by Amy | Feb 2, 2015 | Blog, Devotional, Prayer, The Art of Faith
Last night I attended a weekly prayer meeting at church. To say that I’m glad I went would be an understatement. There are a million reasons why I loved it so much. And I’ve written and rewritten this post, trying to include them all. But, I can’t seem to make it work in a readable, well-written way.
Instead, I’ll isolate one thing. I’ll boil it down even further. I’ll isolate one prayer. Perhaps the boldest, more earnest prayer I’ve ever heard. Its brilliant in it’s simplicity and powerful in its meaning. It went something like this:
Lord, I pray that if trials will bring us closer to you, that you’d place them in our paths.
Bam!
Often we pray that trials would be taken away from us, avoided. But this woman–who I deeply admire, who is wise in the ways of the Lord, who is facing trials in her own life–has the understanding to pray the opposite. That if the most effective way for us to be closer to God includes a trial…that that is what we shall have.
The ways of God are often counter intuitive to the norms of the world. Maybe our prayers should be a little more counter intuitive as well. Our deepest desires should be to love and honor God, to know Him, and to share His salvation with others. If hard times will help us realize those desires, we should welcome them.
That’s hard to say. It’s hard to accept. It’s hard to grasp. It’s even hard to type.
James puts it this way.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. –James 1:2-3
I’m not saying that we should all start crying out to God, requesting catastrophe and heart ache. I’m not suggesting we stop calling on the Lord to lighten our trials and burdens. What I am hoping, for my own life as well as yours, is that 2015 would be a year of great growth. That this would be a season in which our eyes would lock with Christ’s. That we would pursue the Lord so hard and so willingly that we embrace trials–trusting that they will yield a harvest of testimony and closeness to God.AmyPS–You should go to a prayer meeting sometime. It just might rock your world.
by Amy | Feb 2, 2013 | Blog, Prayer, The Art of Faith
We think of prayer as a safe place. Am I right? I know I am. It’s tranquil, peaceful, reflective. Prayer makes us feel like we are actively doing something when the world give us situations that are straight up out of control. And we are. Prayer makes a difference. I’ve never been more serious about anything than I am about prayer. It’s so legit.
Think about it. Prayer allows us to speak our thoughts and concerns, joys and praises to the One who created everything we’ve ever known. Or will ever know in our lifetime or eternity. Pretty crazy thought. He created the universe…which we have yet to find an end to…yet He allows us to speak to Him. There are mortals who have accomplished much less that wouldn’t let me chat their ear off about my anxious heart. It just blows my mind.
But if you read the title of today’s post you may be wondering what I mean by “dangerous prayers.” Isn’t prayer a safe haven? When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and in contact with our Savior what can be dangerous? Please let me elaborate. The danger of prayer is that it is, without a doubt, real. God hears the prayers of His followers and He answers.
And that my lovelies is the danger. He. Will. Answer. Dangerous prayer are the prayers that change your life. They require you to do something, to commit, to be active, to work.
When we go to God in earnest, sincerely seeking Him, seeking His will, He is more than willing to answer us loud and clear. Not to say that the answer will always come in bolts of lightning and messages in the stars…but when we seek Him out {without clouding our hearts with our own agendas} we will get answers.
Which leads me to dangerous prayers. Are you really ready to hear what the Almighty has to say? There are many dangerous prayers we can pray. Maybe someday I’ll write about them again. However, for tonight, I’ll focus on one. Maybe the most dangerous prayer of all:
God, I’m here. I want to do your work. Can you use me? How can I use my life to bring you the most glory possible?
A prayer like this is only dangerous if you mean it. If you really are willing. If you really are ready.
The danger is the answer. Are you ready to accept the answer? The answer could be anything. Literally anything. God has used His people in some wild ways. They’ve gone far from home. They’ve died. They’ve run in to trouble. They have lived in poverty. They have sacrificed comfort.
Again, I tell you prayer is real. And God knows when you are serious. A dangerous prayer like that could change your life. It will change your life.
About two years ago I discovered the meaning of life in its most simplistic form. Although I’ve been a follower of Christ for more than 10 years it wasn’t until then that I really got it. The meaning of life is this: using our existence to glorify God. Giving our lives fully to Him to accomplish His purposes. Simple as that. Difficult as that. For us humans this is a difficult way to live. Accepting that our lives are not created for our own happiness is confusing. It is so tempting to be comfortable and make a beautiful life here for 9o years or so.
But I’ve got a secret…our souls are created to be never ending. When our 90 years is up we’ve still got an eternity to live through…in comparison our time on Earth–in these bodies, with these things around us –will seem like the blink of the eye.
Dangerous prayers are scary. We have no idea what will come of them. But they are vital. When we pray a dangerous prayer we accept the meaning of life, the meaning of our existence. We accept that we owe our lives to the one who gave His to save us. It’s scary, but oh-so-worth it.
God rejoices in these prayers and answers them in profound ways. He loves a child who is brave enough to earnestly pray a dangerous prayer. He loves a follower who is courageous enough to be used. He adores a follower humble enough to say, “I could never have done this. This is God’s work.” When we ask God how He can use us…He will take matters into His hands and use us to accomplish works that could never be done on our own.
That way when people see our work they will be forced to recognize that God is true, He is glorious. Others will understand that the LORD we follow is the one true God. And that’s just how He likes it.
Six months ago I prayed a dangerous prayer. God answered. He answered in a way that I never saw coming. He had something in mind. A way that my tiny life in Practically Canada could bring Him glory. The answer was scary. It took me nearly half a year to come to terms with it. But I’ve never felt better. Braver. More certain. More protected. More in love with my God, my Savior.
This is my challenge. Quiet your agenda. Set aside the hope you have for yourself. And embrace the honor of serving the God of heaven and earth. Pray boldly. Pray dangerously.
Your soul will never be safer.
Amy
PS…more on my dangerous prayer next week. And thanks to all of you who know my prayer and have been supporting me in this new adventure. I love you deeply my family in Christ.
by Amy | Jul 26, 2012 | Blog, Prayer, The Art of Faith
Yesterday I got a lesson in perspective. Frustrating situation or answered prayer. It’s all a matter of perspective. My answered prayers were a irritating situation to a lot of others. And it got me thinking that maybe when I’m frustrated and things are working out exactly how I’d have them…maybe those moments are actually an answer to someone else’s prayers.
Let me elaborate.
I was headed home to Elkhart, IN. {The best place in the world.} Flights from Minot are sooo expensive. So to save some cash, I decided to take the Amtrak train from Minot to Minneapolis. Then I’d take a plane from there to Chicago, where the fam would pick me up.
The train from Minot ran over night, so I figured I’d sleep all night and be ready to go in the morning when I arrived. Well…this is what really happened.
The train was due to depart at 9:25. However, it ran about 2 hours late to Minot and didn’t leave the station until midnight. The staff assured me that we would make up time over night and I’d arrive in Minneapolis a mere 24 minutes late.
So I boarded the crowded train. The car they told me I needed to stay in had a broken air conditioner. I took the only open pair of seats so I could curl up and go to sleep. Then it started.
The coughing.
Right in front of me sat an elderly woman and her husband. And bless their hearts, they had the worst sounding coughs I’ve ever heard in all my years. You know the sound. A juicy, geriatric, flemmy, cough-a-lung-up…hacking, cough. The kind of cough that makes your stomach turn. Without any air flow I felt like I was sealed up in a Ziploc baggie with them. I thought…”If only I could get to sleep, I’d probably be able to sleep through it…”
But getting to sleep was the problem. Right when I thought it had stopped and I was about to drift off…hack-cough-hack.
I must have fallen into a decent sleep at one point because when I woke up it was 6:52 a.m. and we were about to pull into a station. And just imagine my surprise when I discovered we were in Fargo, ND. Three stops past Minot. A depot we were supposed to have passed through at 3:10 a.m.
I flagged down the nearest staff member, who proceeded to tell me that we would be 4 hours late to Minneapolis.
Well bummer…because that means I’ll miss my flight.
After this I talked to the airline, who told me tickets to Chicago were all sold out. If I wanted to change my seat to a flight for the next day I’d be charged $138 to cancel, then the going rate of $240 for a new ticket. Holy crap.
So I got off the phone and called Derek, my mom {who called my dad} and I texted my Sis. We all set to praying that the plane would be delayed so I’d be able to make it.
I finally got to my destination at 10:50. The original flight was scheduled for 11:10.
As I got into the cab to head for the airport my Sis texted me…Flight 708 was now delayed until 12:40.
Prayers answered.
As the plane taxied to wait for the runway to clear the captain came over the speaker. He apologized for the delay…and told us that there had been a hold up early in the morning that had delayed them all day.
Now…was it our 7 a.m. prayers? Was it just a coincidence that we prayed early in the morning…and they’d also been delayed? I don’t know. But I do know that this hold up was an answer to my prayers. A lot of other people were frustrated, but I was relieved.
Bringing me back to my original point. Just some food for thought, next time you are irritated or frustrated in a public situation…remember that a situation that is boiling your blood, just may be answering someone’s prayer.
Just a thought.
Amy
PS–I cannot wait to show you what I was up to today! A trash the dress session at the county fair!! So fun. I’m going to upload photos right meow, so you all can have a little peek tomorrow.
