Prayer Avails Much

I just love prayer. I'm so thankful that God has ordained it as the means by which He moves. I wish everyone could experience answers, miraculous answers, to prayers like I do. I believe it's God's will that everyone does!

John Wesley once said, "God will do nothing, but in answer to prayer."

I don't know if that's true, but it sure seems like it sometimes.

I have recently begun to pray regularly again with a prayer partner. Now, I believe that individual prayers are powerful. When I get up early and pray for specific needs, I see God work, always. However, corporate prayer, praying with someone in agreement regularly, is tremendously effective. It seems the more difficult answers come quickly that way: Hearts are changed, conflicts are resolved and seemingly impossible obstacles are removed.

When you begin to pray regularly with someone, it fuels your faith. As answers come over and over again, your faith grows and it really restores your hope in all that God has for your life. You can actually say, "All things are possible with God" and believe it!

I have seen a bumper sticker around town that says "Nothing fails like prayer." How sad to believe that. How defeated that person's life must be. My heart breaks for individuals that are convinced of that unhappy lie.

One of the many Scriptures that God has highlighted in my life regarding prayer is:

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

1 John 5:14-15

I LOVE this verse because we KNOW that if it's God's will - He will do it. I used to worry and fret over this verse wondering, "But how do we know if it's God's will?" No longer does that worry me because it's fairly easy to tell if something is His will.

Here are the guidelines I use:

Does it line up with what the Scriptures say that God desires? For example, the Scriptures tell us to be anxious for nothing. Therefore, if I pray that I will not be anxious about something, I KNOW that I'm praying in God's will because the Scriptures command/request this. If I am praying for peace, I know that's God's will. If I am praying for someone's salvation, I know that's God's will. If I am praying for deliverance from fear, I know that's God's will.

Knowing something is God's will changes the way you pray. You pray with the faith required to see answers. You pray with total confidence, without doubt and worry. You pray with assurance that God will answer that prayer - hopefully immediately - but without a doubt that it will be done.

Now, for all other things that may or may not be God's will, we submit to His will. For example, I wanted my husband to work on a project that he promised to do but had not found time to do. So, after worrying and fussing about it for weeks, I finally took it to God (why don't I begin there?) and I prayed very confidently, "LORD, if it's your will, I pray that he will work on that project this week." Truly, I had to get my heart right and pray this with perfect submission, with a willingness to let go of the matter if it's not God's perfect will. I think a lot of times, God is waiting for us to be so submitted to Him that we are willing to accept whatever answer He has for us (I have so many examples of this in my life, it's a shame that I still struggle to submit my will to God's!)

But guess what! It apparently WAS God's will because, without a single word from me, he not only began work on the project, but completed it within two days. I'm positive that if I had "nagged" him about it, it would still remain undone today.

My husband often plays this song during our family worship time. Though I'm not fond of the twangy tempo, I love the words in this hymn:


What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge,
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!I

n His arms He’ll take and shield you;
you will find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to
Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

Prayer is powerful. Nothing works like prayer. It's the most amazing gift that we have at our disposal as Children of the Most High God. Paul claims in Philippians that it is because of their prayers (and the help of the Holy Spirit) that he was delivered to safety. It was prayer that moved angels to break Peter out of prison. Even Elijah was told what God's will was - to bring rain - but he got down on his knees in travailing prayer to usher in the will of God. They are examples to us - God has a plan and a purpose, but He wants us to pray.

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16

End of Year Thoughts

Travels

I have completed my spring speaking schedule. That's a nice feeling. I try not to accept very many invitations to speak because it's really hard on the family when I leave. Not only do the children feel sad and lost without me, basic mommy stuff is neglected. For example, my precious 11 year-old son packed himself for his boy scout camping trip and didn't pack anything warm to wear in the evenings. He came home sick. Not very sick; but just enough to keep me up praying all night. I guess it worked because he's begging me to take him to IHOP this morning.

I love to speak and encourage moms, however. So, I do try to speak locally and go a couple of places each year. If the kids were not so busy with All Stars, Boy Scouts and ballet, I would take them with me.

The Mississippi conference was the last stop on my calendar. What a delightful group of people! I think I want to move to Mississippi.

Before I went, we vacationed in Florida. It was an exciting trip. My husband usually spends the entire time fishing. The first thing he caught was quite a surprise. Check it out!

He caught it in the waters in which my children were swimming. After he caught this nifty little guy, my son reported that a 6 - 8 foot shark was patrolling the beach, swimming back and forth about five feet from shore. I went in and called the authorities who promptly sent out a boat. We watched as these tough guys caught the shark and pulled it out to sea.

For some reason, my nine-year old didn't want to get in the water the rest of the trip. Wonder why?

Devotional Commentary Series!

I'm busily at work on my devotional series for families. It's more of a Bible commentary with life application. I'm working through the book of John, writing three commentary devotions for each chapter in the book. The Lord has been so gracious to awaken me early in the mornings to write so that I don't neglect the children at all in order to work on this project. For me, there is nothing more wonderful than the Word of God. Don't get me wrong, I loved writing the science series. Yet, my heart is really to encourage people and edify them in the Word of God. That's where our strength, joy and peace is found - in Him alone. It's always been my passion to fortify people in their faith. That's what I hoped for with the science books, and that is what I hope for with this devotional series.

Over and over I have had people ask "What do you suggest that I use for devotions?" Going through the Bible is the best suggestion. However, most people have not spent hundreds of hours in exegetical analysis or inductive studies and have a difficult time explaining the historical or doctrinal principles in passages, as well as how to make life application. That's what this devotional commentary will do. The family, or student using the book, will read the Word, then use the commentary to go deeper and make it personal. It's my hope that all those who read this will grow, not only in their understanding of the Word, but in their walk with the Lord. It's my greatest desire that young people will fall more deeply in love with Jesus as they work through the series.

Winding Down the School Year

I don't know about you, but I'm really excited to be winding down our studies. I looked over the goals I had for the kids this year and it literally brings tears to my eyes to see how faithful the Lord was to enable us to accomplish every single one. Every one. The boys are now reading lengthy chapter books, writing full page essays by hand with ease and can spell. There were a few other academic things we accomplished, but those were my big three for this year for the boys. My oldest (14) is going to be ready to take three CLEP tests next month: US History I, English Comp and Humanities. My youngest (7) is reading and writing very well. We could end now, but we have to complete 180 days here in Georgia, so we'll do some interesting science related activities with the microscope I just purchased from Sonlight, complete our notebooks and finish our math program for the rest of the school days.

I'm praying and asking the Lord to give me wisdom about our goals for next year. What would He have us accomplish? What does He hope for them academically and spiritually? I'll be praying through these things for next year.

I have found that my homeschooling goes so much better is much less stressful when I have goals that we are seeking to accomplish. This gives us direction and purpose. Otherwise, it's about finishing a course or program that may or may not be the best thing for us. Otherwise, we become slaves to curriculum, rather than masters over it. We are not Spirit-led or God-directed, but rather are without vision and simply following someone else's scope and sequence, course or beliefs about what my children should learn, how they should learn and what they should do to finish their prescribed program. God has a better plan, a future-minded purpose and He knows on what we should focus and where we should make an effort. There is a way that seems right to man, but it's usually not God's best.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

The Lord called us to homeschool and He will guide us each step of the way. Instead of making plans after careful research, prayerfully ask Him to lead you as you research; ask Him to lead your plans. He didn't call us and then expect us to figure it all out. He didn't purpose for us that we should educate these children of His and then leave it in our hands to decide what plans and courses we should choose for them. The Lord called us because He has a pupose for our children. He has specific plans for them that are for their good, for a hope and a future. As we seek Him, He will lead us in what He wants for them to accomplish, and how we should go about doing that. We only need to co-labor with God, to cooperate with Him in moving our children into His wonderful will for them.

Bible Experience

My next newsletter will be going out very soon. It will be the last one on Bible Study and Devotions. I have several articles from wonderful godly women and a few more reviews. One review that I want to mention here is The Bible Experience. All I can say is WOW!

The Bible experience is like no other audio Bible I've ever heard. This is the actual Bible - word for word - dramatized in such a way that it really brings it to life. The musical scores, the voices (done by some professional Christian actors and actresses and other wonderful voices), the background sounds, all create an authentic atmosphere that is absolutely astonishing. It's like hearing the Word of God happening in real time. When Jesus speaks to the crowd from the boat, you can hear the water lapping around the boat. As Jesus passes through the crowds, you can hear their astonishment when people are healed. It's so realistic. You can hear a sample on Zondervan's website.

We listened to the book of Acts on the way to Florida and on the way home. It was truly riveting. It had been on for hours, but we turned it off when we were passing a wreck; immediately the kids begged us to turn it back on. They were all listening raptly.

I can't recommend this enough. It's gotten rave reviews on Amazon and everywhere else. You can also download it instead of buying the CD's. We plan to have the kids listen at night when they are going to bed. What a wonderful way to end the day.

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Psalm 119:105

Drawing Near to God

There are times in our walk with the Lord when we feel distant from God. Yet, we aren’t sure how to get back to that place of intimacy that we once knew so well. Our lives are so busy, our days jam packed with things to do and places to go, our thoughts race with worries, concerns and endless plans. We wonder how we’ll ever find our way back to closeness with God.

In this situation, one thing is for certain – we will not reconnect if we do not make an effort to do it. God is knocking at the door of our heart. He’s waiting for us to respond. He’s not waiting for us to clean up our act, quit sinning, quit being selfish, quit thinking negative thoughts. He’s just waiting for us to respond to His knock by opening the door and letting Him in. But how do we even do that?

In my experience, I have found that the most important thing I must do is find some alone time. I have to carve it out wherever it can be found. Even if it means I have to get up extra early, or escape sometime during the day with strict warnings not to interrupt me unless there is blood or fire. I must get to a place where I can quiet my mind and be still before God – for a while.

When I finally do make that effort, what I do with that time is very important. If I come into that time with no plan, I’ll probably leave just as unfulfilled as I came – maybe more so, since I tried to connect with God and didn’t. I enter into that time with a commitment to spend time in praise and prayers of praise. I often write these praises or prayers in my journal, sometimes I just open my Bible to the Psalms and begin proclaiming His praises straight from the Word. I praise the Lord even, and especially, when I don’t feel like it. This is so important because it is an effort in my being led by the Spirit, not by the flesh. If I only praise God when I feel like it, then I’m a flesh-led believer. I must praise God with my spirit, even when my flesh says, “I’m tired; I’m stressed; I don’t feel good; I’m discouraged; I’m angry and frustrated; I can’t praise God now.” I just begin praising and within a short amount of time, my flesh begins to follow after my spirit. Sometimes, I have to spend the entire time praising God just to beat my flesh into submission. But that is not time wasted. You see, the very act of praising God is probably the most significant thing we can do as followers of Christ. God is empowered to work in our spirit and lives through the avenue of our worship and praise. It’s not for Him that we praise Him – He doesn’t need our praise – it’s for us. It’s a tool that God gave us for victory and to usher us into His presence. He is so holy, so beautiful, so awesome – our small minds cannot even know how much He deserves our praise – but when we participate in praise, we benefit because we are walking out a truth we don’t even understand. We are agreeing with all of heaven and unleashing the power of God into our situation. When we praise Him with His Word, we are agreeing with God that all He says in His Word is true.

The power of praise is seen clearly in the story of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. When the good king learned that a mighty army composed of three kingdoms was heading his way, he sought the Lord in prayer. What the Lord inspired him to do in response defies reason. He was told he would be victorious. But, instead of warriors, he sent out a large band of worshipers into battle. When these worshipers went out, their praises to the Lord brought about an unexpected result – they confounded the enemy. In their confusion, these armies began fighting one another and were conquered without Jehoshaphat’s army lifting a finger. There is another story in 2 Kings 6, that sheds some light on this. When the prophet, Elisha, was suddenly encompassed round about by a huge band of warriors, he was unafraid. He knew that the ones that were with God’s people were more than they that are against them. He asked God to open his servant’s eyes to the real battle so that he could see the truth. The servant’s eyes were opened to what Elisha already knew – millions of mighty angels were standing guard, protecting them from their foes. Though, in the natural, it looked like it, the enemy was not just flesh and blood, it was a spiritual battle that was going to be won in the spirit realm through the mighty angels of God. Instructive for us, what was happening in the natural, was also happening in the spirit realm.

This brings more enlightenment to Jehoshaphat’s story. When the praises rang out, the demonic forces that were guiding the coming army scattered and their purposes scattered with them. Praise empowers God’s people because it empowers the spiritual forces that work on our behalf by scattering the enemy that is trying to keep the people of God from being productive and safe. The battles we, God’s children, face in the natural have a spiritual component as well. In fact, we are told in Ephesians that are battle is not against flesh and blood. That’s often hard to believe, but we’re told that our battle is against spiritual forces that would bring us down. This is why praising God is so effective. When I enter into that quiet place, I praise God whether I feel like it or not and I praise Him for as long as it takes to defeat the enemies that would cause me to stumble. Discontentment, strife, fear, loneliness, anger, stress, discouragement and despair can be defeated by the simple act of praising God.

One of my favorite Psalms to read aloud in praise to God is Psalm 103. I’ve printed it below:

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all of His benefits;

Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;

Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

The LORD performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed.

He made known His ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel.

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.

As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,

And its place acknowledges it no longer.

But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to children's children,

To those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them.

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,

And His sovereignty rules over all.

Bless the LORD, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word!

Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will.

Bless the LORD, all you works of His,

In all places of His dominion; Bless the LORD, O my soul!