Sunday, August 7, 2011

the privilege and nurturing of prayer

   this morning i woke up at 6:23 a.m. ( what is it with that time? isn't that when i was able to finally go back to bed the other day? ) noticing the time and the silence i woke up to, no clocking beep-beep-beeping me yet, i rolled over, snuggled back under the covers and shut my eyes.
  i waited.    i snuggled down a little more, already very comfortable.     i waited   -    again.    sighed - and by golly i couldn't go back to sleep! up earlier then that dreaded alarm clock and i was up and at 'em!
 'okay, Lord' i thought getting dressed, 'i'm up.' so i guess that internal clock i've heard about is starting to adjust?
 i'm loving my morning prayer time with the Most High! my "direct line with the Creator of the Universe!" i gotta say though, i'm noticing that if i'm sitting still for a very long period of time that i get a little "off track." my mind starts to wonder. it's not that i'm even done praying. i'm wondering, i even asked God Himself, if He minded that i do laundry while we talked? somehow i felt more focused but i'll be sure to keep asking him until i have peace about it.
  the other really cool thing about early morning prayer, and i just keep praying until the kids wake up, that i'm finding myself telling the Lord, "okay the kids are getting up but i'm not ready to "hang up" yet?" as if saying, "in Jesus name i pray Amen" is like saying that it's over - isn't that funny? i've been telling the Lord, "i'm gonna say, "in Jesus' name i pray Amen," but i'm not ready to "hang up" yet so could you please just stay?" and the cool thing is - that He does!
  okay, now i sound like a loony tune, but i'm okay with that if you are =) the kids get dressed and have a cup of milk and my prayer time spills over into their prayer time and it - is - so - sweet! encouraging them to start the day in prayer and bible study is so important why not make an example of it? i love listening to young children pray and so does The Almighty! so this is one area of our lives that my waking up early to spend time alone with God has effected others in the family.
  i'd like to share a little with you from elizabeth george's book life management for busy women living out God's plan with passion & purpose. again, i truly hope i'm not violating any copy write laws here and also i really want to encourage you to buy or borrow a copy of this book! it's such great meat to feed your soul - i know i've said that before, but it's true!
  she talks about "five feats prayer accomplishes in our heart and life" today i'm gonna touch on two of them..

 feat #1.) prayer is a privilege. ( more a reality then a feat) "prayer is one way we commune with the God of the universe! she goes on to talk about how lonely people can be and how truly not alone we really are. she says, "the ears of the Creator of the world - the One who can do anything! - are open to your prayers!"
  1 peter 3:12a for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their  prayer. He wants to be your best friend!
  proverbs 18:24 a man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is Friend who sticks closer than a brother.He is the only one who will never leave nor forsake you!
  hebrews 13: 5 keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
 
feat #2.) prayer nurtures our trust in God. elizabeth george says "a good father would never neglect his children. and neither does your Heavenly Father."
  matthew 7:11 if you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
  psalm 5:3  in the morning, o Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning i lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
  james 5:16-18 therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. elijah was a man just like us. he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

  those first two feats are a big deal! i am still marveling at the first one! the first time i read this book, almost five years ago, it hit me big time - and that statement,"the ears of the Creator of the world - the One who can do anything! - are open to your prayers!"  hits me big time still! it is my prayer that it always does! and that it hits you big time too!
  the second one, prayer nurtures our trust in God is so wonderfully true too! i know from experience that daily practice of prayer helps in the difficult times to too! instead of wallowing in the muck and mire of life, it is so much easier and i will much more quickly run to God in prayer.
elizabeth george's five feats of prayer tomorrow. again please bare with me as i'm learning that waking up early is expecting to go to bed early too. both me and my kids are resetting our schedules and our internal clocks it seems.
  this post was actually written four days ago - i just forgot to post it - so sorry!

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