Prayer Request

For those of you who aren't on Facebook...

Please pray for my dad's best-friend-since-childhood David...he was hit by a DUI driver yesterday morning, spun across the highway median, and collided with a semi-truck.  He is in critical condition and it's uncertain whether he will make it or not.  Please keep him and his wife and two kids in your prayers.  Pray for healing for David and strength and peace for the family...and for my dad as well, as this is his best friend, and he has so many other burdens on him right now as it is.
Thanks so much!

http://yourerie.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=177517&shr=addthis
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011306089951

30-Day Challenge Postponed ~ News

Hello folks!

We now interrupt this program for a little prayer request and a little rest. :-)

I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow! Mm-hm.  *smiles real big*    Don't I sound excited?
I'm actually very nervous.  Very.  :-/  Not so much about the surgery but not being myself afterwards. :-S  So if you could all pray, not only that it would go well but also that I would trust the Lord and rest in Him and not be afraid, that would be wonderful!

I had been planning on writing several days' worth of posts in advance and scheduling them to post on their respective days, but I couldn't think of what to write, and so I just decided to postpone the whole thing until next Sunday.  That doesn't mean I won't posting at all this week (it might mean that, but not definitely ;-) ) but the blog challenge is put off for a week. 

Thank you so much! 

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)

Please Pray

Dear Bloggie Friends,

Can you please, please, please be in prayer for my Uncle John. (This my mom's sister Katherine's husband, and Aunt Leah's brother.) He has been trying for YEARS, I mean YEEEEEEEEEEARS to get onto the Modesto Police Department and finally was able to get on it, and has been going through training. However, his trainer is a real pain and has been impatient with Uncle John and saying he isn't learning well and just making things very difficult. Now they have given Uncle John one week to prove himself or else he will be let go.

This means a lot of things! For one thing, that would be so terrible if after all this time of working towards this goal, Uncle John would be let go. Another thing is that Aunt Katherine would have to go back to working outside the home and Cousin Daniel would have to go to the public school instead of being homeschooled. Also, the 15th of this month will have been one year since Aunt Leah, Harrison, and Sophia died, and for Uncle John to lose his job in the same week would be very, very hard.

So please, please pray that Uncle John would be able to keep this job and do well in it and that he would experience the supernatural strength of our Lord in an amazing way this week. Also please pray that the Lord would continue to comfort him and help him as he continues to deal with the tragedy of his sister's death.

Thank you all so much!

~Melanie

Probably the Most Accurate Facebook Quiz I've Ever Taken...

What is your Temperament?

Melanie took the "What is your Temperament?" quiz and the result is Sanguine.

 

You sparkle. There is something about you that is lovable and fun. You are a people-person and people are drawn to you. You are lighthearted and carefree. You are a born storyteller, everyone knows that when you start a conversation with "You'll never guess what happened..." they are in for a good story. You have a good sense of humour and a memory for colour. You feel things passionately and you are very demonstrative of your feelings. You have a natural curiosity and a wide-eyed innocence that is charming. You have a changeable disposition but a sincere heart. Whatever is happening now is the most important thing and whoever is in the room is your favourite person - and you are theirs. Extrovert: The People Person.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So that was what I came up as in the "What is Your Temperament" quiz. :-)  I thought most of the things were pretty close to the real me. 

Please forgive me for not posting sooner.  I have been doing a lot of thinking, and a lot of writing, but have not gotten much of it onto my blog here! :-J   I am still planning on writing the second part of the series I started on Faith, Hope, and Love.  Also, I might post the article about Malaysia that I'm working on, tell about my new writing diary, and share some other things the Lord is teaching me.  Right now, I am going to make a cup of chai tea (which kept me up until 3:00 AM last night...) and read a book.  Then hopefully I will get to writing Airborne and possibly working on my childrens' books series.  I hope all my dear readers are doing well.  Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and put Him first in everything, that He may receive all the glory. 

Something to pray about: In my studying to write an article on Malaysia for the Tuckleberry Times, I have learned a lot about the persecution Christians receive there from the Muslims (which make up 60.4% of the population.)   In the last few months, they have been suffering from angered Muslims making attacks on some of their churches.  Please keep the Malaysian Christians in prayer.  Pray that they would be strong in their faith, that converts to Christianity would hold to Jesus no matter what the earthly cost, and that Christians would be bold to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, even with the Muslims (which is illegal).  I can't wait to share with you what I have been learning about Malaysia!

Pray for the Dakus in Fiji

Hey folks! I got this email from some missionary acquaintances of ours serving God in the Fiji Islands. I am posting it here so that you can pray for them as well. (This is an AWESOME family; Paul and Martha have been serving as missionaries for I don't know how long, and each of their grown sons has gone on to serve the Lord in the same area as well! I wish you could hear Mr. Daku speak; he is phenomenal!) Anyway, here's the letter:

Dear praying friends,

Greetings from the Fiji Islands! This week, the church in Rotuma is being built and the boys' dormitory at the Master's Use Baptist Institute is being built as well. We are thrilled that all the red tape and preparations were finally conquered and completed so these buildings could go up for God's glory.

However, the powers of darkness are not celebrating these victories. In fact, we are experiencing some big spiritual battles within our ministry just this week. Four of our families are facing major problems. We ask that you join us in fervent prayer over the next four days that Satan will be defeated in these situations and that God will give us the victory. We will be meeting with two of the families again over the weekend to try to show them God's way from the Bible.

1. The landlord of one of our families is trying to force them out of their rental house, even though he has no legal grounds to do so.
2. A young man has a heart to follow the Lord and train for the ministry, but his wife is opposed to it and is planning to break up the family just to have her own way.
3. Another family has experienced a complicated situation regarding an uncle and a teen girl who lives with them.
4. A young married couple is on the verge of splitting due to the secret life and habitual sin of the husband. He walked out a week ago.

It is difficult to explain to you the level of spiritual warfare we face in Fiji on a daily basis. We have never experienced this many situations all at one time.
We know that our only weapon is the armor of God. Pray that we will be strong "in the power of his might."

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." II Cor. 10:4

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING WITH US.

Trusting God for the victory,

Paul and Martha Daku
Fiji Islands

A Random Post on Rearranging, on Prayer, and on Bible Reading

Hello, blogger friends!

If you scroll down, you'll see that I rearranged my sidebar a little. I changed the appearance of some things like the blog archives and labels, removed some things like my "favorite links" list (especially since I'm doing my "good blogs to read" series anyway), and added some text.

One of the new features is a list of prayer requests. At church, Mr. Vrotsos has been encouraging us to share with one another and pray with one another. I think many of us are so used to not sharing that we feel vulnerable to mention the needs of our hearts. However, as Christians, we are not supposed to be hiding in our shells and never letting one in; that is more pride than it is humility. In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul says that when the people were praying for specific things, they could also rejoice in the Lord and give thanks when they saw God answer those prayers. In the Psalms, David speaks over and over again about how the Lord heard his prayer and answered, and he encourages people to praise the Lord with him for His faithfulness and goodness. Indeed, it is easier to document the specific answers God gives us when we also know the specific request we laid before Him.

On my prayer list, I have shared some specific needs that I am asking prayer for, and it will change from time to time. I will be sure to keep you updated on answers. ;-) You are welcome to use my idea on your blog, if you wish, and I will gladly pray for you as well. :-)

Another feature I added was the Bible Reading Schedule for January. I rearranged the New Testament reading on my schedule from church because I wanted to space out the gospels throughout the year instead of reading them all at once. So each month I am going to post my schedule and you are welcome to follow along if you are needing a schedule to go by. :-) Future posts will probably be based on what I am reading as well. :-)

One more thing: I moved the Followers list to the bottom of the page, where I removed my movie posters. (They are still available upon request, if you'd like me to email them to you.) So if you want to follow this blog, the gadget is at the very end of the page! ;-)

So that's that! You all have a wonderful week.

Love you all,

Melanie/Emmie/Mackey/etc. :-)

Comforting Thoughts from Amy Carmichael

Lately I have been reading Gold Cord, a book by Amy Carmichael, meant to give the basic history of the Dohnavur Fellowship, but, more than that, sharing the amazing truths of God that she and her fellow-workers learned during those years. Miss Carmichael is such an amazing authoress; the way she shares her heart and God's heart with us truly hits home and helps me to see things in a whole new light. Here are some excerpts from Chapter 23: "And A Light Shined in the Cell".

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Home of our hearts, lest we forget
What our redemption meant to Thee,
Let our most reverent thoughts be set
Upon Thy Calvary.

We, when we suffer, turn and toss
And seek for ease, and seek again;
But Thou upon Thy bitter cross
Wast firmly fixed in pain.

And in our night star-clusters shine,
Flowers comfort us, and joy of song;
No star, no flower, no song was Thine,
But darkness three hours long.

We in our lesser mystery,
Of lingering ill, and winged death,
Would fain see clear; but could we see,
What need would be for faith?

O Lord beloved, Thy Calvary
Stills all our questions. Come, oh come,
Where children wandering wearily
Have not yet found their home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Years later, in an hour of need, the Everlasting Comforter came through the Septuagint version of Psalm 105:18, 'His soul [Joseph's] entered into iron.' It was not that others put him in irons (though they did, they hurt his feet with fetters), it was that he himself acquiesced in, willing walked into the unexplained trial of his God's dealings with him. 'His soul entered,whole and entire in its resolve to obey God, into the cruel torture,' is Kay's note on that great matter; but what fathomless depths it must have held for our Lord Jesus when He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, Gethsemane, Calvary, and certain it is that whatever way of pain may open before any on of us, we find as we walk in it the marks of our dear Lord's footsteps leading on. He walked alone on that road so that we need never walk alone."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Light-- there is something in the word that is not of earth. On a day when it brought us the very tenderness of God, a cable came from Australia: And a light shined in the cell. The words turned to song, such simple song that it would not be written here if it were not hat so often very simple, almost infantile things carry little cups of comfort:

And a light shined in the cell,
And there was not any wall,
And there was no dark at all;
Only Thou, Immanuel.

Light of Love shined in the cell,
Turned to gold the iron bars,
Opened windows to the stars;
Peace stood there as sentinel.

Dearest Lord, how can it be
That Thou art so kind to me?
Love is shining in my cell,
Jesus, my Immanuel."

~Amy Carmichael, Gold Cord, chapter 23

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


With these thoughts in mind, may I ask you all to remember the Ripleys, the Wagoners, the Floras, and the Hopewells in prayer this Christmas, as they go through the season without some of the dearest people in the world to them? The pain of losing a child or a wife is great, beyond what some of us can imagine, but Jesus had trodden that path before-- so please pray that He would make His presence very well known to them during this season and fill them with His peace and comfort. Thank you all!

Answer to Prayer/Prayer Request/Thoughts on 1 Peter

I am happy to report to you that Denise is no longer in a coma and has been transferred to rehab!! Praise the Lord!!! This is truly His hand... Mommy said that it sounds like Denise is wishing she could get better quicker than she is able to, which is understandable, so if you could pray that she would heal quickly and that during this time of rehabilitation that her heart would be set on God and drawn closer to Him.

Most of the people had church seem to be coming out of the flu; the auditorium was a LOT fuller this week than last. Praise the Lord!

Thanks also for praying for Nathan; he's doing a lot better. However, now Evan Gerber has the pneumonia. :-( So if you can pray for him now! And that no one else gets it!

Here's some beautiful verses I read today:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:3-9)

I love 1 Peter! How often I need this reminder, that the events in my life are to burn off the dross and make me more like Christ. Instead of focusing on how hard things are, I should look to Jesus, whom, having not seen, I love... And when you focus on Jesus, things take on such a new perspective, don't they?

Well, to try to expound upon these verses would pretty much be to just repeat them! So reread the verses and let the message sink into your hearts!

Answer!

Wow. According to Teddy, and to Nathan's brother Josiah's email to my mom, Nathan's temperature is broken and it seems like he will be on the mend!

Isn't God good! Here yesterday it was sounding very serious and then God intervenes and sets him on the mend! (He sure did give us a scary, didn't he, Ted? How dare he! ;-) ) So, praise the Lord! He hears the prayers of His people!

I'll keep you updated on Denise as best as I can!

More Prayers Please!!

Sorry, the prayer requests seem to keep coming...

Some of you guys know Nathan Barkman from church. He's a 16-year-old guy, really fun, and plays with Beth's little bluegrass group on Sundays.

Nathan has got H1N1 (swine flu) really bad-- he's had temperatures of 104 all week and it's developing into pneumonia. :-( Please, please pray for him... this swine flu thing is scary. :-S

I haven't heard much more about Denise; she is still in the hospital, but praise the Lord, she is hanging in there.

It'll be interesting though to see what kind of after-effects this has on some people! :-S

But God is in control-- through every scary thing in life, He is still orchestrating all the events for His glory and our good. I am glad we have that truth to rest in.

"Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." (Psalm 91:9-12)

"Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." (Psalm 46:10-11)

Update on Denise

Thank you all so much for your prayers for Denise!

Denise was put on dialysis which has helped bring her numbers up, so things are looking a little better for her, and there has been some improvement, but she is still not out of the woods yet, and things could change quickly. So please do continue to pray for her.

Most importantly: My mom talked to my aunt (Denise's step-mom) yesterday, and we learned that it is doubtful whether Denise actually knows the Lord. Of course, we cannot know that; only the Lord does. But please do keep her especially in your prayers, that the Lord would bring her out of this illness that He might bring her unto-- or closer to-- Himself.

Thank you all!

PLEASE PRAY!

I'd like to ask you guys to pray for my step-cousin, Denise. (She is my aunt's husband's daughter from a first marriage.) She is dying from H1N1 (swine flu) which developed from pneumonia. She is on life support now; the doctors have done all they could for her.

But God is more powerful than all the technology man can come up with. Will you all please pray that the Lord would show Himself strong, and, if it is His will, that He will heal Denise in a miraculous way so that people will see His glory and know His power? And that if He chooses to take her to Himself, that He would comfort and strengthen Uncle Everett and Aunt Golda and the rest of the family. As most of you know, my aunt (and my mom) lost her mom, both grandmas, and her sister's sister-in-law within the last couple years; this must be really hard for her.

I have never met Denise, but she is my cousin and I am asking you girls to unite in prayer for her and for her family!

Thanks so much! <3

News on our Flora Relatives

Today I got another letter from my "cousin" in Flora, IN; Megan (she is actually my mom's sister's husband's cousin's daughter... I think that's right...?? ... but we call each other cousins); and she had news about Leah and the kids' family.

Uncle Brian (Leah's husband) has finally bought a house in Flora which Aunt Erma (Leah's mom) is decorating (since home decorating is her specialty :-) ).
Before Aunt Leah died, she and Aunt Erma planted a huge garden and made all kinds of plans for canning and freezing come harvest time. I remember Aunt Erma telling us about it when we were out there for the funeral, and saying that she didn't really have the heart for it anymore. Lately she has been freezing and canning the produce; I can't help but tear up when I think of how they had made plans to do it together, and now she is doing it alone.

So please continue to keep them in your prayers as each day surely brings back old memories and new challenges.

Please pray for the other extended family too. Many of Uncle John's relatives are German Baptist (Leah and Brian, Kenneth and Erma aren't), and recently there was a split in the German Baptist Church because the leaders of the denomination were basically demanding that all members agreed to a long list of regulations that were not Bible-based at all. (Kind of reminds me of the Pharisees of Jesus' day...) Anyway, various members of the family have chosen different paths over this; some have stayed in the GB church, submitting to it's regulations; others have joined the off-branch of the GB church; and others are still searching for a church that really teaches the truth of the Word and such. So please pray for them all to know how to make the right decisions and to honor God through this all.

Thanks so much! :-) Have a wonderful day!!

Treasures :-)

Yesterday we went to the M's house, and I came back with two sweet little treasures.


One says "To: Meleny", with a big heart under the words. On the other side of the page are pictures of hearts, stars, and people, and in big, childish writing, the words, "Love ... I love you"... below a face "Maddy"... "Make u smile".... "From: Maddy". And it did make me smile!! Oh boy, didn't it! :-D

The second is a folded paper. On the front is a picture of a horse. On the inside it says "To: Amanda, Bethany, and Melany". There is a picture of three horses, "Moonbeam-- Lead Mare; Cloud Dancer-- a stallion; Strider-- a batchler"; it is entitled "A fight for a herd." This is from Olivia. On the back is a picture of flower.


Hannah E., whose family also came to the M's last night, said that her mom made a portfolio of all the cards and pictures her kids had given her when they were little. What a phenomenal idea! I have innumerable cards and pictures from little kiddos and they're all lying in desk drawers and tubs and random folders. So when I get back I am going to start my own portfolio so I can have them all in the same place. :-)

I love love love love love little kids!! As I enter my senior year, I am praying about what the Lord would have me do after I graduate, and I am really praying towards some kind of ministry with kids because I just love them to pieces, as Daniel Hadley would say. :-) Exactly how, where, when, and who is unknown to me though. Can you all please pray for me as I seek God's will for my life? Please pray that my heart would always be attuned to Him and that I would discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

When I get home, I might edit this post and put my favorite picture of me with the M. girls and Rebecca last year but alas I'm not on my own computer right now. :-)

Update

Amanda got a call from Kim's mom, who said everything was not as bad as Kim made it out to be. I'm not sure what the problem was/is, but please do continue to pray for her. Thanks!

In Loving Memory

If you scroll down a little, you will see that I have added a tribute to Aunt Leah, Harrison, and Sophia Wagoner on my sidebar. I'd been wanting to do it for sometime, and since this morning was cloudy and everyone else is away on errands or at violin lessons, I decided to pull up the PictureIt program on the downstairs computer and work on it.

Unplanned for and unexpected, I started to cry while I put it together as I remembered those precious lives, and thought about Brian having lost his whole family in just one night. The grief of that first week came back to me, surprising me. Well, I didn't put up the tribute for no reason. I'm asking you that each time you scroll past and see their pictures on the sidebar, that you would pray for Uncle Brian, and for Aunt Leah's parents, Kenneth and Erma Flora. I will never forget seeing Aunt Erma crying on a friend's shoulder, saying, "They'll never come running through the door at my house again." Or sitting at the kitchen table and telling us of hers and Leah's plans for the garden this year, and then her saying, "But I don't seem to have the heart for it anymore." This year is going to be so hard for them all and I am asking that you would pray that God would give them strength to get through it, and that He'd continually draw them closer to Him.

Praise the Lord for the promise of His that I posted under the pictures. Isn't it wonderful that we have this hope in Him-- if we believe on Him, we will indeed live forever. And Leah, Harrison, and Sophia live on, praising and worshipping God in the glories of heaven, and waiting for all their friends and family to catch up with them in God's timing.

Trust

"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God
whose ways you may not understand at the time."
—Oswald Chambers

"When you cannot trace God's hand,

you can always trust His heart."

"To know God is to be in the secret place of all knowledge, and to trust Him changes the whole outlook surrounding mystery and seeming contradictions and unanswered questions, from one of doubt or fear or bewilderment, to one of hope. The unknown may be some lovely truth in store for us, which we are not yet ready to apprehend. Not to be intellectually certain of a truth does not prevent the heart that loves and obeys that truth from getting the goodness out of it, from drawing life from it because it is loved, not because it is understood."
-George MacDonald, The Lady's Confession, Chapter 40, page 230

“We must get away from the idea that deliverance from trial is the highest form of spiritual blessing. . . .

We learn more in a few days in the fiery furnace than we would learn in years out of it.”
-J. Oswald Sanders

"Difficulties afford a platform upon which He can show Himself. Without them, we could never know how tender, faithful, and Almighty our God is."
-J. Hudson Taylor

Trust is not seeing God's plan in the events of life, but believing it anyway. You cannot see and trust at the same time, because there is no need for trust if you can already see.
I can't see. I can't see why eighteen-year-old Megan Ripley was shot and killed by a careless hunter two years ago. And I can't see why my aunt's husband's sister, Leah, and her two children, Harrison (8) and Sophia (4) were killed in a house fire last night, leaving their husband/dad alone. This is when I really do need to trust... to rest in the fact that somehow, in all of this, God is in control, and He is good and wise... and Love. And for all that I don't know-- I must trust that God knows, and that He does care. If you have lost people like this, or gone through some kind of tragedy, you probably understand this feeling. It's heartbreaking. Oh God, help me to rest in Your wisdom and goodness when I cannot see what you are doing, or why.

Plans

Some of you know that for a long time I have been wanting to go visit our friends, the H's, in Indiana, to help them around the house and with their church. Pastor H used to pastor a church we used to go to, which is how we met. We developed a good friendship with Pastor and Mrs. H, as well as with their three children: Kaylyn (7), Daniel (5), and Hannah (2). (I think I got the ages right... ;-) ) The H moved down to Indiana in late 2006 to pastor a new church plant there. Well, it worked out for our family to go down to Creation Museum this next week and Daddy talked with Pastor H and it looks like I will finally be able to go for my visit. :-) (If plans don't change, that is.) Our whole family will be leaving for Cincinnati after church tomorrow, Lord willing, and the H's will pick me up on Wednesday. I will (again, Lord willing) be there for a week and a half, possibly less, and then my mom and sisters will pick me up and we will make a quick visit with family in northern and central Indiana. So that's the plan!

Please pray for me as I am down there. I have never been away from my family for very long at all-- I've always at least had one of my sisters with me-- so I am a little nervous. I am still a little shaken by the news about Megan too. However, I am convinced that this is what the Lord wants me to do and am greatly anticipating being used by Him in some way. So please keep me in your prayers for the next two weeks!! I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have but I will try to post and keep you updated. :-) Thanks so much!

Please Pray...

This morning my granddaddy (age 82) went in to the hospital with heart attack symptoms... He is staying over night so he can be watched and so they can figure out exactly what is wrong with him. Please pray that the Lord would protect and heal him, and give us all courage... and also that my Grama will have patience and strength. We love our granddaddy so much, and it's hard to imagine what it would be like without him... (He and Grama live in the same town as us. Granddaddy is very well-known and respected, as used to be the family doctor of just about everyone in this area of Ohio/PA.)

Anyway, if you would pray, that would be greatly appreciated! His name is Dr. William (Bill) Anderson.

Thoughts on Prayer

Last week was a wonderfully refreshing week for me spiritually, but either I didn't have time to post, or I had so many things to post that I couldn't get it all down. I thought I might briefly share a little of my happiness now. :-)

My week began with spiritual depression in my soul. I was struggling with believing that God does hear, does see my needs, does answer prayer. Circumstances in life were bogging me down and satan was very active in making sure I was depressed. I asked God, weak in faith, but hopeful, that He would show Himself to me, and help me to know that I can trust Him. And God heard, He saw, and He answered!! And that, in many, many ways. However, in this post, I will just talk about what He taught me about prayer; otherwise, it would be a very, very long post. :-)

God prompted me to pick up a book that has been sitting on our shelf since a couple Christmases ago, that I had never read. It is a biography about James O. Fraser, entitled Mountain Rain. That was actually the week prior, but it was this last week that I read about James' spiritual depression and how the Lord taught him how to have spiritual victory, and also how he learned about faith and true prayer. So much of it pinpointed very specific things in my life that I had been struggling in. For instance, why weren't my prayers being answered? Reading Mountain Rain showed me that much of it was because I wasn't praying in faith, believing that God would and could answer it; also, many of my prayers did not have much heart in them, as I would go from one prayer request to another almost robotically; or I would not take the time to pray for them as I ought, suggesting that I did not really feel like they were so important. I was blaming God for not answering my prayers, when the problem was really me-- I was not truly asking Him in such a way that He could answer me-- until last Sunday evening when I asked Him to help me out of my depression and show me Himself. Here are some words of wisdom in Mountain Rain that directly ministered to me:

"I feel even when praying alone that there are two concerned in prayer, God and myself... I do not think that a petition which misses the mind of God will ever be answered (1 John 5:14)."

"Unanswered prayers have taught me to seek the Lord's will instead of my own."

"Praying without faith [is] like trying to cut with a blunt knife-- much labor is expended to little purpose... 'According to your faith,' not labor, 'be it unto you.' "

“The aim of Satanic power is to cut off communication with God. To accomplish this aim he deludes the soul with a sense of defeat, covers him with a thick cloud of darkness, depresses and oppresses the spirit, which in turn hinders prayer and leads to unbelief – thus destroying all power.”

I'm afraid I would bore you if I was to record all that James wrote that encouraged my heart in that matter, and I would also have to write out almost a whole chapter, so I will refrain. :-) Besides, I overload you on quotes as it is. :-)

Another way God encouraged me in the matter of prayer was by leading me to the verse which I posted about on March 11. I was writing out the verse on a pretty sheet of paper to put up on my wall by my bed, and, like I usually like to do, writing it in poetry form, capitalizing in large, fancy letters the words I wished to emphasize, and that is how I discovered the acrostic: ASK. God wants me to ask Him, believing He will answer and give His blessings; seek Him, believing He will be found; and knock, believing that He will open up His ways and His will to me. I encourage you to read Wednesday's post, if you haven't yet, to see more of what God specifically showed me in that verse.

Something else that God taught me about prayer was in Luke 6:27-- love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you. One of my discouragements lately has been hurt from a family who had been saying things about us that weren't true and breaking confidence that we felt we had in them. In this verse, Jesus taught me, so very specifically, to pray for that family, and to pray for grace and strength to love them as God does. I prayed this in faith and with the knowledge that it was definitely God's will to answer this prayer (practicing what I'd been learning in Scripture and in Mountain Rain ;-) )... and as soon as I prayed, I knew God was answering my prayer-- I do not know about the other family, but I knew He was filling my heart with a spirit of genuine, Chirst-like love and compassion for that family. It boosted my spirits and encouraged me greatly!

On Thursday afternoon, I decided to pull out Nave's Topical Bible and do a little study on prayer-- looking up the references and asking God to teach me through the verses. I am not done with it yet-- not nearly!-- but have already been greatly encouraged by it. Here are some things I discovered and wrote out in my notebook:

"Hebrews 4:16. Boldly has also been translated with confidence. We do not need to come trembling to god in prayer, fearing that He won't listen, hear, understand, or answer. jesus can empathize with our weakness and wants us to come with confidence to Him and know that He does care and will answer.

"Genesis 18:23-32. Never until now did I consider a connection between this account and Hebrews 4:16..... Two things Abraham remembered and prayed according to were

1. God's character ("just", "righteous") and
   
2. God's heart ("[He] is not willing that any should perish", "will not punish the righteous with the wicked")"

On Thursday (which was probably the most encouraging day) I wrote in my journal:

"Mountain Rain" is an overwhelming book and I feel almost overloaded with all he says about what God taught him about prayer. I am realizing how very shallow my prayer life is, and how active the devil has been in trying to discourage me... and quench the relationship and prayer life I can have with God. Read Mountain Rain, chapter 4. That's what's on my mind right now. I am determined to climb out of short, hurried, muttered prayers with no faith or relationship behind them. I want a deep, intimate, strong, personal prayer relationship with my God. O Lord, 'teach me to pray.' Grant me victory over the very real and active forces of satan. Glorify Yourself in me!"

On a final note, I will record what form J. O. Fraser suggested direct, specific prayer to take:

1. "A firm standing on God-given ground, and a constant assertion of faith and claiming of victory. It is helpful, I find, to repeat passages of Scripture applicable to the subject. Let faith be continually strengthened and fed from its proper source-- the Word of God.
   
2. "A definite fighting and resisting of satan's host in the Name of Christ. I like to read passages of Scripture, such as 1 John 3:8 or Revelation 12:11 in prayer, as direct weapons against satan. I often find it a means of much added strength and liberty in prayer to fight this way. Nothing cuts like the word of the Living God. (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12)


3. "Praying through every aspect of the matter in detail."

I hope and pray that today you all will be encouraged as I have been! :-)

P.S. Paintings from http://www.allposters.com/. Picture of J.O. Fraser from http://www.jofraser.org/.