One Passionate Prayer

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Hearing only chunks of their phone conversation set my adrenaline running.

"Accident. Car hydroplaned. Rolled over. Car is toast. I'm okay. Thank God for German engineering. State police."

Hold me tight!

Image by Heather Aldrich

If I could fly on the wings of dawn, 

stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean--even there your hand would guide me; even there your strong hand would hold me tight! Psalm 139:10  CEB

If we're honest, we'd rather live a trouble-free, peace-filled, comfortable life than voluntarily battle life's crises, wouldn't we? At least I would. Reality is, however, that in this life there is always trouble. Jesus promised that (John 16:33). Oh, it might be that we're crusin' through, happy-go-lucky, but eventually, "BOOM!" Something (or some things) completely upends our world. 

Then, what do we do?

Climbing Up

 "God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times."

Lamentations 3:25 (The Message)

Before dusk creeps into trees and settles onto cooling earth he climbs up high. Poised above the ground in sturdy wood his eyes survey the land--perspective broadens--heart hopes.

In silence, all-surrendered, mending heart feeds on heaven's bread and lifts a prayer. Forgive my unbelieving, my small faith. Thank-you for this quiet beauty--your creation. And he waits.

God's grace abounds--gathers all around--His great bounty spread on bedded ground. A sacrifice of life to death, God's provision resurrects the fallen faith.

When our faith falters, sinks into the darkest depths how do we climb back up?

• Identify our Enemy. Ephesians 6:12 says, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
• Clothe ourselves for battle. James 4:7b says, Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. But how do we do that? Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-19 to put on:
• the Belt of Truth (the sincerityor integrity of our faith that holds all the other armor together; rid ourselves of anything that would trip up our faith).
• the Breastplate of Righteousness (total obedience to the will of God; not out of duty but in loving response to Christ).
• the Feet of Readiness that come from the gospel of peace (awareness of the happiness promised in the message of salvation. This alone should make our feet tireless and ready to run over any terrain).
• the Shield of Faith (protect your entire body by shielding it with rememberances of God's provisions in the past and relying on that for your future).
• the Helmet of Salvation (the present hope that salvation is already ours through Christ. This helmet identifies us as children of God, now).
• the Sword of the Spirit (the active words of God prompted in our hearts and minds through the work of the Holy Spirit to give an answer in battle against the enemy).

Lord, when our hearts are troubled, our faith small and we sink into a deep, dark pit--come. Remind us of your great faithfulness and stretch out your hand into our despair and clothe us with your grace from head to foot. Help us grab hold of your promises and weild the sword of your Spirit and climb back up.

In the Eye of the Storm

"Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I stay close to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:7-8

Hurricane Irene's predicted path places my home to the right of her eye-the windy side. Exhausted by two days of preparation at both our home and our parents' brings me to nervous cleaning inside today. Awaiting my husband's safe return before the storm, I pray. I pray between small piles of laundry, with every mop slosh across the kitchen floor, and dusty swipe-Lord, protect.

Another storm raged yesterday-threatening our foundation-filled with hissing, incongruent words and lethal arrows. Like Eve in the Garden, my head believed twisted lies spoken as truth, but the words made no sense in my heart. 2 + 2 = 4 my husband says. But this time, the numbers didn't add up. My mouth and heart did not align. A sign my husband soon recognized: twisted truth only comes from one source--Satan himself.

In chinked armor my husband held my hands and together we waged war against our Enemy in Jesus' name--the most powerful weapon we know. Praying,"Jesus come. Jesus come. Jesus come." The storm passed but left me shaken, almost convinced the lies held truth. I realized how susceptible marriages (even good marriages) are in the hands of the Enemy.

Storm warnings come days in advance and allows us ample time to prepare and protect our homes and families. Spiritual storms have warning signals, too:

• You're a Christ-follower
• You've taken a step of obedience

Satan prowls around those who love the Lord like hungry lion seeking to kill and devour; not just scratch or injure. He's out to destroy. Although he's cunning, we can prepare and protect ourselves for his storms by spending time alone with God:

• Reading God's Word
• Prayer - speaking and listening to God
• Thanksgiving - being watchful of God's little graces even in the midst of raging storms

Then, when you find yourself in the eye of the storm, your heart and mind are prepared to recognize and wage war against the Enemy and you can pray- Jesus come. Lord protect.

Dear Jesus, come. Come into our midst. Calm the storms. Send your angels to protect our hearts, our homes, our marriages, our families. In your precious name, Amen.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10