Attitude of Prayer

I must confess, my "water" alarm clock failed me today and when the real alarm went off, I took far too much advantage of the snooze button. Faithfulness does not happen overnight!

I am continuing in I Peter, reading Chapter 5; what I am reflecting upon most today is how challenging a true attitude of prayer can be to maintain while I am developing my prayer muscles and choosing to begin my day in prayer.

Yesterday, my prayer time was dry and mechanical. I had the list, I prayed through the list, and spent considerable time choosing to be silent before the Lord, but there certainly were no positive consequences of my having chosen to pray. Perhaps I have unacknowledged expectations rather than dearly held hopes; or God is allowing a variety of experiences to allow me to be strengthened where I am weakest. Regardless, when I take time to focus on God, I am blessed. How that blessing is delivered or experienced is not important.

So, considering the above, here is what I am taking from I Peter 5 today: "8Most importantly, be disciplined and stay on guard. Your enemy the devil is prowling around outside like a roaring lion, just waiting and hoping for the chance to devour someone. 9Resist him and be strong in your faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are fellow sufferers with you."
Nelson, Thomas (2008-10-28). The Voice: New Testament (with book and chapter navigation) (Kindle Locations 13899-13900). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Enduring, Growing, Rejoicing...in Suffering

Curious the meat that God is offering this week as I continue in I Peter 3. Today's verse is: "17For if it is the will of God that you suffer, then it is better to suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is wrong. 18Because the Liberating King suffered for sins once for all time—the righteous suffering for the unrighteous—so that He might bring us to God. Though He died in the flesh, He was made alive again through the Spirit. 19And in the Spirit He went and preached to those spirits held captive."
Nelson, Thomas (2008-10-28). The Voice: New Testament (with book and chapter navigation) (Kindle Locations 13847-13850). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Not only do I think of my own "suffering" as I bid farewell to my mother and our children and grandchildren, I also reflect on the suffering they will inevitably experience in Nicaragua. I am confident in the blessings, present and future, but I also know that they must do battle with personal discomfort in a climate and culture that is foreign to their experiences as well as the expectations (OH, that those around them will come to know the differences between HOPE and expectations) of those they serve and those responsible for oversight.

There are so many messages in these few verses.

• Suffering is  not something to be avoided; rather when we are pursuing God's will, following the model of our brother Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, and choose to embrace suffering we can anticipate it and therefore be prepared to endure.
• Suffering does prepare us for what is to come. Though there is no direct reference, I cannot help but recall as I read this passage, that God never asks of us more than we can endure at the moment. Consequently, the suffering of today will successfully prepare me for what is in store tomorrow.
• Suffering experienced with our eyes fixed on God is less damaging, less painful, less fearsome than suffering endured when we are focused on our own self-will.
• And finally the promise...oh the richness of the promise in verse 19 "And in the Spirit He went and preached to those held captive."

In the commentary, the author writes: "Just because God calls us to suffer does not mean He is immune to it. At the cross, Jesus entered into our suffering. Now we enter into His."
Nelson, Thomas (2008-10-28). The Voice: New Testament (with book and chapter navigation) (Kindle Locations 13863-13864). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

I've created a personal prayer journal to record the current focus how God appears to be directing my prayers and to enable a linking to answered prayer. The initial posting of my prayer journal can be found at LINK.

Developing Faithfulness

While participating in the priviledge of praying with my youngest son, his wife, and my mother (all of whom will be moving to Nicaragua as permanent missionaries with in the next few months), I was asked what I wanted to include on the prayer list. My first thought was Faithfulness. I want to develop a thirst for God's presence in my life that is evidenced by my faithfulness in a daily prayer and quiet time with just God.

Today is my first successful choosing to rise early (it is 6:49 as I type this), stay up (my "water" alarm clock is very effective) and read from "The Voice: New Testament" (available on Kindle), and pray as my Father and the Holy Spirit direct.

Upon opening "The Voice: New Testament" I discovered that I had left off on Chapter 3 of 1st Peter, Peter's treatise on the behavior of wives in public.

This is what Peter has to say: "Consider how Sarah, our mother, obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him “lord,” and you will be her daughters as long as you boldly do what is right without fear and without anxiety." (1 Peter 3:6)
Nelson, Thomas (2008-10-28). The Voice: New Testament (with book and chapter navigation) (Kindle Locations 13820-13821). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Later in Chapter 3, Peter has this to say: "14 Even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you will receive a blessing. Don’t let them frighten you. Don’t be intimidated, 15–16 but exalt the Liberating King as Lord in your heart. Always be ready to offer a defense, humbly and respectfully, when someone asks why you live in hope. Keep your conscience clear so that those who ridicule your good conduct in the Liberator and say bad things about you will be put to shame." (emphasis mine)
Nelson, Thomas (2008-10-28). The Voice: New Testament (with book and chapter navigation) (Kindle Locations 13837-13840). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

My take on the above passage from 1 Peter is quite different from the commentator's, who rightly focused on the being prepared to reply to our attackers with humility and respect. My take focuses on the importance of being like Mary and keeping the things God has communicated hidden in her heart so that they have a direct effect on everything she did from that day forward as she raised God's son. The importance of behaving humbly and respectfully when in public (it is important in private too, but how I behave in public, especially when I am with Mike, reflects directly on my husband which damages his self-image and potentially how others view him); and keeping my conscience clear so those who observe me when I AM in public may see Jesus reflected in all that I do and say and imply with my tone of voice or my body language.

My personal prayer list for today is as follows:

• Faithfulness - the 8th of the 9 fruits of the spirit. It requires control over my tongue as I agree or decline requests; keeping promises regardless of how I feel after I've made them; sensitivity to the Holy Spirit so my promises and tasks I obligate to are in line with God's will; AND choosing to get up at 6:30 every morning to spend time with God in prayer and reading His word.
• Our son and daughter, their sons, and my mother, as they move to Nicaragua as full-time missionaries for as many years as God directs. This will require that all are faithful in their family and personal prayer time and quiet time; a significant cultural change from a innocence/guilt culture to a honor/shame culture and all that this implies for our son AND our daughter and my mother as they interact with our son in public.
• Protection and awareness of the inevitable attacks from Satan as their ministry will have profound effect on the hold he has over the people of Managua and Nicaragua. My own mother's heart and grandmother's heart grieve for the pain these attacks will cause; but I have learned that I can be confident in God and His leading. What man means for evil, God can and WILL turn for good.
• My beloved husband, that God will direct me today to respect him and love him as God wills me to do; that my behavior will reflect the love of God that is so deep and so unfathomable that he will be drawn toward God and seek His will first for today; so that my choosing to put God first will be a blessing in my husband's life and that he will bask in the glow of God's favor.

Above all else, it is my desire to bloom where I am planted today, that my actions will reflect God and Jesus, and that I will be directed by the Holy Spirit. If I can accomplish this today, I cannot fail!