As a leader in ministry, what is the big picture? Are you thinking beyond your own lifetime?
Intercessory Prayer ❘ The Mat Carrier
Intercessory Prayer Through the Generations.
Grandmother, Granddaughter, Great-Grandmother
“Intercessory prayer is less about changing God’s mind and more about participating in His mercy” shereadstruth.com
“It seems the secret to real success is not found in a public place of power but in a secret place of prayer.” Jesse D. Lane
Have you ever been asked to join a prayer team? I was asked. I signed up! This is what I learned from years of intercessory prayer.
Please, don’t take that request lightly. Don’t think that praying for other people is easy and your participation on the prayer team will be the “piece of cake” action that makes you feel better about yourself and your “service in the church.” Intercessory prayer is not easy. If you think praying for others is easy and random, then you aren’t really experiencing the work of intercessory prayer.
Making a commitment to pray for others is arming yourself to work hard for people whom you may never personally meet. Intercessory prayer requires a discipline of time, discipline to show mercy, discipline of thought…put yourself into their story…to envision yourself as their “mat carrier.”
A mat carrier is one that helped to carry a friend to Jesus. Do you remember the story in the Bible about a man who couldn’t walk and was confined to life on a mat? I’m sure he was a real likable guy because he had four friends that would do just about anything for him. I imagine they may have carried him to the temple to worship or perhaps the market to buy food. Perhaps they took care of his physical needs at home. The four friends worked together to lift up the four corners of his mat and carry him from place to place. I imagine them struggling to fight fatigue and being surprised that interceding for a friend would beckon them to work hard…to get messy in the process.
The four mat carriers interceded for their friend…they would do anything to help him receive peace, grace, healing…they carried him to Jesus. They believed Jesus was the answer to satisfy the needs of their friend. They hoped Jesus would heal him. They knew Jesus would take care of everything their friend needed. The friends brought the needs of this man to Jesus (literally) and left him there…in front of Jesus. And Jesus saw their faith.
Do you know how this amazing chapter in the life story for this paralyzed man ends? Jesus, is compassionate and kind and changes the man’s heart with speaking the only words of truth that will grant real forgiveness. And then Jesus tells the paralyzed man to get up and go…walk out of the house and show people that he was completely healed inside and out…and “don’t forget to carry your mat, too!” (I embellished this story in my own words. Please read the full bible text here.)
I find this act of service and love by the four friends amazing. Wherever Jesus was, a crowd was sure to gather. The homes were probably small and it was shoulder to shoulder “standing room only” inside. I imagine the over-flow lot was full of people too. Pressing in close and tight to one another just to hear Jesus, to see Jesus, to try to touch him. It was hard enough for one person with healthy legs to manage the crowd…much more harder for four people carrying their friend on his mat.
I appreciate the friends were also creative problem solvers. Their friend needed to meet Jesus right then and now! So they devised a plan to hoist and carry their friend up to the roof of the house. Then they started digging their way through the roof of the house, creating an opening large enough to lower their friend safely down to where Jesus was. The “mat carriers” were willing to get dirty and messy and take a risk. There were persistent to help their friend.
In conclusion, this is what I learned about intercessory prayer:
- Don’t take prayer lightly
- Intercessory prayer is hard and it requires discipline
- Ask God to help you to show mercy and love through prayer
- Put yourself in their story
- Imagine their sorrow or anxiety or loss
- Talk to God about their needs.
- God is never annoyed by “debris”
- Trust God to do what God will do
- Celebrate the answers of prayer
- Be a mat carrier. Period.
The Saturday Assortment
The Saturday Assortment is a collection of unrelated and random things that I find interesting, challenging, motivating and sometimes quite out of the ordinary. It’s an assortment of things that caught my attention this week on the web. I bet you will find them equally engaging. There are no affiliate links–if you click-through and buy a book that is referenced, I don’t earn a dime. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: the video or advertisements below this post are not from me but are built into the WordPress site. These ads are shown on mobile devices.
Doing Something Everyday Is Hard: What does everyday mean to you? It doesn’t mean, “If you have time” or “When you get around to it.” Everyday means every single day with fail or excuse. via Time Management Ninja
What’s the secret to longevity in leadership? A challenge not to “flame out” as a leader. Here’s the truth: Only a few people in each generation become long-term leaders in their field of expertise. What is your story? Here are four ways to peak as a leader.
“My encouragement to you would simply be this. Be patient. The Lord has given you a gift for the building up of the body of Christ. He did not give it to you so that you would sit on it your entire life. Just be patient. When He’s ready, He’ll open the door.” ~The Village Church ❘ Titus, Part One
How to Guard Sabbath for Your Children: Because time is our most limited resource, how we allocate it reveals much about our hearts. A “Family Equipping” article at its best!
Created to Dance: Again
Photography by Donna Harris ❘ Remember the Year
Again…
A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again….
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Solomon ❘ Ecclesiastes 1
Everyday is a repeat. We do the same things again. Redundant. Necessary. Think of something different to do again.
Let’s Dance! We are created to dance!
Rise up, O Lord, in all your power.
With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts. You give us joy in your presence!Psalm 21
Let’s dance again and again!
“In Christianity God is not a static thing…but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama.
Almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance.”
~C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
“God must have created us to invite us into the dance, to say: If you glorify me, if you center your entire life on me, if you find me beautiful for who I am in myself, then you will step into the dance, which is what you are made for…
You are made to center everything in your life on me, to think of everything in terms of your relationship to me…
That’s where you’ll find your joy. That’s what the dance is about.”
King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus by Timothy Keller
God has invited me to dance. Filled with joy…for the glory of God. Created to Dance! Again!
“Jesus loves me more-ther and I’m more alrighter than the sky is blue”
I like it when my husband says to me, “I love you.” When we were newlyweds, I frequently asked him, “How much do you love me?” I still ask him that question and 39 years later, he answers me the same way, “I love you eleventy-times-seven.” And then I always ask another question, “How much is eleventy-times-seven?” And his answer to that question has always been one word, “More.” There is no number that can measure his love for me.
I get it! I am loved. My husband will always love me more. But even as grand as the word ‘more’ is, it can never totally satisfy the love that I need. There is only one perfect love and only one love that is more than enough and that is God’s love for me. I will never comprehend the true meaning of love until I come to understand that love is the very essence of God, because, God is love.
My family has experienced a lot of change and some unrest recently with moving to a new city and home. Everything is new such as a new state, a new community, new friends, a new church, a new job. During this transition, I would often say a prayer asking God to overwhelm us with his love. The one thing I wanted my family to experience–to rest in, to be sure of in the midst of complex change and uncertainty is this:
God loves us more…and his love is enough. Be amazed and in awe by the vastness of God’s love for you!
This week I remembered the profound answer of a young boy when his mother asked him, “How much does God love us?” And his answer will fill your heart with a smile and a laugh, “God loves us more-ther than the house is big; more-ther than the city is wide.”
Psalm 36:5 says: Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
Let’s praise the Lord for his great love! God’s love is wider than any continent, longer than any road, higher than any mountain, and deeper than any ocean.
I am continually overwhelmed by the love of God. If you ask me if I’m alright, I’ll simply answer the way that little boy did when he was asked that question, “I’m doing very alright! I’m more alrighter than the sky is blue!”
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ songThe Love of God | Frederick M. Lehman
The Saturday Assortment
The Saturday Assortment is a collection of unrelated and random things that I find interesting, challenging, motivating and sometimes quite out of the ordinary. It’s an assortment of things that caught my attention throughout the week. I bet you will find them equally engaging. Enjoy!
The Power of Focus Most People Miss: “About a decade ago, a colleague said something to me that I haven’t been able to get our of my head. ‘What you focus on expands.‘”
Enough Time is a short story taken from the book, More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity by Jeff Shinabarger, founder of Plywood People. In More or Less, Jeff Shinabarger calls readers to create their own social experiments to answer the question, “What is enough?” Through more than 50 stories, readers will be challenged to change their worldview, change their habits and live a life of less, so others can have more.
Two books for families to read:
The Prince’s Poison Cup Dr. R. C. Sproul continues his series of books designed to present deep biblical truths to children on their own level. In this work, he focuses in on the atonement to show that Jesus had to endure the curse of sin in order to redeem His people.
In this new edition of his classic story, The Priest with Dirty Clothes, Dr. R.C. Sproul continues his project of illustrating theological concepts for children. In this book, he teaches the concept of imputation, which lies at the heart of the important biblical doctrine of justification.
Five Minute Friday: Cherish
Photography by Donna Harris
Linking up with everyone for Five Minute Friday, where a remarkably encouraging and loving community gathers to write for five minutes. This week’s prompt is: CHERISH.
This is my today…my Friday and the events that are cherished.
I wrap myself in the warmth of the sun on this glorious Friday. The cold winter wind slapping my cheeks is suppressed with warmth and tender touches from the sun. This strange and unexpected day in winter is a kiss from God. He knows just what I need. I cherish this.
The laughter of a child swinging higher and higher and a grandmother’s smiles of delight embrace me with soft words, “Cherish this.”
A friend wants to talk about her stuff and needs me to listen and I am there for her. I cherish this.
Children are growing and their world is spinning…with work and family and fun and they call…to face time and I cherish this.
A wise one will meet with me to speak into my life and to show me things that I need to know. Mentor. I cherish this.
My family afar requests that I pray for them. A sadness with frustrating days await them and God’s grace is their comfort. I cherish this.
My husband wants to talk so we meet for lunch at our favorite restaurant to share words of encouragement to inspire and motivate each other through the rest of the day. I cherish this.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” Ephesians 1. I am cherished!
God Happenings
Talking about God with your children and noticing his handiwork in the smallest details, such as a blade of grass or the melody of a bird’s song should be as natural as walking together or kissing them on the cheek as they head off to school. Be encouraged and motivated to share with your children how God helped you get through the grind of your work day. Share the “wins” of your day and honor all of that to the glory of God. Thank God for those wins. Every good thing and even the troubling ones can be used to show your children more of God’s grace. Let your children hear from you about the many ways you experienced the “God Happenings” in the small and big details of your day and they will soon begin to notice their own “God Happenings” where ever they are.
“Don’t walk around with your head down, trying to ‘just get through’ your day so that you can get up tomorrow and do it all over again”. * God wants everyday to be a delight as you live in His presence and discover His blessings. Model to your children the true kind of delight and joy that only comes from knowing Jesus and the way to know Jesus is to know what God says about Jesus and to know what God says about Jesus is to read His Book…the Bible.
I appreciate this simple acrostic as a guide for my personal bible reading and it’s proven helpful for my family too. We use the word: P-R-A-I-S-E
Here is a simple summary Adapted from The Journey by Randy Pope, Perimeter Church.
PRAY: Begin with talking to God. No need for eloquent words. Just tell God what is on your mind and ask him to help you see “God Happenings” through the reading of his Word.
READ: Chose a passage of scripture. Perhaps a chapter from Psalms, Proverbs, or begin reading the book of John. You may want to read from a devotional book with your children.
ASK QUESTIONS: What does this mean? What should I do? How do I see “God Happenings” in the verses read? What did God do? How should I respond?
INTERPRET: If you don’t know the answers to your questions, then use an online resource to find the answer or ask someone more knowledgeable about the Bible to help you. Write down the question to remember to investigate later and share the conclusions with your family.
SUMMARIZE: Wrap up the bible reading with a brief summary of what was read. This is the best time to recount the “God Happenings” discovered and responses to the some of the questions asked. You may want to make a few notes to remember the comments family members say.
ENGAGE with GOD: You begin with prayer and you end with prayer. Talk to God and thank him for showing you more of himself. It is a beautiful thing when families pray together. It’s a beautiful thing to experience the “God Happenings” with each other.
I hope this acrostic is helpful for you. Be watchful and expectantly looking for those “God Happenings”! I would love to know what you find!
** Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions For Kids by Sarah Young; page 236; Enjoy Life!
Donna Harris‑More Grace 