Praying with confidence!

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I John 5:14

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, 

if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.

Ask anything!

That's what the Bible says...but let's not take it out of context. John is speaking to believers and let's us know that our asking must meet God's standards and not our own. However, we can be confident that God is willing to hear our prayers and that we can ask Him anything boldly at the throne of grace.

What a privilege for us as children of the Living God to know our prayers are heard!

Ask according to HIS will...

Ah...there's the stipulation. If it's not God's will for you to have a million dollars right now then trust me, it's not going to happen! When we are asking we need to ask in obedience to God's commands found in His Word. We cannot connive God into fulfilling our selfish, and sometimes sinful desires. When we want what He wants we can ask confidently!

Walk in the Word today and be blessed!

Casandra

When you can't sleep forget the sheep!

Pin It Ahhh...there's nothing like a good night's sleep!  Too bad I haven't seen one in a long time...or maybe the truth is that when one actually caught up with me I slept through it!

My little Boo-Boo cannot survive without his Amma (code word for Mommy).  This is an important fact to note, because no matter how many other able bodied human beings there are in the house, he prefers that his consolation come from Yours Truly.

Having said that, it was no surprise when at 4 a.m. this morning a shrill piercing cry (ok, that's what it sounded like in the midst of my delicious dream about today's To Do List) accompanied by banging on the door met my ears.  Boo-Boo immediately stopped crying as I reached down and picked him up, and of course he needed an emergency diaper change.  After a new makeshift pair of jammies (it's amazing what you can accomplish with your eyes half open), a fresh cup of milk, a cuddle or two, and another round of the "night-night" cd, he settled down with a contented, "Aah," and went back to sleep.

In my mind I thought, "Well, that's all fine and good for you," because now I was wide awake and knew that if I returned to bed, sleep would be long in coming.

Since this is often the scenario of my life as a mother of young toddlers, I often take these moments as a sign from the Holy Spirit to come apart and pray.  Everyone is asleep (except me), it's quiet, and there are no other distractions or demands for my time.  What better time to meet with the Lord?  Of course, if I tried to schedule in a 4 a.m. Praise and Worship time my body would never allow it to happen!

This morning my I John passage was only one verse long but powerful!

What better truth for a new believer to cling to than "your sins are forgiven for his name's sake"?  What better truth for an old believer to relish in?  And that is exactly what I did!  I rejoiced in the fact that God forgave my sin, not based on my own merit, but for Christ's sake.  It's not because of me, it's because of Him!  My soul soared with words of praise for the One who loved me through the precious gift of His Son. 

I thank God for his reassurance that my sins are forgiven!  The Word of God is my source of Truth!

I thank God that Christ's atonement was enough.  The Son of God is my source of Life!

I thank God for helping me to walk in the light and not in darkness.  The wisdom of God shows me the Way!

I am so thankful that I followed the Holy Spirit's prompting to come apart for awhile and meditate on God's Word.  Thanks also to Boo-Boo for being my 4 a.m. alarm clock!

Let us live in the light of His truth today.

To read more inspirational thoughts today, check out the link-up party over at Women Living Well!

Revive Your Marriage

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Women Living Well is hosting a new series on Reviving Your Marriage on Mondays and I agree whole heartedly with their first challenging of Reviving Your Prayers for Your Husband!  We all know that we need to pray.  We all know that our husbands need our prayers.    We have all prayed for our husbands at one time or another.  The point is not that we haven't prayed.  The point is that our prayers need to be revived.

One definition for revive is "to take up again."  I have prayed for my husband many times (even before he decided that I was the one!), yet I'm sad to say that this is one area of my prayer life that definitely needs some reviving!  In the past I have use a 31-days-to-praying-for-your-husband guide.  I printed out the cards with verses and prayer requests for each day.  I even put them in a cute 4x6 photo holder.  The only problem was that when I went to pray I could never find my "useful" tool!

Recently I've taken to using a simple scratch sheet of paper or 3x5 card.  I asked my husband what things he wanted me to pray for.  He gave me a simple, short list that surprised me because I naturally assumed that I would know everything he would say.  I praise God for a husband who willing shares his heart with me, and am glad that I can take these specific requests to God.


Another way of updating my prayer list for my hubby comes from our times of shared prayer.  When you pray together the things that are closest to your heart are revealed.  I've learned that if something is important enough for my husband to list in our prayer times together then it should be important to me as well.

Because we are on deputation right now, my husband spends a good deal of time on the phone.  Every time I see his cell phone sitting on the table, or walk by the room and see him pacing back and forth sharing with a pastor or waiting to leave yet another message on a church answering machine, I am reminded of the great responsibility he shoulders in our family and am compelled to pray for him.  However, too often I let daily tasks sweep away that key moment when the Holy Spirit prompts me to pray.  It's time to make a change.

As I read in I John this morning I thought of my husband, gone today, substituting for some high school classes.  I flipped to the back cover of my Bible for a scratch sheet of paper (bright orange today!) and scribbled out a list of specific requests just for him.  Then I paused to pray.

Let's be revived.  Let's take it up again.  Let's pray.  Join the challenge today!