Pray without ceasing

P 2543 Just thinking … out loud.

/ DVH

“But you, my delightfully loved friends, constantly and progressively build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith by praying every moment in the Spirit.Fasten your hearts to the love of God and receive the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gives us eternal life.”Jude 1:20-21 TPT.

The bible always gives us excellent advice. However, it is in kind of flowery, pretty language that seems like a whole lot of today’s advertising – minus the exorbitant pricing! That’s why I think it is good to pause and take note of the meaning of the words, and interact with them enough to find something to do. I believe that the normal human beings who wrote these books, prayed over what they said as they wrote it down. And I know, that the Holy Spirit is so brilliant He can take what they said and translate it into something extremely meaningful for you and me, any, and every day!

So here’s a new thought that challenged me: how do we pray every moment? Sadly, I haven’t mastered that yet … but I’ve translated it to mean pray every time you think of the Lord!  I also wonder if that’s the reason why we don’t pray enough? … More on that later!  I like to treat prayer like a compass because praying helps me find true north. It tugs at my heart like the earth’s magnetic north and re-orients my perspectives. Personally, I need that, all day, every day. 

Panicking or getting angry, or feeling down has also become a cue for me to pray. But! I have been known to ‘spit the dummy’ and ‘get my crank on’ – and that means it can take a while for me to get to prayer! I actually pray a whole lot of “help” prayers. And when things are really quite bad, I pray “help help!” prayers. And when things are absolutely awful –  then I text a friend to pray for me!! I think that Jude’s point is that ongoing prayer is essential for true Christian living. That’s kind of like having prayer rumbling away inside you wherever you are, whatever you are doing. May it be so Lord Jesus! Amen.

Prayer positions us for new possibilities. Praying about stuff means I’ve made the Lord my reference point —and I’m going after the One Who knows all things and sees all things and asking Him for help. Praying gives me a new perspective on my own attitudes, new thoughts about other people, plus the Lord helps me solve problems.

Paul tells us to ‘pray without ceasing’ too. (1 Thessalonians 5:16) To be honest, praying without ceasing or praying every moment is a challenging thought to me. But just because I don’t think I can do it, I utterly refuse to excuse myself and tell myself that it can’t be done. If it’s in the book, then there’s a way!  All that means is that I haven’t found it yet!  Meanwhile, I do love that promise that praying this way will build me up in my most holy faith!! I absolutely want that!!

I read Jude in four different bibles, because it is such a really short book and I decided that I think the key to this passage is found in the part that says: “Fasten your hearts to the love of God…” That sounds like spiritual velcro to me – I know I can use some of that sort of stuff!  “Make me like sticky weed Lord, attached to You so strongly I’m aware of You all day!” Amen! This passage means as we pray all the time, we are fastening ourselves to God … all the time!  

Maybe one of the problems that we have nowadays, is that we have compartmentalised things. Perhaps we think like this… ‘This is God’s bit:  bible study, praying in the morning and evening, reading the bible, prayer groups, going to church, having coffee with a fellow believer, etc …’  AND… ‘this is MY bit… going to work/school, having fun, daily travelling about, cleaning up my house, shopping, caring for my kids, looking after my spouse’ … Many people give everything to God at the beginning of the day … and then go out and do whatever comes next. 

Here’s an even bigger thought. What if we asked the Lord to say … go to work/school/shopping with us? Not as an airy-fairy thought, but as a reality. Which means we are prepared to be part of the answer to that prayer. And then, while we are moving about we ask Him to point out someone we can share His love with? Maybe shout someone a coffee … ?  Perhaps there is someone who needs cheering up. It doesn’t have to be a two hour counselling session … sometimes … “what a great job you did on such and such …”  will do! I actually think the Lord would love to sit with us when we watch TV or video games.

Here’s a revolutionary thought … what would happen if I decided that all MY time is NOT actually my time, but HIS time – and approached that idea practically? Not just in theory, but IRL. Maybe… that’s the way to stay pointed toward our true north? Just thinking … out loud. 🤔

P 2503 What to do when the roof falls in …

/ DVH

First of all, let’s be totally clear … I’ve had way-too-many-roof-fallen-in adventures. The following are a series of helpful hints I have found that are useful. They have helped me, and sometimes they have even stopped me from laying on the floor sobbing. However, there are definitely times to lay on the floor and sob;  so give yourself room to weep over any catastrophe, loss, or injury of any sort! Don’t be so spiritually stoic you bury your feelings.  “There’s a time for every purpose under heaven … … a time to weep.”Ecclesiastes 3:4a.

Pray. Yeah I know, most of the time we start out by trying to minimise whatever the damage is – but we actually need the King of all Glory running disasters – not us. Plus we should call someone else asap, and rally the troops …the praying people we trust. The bible says:“From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee – when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2. Amen.

Basically that verse is saying, no matter where I am, no matter what has happened to me, He is my ever-present help. Call on His Name. Yell, ‘help help Jesus!’  There is a place, right beside our precious Saviour, that is so much higher than whatever it is that has just happened to you. Do take a blanket, you may need to intentionally live there a while! We want to stand right next to Him, right next to His heart, so close we can hear Him breathe. There is peace in the middle of a storm next to Him. This is a good time to not pray once, and then quit – “…pray without ceasing!!”Amen.

And let people pray for you. This means saying yes to anybody who asks you, ‘can I pray for you?’ When we are overwhelmed with trouble, we need all the prayer we can get. This is not the time to avoid Sister Susie who prays two hour-long prayers! Let SS have at it. Also, when the problem is way to big for you to handle, and that includes fielding all the caring, multiple phone calls, I suggest you appoint a ‘point person.’ Someone you trust, who can organise food, help, rides, baby-sitting, give-out limited updates, and whatever else you need. 

Keep saying to yourself, “God loves me. He’s got this, it hasn’t surprised Him…”“For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’”2 Corinthians 4:17. “Please fix my eyes on you Lord!” Amen.

Next I recommend reading the Psalms. Seriously, reading the Psalms and listening to spiritual songs, is like sweet clear water in a desert place. It’s a place where somebody else had words that were spoken out of great pain – as well as worship. In times of trouble we may run out!  At the same time, we need His Word to inspire, revive and refresh us … not instruct us. That’s a big tip for anyone who is trying to help someone else when that person’s life has just imploded. The idea is this: the wounded person is almost drowning, they need someone else to offer them a life-preserver, not a life lesson! And I really don’t care whose fault it is that their ceiling fell in! 

Let’s just get them to the hospital … to Jesus, first! Pray in tongues if you don’t know how to pray, and you are able to do it. The overwhelmed parties are also going to need people to help them, practically. I have seen mighty gifts of the Holy Spirit manifest themselves in my own terrible times. Some of us have no idea that practical help is also spiritual. Stephen and Co in the book of Acts chapter 6, show us that practical help is spiritually beneficial. 

Now to things that don’t help at all. If the wounded saint doesn’t want to talk, then don’t push them. Privacy can become very important when you already feel incredibly vulnerable, because your life just fell on its head. As their friend we need to simply pray as the Lord leads us, and if we get any insight – don’t share it, write it down instead. If they do want to share, just listen. Don’t problem solve unless the person asks you to. 

Sometimes a difficult matter can become much clearer after the event. But blame, or supposed fault, will not help at the point of impact. Love looks like support, not a lecture. If you don’t know what to say, then say nothing, or …“Weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15. Someone’s life, or family disaster is not an appropriate place to be wise … it is a place to be supportive. 

Please note:  these things work inside the church and outside it. I pray the Body of Christ realises our greatest gift to the-people-who-don’t-know-Him-yet is to treat them like we would like to be treated. Pray for anyone who needs it, love on them, help them! Father God does not see two categories — those who are saved and those who are not. He sees His kids! Some of them are lost, and some have come home, but they are all HIS. Bye. 👋