Thursday, March 24, 2022

Praying for others.

Has God ever put someone on your mind? I have discovered that God will give you someone’s name so you can reach out or pray for them at that moment.

I mentioned before - when I have trouble sleeping, I ask God for a name and then pray for that person. This helps two-fold. He reaches out to me to pray for His people; and I stay focused on Him until I can get back to sleep.

Every so often He has put someone’s name on my heart while I am doing my daily work. I don’t know why. However, I take that moment to just stop what I am doing and pray for that person. If it continues, I reach out to them by phone or a quick text to see how they are doing.

We are all dealing with stuff every day. Sometimes these speed bumps weigh us down and we need others to pray or lift us up. If you are like me, often I don’t share my troubles because I know of others that have it harder than I do and don’t want to burden someone with my small problems.

On the other hand, if someone comes to me with a prayer request, I don’t see it the same way.

Can you relate? We can see others needs more important than our own.

Just a thought - This can be the enemy pushing us back from a blessing.

We are missing the blessing of prayer and fellowship when we reach out to our sisters and brothers in Christ. Let God bless us through a friend’s prayer and fellowship. We need each other daily. We are not an island. We were made to encourage and pray for each other.

This is our lesson for today…

Pray for who God puts on your heart. Reach out to that person through a quick text or call to see how they are doing.

Ask other believers for prayer no matter how you small you judge the problem to be compared to others. Don’t be afraid to reach out. He is there for all of our needs, not just the big ones.

Will you join me in this challenge today?

Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Colossians 1:9 (NIV)

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,

Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Trust...

Trusting in Him

My husband and I were reading last night, and something struck me so clearly, I had to share it with you today. We were discussing fear and how the enemy likes to get in our head and use fear to immobilize us. Part of the reading was Philippians 4:6-7 which is

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

After reading this scripture I was reminded of my writing and how I have been a bit of a slug. Why was I hesitating to pick it up and complete the next book? If I was to be honest, it is not just lack of time, but fear. Who was I to take this second step of faith? Was my writing worth a readers time? Was I wasting my time? All thoughts that are not from Him. Just distracting thoughts to stop me from doing what I was called to do.

I was then given a vision while sitting on the couch. I saw the face of a father calling his child into the deep end of a pool. The father was already standing in the pool and coaxing his child to jump in from the deck without fear. “Stay focused on my face.” The father said. Then I saw the child’s view of the scene, looking deeply into his father’s eyes. As long as the child kept his focus on his father’s eyes, he had no fear and jumped.

I then realized I had taken my eyes off my father in this situation. I needed to look deeply into His eyes and jump. Then the fear would pass. Then the enemy’s words would not penetrate.

It’s time for me to get busy…

What is holding you back today? What fear is consuming your focus on His face?

Stare deeply into His eyes, and jump.

Psalms 56:3 (NIV)

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Spiritual Warfare...

Every now and then my husband and I need to get away to hear a word from God. We are so busy with our business, United Marriage Encounter, household chores, and writing that we leave little room left for being still and listening to our heavenly Father.

We wake up, do our devotions in the morning, and then immediately tackle the day. By the end of a day, we are so exhausted by all the chores that our minds are only on dinner and how soon we can get to bed.

This past weekend we went to another marriage retreat to fill our empty cups and pick up more ideas for our ministry. God showed up for us and spoke life into our marriage which was a blessing. He also spoke words we were not expecting.

“Spiritual warfare is closer than you think…”

Another holy echo because my husband heard the same words.

We purchased a book onsite that discussed how spiritual warfare affects your marriage. We are not unfamiliar with spiritual warfare. We see it often in our lives.

We don’t dwell on it; however, we do take it seriously and wanted to take some time to read the book together and see what God was sharing with us as a couple.

At the end of our weekend, we came home and decided to do something different. Instead of turning on the tv to watch a rerun, we sat on our couch and read our new book together. As Carl read it out loud to me, I was struck by the words. I am often so focused on the day-to-day activities I ignore the small attacks that come quietly into our marriage. Carl also realized how sneaky the enemy can be in the small things, even through family. As we read together, we had an ‘aha’ moment. We decided to become more determined to guard our marriage against the sneaky quiet attacks.

We have spent the last few days reading the book together and praying as the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to situations affecting our marriage.

This has given us a new closeness as we pray and learn as a couple. I feel grateful for this new adventure of reading together.

What are you doing to guard your marriage today?

I don’t discuss spiritual warfare often. But it does not mean it is not there. We need to protect ourselves and our relationships. The enemy would like nothing better than to implode marriages, or worse stagnate our relationship with Him. Pray together and protect yours today with the full armor of God.

Ephesians 6: 10-13

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Daily Echoes with God