Category: Introduction

You are holding your newborn baby. Love swells up within you and you thank the Lord for this blessing. This happens often in the coming years, especially at night before you retire for the evening. Those are beautiful times as you look down at them while they are sleeping. A loving time with your child, you, and God. This is a time of love, thankfulness, and a time of protection. This may be a time for a special blessing or maybe a blessing for their future.

Lamentations 2:19 Arise, cry aloud in the night at the beginning of the night watches: Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord; Life up your hands to Him for the life of your little ones.

Beloved, stir the Throne Room of God’s goodness and feel Him near, especially when they have been hurt. Prayers for your children are to be unending.

One evening the Lord lead me to ask for a special blessing for each of my children. One of the blessings that I asked for was that she would have a beautiful voice for singing praises to Him. One day when she was 7 years old and practicing a song for church, the Lord spoke to me. “Remember the prayer you prayed.” Then He brought to my memory the night I prayed for special blessings for my children. When this child was a senior in high school she would come upon car accidents and would see people in the cars. As an adult, she went to school and became an EMT. She continued her education. Now she is a Family Nurse Practitioner and has her own clinic. She has sent one of her four children through college and still sings for the glory of the Lord. With God all things are possible.

Another example of praying for a child happened when I was on the board of starting a Crisis Pregnancy Center in our city. The child I prayed for at this time was a junior in high school. At this time there were 3 girls in her history class expecting a baby. When it came time to teach ladies how to care for and counsel those who were expecting, I asked my daughter if she would like to go. I thought maybe this class could help her help these girls. The first day of class was from 9:00 am-9:00 pm. I felt like it might be boring for my daughter. But when we walked out at 9:00 pm, my daughter said with excitement, “This was wonderful.” I remember my prayer for her. It was that when she spoke, people would listen. She went on to get a double master’s in which one is counseling. She went on to work in different states Pregnancy Centers and for 8 years as a state social worker with children. God has lifted her up beyond that level, plus she is a pastor’s wife. Her words have guided many people.

I could go on about my other children, and my 19 grandchildren, but this would be very long. (One great-grandchild and one on the way) There is a blessing in getting older. You can see prayers being answered for your children and how those prayers bless your grandchildren. If you teach your children about prayer, a legacy can be passed down for generations.

Colossians 2:3 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself.

Beloved, love is living out the word in your life. You are to have a balance of love, wisdom, and understanding. Do not separate these things.

I have been there my friends. The pain is unbearable. Sometimes I have heard the Holy Spirit speak on my behalf. I may not know exactly what word was being said, but I knew the meaning of each sentence.

The closer you are to God, the closer His presence can be felt by you. God knows you need Him, He will bring you comfort. How fast this comfort comes depends on your relationship with God. God does heal you spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

Don’t hide from God and only come to Him when you are hurting. Have a relationship with God so you can enter His throne room in an instant.

I use Psalm 100:4 as a guide in my approach to God. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him: bless His name.” (NAS).

But before we can enter His gates to the abode of God, we must have Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit is the key to unlocking the gate to the realm of God. This holy place can only be entered by someone made holy. The Holy Spirit is your guide in this place. Stay at the gate to examine yourself, and confess sin. If my heart is not prepared to go through this gate, I can feel pressure around my heart. It is as if the Holy Spirit is holding me back and saying, “Not yet.”

With sin forgiven and washed by the blood of Jesus, one can now enter the gate. I enter the gate thanking God for what He did for me that day. One needs to stand in the open gate giving thanks to the Lord God, waiting until the Holy Spirit draws you to God’s court.

Remember Moses and how he waited for God. One needs to stay in the court praising God until the Holy Spirit says you can enter the throne room of God.

It is then that one can have the confidence to enter God’s presence. Hebrew 4:16 says, “Let us, therefore, draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 10:19. In I John 3:21, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. Dear Ones, if one approaches God through the blood of Jesus with His holiness in mind through worship, one can approach His throne with confidence. It is here, humbled at the feet of God, that one can ask for help and the desires of one’s heart. The Holy Spirit will guide you in praying in His will. Again, if you start to pray out of the will of God, the Holy Spirit will put pressure on your heart. Let me warn you now, that when you are at the feet of the living God, touching the hem of His Holiness, your request may seem so unimportant. What you are experiencing and seeing more clearly are the attributes of God. It is there that you realize that you are but “dirty rags” and only want to praise and worship God by giving thanks for Jesus and the work He did in order to save you and bring you to His feet. As Moses did, we must wait and approach God, to accomplish Ephesians 3. We must take the time and discipline ourselves. God is always waiting for us.

You may want to search for other books on prayer to help inspire you. I took a course called Prayer Life by T. W. Hunt. Then I guided my children through the course. http://www.lifeway.com

My name is written in the palm of Jesus’s hand,

The nail on the cross sealed our covenant.

How do I know this is true?

Because His spirit lives within me,

And tells me so,

With my spirit.

Joined by our love for each other.

When my spirit becomes troubled,

There His Spirit holds me closer.

When I am weary,

He lifts me up.

Jesus is with me in all situations.

How can I not fall down to worship Him?

How can I not love Him,

When He loves Me beyond measure.

(This is not meant to be a poem. When I post these thoughts, they are just that. Thoughts that I have throughout my daily life.)

The church is not an audience to be entertained; it is an army to be empowered.

Jeremiah 33:14c,22

And they strengthen the hands of evildoers…

But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.

Photo by Diana Burbridge

Set your light in the darkness. Yes, the church is to be light.

But your light is to move out into the darkness.

How can you live for God’s glory if you are hemmed up?

When we do go out, then we must return to spend time with our God.

This must be, so our strength had soul be renewed.

Psalm 33:20-22

Our soul waits for the Lord;

He is our help and our shield.

For our heart rejoices in Him.

Because we trust in His holy name.

Let Thou lovingkindness, O Lord be upon us,

According as we have hoped in Thee.

Isaiah 49:16a

Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

The scholars say that the name inscribed here is the name Israel. But being on this side of the cross, could it be the names of the Saints? There where the nails of the cross were placed. There where He endured pain for you and me.

All I do know is that verse causes me to love Jesus more. That verse increases m,y faith, and hope. That is what those nailed scarred hands do for me. Those same hands that hold me and you, with the greatest of all love…A Holy Love.

Lord, what do you think of me? I’ve done so many things wrong. I’ve been broken until I can’t feel anything but pain. I feel there is no hope for me. Lord. I am here, bowed low at your feet. You are the King of Heaven and earth. You are the king of all. You are the Healer . Lord, what do you think of me?

Oh, my Lord, I feel you looking down. My Lord, I Feel Your Love. In my brokenness, I feel Your peace Growing. My King, I feel Your Hope for me. Your mercy surrounds me here as I bow. Oh, my king of Heaven and Earth, I hear Your words to me. My Beloved, rise up and sit at my right hand.

Thanks be to You, Oh Holy One, my everything. Thank you for your Love that reaches down deep into my soul. Your love is overwhelming. I can only cry and drop to my knees. Is this how it will be in Heaven? Singing to You praises of Love and thanksgiving in the midst of Your glory and love.

God’s love is so amazing. Why He did not wipe us out before now, is love incomprehensible. Would any of you be so patient?

God’s love is so amazing that He died for us. Then He wants a personal relationship with each one of us. He says we may talk to Him. He may hear all prayers, but He listens closely to His children. Then if the prayer is in our best interest and completely surrendered to Him, you can rest in His peace that He is doing what brings delight to both of you. God wants to help you. God delights in doing things for you.

God’s love keeps His throne room open to you. I have a piece on this site called, “Enter The Throne Room of God.” Although when your heart is right (always confess sin first), He will listen to you. I have seen Him answer prayer immediately with a quick four words. There is no limit put on our prayers. Just remember, not to pray selfishly, especially if it is for treasures to store upon the earth.

Jesus taught eternal truth that only believers could understand and accept. His parables withheld deeper truth from those who were merely curious or skeptical, both as an act of judgment and grace. He revealed that His unstoppable kingdom would encounter opposition but prevail and grow in ways that defy logic. Believers are to look different than the world as we show the goodness God has planted within us. The faithful minority who accept Him and join His kingdom cause will seek and find worth in this life that surpasses anything else. Christ’s love for and sacrifice on behalf of His children demonstrates their value to Him. While living in a physical world, spiritual realities matter. People who avoid or reject God and His truth in this life will enter eternity as God’s enemies — a frightful and final destiny.

God’s intimate and accurate assessment of every human heart assures that He knows His children by name. The warnings and encouragement contained in Jesus ‘ parables continue to speak today. This world cherishes what will rot, fade, and be destroyed. Only eternal treasure will remain. Jesus called His disciples and calls us to believe the truth and build our lives on His eternal realities. Like the disciples, we are to acknowledge and commit to what we do understand, which is enough to change our lives forever. Believers will experience abundant rich life now and spend eternity basking in the infinite truth and eternal worship of Jesus. This is the greatest treasure that can ever be known.*

This short study was taken from a Bible Study lesson from Bible Study Fellowship, Matthew Lesson 14, Page 149.

This bible study is worldwide. To find a group near you, go to bsf.org.

I was first introduced to BSF in the 1980s. They meet during the school year and do not meet when the children are off for holidays, breaks, and summer. Many have children’s programs. They are taught the same lesson as the adults but presented appropriately for each age group. Also, there are men’s classes.

Although I have been in this Bible study for years, (we go through the whole Bible) there is something new for me to learn in each lesson. One of the first things I learned, was how to allow the Holy Spirit to teach me and how important prayer is before I would begin each study.