Recently, I have heard the heart cry of several friends and family who have been enduring significant seasons of suffering. Some are dealing with physical and emotional struggles; others, with financial stresses and setbacks or prodigal children. Still others are agonizing over the suffering or loss of family members or friends. Most are in a place where their prayer lives have become paralyzed. I have been in these dark places of despair, and struggled with the “Why me, God?” questions. Yet, it was in these times of desolation and anguish that God spoke most clearly and it was in the hopeless places where I found the most hope . . . and where I learned without a doubt that the God of all comfort was very present.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 has always held for me the all-important key to enduring difficulties: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”

This passage came to the forefront after experiencing a devastating season of suffering in my own life which I thought might never end.  I began to see something happen that I had never expected, and did not fully comprehend until time had passed. But our grace-filled Father patiently used my painful experiences and trials to minister into the lives of others who were walking through similar circumstances. It was the fulfillment of the truth from 2 Corinthians taking root in my life. Seeing this promise come to fruition was life-changing for me, and has allowed me to see suffering in an entirely different light. I don’t have to like it, but if I patiently endure it, God will be faithful not only in the midst of what I am walking through…He will take it and use it for His kingdom’s purposes!

To punctuate this point, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” If God’s will for me is to joyfully and prayerfully give thanks in the midst of every circumstance, then I must be an obedient child, even when I am unsure…even when I am angry…and even when I don’t feel like praying, trusting that He will make use of every season I am in! I would suggest that it is best when we don’t feel like praying to do two things. First, just breathe the name of Jesus into the space around you. His Name keeps the enemy at bay and His Name releases the power of Christ into our situations. Second, play worship music so that your surroundings are permeated by the Presence of the God of Comfort. He is attracted to our worship, so as we focus on Him rather than upon our circumstances, He will reveal Himself in ways we may never expect.

When my husband calls me on the phone, he never has to identify himself. I know his voice so well that further identification is not needed. At the risk of embarrassing us both, I will share that almost every phone conversation begins with Dave saying, “Hi Gorgeous!” and my response of “Hi Handsome!” The calls almost always end with “I love you!” I know his voice, and even after the call has ended, the pronouncement of being known as his “beloved and beautiful bride” is always embedded in my heart. I feel loved and cherished, even in the simple act of hearing his voice on the phone. How much greater the love of Jesus is for me, for you…and for His Beloved Bride, the Church.There are two things about prayer that resonate deeply with me in the simple act of a phone call with the person I love most on earth. First, I know his voice, and he knows mine. Yet, how well do I know the voice of the One who created my innermost being? Jesus, whose voice I should fully recognize and follow?  In John 10, Jesus states that those who are His sheep know His voice, but do not acknowledge the voices of strangers. I must be a good listener to the voice of the One who is always present to me and within me. I need to learn to discern His voice above every other…to cherish it, and to obey it. Listening prayer is a transformational spiritual discipline. Until I can determine Jesus’ voice above and in the midst of all of the others, I cannot discern and live in the kingdom of God in all of its fullness. Living in and leaning into the presence of Christ reminds me always that He is my Beloved, and I am His. He loves me beyond any love my husband could ever hope to have for me, or I for him. His voice instructs, admonishes, encourages, builds up, convicts, and is filled with all of the peace, wisdom and strength I need to love Him fully, and to love others with the love of Christ.

How does one practice listening prayer? First of all, listening requires slowing down and paying attention. It is not emptying one’s mind, but filling it with Christ alone. Jesus is the Word of God. Therefore, Scripture is perhaps the best way to, as Psalm 46:10 states, “Be still and know” that He alone is God. Any “voice” that does not agree with this Word, is not of God. This is why knowing the Word is so important to listening.

I know my husband well, and because we have lived together for so long, we often finish sentences for one another, or think the same things at the same time. This is how we should continually live with Jesus. Sometimes walking in nature or contemplating the beauty of what He has created draws me into an acute awareness of His Divine Presence. Sometimes it is dwelling upon the character and nature of Jesus. Perhaps I will settle on His loving kindness, His compassion or His power and meditate on one of these characteristics, asking Him to reveal more of Himself to me. Listening helps me to know Jesus better as He unfolds Himself into my heart. I can “be still” at any time of day or night for He is fully present to me 24-7 unlike any human relationship.

Secondly, I know from his voice that my husband’s love remains with me always. Even when we are not physically present in the same place, I feel that love and know it to be true and real. This knowledge stays with me always…even when we disagree or when we hit a rough patch or season in the midst of life. Jesus, the One I love even more than my own husband, lives with and within me. His presence is continual. His love will never fail because He is the Divine Love.

Jesus tells us: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). The verb abide is closely related to the word stay. Just as my husband’s words and love stay with me continually, how much more do the words and love of Christ abide with me? Most importantly, my husband cannot always be physically present with me; however, Jesus is continually abiding within me, and, if I am obedient to Scripture, I also stay continually with Him. Being aware of this spiritual mystery is vital to all believers.

Yet, how does one abide continually with Jesus so that fruit can be produced? We must stay attached to the Vine, and prayer is the best way I know to do this! Prayer is a love relationship with God. It is continual remembrance of what Henri Nouwen calls our “belovedness” in Him. It is living within that love that gives us strength to live it out as fruitfulness. We must first abide (stay) in Him, recognizing also His presence in us so that we are available to love Him fully and to take part in the work of His kingdom that extends His love to others. It is cultivating a continual awareness of His presence.

Jesus has promised to be with us “to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). In his book Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life, Henri Nouwen states, “Staying with Jesus and he with us requires walking the road together, not turning back, anticipating seeing Jesus in unexpected ways in our hearts.” He is referring to the revelation of the person of Jesus in the lives of the two men on the road to Emmaus. Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, but it was not until they begged Him to stay with them…and he accepted their invitation and broke bread with them that they recognized who He truly was. They did not yet recognize His voice, even though their hearts were “burning” within them.  It was an act of remembrance (taking communion together) that triggered the recognition of His Presence. They had lost hope that Jesus was truly who He said He was until this moment. They were not yet completely attached to the Vine. Once this connectivity was established, the fullness of the kingdom was theirs! Their eyes were opened to the presence of the living Jesus! It is this awareness that fuels relationship and recognition. My guess is that these two men never again had trouble recognizing that Voice!

Prayer as every day life includes abiding with Jesus and listening to His voice. The longer we dwell in His presence, the more we will know that we are His beloved and He is ours!

“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:26 NASB).

Years ago I met a young woman in a Bible study whose family was struggling financially. Her husband was in prison and she had four young sons at home. They were crammed into a very small little house, but were very content and happy. Every day she prayed a simple prayer for God to provide for their needs. She never made a big deal out of the fact that they had very little and were barely getting by on her meager paying job.

Another friend and I began regularly praying for and with “Beth” after Bible study each week. She was so grateful for our prayers, and would let us know how we could be praying for her. It wasn’t long before God began to speak to my heart that I needed to become the answer to the prayers I was praying for her financial situation. I began to argue with God, for I was a fairly new believer and hadn’t yet learned why this principle was vital to my spiritual growth and health. God began to show me that if He was calling me to be the person to meet Beth’s need and I did not, the separation of my faith from my works would get me what the Message version of James 2:26 calls “a corpse”: “The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.” When there is “a seamless unity of believing and doing” we are exercising faith as God intends.

My friend Nancy shared that she had been sensing a nudge from God as well. So, the two of us decided God wanted to use us, and hatched a plan of blessing for Beth’s family. It began by leaving an anonymous envelope with some money in it on the front seat of her car shortly before she would be heading to work after getting her boys off to school. That night at Bible study, Beth was praising God and thanking Him that the exact amount she had needed for groceries that day was in that envelope. She was astonished at how anyone would have known her need but God, the One she had brought her need to. Nancy and I were just as amazed at how God had given us just the right amount to meet her needs, and so thrilled that He had used us to meet this need. This ignited our spirits, and we wanted to do more!

It was close to Christmas and Beth was going to visit her husband, who was due to be released from prison in just a few short weeks. Nancy and I offered to watch the boys that day for her so she didn’t need to hire a babysitter. After she left, we took the boys to get a Christmas tree, as Beth had sadly told them there wouldn’t be a tree this year. The boys were so excited to get it home and set up in the living room. Next, we made ornaments with paper, markers and glue. We cut out snowflakes and decorated everywhere (I was reminded of this after watching the movie Elf years later). Nancy and I also took them to purchase some simple gifts for their parents. Their eyes were shining as they wrapped the gifts. We prayed with them several times that day, asking God to show us all what He wanted us to do to make Christmas one of the best they had ever celebrated. They all knew the Christmas story well, and were excited to rejoice in the birth of Jesus as a family.

Beth’s children were breathless with excitement waiting for their mother to come home later that night. When she did, she brought a surprise. The children’s father had been released early and would be with them for Christmas after all! What a joyous reunion this family had when their daddy walked in the door…and what fun when they were able to show their parents the lovely tree they had decorated themselves. Nancy and I quietly slipped out and had a time of worshiping God and thanking Him for letting us be the answer to the prayers we had prayed.

Over the years, it has given me and my family much joy to continue to listen to God’s urging to “be the answer,” trusting Him to show us how to meet the needs of those for whom we pray. It isn’t always a financial situation. Sometimes it is simple things such as bringing a meal that’s needed, or offering words of encouragement…or going to the hospital to pray through a surgery. It was an important lesson to learn that praying for others is vital and important; however, if I don’t pair this with listening and responding to the voice of the Father urging me to become the answer to the prayers I pray, I am only going half way in my faith that He will answer. When the burden is placed upon me to pray, He often will also give me a burden to respond. What a privilege that God chooses to work through His people to be the answer to their own prayers. When we respond in obedience, we learn what it truly means to be part of the body of Christ Jesus…and that is life-changing and culture-transforming!

God’s people should be those who ask for God’s kingdom to come in the midst of their life together as the corporate body of Jesus Christ. One caution – we should find our identities within the purposes of God alone – not in our work or our “causes.” Most of all, may we never think we can be the answer without God.

“…prayer and action can go together; in fact they must. Otherwise we have little more than a bunch of inactive believers or worn-out activists, and neither do much good for the world.” –Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hargrove: Becoming the Answer to our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals

“Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:12-14).

Following Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the apostles obediently returned to their place of prayer in the upper room. They were joined by other men and women who had agreed they were “in this for good, completely together in prayer” (Acts 1:14 MSG). They joined together constantly in prayer as they awaited the promised Holy Spirit. As they waited, they listened. God prompted Peter to speak about the Scripture that spoke of the need to replace the position that Judas Iscariot had thrown away in favor of his own will, so Mathias was added as the twelfth apostle.

I wonder how these early believers felt as they awaited the promised Holy Spirit. Did they wonder what it would feel like or be like to have this “power” Jesus spoke to them about? Were they excited to receive such a gift, or apprehensive about what it would mean for them individually and collectively? Would they have spent time talking about it together over meals, speculating about their commission to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth? I wonder also, did they determine to be willing to lay aside their own ideas, plans and purposes in favor of the kingdom purposes Jesus had been teaching them about? Did they pray, “Not my will/our will but Yours be done?” Did they express private concerns about being persecuted or even killed, knowing that the enemies of Jesus would most certainly oppose them? Did they lay hands upon one another and pray for strength, willingness, obedience and courage? Were they already making plans or simply sitting at the feet of Jesus, awaiting the Spirit’s direction as Jesus told them to do? We do know that when the Spirit came, these waiting saints were prepared and ready! Within a very few weeks it was said that they had “turned the world upside down” for Jesus Christ.

It would have been amazing to be in that upper room at this extraordinary moment in history. Yet, in a sense, we can place ourselves there – if we are willing. What if every church or group of believers would set themselves into this very scenario within this passage of God’s word?  We, of course, already have the gift of the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to wait for it if we have made Jesus Lord and Savior. But for many of us, our obedience to the commission of Jesus ends there. We have all of the power we will ever need to go into our modern day Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even to the ends of the earth. Yet, this power lies dormant and unused within so many of us who have chosen only to acknowledge but not act upon the call of Christ to be His witnesses.

Perhaps what is needed is to recapture the essence of the upper room where we can join together constantly in prayer as the early Christians did. It would be a place where the presence of God is palpable…a place of laying down our will in favor of the will of God, and a place of listening and of discernment. It would be a holy space where Scripture teaches us and we obey…a place of empowerment, of physical and spiritual healing… a place of building relationships, of serving one another…a place of encouragement and accountability…a place of true discipleship and of making disciples. It would be a launching pad for going into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. It would be…the Church.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries

“Converting our unceasing thinking into unceasing prayer moves us from a self-centered monologue to a God-centered dialogue.” – Henri Nouwen

Reading Nouwen’s quote this week, I paused to consider once again what has been changing about my everyday life as it is gradually being transformed into an unceasing dialogue with God. For many years, having such discourse with God was an elusive reality for me.

When I became a follower of Jesus, I was taught that everyone should carve out time every morning for Bible study, worship and prayer. I still believe this is true, for it gives my days a sense of balance and focuses me upon God’s purposes for my day rather than my own. Yet, I would always find a drifting occurring as the day traveled along. Rather than trusting God as my friend, confidante, guide, wisdom and rock in the midst of every activity, conversation and relationship, I began to marginalize His participation through forgetfulness and neglect. Life became about what I was doing, where I was going and who I was connecting with.  Unless His help was clearly needed, I was pretty self-sufficient and, as Nouwen states, “self-centered.”

Is it possible to develop a spiritual strategy to move one’s unceasing thinking towards unceasing prayer? I believe so! Spiritual practices such as silence and listening prayer are crucial in developing the discipline of continual awareness of and conversation with God. Here are some powerful ways, based upon Scripture, to help us transition from unceasing thought to unceasing prayer:

Remember that God knows all of our thoughts: In Psalm 139:2 the Psalmist says, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.” There is no thought that escapes the notice of the Father. Our attentiveness to this fact can stop us from purposeless wandering of mind, or from focusing upon our own needs and agendas incessantly. I am always more observant of my thoughts when I cultivate an awareness that God is paying attention to them. I am more careful to consider what He thinks of my opinions, ideas and random notions and more inclined to speak to Him about them.
Ask God to search your thoughts: If God knows all of our thoughts we should prayerfully invite Him to examine our thought lives. Our awareness of His presence in our thoughts can lead to conversation with God about what is contained in them. A good prayer for this is found in Psalm 139:23: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”  Spend time listening to what He may have to say about what you are thinking, and ask Him to show you how to change, alter, or act upon things as He brings conviction, sheds light and asks for obedience.
Take every thought captive: 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” If we pay attention to every thought, and whether or not it is Christlike, natural conversation with God will happen. Perhaps asking questions of God such as, “Father, how can I think differently about this situation?” will help us with the transformation of our minds (Romans 12:2).
Fix your thoughts on Jesus: In Hebrews 3:1 we read, Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” If we have taken our thoughts captive, we can begin to fix our thoughts upon the things that matter to Jesus.
We have the mind of Christ:  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we, as believers in Christ, are able to align our thoughts with Jesus’ thoughts.  “For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart” (1 Corinthians 2:16, Amplified).  Because we have the mind of Christ Jesus, and because He dwells within us, we can converse continually with Him about the feelings and purposes of His heart. Desiring to see His plans for us, for others and for His world come to fruition, we will be more likely to press into ceaseless conversation to that end.

I know these are not easy steps, and that it will take some time and discipline to have an unceasing dialogue with God; however, His word gives us what we need to move in that direction.  Let’s pray for one another to recognize that God knows our thoughts, to invite Him to search those thoughts, and to begin to take every thought captive by training our focus upon Jesus. Then, in the knowledge of the truth that through the power of the Holy Spirit we have the mind of Christ, our prayer lives will see great transformation.