Posts

Prayer: The Default Mode

When beginning a word a document, I defer to the settings already established. I rarely change the margins, spacing or font. I go right in and get to work! When I am confronted with any life situation or circumstance, I want my prayer life to mirror how I begin a document; I go in and get right to praying.

 

Instead of focusing on what’s not right about the situation or person, how I could change or fix it or complain about it, just get RIGHT to praying. And while that is my frequent mode of operating, it isn’t quite my DEFAULT mode yet, but I’m working on it.

 

The Lord crashed this into my consciousness the other day, as I was texting a friend about what someone had done to me. As the chain of texts grew in length, the Lord gentle whispered, “Have you talked to ME about the situation yet?”

 

Ah, I hadn’t. So it made me aware that my mode was to sort through my feelings then pray. That’s when the Lord said to me, Prayer: The Default Mode. I’ve heard my Pastor John K. Jenkins say many times, “You turn to other before you turn to God.” And when he says that, I nod my head in agreement, “Mmm-Hmm they sure do. Running to complain to someone else. Talk to God first”, is what I utter under my breath about THOSE people.

 

Well excuse me Miss; you would be one of those people too. Oh no, not Tyra. Well sorry to burst your bubble Little Miss, but yes, that would be you. No you don’t usually call to talk to someone about it but you do engage in dialogue in your head on how you’ll fix the person, what you’ll say to him or her and how you’ll say it. All before talking to God first.

 

But I’m recalibrating. I’m tweaking the settings. Now it will look like:

 

Prayer: The Default Mode

 

So how does one make prayer the default mode?

 

[bctt tweet=”Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2″]

 

By praying: praying in faith, praying with a clean heart, praying in alignment with His will, praying with thanksgiving and praying without ceasing.

 

Like Nike says, Just Do It!

 

For those who are recently establishing a consistent prayer life, there are recommended models of prayer to help get you into the habit and routine of praying. Years ago I was in a ministry meeting and we were told to pair up and pray. Well the person I was next to was uncomfortable with praying especially aloud as she had come from a Catholic background. So let’s take some of the mysticism out of prayer and make it accessible to all.

 

Jesus himself provides a perfect model of prayer in The Lord’s Prayer

 

In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:9-13

 

Here are two similar models.

 

PRAY

Praise

Repent

Ask

Yield

 

ACTS

Acknowledge

Confess

Thank

Supplication (ask for what is needed)

 

For those with a vibrant, fervent prayer life, keep the fire burning. Are you writing down your prayers? Are you recording the testimonies of answered prayers? Do you have a prayer partner? Are you praying without ceasing?

 

Pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

 

And what I’m personally working on here lately is making my prayer more specific. For example a daily prayer of mine for my children is that they will continue to grow in wisdom and in stature, in favor with God and with man. Ok great, praying the scriptures over my children. But what does that look like real time? How can I make that even more specific? My specific prayer last week was, “Lord, I thank you for my first born. You’ve given her a spirit of discernment. Let her couple that with the wealth of information she easily retains and empower her to apply it as wisdom when in situations with her friends as school. Let her be a leader among her peers leading them in paths of righteousness for your namesake. Let her find favor among the teachers and administrators to be selected for special projects, tasks and programs in which she can shine bright for you. Thank you for ordering her steps as she walks out your plans for her future and hope.”

 

I also pray all throughout the day. It begins from the moment I awake. Every morning I awake with a song on my heart. I sing the song in my head, and then I pray specifically related to whatever the song was talking about. Then I read my morning devotions and pray and listen for what they Lord has to communicate with me that morning. Then as I’m driving I continue to pray. Mid-morning prayers, lunchtime prayers, homework time prayers (thank you Jesus for modeling patience) and evening prayers. Then one of my most special times of prayer, shower time prayers. The Lord just really seems to show up in the shower.

 

Indeed, praying without ceasing.

 

And they include all types of prayers. Prayers of thanksgiving, petition, supplication, intercession, pleas, repentance and more.

 

Two excellent new resources out now on prayer are:

 

The Battle Plan for Prayer

Fervent

 

[bctt tweet=”As automatic as breathing is how I want my prayer life to be. To flow effortlessly from my heart to His.”]

 

As you draw near to Him in prayer, He’ll continue to draw nearer to you.

 

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

Psalm 145:18

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

 

Photo Credit
Happy to connect with others sharing the Good News Grace&Truth #DanceWithJesus

/4 Comments/by

Go Deeper

I finally broke the pattern in my dreams. I used to have a pattern in my dreams where I would consistently be late for or miss something entirely. From missing a mid-term to missing a flight, this theme had recurred in my dreams for years. In 2014, I embarked on a healing journey with 6 other women. One of our exercises was to write down and consider our dreams. Through this exercise I came to understand why I was having those dreams. But that story is one for another day.

 

This story is one of breaking the pattern and completing what I started.

 

I dreamt that I had to swim across this vast ocean holding onto a mini replica of my car. In fact, when I went to pick up my car, it wasn’t there and I was instructed by the Director to take any car of my choosing. I chose a Mustang (I am so NOT a Mustang girl, more like a Volvo/Mini Cooper hybrid; conservative yet energetic). Nonetheless I took my Mustang in hand and began to swim across this wide channel. I started out strong, arms slicing through the water like a Ginsu knife through a tomato. I just knew I was strong and powerful and I believed I could and would make it across. Then the Lord spoke to me and said, “Come deeper”. I couldn’t make sense of that. Even though dreaming, I thought I couldn’t go deeper. I thought I wouldn’t be able to breathe, just keep slicing through the water I told myself. Again the Lord said, “Come Deeper”, to which I quickly obey.

 

And wouldn’t you know, I could breathe underwater. And instead of exerting all this energy stroking through the water, I began to do the dolphin kick. My legs seemed to become as one and my body arched up and down in a fluid motion propelling me right through the water. I went deeper still and continued the dolphin/mermaid swim. I could breathe, I could feel the depth of cold of the water but I was making it across that great expanse. With the car held in my two hands out in front I me, I rocketed to the other side. I obediently went deeper and the pattern was broken.

 

For months the Lord has been calling me to come deeper.

 

When He had stopped speaking,

He said to Simon, “Launch out into

the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

Luke 5:4

 

 

I believe it is the mark of discipleship to have an ongoing, vibrant relationship with the Lord in which He continues to make mysteries known to you. He wants to lead you and guide you in paths of righteousness for His namesake. And to traverse some of those paths requires us to go deeper. And when we obediently take up our cross and follow Him deeper, He makes His mysteries known to us.

 

Diving deep into the ocean we find mysterious sea creatures that stand in stark contrast to their present reality. In the inky blue/black of the deep sea live bioluminescent sea creatures. 12,000 feet below are astounding animals that shine bright in stark contrast to their dark surroundings. Chemical reactions in their bodies cause them to glow.

 

As you go deeper in the Lord, His glory shines, flooding you with light and causing you to glow even in the inky blue/black situations of life. Because of your willingness to follow Him into the deep, He makes the mysteries of life know to YOU. This type of revelation is not for all but for His TRUE disciples because TRUE disciples follow and obey His commands

 

 

He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given

to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,

but to them it has not been given.

 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;

for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men

desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear,

and did not hear it.

Matthew 13:11, 16-17

 

This topic of going deeper isn’t new to me. In fact, one of my top 5 favorite movies, The Abyss is about going deeper.

 

In the movie, one of the lead characters, Brigman goes deeper than deep to detonate a nuclear bomb. He thought it was the end for him. In fact, he said going down deeper was a one-way ticket. And we may feel like that sometimes when trusting God and walking in faith. We may feel like we are plunging into darkness with no way of escape. But as happened with Brigman, he was standing right on the brink of breakthrough. He was just feet away from the light. Saving himself, his loved ones and the entire planet was within his reach.

 

Oh friends we would do well to trust God. To walk out in faith and not give up before our breakthrough. It’s right there on the brink. You are standing on the precipice of deeper revelation, deeper knowledge, deeper love.

 

In addition to Israel Houghton’s Deeper, I’ve been blessed to have a song that encapsulates this journey of going deeper. The song is called Oceans by Hillsong. The lyrics read:

 

You call me out upon the waters

The great unknown where feet may fail

And there I find You in the mystery

In oceans deep

My faith will stand

 

And I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours and You are mine

 

Your grace abounds in deepest waters

Your sovereign hand

Will be my guide

Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me

You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

 

So I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours and You are mine

 

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Savior

 

Oh, Jesus, you’re my God!

 

I will call upon Your name

Keep my eyes above the waves

My soul will rest in Your embrace

I am Yours and You are mine

Yes. That’s where we find Him, in oceans deep. Feet may fail in oceans deep but faith equips us to breathe underwater. Totally immersed in the rivers of living water is where I want to be.

 

Last year He told me, “I need water walkers”. And like Peter I walked out to meet Him. Since then, He’s calling me deeper, deeper, deeper.

 

Yes Lord, I am coming.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

 

P.S. This subject of living waters started out as a single post but it just would let me go. This is part three of the series on Living Waters. Read parts 1 & 2:

Rivers of Living Water

Tapping Into The Source

 

PhotoCredit

 

Happy to connect with friends sharing the Good News #DanceWith Jesus, Grace & Truth

/6 Comments/by