Daniel 9:3-23 -- Listen and Obey

HIS WORDS

So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said:

“Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You." 

"To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; nor have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem." 

"As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice." 

"And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary."

“O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion." 

“O Lord, hear! 

O Lord, forgive! 

O Lord, listen and take action! 

For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, 

because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. 

He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision."

MY WORDS

Because this is such a long passage, I am just soaking in and defining some things instead of rewriting the whole thing in my own words.  

By studying Scripture, Daniel knew that the 70 year captivity was coming to a close, so he came to God in confession and petition, with fasting. 

By the way, the next year, God answered Daniel's prayer because Cyrus issued a decree that permitted the Jews to return to their land, take the temple treasures, rebuild the temple, and restore worship.

While this is a great model of confession and petition, with fasting, I kept seeing the words, "Listen and obey" something my friend and I have been terming the "LO" lately. 

I WILL

God keeps on telling me to just "listen and obey in the day-to-day." This goes along with what I am reading in In Search of Guidance (Hearing God): Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard and God Guides by Mary Geegh. 

I will continue to have a daily "listening time" with pen and paper in hand (unless God speaks to me in the shower like he sometimes does, but I will get out and write so I will not forget) writing down and acting upon what He tells me to do. I will also continue reading these great books. God has me on such a learning journey since the fall,  being struck by the obedience of people like Noah, Abraham, and Moses who did "all that the Lord commanded them to do" even when it seemed strange. Dallas Willard contends that God speaks just as he did to them, and Mary Geegh has example after example of listening and obeying that resulted in wonderful things.

Life with the Lord is so good. 

Also, please pray for the estranged husband of a friend of mine who was in a serious motorcycle accident yesterday. She is by his side. Pray God speaks to him in as he has come out of surgery and is in for more later on today. Pray for my friend, Jenna, and her two kids too. 

Daniel 6:10 - Daniel Kneels to God

From: http://deepwellswithglennmyers.blogspot.com/2013/01/practices-of-prayer-in-early-church.html

HIS WORDS

Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God as he had been doing previously. 

MY WORDS

Now when Daniel knew that King Darius had signed the decree stating that whoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except the King, shall be cast in the lion's den, he went into his house that had a roof chamber with windows open toward Jerusalem; and he continued to kneel three times a day, praying and giving thanks to God as he had always done. 

I WILL 

Periodically kneel, listen, and pray before You throughout today, Lord! 

Colossians 4:12 - Laboring Earnestly

From: http://gospelmusicroundup.org/risenranch/2012/08/23/get-to-know-epaphras/

HIS WORDS

Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.

MY WORDS

Epaphras, who is from your church, a wholehearted servant of Jesus Christ, sends his greetings to you. He is always wrestling earnestly in prayer for you, that you may [as persons of ripe character and clear conviction] stand firm and mature in spiritual growth, fully convinced and assured in everything willed by God. 

I WILL

Listen to God on my walk back from the auto repair shop and labor earnestly in prayer for the people He tells me to lift up to Him.

Colossian 1:9-12 - Prayer for Fuller, Deeper Knowledge of His Will

HIS WORDS

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

MY WORDS (with help from the Amplified Bible and Wuest's Expanded Translation)

Since the day we have heard about your faith and love, we have not stopped praying and making definite requests for you asking God that you may be . . .

• filled with full, deep, experiential, and clear knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [comprehensive into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things, so that you may . . . 
•  live and conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him in everything, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer experiential insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. We pray you would be . . .
• invigorated and given strength with all power in accordance with the might of His glory leading to every kind of endurance and perseverance and forbearance. With joy giving thanks to the Father, Who has made us fit to share in the portion of inheritance of the saints (God's holy people) in Light. 

I WILL

Pray this for the three women I met with since Monday night, all women who are serving you with their whole heart in their specific realm of influence. I will send them this as an encouragement. 

I will also pray this for those in our ministry, my family members, and me! (As Lorraine prayed this exact prayer on Thursday because she was memorizing these verses)

I will also continue to read God Guides as it is so much about having this sort of knowledge of God spoken of in these verses. I will give it to those He leads me to give it to. 

Luke 7:36-50 - The Woman with the Costly Perfume Causes Jesus to Tell the Parable of the Two Debtors

For the next three months, our group is doing a daily Discovery Bible Study on various Jesus Stories during the week and coming together to tell them to each other. We are also telling them to friends. So, ask me to tell you one too! 

HIS WORDS

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”

Originally uploaded to the english Wikipedia: 05:48, 7 August 2003 by user M123; "My own photo." 8 Roman denarii; left to right, row 1 : ca 157 BCRoman Republic, ca 73 AD Vespasian, ca 161 AD Marcus Aurelius, ca 194 AD Septimius Severus;

And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. “When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 

Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

MY WORDS

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to dine with him, and Jesus entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the dinner table. Right then, an immoral woman from the village, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of expensive perfume and stood behind Him at his feet. She wept and her tears fell on His feet, and she kept wiping away the tears with her long hair, all the while kissing His feet and anointing His feet with this expensive perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him in saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, He would know what sort of immoral person this woman is who is touching Him. She is a sinner."

And Jesus answered and said, "Simon, I have something to say to you."

And Simon answered, "Say it, Teacher."

"A man who lent money at interest had two debtors: one owed him 500 hundred denarii and the other owed him 50 (a denarii was for one day's wages). When they had no ability to pay, he freely forgave the debt of them both. Which one do you think will love him more?"

Simon answered, "I supposed, the one to whom he forgave and canceled the larger debt." 

And Jesus said to Simon, "You have decided correctly." 

Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "So back to your concern about this immoral woman . See her there? When I came into your house, you did not even give Me water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss of greeting, but from the time I came here, she has not stopped kissing My feet tenderly and caressingly.  You did not anoint My head with even cheap and ordinary oil, but she has anointed my feet with very rare and costly perfume. Therefore I tell you, her sins may be many, but they are forgiven her - because like the debtor who owed more, she loves more because her sins were great. But he who is forgiven just a little loves just a little.

And He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven!"

But there were those at the table with Him who began to say among themselves, "Who is this Who even forgives sins?

But Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; enter into peace [in freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin]. 

I WILL


Give this story to a friend who is writing a curriculum for women who are struggling with forgiveness (did just as I was posting this). Also I will spend a time of thanksgiving for the "much" He has forgiven me for! Maybe share this (if appropriate) with a friend going through a dry time with Him. 

Colossians 1:3-6 -- Giving Thanks and Continually Praying

HIS WORDS

We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;

MY WORDS

We continually give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah, praying continually for you because we keep hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus [the leaning of your entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] and the love which you have and show for God's people; because of that hope that is reserved and waiting for you in heaven.  On this hope, you heard in the past in the message of the truth of the Good News of Jesus, which has come to you. It is exciting that this Good News is bearing fruit and still is growing by its own power even as it has done with you ever since the day you first heard and came to know and understand the undeserved favor of God in reality, deeply and clearly and thoroughly, becoming accurately and intimately acquainted with it. 

I WILL

I will give thanks for ______________ and _______________ and continually pray for them today! Hopefully, I will meet with one of them. 

John 16:22-28 -- Asking in His Name

HIS WORDS

“Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”

MY WORDS

"You may be sad now, but we will see each other again, and you will have rejoicing in your heart, and no one will take your joy away from you. In that day, you will not question Me about anything. It is a true statement, that if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now, you have not asked for things in My name; but I say ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be full and overflowing. These things I speak to you in figurative language; but an hour is coming when I will not speak any longer in figurative language, but will tell you everything straight about the Father. In that day, you will ask in My name and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from the Father. I came from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving this world again and going back to the Father." 

I WILL 

Go into my prayer closet today and ask in Jesus' name. (This is all part of the last three PRAYER CHALLENGE verses!)

John 15:15-16 - Praying for Lasting Fruit

HIS WORDS

“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you."

MY WORDS

"I do not call you slaves any longer, for a slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for I have made to you everything that I have heard from My Father. You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I have commissioned you that you should go out and bear fruit, and the this fruit would be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give to you."


I WILL

Continue to pray for lasting fruit today! (I am listening to the most challenging messages right now, and I need to apply all that I am learning, and this verse goes right along with it.) 

Exodus 33:12-23 -- Moses, the Intercessor

HIS WORDS

Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” 

And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?” 

The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

MY WORDS

Then Moses said to the LORD, "You tell me, 'Lead these people out of Egypt!' But You have not let me know who You will send with me. Yet you said, 'I know you by name, and you have found favor in My sight.' So I ask You, if I have, indeed, found favor in Your sight show me Your ways so that I might really KNOW You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly], and find favor in Your sight. And by the way, do not forget that these are YOUR people so they are YOUR responsibility."

And God said, "My presence is right there with you to lead you, and I will give you rest." 

Moses said, "If Your presence does not go with me, do not carry us from here. For by how shall it be known that I and Your people have found favor in your sight? Isn't it because of Your having gone with us so that we are distinguished from all other people on the face of the earth?

And the LORD said to Moses, I will do this thing you ask for you have found favor, lovingkindness, and mercy in My sight to me, and I know you well [Rev. 2:17].

Then Moses said, "I beg you to show me Yourself in all Your glory!"

God said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim My name, THE LORD, before you; for I will be merciful to whomever I want to be merciful and I will show mercy and lovingkindness to whomever I will show mercy and lovingkindness.  
But He said, "You cannot see My face because no one can see My face and live to tell the story."

Then God said, "Look, there is a place beside Me, and you shall stand upon the rock, and while My glory passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and covery you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away My hand, and you will see My back; but you will not see My face. 

I WILL

Spend extended time in intercession today. I have so much to pray about that I cannot mention here!

Bible Book Club post from this passage is HERE. 

John 15:5-8 -- Abiding Prayer

HIS WORDS

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."

MY WORDS

(This is an adaptation of The Message and my own words that I wrote at my prayer retreat in January because these verses are part of my "Abide in Emmanuel" directive verses for 2014)

"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with Me and I with you, the relationship intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. If we are not joined together and intimate, you will not have any fruit off of your branch. Anyone like this is just like deadwood that needs to be taken off the Vine, gathered together and put on the fire. But if you make yourself at home with Me, and My words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how My Father shows who He is -- when you produce grapes, when you mature as My disciple."

MY REFLECTION/MY I WILL
(in the form of a Sunday morning freewrite)

Yep, this is part of my "Abide in Emmanuel" directional verses. I had to have a course correction on Thursday and Friday though. I was not abiding and had fallen into the trap of people pleasing. On Wednesday, I found out a person was mad at me and chose to bad-mouth me to another person. (I relayed some GOOD NEWS about a person to another person because I thought they were not in contact. Another person, who KNEW they were in contact with one another, also relayed the same GOOD NEWS, but I was the one she was mad at. Go figure.) I will not do that again. 

Then, a good friend abruptly backed out of something I had created space for in my very busy schedule to do with her. Honestly, I was relieved and realized I should have never said, "Yes" to doing it without abiding and praying and listening to God about whether I should do it. (What I really need during that time is REST rather than more people activity, but I love her and haven't seen her in a long time.)  Even though I was relieved, I felt that the abrupt back out was because she was irritated with me about my lack of availability to help her plan (even though I am from here, I do not know the area in which she wanted to meet).  

For a 20 hour period, I was a bit unhinged by it. Combining that with feeling really overwhelmed lately juggling all the balls I have in the air, my heat being out for three days and having the guy there for three hours fixing it, preventing me from being able to go out and exercise to relieve my stress, and looking at the schedule until Spring Break and seeing it involves a LOT of people in and out of my life, etc. On top of all that, I was supposed to be with George up in Hillsboro all week and couldn't go due to the need for  osteopathic therapy and another person "springing" something on me at the last minute that prevented me from going up. (God is sovereign because the heat went out, and I needed to be here to take care of that.)

All that said, I was already scheduled to meet with my mentor, Lorraine, on Thursday because I thought I was already going to be in Newberg and close by to visit. So, at the last minute, I packed my back to go to Lorraine's AND go up to spend the night with my mother-in-law and George. As I was walking out the door, I did get a sweet note from my friend, telling me she was not irritated.

It was "Girl's Day" in Japan this week. So Lorraine shared
all the treats her Japanese friends sent her.

Seeing Lorraine was the beginning of my settling back to abiding. Something about visiting with an octogenarian (88) that is so pleasant and relaxing. We shared and prayed and ate a good lunch together. Then, I splurged for a bit of pampering at a salon near her house. I got a manicure and pedicure! As a young Vietnamese boy washed my feet, I was reading about Jesus washing the disciples' feet in my Bible reading. I almost started crying. What a beautiful picture for me.

Then, I went and spent a couple of hours with another octogenarian, my 84 year old mother-in-law! We talked as she prepared our dinner. Then, George came home, and we talked more until she went to watch her PBS shows, and George and I sat in her quiet living room and read our books (Me - Pilgrim's Progress; Him, All the President's Men) until we went to bed. 

Then, I got up the next morning and drove 11 miles to the Trappist Abbey (the one I went to in January) to spend a day at Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Monastery in their St. Michael day room.

I felt like I had "come home"! Anyway, I went for a walk to the ridge overlooking the farm fields in front of the Abbey.

And just at the moment God spoke to me about my greatest sin and hindrance to abiding in Him while praying through Colossians 3:22, the sun broke through the clouds, and He gave me a promise:

I would have lost heart unless I had believed
That I would see Your goodness, O Lord,
In the land of the living.
I will hope in You and be of good courage,
And You will strengthen my heart;
Yes, I will hope in you, O Lord.
(Psalm 27:13-14)

I get it Lord. Hope in You and not in people's reactions to me. I will disappoint people, but I am here to please YOU alone. I live for an audience of ONE. People may be irritated and mad at me and not like me when I say "no" to them so that I might say "YES" to You, but I need to ABIDE and LISTEN to You alone. Abiding is the end of my self-effort (Another wise older woman, Pearl Tadema, told me that after she read my journal in 1983.). So I ended my self-effort once again overlooking the harvest fields of the Trappist Monastery.

I had been doing really, really well in this area, but like an alcoholic is addicted to alcohol, I am addicted to people-pleasing, and as a recovering addict, I must make day to day choices. I fell off the wagon for a couple of weeks there, and my world fell apart. 

Following this epiphany were more reminders of the abiding life You have called me to, Lord. From my journal at the Pastor's Prayer Summit in February:

The ten hour time flew by, and I felt like I had "Come Home" to Him once again. Thank You Lord for the indescribable gift of Your presence living in me. 

So, my I WILL is to continue to 

ABIDE and listen to Him. I will "steep" my life in "God-reality, God-initiative, God-provision" according to God's word through Amanda at the Pastor's Prayer Summit (John 15; Psalm 27:4; Matthew 6:33-34) 

RIDE the waves of the Holy Spirit that are produced from the abiding as in the book of Acts; doing ALL that He has commanded me to do like Jesus rather than what I think others want me to do. This is the only way to bear fruit.

WALK and persevere in that road He has for me as directed by Jeremiah 6:16 and Psalm 27:11, and come back often to . . .

REST (Mark 6:31; Matthew 11:28-30; Psalm 27:13-14). So that I may ABIDE all over again:

I will do this by

MONTHLY

• McMINNVILLE (to see Lorraine and review our ride of Spirit waves and walk with Him)
• MANICURE (to settle into rest)
• MOM (to see mother-in-law and get time with George)
• MY LORD and ME (to see Him and abide again) TIME! 

I can go to MY LORD and ME time either at the monastery or at the Salem Upper Room on my way back down Hwy 99 to Corvallis. 

I am so excited about all YOU did Lord. Thank YOU! 

9. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

 I think everyone should read this book at least once in their lifetime. I had listened to the audiobook a couple of years ago, but there were many times that I wanted to write down the quotes. My Book Dames Book Club decided to read it this year so I was able to read/listen again and stop and underline in George's book from the 1970's! 

This book could not be more perfectly timed as I just had a listening prayer time with a person where that person was hearing and believing a lot of lies from the enemy.

My favorite quote from p.59 in the 1977 version:

Screwtape clarifies the Enemy's intent:
   "Of course I know that the Enemy also wants to detach men from themselves, but in a different way. Remember always, that He really likes the little vermin, and sets an absurd value on the distinctness of every one of them. When He talks of their losing their selves, He only means abandoning the clamour of self-will; once they have done that, He really gives them back all their personality, and boast (I am afraid, sincerely) that when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever. Hence, while He is delighted to see them sacrificing even their innocent wills to His, He hates to see them drifting away from their nature for any other reason. And we should always encourage them to do so."

Matthew 26:39-46 -- Keep Watching and Praying

HIS WORDS

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 

And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 

He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 

Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

MY WORDS

After asking Peter, James, and John to keep awake and mindful of threatening danger by practicing faith-filled prayer, he went a little further and threw Himself on the ground on his face and prayed saying, "Father, if it is possible, let this bitter experience pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but as You desire.

And He came back to his disciples, and they were sleeping, and He said to Peter, "What! Are you totally incapable of staying awake and alert for one hour? You must all stay awake, keep watch, and pray, that you will not come into temptation. Maybe a part of you is eager to do this, but you do not have the discipline of body to actually follow through!

He went away a second time to pray, "My Father, if this is the only way to accomplish Your will by drinking this bitter portion to the end, I am ready and willing to do your will. 

When he came back, he found them sleeping again! This time, he let them continue to sleep and went back a third time to pray saying the same thing as the other two times. 

Then He came to the disciples and said, "Are you still sleeping and resting? It is time  for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinners. Get up and let's get going! The one who betrays me is right here!"

I WILL 

Pray for the suffering church by praying through Voice of the Martyrs prayer requests.

I just found a very nice little prayer site to do this:

https://www.icommittopray.com/

John 14:12-14 -- Ask Anything

HIS WORDS

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."

MY WORDS

"It is a true statement that the person who puts their whole confidence in Me will not only do the works I am doing but do even greater thing, because while I am on my way back to the Father, I am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. Now whatever you ask in line with who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. This way, the Father will be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in line with who I am and what I am doing, I'll do!" 

I WILL

Ask for salvation for _____, _______, _______ and growth and personal development or ______ and _______. 

Matthew 18:18-20 - Corporate Prayer

HIS WORDS

“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (NASB95)

“Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” (The Message)

Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven. Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven. For wherever two or three are gathered (drawn together as My followers) in (into) My name, there I AM in the midst of them.

MY STUDY

This binding and loosing thing has always confused me. So, I need to do some further study of it.

Their actions of binding and loosing were to be directed by heaven (Matt. 18:18; cf. comments on 16:19). Clearly all are addressed for the you pronouns are plural. Besides their binding and loosing, they were also to engage in corporate prayer. Whenever they came together in the name of the Lord, He would be with them. And if two or three would agree together about anything it would be done for them by the Father in heaven. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, V 2, p.62)

Comments on 16:19 as mentioned above:

He declared that Peter would be given significant authority, the keys of the kingdom of heaven. A “key” was a sign of authority, for a trusted steward kept the keys to his master’s possessions and dispensed them accordingly (cf. “the keys of death and hades” [Rev. 1:18] and “the key of David” [Rev. 3:7], which Jesus possesses). Peter was told he would possess the keys and be able to bind and loose people. These were decisions Peter was to implement as he received instruction from heaven, for the binding and loosing occurred there first. Peter simply carried out God’s directions. This privilege of binding and loosing was seen in Peter’s life as he had the privilege on the day of Pentecost to proclaim the gospel and announce to all those who responded in saving faith that their sins had been forgiven (Acts 2). He was able to do the same thing with the household of Cornelius (Acts 10–11; cf. Acts 15:19–20). The same privilege was given all the disciples (John 20:22–23).
Barbieri, L. A., & Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Ed.) (Mt 16:17–20, V2, p. 58). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 

Binding and loosing. This was a very familiar phrase to the Jews, for their rabbis often spoke of “binding and loosing,” that is, forbidding or permitting. Our Lord’s statement in Matthew 16:19 referred to Peter. But His statement later in Matthew 18:18 included all of the Apostles. As the representatives of their Lord, they would exercise authority according to His Word.
The Greek verbs in Matthew 16:19 are most important. The Expanded Translation by Dr. Kenneth S. Wuest reads: “And whatever you bind on earth [forbid to be done], shall have been already bound … in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth [permit to be done], shall have already been loosed in heaven.” Jesus did not say that God would obey what they did on earth, but that they should do on earth whatever God had already willed. The church does not get man’s will done in heaven; it obeys God’s will on earth.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Mt 16:13–20). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 

MY WORDS

It is a true statement I say to you disciples that whatever God's will directs you to forbid on earth has already been forbidden in heaven; and whatever God directs you to permit on earth has already been permitted in heaven so when two of you come together and agree on earth about anything directed by God that you ask for, it it already done by Him in heaven!  When two or three of you come together in My name, I am right there in the midst of you!

I WILL 

Find a group of like-hearted people to prayer corporately after our Kingdom Community ends on May 31st. I will also write the Pastor's Prayer Summit in on my calendar for next year and not hesitate like I did this year (But I will get a private room so that I can sleep better). Should I investigate the Upper Room prayer time at 1 pm daily? Not sure it is what I am looking for, but I will investigate. 

Matthew 6:7-13 -- Your Kingdom Come

HIS WORDS

"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray, then, in this way: 
‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 
‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 
‘Give us this day our daily bread. 
‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’"

MY WORDS 

"And when you are praying, do not use repeated words that mean nothing like the Gentiles do, for they think the more words, the greater likelihood that they will be heard by their gods. So, do not be like them; because the one true God and Father knows what you need even before you ask Him.

Pray then like this:
'Our Father who is in heaven, 
Holy is Your Name, 
Your kingdom come. 
Your will be held holy and revered on earth just as it is in heaven. 
Give us day by day our daily provisions of food, no more, no less. 
And forgive our sins just as we forgive those who have offended us or done us wrong.
And bring us not into temptation, but rescue us from evil.
For You are the King of the Kingdom and You are all-powerful. 
We give you glory forever.'"

I WILL

Pray through Praying the Scriptures for Intimate Worship today that uses the above prayer as a framework. I love the structure of this prayer book but took a break after praying through it consistently for 12 years! I picked it up the other day and loved it and realized how much I missed it! I have come across it three times in the last week in my searching for other things. I think this is a reminder to use it again. 

8. Prayer: The Mightiest Force in the World by Frank C. Laubach

In keeping with my prayer emphasis for 2014, here is another gem of a book on prayer written by the same person who wrote The Game with Minutes that I reviewed in January, Frank Laubach. 

It was such a challenge to caste my prayer for world leaders (which was one of my applications from the Prayer Challenge that I am doing from Super Bowl Sunday to Easter). I had a half day in prayer last Friday; and because of this book's reminders, I prayed for the president of Ukraine to step down. Within hours, he fled the country. Now I have to really get on my knees for Putin because he might mess the whole thing up by sending military there. Oh my.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, I am cutting and pasting one person's reflections and quotes from the book:

One of Laubach's most important suggestions in this terrific little book is that we pray during the "chinks" that happen in all of our schedules: while stuck in traffic, doing mindless chores, standing in lines, and so on. Lengthy concentrated prayer time is good, Laubach asserts, but if we are to follow Saint Paul's admonition to "pray without ceasing," we need to cultivate the habit of offering up prayers all the time. Laubach is especially urgent in commending prayer for the leaders of all nations. (This is a suggestion that the New Testament authors, who even urged prayer for Roman emperors who persecuted the Church, would readily endorse, I'm sure.)
I keep a file of meaningful quotes drawn from the books I read. Prayer: The Mightiest Force in the World is full of great quotes. In the current international crisis though, several stand out:
"Most of us will never enter the White House and offer advice to the President. Probably he will never have time to read our letters [or our e-mails, I thought, as I read this]. But we can give him what is far more important than advice. We can give him a lift into the presence of God, make him hungry for divine wisdom...We can visit the White House with prayer as many times a day as we think of it, and every such visit makes us a channel between God and the President."
He also says that in our praying for the President and other leaders, "[w]e do not 'persuade God to try harder'...; it is our world leaders, our statesmen and church men [sic] whom we persuade to try harder. We help God when we pray. When great numbers of us pray for leaders, a mighty invisible spiritual force lifts our minds and eyes toward God. His Spirit flows through our prayer to them, and He can speak to them directly."
I laughed out loud when I read this assertion by Laubach: "We can do more for the world with prayer than if we were to walk into Whitehall, London, or the Kremlin in Moscow, and tell those men [sic] what to do---far more! If they listened to our suggestions, we would probably be more or less wrong[emphasis mine]. But what God tells them, when they listen to Him, must be right. It is infinitely better for world leaders to listen to God than for them to listen to us." (http://markdaniels.blogspot.com/2003/03/learning-to-pray-from-man-who-taught.html)

It has a weird thing about "telepathy" which I did not care for, but the rest is good!

Matthew 21:21-22 - Asking in Believing Prayer

HIS WORDS

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

MY WORDS

And Jesus answered His disciple's question about the fig tree withering all at once, and said, "Most absolutely, I say to you, if you totally trust in and put your confidence in me, you will not only do what I did to that fig tree, but you can even do big thing like say to this mountain, "Move, and go into the sea," and it will happen. If you ask in believing prayer, you will receive all things from big to small. 

I WILL

Pray believing prayer for two things I am asking for in 2014. In faith, I even ordered something a few minutes ago so I can be ready when God answers one of them! :) YAHOO! 

Invitation to the Kingdom

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne. (Matthew 11:28-30, AMP)

Friday Freewrite Fifteen

Ready, GO!

The sun is coming through the fog of this morning. Just like my day yesterday. There was fog yesterday morning. I do not like it when people expect me to adapt to their irresponsibility. I had one of those situations, and I ended up being the one apologizing. Go figure! I always apologize when I set boundaries when someone expects me to reorient my whole day, and I say, "I cannot." I need to grow in that area.

All that said, I had prayed that the appointment would cancel earlier in the morning. (I am an introvert, and I have been spending a lot of people time, and I always need balance.) So, God answered my prayer, but not before I had already shut down the work that I was doing and got all dressed and ready to go. I am glad that I heard about the change BEFORE I got out the door instead of when I was already at the meeting place and in limbo. All that said, I didn't like how I was the one who looked like I had canceled and apologized. 

I was stressed from saying, "No." And it sent me off into such a season of doubt, and I just had a stressful morning as a result. Then, I get cc'd on an email where someone is clearly not happy with the lack of planning on another person's part. I do not like disharmony, but I totally see why the person was unhappy. It was another one of those situations where someone goes ahead with an action and doesn't consult with the people who will be doing all the ground work. I got caught up in the stress of that interaction, wondering what work it would entail for me. Stress in composing my email to contribute to the dialogue, and what happens? My computer decides to automatically shut down due to an update! LOL! 

That was the perfect thing to have happen. Perfect, perfect, perfect. I went BACK to prayer! Then, I got back on and totally deleted what I wrote and wrote a much shorter, non-stressed letter.

Then I had my GO TO GIRLS Prayer Team pray for the stress. Then, Michael said he was going to go workout, and I went away from the computer and got a good workout on the elliptical and weights, and then he went with me and helped me with the grocery shopping! YAY! 

There was one appointment that I was looking forward to, and I think the enemy did not want it to happen. She thought I was too stressed to meet and wanted to give me the time off, and I insisted that she come. WOW! I am so glad I did! Four and half hours of deep listening prayer later (and fifteen pages of notes), she was a much freer woman!  And the SON was shining! No more fog. Gotta' love that!

So, today the sun is shining. My Byzantium music by Jeff Johnson is playing. The kitchen is clean. I had a great inner room prayer time. I have nothing on my schedule (The person who wanted to meet me never confirmed so if she calls, I am going to say, "No" without guilt [hopefully]). 

It is going to be 61 degrees today, and I think I am due for a bike ride and then a nice Pilate cool-down at SNAP Fitness followed by reading The Screwtape Letters which is so perfectly timed with the enemy hassle that I received yesterday. 

God is so much more powerful than anything our enemy can muster!

Pressing without proofreading as the timer goes off!

Matthew 6:5-6 - Go to your INNER ROOM

HIS WORDS

When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  

MY WORDS

When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites who make a show out of their public prayers in the synagogues and on the street so that others will see them and think they are holy and righteous. It is a very true statement that they will have their full bad reward.  But when you ordinary people pray, go away to a private place and pray just to your Father, and your Father will see you (even if others do not) and give you a good reward.

I WILL

Yesterday was a pray in secret day when it was so stressed, and I am so glad you directed me to my inner room. Now to another inner room time RIGHT NOW. I will not delay. :) WOOHOO! 

Matthew 5:43-45 -- Praying for Those Who Persecute You

HIS WORDS

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (NASB95)

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. (The Message paraphrase)

MY WORDS

"You have heard it said in Leviticus 19:18, 'YOU WILL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR,' and has been interpreted from Psalm 139:21,22 to 'Hate your enemies," but that is not it at all, we are to love our enemies because they are our neighbors too. Pray for those who give you a hard time or treat you unfairly (Proverbs 25:21). This show that you are child of God and acting in a way that reflects who you were meant to be in His eyes; in His image. He faithfully gives His best to everyone (even those who reject Him) causing the sun to always rise and the rain to fall on both evil and good people. 

I WILL 

Every day of prayer, these same people come up. They persecuted me for doing right. Then they have continued to slander me even four years later. This is the second time this week (the first from reading Prayer: The Mightiest Force in the World) I have been convicted that the reason You bring them to mind during my days of prayer is to PRAY for them! I know praying daily for a person many years ago caused all the weirdness to go away. So, I will try to remember to pray daily for these people. Makes me sad because they slander me based on a false perception of a situation. Most difficult was that I had spent so much time helping them both with needs they had. We really thought we had been helpful, but instead of a thank you I got a personal attack from two people, and I still get those attacks for things my husband said, and I did not (even what he said was not bad, but for some reason, they are mad at me and not my husband). So, I could whine on, but I will just pray. The weird thing is that all the people who have come to us with their slanders said that they wished they could have been bold enough to say what we did, but I did not say it! So weird. 

7. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama

I was impressed with Obama's prose. It helped me understand the background behind his ideology, and his idealism shows through on every page of this book. He was raised in a multicultural environment rather than within the African American culture. He has led a fascinating life, and he has come a long way.  I read this because one of my applications from my Prayer Bible Study was to pray for him. This helped me do that more effectively. 

Calorie Burning while Standing

I thought FOR SURE, my calories burned would be low, and when I saw my results this morning, I thought it was WRONG. Then, I went through every single bump up and down! It was all about getting ready for church, walking to and from church and wedding shower, standing during those events talking to people, getting ready for my date night, etc. I stood a LOT yesterday, and I almost met my calorie goal with NO EXERCISE! I do not know why I am shocked, but I always become so!