31 Days of Prayer: Let's light a candle

The holiday season is upon us and it is wonderful! But for people who have lost a loved one or are experiencing tough times, this time of year may not be joyful.

It's a Catholic tradition to "light a candle" for someone on your heart, to pray for their peace and safety. There is a song by the Christian recording artists AVALON simply called, "Light a Candle". It's a song that focuses on the less fortunate. The ones who will not rush to open gifts on Christmas morning because they could not afford to buy gifts. The ones who do not have a place to celebrate the holiday because they are homeless. The ones who will go hungry while most people are feasting on the much celebrated Christmas dinner because they cannot afford food. The ones who once upon a time knew and cherished the joy of this holiday season who are now desolate and despondent because they've lost all they cared about or they're in the hospital fighting for their lives.

This Christmastime, I'd like to challenge those of us who are at a place in life where we're fortunate to have friends, blessed to have family and are experiencing good times despite all the pain and suffering in our world...I'd like to challenge you to reach out. Reach out to someone who is hurting. Help someone who needs HOPE. Whether it means slipping a couple of dollars and coins into those Salvation Army red kettles--you know the ones for collecting donations which are usually positioned directly outside of your local grocery store, next to a person wearing official Salvation Army apparel and ringing a bell. Or if it means giving a "thank you" offering in church or volunteering at a soup kitchen or simply "lighting a candle" for someone by saying a prayer in the privacy of your own home. Please remember that not everyone is as fortunate as you. Everyone needs prayer, even those who are wealthy. We all need Jesus.

You don't have to go to a cathedral on Christmas Eve to literally light a candle. You can, wherever you are--even right now--just quietly in your  heart and mind, say a prayer. Say a prayer for the hurting, the weak, the fortunate and less fortunate. And don't limit your prayers to this holiday season! Keep your fellow humankind in prayer throughout the year! We never know when our time here on Earth is up so I believe it's important for us to keep each other prayed up! And to live each and every day for what it is, a gift from God. And to me, that's much better than any sought-after, much-desired Christmas gift!

God bless you!

31 Day of Prayer: Here's why you should pray

Not much to say today about prayer because I found a video that says it all! :)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's edition of 31 Days of Prayer which may have more of a message written by me. Enjoy the video and your weekend! :)

31 Days of Prayer: Praying for the loss of a great leader

South Africa has lost a true gem. Nelson Mandela who became an international icon for his fight against apartheid in South Africa and spent 27 years in prison for defending his cause and led South Africa into democracy as its president, died Dec. 5, 2013 in his home. Mandela was 95.

What I admire most about Mandela's life story is that no matter what, he did not give up the fight for what is right. He, like American Civil Rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that "hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." I believe Mandela left a legacy of love covering the continent of Africa and I hope that everyone will embrace his legacy, learn from his life and strive to continue the fight for social justice, hope and peace.

We don't live in a perfect world and the reality is that sickness, death and disease will be here until Jesus comes. BUT that's no excuse not to brighten your corner of the world and bring joy to those around you, encouraging peace with your fellow humankind. God doesn't idly sit by and let injustice happen. He influences His people to make the world a better place, just like He used Mandela to change the story of South Africa for the better, God wants to use you and me to change the world for the better. So what exactly does the Creator of the Universe does require of us mere mortals? The answer is found in Micah 6:8, "to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God."

Shall we pray?

Dear God,

Please be with the peacemakers in this world. Help us all to live in harmony with each other. Thank You for blessing our world with a humble, golden-heart leader like Nelson Mandela. Please be with the survivors in his family, help them to come to terms with this sad news. Send Your Comforter the Holy Spirit into their hearts and homes and fill their spirits with a peace that passes all understanding as they lay their family member to rest. 

Help the world to learn a lesson from Mandela's life and to be inspired to make this world a better place, to carry on the legacy of agape love, hope and peace that Mandela fought so hard for his entire life. And ultimately, my we be inspired by the life of Your son Jesus Christ whose legacy of agape love, hope and salvation for this world liberated us from the enemy's stranglehold of sin. May we remember that if we believe in You and accept Your Son as our Savior and live a life of faith in You then we will be saved. 

May those who are hurting have hope in knowing that Your Son will return to Earth to take His faithful followers home and eternity will begin a life free of pain, suffering and sin. Until then, may we continue to be inspired by the legacy of Your children on Earth like Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ultimately may we be inspired to follow You, walk in faith and live up to what you require of us.

In Jesus' Name I pray,

Amen.

31 Days of Prayer: A song from Scripture

Sometimes, all you need is a prayer.

A friend prayed with me today and I'm glad she did because it was a much needed reminder for me to stay close to God no matter what life brings me.

She reminded me of a song that I played a lot when I was in college. It's a beautiful song from the Bible book of Psalm, chapter 64. I've posted the song performed by Smokie Norful above this text. I hope you will listen to it and be spiritual refreshed.

Sometimes all it takes is a song about prayer and drawing close to God to usher you into the presence of the Eternal King. After finding this song on YouTube and playing it over and over, I can feel my worries subside and I can sense that everything will be okay even when I feel it is not. And I pray the same for you. I pray that God will enrich your life with His presence, fill your heart with His love, envelope your home with His peace and your life with his joy.

In closing, here's a picture and a prayer for you:

31 Days of Prayer: Complacency

"Painting Pictures of Egypt" is a song by former school teacher turned musician Sara Groves.

Listening to this song today, I thought about my own life. I'm at a place where I'm looking back at the past experience and thinking, "Well it wasn't perfect but at least it was predictable in the payment for my work." And though that particular job was not my passion or skill set and it was a tough time for me, sometimes I find myself as Sara would say in her song, "painting pictures of Egypt" glossing over the tough times I went through with pretty paint trying to make everything seem as if it was all smooth sailing and that the problems were not that bad.

Before I move on, let me explain what the context of the song, "Painting Pictures of Egypt" is referring to. There was a time in human history when the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians in the land of Egypt for 400 years. The slaves worked really hard and were treated terribly but they were fed and had a place to live. But nonetheless they were oppressed. Long story short, God used a man named Moses to free His people from slavery and lead them to the Promised Land which flowed with milk and honey where they would no longer be slaves but free. Only problem was after the people left the the place where they'd been enslaved and were traveling through the the wilderness as they journeyed to the promised land, they started to complain. Now the background information is that this was not a journey of a few hours. It took days and while God provided for their basic needs including food from heaven called manna, the Israelites grew sick of it. They complained that they were tired of manna and thought they would die of thirst in the desert so they started "painting pictures of Egypt", wishing they were slaves again because at least then they had all the variety of food they wanted to eat and they had everything they wanted. They painted such a pretty picture that they totally forgot that the horrible way they were treated by the Egyptian slave masters. They failed to remember how difficult the work they were made to do each day was and they forgot that when they were slaves they did not have freedom.

Now that you know the context of the story and Sara's song, what do you think? Have you ever found yourself "painting pictures of Egypt"? And by that I mean, you were in a bad situation that you prayed about to God to deliver you from but once God delivered you from that situation and started to lead you to your promised land (a better life), you started to look backward to life as you knew it because on your journey forward to a better life, it was taking longer than you thought? So you find yourself looking back and longing for the complacency you felt when you were in a situation that no matter how horrible it was, it was predictable?

Well if you are "painting pictures of Egypt", I would like to advise you - and me - to take it to the Lord in prayer. God didn't lead you out of a tough situation to have you return to it. God didn't say He has something  better for you (your "promised land") if He wasn't going to help you in your journey to receive it. And no, your journey into the plans and future God has for you (Jeremiah 29:11) may not be short as in a few hours or days or weeks. It may take months or in my case, years! But just like the lyrics in the song by Sara Groves say -- and I paraphrase-- if your destiny comes too quick, you may not appreciate it and you may not even recognize it! So dear friend, I encourage you to continue taking your situation of any sorts (work, home, family life, relationships, etc.) to God and then continue praying to Him about it every day and allowing God to guide you on your journey each day, trusting that He will help you arrive safely to your destination and it will be better than you dreamed.

So again, I encourage you if you are still painting pictures of Egypt, put down your paintbrush and move forward in faith toward all the wonderful plans God has destined for your life story.

God bless you!

What a beautiful series of life lessons

31 Days of Prayer: More than a conqueror

When I saw this picture (above), I knew I needed to write about it and what better time than for my 31 Days of Prayer series?

Very often, speaking from my experience here, it's so easy to become wrapped up in our problems to the point where we do not see a reason for the struggles and want to quit. We may even complain to God, asking him the classic question known to mankind, "Why?" or "If there is a God then why is there so much pain and suffering in this world?" Or "I thought You were protecting me, Lord so why did you allow this traumatic event to happen to me?" We may turn on the television and see reports on the news about tsunamis and earthquakes and other natural disasters that claimed thousands of lives and be tempted to believe that we're all on our own here on Earth. It's about the survival of the fittest and we've got to look out for ourselves because God doesn't care.

Nothing, my dear friend, could be farther from the truth. We are NOT alone. God is REAL and He cares about you more than you'll ever know on this side of heaven.

When you feel discouraged and defeated, don't give up, LOOK UP. Look up to the One Lord and Sovereign Savior who loves you more than you can ever imagine. Take your problems not to the phone to tell a friend but to the THRONE of the Creator of the Universe (GOD) and leave it there, trusting Him to answer your prayers in powerful and wonderful ways.

"God may not come when you want Him to," my grandma often says, "But he's ALWAYS on TIME." Just because God doesn't answer your prayer immediately or within your time frame, does NOT mean that He isn't listening or working on a solution for you to manifest at the perfect time. Trust His timing. 

Truth be told, God loves you with all His divine heart. He'll NEVER leave you or forsake you and you can trust God to handle your problems and make a way out of no way for you because He can do ANYTHING BUT FAIL.

So next time you're "really going through" an ordeal in life, just turn it over to Jesus Christ. The best part about prayer is you can pray silently in your mind without ever uttering a word verbally and God will still hear and answer you.

Here's a model prayer for you to use if you'd like:

"Dear God, I know that this trial/temptation/situation is only temporary because I believe in You and I claim the victory! Lord if you will not change my situation, please change me! And Dear Lord, please give me the strength to make it through another day. Help me to have faith in You and trust You to see me through because I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ. Help me to remember, this battle is not mine, it's Yours and with You I can be victorious! In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen."

God bless you!