Hit the pause button! For just a minute in the midst of your hurry-scurry of reading blog posts, responding to emails and juggling your to-do list, stop. Take a deep breath. Breath in – feeling the external air enter your lungs. Breath out – exhaling the internal. Air inward. Air outward. Breathing is so intuitive and intimate. Both conscious and unconscious. Lifegiving and life transformational. Breathing and praying share many of the same characteristics. Breath God in. Breath ego, worry, fear out. God surrounds us like air – invisible, life-giving, all around and within. We are like fish in the sea wondering what water really is. This powerful force sustaining and nurturing us on our journey. Breath Prayers The Bibles teaches us to “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) How do we do this? One type of prayer that has helped Christians across the ages to fulfill this command is breath … [Read more...]
10 Celtic Blessings of Wisdom
In honor of my upcoming pilgrimage to Ireland, I have been collecting Celtic blessings. Here are a few for you today: A best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have. Anonymous ****** A wish that every day for you will be happy from the start and may you always have good luck and a song within your heart. Irish Blessing ****** Always remember to forget, the friends that proved untrue. But never forget to remember those that have stuck by you! Irish proverb ****** You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was! Irish proverb ****** Do not resent growing old. Many are denied the privilege. Irish proverb ****** Tis better to buy a small bouquet and give to your friend this very day, Than a bushel of roses white and red to lay on his coffin after he's dead. Irish proverb ****** May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty. Irish Proverb ****** It's no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are … [Read more...]
Waiting in Prayer
Waiting for a prayer to be answered is hard. I have several prayers I have been hounding God about for years. I haven't heard no. I haven't seen the results I told him I wanted. I will be honest I have more than suggested something he may want to take care of. Now, please, Lord! We wait in prayer and often don't get the answer we wanted. Sometimes while waiting in prayer, the answer appears in an unexpected way. Or even better than ever imagined blessings. But my pile of "someday" prayers simmers in my heart. Waiting in Prayer I don't have tricks or techniques to help in the time of waiting but have been exploring and talking with God about this phenomenon we all experience. Perhaps God uses this time like weight-training but spelled differently -wait-training. Here are some gems to consider: But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. – Romans 8:25 Patience? Sigh. Waiting in prayer does teach us patience or at least attempts to foster … [Read more...]
10 Quotes on Prayer During Difficult Times
In September we have been looking how to pray when it is difficult. This is all part of the Year of Prayer here on Healthy Spirituality. You may find the previous posts about praying during difficult times here and here. I love chewing on great bits of wisdom found in the wise words from others. Here are 10 thought-provoking and inspirational quotes about prayer that I hope will help you in hard times. Find one or two of your favorites and tug them into your journal and/or Bible. May these words bubble up and find you again just when you need them. Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference" Max Lucado ****** Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts. Mother Teresa ****** I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming … [Read more...]
Praying When You Don’t Like What You See – Guest Post – Kelly O’Dell Stanley
As we continue to explore the spiritual practice of prayer this year, this month the word "difficult" frames our prayers. If you missed last week's post, you may want to check it here. I have so enjoyed bringing some different voices to Healthy Spirituality through guest posts. I am delighted to introduce you to my friend, Kelly O'Dell Stanley. We met at a writers conference eons ago- we were both very green as writers - and I have been so blessed to watch her now blossom into a published writer and writer conference speaker. Be sure to check out her books and her blog! Here is a little more about Kelly: Kelly O’Dell Stanley is the author of Praying Upside Down and Designed to Pray. A graphic designer who writes (or is it a writer who designs?), she's also a redhead who’s pretty good at controlling her temper, a believer in doing everything to excess, and a professional wrestler of doubt and faith. She blogs at kellyostanley.com and calls small-town Indiana her … [Read more...]
Making Prayer Too Difficult
Are you guilty of making prayer too difficult? I know I do at times. Okay, most times. I was thinking the other day how I have been walking with you this entire year, discovering, exploring, and tasting prayer. Though the adventure has been rich and full, how am I going to remember to "do" all these prayers, these wonderful "techniques" and of course, do them correctly so I earn an A in the course? I know. I know. I know that isn't what God wants. Me neither. In September, a word to frame our traveling with prayer will be "difficult." Today is reflecting on making prayer too difficult and next week will be when it is too difficult to pray. Earlier in the summer, I updated a free prayer resources called "The Prayer Tool Box. " This pdf has lots of digital and analog ideas for spending your time with God. Click the button at the bottom of this post to get yours if you didn't get one in June. Making Prayer Too Difficult K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple, Sweetie! Sometimes the best … [Read more...]
10 Simple Ways to Strengthen Your Prayer Life – Guest Post Rachel Larkin
We have been exploring the spiritual practice of prayer throughout 2018. I invited fellow writer Rachel Larkin to share her thoughts on ways to strengthen your prayer life. So glad to have you here, Rachel! Rachel Larkin is an author, speaker, chartered accountant and home-school mum. She lives in New Zealand with her husband and their three young adult sons. She is the author of Simple Prayer: The Guide for Ordinary People Seeking the Extraordinary https://www.rachellarkin.com/book/simple-prayer/ . She has a passion to see believers growing in faith and prayer as well as developing their potential for Jesus. She blogs at https://www.rachellarkin.com/. To find out more on seeing God turn up in your daily life, Rachel has a free eBook available for download - The Untold Story: 7 Steps to Seeing God in the Midst of your Real Messy Life https://www.rachellarkin.com/book/untold-story/ Thank you for sharing your words and wisdom with us: 10 Simple Ways to Strengthen Your … [Read more...]
Intercessory Prayer – Praying for Others – Even the Difficult Ones
As we continue our exploration of prayer this year, last week we began exploring intercessory prayer or praying for others. I have been rereading and pondering Phillip Yancey's book on Prayer during this year. Praying for others affects us in powerful ways as much as it affects others. Here are some of his thoughts on Intercessory Prayer: "When I pray for another person, I am praying for God to open my eyes so that I can see that person as God does, and then enter into the stream of love that God already directs towards that person….Bringing them into God's presence changes my attitude toward them and ultimately affects our relationship…Prayer allows me to see others as God sees them and me: as uniquely flowed and uniquely gifted bearers of God's image. I begin seeing them through Jesus' eyes, as beloved children who the Father longs to embrace." Nice image to hold when praying for others. But sometimes intercessory prayer is difficult: "Frank Laubach…describes how he sought to … [Read more...]