Raise Em Up Lord, Raise Em Up

"If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and PRAY and SEEK my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will HEAR from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

My recent experience of watching the movie War Room has been an inspiration and a motivation to up the ante in my prayer life. As a busy mom, popcorn prayers have become not only a norm for me, but a method of survival. Not that there is anything wrong with popcorn prayers. In fact, in my opinion, they are an example of praying without ceasing. I have no intention of stopping my popcorn prayers as they are vital to my day to day survival and relationship with Jesus Christ. However, God has been leading me to strengthen the power of my praying and to start fighting on my knees more than I ever have. It is no secret that depravity is reigning in our world. Our nation is becoming so unrecognizable to me and so far from the Word of God. I think it is no coincidence that this movie came for such a time as this. Not only has the movie compelled me to making fervent prayer a priority, but the Holy Spirit has been whispering these scriptures into my heart lately: "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalms 46:10, "The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still." Exodus 14:14, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:18, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." James 5:16, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2. What has been sticking out for me in those verses are the words BE STILL, PRAYER, POWER, and STEADFAST. He is telling me to take time out of my busy day to be still and not only pray in quiet on my knees, but to take time out to listen to Him. He is encouraging me to be steadfast and to strive to make time to be alone with Him. And what will result? ....POWER! And hey, I'll admit, I need more of His power in my life. We all do. We can't fight the good fight without it. 

Here is a little example of how He has been speaking to me over this past week. On Monday after reading my Bible and having a little bit of quiet time, the kids woke up early. I didn't have as much prayer time as I wanted so after getting them breakfast, I put on a video for them and snuck away to the playroom. I got on my knees and prayed. The day went wonderfully. I felt Him holding my hand, and my own fleshy responses to inconveniences were replaced with peace, calmness, and joy. Tuesday came and I wasn't as inentional about taking time to be still and fight for my day on my knees. I uttered short, distracted prayers as the morning began. This day was not nearly as smooth. I was fighting the third day of an unknown rash on my arms, chest, and upper back. I was trying to multi-task homeschooling Kindergarten, a toddler, and phone calls to get into a dermatologist. I began to feel an overwhelming anxiety flood my being. What peaked my anxiety was when I turned around in the middle of a phone call with a doctor's office to find this...

While the enemy was trying to distract and discourage me, God used His sweet sense of humor in my son's self-inflicted artwork, my mother's wisdom, and the prayers of some dear heart sisters to send me this message...BE STILL. Stop striving to do everything and get on your knees. I took my eyes off of the prize for a second and let anxiety and stress consume me. I'm thankful the Lord spoke to me and reminded me of this precious truth..."When I said, My foot is slipping, your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me great joy." In that moment, I needed to cease from trying in my own strength, and rely on His strength. "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you." Isaiah 26:3. 

This was just a small example of how God has been leading me to being still and devoting myself to distraction-free prayer. It is so easy to think we are too busy. But we can't be too busy for the most important...communing with our creator, our savior, our helper, our comforter. The sweet old lady in the movie War Room pleaded for God to raise up an army of prayer warriors. "Raise em up Lord, raise em up!" Join me in setting aside time each day to fighting on your knees!

On Sunday I am going to be sharing the first day of my newly developed 7 day prayer plan for my family. I will post a prayer each day of the week with several scriptures that I will be praying over my children. I plan to hang them up, and each day of the week will have a prayer focus and scriptures to pray. Feel free to use them for yourself or your family. Stay Tuned!!!