Month: November 2014

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Practice Makes Perfect

I love hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. His words bring such peace, joy, faith, hope and love. With one word He can change my world.

So I sit in my prayer chair and I listen. I find myself in a situation where I need wisdom and instruction, so I stop wherever I am and I listen. Funny thing though is sometimes when I’m not consciously listening, out of the blue I hear Him speak and once again His words change my world. This brings me to something He said to me a few days ago.

I was riding as a passenger in a car. I was just watching the world whiz by. At one point I could clearly see the driver in the next car. His head was down and he was looking at his phone as he was driving. He looked like he was texting. I judged him for his dangerous driving behavior. Then I heard the Holy Spirit speak.

Don’t practice judging. Practice love.

I’ve meditated on this the last few days and studied the scriptures on judging. I don’t find that we are never to make judgements. For the many scriptures that tell us not to judge, I found others that instructed how to judge. What I found was that the manner or the heart with which we judge matters.

When God makes a judgement it will always be 100% from a heart of love. Love is not what was in my heart when I thought, “What an idiot.” The Bible tells us that Jesus only said what He first heard the Father say and He only did what He first saw the Father do. I didn’t hear the Father say, “Did you see that guy texting and driving? What an idiot. Judge him for Me won’t you?”

Practice makes perfect. Since that day, I have caught myself practicing some unloving behaviors on perfect strangers from afar. The texting driver. The parent letting their child run wild. So many opportunities in this crazy world to make a judgement. But each is also an opportunity to practice love. Choosing to love instead of judging with a prideful heart. Choosing to pray instead of complaining. This doesn’t just work for far off strangers, but it works with up close aquaintances too.

This may seem impossible, but it’s not if we continue to practice. What are we to practice? Practice hearing His voice and receiving His love. In His words and in His love is the power to love like He loves. In our own strength, our own ability, our own self-control, this IS impossible. But He has given us His Holy Spirit, His strength, His ability, His self-control and with God, nothing is impossible.

But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control… (Galatians 5:22-23, Amp)

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Praying for You

There are times when something quite silly suddenly propels me into a place of prayer for something quite serious. That happened to me today when a song from the 90’s began playing on repeat in my mind. It just wouldn’t go away and I was actually getting quite annoyed.

I decided that maybe if I played the song on Youtube it might finally go away. I began listening to it and the next thing I know, I’m praying. Here are the verses that had been in my mind all morning.

Tell me how am I supposed to live without you/ Now that I’ve been lovin’ you so long/ How am I supposed to live without you/ How am I supposed to carry on/ When all that I’ve been livin’ for is gone.

Yes, I’m a little embarrassed to say that all morning long I’ve had a Michael Bolton song from the 1990’s playing in my head.

But as I listened to that chorus my heart suddenly ached for everyone dealing with loss this holiday season. I prayed as my heart ached for the husband spending the first Thanksgiving and Christmas without his spouse by his side. My heart ached for the wife lost and alone because her best friend, her husband is gone. I prayed for the mother and father who lost a child, young or old. I prayed for those who should be holding a new baby this holiday season, but whose hearts ache with grief because of their empty arms, the empty crib.

I’m praying for you today. I am praying for His peace that passes understanding. I’m praying for the comfort that only He can give at this time. I’m praying for the healing of your heart that only He can bring.

You are not alone. You are not forgotten. I’m praying for you today because you came up in my heart. I’m praying for you today because He put you there. I’m praying for you today because you are on His heart today.

Life be, Love be, Peace be in broken hearts today. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen

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To Love is to Pray

I’ve shared in the past about well-known people such as celebrities that were tabloid train wrecks, always in the news for the wrong reasons. I’d pass the magazines at the checkout and see their picture with a shocking headline. I’d see the headlines and photos of on-line articles that I never read, but there before me was presented their steady decline. Then finally the headline stating what we all knew was coming, that this celebrity train wreck had tragically died.

I’m so very sorry to say that many times that was the moment that I realized that I had watched this person’s decline and had never once thought to pray for them.

Lord, Help me to truly see them and not judge them but pray for them!

So this morning I was thinking about a person in my life. I won’t say who it is but I will say it is not someone I live with. This person seems to make a lot of careless decisions and their decisions always seem to be made to their benefit without regard for others. I’ve often had the thought this person is irresponsible and selfish. I don’t think thoughts like this often, but somehow when a person is directly in our lives or related to us we seem free to make judgements on them and their behavior. Probably because their poor decisions can have an affect on our own lives.

So as this person came to mind this morning I suddenly felt convicted. I have seen this person and his/her actions. I have judged this person and his/her actions. But I don’t recall praying for this person.

Maybe they’re not a train wreck currently on the road to a tragic death. Maybe they are just really annoying friends or family. But do I really see them? Do I see them through His eyes? Am I seeing them to judge them or to pray for them? Am I praying for their peace and well-being for their sake and not my own?

How do you see your spouse? How do your see your family members? How do you see your in-laws? How do you see your boss or co-worker? How do you see others? Do you judge or do you pray?

 Lord, Help me to truly see them and not judge them but pray for them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

PS… Thank you to those who truly see me and pray for me!