Under His Wings

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:4

I have had the pleasure of being able to witness the hatching of three tiny bird eggs in a nest in one of our front bushes. Through my dining room window I have witnessed the mother bird fly in and feed worms to her young and also completely cover them with her body and wings. These babies will be incapable of flying on their own for a couple weeks so the mother is watching and protecting them until they leave the nest.

God is like that with us. Once we leave his protection by our own choice powers of darkness can envelope us if we are not careful. A human mother can protect her babies and children but once they have ‘left the nest’ hopefully the things taught will ‘stick’ but in many cases they are forgotten or wrong friendships lead them astray.

You can still cover your children with the wings of prayer. Picture yourself putting your wings of prayer over your children, grandchildren, and future children and grandchildren. God cares and hears you. Your prayers work even though you may not feel as if they are doing much. Don’t cave in and fly away from the nest. Keep praying.

PRAYER: Father I thank you for your constant protection even when I have chosen to ignore you and do my own thing. I thank you for your protection for my family. I will not lose hope. I will not listen to Satan’s lies. You are Lord and you protect me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

#momsinprayerinternational

Epicenter

'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'Isaiah 41:10

Recently in the city of Dallas Ebola struck. Widespread panic set in primarily caused by the news media. Guess what? I also was in Dallas this month and was not a bit worried about it. If you constantly feed your mind on fearful topics naturally you will start to be afraid. I started to read the free daily paper at my hotel then threw it away. All it was doing was inciting fear in article after article.

You may not be scared you will contract Ebola but there may be something else that you allow to consume your life. Fear paralyzes people. Don't allow yourself to fall victim to this. Fear can stop you in your tracks. News flash, fear is not from God. God offers peace. The enemy is the one who loves to scare us. In order to stay peaceful and unafraid feed your mind on good things and do not dwell on those issues that make you a nail biter.

Concerning being in Dallas, I was there in the epicenter of the Ebola concern in the US and I was there with the Moms in Prayer ministry for their 30th birthday celebration. Women from 44 countries flew in. No one was fearing dying of Ebola. This event was planned over two years ago and God knew that 1300 praying women would be here in the center of it all. Faith over fear wins every time.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus I choose to separate myself from those things that incite fear in me. When I start to be afraid I will turn to you and your word not the newspaper. Help me have discipline to be peaceful. In Jesus' name. Amen.

HELP! HELP! HELP!

Have you ever frantically cried out to Jesus to save you or a loved one or help you? I know I have. The two incidents that come to mind are when I was in a roll over accident and the car tumbled only once thankfully, and then slid on the roof through the grass in the ditch as I cried out "help me Jesus, help me Jesus" and He did. Another time I was in Hawaii snorkeling alone in Hanauma Bay, as my sister was on business and could not join me that day. When you snorkel you should do three things. Have a buddy, wear a life jacket just in case, and observe rip current warning flags on the shore. I was so busy taking underwater pictures I did not realize I had been carried out beyond the people on shore in the current. Here I was in deep water and no people. I was extremely frightened. I screamed out "Help me Jesus, Help me Jesus" and out of nowhere, I kid you not, a young couple appeared and asked if I was okay. I said I was and without them even touching me I had strength to get to shore. I do not know where they went but I am pretty sure they were angels.

So have you cried out to God to help you or help a family member who is struggling with an issue in their life? Perhaps you have cried out in desperation for a family member to be set free from an addiction. Maybe they are caught up in deceptive lies of the enemy and are so blinded they do not think they need help so you cry out on their behalf. I know in Moms in Prayer International there are moms all over the world crying out for the lives of their children. Even Christian moms do not have perfect kids sometimes and go through struggles. These others moms in these groups help you lift up your child in prayer.

Psalm 54:4(NIV) says 'Surely God is my help. The Lord is the one who sustains me.' Psalm 30:10 says 'Hear Lord and be merciful to me, be my help.'. Psalm 118:7 says 'The Lord is with me. He is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.' If you do a word search on your computer you can find many verses where it shows God being your helper. He indeed is the ultimate helper.

What is weighing on your heart today? Go to the Lord in prayer. He will sustain you and help you.

PRAYER: Lord I thank you for the many times in life you have been my help to get me over the hump of a worried and anxious spirit. You have physically helped me as well and for that I give thanks. I know I have no earthly control over situations in my life or that of my family but I can and do pray. I thank you for hearing my prayers and giving me peace and being my helper. In Jesus' name. Amen.

For more information on Moms in Prayer go to www.momsinprayer.org

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NEVER STOP PRAYING

What is on your heart today? What prayer needs are you crying out to God for? Do not ever give up! There will be skeptics who tell you God does not care or if He does why does He let little children die and why doesn't he simply heal everything. That is something I can not really answer but I do know that God indeed cares and He is not the one who makes bad stuff happen.

Prayer is our lifeline to God. If it were not so powerful why then do anti God forces continually try to eradicate it from society? Unfortunately they were successful in not allowing school children to pray back in 1963 but that does not mean people are not praying. 

Luke 18:1 is a favorite verse of mine and it simply says to 'Pray and never give up'.  As the famous slogan for Nike says "Just do it." Indeed we must 'keep doing it' and doing it some more. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to 'pray without ceasing.' That means do not stop! Perhaps you are a parent in despair over a wayward child and keep praying and praying and praying some more. Do not worry my friend. God is indeed at work in their lives. Just keep believing. 

Have you ever tried praying scripture over a situation? For some excellent helps on this check out www.momsinprayer.org. Moms in Prayer is a ministry I have been a part of for almost 18 years now. It is vital to my prayer life. Isaiah 55:11 says ' So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.' God's word is powerful. Cherish it. Read your Bible. Memorize some favorite verses. It is your weapon against the forces of darkness in our world. Satan shudders at the name of Jesus. 

PRAYER: I love you Jesus. I hate evil. I know you hear my prayers. Help me to keep on keeping on and to remember to encourage others to continue in prayer as well. In Jesus' name. Amen.

PRAY AS YOU GO

We all have probably heard the terminology, "pay as you go". That sort of rhymes with "pray as you go" which I find is a valuable topic to give insight on. We should be praying in season and out of season. 1 Thessalonians 5:17(NIV) reminds us to 'pray continually.' Luke 18:1(NIV) says  to 'pray and never give up.' 

Pray is simply "talking to God", that's it. No fancy language or "thee's" or " thous" are needed. Depending on what church background you were raised in you might find it difficult to "pray as you go". Maybe you are used to formally memorized and recited prayers. Try to just simply talk to God, praise His name, and give Him glory. Matthew 6:7(NIV) says 'and when you pray do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words.' In other words you do not need a theological degree to pray to God. He is our friend and He is waiting to hear from we His children around the clock. He is never off duty.

When you go about your day each day you need to try to be in an attitude of prayer. There is no need to wait till Sunday to pray in church but pray at all times. Pray driving down the road. Pray when you are walking about doing your errands. Pray when you work. Perhaps you can plan a "prayer walk" which is specifically set aside  to walk some area in need of prayer and pray quietly as walk along if you are somewhere you are able to and not draw attention to yourself. We are not to be doing is to say "Hey look at me! Aren't I great." 

How many of us tend to give up on God or get mad when things do not go as planned? Just keep doing life with God and keep praising Him and do not forget to thank Him for His answers. Jeremiah 33:3(NIV) often referred to as "God's phone number" says 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Make sure your heart is right because in Psalm 66:18(NIV) it says 'If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.' 

Is your heart right with God? Are you harboring hate, resentment, bitterness, jealously, or evil thoughts? Perhaps it is time to have a "come to Jesus moment" and get your heart right with Hi, then pray on wherever life takes you.

PRAYER: Dear Lord I love you and want to be able to not harbor bad stuff in my heart. I know sometimes there are things that crop up that Satan wants me to keep mulling over but I also know my heart needs to be right before you. Lord I confess my sin of _______________ (fill in the blank) and ask you to come into my heart and soften it and make me a new creation in Christ. In Jesus' name. Amen.

NOTE: There is a superb prayer ministry for ladies entitled Moms in Prayer(formerly Moms in Touch) which are moms and grandmoms praying for children and their schools, careers, or military. Check it out at www.momsinprayer.org. 

Men could no doubt benefit from their formula the Four Steps of Prayer. Check it out.

PRAY! PRAY! AND PRAY SOME MORE!

I am all about praying. Prayer is our hotline to God. When you feel like all hope is lost why not try praying. In yesterday's devotion I mentioned the Bible verse found in Lamentations2:19(NIV) which says 'Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin, pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner.'  In other words, don't throw your hands up in despair and feel hopeless but keep praying and pray again. (See Luke 18:1). 

We need to be on our knees in prayer for the lives of our children. We need to pray seducing  spirits do not hold them captive or lead them astray. The enemy works overtime to try to distract our children from not being sold out to him. The devil perverts the message of Jesus Christ and tries to get us to believe lies. He wants you to be mad at God and turn your back on Him. 

When I was a child we were allowed to pray in school. The Ten Commandments were posted. As a result there was lots less crime, teen pregnancies, school drop outs, and drug use. God was the "standard" that kept it all together. But sadly in 1963 God was made illegal in our public school system. School prayer hit the "chopping block" in the Supreme Court and no longer could we pray as a group in school. You can try to take God out of school but I heard someone say, as long as there are tests there will be prayer in public school.

Colossians 2:8(NIV) says 'See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.' Pray this verse for your family members. The forces of the world and the lure of fun do captivate and sometimes take our eyes off Christ. We can not allow that to happen.

Our world has gone crazy. Little by little we push God out. This happens in our daily lives too. It is more "fun" to read a magazine  or paper than the Bible. Our spirit grows when we get into the word of God. Within the pages we have power to defeat the enemy,Satan. 

We can still pray but just don't pray and feel like that is all that is needed. Psalm 66:18(NASB) says 'If I regard wickedness in my heart the Lord will not hear.' Get your heart right with God first. 

Even prayer gets pushed out of our day. Sure we may utter a quick "thank you for this food" prayer but do you really ever "talk to God" in depth and share your heart with him? Find yourself a place to be your "prayer place" and each day make it a point to not forget to go there and start the day right. If you are a married couple maybe try praying together. Prayer does brings couples closer together. After all the marriage is a three strand cord and God is that third strand that keeps it all together. A rope of two strands would easily break. So too a marriage where God is not first and is a priority.

Yesterday's devotion ended with  Psalm 1:1-3(NIV) and I will repeat it today. Perhaps you can commit it to memory. 'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.'

PRAYER: Lord I know what I need to do. I need to not put you as last on my "to do" list although at times I have. You bless me so much yet at times I am too busy with worldly things to bother to spend time with you in prayer. It is my desire to not make excuses anymore but to make time daily to pray. In Jesus' name. Amen.

NOTE: Moms interested in prayer for their children check out www.momsinprayer.org.  Moms in Prayer was formerly called Moms in Touch. I have been blessed to be a part since 1996. Check it out! 

TAKE TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES

Do you rush through your day hardly stopping to take a break or a
breath? You may use the all too familiar excuse that you are working
and no time for a break. Try to get yourself out of your cubicle and
outside to enjoy God's creation. Our lives are often times filled with
non stop activities such as meetings, classes, clubs, sports, shopping
and much more. In this busy time God is often forgotten in the
equation. Somehow all the other things make the "to do" list but the
most important thing, spending time with Jesus, takes a back seat to
everything seemingly more important.

Through a ministry I have been a part of now for over 16 years now,
Moms in Prayer International, formerly Moms in Touch, there is a thing
called a "DAWG" day which I encourage ladies, and men, to try to make
time for sometime. It stands for "Day Alone With God" where you simply
get away from your home and distractions and go someplace quiet, safe,
and peaceful and pray and read your Bible. My area of choice here
happens to be a state park nearby. You just sort of get time to
regroup, think, pray, confess sins in your life, and study God's word.
Even if you only have two hours to spare, try it sometime and leave
the cell phone off.

It is during these times of peace you have time to appreciate what God
has done for you. To "smell the roses" is to truly appreciate God's
mercy and goodness. We can not fully tune in to God if we are
constantly distracted by things in life so it is necessary to have
that time alone.

Psalm 46:10(NIV) says 'Be still and know that I am God.I will be
exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.'

PRAYER: Lord I need to insure I do not allow the busyness of life to
squeeze you out. I know the enemy is thrilled when I do not make time
for you. Forgive me Lord. I can not expect to know you by only giving
you one hour on Sunday. My desire is to seek your face and make time
for you daily making sure other things do not come first. In Jesus'
name. Amen.