Close the Door and Open Your Heart
Where do you like to pray? I prefer praying at my dining room table or in a corner plantation chair in my living room.
Whether at the table or in my chair, I try to get away from screaming kids, piled-up dishes, unmade beds, and all sorts of luring—or ringing–electronic devices. It’s not always possible—my Bible is on my tablet. But I try.
Most Bible translations say to go into your inner room or closet. Unfortunately for me—and maybe for you, if I go into my closet, I’ll wind up being distracted by all the things out of place, all the things I want to buy, the things that don’t fit, so on and so on. So I skip my closet.
For me, going into a quiet place isn’t so much to get away from distractions—although that certainly helps. Listen to what Jesus said:
Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. (Matthew 6:6)
Going to a quiet place is also about opening the inner rooms and dark corners of our hearts. It’s about getting real—taking off the masks and facing our denial. It’s about closing the door to pride, hypocrisy, and role-playing and opening our hearts to our innermost desires; secret longings; and private hurts, heartaches, and habits.
We can pray in public and with others—and God encourages us to do so—but in private…oh, in private, we are naked before God. He already knows our hearts but still leans in to take notice of our secret prayers. What comfort!
It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear (Isaiah 65:24).
Consider this: Shortly before going to the cross, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He took three disciples with him and started to feel sad and troubled. He told the three men, “My soul is very sad. I feel close to death. Stay here. Keep watch with me.” He shared his suffering with close friends—a prayer request of sorts. But… “He went a little farther. Then he fell with his face to the ground. He prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me. But let what you want be done, not what I want'” (Matthew 26:36-39).
Jesus prayed in private. He bared his soul in private. God honored Him in public.
We, too, have that promise. He will reward our honesty before Him—with His comfort, His blessings, and His presence. In the end, He will reward us before all men.
Let’s start today. Let’s close the door and open our hearts.
Come alongside… Have you been praying in private? Where do you like to pray and why? What masks do you need to take off in prayer?
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A Co-Dependent’s Holiday Prayer
As a recovering co-dependent, I cringe at the onset of holiday season. I know—I probably shouldn’t say that–after all, the holidays are a joyous time. We celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
That’s not the part that makes me cringe. It’s all the…
- Expectations.
- Hustle.
- Frenzy.
- Event after event after event.
Starting around Thanksgiving and through mid-January, stress and anxiety overwhelm me.
This year, I figured I would be proactive and pray continually. This is my…
Co-Dependent’s Holiday Prayer
Father, thank you for this joyous season.
Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me
So that I could live forever with you.
God, you know how anxious I get during the holidays.
Help me not to look for approval from anyone—
Not about presents, events I plan, events I attend,
Not even about the way my home should look.
Help me not to let anyone’s frenzy zap my serenity.
I might feel the urge to rescue others from their over-commitments, Lord.
Help me to restrain myself.
Help me not to try to please others by putting myself and my family on the backburner
While spending so much time on what others might want.
Lord, give me the freedom to let my family be themselves—
Not to control their behaviors and appearance.
Help me to be myself,
Regardless of what others might say or think.
Lord, help me to demonstrate the true meaning of giving—
Not giving to others as a way of gaining their approval and exceeding their expectations.
Open my eyes to my own feelings as they arise.
Help me to step aside and regain my focus as I need it.
Show me what I truly want this season—a simple life that celebrates You—
The greatest gift of all—Jesus.
Amen.
Come alongside… What part of my prayer resonated with you most? Will you share this prayer with others?
Taking Time to Rest
You might know from my life story that I struggle with several chronic illnesses. You probably wouldn’t know it just from looking at me, though.
Like any struggle, some days are better than others. Some weeks are better than others. And maybe, if we’re fortunate, some years are better than others.
Lately, it hasn’t been as good for me. And I’ve been struggling keeping up with my writing goals.
I’m letting you know so that you will, first and foremost, pray for me, but also understand if you don’t hear from me as regularly.
I’m taking some time to rest.
You might struggle with chronic issues too.
- Physical illness.
- Depression.
- Addictions.
- Fill-in-the-blank.
We probably wouldn’t know it just from looking at you either. Some days might be better for you than others. And the same goes for weeks and years.
If it’s been good for you lately, I rejoice with you! And I encourage you to share with others who might be struggling in similar ways.
If it has not been as good for you lately, please let me know–I want to pray for you. I hope you, too, will take some time to rest, refresh, and re-energize—not with anything that comes from within you but from God Himself.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. (Isaiah 40:29)
I’ll refresh tired bodies; I’ll restore tired souls. (Jeremiah 31:25)
Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
Remember, there is a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). I have had my good seasons, and they have lasted a long while. I’m so grateful. I’ve entered a not-so-good season, and I’m not sure how long it will last. But I do know one thing: I will be in a good season again.
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. (Psalm 62:5)
Time to rest. I’ll be back soon.
Come alongside… What do you struggle with? What season is it for you? (Remember, you can comment anonymously.)
7 Ways to Prevent–and Reverse–Relapse (Part 2 of 2)
In last week’s post, I introduced three of the seven ways we can prevent—and reverse—relapse in our recovery journeys.
Let’s recap…
R is for Reflect.
E is for Expose your triggers and plan your escape strategies.
L is for Look up and re-learn scripture passages.
I hope you’re already putting those into practice. I know I am!
Today, we’ll complete the acronym “RELAPSE” with the letters A, P, S, and E.
Here goes…
4. Activate your accountability partners
Our enemy wants us to stay silent and pretend all is okay. He wants us to keep our struggles to ourselves. Remember: Silence comes with a cost.
When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. (Psalm 32:3)
Silence pains us physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and spiritually.
It’s better to have a partner than go it alone…. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble…. A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
Accountability partners who struggle with similar issues can empathize with us, they can share what has worked for them, and they keep us on track with our recovery. They are there for us when we’re tempted to give in. Most importantly, they can pray for us.
If you haven’t talked to your accountability partner in a while, give him/her a call and catch up. If you don’t have an accountability partner, pray. Ask God to place someone on your heart and to lead you to the right person—someone of the same sex whom you can trust and share your struggles and victories—big and small.
5. Pray, pray, pray
We can do all of the above, and if we don’t pray to our Higher Power Jesus Christ, then we are still relying on our own power to get us through. Willpower will only get us so far. But listen to what prayer can do:
The Holy Spirit helps us when we are weak. We don’t know what we should pray for. But the Spirit himself prays for us. He prays with groans too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)
“You will not succeed by your own power or strength. You can’t force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,” says the God-of-the-Angel-Armies. (Zechariah 4:6)
Preventing—and reversing—relapse isn’t only a physical battle. It’s a spiritual battle for our daily freedom and, in many instances, our very lives. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons—weapons that only come from praying and spending time with God.
We do live in the world, but we do not fight in the same way the world fights. We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places. (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)
We can destroy those strong places—those habits we keep gravitating toward—when we capture every sinful thought with our prayers and make them give up and obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
6. Share your story
What is your recovery story so far? Have you shared it? We can prevent relapse—and reverse it—when we share what God has done in our lives. It grows our faith, gives us hope to keep going, and increases the faith of those around us.
Many times, the best opportunities to share our stories come when we serve others—when we step outside of our own situations and focus on how we can help those who are also struggling. Each time we share our story with others, we take one more step to freedom and we help others to do the same.
Faith comes from listening to this message of good news — the Good News about Christ. (Romans 10:17)
They overcame because the Lamb gave his life’s blood for them [and] by giving witness about Jesus to others. (Revelation 12:11)
7. Evaluate regularly
I would love to say that if we do these things, we will never misstep, dear ones. But the reality is that we will make mistakes. The key to preventing—and reversing—relapse is to continue in our recovery marathon and to be intentional about evaluating our progress on a routine basis.
Ask God to reveal the habits that have snuck in and taken up residence in the hidden places of your heart and mind. Ask Him to show you the things in your life that He doesn’t like—and to help you live in the way that is always right (Psalm 139:23-24).
Remember: We started this marathon. Let’s finish it!
Strip down, start running–and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed–that exhilarating finish in and with God–he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Come alongside…What steps can you take today to prevent—or reverse—relapse?
In His Presence: Snatched from the Fire to Live for You
I’ve been reading through the shortest books of the Bible—right before the New Testament. You’re likely to skip over them—they’re so short.
After reading some of them, I’m learning they’re nothing to skip over. Lots of great—and heavy—stuff there.
Today, I’m in Zechariah 3. I feel led to pray this chapter back to my Heavenly Father.
Is this your prayer too?
Father, I humbly come before you—your child.
I know I am yours, yet sometimes I still struggle with my past—it haunts me. Please rebuke the accuser—my enemy. Tell him, “No more! Enough!”
You have snatched me from the fire and taken off my filthy clothes. You have stripped me of my sin and guilt and put rich garments on me. How splendid! How beautiful!
Thank you, Father, for making me yours.
Help me to walk in your ways and to keep your Word in my heart. Instruct me, Master—I want to obey You.
Be the head of my household—You are welcome here. Teach me to guard all that you’ve put in my care—to use it all for You.
Help me to spread peace to those around me—to be generous, to get along with them as much as it depends on me.
Break down the barriers that keep me from others. Give me courage to invite them into my home and life.
Bless you, my Lord. Bless you, my King. Bless you!
In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen.
Come alongside…Can you relate with this prayer? Which part speaks to you most? Will you share this prayer with someone else?
For more posts on seeking His presence, visit the “In His Presence Link-Up” at Mentoring Moments for Christian Women.
