Barbara Rainey's Blog, page 13

A Prayer for Your Children and Grandchildren … if You Dare

In my seminary class on the doctrines of our faith, our professor Dr. John Hannah told a story of how he prayed for his girls when they were growing up. “I used to pray for their safety and their protection,” he said. “Then one day I realized what God would have me pray is for His will to be done in their lives. So I changed and started praying that. And I added ‘And give them the grace to accept what You have planned.’”

I remember having similar thoughts when we raised our six. I too prayed for safety, often because I loved our children and when they got hurt, I hurt. When they suffered, I suffered too. Because parents and grandparents love these little people God has given us, this is a natural prayer.

But is safety the most important request we can ask of God?

A story in the Bible helped me understand why praying for God’s will mattered so much. This scene in the Old Testament also caused me to fear offending God and helped me see the seriousness of tolerating sin in our children. It’s the story of Eli and his two sons.

1 Samuel 2 records that these two young men were “worthless men” who “did not know the Lord” (verse 12). Their sin was great, they “treated the offering of the Lord with contempt” (verse 17), and they “would not listen to the voice of their father” (verse 25). Soon after these pronouncements God spoke to Eli and asked, “Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me …?” (1 Samuel 2:29). Though Eli disapproved of his sons’ behavior, his words to his boys were empty and without conviction because he himself was guilty of the same excesses. 

We parents must ask the same question of ourselves and our posture toward our children. Do we honor our children above God and His Word?

God brought the same charge against David, who God Himself labeled a man after His own heart. Clearly our devotion to a godly life does not preclude a softness toward our children.

David refused to discipline his son Adonijah, his favorite after his first three heirs had died. We can understand his softness toward this son. Wouldn’t we do the same?

In his grief over the deaths of his oldest three sons David found comfort in being lenient with this fourth son, his next heir. He knew what we know: When our children are happy and enjoying the best things in life, we are happy too. David needed some happiness in his life.

But God knows being soft on sin is a recipe for disaster. And Adonijah knew God had chosen his younger brother, Solomon, to be king. But he refused to surrender to God’s plan. He gathered an army, proclaimed himself king and rallied the people to his side.

In the ensuing drama between Solomon, his mother Bathsheba, and David on his deathbed, Adonijah and some of his men who were once David’s allies were killed. More loss and heartache for David and more unrest and insecurity in the nation. It didn’t have to end this way.

God’s declaration about David was blunt and forthright: He had never crossed his son, Adonijah, by asking,  “Why have you done thus and so?” (1 Kings 1:6). Parenting and grandparenting is a serious responsibility because the future of children is in our hands. And sin doesn’t just affect one person but has ripple effects on many.

Comfort is an idol in our land. So are all its cousins—safety, prosperity, happiness, abundance, popularity, and all the experiences of the good life. Have we lost sight of God’s values? Have we bought the culture’s lie that a life fully devoted to Jesus Christ is boring, destined to marginalization, and clearly unexciting?

If you’ve read this far wondering about the prayer of my title, here is my challenge if you dare. Yes, pray for the safety of your children … pray, for example, that your 16-year-old driver is careful and stays safe every time he or she gets behind the wheel. But I hope you will also ask God that His will and purposes and plans will be fulfilled in this child made in His image for purposes and glory we can’t imagine.

Why do I say “if you dare”? Somehow the enemy of our souls, Satan, has deceived us into believing that asking God for His will to be done is a dangerous prayer. We have believed turning our kids over to God is inviting His wrath and a disaster of some kind. We fear God will treat our kids like He treated Job in the Old Testament. But we forget God loved Job and in the process of his temporary suffering and loss Job SAW GOD! And his life after his trials was better in every way than before.

I bet if Job could be interviewed today and we asked if the hardships were worth it, he would reply “Yes!” a thousand times. Having been through many trials I heartily agree. What I’ve learned and seen in God makes every minute of the pain and losses worth it.

Dare we rob our children of the unspeakable privilege of seeing and experiencing an encounter with God?

Do we really think letting them play with sin, or letting them refuse to submit to our rules and standards (if our standards are godly and in line with God’s Word) is a safe path for them to walk?

Jesus taught His disciples to pray. But the Lord’s Prayer isn’t just a beautiful set of words set to music to be sung at weddings. Nor is it just a pattern to follow. Jesus in this prayer gave us the essentials for everyday prayer. Every day we are to worship God as Lord with words similar to His:

 ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Then immediately following this adoration Jesus said we need to pray:

Your kingdom come, your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven”

Matthew 6:9-10

Genuinely asking God to work His will in our lives and our kids’ lives feels like a risk because we are asking for a great unknown. And we are giving up control! But who knows your child better, you or His Maker?

Will you dare to pray this prayer for your children and grandchildren?

I’m praying this now for all my grandkids and their parents. And in some situations I’m asking God to do whatever it takes to get their attention so they will see their need of a Savior and surrender to Him.

Someone once said, “The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.” I believe that’s true.

If you belong to the King your highest goal for your children is that they too would belong to Him and choose on their own to follow Him … because they see, in their parents and grandparents, models of adults satisfied and happy in Jesus.

As we close out this series of blog posts on prayer I invite you to take seriously Jesus’ teaching on prayer. Will you ask for His will to be done first in your life? Will you dare ask Him where you are being soft or permissive with your own choices and behaviors?

Then ask yourself what God would say to you about your parenting? Are you guilty like Eli and David of valuing your children’s happiness over their holiness?

Easter taught us the extremes to which God was willing to go to bring us back to Himself. All because He loves His children, you and me, that much. Will you let the grace and mercy and love and forgiveness of Jesus on the cross motivate you to want His will for your life and for your children and grandchildren more than anything else? Then will you be willing to do what is necessary to cooperate with His will?

The first step is prayer. Surrendered-to-His-will prayers followed by asking for the daily bread of His grace and strength to accept and follow His good will.

I hope you will join me and begin to pray this prayer for your children and grandchildren regularly:

My Father in heaven,

Dearest Father of my child

Who You love more than I possibly can;

  May Your will be done in my child’s life.

May Your purposes be fulfilled

for in Your plan will my child find deepest fulfillment

and meaning in life.

And grant my child the grace to accept your good will.

Help him to trust You

and be willing to follow You even when the way seems hard.

Thank you that you are a good Father

Who delights to give good gifts to Your children,

to those who believe in You above all else.

  May Your kingdom come on earth

As it is in heaven.

Amen.

 

To help you talk to God, we encourage you to print the beautifully designed prayer in this blog post. Click here to download. 

This is the final post in a six-part series on prayer. If you missed the others, here they are:

“How to Enjoy Constant Access to God in Prayer” “Praying for Those Who May Be Difficult to Love” “Rushed Prayers: Treating God Like He’s a Vending Machine” “ Unanswered Prayer: When God Doesn’t “Come Through” As You Expected, Then What? ” “Are You Afraid to Pray Big Prayers? Nothing Is Impossible for God”

 

 

The post A Prayer for Your Children and Grandchildren … if You Dare appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

The Barbara Rainey Podcast: God is Enough

What do you know about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit? I have found that so many people I come in contact with don’t understand who the Holy Spirit is and how He fits into the Trinity. I say all of this because Pentecost–which celebrates the coming of the Spirit–is this Sunday, June 5.

In this episode of The Barbara Rainey Podcast, I talk about Pentecost and what it means for our faith. I take a deep dive into the Scriptures and look at what the Holy Spirit does as He lives within us.

On the subject of the Holy Spirit, I wanted to let you know I am working on a new ebook on the subject of the Holy Spirit that will be released in the next few weeks. Be sure to check your email for the link to download it later this summer. 

For now, I urge you to take a quick listen to this new episode and I pray you learn something new about our great God and the Holy Spirit. You can listen here or on any popular podcast platform.

Ever His,

Barbara

The post The Barbara Rainey Podcast: God is Enough appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

Pentecost: The Forgotten Celebration

 

As you have probably noticed, holidays are important in my life and in the life of my family. I’ve invested a good amount of time to find creative and memorable ways to mark these annual days on the calendar we call holidays—especially those with connections to our faith.

From the early days of the Bible’s story, when God gave His people seven yearly feasts, these have anchored human interactions with God and His people in literal feasts of the senses. These days were set aside for celebration and for worship. For concentrated, intentional time to delight in God, to stoke the fires of our relationship with Him through memorable moments away from the everyday and its constant demands.

God’s original feasts punctuated ordinary life with hours of significance and meaning. And some of our Christian celebrations echo the original Jewish feasts. For example, the Jewish holiday of Passover commemorates when Moses told the captive Jews to paint strokes of lamb’s blood over their door frames so that God would pass over those homes when Egypt was struck with tenth plague—death of their firstborn children. Christians celebrate Easter, when Jesus died so that God would “pass over” our sins. In fact, it was no coincidence that the death and Resurrection of Christ occurred during the week of Passover; He was the sacrificial lamb of God.

I find it odd that one of the most important Christian celebrations of the year is barely mentioned in churches today. We certainly know about Easter and Christmas, but what about Pentecost, which commemorates the day when the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles and Jesus disciples? Jesus rose to heaven 40 days after His Resurrection, and Acts 1:4 records:

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

The apostles waited 10 days for this promise to be fulfilled:

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4

Jesus dramatically fulfilled His promise when He sent His Spirit. When we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Spirit comes to live within us and give us the power and guidance we need to walk with Christ. And the Spirit has been coming to indwell believers in Christ ever since. So why don’t we give thanks for the miraculous event of Pentecost? 

In preparation for Pentecost this year on Sunday, June 5, here are some reasons why it is a wonder worth celebrating.

Having the Holy Spirit is better than having the physical person of Jesus!That may sound strange to say, but Jesus said, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). Jesus was confined to a body when He lived on earth. He could only be in a single place at a time. But the Spirit is in every place around the globe where a believer is found. The Spirit dwells within, guiding each believing person’s own heart. Amazing!The Spirit will be “with us forever” (John 14:16)—and in every circumstance. I am so grateful for this promise that He is always with me, whether on a flight that is disconcertingly bumpy, or when I’m feeling like “I can’t do this anymore,” or when I’m simply completing mundane, thankless tasks for the thousandth time. His ever-presence is a comfort.We can know His constant, gentle whisper. I love that He can continually, intimately remind me of what Jesus taught. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). He loves to remind us of what Jesus said that is exactly what we need to hear.Like taking a trip to a national park where park rangers give you a guidebook, so the Holy Spirit will guide you into His truth (John 16:13) throughout your unique, obstacle-and adventure-laden journey of life if you will ask.Though there are many more reasons why the Holy Spirit came, one of my favorites remains this: “the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”(Romans 8:26). There have been many times in my life when I have not known what to pray because I was bewildered or afraid or in pain. Yet in those times the Spirit was praying for me. What a Comforter is the Spirit who was given to us, sent to us from the throne room of God!

Will you join us in celebrating this underappreciated gift from the Father? Here are three ideas you can implement with your family:

Create a simple obstacle course in your living room or backyard. Blindfold each child one at a time and instruct them to find their way across the room or yard by listening to your voice calling directions. The blindfolded one has to listen carefully to your voice or he will trip or bump into things. Talk about how this is like listening to the Holy Spirit’s voice.

To further illustrate this for the next person’s turn in the obstacle course have another family members call directions at the same time, which teaches a very practical lesson in learning to follow one voice as opposed to many other “voices” that might influence our lives.

Bedtime reading. Because most children love to delay bedtime by talking, take advantage of this by talking to them about the Holy Spirit. (Or read these in conjunction with your dinner or obstacle course.)

At the last supper, Jesus prepared His disciples for what was to come. In that conversation He made several important promises, including several about the Spirit and what He came to do: John 14:16,17; John 14:26; John 16:7, 13-15. Read these passages to your children and ask them to make a list of what Jesus promised His Spirit will do. If you have older children and teens this can become a very in-depth and beneficial discussion as you find other verses beyond these three, learning together how vital is the Holy Spirit and His gracious work in our lives.

Teach the concept of being filled with God’s Spirit.Read Ephesians 5: 17-19 and talk together about this command from Paul to everyone who is a Christian. What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Why does God command this? How does being controlled by God’s Spirit make a difference in your life, or how should it make a difference? (For more information on the Holy Spirit, read “The Wonderful News of the Spirit-filled Life,”by Bill Bright.)

At Ever Thine Home our hope is to not only elevate Easter but to call us as women who desire to make our homes His embassy to mark other anniversaries on the Christian calendar with our families and friends.

We hope that adding even one of these ideas to your Pentecost Sunday will help you appreciate the wonder of God residing within each of us who believe in Him.

May you enjoy Pentecost Sunday as you celebrate the miracle of God’s continual presence with us.

Here are some additional blog posts from Barbara on the Holy Spirit.

“How Does the Holy Spirit Help Me in My Everyday Life?” “How Does the Holy Spirit Speak Personally to Me?”

And be sure to watch for a special ebook on the Holy Spirit coming on June 20!

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Friends & Family May 2022

Has May become like December for you, too?

When our kids were in school I discovered that both months feature packed schedules. Extra events times six (surrounding the end of the school year and then high school graduations) made May on par with December. So this month’s letter will be a small photo album because this May was no exception for Dennis and me.

The first week of May was focused on my final exam for my seminary class on History of Doctrine. And it was really hard. My study partner and I both felt it was much more difficult than the midterm. Oh well, it’s done and I’m grateful for the summer break. (But look for my big “Ah ha!” take-away below.)

We also attended high school graduations for two grandkids—one in Russellville, Arkansas, and one in Colorado.

Graduation with grandson Tyler, who is headed for Texas A & M in the fall

Graduation with granddaughter Savannah

And then came a grandson’s wedding with the showers, rehearsal dinner, and the actual wedding on May 22.

James and Hillyn at their couples shower

James and Hillyn Escue

We were gone most of the month but it was the best kind of travel, full of good things with our kids and their families. Multiple memories were made.

For Ever Thine Home it was a full month too as we had an all-day planning meeting on May 13 to get as much on the calendar for the rest of 2022 as possible. We began planning for two big ideas I’ve wanted to do now for a while and we talked about processes and systems so we can all work smarter not harder. It was a really good day. I’m truly excited about all the synergy we created and the ideas that are on the planning calendar. I think you will like them too.

Since May is so busy, even though it’s almost over I’ll end with this announcement.

I’m excited to let you know we are producing a new ebook on the Holy Spirit! Many of you have asked for more teaching and encouragement on this member of the Trinity who is shamefully overlooked in our churches today for the most part. Watch for this newest ebook later in the month of June. And it will be a prelude to a Bible study, God willing, on the Holy Spirit next summer.

I pray you will download it and read it and then share it with many in your family and your friends. We all need to understand Him and the work He loves to do in and for us, the beloved of God.

May your summer be refreshing but also most importantly refueling as you focus on your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Ever His,

Barbara

P.S. Dennis asked me the week after my class final what was my favorite part or the lesson I learned that stood out. As I thought about it for the next few days I realized there are two:

First, I’m so incredibly grateful that we live in the times after Reformation. The Reformation brought enormous changes to what was at that time the one church worldwide. Luther and his fellow reformers taught that all believers can read the Bible for themselves, and the invention of the printing press made that possible. They preached faith alone, Christ alone, and grace alone. The wicked practices of earning merits for salvation and paying church priests for forgiveness of sins was done away with. The freedom to read the Bible and know the relief of forgiveness that we enjoy today is unlike what most people knew centuries before 1500.

Second, I am amazed at the brilliance of the early Church fathers and theologians. They wrote and taught truths that are still part of our churches today, even though many of these teachings were ignored from 500 to 1000 A.D. Augustine, Athanasius, Tertullian, and many many others gave us volumes of books and letters. Our generation thinks we are so smart with all our technology, but these men were truly brilliant and we are the beneficiaries of their work done without a printing press or Google searches.

Hope you enjoyed!

For Christ alone!

 

Friends & Family May 2022 will be the last personal monthly letter from Barbara to appear on our blog page. Starting in June her monthly correspondence will be available only through email and only to our subscribers. So if you are reading this from a social media link or through our website be sure to subscribe for FREE here and don’t miss out on Friends and Family, weekly blogs, new products and offers or podcasts.

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Are You Afraid to Pray Big Prayers? Nothing Is Impossible for God

Can you imagine what it was like for Mary, an adolescent engaged to Joseph, to be greeted by the angel Gabriel? And then, to be told she would conceive a child who would be the Son of God?

She had to be stunned, in shock. I’m surprised she was even able to ask Gabriel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

Gabriel replied that this would be a miraculous conception. “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

My heart has cherished this verse, its hope-filled ballast anchoring my soul through more turbulent times than my memory allows. But what is even more wondrous to me is that God repeated this promise in the Bible eight times.*

As I’ve crafted each of these six blog posts on prayer I’ve looked back to Easter as our anchor point. The Resurrection is the event, the pivot point of all history. It is the moment that changed the trajectory of life forever. It is the ultimate proof that “Nothing is too hard for God” (Jeremiah 32:17).  And because of Easter we can have hope in our lives and in our prayers.

This is the truth expressed in a prayer from a favorite book of mine: The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers:

O Great God,

Nothing exceeds Thy power,

Nothing is too great for Thee to do,

Nothing too Good for Thee to give,

Nothing is impossible with Thee,

Nothing spoken by Thee is untrue.

Thou changest not,

Thy compassions they fail not,

As Thou hast been Thou forever will be.

May my heart cling to all that is true of Thee.

 Always.

Amen.

Just as the disciples curled up in despair after the crucifixion and felt all hope was lost, so I have felt a similar despair when my marriage, my children or a circumstance has felt impossible —like a ship stalled eerily in the windless doldrums.

But like the tiny twinkle of a star breaking through the dense cloud bank, the truth of “Nothing is impossible with God” beckons me back to hope in my eternal Father. Buoyed by the strength of this promise, I have chosen over and over not to quit no matter how difficult, no matter how many mistakes I make (and there have been too many), no matter how hopeless my relationships feel.

This promise from Scripture also had a huge impact on my prayers.

If God can raise a dead man from the grave after three days with Jesus (and after four days with Lazarus) then truly nothing is impossible for God. The Resurrection proves this to us and God wants us to remember Easter and count on the power of God in our lives and circumstances.

In my prayers I’ve realized, as a result, that I should pray for God to accomplish the things that seem impossible. Rather than holding back on what seems too hard from my vantage point He invites me to boldly ask!

In a sermon one Sunday morning almost a decade ago, I heard this stanza from an old hymn by John Newton quoted by the pastor. You may recognize Newton as author of the famous hymn “Amazing Grace,” but these words come from another hymn of his titled, “Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare”:

Thou art coming to a King,

Large petitions with thee bring,

for His grace and power

are such none could ever ask too much.

These words also captured my attention … God was calling me to see Him in a fresh way. He was showing me I could bring large petitions to Him because He is King! I did not need to fear it was too much for Him. He delights to hear me ask by faith. Nor did I need to fear He wouldn’t answer. He hears and He does what is best for me. He is always working His will which is always good.

Remember God is our Father and just as our children asked for big things whether we could give them or not, so He wants a relationship with me where we talk together and I ask Him anything. Sometimes those requests are desires He’s put on my heart, so to ignore them out of some fear is not an expression of faith.

I realized that I had moved into safe mode in my prayers, asking God mostly for what wasn’t too difficult for Him to do. How crazy is that that I felt I needed to help God? My fear of failure was controlling my expectations of what God might not do if I asked. 

Challenged in my heart by these words I began to ask God, “What large petitions would You want me to bring before Your throne?” I immediately thought of two requests.

One was that God would provide for my youngest daughter, who wanted to find a husband. I asked knowing His will for her could have been remaining single. That request was granted in 2016.

Another large petition continues to be an oft-repeated prayer for God’s favor in changing the way Christians worldwide celebrate Easter, which I think should be called Resurrection Sunday.  I’m increasingly disappointed that western culture has influenced those of us who claim the name of Christ to make our Easter decorations about rabbits and chicks and candy instead of the cross and the Lamb of God. I’ve been asking God ever since for ideas and creativity, and for Him to move far beyond my efforts in raising awareness of this robbery of our greatest celebration by the culture around us.

My request hasn’t been answered in full as I’ve imagined it, but it is God’s to do as He pleases according to His will and purposes. I continue to come before the throne of the King of Kings, knowing He has bid me come, that He is at work answering these large petitions in ways I cannot see and in ways I can appreciate only in part with my limited sight.

Newton’s words, “For His grace and power are such, none can ever ask too much,” continue to remind me that God can do what seems impossible to me in my limited faith.

What large petitions would you bring before Him? Boldly ask Him, even if you have to wait. But boldly ask and then watch for Him; watch for evidence of Him working, even if it’s not dramatic and miraculous!

And let’s share with one another the wonders of God’s works. He has commanded us to proclaim them for the praise of His glory, not for our own. What someone else thinks is not our problem or concern. It is God we must please, not people.

I pray you will join me in bold prayers that we may all share in the joy of watching God at work! What a privilege!

May God grant us surpassing trust today that “Nothing is too difficult for Thee.”

*The eight repetitions of this truth are found in Genesis 18:14, Jeremiah 32:17, Jeremiah 32:27, Zachariah 8:16, Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37, and Luke 18:27.

To help you talk to God, we encourage you to print the beautifully designed prayer in this blog post. Click here to download. 

This is the fifth post in a six post series on prayer. I have loved reading old prayers since the days of my mothering when I discovered the prayers of saints like Susanna Wesley. Each blog post features an old prayer from someone now in the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). We have much to learn from these saints of old; though some words are not in vogue today they help us see God in ways we don’t in our modern world. I hope you enjoy this series!

If you missed the other posts on prayer, here they are:

“How to Enjoy Constant Access to God in Prayer”

“Praying for Those Who May Be Difficult to Love”

“Rushed Prayers: Treating God Like He’s a Vending Machine”

“Unanswered Prayer: When God Doesn’t “Come Through,” Then What?”

Prayer from above watermark image: Arthur Bennett, ed., The Valley of Vision (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1975).

The post Are You Afraid to Pray Big Prayers? Nothing Is Impossible for God appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

Unanswered Prayer: When God Doesn’t “Come Through” As You Expected, Then What?

Sometimes I wake up in the morning feeling sad and unsettled. I ask myself, “How do I have joy when it seems that so much is unresolved and unrestored in my life, my relationships, my world?” Do you know that feeling?

Have you thought about the disciples and the weight of their unanswered prayers when they watched their hope die on a cross? God didn’t come through for them like they expected.

And many times He hasn’t come through for me as I expected. I cannot list publicly all the relationships in my life that need mending or the problems that feel overwhelming and unresolvable. I can’t put a name to the general anxiety that creeps in regularly from life in this volatile world. Like a cloud that keeps growing until it blocks out the sun, I sometimes feel chilled, and in the shadows, even on a bright sunny day.

On days like this, I know that after fixing my coffee I need to settle on the couch with my Bible. I ask God to lift my eyes to Him. In the words of an old Puritan prayer that says it so well, I pray:

My Father who loves me,

Cause Thy face to shine upon the dark places

through which I may be called to pass this day

and may I be made to feel

that it is better to hold on to Thy hand in the dark

than to walk alone in the light.

Amen.

In one season of darkness in my life I was participating in a Bible study on the Old Testament book of Daniel. I read Daniel 10:2, which says, “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks.” This was not a man given to exaggeration, but he made clear the facts that he mourned every day for 21 straight days.

Nor was Daniel an ordinary man, for he was repeatedly called a “man of high esteem” in his frequent interactions with angelic beings. Mistakenly we think a visit by an angel would be thrilling and life-giving, but Daniel found it exhausting and life draining. Why? Because the news from the angel was confusing and disturbing.

What seems to have caused Daniel’s three weeks of mourning was unanswered prayer. Visions of the future and visits from heaven did not erase his discouragement over unanswered prayer. He felt as I did—burdened, perplexed, joyless. At least, I realized, I’m not alone.

When God doesn’t come through, then what? That’s the shadow-casting sadness, the discouragement or perplexity for me at times. And nothing can be done but wait.

The renowned theologian and writer J. Sidlow Baxter once preached a sermon titled, “The Divine Delays of Jesus.” He wrote that nothing is unintentional with God, including the times that He waits to answer our prayers. His delays always have purpose. Often they are intended to reveal to us more who God is. In seeing Him we respond with greater faith. And we have hope again.

The Bible is a living book. When we go to it we are expressing faith in the Author. We are expressing hope in His words. And if we keep going to His living Word He will, in time give us just what we need. And often the verse or phrase we discover is itself an encounter with the Living God.

For us in the days of this pandemic and a world in turmoil these divine encounters with Jesus remind us that, in Baxter’s words, “no situation is ‘too far gone’ for our all-controlling Lord to overrule and transform.” 

It’s not about figuring out what God is doing, but about humbly seeing who God is and waiting with faith and worship no matter the outcome.

Baxter concludes his sermon with these summaries:

God can transform the most hopeless circumstances. “Beware of thinking that God is harsh as you drag along amid permitted sorrow or tribulation. He knows better than you.”Our greatest discoveries and blessings often come through our hardest trials. “… it is His permitting or overruling of calamities which leads to our most exalting and refining discoveries!”In divine delays there is always a gracious purpose. “Delay does not mean that God is neglecting you, much less that He has forsaken you. … no sincere prayer in the name of Jesus is ever left unanswered; and delay is always with a view to an answer bigger and better than that for which we asked.”

Living for Jesus is costly business. How easily I forget that following Him is often a life of difficulty as He helps me throw off distractions, mistaken assumptions, and sinful patterns that keep me from seeing Him clearly.

I became all His decades ago, but His refining work never ceases. Rather than getting easier, my faith trials become more difficult with time. Baby steps for babies. Grown-up strides for the mature. And I want to be mature, so I must accept His purifying work that is individualized for me even when I can’t see the next step ahead.

I’ve been in this place before, so I know He will continue His work. And I know the sun will shine again.

If the answers to my prayers don’t come at all, or as I expect, I will choose to believe and follow. Jesus loves me, this I know.

Easter proves it.

May you too wait by faith, hope by faith, trusting Him no matter what He brings in your life.

He is with you and will never leave you.

Remember and cling to this truth every day of your life.

To help you talk to God, we encourage you to print the beautifully designed prayer in this blog post. Click here to download. 

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts on prayer. I have loved reading old prayers since the days of my mothering when I discovered the prayers of saints like Susanna Wesley. Each blog post features an old prayer from someone now in the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). We have much to learn from these saints of old; though some words are not in vogue today they help us see God in ways we don’t in our modern world. I hope you enjoy this series!

If you missed the other posts on prayer, here they are:

“How to Enjoy Constant Access to God in Prayer”

“Praying for Those Who May Be Difficult to Love”

“Rushed Prayers: Treating God Like He’s a Vending Machine”

The post Unanswered Prayer: When God Doesn’t “Come Through” As You Expected, Then What? appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

Unanswered Prayer: When God Doesn’t “Come Through,” Then What?

Sometimes I wake up in the morning feeling sad and unsettled. I ask myself, “How do I have joy when it seems that so much is unresolved and unrestored in my life, my relationships, my world?” Do you know that feeling?

Have you thought about the disciples and the weight of their unanswered prayers when they watched their hope die on a cross? God didn’t come through for them like they expected.

And many times He hasn’t come through for me as I expected. I cannot list publicly all the relationships in my life that need mending or the problems that feel overwhelming and unresolvable. I can’t put a name to the general anxiety that creeps in regularly from life in this volatile world. Like a cloud that keeps growing until it blocks out the sun, I sometimes feel chilled, and in the shadows, even on a bright sunny day.

On days like this, I know that after fixing my coffee I need to settle on the couch with my Bible. I ask God to lift my eyes to Him. In the words of an old Puritan prayer that says it so well, I pray:

My Father who loves me,

Cause Thy face to shine upon the dark places

through which I may be called to pass this day

and may I be made to feel

that it is better to hold on to Thy hand in the dark

than to walk alone in the light.

Amen.

In one season of darkness in my life I was participating in a Bible study on the Old Testament book of Daniel. I read Daniel 10:2, which says, “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks.” This was not a man given to exaggeration, but he made clear the facts that he mourned every day for 21 straight days.

Nor was Daniel an ordinary man, for he was repeatedly called a “man of high esteem” in his frequent interactions with angelic beings. Mistakenly we think a visit by an angel would be thrilling and life-giving, but Daniel found it exhausting and life draining. Why? Because the news from the angel was confusing and disturbing.

What seems to have caused Daniel’s three weeks of mourning was unanswered prayer. Visions of the future and visits from heaven did not erase his discouragement over unanswered prayer. He felt as I did—burdened, perplexed, joyless. At least, I realized, I’m not alone.

When God doesn’t come through, then what? That’s the shadow-casting sadness, the discouragement or perplexity for me at times. And nothing can be done but wait.

The renowned theologian and writer J. Sidlow Baxter once preached a sermon titled, “The Divine Delays of Jesus.” He wrote that nothing is unintentional with God, including the times that He waits to answer our prayers. His delays always have purpose. Often they are intended to reveal to us more who God is. In seeing Him we respond with greater faith. And we have hope again.

The Bible is a living book. When we go to it we are expressing faith in the Author. We are expressing hope in His words. And if we keep going to His living Word He will, in time give us just what we need. And often the verse or phrase we discover is itself an encounter with the Living God.

For us in the days of this pandemic and a world in turmoil these divine encounters with Jesus remind us that, in Baxter’s words, “no situation is ‘too far gone’ for our all-controlling Lord to overrule and transform.” 

It’s not about figuring out what God is doing, but about humbly seeing who God is and waiting with faith and worship no matter the outcome.

Baxter concludes his sermon with these summaries:

God can transform the most hopeless circumstances. “Beware of thinking that God is harsh as you drag along amid permitted sorrow or tribulation. He knows better than you.”Our greatest discoveries and blessings often come through our hardest trials. “… it is His permitting or overruling of calamities which leads to our most exalting and refining discoveries!”In divine delays there is always a gracious purpose. “Delay does not mean that God is neglecting you, much less that He has forsaken you. … no sincere prayer in the name of Jesus is ever left unanswered; and delay is always with a view to an answer bigger and better than that for which we asked.”

Living for Jesus is costly business. How easily I forget that following Him is often a life of difficulty as He helps me throw off distractions, mistaken assumptions, and sinful patterns that keep me from seeing Him clearly.

I became all His decades ago, but His refining work never ceases. Rather than getting easier, my faith trials become more difficult with time. Baby steps for babies. Grown-up strides for the mature. And I want to be mature, so I must accept His purifying work that is individualized for me even when I can’t see the next step ahead.

I’ve been in this place before, so I know He will continue His work. And I know the sun will shine again.

If the answers to my prayers don’t come at all, or as I expect, I will choose to believe and follow. Jesus loves me, this I know.

Easter proves it.

May you too wait by faith, hope by faith, trusting Him no matter what He brings in your life.

He is with you and will never leave you.

Remember and cling to this truth every day of your life.

To help you talk to God, we encourage you to print the beautifully designed prayer in this blog post. Click here to download. 

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts on prayer. I have loved reading old prayers since the days of my mothering when I discovered the prayers of saints like Susanna Wesley. Each blog post features an old prayer from someone now in the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). We have much to learn from these saints of old; though some words are not in vogue today they help us see God in ways we don’t in our modern world. I hope you enjoy this series!

If you missed the other posts on prayer, here they are:

“How to Enjoy Constant Access to God in Prayer”

“Praying for Those Who May Be Difficult to Love”

“Rushed Prayers: Treating God Like He’s a Vending Machine”

The post Unanswered Prayer: When God Doesn’t “Come Through,” Then What? appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

The Barbara Rainey Podcast: Praying Together as Husband and Wife

Do you and your spouse pray together? As awkward as you feel it may be, that is the one thing I can say changed mine and Dennis’ marriage for the better. I know this time of year tends to be very hectic for most families, so as summer approaches, hopefully your schedule is going to slow down a bit and this will give you more time to spend together as a couple. When Dennis and I started praying together, it was just Dennis praying out loud at first, but I quickly decided I wanted to be part of this relationship. Dennis, myself, and God.

This is what Dennis and I talk about on today’s episode of The Barbara Rainey Podcast. We talk about how we got started, how it has changed our relationship, and why we believe every couple should put this principle into practice. You can listen to today’s episode here or on any popular podcast platform.

I hope you are encouraged in your walk with Christ and are challenged to give praying together a try if you aren’t already actively doing so.

Ever His,

Barbara

P.S. Today, with your gift of $35 or more, we would love to send you a copy of Barbara’s latest book, My Heart Ever His. This book includes 40 prayers that provides a stepping-stone to help you become more transparent with God and discover His welcoming embrace! You can request your copy here! 

The post The Barbara Rainey Podcast: Praying Together as Husband and Wife appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

Rushed Prayers: Treating God Like He’s a Vending Machine

Note from Barbara: Recently I wrote about the amazing access to God’s presence that we can enjoy because of Jesus’ death and Resurrection. If you missed it, you can find it here . As I’ve continued thinking about this, I’ve discovered I might know a little of what constant access might feel like for God.

As a mom, my children had unhindered access to me every day and they happily took advantage of it. Like most children, they asked millions of questions, told me all their troubles, ran to me crying, woke me up in the middle of the night when they had nightmares or they were scared of the thunder, and boldly brought me their accusations against their siblings.

While it was my choice to always be available, I got really tired of their constant needs. I likened myself to a vending machine. They poked and prodded me and pulled on my clothing like we do vending machines as we put in money and bang on the box if it doesn’t produce quickly enough.

Too often I come to God the same way … as if He’s a vending machine. I rush in and out of prayer. I sometimes hurriedly and, if I’m honest, presumptuously rattle off my needs as I’m flying out the door for the day.

Is your prayer style rushed?

Do you hurry to God with urgent “I need this now” prayers like my kids did with me?

Do you often forget the majesty and authority and perfection of who you are talking to?

I’m guessing the honest answer is yes.

Of course, He is God and He never gets tired of our requests. But that doesn’t mean I should take for granted the privilege of constant access to His holy presence.

And yes, it is good to pray as I’m driving or washing dishes, and yes, there are days when my heart is heavy or preoccupied and I’m not “all there.” Still God sees me in grace and love. He has compassion on me because He knows my weaknesses and frailties just as I knew those of my children. He is my Father who loves me and delights that I come to Him.

But He desires a growing relationship with me. He wants me to grow out of my toddler prayer habits. For toddlers and kids life is all about them. God wants me to mature beyond that stage and learn to talk to Him, my Father, and get to know Him too. His goal is for me to be more like Jesus in the ways He prayed when He was on earth.

In our modern era I think we might ask, “Have we become too comfortable in our view of God, too relaxed in our constant access? Have we remade Him into our buddy … or our “Mr. Fix-it”? Have we forgotten that He is holy?

This week I’ve chosen another prayer by Susanna Wesley, who lived in 17th century and raised ten children. Two of those children became well-known: John Wesley grew up to found the Methodist church and his brother Charles composed over 6000 hymns for the church, including favorites like “And Can It Be?” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

Susanna writes about our tendency to forget who we address in our constant access to our Father in Heaven. And she addresses our ever-present urgency in life which makes us rush in and out of prayer like my toddlers, preschoolers and even older kids who rushed into my presence asking what was for dinner or when they could watch TV or their screens, then dashed back to their rooms or toys.

To help us right our view of God, here is the prayer I love by Susanna:

Enable me, O God,

to collect and compose my thoughts

before an immediate approach to Thee in prayer.

May I be careful to have my mind in order

 when I take upon myself the honor to speak

 to the sovereign Lord of the universe …   

Thou art infinitely too great to be trifled with;

Too wise to be imposed on by a mock devotion …

Help me to entertain an habitual sense of Thy perfections,

as an admirable help against cold and formal performances.  

Save me from engaging in rash and precipitate prayers

and from abrupt breaking away

 to follow business or pleasure

as though I had never prayed.

Amen*

Though Susanna lived hundreds of years ago, her words could have been written today. Such is the commonality we humans all share across the ages.

She reminds me if I were to see God as He is, my self-centeredness would fall away. My petty preoccupations would feel as insignificant as they truly are. And I would fall on my face before Him. I would ask less and surrender more. I would happily say as Jesus did, “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10) no matter what the cost might be.

Susanna asked for a right view of our Father in Heaven so she might be saved from what we are all so easily prone to do—bluster in before Him impetuously and arrogantly, thinking only of ourselves and what we want or think we need. She’s asking Him to help her remember to focus first on His worthiness, and to worship Him before we present our list to Him.

Will you consider Susanna’s prayer for yourself?

May a heart alignment save us from ourselves as we come before the King of kings in prayer.

And I hope you will print this beautifully designed prayer to hang somewhere in your home or to keep in your Bible as a reminder on how to approach our holy and awesome God.

This is the third of five blog posts on prayer between now and June. I have loved reading old prayers since the days of my mothering when I discovered the prayers of saints like Susanna Wesley. Each blog post features an old prayer from someone now in the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). We have much to learn from these saints of old; though some words are not in vogue today they help us see God in ways we don’t in our modern world. I hope you enjoy this series!

If you missed the other posts on prayer, here they are:

“How to Enjoy Constant Access to God in Prayer”

“Praying for Those Who May Be Difficult to Love”

To help you talk to God, we encourage you to print the beautifully designed prayer in this blog post. Click here to download. 

*Taken from The Prayers of Susanna Wesley by W.L. Doughty, 1984, Zondervan Publishing. Used by permission of Zondervan.  www.zondervan.com ., p. 25.

 

 

The post Rushed Prayers: Treating God Like He’s a Vending Machine appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

The Covenant of First and Second Mothers in Adoption

Note from Barbara:

Jodi and I have walked parallel tracks. We’ve both given years to serving and growing Christian Alliance for Orphans, cafo.org, and we’ve both come close to birth mothers and been profoundly changed by the experience. While tomorrow’s National Birth Mother’s Day will get no press or sudden spikes on social media we can be sure God sees. He who wrote the stories of birth mothers into His Book and values adoption because it was His original idea. Read Jodi’s story and marvel at God’s amazing mysterious yet wonderful ways of weaving families together for His glory. I’m delighted to introduce you to Jodi today and hope many of you will find her book Second Mother: A Bible Study Experience for Foster and Adoptive Moms of interest and help to yourself or someone you know.

By Jodi Jackson Tucker

As a follower of Christ, I understand the power and legacy of a covenant.
I have been graced to live within one of the most beautiful covenants: the covenant between
me and my children’s birth mothers. It’s hard for me to imagine any covenant more sacred than
the relationship between a birth mother and an adoptive mother. It has been a ribbon of grace
over my life.

My journey into this covenant began when I was chosen by a birth mother, finding herself in a
troubled situation, who made the noble choice to ask me to raise her child. This brave woman
was the first mother, and I became the second mother to our daughter.

If you’ve never had someone put a newborn baby in your arms and say, “Here, have my child,”
there is no way you can understand what that feels like. Every other gift I have ever received in
my life can’t come close to that moment.  It’s a covenant of the most holy and sacred kind.
I had no idea then that God planned to give me more children through adoption. Soon my
family was full of children born to other mothers. I learned to give homage to each child’s first
mother and embrace all that was unique about that child as a gift from her. One has her first
mother’s luminous cheeks. Another, his first mother’s beautiful eyes. What I see in my children
is the beauty of the women who carried them and loved them enough to make a way for them
to be safe and nurtured.

And as I became a second mother, I discovered that Scripture is full of stories of adoption!
And I began reflecting on those stories and how they echoed in my own life.

In the pages of Scripture, we see that Hannah gave her son Samuel to Eli, Mordecai was raising
Esther after she was orphaned, and Joseph was the adoptive father of Jesus, just to name a
few! Through these people’s stories, I suddenly felt seen by God.

But by far the Scripture that impacted me most is the story of God’s deliverer of His chosen
people. In Exodus, we encounter the story of Moses, born to an enslaved Hebrew Jocabed. She
was frantic to save her baby boy from Pharaoh’s cruel edict to kill Hebrew infants. Desperate to
save her son, Jocabed floats Moses in a basket in the Nile River, praying against hope that an
Egyptian woman might save him.

Exodus 2:3-4 (NIV) tells us:
But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it
with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the
bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

No matter how many times I read this Scripture, I can’t grasp the amount of courage it would
take to float my baby on a river full of danger. Jocebed shows us the heart of a birth mother:
desperate for the life of her baby, and willing to suffer pain and loss to give that baby a chance.
And God answered Jocabed’s prayer:

Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were
walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female
slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for
him. Exodus 2:5-6 (NIV)

This story shows us that God understood there would be brokenness in the world, and He gave
us the covenant of adoption so he could write redemption stories. God loves redemption
stories, and He has used many women, together in the sacred covenant of adoption, to write
them. First mothers and second mother are bound together forever across the life of a child.

By following God’s call to preserve the life of a child, a beautiful community of second mothers
worldwide has been born. And tomorrow on National Birth Mother’s Day, we pause to
remember the first mothers who bore our children.

I invite you to join me tomorrow in praying for birth mothers of all kinds. Pray for the mother
who gave her child to another mother, for the mother who lost her children to foster care, for
the mother who floated her children in the river of an orphanage to escape poverty. Let us
honor these mothers and ask the Father to draw near to them as we remember that they gave
the greatest gift of all … the gift of a child’s life.

 

 

Jodi Jackson Tucker and her husband, Jerry, are the parents to nine children, six through adoption. She is the author of two books, including Second Mother: A BibleStudy Experience for Foster and Adoptive Moms. Jodi is an alumnus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Certified Chaplain. She is the founder of a www.secondmothers.org

The post The Covenant of First and Second Mothers in Adoption appeared first on Ever Thine Home.