Commitment to Pray

God has been tapping my shoulder for a few months now regarding my prayer time. God has gently led me to a realization regarding my prayer time.

I attended the Believe conference in April. The day before Easter to be exact. Becky Tirabassi was one of the speakers and she spoke of her commitment some 20 years ago to pray 1 hour each day. She said she has kept that commitment without fail all these years. Her life is infused with Holy Spirit power. She spoke of how it has changed her life and how God uses her everyday. Of course it sounds wonderful to spend that kind of time with God. But practically speaking I don't have an extra hour. She didn't ask the commitment of us but asked who would be willing to spend 10 minutes a day in prayer. Many raised their hands and made that commitment, myself included.

I ordered a book called the Hour that Changes the World; A Practical Plan for Personal Prayer about a month later. I hadn't read the entire title. I only had noticed the practical plan for prayer part. I was very surprised when this book, too spoke of 40+ years of commitment from many people for 1 hour of prayer. The introduction to the book is impressive. The way God has used each of those people. They are infused with Holy Spirit power.

I attended a women's conference at Hope Chapel that showcased a few talents of women from the church. After the singing, dancing and laughing was through the Women's Paster, Marlo Blanford came up and spoke of some truly gifted women like Corrie Ten Boom who survived concentration camps by faith and Susan Wesley who mothered 19 children but spent over an hour each day in prayer. When she had no place to pray privately, she would flip her apron over her head and her children knew not to interrupt her.

I was starting to feel the conviction of the Lord to make the same commitment. My reluctance was that I tend to jump into things with both feet and no head. I just blurb out my intention and then don't follow through. I was reluctant because I didn't think I could truly live up to it.

I started a book called The Burning Heart Contract and it speaks of having a deep, deep love for God. It speaks of a heart that burns for God. The fuels that keep the fire burning are periods of time with Him and periods of time with His Word. It leads you through to a commitment of an hour a day of prayer.

What is this conspiracy? I am a pretty well read Christian and have never heard of people spending such time in prayer aside from some hundred year old saints. Now everywhere I turn I am being led to this conclusion. Well this weekend's sermon did the final trick.

Pastor Zac Nazarian, our wise and committed pastor spoke of an unlikely passage in 1 Chronicles where King David did not trust in God for victory but counted his own resources to see if he could win under his own power. God punished David for not trusting in Him. Paster Zac spoke of trusting God with our self, time and money. Now for many years I have been absolutely convinced of the need to trust God with our money. I know it is all His and have seen Him move money around in really miraculous ways. But to trust Him with my time? If I take an acount of my time it makes me dizzy without adding in the hour of prayer. I work full time from home as a nurse. I homeschool 3 children, try to maintain my home, teach piano to several students, teach an online class on marriage, sing at performances, volunteer at Awana during the school year, attend Cub Scout meetings, gymnastics with my daughter, attend a weekly bible study and sing on the worship team. When to do laundry? Clean out the hamster cages? Go to the park?

Could I really have faith in God and trust Him with my time? That is a true sacrifice for me. How can I say no to that?

A close friend was telling me how difficult prayer was for her as she has such a difficult time staying on task. Her mind would wander and her time be squandered. I started to consider how an hour with God could be spent without the squandering. Back to the book, The Hour that Changes the World...it splits up your hour into 12 sections. You spend 5 minutes in each section. It gives some structure to your prayer. I will be sharing the sections and my thoughts on each sections in the coming days. I am not asking you to make the same commitment. It took me a few months and many nudges from God before I believed this was something God was asking me to do.
Lisa

Approved Workmen

I had an odd realization today as I was sitting in the sauna at the gym. A woman came in and announced a man would be coming into the women's locker room to install some dispensers. She was warning us to cover up. As I sat there listening to the scrambling I started to think about the strange man. If you walked into the women's locker room and saw a man lurking about it would send off loud signals. What type of person would do that? And yet this man was approved by the gym and hired to do a job. He was an approved workman. So now instantly he is no threat. He is simply doing his job and has permission to be there. He was, in fact, invited. This really changes your perception of him. From one of fear, alarm and perviness to relief and thankfulness...two words made all the difference.....Approved workman.

There is a verse that says Approved Workmen are not ashamed. This man would have been ashamed to have been caught in a forbidden place. But because he was approved he could be there confidently and rest in the fact that he is approved and meant to be there.

Are you an approved workman for Jesus Christ? You can rest in the knowledge that because you are approved you can be right where he has put you. No excuses, no shame. If you are where he wants you to be and someone doubts it, you can shout APPROVED WORKMAN!! God's will is perfect and beyond our understanding but what we can understand is He has approved us to do His good and perfect will.

Praying for our Husbands-31 Day Plan

Praying for Our Husbands :31 Day Plan
1 That he might become a holy man, a man of prayer, mature in the Lord, growing in his knowledge of the Lord.
2 That he might grow in all eleven descriptions of a man who will not be shaken as listed in Psalm 15.
3 That he might be a man of contentment.
4 That he might learn to take very thought captive, to not be conformed to the world’s thinking and to think scripturally.
5 That he might daily seek God with all his heart, walking in the Spirit moment by moment, growing in his dependence upon Him.
6 That he would forever be captivated by my love.
7 That he would be a man of courage.
8 That the Lord might give him wisdom to lead his family physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
9 May he always look at the plank in his own eye before seeing other’s sawdust.
10 That he might become a called man, not driven, with well-though through and prayed through goals in life.
11 That he might be a man of prayer, guarding his heart and mind, putting into practice what he has heard, seen and learned.
12 That he might stand firm against the schemes of the devil and resist Satan in all circumstances.
13 That he might grow in spiritual maturity by putting away childish things, cultivating, understanding, striving after the Christ ideal, partaking of the deeper truths of the gospel, and overcoming temptation
14 That he might make me holy, cleansing me by the washing with water through the word.
15 That he would learn to not depend on his circumstances for happiness, but on God alone.
16 That he would be a man who enters into spiritual warfare.
17 That he might have new strength in the midst of his busy schedule, and that the Lord might infuse him with His strength
18 That he might have a burden to see lost people come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
19 That he would be kept from strange women and evil men, and that his friends would be men and women who walk with God
20 That his self-image might be a reflection of the Lord’s thoughts towards him.
21 That he might be a man responsible for family and spiritual growth.
22 That he might not be deceived into unbelief, sin or bitterness.
23 That he might learn to love as God has commanded.
24 That the fruit of the Spirit might be exhibited more and more in his life.
25 That he might grow in humility and in being a shepherd.
26 That he might grow daily in character
27 That he might keep a clear conscience
28 That the Lord might protect him, guarding his course.
29 That he might learn to manage his time well.
30 That the Lord would put a song in his heart.
31 That he may have a holy fear of the Lord.

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Content reprinted from Teach Magazine. AUTHOR UNKNOWN