Here's a question for you:

What are your thoughts on praying without ceasing? How do you continue to boldly approach the Lord in prayer, with confidence, when you have not seen your prayers answered?

This is an aspect of prayer I'm pondering right now, as an afterthought from a conversation I had with a dear friend yesterday.

And further: Does praying without ceasing refer to continually bringing your same petitions before the Lord until you see them answered? Or does it have to do with moment-by-moment conversations with the Lord about everything? Or both?

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

I'm thinking a lot about prayer. My perspective and participation in prayer has been something that has continually evolved. Here's something of its history thus far:

As a child, I prayed by rote...standard blessings at mealtime, standard prayers before bed, the Lord's Prayer. It seemed to me that prayers were something of tradition, something that was good to do, and something which ministers scripted out so they wouldn't stumble or forget anything.

As a teen, well, I really didn't pray at all. I was far from the Lord. Except on occasion when I would petition Him to help me not get in trouble for something. I didn't even realize then that He wasn't hearing my prayers at that point.

As a new Believer in my young adult years *ahem....this is of course, NOT to say that my young adult years have passed*...I ran the gamut. I had moved into a circle where prayers WEREN'T scripted, and where I was realizing how much I didn't even know what to pray about or how to do it. I was uncomfortable in prayer circles, and feared man's judgement of my praying ability more than I feared the Lord Himself. Mostly I remained silent and trusted that the Lord knew my heart. But, I was listening, hoping to learn how to really pray.

I came to an understanding a few years back that there weren't necessarily right and wrong words to pray. I realized that, though I may not sound as eloquent as someone else, that my pretty words didn't matter the way that a heart of humility ad expectancy did. So I would venture out more and more in prayer. I was happy to discover in the Word that people were admonished NOT to babble on and on. Vain repetitions and eloquence for the sake of eloquence alone would not ensure their prayers would be heard.

I have much to learn. I surfaced a few years back out of a time where I wallowed in unbelief that prayer mattered, or did anything at all. I mistakenly dabbled with the thought that, if God is sovereign, then how could my prayers affect anything? But I have discovered that the Lord actively responds to active prayer. I have discovered that He has given man the charge- the responsibility-to pray, and that ferverent prayers from hearts truly after His heart will move Heaven and earth.

But I am discovering that it is necessary to seek His will. And to seek His will I need to know His heart. And to know His heart, I need to know His Word. As I'm in the Word, hiding it away in my heart, my thoughts become like His thoughts, my prayers come more in line with His heart. And then my prayers will be more effective.

I've also discovered the admonition to come BOLDLY before the Lord in prayer. Hmmmm.....boldly. What does that mean? Scripture is clear that my heart first needs to be clear (i.e. contrite, humble, free of bitterness and resentment, and with a desperation to know God's heart). And then, I can have confidence that the Lord will hear my prayers. As I actively engage in praying Scripture and praying God's heart, God will respond. Of that I can be confident.

I have found that as I grow in this (and, trust me, I know I have so much more growing to do!) that the Lord is gracious to respond to me by laying things on my heart and mind to pray about. As I respond in prayer, and God answers those prayers, my faith is built, and my confidence and boldness in prayer increases.

This is a big topic. This is a big blog post.

More in another post, I'm sure.

Thanks for your feedback! :)

Chris Tomlin - Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

Not much else to say, but "Thank You, Lord."

God, Songs and Object Lessons

God is funny. Sometimes He gives me object lessons. Sometimes, I like them, sometimes I don't. But I've noticed that very often He gives them as a way of helping me to write a new song.

The example most current: I have this one song I'm working on. By working on, I mean, I've had this little riff running around in my head for about 2 weeks, with a smattering of words that coincide with the riff here and there. Beyond that, I have the grand song concept. But that's it. And like happens OFTEN, I'm stuck in this place with the song for quite some time. Just stuck, waiting for the next part to come.

And so, today, I realize that I've jumped into the middle of the newest object lesson from the Lord. You see, the grand concept for this song has to do with hanging on to my thoughts and opinions, and holding onto control...so, ultimately "surrender". The last few days I've been battling with ugly thoughts, with selfishness and control. Real pretty stuff, right? So, the battle has been going for a few days. And I get to a point today where I realize that He has allowed me to get to where I've had nowhere else to go except to Him; I've had to take captive my thoughts, and then surrender them to Him.

A-ha moment: that's exactly what the song concept is that He's been whispering to me for 2 weeks. I had to live it to make the lyrics real.

So, thank you Lord for object lessons, and patiently waiting for me to discover them. Next time, can we try a flannel graph instead?

David Crowder Band - Remedy

I love David Crowder's newest album, Remedy. Haven't picked a favorite song yet, but I like this one and I really like O For A Thousand Tongues...so good!

I Really Am OK! :)

I guess lots of you were quite concerned about me after my last post. I had several emails, phone calls, and comments of encouragement. (Thank you). In re-reading it, I can see why you were thinking I might be pretty sad. I think I conveyed a little more sadness than I was actually feeling. It actuality, my longings are just that: longings, minus the sadness you might expect. While I miss my friends, and long for them at times, I still enjoy the steadfast strength and presence of the Lord. While I long for more time with my husband as just "us", I still have the assurance of our unbreakable covenant and still-true love.

I still long for a mentor, and have discovered from your responses through email etc. that many of you do, too. And so, I guess many of us just need to be proactive to pray about it without ceasing, and to approach people as they are laid on our hearts. That seems a little intimidating, but I recognize that several of the girls I attempt to mentor did just that...they approached me.

And so, I remain thankful for the people who are in my life, and for the tremendous opportunities I have to fulfill Titus 2:3-4. I pray that the Lord will continue to use me in the lives of other girls and women, and trust Him for His words, strength, wisdom and perseverance to do just that.

Who Are You?

I can see from my ClustrMap that I have regular visitors from all over the globe, yet my commentors remain infrequent. I'd love to know who reads, and where you're from! Please let me know who and where you are! :)