Stuff Jesus Does
I just began reading a book called Do What Jesus Did. I’m not far enough to comment on it yet, but it reminds me of this, wrestlings and thoughts from studying the gospels last year:
When Jesus said in John 14,
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (v. 13-14)
What exactly did He mean by that? That’s a crazy promise and we’re left scratching our heads, Surely He didn’t MEAN that??
Did He?
Well, the context always helps us. The verse directly preceding says that whoever believes in Jesus will do the works that He does, in fact even greater works. So, those who believe in Jesus (i.e. those who pray to Him) will be carrying out His work. The verse directly following this passage says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
So those who believe Jesus will be all about His business, doing His works, and those who love Jesus will be obeying His commandments.
If I’m employed by a powerful official and he sends me on an official errand or trip, I will go bearing his name and do exactly the work he’s directed me to do. If there are expenses, of course he’s the one who’ll pick up the tab. I might even get a per diem or a company credit card.
If I need special access into some building, he’ll make sure I have his pass-card or ID or that I’m granted whatever access I need. If I need a company car, he’ll provide it. Of course since I’m on his errand I won’t be messing around, stopping at Target shopping for a new purse. I’ll stick to task because I’m on official business and my boss has given me everything I need to carry out his work. If he’s a good boss, he’ll make sure I know exactly what that work is, so I can do it successfully.
So as long as I know the stuff my boss wants done, I’m set! Everything I need he will provide for me. Anything I ask for, in carrying out King Jesus’ special mission, will be provided. [bctt tweet=”Anything I ask for, in carrying out King Jesus’ special mission, will be provided.”]
It’s kind of starting to make more sense, isn’t it? So as I’m reading through the gospels right now, I’m taking note of the stuff Jesus does. What exactly are “the works He does”?
Now, of course there is too much to list all here, but it’s helpful to note these glimpses from the book of Matthew, of the stuff Jesus does:
And [Jesus] went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. (Matt. 4:23-24)
When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.”And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matt. 8:1-3)
“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” … And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve Him. That evening they brought to Him many who were oppressed by demons, and He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” (Matt. 8:6-7, 13-17.)
And getting into a boat [Jesus] crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. (Matt 9:1-8)
While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said,“Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. (Matt. 9:18-25)
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” (Matt. 9:27-30)
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.(Matt. 9:35)
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. (Matt. 10:1)
And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. (Matt. 10:7-8)
And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Matt. 11:4-6)
He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! Soit is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all. (Matt. 12:11-15)
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. (Matt. 12:22)
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. (Matt. 14:14)
And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. (Matt. 14:35-36)
Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matt 15:28)
And great crowds came to [Jesus], bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking,the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. (Matt. 15:30-31)
And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:14-20)
And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. (Matt. 19:2)
And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. (Matt. 20:30-34)
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. (Matt. 21:14)
This is the stuff Jesus does, and more. For today, consider looking straight into the face of our Lord Jesus, through the pages of Scripture, and consider the holy errand He has called you to today. His Word guarantees that whatever we need for that work, He will provide for us. Welcome to prayer! It’s a glorious adventure.
Thanks for reading.
Lead us back to life in You
The past few weeks, we’ve sung this song in our local church gathering. It is a song of simple repentance. It undoes me. It brings us all back to the glory of the gospel, our desperate need for His grace. It is a song for us all. I like how our guys sing it best, probably because I love them and they don’t have fancy voices. *smile* But you can listen to Sojourn sing it here (or click play below). The lyrics go like this…
Falling down upon our knees
Sharing now in common shame
We have sought security
Not the cross that bears your name
Fences guard our hearts and homes
Comfort sings a siren tune
Weʼre a valley of dry bones
Lead us back to life in you.
Lord we fall upon our knees
We have shunned the weak and poor
Worshipped beauty, courted kings
And the things their gold affords
Prayed for those weʼd like to know
Favor sings a siren tune
Weʼve become a talent show
Lead us back to life in you
Lord youʼve caused the blind to see
We have blinded them again
With our manmade laws and creeds
Eager ready to condemn
Now we plead before your throne
Power sings a siren tune
Weʼve been throwing heavy stones
Lead us back to life in you.
Weʼre a valley of dry bones
Lead us back to life in you.
Weʼve become a talent show
Lead us back to life in you
Weʼve been throwing heavy stones
Lead us back to life in you.
{Let’s begin the week on our knees; thanksgiving flows from repentance. Thank you for reading.}
When life hands you the too-big fork
{It is my joy to revisit these life-giving words from my life-long friend Janae…}
~
When I was new to dirty diapers, sleepless nights and wailing cries, the mundane felt lonely & the sacred empty.
The tasks filled my days, but not my heart. The days were slow & lonely.
At the end of those long & exhausting days, I would collapse in bed & stare at my Bible. My big fat, heavy red Bible. The cover was held together with duct tape. The pages were highlighted, underlined, scribbled on.
But as I stared at the words, they felt dull & distant. I was just too tired.
Frustrated, I’d close my Bible, close my eyes & drift into sweet slumber.
Days slipped by, more babies came.
Now, more than 8 years later, as a mommy of 5, my mundane is sacred & my sacred life-giving simply because of God’s grace.
All those times when I felt too tired, God was not tired. Those scriptures that seemed to be slipping through my weary mind, had been penetrating my heart & changing my spirit so slowly I didn’t even realize it. As I have learned to submit to endless & mundane tasks, my heart has transformed; softened–grown in compassion, patience & humility.
He took me by the hand & taught me how to serve with joy. How to pray while sorting laundry or doing the dishes. How to hear his voice in the midst of all the ruckus. How to read His word in small spaces of time & let it sink in deep.
On a daily basis my sacred mundane sometimes looks like a big crazy disaster. There are moments when voices swirl around me. Simple requests to play legos, read a book, wipe a bottom, feed a tummy, pick up toys, tie a shoe, zip a zipper, play a game, build a puzzle fill the air. The voices can seem in opposition to each other & I often feel pulled in too many directions.
That is when I retreat to my closet which is lined with scripture.
Not to hide, but to seek renewing of my mind & strength from our mighty God. You see, my husband coaches HS tennis and a few years ago the end of the season party was hosted by a family whose bathroom had a huge impact on me. Yup, their bathroom. The walls & ceiling were written on with markers of all colors. There wasn’t a blank spot. There was scripture, there were funny & random comments, there were notes of encouragement & thanks. And that bathroom made me feel good. It held their family memories, highlighted their friendships & their gift for hospitality & shone God’s goodness.
Feeling inspired, I asked my husband if I could write on our closet walls. He said I could do whatever I wanted with those walls. So I bought a pack of markers & started writing. I lined the walls with scripture & I covered the ceiling with things I was thankful for. And before I knew it, my closet had become a place to pray, trust, believe, hope, thank & seek.
So when demands swirl around me my closet is there to steady me. I can sneak away to read a quick verse, lift up a prayer & return to my day with a fresh perspective. I read a quick verse, lift up a prayer & return to my day with a fresh perspective.
Growth has come by pausing to say, “This is hard, God. I cannot do this. I need you. Show me how to love…serve…honor…trust…
And it often feels like I need to die to myself to really get anywhere.
It is harder than hard, and there are times I struggle to breathe. Times when I say, “Lord, letting go of what I want really stinks. Help.” And do you know what He often says? “Obey me, trust me, and see what I can do.”
Whenever I need a really good pep-talk, I reach for Jen Hatmaker’s Interrupted. She makes loving, serving & being stretched seem like one big fabulous party. She writes,
“The path of descent becomes our own liberation. We are freed from the exhausting stance of defense. We are no longer compelled to be right & are thus relieved from the burden of maintaining some reputation. We are released from the idols of greed, control & status.”
So basically she is saying is,
“Lighten up, Janae–who cares if your sweats are the only thing that fit or you comb your hair so rarely that you have humongous knots that need cut out? And big deal if your hubby goes grocery shopping & comes home with 50 boxes of nitrate filled sausages because they were $.27 a box. Surrender & live in freedom.”
Recently my daughter set the table for dinner. She put a lot of consideration into arranging the dishes & utensils. When I sat down, I realized she had given me a huge dinner fork. I prefer the little salad forks. The big ones feel clumsy, heavy, awkward in my hand (I guess I am a fork wimp). I could have very easily stood up, taken a few steps & exchanged the big fork for a little one. But instead I chose to honor her, the choices she made & the effort she put forth. I ate my dinner with that big fork. After a little while, I got used to the weight & it no longer felt out of place in my hand.
I had forgotten it wasn’t what I wanted.
So the question has become, What will I do when given a fork I do not want? When it feels too heavy? When the messes are too big or the attitudes aren’t right or he is working late (again) or the house plans aren’t quite what I wanted or the car isn’t what I would like to be driving or the house projects aren’t ever going to get done or that bikini barista coffee shop irritates me or I find somebody digging through our garbage bin–what am I going to do?
Bend low, dig deep, surrender, build legos, sort the laundry, do the dishes, sweep the floors, survive the sleepless nights, read a book, take a deep breath when the toddler empties the fridge (above!), say “okay & thank you” when he calls to say he is working late, take flowers to the bikini barista, feed the person digging through my garbage.
And let it all transform me while living in the joy that comes in serving & knowing Jesus.
“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again–rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts & minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7
{Thanks for reading.}
Should we pray for protection? (On over-correcting)
Life often feels like a long series of over-correcting.
Like dangerous drivers, we tend to veer from one ditch to the other, struggling to find the middle ground where we can actually gain speed and get somewhere.
Anybody else?
I see this in myself. For many years I pretty much lived in the ditch of “it’s all about embracing suffering.” I ignored healing, reward, blessing, and only focused on the parts of the scriptures (of which there are plenty!) that focused on carrying our cross, embracing persecution, and growth through suffering. That’s well and good, but you better believe if I was in a prayer meeting, and someone started praying for healing, I’d be the first to “over-correct” that by adding something like, “And Lord we just pray you’d also help this person embrace suffering, and be joyful in the midst of this, and help them have patience…”
You get the idea.
We can so funny in prayer meetings, so quick to helpfully correct each other’s prayer. *wink*
But then of course I’ve learned about healing. Say what?! Oh, Jesus healed people! Tada! This is incredible. And so this whole new world opens up to me, and I’m amazed by it, swerving hard out of that ditch. But now is the challenge of seeking to stay firm on solid ground, balanced, without falling into ditches on either side.
Thankfully, the Scriptures, read in their entirety without just picking and choosing our favorite verses, provide us with the perfect steadiness, keeping us from veering too far off either side. But one of the areas where I’ve struggled to find that middle biblical ground is in the area of protection.
Should we pray for protection?
The same way that I used to think praying for healing was “shallow” (although I would never have admitted that), I thought praying for protection seemed pretty self-centered. Paul wasn’t concerned about being shipwrecked, right? He was concerned that more and more people would know the gospel! He wasn’t consumed with his own comfort and security, he was consumed with a passion to make known the glory of God, whatever it took.
But while this is true, we always need to be on guard against that ditch.
But last week, I kept sensing an urge to pray for protection. I read up a bit, and could see that yes, so clearly, we were called to petition for ourselves and intercede for others to be protected. Psalm 91 is a clear declaration of God’s protection, so I just prayed as best as I knew how, to be protected, and that, above all, our hearts would completely trust God.
That weekend, I traveled 4.5 hours south to a retreat. All went well, and on the way home Saturday evening, I continued to thank God for His peace and confidence, and for protection.
As I traveled up I-5 going 70 mph, through a narrow part of the freeway with a concrete median on one side and cars on the other, a wheel/tire flew off an SUV in front of me, bounced up in the air, and came straight at my windshield. I didn’t even have time to think, but couldn’t swerve, so just slammed on my brakes and ducked my head. Amazingly, the tire came down instead of at my windshield, and slammed into my bumper, really the only place it could hit without causing me to crash. Part of my bumper fell off and flew down the road, the other part hung off a bit and my hood was rattled loose, but after pulling aside (shaking like a leaf!), I saw the car was completely drivable, so I continued home (praying the whole way that God would hold my hood shut!).
I praised God the whole way for prompting my heart to pray for protection, then providing the protection I so needed.
Friends, we can spend so much time trying to dissect prayer, figuring out the “right ways” to pray, which really just squanders the time we could be spending actually praying! Years ago I heard a sermon where a pastor mercilessly made fun of the (admittedly) quirky ways that people pray, and while I’m sure his intent was pure, it had such a negative effect on me.
It made me paranoid that somehow I was “doing it wrong.”
I’m finding freedom in just praying according to the scriptures, as best as I can, without swerving too far to either side, bouncing in and out of ditches, or stalling in stillness because I’m too paralyzed by wanting to “do it right.”
May you find freedom today as you pray, may you steer clear of those ditches, and gain significant ground as you interact with your Heavenly Father about all that concerns you today. He loves you so!
{Happy weekend. Thanks for reading.}
A long view of short prayers
I found the book last fall. Covered in brown fabric, the title inside the front cover is written in Sharpie: Prayers and Ponderings. 9/79 — 12/88. Nine years.
The prayers and ponderings are mostly short. Just 1-2 pages per month to determine the focused prayers and goals for that specific season. November 1979’s page includes a new prayer focus at the bottom:
Baby
That’d be me. Though I was no bigger than a bean, my mom was already praying for me.
Just below that is prayer for Cambodians, Russian Christians, hostages, and President Carter.
Nothing too small, nothing too big. She prayed.
And while there are many jotted notes here and there (PTL!, better :), promising!, house sold!, recovering!) most of these short prayers have a long view of God’s promises.
I believe I’m still reaping the benefits now, more than 35 years later.
My discouragement in prayer is most often due to not seeing quick answers. Certainly I do see some immediate answers, which serves as a spiritual shot-in-the-arm for my faith. But there’s no getting around that a great portion of our prayers requires a great willingness to wait for the fulfillment.
We must have a long view of prayer.
What encourages me about my mom’s prayer journal, is her consistency month after month, year after year. Other than my wedding ring, I don’t think I’ve kept any item for 9 years, let alone a journal! She kept this same journal for nine years. In this way you could see gradual changes over the years.
And I love that her prayers are rather simple, short. To the point.
Jesus made it clear: Prayers aren’t answered due to length or clever word-choice.
Prayers are answered when they’re prayed in humility and faith. Humility bows us low and alines our will with His will, faith is what leads us to reach up and grasp His will. Like the woman who crept low through the crowd to grasp the hem of his garment, we lower ourselves and reach out.
We take hold of His promises, we take hold of His power, we take hold of His provision.
Everything we need is available to us, through prayer.
My mom’s prayer journal is a beautiful example to me of a commitment to a long view of short prayers. What simple habit can you embrace that will help you do the same?
A few moments ago my phone alarm went off and the screen read: “Pray with Mom.” Every day it goes off at the same time. Every day I call. She answers, still groggy from sleep. We pray. It’s brief–just 5 minutes, but together we agree with God and reach out together for His promises, His power, His provision.
Together we take a long view of short prayers.
And my hope is that these short morning prayers last a long time. Because just as it is with exercise, parenting, and basically anything else worth doing–consistency is key. You may not pray for an hour, but if you pray for 5 minutes every single day, something glorious will happen in the long haul.
{Thanks for reading.}
Why authority isn’t bossy and faith isn’t proud…
“Who am I to ask God for such a thing?”
We sat here at the counter in my kitchen, her contemplating cancer as she sipped coffee, waiting for the test results to come back.
I could understand her sentiments, who of us hasn’t thought this at one time or another? Who am I? Why on earth should we dare to make such bold requests?
And so we don’t. We embrace “humility” and slump our shoulders a little more, making our best mopey face and offering up a limp “whatever You will” prayer.
Let me just say this: I’m sure glad my kids don’t act like that.
But I get why we do. We’ve seen entitlement running rampant in our day, and we certainly don’t want to take that approach. Or perhaps we’ve even seen those who (loudly) tout that we must walk in AUTHORITY! We hear them shouting about naming and claiming, we hear them yelling at sickness or commanding God to do things and we wonder if authority really has to be that bossy.
I don’t think authority is very bossy at all.
The last few months I’ve been chewing on this: authority, humility, and faith.
Jesus clearly gives authority to His disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons (Matt. 10:6). If we have been given authority over these things, we do need to walk in this authority.
But how? By being bossy? Entitled? I believe we receive it by faith. The authority isn’t ours, it’s Christ’s. We’re just running errands for Jesus. The only real way to access that authority is to walk in humility, and that humility is the root of real faith.
Let me illustrate: In Matthew 8, the Centurion comes to Jesus to seek healing for his servant. Up to this point, Jesus has only healed directly, by laying hands on someone, or speaking directly to them. But the Centurion’s faith is crazy-faith, he says that Jesus doesn’t even have to come to his house, He can just say the word and he knows that his servant will be healed.
He believes Jesus for an unprecedented miracle.
His faith is so crazy He believes for something He’s never seen, something He’s never even heard of, something that’s never been done.
Wowzers! That’s faith. The Luke 7 version of the story tells us Jesus marveled at this man’s faith. Even Jesus was amazed! And notice what’s at the root of this crazy faith? Humility.
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word and my servant will be healed.” (Matt. 8:8)
His faith grew in proportion with His humility. The smaller his ego the greater his faith.
This man goes on to say he understands authority–he has people under him and he too is a man under authority. In other words, “I get authority. I get what it’s like to be under authority and I get what it’s like to have authority. But more than that I get that YOU ARE the authority, and you can just say the word and my servant will be healed.”
This guy gets it: Authority, humility, and faith.
The Canaanite woman demonstrates the same thing in Matthew 15. When Jesus rebuffs her to test her faith, it’s her humility that gives great faith and access into the authority of Jesus. She’s willing to call herself a dog, and recognizes that her bold request is but a “crumb” in comparison to the riches at the right hand of God in Jesus Christ. Her daughter is instantly healed and Jesus marvels again,
“Oh woman, great is your faith!”
Oh how I long to hear Jesus say that to me!
Are we really afraid of offending Jesus with our too-big requests?
Do we really think our prayers are too big?
I’d venture to say, more often than not: They are too small. Jesus NEVER responds to someone, “Whoa! That’s a big request. Can you tone it down a little?” Of course he kindly rebuffs James and John when they want to sit at his right hand and left, but not because their request was too big, but because it was amiss. It was pride-based and rooted in self.
There is always the danger of asking amiss, but never a danger of asking too much.
And so we must continually come back to the Word of God to see His clearly-revealed will, to line our requests up with His, as best as we know how.
So, over coffee, in my kitchen, we did just that. Like little children, we bowed and asked our Father to just “say the word” and declare a completely clean bill of health.
And He did.
Hallelujah.
{I pray you have fresh faith to ask… Thanks for reading.}
Prayer Cards: A simple tool that really works
Yesterday as she opened her Bible, a stack of colored index cards slipped out onto the floor. I had to smile. I knew exactly what they were and why she likely kept them with her all the time.
Because I do too!
I’ve been a Christian for almost 30 years, but I just started really praying two months ago. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but the change in my prayer life has been just that–dramatic.
Because of what? Prayer Cards.
Now, I’ve often used assorted types of prayer cards in the past but these specifically have so powerfully transformed my times in prayer. I’d love to share them with you!
They come from Paul Miller’s book A Praying Life. If you have not yet read this book, please click over immediately to Amazon and purchase a copy. Now.
He leads a journey into becoming childlike and honest in our prayers, identifying real needs and strategically praying in specific ways over those things. He helps us learn to pray God’s Word over each situation and continue persevering in asking, seeking, knocking over and over and over. For me, the journey was learning to pray with greater
- focus
- purpose
- confidence
- patience
- faith
When I first heard of these prayer cards I admit I felt a slight, “Been there, done that,” cynicism flitting through my mind. But my dear friend Elisha was so enthusiastic about them I finally cheated and skipped to the back of the book to see what the hype was all about.
I was hooked. I spent the weekend making my own, and dove in to praying through them each day. Almost immediately I started seeing results! It was crazy! That first week I gushed through all the ways I’d seen God answer the specific, Scripture-based prayers from the week before. A part of me wondered if the novelty would wear off, but I’m 2-months in and still loving this helpful tool. Of course, it’s just a tool. God is what’s powerful, not the cards. But they are, in my opinion, an insanely helpful tool. Paul Miller has been using his for decades and still finds them immensely helpful in his own personal prayer life.
So what are they? Just a way to identify the people and needs around you that God has called you specifically to strategically pray for: Miller gives a sample deck in his book (p.232). They are roughly broken into Repentance, Family & Friends, Specific Needs, Ministry, Work, Co-Workers, Other Relationships, Dreams, etc.
Mine look like this (I put them on a metal ring so I can flip through):
- Repentance cards (2-3): These are things I need to regularly confess to God and ask for His help in overcoming my tendency to sin in this area. My current two are titled “Unbelief” and “Pride”–they include specific ways I tend toward these sins, and specific scriptures on each to pray through each morning.
- Immediate Family (3): One each for Jeff, Heidi, and Dutch, with specific verses, characteristics, and/or issues to pray for each one, each day. (I’ve seen huge answers to prayer on these ones! Miller says “I do my best parenting through prayer.”)
- Extended family cards (2): I have one for my “Zyp-side” family members and one for my “Patterson-side” family members, with a word or two, or a verse.
- Close friends (1): I have a few close friends listed here, with specific (ongoing) needs, and notes jotted down when answers come or other needs arise.
- Healing (1): Here I have the names of people I am specifically and faithfully praying for physical healing every day, along with verses (Acts 3:16, Ex. 15:26, Matt 8:16, and others) regarding healing.
- Salvation (1): I now see how healing and “salvation” are partly one and the same, but this card refers to those who do not yet follow Jesus as their Savior and King. Romans 10:9 is written across the top to pray for each of these people.
- Bible Study (1): Here I pray for the 21 ladies who are currently involved in Women’s Bible Study. I don’t pray for each of them every day by name, but I look over the list each day, pray over them in general, and usually pick a few to pray for individually.
- Retreats (1): Here I pray specific scriptures over all my speaking events, asking God for boldness and humility, and praying for life change, repentance, salvation, freedom, faith, and joy.
- Renew (1): Here I pray specific, scriptural verses over Renew, for the elders, for increased influence for the gospel, for unity and love, and jot down specific things that come to mind and ways I believe God wants me to pray. This is a fun card!
- Renew fam (1): I know that if we get bigger I won’t be able to list everyone on one card! But for now I can. I listed all the last-names of the families of Renew all on a card. Again, I don’t pray for each one every day, but I’ll pick several each day.
- Missionaries (1): Here I list the 5 main ministries we support and pray for each one.
- Sacred Mundane (1): Here I pray specific things for this ministry, this blog, my book project, etc.
- Personal (1): Finally, I dream. 🙂 I pray for specific dreams I think God has placed in my heart, and for any personal things I desire to see God do, according to His will.
And of course prayer is not simply reading over these cards each day. These cards are a diving board, a place to begin and then leap into a conversation with the Father and pour out my heart, listen to His Spirit, and pray as He leads. But the cards keep me on track, and remind of what I already know to pray for, according to His Word, so my prayer time doesn’t end up being an exercise in mind-wandering and mental grocery-list making.
Of course I’m still a beginner in prayer, but the change has been dramatic in my prayer life. I’m enjoying prayer, looking forward to it, feeling confident in it, and seeing real results. I get discouraged less often and see more “incremental answers”–little ways I see God moving even if the “end result” answer remains unfinished. I can honestly say I’m learning to love to pray.
This, perhaps, is the greatest answer of all.
{Thanks for reading.}
One Brave Thing
“It’s Daddy! It’s Daddy!” Heidi shouted, excited, as she ran into the living room holding my phone. I gasped, rushing to grab the phone and carefully swipe to accept the Facetime call. Jeff had only been in Africa 2 days, and I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to talk via Facetime at all. But here he was, calling. We huddled up anxiously on the couch, holding up the screen in front of our faces, waiting for the connection to come through. We waited … connecting connecting connecting.
And there he was! Clearly tired but full of joy, Jeff sat on his bed beaming into the screen. Heidi quickly began jabbering, telling every detail of our beach trip, holding up her new stuffed pony and gemstone sandals. Jeff listened long before sharing tidbits of his life-changing adventure through Uganda, following in the footsteps of our good friends Paul & Pam Hunter from Next Generation Ministries.
At the end, before hanging up, Jeff got face to face with Heidi on the phone.
“Heidi, I want you to do one brave thing, then tell me all about what you did. Ok?”
Heidi looked seriously, receiving her charge.
“Ok, Daddy.”
We kissed the phone-screen and said goodbye. I didn’t mention the brave-thing, but I loved that he challenged her with that.
See, my little darlin’ doesn’t come by bravery easily. Perhaps she gets it from her Mama. (smile) Caution comes quickly, and both my kids would always rather play it safe. I joke that I don’t have a thrill-seeking bone in my body.
But we don’t have to be dare-devils to be brave.
It was the next day when we were playing outside at Riversong, my parents country home. For months Papa had urged Heidi to take off her training wheels, but she refused. No way. She had no intention of ever doing such a thing. But this morning, Papa drove off for a trip to town, and as we pulled out her bike she paused. For just a moment she looked down at her bike, then up into my eyes. Then she said it quietly,
“Mama, let’s take off my training wheels.” I grinned, but didn’t make a big deal (I’ve learned the hard way that over-exuberance kills the moment for my kids), quickly found a wrench, removed the wheels, and held the bike steady.
“I’ll run along behind you and hold that seat,” I promised, but no sooner had we started than she called back,
“You don’t need to hold on.”
And just like that … she was off. Riding like the wind, golden-tipped curls streaming behind her, face full of light, open-mouth smile:
“Look Mommy! I’m riding! I can’t wait to show Daddy!”
You’d think she was born on that bike, the way she speeds around that driveway now.
That night, we curled into bed together, her little arms around my neck, her sweet-breath right on my face as she whispered,
“Mommy, I did one brave thing.”
“Yes, sweetie-girl you did.”
The next day she jumped up when the phone buzzed, holding up the screen while she waited for the connection. “Daddy! I did it! I did one brave thing! I rode my bike without training wheels.”
As I sat and watched the joy on her face, the joy on Jeff’s face, I couldn’t help but see the Father’s heart for us, His kids. He knows we’re afraid. He knows we’re not naturally courageous. He knows we’re prone to fear, caution. He knows that spiritually-speaking, we’re not much for thrill-seeking.
But He asks us just this: Do one brave thing.
You don’t have to raise the dead just yet. Maybe pray for a mundane miracle. Maybe give 10% of your income even though you don’t know how ends will meet. Forgive that person who hurt you so long ago. Trust Him with that relationship that’s gone haywire. Give extra kindness to the person who’s just so hard to love.
What is your one brave thing?
May today be the day you take off those training wheels … and ride like the wind.
Your Father will be so proud.
{Thanks for reading.}
On heaven and healing
“Heaven’s so wonderful. Why do we see it as a bad thing to go there?”
Her words made sense. She was making the point that, if we really meditated on heaven, if we really could comprehend how glorious eternity would be, then we wouldn’t get so up in arms about sickness and death. Cancer? Who cares! It just means we get to go to heaven sooner!
In her view, any terminal diagnosis was just a fast-track to glory.
True. Sort of.
Again I find myself stuck with trying to fit a novel on a post-it-note. But, this slightly skewed line of thinking leaves us limping along in powerless prayer.
Heaven is awesome. Let’s study up on heaven. It’s going to be glorious. No pain, no sin, no sickness, no funky relationships and disappointments. Food and music for eternity–a party! Super fabulous bodies–no flab, wrinkles, or thick ankles (ok that might be my wishful thinking). It’s going to be great. Our ultimate hope is most certainly in heaven.
But, quite frankly, we have work to do here.
Sometimes we act as though our desire for healing is because we just don’t understand how awesome heaven is. It’s exactly the opposite!
BECAUSE I understand how awesome heaven is, I want to take as many people as I possibly can with me there. I want to display the power of God here on this earth, doing the works Jesus did, so that countless throngs will see His power and bow the knee to the King of Kings. The result of Jesus’ miraculous work was that throngs of people followed Him. In Acts, when the disciples were preaching and performing miracles, thousands of souls were added to the Kingdom. Surely, some of those would fall away once they learned the hard way of following Jesus, a way of trial and hardship, but there was no denying the power of God.
Can God add people to the kingdom without signs and wonders? Of course! Can He save people without our help? Of course! If we stay quiet the rocks will cry out! But we miss out. If we ignore His mandate and His promises, we miss out on the greatest adventure of the ages, the epic rescue of souls for the eternal glory of heaven.
Never in scripture does God “heal” someone by taking them to heaven. Jesus never answered a cry for healing by letting them die, He never responds, “If you only understood how good heaven is, you wouldn’t be asking me for healing.” That’s not to say God doesn’t bring good out of sickness and death, God can bring good out of anything (Hallelujah!) and He always does, but let us not dilute our prayers by allowing that lurking doubt remain in our minds. When Jesus healed it was real, physical, observable, and complete.
Ok, Kari, but are you actually SEEING this? Where’s the proof?
I’m glad you asked. No, I’m not. While I have seen some “small” miraculous healings in the last month (a broken leg re-aligned where it had been mis-aligned, and a severe blood-sugar problem completely corrected), if I only look at my own experiences, I will quickly lose all hope.
When Peter looked at the waves, he immediately sank.
But I will not lower God’s Word to the level of my experience, I will continue to believe and pray and obey and repent and trust God to raise the level of my experience to His Word.[bctt tweet=”I will not lower God’s Word to my experience, I ask Him to raise my experience to His Word. “]
What does this mean for my mundane? When I pray in faith for my children’s sore throats, I am simply taking every ordinary opportunity to display the power of God. When I pray for my mom for the gazillionth time, I am simply practicing how Jesus said to pray and not give up. When I pray for Kara, I am standing on the promise of God and asking for His power to be so miraculously displayed in her life that thousands come to faith in Him.
Sacred Mundane? You bet! The power and presence of God invading our ordinary days:
Heaven on earth.
{Thanks for reading.}
Leading our children from cynicism to hope…
It was December when she said it.
We were snuggled up together on the couch, under a quilt; we’d just finished reading the story of Jesus healing Jairus’ daughter. What a glorious story! And then she said it, quiet, to herself,
“God doesn’t do that anymore.”
My breath caught, struck that her unguarded childlike words would reflect what I too suspected, way down deep:
Does God do that anymore?
The truth was, though I’d read those words dozens of times, I wasn’t quite sure if God “did that anymore.”
My own inner doubts seemed harmless enough, honest questions, right? But once I heard my own unbelief spoken softly into the air, through the very lips of my precious daughter, the one I have devoted my life to discipling into a follower of Christ … then I knew something great was at stake:
My life is becoming her doctrine.
I closed my eyes and saw the sand in the hourglass–time running out.
See, childlike faith can quickly turn to cynicism. Certainly, we cannot (and should not!) shelter our children from all disappointment. God does not say yes to every prayer. (This too is grace.) But children give us the gift of unfiltered speech:
The Emperor has no clothes!
They see right through religion. What is real? We’re often afraid to speak the obvious, afraid it will expose our own inadequacies, and as a result we sometimes miss seeing a real God do real stuff in the real world every single day.
Later, months later, we sat on the couch and read The Hungry Thing. When all the adults cannot fathom was schmancakes and hookies and gollipops could possibly be, the small child speaks up with the clarity that only humility can bring:
Pancakes, and cookies and lollipops!
This year’s read through the Bible has only been a lesson in childlikeness. Believe what the Word actually says. Keep living as if “biblical” is real, because it is, even if you don’t feel it or see it at first.
Eventually your “real” will rise to meet biblical. Don’t give up.
What does this mean for my mundane? It means refusing to give up. It means meeting the questioning gaze of my daughter when she prays again and doesn’t see the answer she’d hoped for. It means honestly admitting that I also don’t understand sometimes. And it means celebrating every glimpse of the miraculous in our mundane. (Four times recently Heidi has prayed on her own to find a misplaced item and each time God immediately answered. She prayed for a specific need on Wednesday and had it clearly answered. Mundane miracles start tiny!)
It means cultivating an atmosphere of childlike faith and steadfast hope. It means rejecting cynicism, doubt, discouragement, and unbelief. It means come to the Father again and again in faith, in prayer, asking for everything from miracles to meals.
Let’s not lose our children to cynicism. Let’s commit afresh to seeing His kingdom come, in our homes and in their hearts as it is in heaven.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Rom. 15:13)
{Happy weekend. Thanks for reading.}