Let’s Pray - Patricia Jordan

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16 ESV

Feeling excruciating pain in one of her eyes, Mary screamed for help. A coworker rushed to her side, then yelled, “Quick, call an ambulance! Mary’s eye has blood in it.” 

The ER doctor informed Mary she had suffered an eye stroke. When I saw her a few days later, wearing an eye patch, she told me about her health scare and her fear of losing vision in that eye.

Later, at her pre-op appointment for surgery, the ophthalmologist told her she might be out of work for up to seven weeks. A pre-existing health issue would complicate her healing. 

Naturally, she felt apprehensive about not returning to work sooner. Her husband, however, assured her everything would be fine and encouraged her not to worry. She needed rest after the surgery.

I saw Mary on the Sunday evening before her surgery on Tuesday. “Let’s pray,” I suggested, and she agreed. 

“Can we include Monica?” I asked. I found Monica and asked her to pray with us. We formed a prayer circle, with each of us praying for the surgery and Mary’s complete healing. 

Including Monica in our prayer circle helped. She is a firm believer in God and His Word and fluent in Spanish, Mary’s first language. When Mary and I talk, she sometimes tosses in some Spanish because she can’t describe what we talk about efficiently in English. Thankfully, I always grasp the big picture of what she says.  

After praying for Mary, we went our separate ways. When I saw Mary again, I saw no eye patch. Her eyes appeared normal to me, and she was driving, so I asked how the surgery went. 

The surgery had gone smoothly, and she had completely healed over the two weeks since our prayer time. Additionally, the doctor had cleared her to return to work.

God gives us wonderful opportunities to intercede for others. Make time to pray for others. 

Yahweh Rophe, You are the God who heals. Our hope is in You, O Lord. Amen.

Patricia Jordan is a seventh-generation southerner from the Appalachian Mountains. She is thankful to return and live there after living in various parts of the world with her retired military husband. They have raised three daughters. She has published You Are Valuable (Westbow), which is her story of how she overcame chronic low-grade depression through Bible study, prayer, and talk therapy. Lately, she has turned her writing talents to writing devotions about walking with God.  

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

 

Mind the Chickens - Martin Wiles

Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean.” John 13:10 NLT

Sometimes, chickens leave behind more than eggs and meat. 

My maternal grandmother had a dozen or so chickens wandering around her yard. At night, she enclosed them in a small pen with a coop, and there they slept. 

Being country boys, my cousin and I romped outside most of the time, foraging in the woods, playing in the hog pens, and mulling around in the yard—the same yard the chickens scratched in. Since we didn’t always wear shoes during the summer months—and even if we did—our grandmother would warn us before we came onto her porch or into her house: “Check your feet (or shoes).” 

Chickens, it appeared, left more than eggs, and my grandmother didn’t want it in her house or on her porch. When we discovered this unwanted material on our shoes, we paused to scrape it off on the dirt or a grassy patch. Doing so became such a habit that eventually our grandmother didn’t have to remind us as much. 

In Jesus’s day, getting one’s feet dirty was a fact of life. If people wore shoes, they wore open sandals, and open sandals don’t keep out dirt. And since the main form of travel entailed using one’s feet, people’s feet stayed dirty. When guests arrived, the owner—or more commonly a slave—washed the guests’ feet. He didn’t, however, wash the entire person. If the person needed a full bath, they could take care of it themselves. 

Jesus’s meaning is deeper. The bath happens when we trust Christ as our Savior. God the Father takes the righteousness of his Son and applies it to our sins, making us pure and holy in position—although not in practice. 

But daily living is like walking in my grandmother’s yard. We’re subject to getting our feet messy with unwanted things. The world is full of sinful influences and tempting temptations. 

The news isn’t all bad, though. Jesus says we just need to wash our feet. Through the spiritual disciplines of praying, meditating on the Bible, and confessing, we scrape our feet across the dirt or a grassy patch, removing what shouldn’t be there. Confession brings restoration, and knowing God’s Word keeps our lifestyle aligned with God’s principles. 

Learn to mind what the chickens of this world leave behind. 

Father, give me the insight and courage to avoid those things that dirty my feet and taint my soul. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

The Frustration of the Unknown - Martin Wiles

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6 NLT

After numerous doctor visits with no answers, my wife and I lapsed into the frustration of the unknown. 

The unknown began after a recent move. My wife lifted an item and felt a stabbing pain. Thinking she had pulled the mesh from a recent hernia surgery, we visited the general surgeon. After testing, he determined it was only scar tissue. 

Then, unexplained weight gain led to a trip to the emergency room and then to the cardiologist. Pills to reduce her fluid didn’t work. More tests followed. One revealed an enlarged spleen and liver. 

We re-visited the general surgeon who sent her to a kidney specialist. In the meantime, the cardiologist sent her to a gastroenterologist.

Weeks and months passed between the tests and doctor visits. Our frustration mounted as we waited for answers, trying not to imagine the worst. 

Paul could have also been frustrated by the unknown. Would he survive the persecutions or the trip to stand trial before the Roman emperor? Would his friends betray him? Instead, he did what he advised others to do.

Praying about the unknown is crucial. Every night, I prayed for my wife to have the strength to face whatever lay ahead and for God to give the doctors the wisdom to find the cause of her dilemma. 

Trusting is also important in times of the unknown. God promises never to let us down, regardless of life’s challenges. We can trust him to work things for our good—even things that appear bad. He has our best interests at heart. 

Additionally, believing God is sovereign helps control the anxiety and frustration level. If he isn’t, we have an even larger problem than the things causing our frustrations.

In my wife’s case, I believed God could guide the doctors to discover the reason for her health concerns and to give her the proper treatment. I also believed he could heal her without the doctor’s intervention, if he chose. 

Don’t let the frustration of the unknown lead you to doubt, anger, bitterness, or unbelief in a loving God. Instead, believe God loves you and has your situation under control. 

Father, we trust you to guide us safely into and through the unknowns of our lives. 

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Just Ask - Martin Wiles

Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! John 14:14 NLT

Ask, and you might receive; ask not, and you probably won’t. But one needed to just ask. 

Driving in unfamiliar terrain was once more frightening than now. Since there was no internet, I could not pull up directions on my computer or smartphone. My only options were to ask someone who had already been where I was headed or to purchase a map and figure it out for myself. 

And maps were readily available. The most popular place to find them was the local filling station. A place where attendants pumped gas, cleaned windshields, checked tire pressure, and monitored oil. And in the center of the pump island or just inside the station were maps. 

Having a map reduced—but didn’t eliminate—the possibility of getting lost. Names and numbers were crunched into small areas. Despite my best efforts, I’ve gotten lost. And being a typical man, I hated to stop and ask directions from anyone in the area. It was an admission that I couldn’t figure out my dilemma ... that I was less than an adequate follower of direction. I’ve wasted gas more than I care to admit while riding in circles—or sent my wife in to get directions more times than I care to remember. 

The solution was simple: stop and ask someone who lived in the area. Jesus provides such a simple solution for life in general. Have any kind of need? Just ask him. He’ll be glad to assist. 

Jesus’s help is never wrong. Others have given me faulty directions—though not intentionally. Maps have concealed information I needed to see, and GPSs and smartphone apps have sent me to the wrong place. Since Jesus is omniscient—all-knowing—I don’t have to worry about this with him. 

Jesus is always willing to help. While technology is readily available, it’s not foolproof. Others are sometimes too busy to mess with our life issues. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to be involved in every detail of our lives.

Jesus’s help is also free. Maps weren’t—and still aren’t. And although I can download a free direction app on my smartphone, the phone wasn’t free. Even if it was, my monthly service isn’t. Jesus charges zero. We ask; He comes to our rescue. 

Life issues present us with physical, emotional, social, and spiritual quandaries. But none are too difficult for the Savior of the world. 

Need a hand? Just ask Jesus.

Father, thank you for your continual readiness and willingness to help me with life issues. 

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Restricted Use - Martin Wiles

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:13 NLT

If I didn’t pay, I couldn’t talk. I remember the days of restricted use. 

As my wife and I sat on the front porch of the one-hundred-year-old home we rented, we often heard it ring. A pay phone situated next to an old country store across the road. Each night around the same time, the ringing began. No one ever showed up to answer, and by the time we would have gotten up from our seats, crossed the road, and walked to the phone, it would undoubtedly have stopped ringing before we reached the receiver. 

Listening to the phone, however, took us back to a time when pay phones were everywhere. If I was away from home and needed to make a call, I either stopped by someone’s house or a business—or found a pay phone. But pay phones needed . . . pay—not only to start the conversation but also to continue it. Operators interrupted conversations with, “Please deposit _____ cents if you wish to continue your call.” If I didn’t, she ended the conversation. Money restricted use, unless I made a collect call and the person on the other end agreed to pay the charges.

God once restricted access to himself as well. He appointed priests to intercede for the people. They made the sacrifices, approached God’s throne, and heard the people’s confessions. Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place once a year, where he made a sacrifice for himself and then the people before confessing a year’s worth of sins. 

But after Jesus died on the cross, things changed. The curtain that kept people out of the Holy of Holies was torn in two, symbolizing unrestricted access to God for all who chose to approach him through confession and repentance. 

I’m glad the old way of doing things is gone—approaching God and making calls. A few hours without my smartphone and I experience nomophobia. We should feel the same about interaction with God. 

God is continually with us by the presence of his Spirit, and we need recurrent communion with him—and can have it. Talking with him doesn’t cost a dime, nor does he establish a time limit. We can come as often as we want and with as much stuff as we need to unload. 

What’s more, God wants us to come. After all, he’s the One who cleared up the old restricted-use policy. He wants us to share the details of our lives and ask for his guidance. He wants to share in our joys and our sorrows. 

Don’t let anything keep you from enjoying your unrestricted access to God.

Father, my praises rise to you for opening the way for me to come to you. 

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

God Understands - Martin Wiles

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. Psalm 139:1-2 NLT

Regardless of how many times I explained the concept, some still misunderstood and made mistakes.

Correctly punctuating compound sentences is one of the simplest yet most difficult concepts I teach in Language Arts. The rule is simple: when two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction, a comma must precede the conjunction. For an independent clause to be claimed as such, it must have a subject, a verb, and a complete thought—not just a verb and a few prepositional phrases.

And it was the latter that confused many students. Many of them placed a comma when the sentence was actually a simple sentence with compound verbs. Others would mistake the word “then” for a coordinating conjunction and place a comma. I spilled a lot of red ink correcting papers on correctly punctuating compound sentences. Although I explained the concept in every imaginable way, the rule often didn’t sink in. Sadly, their failure to understand cost them many unnecessary mistakes.

I, too, failed to understand concepts in school, although my misunderstanding was more in math than in English. But it is more worrisome when others misunderstand us.

The psalmist was confident God understood him. After all, God had created him. He knew everything about him, even his innermost thoughts.

Failing to understand a concept and being misunderstood by others aren’t pleasant. Both can lead to frustration. I’ve taught students who practically gave up, and I’ve known people who struggled with depression because others just didn’t “get” them. 

Since God made us, he knows everything about us. He knows what things we struggle with—the hard subject, the unpleasant work atmosphere, the tough relationship, the co-dependent friend, the addiction. He doesn’t have to hear us voice our frustrations because he knows our thoughts. He understands us.

We will always encounter situations we don’t understand—and probably people who won’t understand us. Yet we can live with that if our Creator is by our side, guiding us along life’s journey. He’s the friend who will never leave, who will always comfort, and who will forever understand.

Take comfort in knowing God understands you when no one else does.

Father, thank you for creating me and understanding everything about me. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Intercessory Prayer - Patricia Jordan

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. 1 Timothy 2:1 ESV

On New Year’s Day, I felt led to make an intercessory prayer for my extended family, although nothing specific came to mind. A few weeks later, one of my sisters texted that she and her husband would close on a house soon. I had no idea they had become discontented with their nice but older home that sat at the edge of their small town. It was built in the 1940s, but each new owner had updated it.

It was time to call my sister and catch up on their new plans. She told me that many young families were moving into their neighborhood. It was getting too busy and noisy for them.

A realtor’s sign in their yard quickly brought a young couple who wanted their house. The problem was where my sister and her husband would move. They had looked in the county but hadn’t found a house within their budget.

With their realtor, they looked again and found their perfect newer house—one on which the seller had just lowered the price. My sister and her husband locked in on the sale and buy dates and made a nice profit from selling their old home.

In buying their new home, the seller paid the $9,000 in closing costs. She had inherited the house and, with her husband, had lived there for decades. But now they had a new home built nearby and were eager to move into it.

None of this was a coincidence because that word is not found in the Bible and doesn’t exist in God’s plan. 

When we pray and intercede, we should want what God wants for us or others, not what we might want.

In the above verse, the Apostle Paul says we should give thanks for all people because God desires for all to be saved.

Praying for others’ salvation is a priority. Then, we should pray for wisdom, blessings, healings, and other prayer concerns. No one knows what the outcome will be. Prayers can have amazing outcomes, as when Elisha asked God to show his servant how protected they were.  

Make sure you are interceding for others. 

Adonia, let me be obedient to following your will. Amen

Patricia Jordan is a seventh-generation southerner from the Appalachian Mountains. She is thankful to return and live there after living in various parts of the world with her retired military husband. They have raised three daughters. She has published You Are Valuable (Westbow), which is her story of how she overcame chronic low-grade depression through Bible study, prayer, and talk therapy. Lately, she has turned her writing talents to writing devotions about walking with God.  

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

 

 

 

 

 

Series: The Things We Say - Prayer Changes Things … Or Does It - Martin Wiles

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians12:8-9 NLT

A life-changing situation had turned my world upside down. Because of the nature of it, I could no longer serve in the profession I had been in for the previous fourteen years. I prayed for God to open a door. Potential employers had the authority to overlook and understand what had happened and hire me anyway. But few wanted to. I sent hundreds of resumes. Only a few offers arrived, none of which paid a salary on which I could survive. Taking a different career path seemed my only option.

During this time in my life, disappointment, discouragement, and depression were my occasional bedfellows. Like Paul, I begged God to remove my thorn in my flesh. Although I didn’t hear his answer, my unchanging circumstances revealed it: “No.” Would I learn to do what Paul did—boast about his weakness--or continue wallowing in my self-pity? And, of course, some reminded me that prayer changes things.

My prayers seemed to change nothing, but over time, I discovered they had. They changed me. I let go of the bitterness over what had happened. Paul also learned to glory in his weakness. Instead of stewing over my circumstances, I allowed God to use them for his glory. Since then, I have counseled many who were passing through what I did. Others who had not couldn’t comprehend their pain as I could. In time, God put me back into my chosen profession.

Prayer might not change the course of a hurricane or tornado, alter the mindset of a spouse who chooses to walk away, modify the course of a rebellious child, or revise the boss’s mind about a layoff, but it will change our perspective on circumstances, which in turn will alter our attitudes. And when my attitude changes, so will our responses.

Prayer will change things. If nothing else, you.

Father, may I be faithful in my prayers, trusting you to answer them as you see fit. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

More Than Asked For - Martin Wiles

If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Luke 6:38 NLT

I asked for a burger but received much more.

On one day, my wife and I stopped by a local burger joint to pick up our supper. The only thing special about our order is that our daughter’s BLT wasn’t supposed to have mayonnaise.

 

But as I enjoyed my burger, I noticed something protruding that was different in color than the green shredded lettuce. I pulled it out and discovered a piece of aluminum foil. Not one to be grossed out by such things, I kept eating. Later, as our daughter sat down to eat her BLT, she remarked, “There is mayonnaise on my sandwich. I didn’t ask for that.”

 

With a typical sarcastic quip, I remarked, “That’s okay. I got more than I asked for as well.”

 

Jesus always gives more than we ask for, …but sometimes stipulations follow. Regardless, the verse reminds me that God’s resources are unlimited. We can’t outgive God. Whatever we give, he can seize it, press it, mold it, shake it—and do whatever else He does—and produce more than we can imagine.

 

Our lack of faith is the only limitation to what God can do. His actions connect to our actions. If we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains. Since none of us ever moved a mountain, what we might consider as large faith is small in God’s sight.

 

Since God is more than willing to transform what we give, our paucity must be the result of several possibilities. Sometimes God doesn’t give because we don’t ask, because we ask with the wrong motives, or because we doubt God will give us what we ask for.

 

Despite our failures when it comes to giving or asking from God, he often overlooks our lack of faith or our weak faith and gives us more than we request—just as the burger joint gave me aluminum foil when I only asked for lettuce. That’s because God is a good, loving, and kind heavenly Father. Parents often give children things they don’t deserve, and God does the same. Whatever he gives will be for our good and his glory.

Praise God regularly for giving you more than you asked for.

Father, I thank you for your many gifts—none of which I deserve.

I invite you to try my book Grits, Grace, and Grands. If you have grands, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Prayer Unites Us in the Struggle - Anita van der Elst

Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:30 NLT

I have met with my small group of sisters in Christ almost weekly for five years. Prayer unites us in the struggle. 

Our group is small, but we always have much to discuss as we look into God’s Word, share questions and insights about what the Lord has to say, and look for how we can apply it to our lives. Our prayer concerns for each other grow, especially as we age into our late 60s and early 70s. Additionally, our desires for those we love and with whom we are acquainted lengthens the list.

Bringing these loved ones to our heavenly Father’s feet in prayer is an honor. But sometimes the list feels so heavy and beyond our strength to carry. Seeing that Paul described it as a struggle resonates with me. When his fellow believers prayed for him, they, in essence, joined him in that struggle.

Whenever I think I can’t do anything to help someone in their trials, or I’m tempted to meddle, I’m reminded that bringing their concerns to our Father God is how I figuratively connect in the struggle with them. Dropping to my knees isn’t necessary. Worries and concerns whispered from the heart and directed to the Lord carry as much weight in the fight as loud lamentations and discourse shouted from a rooftop or pulpit. It’s the kneeling of my heart that is the true posture.

We cannot jump into other people’s lives or manipulate circumstances for them, but when we pray for them, we join in their struggle. Our prayers for them are part of the fight. It is a duty and an honor to do so when initiated by the love given to us by the Holy Spirit.

Think about how you can join others through prayer in their struggles. 

Anita van der Elst finds joy in creating with words, believing God gifted her with the desire to do so. Married to her best friend, Edward, since 1976, she is a proud mom of four adult children and Oma to three of the most delightful grandchildren ever. Other joys in her life include bringing beauty to Facebook through photos she takes on her iPhone, exploring the state parks in the PNW, facilitating a small group of women, and participating in a Bible study. 

I invite you to try my newest book, Grits, Grace, and Grands, in eBook or paperback. If you are a grandparent or just want to hear grandparent stories, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Chicken Nugget Results - Abigail Griffin

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6 KJV

Think about the last time you ordered fast food. Then, think back to the last time you went to a nicer, sit-down restaurant for an occasion that was a little more special.

Whenever we make our way to our chosen restaurant, we usually have already decided how long we’ll have to wait for our food to be prepped. It almost seems unnatural to order a steak, two sides, and a salad and then expect the order to arrive fully prepared and sitting on the table within five minutes. However, the five-minute mindset doesn’t seem so outlandish whenever we’re in line waiting for our chicken nuggets on the go.

Sometimes, when we pray, we get immediate “chicken-nugget” results, but other times, God has something greater that He’s preparing. Both chicken nugget and steak requests have their own place and are valued by God.

God wants to hear our steak prayer requests just as much as He wants to hear the chicken nugget ones. Paul reminds us that it can be easy to pray those mountain-moving prayers. Typically, we have no problem putting in our steak orders to God. He can do the unthinkable and answer our request—sometimes within the moment that prayer was brought before His throne. 

However, after putting in our steak order and telling God how we would like it all done, it would be unreasonable to expect chicken nugget results. God’s answers are never rare but are always well done, and only His timing will satisfy our needs.

Don't expect chicken-nugget answers when God has a steak answer in the waiting. 

 

A college senior, Abigail Griffin is a Christian writer passionate about spreading the good news of Jesus Christ through the power of words. She studies Professional Writing and English and desires to continue infusing a biblical worldview into her writing.

I invite you to try my newest book, Grits, Grace, and Grands, in eBook or paperback. If you are a grandparent or just want to hear grandparent stories, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.