Pondering

“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”

-Luke 2:19

Years ago, a very dear Titus 2 friend in my life encouraged me to ask the Lord to show me something new from His story during each Christmas season.  I have continued to do this each year.  I wish I would have started a list to write down all of the lessons so that I could review them each year.  One year in particular that comes back to my mind was the year that I meditated on the fact that Mary pondered in her heart.

There are many things that I ponder about.  Sometimes it is something that I want to remember and not forget.  Sometimes it is something that I don’t have an answer for.  Sometimes it is something that I know I should pray about, but I don’t know how to pray.  Romans 8:26 tells us that when we don’t know how to pray as we ought, His Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered!  What an amazing and comforting thought!!

At some point in time, I decided to add a page in my prayer notebook entitled pondering.  On this page I write the things that I don’t know how to pray about.  It might be a person I am burdened for.  It could be a situation that I know needs fixing, but I don’t know how to fix it.  It could just be something I see God doing and wonder what the outcome will be.

What a joy to look over that list and ponder over what God has done or is doing!  It’s not always easy, but God’s hand is in it and He is there!

What are you pondering over today? May I encourage you to give it to the Lord and see what He will do.

A Prayer for the “New Year”

O LORD,
Length of day does not profit me
except the days are passed in thy presence,
in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire to show forth thy praise;
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbour,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.
Give me thy grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer,
thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear be my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.

Valley of Vision, pg.112

Mt. Ibuki

Praying for Missionaries

Over the years there have been people that I know pray for me.  As time goes by, I have lost some of these dear prayer warriors.  I lost several in recent years as they went to their eternal home.  When this happens, I find myself thinking, “Who will pray for me now?”

Maybe you have experienced this too.  This has caused me to be more diligent in my prayer life for others.  I was introduced to a tool a few years back that has been life-changing for me.  It helped me to create a plan that works for me instead of trying to make myself fit into someone else’s mold…

To read more, click here.

Pray Continually

SaveSave

A Disciple’s Renewal

Snow in beautiful Pennsylvania, 2010

O MY SAVIOUR,

Help me.

I am so slow to learn,

         so prone to forget,

         so weak to climb;

I am in the foothills when I should be on the heights;

I am pained by my graceless heart,

                          my prayerless days,

                           my poverty of love,

                           my sloth in the heavenly race,

                           my sullied conscience,

                           my wasted hours,

                           my unspent opportunities.

I am blind while light shines around me:

     take the scales from my eyes,

     grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief.

Make it my chiefest joy to study thee,

                                             meditate on thee,

                                             gaze on thee,

                                           sit like Mary at thy feet,

                                             lean like John on thy breast,

                                             appeal like Peter to thy love,

                                             count like Paul all things dung.

Give me increase and progress in grace

     so that there may be more decision in my character,

                                         more vigour in my purposes,

                                         more elevation in my life,

                                         more fervour in my devotion,

                                         more constancy in my zeal.

As I have a position in the world,

     keep me from making the world my position;

May I never seek in the creature

     what can be found only in the Creator;

Let not faith cease from seeking thee until it banishes into sight.

Ride forth in me, thou King of kings and Lord of lords,

     that I may live victoriously, and in victory attain my end.

~The Valley of Vision, pg. 182

*a repost that seemed appropriate due to my one word for 2017

Sunday Meditation

“Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.”

~Corrie ten Boom

Fervent Prayer

Sunday Meditation on Prayer

I mentioned here before that my theme for the year is prayer.  I am currently working my way through an online Bible study as well as working on some Scripture memory goals.  I am always amazed how the Lord meets me where I am at to meet my deep needs.  Many of the things I am working on keep overlapping.  It is so exciting to see the Lord work in this way.  One of the chapters from the Bible study this week had a long section about sitting quietly before the Lord.  The timing was perfect.  Here is an edited version.  I pray that it may stir something in your soul as it did mine.

Prayers Where I Don’t Speak At All

I’d slipped into a habit of praying circumstance-oriented prayers where I’d list out every problem and ask God to please fix them…In a huff one day, I sat down to pray and had absolutely no words. None. I sat there staring blankly. I had no suggestions. I had no solutions. I had nothing but quiet tears…Eventually, God broke through my worn-out heart. A thought rushed through my mind and caught me off guard, I know you want Me to change your circumstances, Lysa.  But, right now I want to focus on changing you. Even perfect circumstances won’t satisfy you like letting Me change the way you think. I didn’t necessarily like what I heard during this first time of silently sitting with the Lord, but at least I felt I was connecting with God. I hadn’t felt that in a long time. And so, to keep that connection,…I started making it a habit to sit quietly before the Lord. Sometimes I cried. Sometimes I sat with a bad attitude.  Sometimes I sat with a heart so heavy I wasn’t sure I’d be able to carry on much longer. But as I sat, I pictured God sitting there with me. He was there already and I eventually sensed that. I experienced what the apostle Paul taught when he wrote, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8: 26). As I sat in silence, the Spirit interceded with perfect prayers on my behalf. I didn’t have to figure out what to pray or how to pray about this situation that seemed so consuming. I just had to be still and sit with the Lord. And during those sitting times, I started to discern changes I needed to make in response to my circumstances…

~TerKeurst, Lysa (2010-12-21). Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food (pp. 113-114). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Did you think to pray?

Ere you left your room this morning,

Did you think to pray?

In the name of Christ, our Saviour,

Did you sure for loving favor

As a shield today?

Oh, how praying rests the weary!

Prayer will change the night to day.

So, when life gets dark and dreary,

Don’t forget to pray.

~Mary A. Pepper Kidder

*click on photo for source

Praying Aright

“I feel sure that as long as we look on prayer chiefly as the means of maintaining our own Christian life, we shall not know fully what it is meant to be. But when we learn to regard it as the highest part of the work entrusted to us, the root and strength of all other work, we shall see that there is nothing that we so need to study and practise as the art of praying aright.”

~Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer