The Arrow Zone

Trials seem to come to me like attacks in an Indiana Jones movie: everything is copacetic (or at least doable) one minute and the next I find myself on a battlefield in a barrage of arrows coming from all directions.

A rude word screams in from over there, a rejection flies in from that place, one of the children faces his own crisis, the car and the house vie for which will break biggest and best.  Add to that a health crisis and I want to run and hide behind a rock and nurse my wounds.

The attacks catch me off guard every time.  My tendency is to get my eyes focused on the circumstances and/or people who shot the arrows.  That would be a good thing if I were in a physical war, but I’m not.

I am, and you are, in a spiritual war. 

God tells us that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  Ephesians 6:12

Our war is not with what or whom we see, but with the unseen spiritually dark forces that wage war with God’s children.  They fight to stop our growth, our witness and our voices from speaking to the world the name of Jesus Christ because it is the power unto salvation.

God knows we’ll find ourselves being the target of some pretty big and pretty fiery arrows so He’s given us a piece of spiritual armor to protect ourselves.

“…above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”  Ephesians 6:16

When we find ourselves in the arrow zone, we must hold fast to our faith in Christ and all that entails—faith that He’s with us and will never leave us.  That He’s infinitely more powerful than all other powers combined. That God loves us always, no matter what.  That He has a reason for allowing them.  That He’ll use them for good if we allow Him to.

When we remember and know who we are in Christ we’ll know the arrows are nothing but lies and half-truths and vain attempts to refocus our attention away from the Lord.  Away from doing His will.  And away from showing God’s love, even to the very ones who have hurt us.

Maybe it’s those very people who need someone to show them the love of Christ and the enemy wants nothing to do with that.

Stand strong in the faith and “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”  Luke 6:27-28

Seeing others as people who need Jesus instead of as our enemies and then praying for them takes the sting out of the arrows. Standing in faith gives us the strength and confidence of the Lord to walk through the battlefield. 

We may be wounded, we may be scarred, but we will come through the battle looking even more like our Savior than we did the battle before.

Dorci Harris

Blog – God Treasure
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Labor in Prayer

The experience of giving birth is one that a woman carries close to her heart and clings to emotionally always. I clearly remember the severity of the contractions and increased frequency as labor progressed. I did not take Lamaze classes to gain helpful information on labor; yet taking deep breaths likely came without any coaching.

Do I personally identify with the feelings of urgency and expectancy, as I am inspired to labor in prayer? “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you- (Galatians 4:19 NAS).” This should be my burning desire; the need should nearly take my breath away. I want the heart of Paul who faithfully prayed for lost souls and I anticipate the promised breath of the Holy Spirit to move in hearts to birth children in God’s kingdom.

Don’t Stop!

How long is your attention span? I learned as a childcare worker that very young children average one minute of concentration for every year of life. That explains why it is so difficult for them to sit still and quiet in worship service. It amazes us when we discover a child who breaks the mold. Thomas, a boy in my class could concentrate for long amounts of time, either by himself with an educational toy, or as a listener. He gave very close attention as I read an ABC’s book to him. Yes, Thomas demonstrated a superior attention span; he puts most adults to shame.

We can gauge our attention by our interest in the subject. Sports fans can spend hours at live events or watching television. They seem to be in a trance; yes, sports hold their attention. Avid readers and music lovers easily concentrate on a good book or sing along favorite. What about God’s word and prayer? I wish I could say we score as well there.

Our minds wander, and we think of all the other things that need our attention. Very often, we just get sleepy and give up; we need staying power. Others are depending on us to pray. “They said to Samuel, Don’t stop praying to the Lord our God for us. Ask the Lord to save us from the Philistines. Then Samuel took a baby lamb. He offered the lamb to the Lord as a whole bunt offering. He called to the Lord for Israel’s sake. And the Lord answered him (1 Samuel 7:8-9 NCV).” Please, don’t stop; the Lord will answer!

Ten I’s of Prayer #10

Intimacy

Well, we come to the end of our I’s, and I saved the best one for last, at least, I think it’s the best one. Intimacy.

What is intimacy? We think we know. Let’s check and see.

The main definitions of ‘intimacy’ mean a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group, an act or expression serving as a token of familiarity, affection, or the like, the quality of being comfortable, warm, or familiar, and privacy especially as suitable to the telling of a secret.

Ooo…don’t you love that?

According to all our words on prayer…

*intercede
*invade
*inspire
*influence
*instruction
*invest
*increase
*impact
*imbue

…none of them will be effective if we do not have an intimate relationship with the Lord.

Though we have virtually perfected our horizontal conversations, we have seriously failed in our Vertical one. Prayer is the development of our personal relationship with the Lord, as our intimate friend.

This spirit-converse can be found only when one retreats to that quiet place, to listen for the intimate whisperings of our precious Lord.

The intimacy of prayer is like a child or grandchild crawling up in your lap just to snuggle with you because he or she loves you. Do you ever crawl up in the Father’s lap just to love on Him? He delights in that, just as you do.

Do you make time to experience this cherished alone-time with the Lord? Or do you merely rush in, lay out your plans and wishes, and rush out again?

No great soul ever grew in intimacy with the Lord on the streets of a busy life, only in the solitude of prayer. When busyness keeps us from hearing the whispers of our Beloved and keeps us too distracted to feel the comfort of His arms and the peace of His words, we will never discover what Mary did as she sat as His feet.

We need to be alone with God, where no outcries of earth intrude, where no ghosts of years past interrupt, where no outside opinions interfere, where no urgency of decisions impede.

Is intimacy with the Lord missing in your life? If you want to know the Lord and grow the fruit of spiritual graces, spend time in His presence, for only then will deep affection blossom, resulting in a richer relationship with Him.

Speaking of prayer, Martin Luther said “to be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

If I could inject anything into your heart about prayer, it would be this: be still in His presence and listen, guard your heart against intruders, have the right attitude by not being in fear or doubt, or being timid, whiney, or hypocritical, do not take it for granted or leave it out of your daily schedule, claim your inherited rights and privileges in Christ and the promises of the Word, pray for all men, pray for Israel, rely on the Holy Spirit, fast when necessary, pray according to God’s Word and His will, pray in faith, trust, confidence, patience, boldness, and expectation, all in the Name of Jesus, and until you have peace, praising and giving thanks to God at all times.

~~Blessings of intimacy, Lynn~~

Ten I’s of Prayer #9

Imbue

Since I’ve started these prayer posts with a definition, this one is no different. In part, the word ‘imbue’ means to fill with moisture, permeate or saturate, to fill the mind (etc.), to impregnate or inspire with feelings, opinions (etc.), to influence thoroughly, pervade, to cause to become impressed or penetrated, to cause to absorb, and so on.

How do these definitions fit in with prayer? We’ll find out in a second.

First, in our prayer times, don’t we usually run to the Lord to pray…

…when a child is in a car wreck,
…when peace disintegrates into chaos,
…when a best friend stabs us in the back,
…when the repo man stands knocking at the door,
…when the cupboard holds little more than the cup,
…when pain strikes the chest and there is no insurance,
…when a husband loses his job and finances are cut off,
…when buying Christmas presents is a vague recollection,
…when the roof overhead is in jeopardy of being taken away?

When these things occur, do we then allow raging emotions to fill us? In our immaturity, do we stomp our feet and whine at life’s circumstances, “Why me?”

And with what do we usually try to satiate our emptiness and pain? Do our circumstances call us to raid the refrigerator, drive us to the local bar, lure us to try drugs, tempt our eyes and lusts with porn or an affair?

Or do we seek the Lord, allowing Him to fill us with all that we need? According to our word’s definitions, the Lord will…

…imbue us with His power, His plan, His holiness, and His will,
…saturate our negative minds with the positive mind of Christ,
…inspire our misplaced feelings and opinions to be transformed,
…fill us with His Spirit and quench our thirst in those dry, wilderness days,
…pervade and influence our new-creation lives by impressing us with the image of His Son.

The lyrics of Fill Me Up, Lord by Richard Blanchard seem appropriate:

Like the woman at the well I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy;
And then I heard my Savior speaking:
“Draw from My well that never shall run dry.”

Fill my cup, Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more–
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

Which do we seek from the Lord to fill us up and make us whole: His hand to give us something or His face and His presence? When we seek Him, do we praise Him? Scripture says, “They who seek the LORD will praise him.” (Ps. 22:26 NIV)

When you lift your hands to the Father, with what are they filled? God says as He did to Moses, “What is that in your hand?” (Ex. 4:2 NKJV) What does He see? Does He see fingers tightly clutching anger? A palm filled with the works of self-righteousness? A glove stuffed with hidden schemes?

If you are filled with hatred, unforgiveness, bitterness, or anything else from your trials and heartaches, how can you have room to be filled with the Lord and His praise?

Paul instructs us, “Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18 Amp) Are you obeying God’s will to praise and thank Him?

One definition I left for the end. Absorb. The Lord has been so gracious and loving to me that, when I sit adoringly at His feet, I do not ever want to miss out on being filled with His presence and absorbing all He has for me.

Are you imbued with all of the Lord?

~~May you be filled to overflowing, Lynn~~