Shauna Millar, Author at Paxx Enterprises

Rejoice in Knowing God Answers Prayers

by Shauna Millar | Mar 26, 2021 | prayer

My last few posts have been about the simplicity of prayer. The importance of intercession; as well as touching on the definition of a prayer warrior. The bible mentions 650 prayers – of which we know how 450 were answered. We serve the same God. Our God who answers prayers. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (He 13:8) What about those other prayers? Well, we don’t know how He answered them. We can only guess.

When we come to God in prayer it isn’t just the words of our mouth that He hears. It is our attitude and our motivation, which He sees and determines how our prayers are answered. We know, just as any good Father, His answer is in our best interest. He knows more than we do and He sees us fully.

Hannah, who was barren, prayed for a child and promised to dedicate him to the Lord if He would grant her request. Samuel was born. Not only did God bless Hannah with Samuel, she also had three more sons and two daughters. (1 Sam 1:11)
When Peter was imprisoned by Herod Argippa, the church prayed for his release. (Intercession). The story tells us that he was freed by an angel of the Lord and went straight to Mary’s house where the prayer was still in progress! (Acts 12:5)
When Jerusalem was under siege, King Hezekiah prayed to the Lord for deliverance. (2 Kings 19:19) 185,000 soldiers were killed by the Lords angel and the rest of the army fled. God waged war on behalf of His people because they followed Him.

There are also several examples in the Bible that show us how God’s mind was changed through the prayer. One example is when King Hezekiah was dying, he prayed to the Lord (2 Kings 20:3) and God heard his prayer and added 15 years onto his life.

The Prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:10)

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

Perhaps you have heard of the prayer of Jabez. One of the things that makes this prayer attention worthy is that the only mention of Jabez is the prayer he prayed and God answered. That’s it. That is the full extent of what we know about Jabez. So, think about this; Jabez prayed a simple prayer. Basically it is a two line prayer asking for five things; to be blessed, to have his territory enlarged (wealth), for God to be with him, to be kept from harm and free from pain. Then the word goes on to tell us that God granted his request.

This prayer is powerful. It is something that is simple to memorize or put on a post-it note. This is a prayer that anyone can pray. Reminder: if God is the same yesterday, (when Jabez prayed it), today (when we pray it) and forever (when future generations pray it) then God will answer it. Here is the caveat; God knows our hearts. If you are saying a prayer, any prayer, and your heart already doesn’t believe it or the reason you are praying isn’t the right one; then the answer might not be granted. In other words, God may say no.

Psalms 66:18 – If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me]
John 9:31 – Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
1 Peter 3:12 – For the eyes of the Lord [are] over the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord [is] against them that do evil.

It is important to try to know our own hearts

Anytime we come before God, we need to know our own heart. We need to try and see our reasons. God created us, He knew us in our mother’s womb. He knows us inside and out. However, we struggle to learn ourselves. We often find ourselves in denial of who we are. Why we do things. We don’t accept responsibilities for our actions. We blame others. When we live in sin we don’t think about it. When we become believers, the Holy Spirit will guide us into revelation knowledge. (John 16:8)

Matthew 21:22 – And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

It is important to know what we believe. It is this belief that allows us the certainty to come before God and know that He will answer our prayers. As we think in our hearts so we are. (Pr 23:7) Our thought life is important. We know our words can kill or heal. Just take a look at people/children who have killed themselves after being bullied by other children. The words were driven into their being like stake to the heart. They already weren’t sure of who they were so they believed what others said about them.

Just as important as it is to watch our words to and about others; we need to consider our prayers. Are we being selfish? What has drawn us to the throne of grace. You see it is easy to “forget” to pray when things are going well in our lives. Most often we come to God when things are tough. When we need something. When we want something. God knows our hearts. He understands that we do this. Yet, knowing that prayer is our communication with God. Our conversations become few and far between. Then something like guilt can creep into a believers life when we realize that we have stopped having these personal moments with Him.

We start to think that even though we want to pray, we shouldn’t or can’t because it has been too long in between prayers. This is not true. God desires to commune with us. God wants an intimate, close relationship with us. He went as far as sacrificing His only son to bridge the gap between Him and us. He is patiently waiting for us to want the same type of relationship with Him. So, even when we choose to drift away from God, when we forget or refuse to pray, when we do come back to Him – He is there. For us. Don’t let guilt be the reason you don’t come back to pray.

Prayer is a conversation with our Heavenly Father that we all need

One of the things about praise as well as worship and prayer is that it brings us into the holy of holies and gives us the gift of interaction with our Heavenly Father. Much like when Esther approached the throne, with hesitation, we find ourselves doing the same. God will extend His grace and mercy, as the King did with the scepter, to allow us to speak. As the King did with Esther, God offers us anything we desire because He loves us.

1 John 5:15 “And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

It is important to know what we truly desire. Sometimes, we don’t. Which is why, when we don’t know what to pray, we can simply pray for God’s will in our lives. Once we start the conversation, it is easy to continue it. It becomes easier every time we do it. It also grants us a boon, being near to God brings us happiness.

Ps 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

My prayer for you today is that you will learn to draw closer to God. That you will desire to spend time in His presence having conversations with your Heavenly Father. I pray you will understand how it isn’t a one-sided conversation. That no matter the reason you are calling the Lord, He will be there to answer, listen and respond. Let your joy be full.

Prayer Is a Great Conversation with Your Heavenly Father

by Shauna Millar | Mar 19, 2021 | prayer

One of my favorite books of the bible is Psalms. It is filled with both the songs and prayers of David. It is also a great example of some of the reasons we pray to God. Five are specifically mentioned in Psalms; petitions (Ps 13), repentance (Ps 32) , intercession (Ps 20), thanksgiving (Ps 9) and adoration. (Ps 8). No matter our emotional state, whether we are feeling down or we are flying high, we can come to God in prayer.

I think today, we mostly come to God when we are feeling down. We tend to become more prayerful when we want something or need something or when we are feeling depressed, we might not pray at all. While I believe that God wants to communicate with us at all times; we don’t tend to share that same enthusiasm for conversation with Him.

As I wrote before, prayer doesn’t have to be complex. It can and often is a simple thing. Words spoken to our Creator.

Our Posture Before God

Most people think of prayer as being something done while on your knees. I am sure you have seen the picture of a child kneeling next to the bed, head bowed, hands clasped with an angel standing nearby. While this is a great visual, often, by the time we get to adulthood, we put away ‘childish things’ – for some people this may mean prayer.

Prayer isn’t something we should teach by rote to our children. As they grow up, and hit their teenage years, it may become something they “put away”. We need to teach our children and remind ourselves, that WE are HIS children – always. We need to remember that prayer is our conversation with our Heavenly Father. Therefore we need to remember how important it is that we pray.

Wondering what position, you are supposed to be in when you pray?

The Bible shows us that it can be varied.

kneeling (Ps 95:6) (Eph 3:14)
standing (Ne 9:5) (Mark 11:25)
bowing (PS 5:7)
walking (2 Kings 4:35)
lying prostrate (Ne 8:6) (Matthew 26:39)
lifted hands (Ps 141:2) (1 Tim 2:8)
sitting (1 Chronicles 17:16-27)
Eyes lifted up (John 17:1)

Even more important than the physical position we find ourselves in when we pray is the posture of our hearts. We need to come to God with a humble spirit. We shouldn’t be putting on a show for others when we pray, but act in humility, recognizing who we are in Christ.

Whether our prayers are done in silence (Ps 46:10), with lifted voices (Acts 4:24) or crying out loud (Ps 55:17); we need to remember that God sees our hearts. (1 Samuel 16:7). He knows who we are, for He created us. He knows why we are before Him and what our true attitude is.

Interceding on the behalf of others

Perhaps you have heard the term “prayer warrior” and are comparing yourself to that or want to learn more. What is a prayer warrior? We are all called to pray so what makes them “so special”. In truth, anyone can be a prayer warrior. It is a title that is used for those who are constantly praying in the spirit for others.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ephesians 6:12

We know that there is a war going on in the Heavens. We recognize this, while some may live in denial, we know from God’s word. God raises up prayer warriors “for such a time as this”. People who seek to know God’s heart fully – who realize that we are just strangers in a strange land and although we are passing through, it is their desire to look beyond their feelings, the feelings of the people around them, and to know what breaks God’s heart; to know how to intercede in prayer.

Standing in the Gap

Knowing God’s heart. Believing in the power of prayer. Praying to intervene on the behalf of others. Praying God’s word and God’s will. Putting on the whole armor of God. Understanding that prayer is a direct communication and conversation with our Heavenly Father. These are some of the things that make up a prayer warrior.

One of the best ways I have seen this described:

What is a Christian prayer warrior? A Christian prayer warrior is a person committed to spending time in prayer and asking God to intervene against the schemes of the devil. They are dedicated to living every moment with a heart of prayer, knowing that God is the one who answers and has already won the victory over every situation. They are committed to seeing God’s will be done, regardless of their own agenda.

Putting away what we believe is best, our agenda, for God’s agenda.

Examples of Prayer Warriors in the Bible

We know that Esther, when she became queen, fasted and prayed. She was reminded that God had placed her in the position she was for “such a time as this“. (Esther 4:14.) She was there so she could intercede on the behalf of and with her people (the Jews to prevent extermination). She went boldly before the king to save them.

Daniel interceded on the behalf of his people. (Daniel 9). When reading this chapter, you may see the correlation to Daniel’s prayer for his people and the prayer we need to be praying today. We need to turn to God not away from Him.

Abraham interceded for Sodom on behalf of his nephew Lot. (Gen 18:16-33) He negotiated with the Lord to save the city if 10 righteous people could be found. He managed to save his nephew, but not the city. (Ever wonder what happens when an entire nation turns away from God?)

Prayer warriors are agents of change

Praying creates a catalyst for change in the spiritual realm. When change occurs there it then creates transformation in the physical realm. This is how we win these battles. By prayer and fasting. It is a ministry. A calling. We aren’t all meant to do the same thing. Some of us are the hands, some of us are the feet – no matter what part of the body you are, we are all part of one body. The body of Christ.

All of us should pray

As believers we should pray so that we draw closer to God. We strengthen our faith. We find solace in His presence. We find strength to move from moment to moment and day to day.

Yes, some of us are prayer warriors. Called to intercede on the behalf of others, to seek God’s will and know His heart in how we should be praying. Anyone can be a prayer warrior. It is spending more than just personal time with God – it is the pull of the heart to put away who we are and our agenda in exchange for His agenda. Where we not only recognize, but acknowledge, that there is a spiritual war going on. Realizing that we are all a part of it.

We see war in our lives every day. Some of us are closer to the wars than others. We have soldiers who go out and fight on our behalf. They create the front line for our benefit. They work to protect us by being willing to stand up and fight when required. What a soldier does in the physical realm is what a prayer warrior does in the spiritual realm.

Whether your prayers are for yourself, the direction and path God will take you or whether they are more focused on intercession – no matter where your prayer life is right now or where it leads you; one of the greatest gifts God gave us was the ability to communicate directly with Him. Don’t feel as if you can’t come before Him with your struggles and fears. Give Him your depression and worries. Cast all your cares on Him. While doing so, you will find yourself not only drawing closer to Him, but your faith and strength will grow too.

For You I Am Praying – The Power of Intercessory Prayer

by Shauna Millar | Mar 12, 2021 | encouragement, peace, prayer

Intercessory Prayer is the opportunity to pray for others. It is when we act as a mediator when we go before the throne of God. Whether we are praying for someone who is sick, or going out to a job interview, or for someone who doesn’t know the Lord – the reasons are varied. It’s when we come before the throne of God seeking intercession on the behalf of another. Powerful things can happen.

Intercession is defined as the action of intervening [come between so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events] on behalf of another. When we intercede, we are following the example of Christ, who sits on the right hand of the Father, and the Holy Spirit, who intercede for us.

Most of the time, we will hear about parents or family members, who are praying for the salvation of a loved one. It can be difficult for a believer to accept that their family member doesn’t follow the same belief system they have. Whether it is out of sheer rebellion or the family coming to know Christ later in life, the reasons can be multifaceted.

There are also the prayers for the success of individuals, during meetings, speeches, political races, and more. Prayers for struggling business, communities, and families who have suffered loss. Sick family members or community members who are under attack. There are so many reasons for this type of prayer.

Prayer is a powerful communication with God.

Intercessory prayer is the same communication on the behalf of others. Yet, why aren’t we praying?

We know the devil comes to ‘steal, kill and destroy.’ Most of the time we think of this as just destroying the physical into which the spiritual will also be affected. If you deprive someone of “things” or “possessions,” they may get depressed.

If you remove close family members, friends or loved ones, the difficulty to overcome grief can be crippling. When these things happen, our first response is generally NOT prayer. Many people no longer react by praying. Instead, we allow ourselves to be drawn down the rabbit hole.

This is where intercession becomes an incredibly important tool. Not only are we supporting our friends and family, by being there for them physically, we are also supporting their spiritual nature as well. Giving strength in the spirit to help themover come the physical.

We are living in a world that seemingly has turned away from God

By the actions of those in the world around us, the worship of ‘Gaia’ – whom they call ‘mother earth’ is prevalent. There have been several times throughout history where the masses have turned away from God and toward other things. Whether it is money, power, oppression, or the ideal of what will get them there.

Historically, the church hasn’t helped in these matters. The wars done ‘in the name of God’ where people were killed because they refused to be forced to give up their own beliefs. The Monarchs, who claimed godhood for themselves, and forced their people to have the same beliefs or die. The Inquisition. These are some of the things that we know, throughout history, have been done in the name of religion – forcing true believers into hiding in order to survive.

Even in today’s society, the word “Christian” often receives a negative connotation. Add to this, the fact that over the last year, it became (in essence) ‘illegal’ to congregate, taking away religious freedoms under the guise of ‘public safety’; meanwhile strip clubs and other such establishments were allowed to remain open.

Though some churches did manage to remain steadfast and open to their congregation through various means, the response was small in comparison to those who were willing to stay below the radar in ‘order to survive’. Have we so lost faith in our God?

Even for times such as these, God gave us His word to guide us:

2 Chronicles 7:14

¹⁴if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

I have mentioned this passage several times in the last few months as a reminder. We are called to prayer. We are called to intercede on the behalf of not only our churches, our communities, but our country.

We are called to stand fast. Be unmovable. We are called to PRAY. Everyone can pray. Prayer doesn’t discriminate. Prayer doesn’t have an outline. Prayer doesn’t require a calling. Prayer is our communication with an omnipotent God. Prayer can move mountains. Prayer can change communities. Prayer can change governments. Prayer can HEAL OUR LANDS.

There is nothing in this world quite as effective as prayer

One of the great things about prayer is that it can be done anytime, anywhere, in front of anyone. Prayer doesn’t have to be spoken out loud – like when Hannah prayed for a child. Her lips were moving but no words were heard. You don’t even have to move your lips. You can just pray from the heart inside of yourself.

Prayer will help you feel better. It will help you find solace and guidance. It will give you strength. It can change the world. No one can stop you from praying. Well, except you. You can stop it from happening by not doing it.

If we believe God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. If we believe that He keeps His promises. If we believe His Word never changes. If we believe He is our Rock. If we believe He will keep us under His wings of protection. If we believe He will send His angels before us. Then why can’t we believe in the power of prayer? There is no real reason.

The world is filled with fear. Fear that holds us in place. That locks down not only our feet but our hearts. Overcoming and/or facing our fears can bring people to tears. The idea can be daunting and overwhelming. This is why psychiatrists will tell people to ‘face their fear’. Once it is faced (and it may take multiple times), the fear will lose its power.

When someone has a fear of spiders, they will tell you to start with little ones first. If you can deal with these teeny, tiny spiders, you have made a baby step forward. Then gradually these baby steps, lead to full on strides, where you overcome the fear of bigger spiders – like tarantulas. There is a difference between being fearful of something and respecting it. In other words, you may overcome the fear of spiders, but still have a healthy respect that a black widow or recluse has a bite that could kill you.

There are many dangers in the world in which we live. Our fears can also be overcome in another way. We can “cast all our cares” on the Lord. We can learn to lay these fears at his feet. We need to recognize that not all fear is physically induced. Remember, we are both a physical being AND a spiritual one. Some of the fear we need to fight is in the spiritual realm. Some of it has to be overcome with prayer. It is the one thing that the enemy doesn’t want us doing.

The benefits of prayer are multifold

When you pray, things happen. I remember reading Frank Peretti’s book, This Present Darkness (and Piercing the Darkness). Even though this is a fictional novel, one of the things it did for me, was bring to light an idea about angels. That when we prayer, we give strength to the angels to fight battles in the spiritual realm.

Imagine this: an angel leaning against the wall, its head bowed, its wings folded… waiting. Now, imagine when you pray, you infuse that angel with heavenly power. His head pops up, his wings spread out, the light surrounding him shines brightly. The sword at his side glows brilliantly. He takes flight on a mission, set in motion, by your prayer. Wow!

Can you see it? The power of YOUR prayer. What is the mission? What did you prayer for? Was it for someone who needs guidance? Was it for the leaders of your community? Was it for a sick friend? Was it for yourself?

The thing is, there is no wrong way to pray. Prayer has power. Words have power. The Bible has numerous passages where it mentions the power of your words. Why it is so important how you speak. Proverbs 15:4 “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”

Make Prayer a Part of Your Daily Life

I would just like to encourage you to make prayer a part of your life. Whether you pray for yourself, things in your life or others, prayer is a gift given to us. We should use it. Not just to build up our faith. Not just to support ourselves and others. We should pray to draw ourselves closer to God.

Prayer is ultimately our ability to communicate with God. We pray, “in Jesus’ Name” as He is always interceding on our behalf. Know that if Christ, who died for us, is willingly, lovingly interceding for us, then we can do it for others.

^{Philippians 4:6}Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

A Simple Prayer is Just as Meaningful as a Complex One

by Shauna Millar | Mar 5, 2021 | General, prayer

Let us look at the basics of prayer.

The dictionary defines prayer like this; “a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.”

In the Hebrew Bible the word is defined as an evolving means of interacting with God, most frequently through a spontaneous, individual, unorganized form of petitioning and/or thanking.

Prayer is the communication we share with God, our Father.

Imagine, if you will, walking into your Father’s sanctuary. Whether that is a study, an office, the garage, or even the backyard. If you did not grow up with a father, then think about what you would have wanted that place to be.

Now, imagine needing something from him. You walk to the entrance, and you peer in. You stand there waiting for a few indecisive moments until you realize he is watching you, waiting.

You gather yourself together, blow out a big breath of air and you walk in. Then, instead of getting right to the point, you ask him how things are going. You ask him about what he is working on. You thank him for taking his time out to see you. You thank him for the last gift he gave you.

You compliment him on how good the place looks. You compliment his tools or his jacket or whatever else you can think of. Finally, as you realize he is still patiently waiting for you to get to the point, you ask him for what you really want.

You might even go so far as to explain to him why you NEED it. How it will improve your life, or it will improve the way you do things. How you will be able to help others. Then you wait.

Waiting for his answer is the most difficult part.

You know he may say yes. However, you also know he may say no. Or- heaven forbid the most painful of all – he may tell you wait. In the meantime, he will expect you to continue to figure out if what you are asking for is really what you want or need. He may be waiting for you to show how this will actually improve your life.

What about God, our Father?

Psalms 100:4

⁴Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Why then do we treat our conversations with God any differently? When we pray, when we seek God’s will in our lives, we are coming to Him in a conversation.

The basic outline of our prayer should be something like what the Psalmist tells us; We enter into prayer with thanks. We thank Him for all the things He has done and provided in our lives. We are acknowledging that He has done things for us.

We then move on to praise. We praise God for the many things He constantly gives us even when we are undeserving. Even when we don’t think that we are worthy, God provides for us.

Then we make our request. We ask Him for the things we are seeking. We ask Him for guidance. We ask Him to give us direction. We ask for whatever we want. There is no wrong answer in what we are asking.

Then we wait.

We wait for His response. Just like an earthly parent, God will give us a “yes”, “no” or “wait”. Unfortunately, sometimes it isn’t the answer we want. We refuse to take no for the answer, and we don’t want to wait. We decide that we should just rush in and do it without His guidance and direction. Then when we fail, we blame God. This way we don’t have to blame ourselves. We don’t have to hold ourselves accountable.

There is a lot to prayer – it can be complex. Or it can be simple.

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

One of the first prayers we learn as a child is this simple rhyme. We don’t understand the words. We learn to kneel next to our bed, put our hands together, bow our head, and say the words. Then we jump into bed and are tucked in.

With a child’s innocent trust, we have asked God to keep His angels watching over us and taking care of us. We have asked Him to protect our soul from harm.

The next prayer we learn is The Lord’s Prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4)

⁹After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

¹⁰Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.

¹²And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

One of the most well-known prayers that even non-believers have an acquaintance with. We have heard it enough times to be able to repeat it.

This prayer follows a simple pattern of acknowledging who God is, asking for His will in our lives and His protection, asking for His forgiveness as we forgive others and finally asking that He will continue to guide us away from temptation and evil.

The importance of God’s guidance

We learn early to ask for God’s protection and for His Guidance. We learn to ask, but do we really want it? Are we really requesting it or are we just saying the words that we have been taught?

Prayer is an intimate conversation with our Creator. It can be one that we have learned, or it can be spontaneous. The way we pray, how we ask, what we say is between us and God.

It can be trying to strike a bargain, like Abraham did for Sodom. “If there are 50 good men….”
It can be a petition for God to reveal something or someone to us, like when Eliezer prayed to be shown Isaac’s wife. God revealed to him Rebecca.
It can be made out of fear, like Jacob did when he was reunited with Esau.
Or spontaneously like Moses did when he asks God to be merciful to the people after they created the Golden Calf.
When Hannah prayed for a child, the bible explains that the prayer was in her heart, her lips were moving without sound.

The bible shows us that there are many reasons we pray. There are many types of prayers and ways to pray. The other thing that the bible reveals, is that even though we know these men prayed, we do not know the words they used in their prayer to God. We know what the prayers were about and the results that came from them.

What does this mean for us?

Prayer is our communication with God. It is our way to be in a conversation with Him where we seek, ask and find. God knows our hearts. He knows where we are coming from. It is not important to be eloquent with our words. We don’t need to spread our arms wide and call attention to ourselves. In fact, that is the exact opposite of what we need to do.

We don’t need man’s attention; we want God’s attention. We want to be humble. We want to acknowledge. We can even bring to Him the times before where He has done for others what we want for ourselves. (Not that God needs the reminders; often we need to remind ourselves what He has done.)

When we pray, we need to learn to accept that along with the “yes” comes the “no” and the “wait”. We need to learn to be patient. We need to realize that God sees more than we do. He can see a lot farther down the road than we can. He has our best interest at heart, we should allow ourselves to accept that.

No matter the situation or circumstance, at any time night or day, you can come to God in prayer. He is always there waiting patiently for us. Waiting for us to have a conversation with Him. He wants us to. He wants us to make Him a part of our life. In all things.

Take a moment to pray from your heart. Wherever you are in life right now, there is something to bring to God. It can be thanks. It can be praise. It can be asking for His guidance. It can be asking for His protection. It may be a prayer for your family. It can be anything. I encourage you to learn to take the time to pray. I want to remind you there is no wrong way to pray.

Prayer can be simple. Or it can be complex. Mostly prayer reflects who we are. Don’t find reasons not to pray, instead find reasons to.

Love is a Gift Freely Given in Tangible and Intangible Ways

by Shauna Millar | Feb 26, 2021 | encouragement, Family, love

When you mention love, there are two things that generally come to mind: God’s love and romantic love. Love is a word that is often bandied about without much thought. It is something we are taught to say. “I love you.” Often without giving it much thought or even putting emotion behind our automated responses, we say “I love you” – “I love you too”.

It is important to take time to think about and understand not just the concept of love but the depth. God gave His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON because He Loves Us. He wanted to bring us (you and me) back to Him. God gave the ultimate sacrifice to us, for us, out of love.

Love is the glue that binds

There are so many articles, sayings, mentions of love – yet the practice of love is falling short. Instead of reaching out, in love, with an open mind and heart; people are standing on the sidewalks watching humanity go by and making judgements. Instead of encouraging resolution and discussions of our differences; people are throwing rotten fruit.

When we look in the news we see riots, dissension, racism and reverse racism, in full bloom. Things that will tear not only a family, but a nation, apart. When we look to the Bible for guidance, we see Paul saying, “I become all things to all people.” He goes to explain why he does this.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

¹⁹Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Does this mean that we revel in our diversity as a means to condemn others? No. It means that we open our hearts and minds to understand how others think so that we can sway them toward Christ. We show them LOVE. We show them compassion. We open a dialogue that allows each person to speak their mind and come to the table. We don’t cast them out because of these things. We don’t force feed them our beliefs.

Storge Love is familial love

It is the love of parents and children. The love of siblings. It is the love shared with those who have a commonality that binds them together. This is brotherly love. It seems to be an easier love than the one we really need to “love thy neighbor as thyself”. This type of love is difficult for multiple reasons. First, we might not like our neighbor. The second is that we might not like ourselves.

Fortunately, learning to love ourselves and our neighbor isn’t dependent on liking anyone. We can ‘love the sinner and hate the sin’. This doesn’t just apply to ‘others;’ it also applies to us. WE are all sinners. We have all sinned. We need learn to love ourselves (the sinner) and hate our actions (the sin). Then we need to take that seemingly huge step – yet it really isn’t that vast – and forgive ourselves for the sin. (Move out of it and on to God’s path.)

We weren’t called into a place of judgement

“Judge not lest you be judged.” “Let him who is without SIN throw the first stone.” Why are these statements even mentioned? I think it is that sometimes it is easy to distance ourselves from what we are and what we were. We accept Christ into our lives and then think that we are without stain. We’ve accepted the call to be washed ‘whiter than snow’. Psalm 51:7-12 Then there is another step, “create in me a CLEAN heart and renew a right spirit within me.”

We are both a physical AND spiritual creation. Our physical nature is the one we fight with. Our spiritual nature is the one we need to learn to lean and rely upon. In other words, being ‘washed’ is something that is done to the physical. We use baptism as a representation of this. We are being ‘reborn’ in a physical way to give our spiritual man a fresh start. This doesn’t mean we will be able to change who we are instantly.

This is God’s love

He has offered us a way to Him. Yet, we still ‘fall short’ along the path. That is why we have the gift of the Holy Spirit. We also have the gift of prayer – that which allows us to go before our Father and ask for guidance. To ask for strength to help us to move forward in our lives, to love those with whom we don’t agree, and to learn to forgive. Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting. Forgiving means giving up the emotions that are entangling us. We give up how we feel; angry, bitter, resentful, and allow ourselves to move forward.

Sometimes these emotions are what cause us to react negatively in a situation. We lose our cool. We lose control of our feelings. We let them take us over. That is okay, because we aren’t perfect. We will fall short. However, this is an opportunity, to pick ourselves up to learn to react out of love. This isn’t an easy thing. It is much simpler to type the words here than to act on them. It takes lots of practice, trials, failure and opportunities to grow.

Love is the guidepost we need to learn to use

We need to learn to NOT react out of hate or judgement. We need to learn how to NOT criticize someone within the first 30 seconds of meeting them. We need to open our minds and hearts to the possibility of getting to know an incredible person who may be wrapped in something we don’t like or deem unworthy based on how they look. Most of the time, the outside of the book isn’t a reflection of what is on the inside. If we don’t give that a chance then we may miss some great opportunities. Remember, sometimes people come into our lives for a short season to help us to grow.

Sometimes you may be there to plant the seed. Sometimes you may be there to water it. Sometimes you may be there to reap the harvest. How can you plant a seed if you are unwilling to till the soil to see what is beneath? To see if the ground is good or rocky? We weren’t called to hate. We were called to love. “For God So LOVED the world…” What example will you use? The one you see emulated in the media and in social media? Or will you allow yourself to be open to the truth. That not everything we see or hear is what is real.

God called us to love

He has given us a great example of how to love. He has given us reminders of what it is to love. He left us not only His written Word but also the Holy Spirit which dwells in us. He allows us to come to Him in prayer; to seek His guidance. We can cast all our cares on Him. We may not understand what is going on. We may not know where the path leads. We do know Who has laid our path before us. We need to continue to trust in that. We need to continue to have Faith. We need to continue to show love and be that light.

My prayer for you today is to continue to seek God in these troubling times. To open your hearts and minds to be allowed to be used in a way that will help stem the tide. That that destruction happening around us doesn’t define us. It took one person to start a movement to take prayer from the schools. One person can do a lot.

Pray. Laugh. Have Faith. Love.

« Older Entries

Next Entries »