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Dealing with worry and fear in prayer

Posted by on Aug 29, 2016 in Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on Dealing with worry and fear in prayer

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

How do you deal with worry and fear in prayer? All of us deal with it at times. I wrote about this critical but all too common dilemma in the following excerpt from my book First of All Pray:

“As you pray about the stressful situations in your life, the Bible commands you to thank God as you pray. This addresses two very important truths about living life.
 
“The first truth has to do with life’s anxieties—no one is guaranteed a charmed, easy-going life. Your life will have its share of stress and conflict. If this were not the case, you wouldn’t find so many verses in the Bible about praying when difficult times arise. If you look at the condition of our nation and your stomach starts to churn with worry, the only healthy recourse is to pray. Pretending that nothing is wrong in order to protect yourself from anxiety will not bring the power of God on the scene. God made prayer available to you during your time here on earth in great part because of the prevalence of anxiety-causing conditions.
 
“A second truth in this verse empowers you to pray about the chaos around you without being weighed down by the sheer awfulness of the situation. You see, as a human, your natural tendency is to gravitate toward the object you are observing. I learned this from my drivers’ ed teacher when I was fifteen. He warned the four of us crammed into the well-dented ‘beginner drivers’ car that if we watched cows and horses grazing in the field, that’s where we would end up—in the pasture and not on the highway! That’s why God included thanksgiving in His list of prayer methods—so that you gravitate toward Him and not the problem!
 
“Have you ever been frightened about situations in your life and asked God for help? If you prayed without thanking or praising Him, you probably continued to feel very afraid, trying to battle anxiety on your own because your eyes remained glued to the problem. Giving thanks to God pulls your attention off of the enormity of the problem and onto the greatness of God. As you gaze at God, giving Him thanks for His willingness to do wonderful things for you, the anxiety you feel drains away. If you find it creeping back in, you just ramp up your thanksgiving to God again! Thanksgiving is a powerful antidote for the anxiety you feel.
 
“Do you try to ignore fearful situations in your life in an attempt to resist fear? Do you think about Job when he said, ‘For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me’ (Job 3:25) and try to avoid Job’s outcome by pretending there is no problem? Is denial your strategy for dealing with fear? Is that the way you walk by faith?
“Think of the boy David, one of the greatest worshipers in the Bible, watching sheep out in the pasture. When he spied the lion and the bear stalking his sheep, did he conquer his fear by ignoring the situation? Of course not! He rose up, likely with a mixture of adrenaline, fear, and a strong protective instinct and killed the carnivores! His faith empowered him to confront those hungry varmints despite the very real danger. He didn’t seek to protect his faith by looking away from the predators or by denying their existence. Dead sheep would have been the outcome of that kind of faith walk. Even worse, without the experience of subduing the vicious beasts, David may never have been equipped to take down Goliath.
 
“Ignoring evil, by definition, is ignorance! Thanking God, however, in the face of evil acknowledges His greatness despite the growing darkness. This powerfully applies to facing the destructive forces at work in our nation. Faith confronts the frightening events with the Word of God. Ignoring such forces in our country in an attempt to stay in faith actually prevents you from becoming a part of God’s solution to change the course of events. The sense of fear is not always the spirit of fear spoken of by Paul (see 2 Timothy 1:7); at times Holy Spirit-initiated warnings are alarming—even frightening—yet they are sent by God to reveal that danger is looming. In response you pray, dig into the Word, and prepare for battle—and victory.
 
“When fear does rise up—and it will—ask God how to deal with it and the fearful situation instead of hiding under the covers, hoping the boogeyman will go away! Declare like David, ‘When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You’ (Psalm 56:3). Then in prayer confront the giants both in your life and our nation, giving thanks to God for His Goliath-defeating power!”
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Message in a motorboat

Posted by on Jul 26, 2016 in Prayer Perspective, Snakes | Comments Off on Message in a motorboat

I felt distinctly led to rerun this blog entry from last summer. It has a message for our time.

For a summer and a half I had the privilege of working at Ranger, a primitive camp across the lake from the main camp where I was a counselor for six summers. The boys and girls at Ranger slept on opposite hillsides in tents and lean-tos and met in a central valley between the two hills for cooking, camaraderie, jumping into the lake off of a huge two-story diving tower we built ourselves, and for massive games of flashlight capture-the-flag under the night skies.

The most memorable session at Ranger was a year and a half before I got saved. Two of my co-counselors that session were Gordy, the Ranger director that summer, and Carla, both of whom were bold, born-again Christians.

The first time I ever prayed out loud to the God of creation was after jumping off of the Ranger diving tower while taking a midnight dip with Carla.

“Let’s pray,” she suggested.

“Here? Now?!” I asked, incredulous at the non-religious setting.

“Sure! Hi, Jesus! It’s so fun to swim with You under the stars tonight. I love You, Lord…” and on she continued as we swam in the star-illumined, midnight water.

I talked to Him, too, telling Him how cool it was of Him to make nature and summer and camp and freedom. I didn’t ask Him to be my Lord that night, but how could I ever despise a God who listened so attentively and lovingly to two teenage girls swimming in a starlit lake at midnight?

A big deal that summer was the copperhead infestation at camp. As more and more of the snakes were discovered, it became a badge of honor among the guy counselors to catch a copperhead with their bare hands. Even one of the female counselors caught one. I was secretly envious of her; I wanted nothing more than to say I had captured a copperhead with my bare hands, but alas, I had already been bitten by three non-poisonous snakes that summer at different times while holding them. I knew something was off with my snake-handling technique, and therefore, catching a copperhead—although awesome—was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.

Gordy did catch one late in the summer, though, and holding it, asked me to drive him across the lake in the motorboat so he could release it way back in the woods. (We didn’t believe in killing copperheads back then. We all thought that “the children and the flowers are our sisters and our brothers”, a la “Rhymes and Reasons”, a John Denver song. That included copperheads, too.)

Gordy sat in the bow of the boat facing me with the copperhead in his hands. I pulled away from the Ranger dock and motored toward the other side of the lake.

“He’s trying to get away. If he does, he’s mad enough to bite one of us before flopping out of the boat,” Gordy observed.

“Well, don’t let him go!” I demanded, one eye to the lake and the other on the snake.

After a while, the snake stopped lashing around—and that’s when Gordy started preaching a message I’ll never forget. “He’s relaxing. His muscles are not tensed up beneath my hands. He’s just like the devil. If Satan can’t beat you by fighting, he’ll bide his time and seek a different strategy, just like he did with Jesus when he left Him for a more opportune time.

“You see, this snake is very aware of my grip. He’s testing me, I can tell, just like the devil does. He thinks if he backs off, I’ll get lulled into complacency. He’s waiting for my hand muscles to relax. And if they do, he’s ready. He’ll swing his head back and latch onto my arm!

“If a believer stands his ground against the devil, then the devil will back off—but he won’t give up. He’ll bide his time and watch for the Christian’s guard to drop and his life to get sloppy—and then, just like this copperhead, he’ll swing back and strike!”

I didn’t even believe in a literal devil at the time, but eyeing that copperhead as it went through its stages of fight and relax, fight and relax, everything Gordy said in that boat made total sense to me.

You certainly do have an enemy over whom you have authority—the devil. Resist him, firm in your faith, and according to the Word, he will flee from you (see James 4:7). But once he flees, don’t drop your guard; live not only harmlessly, but also shrewdly (see Matthew 10:16), armed with God’s Word every day of your life. That way, when the enemy seeks to return for a more opportune time—and he will—he will find you alert, ready in season and out, and without a single toehold by which he can slither back into your life.

Dorothy

And do not give the devil an opportunity. Ephesians 4:27

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Dallas reality check for believers

Posted by on Jul 8, 2016 in Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on Dallas reality check for believers

When I heard about the Dallas shooting, I went to bed with a heavy heart. The Lord placed three Scriptures on my heart as I laid in my bed, weeping and praying.

 
Jesus said, “Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matt. 24:12) He saw it coming across the millennia. He told us this not to scare us but to prepare us.
 
“Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.” Prov. 4:23
 
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matt. 10:16
 
You and I aren’t accountable for the conditions of anyone else’s heart. We are each accountable for our own heart, attitudes, actions, and behaviors.
 
Therefore, what I am telling myself I will share with you: Don’t let your love grow cold, guard your heart, be shrewd [alert] AND be innocent.
Dorothy
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Well-pleased with insults

Posted by on Jun 26, 2016 in Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on Well-pleased with insults

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

I like to enter into discussions on various topics—including cultural issues—on Facebook, and use it as an opportunity to share a biblical perspective.

This evening I received a comment from someone I didn’t know (and they probably lived in another state) on a comment that I had written on a friend’s post about the state of our culture. And if you know me, you know I shared my biblically-based perspective. 
 
A friend of that person didn’t care for what I had written and blasted not only the comment, but also my intelligence, what he perceived as my religious naïveté, and my ignorance of the evil history of oppressive US law. But, as you’ve probably guessed, at the root of it was this: An anger with Christianity…an anger at faith in Jesus Christ.
 
I thanked him for his response. That’s all. And I was thinking how I had hit a nerve in this man…and I was reminded of Paul’s statement “I am well-pleased with insults…” In fact, I was challenged by Paul’s words.
 
My prayer (in addition to interceding for this man’s salvation—that’s a given!) was this: 1. Lord, let me NEVER back down for fear of insults. 2. Let me know, when engaging one on one—especially on Facebook with folks I don’t know—if I am merely throwing pearls before swine. That’s not something I want to play with.
 
Sometimes, only God knows the difference between “swine” and otherwise. But the good news is this: Swiney behavior may merely be a cover up for a fearful human who’s been hurt and is waving a red flag for someone to please pray for them. So pray. And then let God deal with them.
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Be on the alert

Posted by on Jun 12, 2016 in Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on Be on the alert

I wanted to share on my blog something I posted today on my Facebook page concerning the horrible mass shooting early this morning at the Orlando, FL nightclub:

Each one of my friends here on FB is an individual, interesting, and very unique person in the way you think, believe, live, and approach—or don’t approach—God. I respect each one of you and am glad to be linked up with you in whatever capacity we can connect despite our differences in thinking, believing, living, and approaching—or not approaching—God.

That said, I want to share with whoever reads this something that gripped me this past Thursday afternoon. I had just worked at my church’s vacation Bible school (called JUMP) and was walking along the huge strip mall in Chesterfield Valley, thinking nothing in particular except perhaps how I had just blocked a bevy of 8th graders from jumping line ahead of some 7th graders at the inflatable Bouncy House maze. Of course, after 22 years of teaching 8th grade, I felt right at home bossing around the big guys and gals with a smile on my face.

So there I was, minding my own business when I sensed the Lord command me, “Be on the alert!” I looked around, saw nothing out of the ordinary, and went into quiet prayer/probe mode—my habit when it seems as if the Lord wants to give me specific direction. After a short time I knew He wasn’t indicating any immediate danger; He was letting me know that real trouble was brewing for the near future in various places and was about to spill over. I was not to allow my spirit to cruise on “sleep mode”; He was requiring me to enter a more alert, focused, “antenna up” prayer mode.

I remembered this when I heard of the Orlando nightclub attack this morning. My gut feeling is this: Many places—whether gay bars, churches, synagogues, shopping areas, sports venues, concerts—whatever—are being scoped for targeting. I’m certain that is what I was sensing from God.

What do we do? If you, like me, are a believer, don’t allow yourself to go into “sleep mode” spiritually. Let the Holy Spirit lead you—or restrain you—as you go about your daily life. Might He direct you to cancel fun plans? Yes, if He knows something up the road could place you in danger. Is it possible that He would lead you to pray for someone or something for which you have no affinity? Yes. Perhaps you are the one He will prompt to pray—and another gruesome attack just might get thwarted. Be yourself, live your life, but keep your spirit primed and ready to hear from God so you can pray or change direction at a moment’s notice.

If you don’t view yourself as a Christian—whether you’re not entirely sure about God or you’re fairly convinced He doesn’t exist; whether you hope He’s real or just don’t want to be bothered, do this for me, anyway—as a friend. If you ever get a “funny feeling” about something—perhaps an event or a place, a setting or a person—and you feel sort of uneasy, then back off. Change plans. If you must continue on that pre-arranged path, at least be on the alert. I want you to live out your life and do your thing as only you can do it.

As you probably suspect, I’m praying for you. I believe that no matter who you are, what your worldview may be, or where your life has taken you, you are loved by God, He sent Jesus specifically for you, and He has a plan for your life. For that full plan to take place, you’ve got to be alive—hence, this warning:

Be on the alert.

Dorothy

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In the face of disaster

Posted by on May 13, 2016 in Prayer Perspective | Comments Off on In the face of disaster

…Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them. 1 Samuel 23:26b

It didn’t look good; in fact, it was going from bad to worse. David, through no fault of his own, had riled the head of the government. He was being targeted for termination. The reason? Jealousy, pure and simple.

David had gotten some “breaks”; he’d made a lucky shot that brought down a giant; and now the entire nation was drawing to him. David’s new “privileged” status infuriated the king. David must die. Soon.

Several attempts to snare the man hadn’t succeeded. Even the king’s own son favored David and gave him a head’s up on the king’s latest scheme to do him in. David packed his bag and went into hiding, from wilderness to wilderness.

While bugging out in the hills of Ziph, the inhabitants ratted him out to the king. He escaped to the wilderness of Maon; the king found out; and soon David and his men were surrounded by government assassins. It didn’t look good.

In the middle of this mess, David turned to God. Psalm 54 was conceived in that tight place.

“Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your power. Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me and violent men have sought my life; they have not set God before them” (verses 1-3).

David went to the Source; he didn’t embellish his need; he stated his case plainly.

“Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul. He will recompense the evil to my foes; destroy them [silence them] in Your faithfulness” (verses 4-5).

Instead of withering in fear, David proclaimed the Lord as his helper and sustainer. Instead of obsessing over the evil done against him, he looked in faith to the One who would silence those who were seeking to silence him.

“Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all trouble, and my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies” (verses 6-7).

David, surrounded by those who sought his death, stood firm on the unseen Bedrock he had grown to trust. In the face of certain doom, David proclaimed that his hope and future was in God: I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord.

He defiantly declared his end before it happened. He has delivered me from all trouble, and my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies. He chose to see salvation rather than defeat. I believe he would have uttered those words with his last breath, if need be.

First Samuel 24:26 sets the scene for this Psalm: …Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them.

And then, a seemingly unconnected interruption: But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape (verses 27-28).

David was delivered—not by a mighty sign or wonder; not by the power of his own bow or sling; not even by a spirit of confusion sent upon his enemies—David was delivered by a distraction!

  • The king sought to kill David
  • David hid
  • David was ratted out
  • David was surrounded
  • David prayed
  • David was delivered.

Whatever you are facing, remember that nothing—not jealousy, nor hatred, nor even governmental might—can squelch or defeat the one who fixes his faith on the living God.

Dorothy

This is the victory that has overcome the world: even our faith. 1 John 5:4b

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