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My Discovery? …Choosing My Weapons

Dec16
Ephesians 6:16

I mentioned in my previous post that I discovered in mid-life something transformational regarding prayer. This discovery involves connecting the point of our petition with something concerning that prayer from God’s word, the Bible.

Please allow me to give you a personal example. I’m 77 years of age. My husband and I have been empty nesters for some years. Our children now live in distance places. And as life progresses and the grans get older, coming home for Christmas isn’t as doable as it once was. Honestly readers, as a result, Christmas has lost some of its glitter for me. Not in the message, of course, but in accumulation of family memories.

As the scenes have changed, I have learned to draw upon God’s comforting words to dispel the fiery dart of loneliness. There’s a verse I learned as a child, This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 NKJV. This verse came to my mind as a weapon in combating the enemy’s attacks. I pondered this verse and it shaped my prayer. “Dear LORD, This day, this time, although not what I would choose for myself, is the day you have made for me. And since You have made it, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Framing my Christmas with this truth helped me maintain a more positive perspective. Therefore, EVERY TIME the sadness approaches I head it off with this verse. And the fiery dart is extinguished. The enemy’s weapon does not prevail. Instead, I defeat the temptation to think self-centered thoughts and began a nose dive into depression. I am at peace with what God planned for me. I am open to enjoying the Christmas God has prepared for me.

And the benefits or blessings by praying this prayer, is that my heart is open to the blessings available to me. Time not crowded with preparations for a big family gathering opens up new possibilities. Thus I am reading an Advent devotional which is powerful in fixing my focus on the true meaning of Christmas. As I focus more on the Christ child and less on myself, the sadness that stands in the wings is depleted.

So by lifting my shield of faith, God supplies me with just the right weapon to defeat the enemy’s attacks. Just when I need them, I’m reminded of Truths such as Psalm 118:24 & Ephesians 6:16. These words are the weapons that will undo and thwart the enemy’s plans. By spending time with God daily and His word, I am informed as to the particular weapon I need to choose.

Is giving God a portion of each day, by spending it with Him in prayer and His word, lacking? If so, imagine a warrior going into the battle without their weapons! Defeat is certain isn’t it! Which will be the outcome for anyone entering the battle fray without the proper weapons.

More about prayer…

Dec9

There have been volumes written about prayer. So, I really don’t have anything new to add to the subject. What I have to share will be a reminder to many. Yet for some it might just be a new discovery! I write that because it wasn’t until the middle half of my life that I made such a discovery regarding prayer.

I’l preface this by sharing that my prayer life has undergone various transformations over the years. As I grew spiritually that growth inspired alterations in how I prayed. For instance, as a young Christian, my prayers focused mostly on what I wanted from God. But as the years passed, and I learned more about God, my prayers focused more on what He wanted for me. Yet, it was an up and down journey which was directly impacted by my growth or lack thereof.

However, there was something missing. A failed connection. I use to remind my children and my students that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. That reason was that He wanted us to listen twice as much as we spoke. It took awhile for that to sink in and apply it to my spiritual life. For you see, I had failed to realize that while prayer was my talking to God, reading and meditating on His words was how God talked to me. What I discovered, well into my adult life, was that I was over focused on making sure God knew what I wanted. Yet, I wasn’t giving Him the opportunity to tell me what He wanted!

There’s a verse that showed me it was in recognizing God’s mighty weapons (His Word, His Truth) that resulted in my hearing God’s voice. It was what God said to me in Ephesians 6:16, “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one,” that I began to make the connection between lies and fiery darts. From that verse God referred other verses which led me to be able to recognize the fiery darts, reject them, and to replace them with His Truth. Truth thoughts that countered the lies from the enemy.

The key to communicating with God is to become familiar with His word. Leave the Bible reading out and we will only be talking to God. We won’t know what He has to say about our petitions, if we do all the talking.

Why should we pray and read our Bibles?

Nov11

Not because it’s what is expected of us as Christians. That motivation can’t stand against the temptations of the enemy. When we don’t have the reserves stored in our thoughts to stand against the enemy we can be victimized by him. That’s when he can steal, kill, and destroy beginning with our thoughts. (John 10:10)

If what we have stored in our minds about God doesn’t outweigh what has been placed in our minds through what we watch on tv, what we read, by the music we listen to, by the counsel of those who aren’t sensitive to our faith, then we will drift further and further away. Because our anchor isn’t sunk deep into God’s truths.

But as we go through our day and temptations come our way we need the wisdom and strength to resist the enemy that has been stored there by the time we have spent in God’s word and prayer.

THIS MAY NOT BE MUCH!

Aug17

Christians-in-Iraq

     Recent news about the persecution of Christian in Iraq has pierced my heart and my mind. I awake each morning thinking of the mothers and grandmothers who along with their children and grandchildren have been murdered by ISIS in Iraq! As I go about my day, I think about those families that have escaped and are hiding in the mountains hoping to be rescued and  desperate for water and food! I go to bed heartbroken because families have been murdered for no other reason than that they are Christian (just like me)!
     Fiery dart thinking attempts to persuade me that there is nothing I can do. Fiery dart thinking lulls me into a false sense of security because I am so far removed from the horrors going on in Iraq to women like me. Fiery dart thinking turns my focus onto a president and his cohorts who look the other way and do little to intervene to eradicate the ISIS and their abhorrent deeds. These thoughts, if I allow them to, will grab my focus and entrap me into thinking that because my own country is hiding in the bushes, there is little I can do to help. 

     BUT I REJECT SUCH FIERY DART THINKING AND INSTEAD,

   I am going to pray like I have never prayed before!

     I am going to urge others to pray!

I am going to research and publish on my Fiery Dart Facebook page and in this blog facts about the persecution towards Christians in Iraq!

I am going to remind my fellow believers right here in my world that our brothers and sisters in Christ in Iraq are being murdered because they believe in Christ (just like us). Fathers, mothers, children, grandparents, etc. are dying because (just like us) they are Christians!

I am going to contact the IMB and give towards helping the refugees and am going to urge my friends and fellow believers to do the same!

 “Help respond to Iraq’s refugee crisis by donating to the International Mission Board’s general relief fund or by texting imbrelief to 80888, which will donate $10 to that fund. To give through Baptist Global Response, visit gobgr.org/donate or text bgr to 80888.”

I AM GOING TO REMEMBER,

that greater is He that is in me than he who is in the world!

I am going to remember that God and God alone is our refuge and strength in times of trouble!

I am going to remember that through the prayers and acts of many these persecuted Christians will be helped and delivered!

And finally, I am going to remember that Jesus is returning (maybe sooner than we think) and will set all things right! He will once and for all rid this world of its darkness, shinning His brilliant light of peace and truth healing our land!

TRUE, THIS MAY NOT BE MUCH AND I AM ONLY ONE PERSON BUT I HAVE TO BEGIN SOMEWHERE, SOMETIME!