10th day to PRAY for 2015!

What a blessing to walk with you in these days of praying! I believe Father delights in our turning and beginning with him. I believe we need his leadership and direction for our days of 2015! I also believe it is good to walk together!

So far, we have prayed . . .
Day 1 – for the lines of purpose and a perspective of hope
Day 2 – our position in Jesus Christ and abandoning ourselves to this place of love
Day 3 – a posture of open hands
Day 4 – trusting in his presence and his promise
Day 5 – living in the pleasant places of Father’s word and truth
Day 6 – speaking the power of blessing over our home and family
Day 7 – to be present by turning our gaze to Father and his intentions for our day
Day 8 – Father’s preference when sending us into battle – “go in the strength you have”
Day 9 – poised and prepared for the people [children] when they come

The word that still rumbles in my mind and heart is power! Since writing about the “power of blessing,” I have been talking with Father about the available power given to us. He promises power in his word, and I certainly need it. I also don’t want to leave any treasure unopened. So, if it is available and I need it, what stands in the way of living in his power? I am about to dive into the Bible and see what Father has to say to us.

Check back with you in a minute . . . .

Well, I ended up in a great conversation with Maya and then Father gave me another direction. So, first the conversation.

Maya landed at the table across from me. She has had a challenging day with her words. It affects our entire family and alienates her from her siblings and friends. While her words can be a great gift in her leadership, the enemy gets her fixated on her rights and then her mouth takes over. While I did not handle the situation with great patience, Maya reached a place of brokenness today that I have not seen. I will always remember her placing her hand on her heart tonight and saying: “I want it to come from here, Mom. I don’t want to struggle with this anymore. How can I change?” It was so good to put the computer aside and sit with her and her heart for a bit. I don’t have the steps all figured, but I have the hand we will both hold together. I took her to Father, and we talked about his power to change those places of self that trap us every time. We even read today in school 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Romans 6. This was the conversation we had shared just a few hours before. So, we talked about those verses. In Christ, we have been set free. We don’t have to live “enslaved to sin.” The old has gone, and the new has come. I wish it were that easy. We must still wage the war, but we celebrate we have the option of something greater than ourselves and our ability or lack thereof to maneuver through the battle with success. As we turn our gaze, as we study his words, as we accept our freedom, as we decide to live in his presence, we move forward, and we move with him. There is power in this movement. Not without absence of pain or difficulty – but that has not been promised to us. He has promised proximity, promised provision, promised perspective, and in this case promised power!

The power is his given to us through Jesus. Check out these verses: 2 Corinthians 12:9, Ephesians 3:20-21 and Colossians 1:11.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

. . . . being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience . . . . Colossians 1:11

His power is working within us right in the middle of our weakness creating endurance and patience. I need you to think about this for a minute. First of all, his power is made perfect in our weakness. So, how are we going to feel? We might still “feel” weak while living in his power. So, we are going to have to dismiss the feeling and think with our head on this one. Not easy to do especially for emotive people like Ron and Maya. Second, the result of this living in his power is going to create patience and endurance. These are not words that scream of a victory dance with cheerleaders leading the way. Living powerfully in Christ is a humble position without much fanfare at times. Endurance and patience connote a picture of exercise and finishing the 3rd set of 10 when I was ready to stop at the 2nd set. Living in his power may look different than what you are expecting, and the enemy wants nothing better than to screw with your paradigm so that you end up frustrated and condemned.

Together, let’s ask Father about this word power and how he means us to live in it. As we embrace our weakness full of questions and need, his power “rests on us.”

Father, thank for this promise. Thank for your work within us. Thank for the option of choosing your strength and might! Today, we ask for your power in our family, in our children, in our moments. May our children lift their hands to their hearts and ask for help. May they admit their brokenness and inability to reach peace on their own. May we as parents lead them to you and your answer – your power resting on us!

The “other direction” will have to come tomorrow – it is all about praying circles and drawing lines! Can’t wait!