We also have great expectations for answered prayer. After 40 days, we should have established a habit.

So what will you pray about that you've not prayed about before? Who can you help by praying for them? How will your world change as you pray about everything and worry about nothing? How much more peace will you have as your dependence on God increases? How will your knowledge of God increase as you spend more time with Him in prayer?

I anticipate great things. I look forward to hearing your answers to those questions.

Father God, thank You that because of Jesus, we can ask anything of You in prayer. I ask that you will bless my friends and me to learn about you during the next 40 days. Let each of us experience You in a life-altering way as we make the effort to read the scriptures and seek You in prayer. Please fill us with Your peace as we pray about everything. Bless us to dare to trust You with every circumstance of our lives—from the great to the small. Thank You for blessing us to support one another and do this together. Please teach us how to communicate with You – to talk to You and to listen to You. Father please bless my wonderful friends in wonderful ways. You are awesome and I love You! Amen!