Afraid to Pray
“For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” ~~2 Timothy 1:7 HCSB¹

“God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of courage and resolution, to meet difficulties and dangers; the spirit of love to Him, which will carry us through opposition (even when we seek to oppose ourselves). And the spirit of a sound mind, quietness of mind…The Holy Spirit is not the author of a timid or cowardly disposition or of slavish fears……rather let us cleave to the Gospel.”²

Dear ones, the Holy Spirit lives within us! What an amazing and awesome thing that is!! What cleaving to the Gospel will afford us is a most profound and deep desire to unashamedly, unselfconsciously call out, cry out, or simply speak out to the One Who saves us.

Let’s take a quick glance at Daniel. From reading Daniel chapter 6 we learn that Daniel had an excellent spirit in him (the same spirit you and I have access to) and as a result he had favor with God and the king. Dan was given a place of authority and rule that made a bunch of guys jealous and angry. So much so that they got real busy looking for ways to bring Daniel down, but try as they might, there was no error or fault to be found in him.

So in verse 5 they say, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”³

So they came up with a statute that would essentially make it illegal for Daniel to pray. Then they got King Darius to sign it, therefore decreeing “that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.” Vs. 7b³

Do you think it was possible that our brother Dan was afraid to pray? Is it possible that the fact he would be a meal for the “king of beast” led him to entertain the thought of skipping his prayer time for a few weeks?

“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” ~~v10³

Wow and wow again!!

It’s extremely safe to say, that the vast majority of us don’t have the threat of violence or death to fuel our fear of praying out loud and yet, the fear exists.

Oh that we could and would be intimately acquainted with the Spirit to know beyond any doubt that His power in us, is able, to free us from the fear of man.

Stephanie

Afraid to Pray

This Victory Call I’m posing a question for your serious, honest consideration. This question is just that -a question. In no way, shape or form do I condemn or judge anyone (including myself) who may struggle in this area. This is a journey we’re all traveling, and the road is leading us HOME. I inquire (or challenge, if you will) because I believe we must consider prayer of monumental importance as we pursue growth in our relationship with the Lord and with each other.

Are you afraid to pray?

Over the years, I’ve had many, many opportunities to pray. And yet, I can’t say that I’ve been willing to pray in all those moments. There are, a variety of reasons, with the foremost being fear -fear of this or fear of that. Y’all know the drill. We’ve heard this one or that one pray and they sound so wonderful…or we tell ourselves we simply aren’t ready…or we convince ourselves that we don’t have to, because God is gracious and He will understand.

I have run the gamut of experiences and opportunities and I don’t like the feeling that I’ve ever allowed fear -fear of the sound of my voice or what others would think- to keep me from speaking out loud to God. What lie have I told myself and then believed? What lie from the enemy have I entertained and allowed to hinder or stifle my prayer life?

God loved us so much He sent His Son unto the Cross! How am I able to resist turning my face toward Him; to share my heart and pursue Him with praise and thanksgiving (especially in front of other saints)?

From the beginning, we have been pursued from Heaven by the Lord of all creation! What an amazing thing. My mind always struggles with how wide, long, high and deep is the love of Christ. Whenever I dwell on it I want to fall on my face and worship; I want to cry out; I want to pray!

Today it’s that love which leads me to write to you and ask the question, “Are you afraid to pray? When you are at church, Bible study and the opportunity presents itself, do you find yourself unwilling or unable to pray? Does fear grip you?

We need to ask ourselves why? Why does opening our mouth and speaking to the God of our salvation in an audible voice, frighten us? Why does praying out loud in the context of a small group of sisters and brothers in Christ, seem to present such a challenge or fill us with dread?
Let me encourage you/us with the Truth found in 2 Timothy 1:7 from the Holmes Christian Standard Bible Biblegateway.com.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”
Tomorrow, we’ll continue with the question “Are you afraid to pray?”

Stephanie

Grace

Grace. A word that tends to result in heads nodding in agreement, smiles of gratitude and knowing looks of acknowledgement. But as we are discovering around here, all those things tend to go away as discussions go deeper, below the surface. We are finding ourselves asking the question: What is grace? What does it look like in my life? What does it look like as I interact with others? What does it mean to be grace-ous and grace-ful?

I find it fascinating, exciting and challenging. I am privileged to work alongside some awesome believers that are passionate about Jesus Christ. I would venture to guess that if we added up all the years we have been believers we would rack up hundreds of years. Yet, we find ourselves asking foundational questions like how does grace really influence our ministry. I am grateful that we are always willing to evaluate, ask questions and pursue excellence even if it means change.

I have had many people asking me questions adding to my own. It is one thing to say I understand grace but entirely different to experience grace, lived out by faith. I believe that over the years, I have allowed AMAZING grace become just another doctrine that I know and teach. Grace is dynamic, powerful, consuming. I was growing in my understanding and experience of grace but over the past 5 or 6 years it leaked out, and I lost it.

I have heard people say “let go and let God”. I try to clearly express that grace is not becoming a couch potato Christian – sometimes the “let go let God” perspective can be misunderstood to mean we do nothing. That we can sit on the couch and wait for God to do it through us while we click the remote through the channels. I don’t think that is what God means when He says that He will live His life through us. Christ living His life through me is active. Oh, I can hear the questions already. Hold that thought. I don’t have all the answers – I’m still seeking and pursuing God myself. I want to experience more of Him.

At the moment of salvation, Jesus Christ gave me new life – His life, all I’ll ever get, but my experience of His life in me will grow and flourish until the day I see Him face-to-face. “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12

As we have shared, discussed, debated and studied each of us have different bottom lines…How grace impacts us most deeply. For me the bottom line is…

Colossians 1:27 … Christ in you, the hope of glory

Diane

On A Need-To-Know Basis
I want to know what is going on! It is hard to transition to being the parent of an adult. It is hard to be held at arms length while your “baby” makes adult decisions; some of which I don’t agree with. It is hard to sit back and let God work in my husband’s life without knowing everything he is sharing with his friends. I don’t think I am controlling. I don’t think I am overly curious. I just want to know! I don’t like being left out of the loop! So much so, that I find myself trying to get the scoop on my own. I have had to be reminded that I am on ‘a need-to-know’ basis and when I need-to-know something I will find out.
In the meantime, I have had to see what my “know”siness really is. It is simply a lack of faith that God is doing His part. I want to see that He is at work with my own eyes. I want to be updated on any progress. I want to be putting in my two cents worth in any given situation that concerns my husband or my children. When I realize I am being “know”sey I have to ask myself if I am trusting God. More often then I care to admit I am not. That really does mean I want control doesn’t it? We all know that curiosity killed the cat, right?
I may not know it all right now but God has been telling me what I need-to-know:
Know my voice. John 10:4
Know that in all things God works the good of those love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 Know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 8:9 Know that we live in him and he in us. 1 John 4:13 Know that he hears us- whatever we ask-we know that we have what we have asked of him. 1 John 5:15 What is it you don’t know today? Can you simply trust Jesus with it? He will let you and I know what we need-to-know- it’s in His word!
Kathy- a recovering Holy Spirit Jr.

Putting God in first place

Each day we make a choice to serve God, humble ourselves and submit to Him or to serve ourselves. Total submission can be a difficult thing to do, but at the same time can be very freeing. Are we willing to submit all our wants, needs and desires to the Almighty God, our Abba Father? Is it possible? If we truly trusted in Him and knew Him, it would be easy because our Abba Father always knows what is best for us. He knows what we need. It is in our submission we honor and exalt God. This poem is a beautiful illustration of submission.

Thine am I, I was born for Thee,
What wouldst Thou, Master, make of me?
Give me death or give me life
Give health or give infirmity
Give honor or give obloquy [disgrace]
Give peace profound or daily strife,
Weakness or strength add to my life;
Yes, Lord, my answer still shall be
What will Thou, Master, have of me?1
By Teresa of Avila

The first time I read this poem it took my breath away! This is a life that is totally surrendered to God…in good times or bad she will still have God on the throne of her heart. She knows that God is sovereign and whatever comes from His hand, she will still keep her eyes fixed on the only One who holds the key to life and peace.
Oh Lord, THIS is where I want to be in my faith walk! The only way to do this is to allow Jesus to live through me because I know that I can’t do this on my own. This is truly putting God first place in my life and trusting Him for the rest.

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man [woman] who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

MaryAnn

Who’s on your Throne?

Have you ever gone away from home for a while? You come home and you pull onto your street, then into you’re your driveway…you get this overwhelming feeling of comfort, joy and peace – no matter where you roam there is no place like home! Tozer says that this is the same kind of feeling we get…a feeling of “being at home”…just like it was in the Garden when God is on the throne of our hearts!

Who sits on the throne of your heart? Each day when we open our eyes we have a choice to make. Will God sit in His rightful place on the throne of our hearts or will we place something or someone else on it? Could it be that success, a spouse, or a home occupies that space?

It is God’s right to have first place in our lives because that is the way that God created us, the way it was in the Garden of Eden before the fall. If there is something in Gods’ rightful place, we can never feel whole or satisfied. Because of the fact that God was the original occupier of our hearts we will always want for more if God isn’t on the throne of our heart. A.W. Tozer tells us in “A 31 Day Experience, The pursuit of God,” the key to putting and keeping God on the throne of our hearts is to humble ourselves and submit to Him.

How do we do this? Tozer tells us to exalt God in all times, in all places and in all circumstances. Exalting God over possessions, friendships, comforts, family, ambition or reputation…surrendering it all to Him and allowing God to be glorified through us…this is the way to keep God in His rightful place on the throne of your heart.

Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Today you make the choice, “I will serve God or _______.” What’s your choice?

MaryAnn

Bend me, shape me….

Have you noticed that it seems as if everyone out there is trying to mold God into a “god” of their own making? I think at one time or another, if we are honest with ourselves, we want to mold God into what might be pleasing to us or “comfortable.” We want to make just a little re-adjustment here, clip a little there. I have heard people say, “Oh I don’t think that’s what God meant…Things are different today…That’s old fashioned thinking.” People just want to bend and shape God to fit their life style…or you could even say that people want to create a “god” in their own image.
Our society and culture screams at us through all the various media that “this” is the way it should be or “this” is reality. I think of the various movies that have been out in the last several years that have glorified sin or turned what God names as sin into acceptable normal every day behavior.
Just a few examples:
The Bridges of Madison County – glorified adultery into a “love story.”
Oceans Eleven – made the bad guys (the thieves) the good guys.
The Matador – made an assassin a “nice” guy…murder just a job.
Broke Back Mountain – a “love” affair between two men, glamorous, sad, acceptable.

In The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer points out that every time we take our eyes off the God of the Bible, the result will always be a desire to “mold” God into the kind of “god” we want.
“When He [God] speaks in the first person He says, “I AM”; when we speak of Him we say, He is; when we speak to Him we say, “Thou art.” Everyone and everything else measures from that fixed point. “I AM THAT I AM,” says God, “I change not.” 1

God must be our “fixed point.” It is God alone that never changes. Hebrews 1:12 “…But you remain the same, and your years never end.” God is the great I Am. He is the Potter and we are the clay…NOT the other way around!

Isaiah 64:8 “Yet, O Lord, you are the Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

The only way to keep our eyes fixed on Him, trust Him, and know who the great I Am is, is to be in the Word and allow Jesus, who lives in the believer, to live His life through us. If we do this there is no way we would ever want to mold God into our image!

Love God for who He is and rejoice! El Shaddai – all sufficient One, El Elyon- God Most high, Adonai- Lord Master, Elohim – the Creator, Jehovah-shalom – the Lord is Peace, Jehovah-shammah – the Lord is there, Jehovah-Rapha – the Lord who heals. He is ALL that and so much more!!

MaryAnn

I don’t do planes…
I am the youngest of seven. My oldest sister, hmmm, lets say has a few do’s and don’ts. To start off she does not “do” planes. There will be no plane travel of any kind. If she can’t get there by driving, she doesn’t need to go. She doesn’t “do” swimming either. She doesn’t “do” hills, particularly going up. Why? Well…if she has to stop that would bother her so…no hills. She is asthmatic and doesn’t tolerate the heat well, so she does do air conditioning, full blast and right on her if possible. So…riding in the back seat of a car is a “don’t”. Her four children are all adults. Now that they are grown, she doesn’t “do” children. Grandchildren? Yes; Children? No. Lastly, (not exhaustively) she doesn’t “do” cooking. That’s something her husband takes care of.
I share these things only with her permission. It prompted me to think about what I don’t do…and why? I remember a few years ago when I was griped by panic attacks and I told my counselor that I didn’t like to go over bridges. I will not let it stop me, but I don’t like it. I was afraid my car might get out of control (catch the control issue) and I’d be over the bridge. I would go but it was stressful and I hated it. He gave me a little nugget that I keep in my heart for the bridge crossings. He said; “Dina, you’re not building the bridge, just driving over it.” Right after that I was asked to go to Philadelphia to pick up someone that was giving a writers seminar at Keswick. Wow, that would be cool. I could pick her brain all the way home. But…that Ben Franklin bridge! Couldn’t I just ferry over? Does the bridge have to be so stinkin’ high? Would I let my fear stop me? No. When I was returning home I was so caught up in conversation I actually saw the beauty in the bridge! I w as glad I went. I always remind myself of that truth. Does the fear still rear its ugly head? Not always, but sometimes it still does. And I remember the truth and drive right over that bridge!
What don’t you do? Is it holding you back? Is it something you should fear? There are things worthy of our fearful caution. And then there are irrational fears that hold us in bondage, cause us great stress, worry and sometimes panic. This may be a good time to take a little self inventory and ask ourselves what evidence there is to have such a fear, and then ask the Lord to take the lies that hold us back and leave only the truth that sets us free. HE is able. Here are some nuggets of truth from God’s word we can all hide in our hearts:
2 Timothy 1:7, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Psalm 34:4, I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
John 16:33, I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Dina

Hummingbird or Eagle?

Last month, I had opportunity to sit under one of many excellent Bible teachers that come to America’s Keswick during our summer conference season. Dr. Steve McVey of Gracewalk Ministries spoke during the evening meetings. What a special week. His message was not new, in fact, it is the very same Victorious Life message that America’s KESWICK was founded upon 110 years ago. What I found so interesting was the reaction witnessed across our campus to his message of Grace. During one of the evening sessions, Dr. McVey shared the following illustration. I can’t remember His exact words but I believe I have maintained his meaning.

Are you a hummingbird or an eagle?
Are you going through your Christian walk exhausted, working for Jesus?

Some types of Hummingbirds flap their wings up to 80 beats per minute. Their wings are moving so fast that they look like a blur.
If you are like the hummingbird, you are working feverishly FOR God in your own strength. You may look real good and religious but the source of your strength is self.

On the other hand, have you ever seen an eagle soar? Instead of feverish flapping, it opens its wings to catch the wind and is carried along on the currents. The eagle is not doing the work, the wind current is, yet the eagle still soars. In a manner of speaking, the eagle is resting on the wind.

“He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:29-31

Like an eagle, we rest in Christ’s work. It is not that we do nothing but what we do is done through the power of Christ. The source of our strength is the life of Jesus Christ in us.

Are you a hummingbird, working for God in the power of your own strength or are you an eagle resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ and allowing Christ to live His life through you?

“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” Hebrews 8:9-10

An eagle or a hummingbird. Which will you be today?

Diane

Spilled Milk Two
Mama stood almost transfixed by the scene in front of her. In a flash she saw it all. Not only did she see the laundry she’d have to do completely over, she saw the kitchen scene over her daughter’s head. From the kitchen table where the jug of tea lay on its side, to the trail of tea (sweet tea) that led all the way to her formerly clean laundry. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, opened them and sought those of her child.
The child stood, simply waiting, now with her eyes squeezed tightly shut. She couldn’t bear the reproach she just knew was coming. After all, she deserved it. What a klutz! Why didn’t I take off these stupid shoes? How many times has Mama told me to be careful? I did think I was careful, but maybe I wasn’t careful enough?
What would Mama do? Would she see that all I wanted to do was share a cool drink with her? Will she see my love in the awful mess that I’ve made? Will she kiss my cheek or spank my bottom? Or will she give me a harsh rebuke and send me away because I blew it; I failed; I let her down…yet again.
So, in spite of the fear coursing through her, she bravely opened her eyes and what she saw sent her flying into Mama’s arms. Mama sat there with her arms outstretched, just waiting for her precious child to see that there was nothing but love there.
Yeah, Mama saw every single bit of the mess. And at the same time she saw the intent of her daughter’s heart. That was good enough for her.
Dear ones, we all have a choice. We can choose to see the mess or we can see that intent of the heart. We can set about being all that we are [and al that we are called to be] and stop tripping ourselves up because we aren’t perfect, or because we might fail.
Likewise, we can see, know and believe that our Father is not some cruel taskmaster, demanding perfection. He simply wants our hearts. He wants you, as you are, to come -just as you are.
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. ~~ Luke 10:14b-16 Likewise dear ones stop! Don’t hinder yourself any longer from walking in, and fully embracing who you are in Christ. And if you spill the milk, clean it up and move on.
Stephanie