Season of Prayer - Lesson 1 Why Bother

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There is a power available in the twentieth century that is virtually untapped, a privilege almost wholly neglected, prayer. We have looked at prayer as a necessary religious exercise. We have reduced one of the most amazing, powerful, incredible realities available to us to something dull, laborious and boring yet prayer is anything but those things. No wonder some take the attitude of why bother to pray. Sherry takes a look at prayer in way you may have never thought of and the reasons you will want to pray.

Never Give Up!

During my prayer time this morning I found myself praying this for someone, Lord give them the "want to" the "how to" and the "can do." Sometimes we know the "need to" but we don't even have the desire, or the unction. We may have the desire but we don't even know where to begin. And almost always we can't do it in our own strength. Let this be our prayer today. God give me the "want to" the "how to" and the "can do." Let's do this! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Cheerful Not Fearful

Don't you love it when God drops little nuggets in our heart? Yesterday as I was running around getting ready for work (not in my prayer closet) the Lord dropped this in my heart. "Be a cheerful giver, not a fearful giver."

I started laughing and said the same thing I almost always say to God when He speaks to me this way, Wow, that's good God! I don't know what God is asking of you to give today. Maybe it's finances, maybe it's your time, maybe He wants you to give Him control of that situation. Whatever God is asking of you don't be afraid. Have joy in knowing at the end of our giving there is always blessing! God loves a cheerful giver and He loves you!

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

        2 Corinthians 9:7

Reality Check for 2015

 The urban dictionary defines reality check as a statement or action that helps you see what is really happening or possible.  Some would call it a wake up call to get real, or confronting or acknowledging the facts about something and thus dispelling unrealistic notions.

Really? If you’ve known me for a while you’ve probably heard me say that I believe my purpose in life is give others hope. I love to say, if God can do the things He has done in my life there is no telling what He can do in yours. I am the first to tell you God had absolutely nothing to work with when He got me! I did not know one scripture and everything I believed about God, church and His people was wrong. If I were Him I might have thrown up my hands and declared this one is impossible. I am living proof there is hope for everyone!

I believe the promise that God has given me and you for 2015 is that He is going to turn Impossibilities into Realities.  We all have circumstances in our lives that look pretty much impossible. There is just no way, nothing we can do to turn them around. And guess what? Reality check is, that’s absolutely true. At least it’s true if you are trying to do it on your own. How do I know? Because the Bible tells me so!

Let’s start 2015 with a Reality Check, not defined by the urban dictionary but by God’s word. We can find this reality check in Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27 and again in Luke 18:27. Wow do you think God was trying to make a point? Jesus speaking in these verses said, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

The reality is, with men or trying to do it on your own, yes it is impossible. But friends I have great news. We don’t have to do it alone! With God all things are possible. It’s a New Year and new Reality Check. With God those things that seem impossible are possible. God wants to turn your Impossibilities into Realities.

This is my New Year’s prayer for you, that in every situation you will take a reality check. Not according to the world’s definition but according to God’s truth. Go for the impossible in 2015. You are not alone!

Luke 1:37 - For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Making an Investment

I want to encourage you today with something that God has reminded me of recently. Years ago I wrote an article about making spiritual deposits and investments. Being a Christian could be compared to being an investment broker or banker. The difference is that we are making spiritual deposits in the lives of people instead of monetary investments in a financial institution. Did you know both are dealing with riches and treasure? Deuteronomy 7:6 tells us that people are God’s treasure. It says, "For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure!" There are many scriptures in the Bible that remind us that people are what God treasures above everything else.

I’ve had opportunities to counsel and spend time with people who are in places of great need in their lives. For the most part they have been one time meetings spent encouraging, praying, sharing God’s word and suggesting available resources where appropriate. I wouldn’t be completely honest if I didn’t admit that most of the time I’ve felt pretty inadequate when meeting with them and I freely shared my concern with the Lord. God is so good and was quick to remind me that He doesn’t call the qualified but He qualifies the called. I’m only required to make a deposit, a spiritual investment in the lives of others. God is the one who brings the increase. It is in Him that our deposit grows and compounds!

Be encouraged today. God has called you and is qualifying you to be an investor in one of His greatest treasures, the precious people He has placed in your life. You have much to give.

God I need a hug.

I woke up that morning with an overwhelming sense of sadness. It was one of the lowest points in my life. What on earth had happened and how on earth did it happen? I had no answers.

I’ve never actually thought of it this way before but from the time I received Jesus in my life until this point my experience could have been described as a “Cinderella Salvation.” I didn’t just get saved; I got Blessed with a capital B. My life was one blessing, one miracle, and one testimony of God’s goodness after another. Sure, I experienced some rough times but my hope in the Lord never waned. 

But now I felt so weak. I remember pleading to the Lord one day on my way to work to please hold on to me because I didn’t know if I could hold on to Him. There really wasn’t anywhere to turn. Everything I had believed in was shaken. I was discouraged, disappointed and dismayed by the things happening around me.

On top of my life support system (spiritually speaking) failing by the day I was dealing with the death of my father from cancer. If that wasn’t enough my mom was recovering from a brain tumor the size of a softball. My parents were both diagnosed in the same week and I left for North Carolina. We had recently received notice that the house we were renting at the time had been sold and we had to move. Moving day was the same day I was leaving for North Carolina. I felt abandoned (not by God,) at a point when I desperately needed support.

So on this particular morning as I was talking to God on my to work as I usually do, I just simply said, “You know Lord, I just wish you could give me a hug.” It was just a simple prayer, no crying, no pleading, no if you don’t I can’t make it. Just simply, I could sure use a hug.

I forgot to mention that I was going through something else at this time. I was getting a lot of work done at the dentist. Now I don’t know about you but if you are like me that in itself is enough trauma. I had a great dentist but still it’s the dentist, if you know what I mean. They were always very kind knowing what I was going through with my parents. I had to call and put the work on hold telling them I would be going out of town and would reschedule when I returned. 

So back to story…I got to work and in the business of the day I forgot about my conversation with the Lord that morning. About mid morning the receptionist buzzed me to say I had a delivery at the front desk. Hmmm, I thought, wonder what it is? I wasn’t expecting anything and certainly not what was there. Sitting on the counter was one of the most gorgeous flower arrangements I’d ever seen. My first thought was that my hubby must have sent me flowers and my second thought was we can’t afford it. I thanked her and took them back to my desk before looking at the card. Imagine my surprise when I opened the card. It read, “We thought you might need a little encouragement today. Thinking of you. Dr. Batton and staff.”

I remember saying out loud…Dr. Batton! My dentist! My dentist office sent me flowers! My co-workers were looking at me kind of weird. I’m not sure what they were thinking but from the looks on their faces my guess would be they had never gotten flowers from their dentist either.

I sat the flowers on my desk. They were beautiful and smelled wonderful. Every time I looked at them it warmed my heart and it felt like…you guessed it! It felt like a little hug. And then the Lord spoke to my heart. You asked me for a hug today and I used your dentist to send one your way.

I don’t know what you are experiencing today. We all go through those times when we just need a little hug. I encourage you today to ask the Lord for one. He loves you and wants to reveal His love to you. It might come in an unusual way but it will come. There is always hope in God.

Psalm 86:17 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

A Clean Slate

A Clean Slate

Have you noticed the increased popularity of chalkboards these days? People are turning everything into chalkboards by using chalkboard paint. The paint comes in lots of different colors and is fairly easy to use so it’s a good project for even the less “crafty” person. I’ve even seen entire walls painted with chalkboard paint, which gives a whole new meaning to kids marking on the walls. As the mother of six that may have been a good approach although I’m not so sure my brood would have been satisfied to stay in the lines so to speak.

Back in the day a chalkboard was simply called a slate. It was basically just a piece of slate with a frame around it. Schoolchildren would write their lessons on it and when completed and graded they would wipe it clean. When it was time for a new lesson they would start over with a clean slate.

One of my favorite scriptures is Lamentations 3:22-23 that says, It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Wow, how awesome is that?  God’s love and mercy isn’t just a one time thing or something He hands out occasionally when He feels particularly benevolent but it’s new each and every day.  Every morning is met with a new beginning, a fresh start, a clean slate. It makes no difference how far we missed it the day before or how far we marked out of the lines. I John 1:9 tells us if we ask God is faithful and just to forgive us. The mistakes are gone, completely erased. He will clean our slate. I don’t know about you but that makes me breathe a big sigh of relief.

I like this quote by Bill Keane. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”

We have all struggled with the failures of yesterday. You may have blown your diet, spoke out of turn, hurt a loved, given in to temptation and maybe even sinned. God doesn’t want us to live in yesterday’s defeat but in today’s possibility. He has given you the gift of a clean slate. I don’t know what your chalkboard looked like yesterday, but I know what it looks like today.  Chalk in hand you can rewrite today.

There is always hope in God.

Blessings,
Sherry