Childlike Prayers

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Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

My granddaughter, Sadie, who is now thirteen, came into this world with a desire to talk. Before she could form words, chatter spilled from her lips. She was full of life and wanted to express it any way that she could. She would look up at me and tell me an entire story without words. She loved for me to just look at her, nod, laugh and encourage her conversation. She would go on and on and on. Even when she didn’t have my full attention, she would fill my ears with delightful stories.

And then came the books. She would bring the books and climb up on my lap to read. Before I could finish the book, she would flip the pages and chatter and laugh as if she were reading every word right back to me.

When her words began to come, they were precious. She talked all the time. I treasured every word that she spoke. Of course there was a favorite word for me. It was “boo-ti-ful.” She seemed to love the word also or maybe it was the reaction she received.

“Nana, look at boo-ti-ful tree. Nana, sky is boo-ti-ful. Thank you God for this boo-ti-ful day.”

As every Nana knows, it melted my heart. I could listen to her forever.

As she began to talk, her words became clearer, but “boo-ti-ful” remained the same for quite a while. I remember the day that she said it grown-up. I think I cried because I loved her words more than the mature ones that she imitated.

As I gathered with a group of friends today, we circled around tables to talk to God. As I announced that we would be praying together, I could sense an uncomfortable feeling in the room. I knew that the enemy’s lies had permeated some hearts. They are lies that hinder us from praying. The lies sound something like this:

“You don’t know how to pray. Don’t pray out loud, you will sound foolish. Your words are so simple and childish. Just remain quiet and listen to the others.”

And so year after year, we sit in circles and pray silently. We don’t participate because we think we don’t measure up. We miss being a part, because we believe the enemy’s lies.

When a prayer is sincerely directed to God, it is never worthless.

I say to any of you that know what I’m talking about: “No more! No more listening to the lies.”

As precious as Sadie’s baby chatter and baby words were to me, I believe our voice is a delight to God. He longs for us to climb up onto His lap and pour out our hearts. It doesn’t matter if we bring childlike chatter and simple one word prayers. I wonder if He is somehow saddened when we learn to pray bigger words and longer phrases.

I’ve always heard that prayer is conversation with God. So start where you are. Don’t miss out on this glorious privilege that we have been given.Pour out your love to Him. He bends over to hear you. Your heart is boo-ti-ful to your heavenly Father.

“I love the LORD because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” Psalms 116:1-2

Living in the Forty-First Day

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The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease; His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness! Lamentations 3:22-23

Have you ever been in that place where every day seems so ordinary and mundane compared to all you hoped life would be? Your heart is full of dreams and plans but nothing seems to be unfolding. You know that God has called you to more, but you are stuck in the pasture doing the same thing day in and day out.

It must have felt that way for David. David was a shepherd boy and spent day in and day out caring for dirty, smelly and stubborn sheep. He was called out from the sheep pasture and privately anointed king and then returned to the pasture to tend to sheep. He obeyed the assignment that God had for him.

It was while shepherding sheep that he learned to play the harp and sing songs. We are privileged to enjoy so many of the Psalms that he wrote from a mundane and lonely place, yet full of honesty and deep love for God. What he didn’t know back then was that one day King Saul would summon him to play the harp to calm the tormenting spirit that was ravaging his life.

Shepherd boy turned music man turned errand boy.

On one of those ordinary days in David’s life, his father, Jesse requested he go on an errand to check on his brothers. Jesse’s boys were in the army of Israel and daddy wanted to send them food and gather a good report on them. David found someone to care for his sheep and off he went on daddy’s errand.

Unknown to David, he stepped into forty-first day living on that errand day. Let me show you what I mean by that. We pick up the story in 1 Samuel 17:16

“For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and

took his stand.”

This struck me like never before as I was studying the account of David and Goliath found in 1 Samuel 17. For forty days the Israelites and the Philistines drew up their battle lines. And for forty days Goliath, the Philistine giant went forward and strutted his giant features robed in all of that metal garb. I can only imagine that the tone of his voice must have matched the magnificent size of his body. For forty days he taunted the Israelites as he defied God and the armies of God.

Day after day for forty days. Morning and Evening. He took his stand and shouted the same thing.

Is that not how the enemy is? He spouts the same thing over and over. As long as he can keep us trapped or running in fear, he has won his battle against us. He repeats the same lies. He brings up all of the “what-ifs” and He seeks to overpower us with his intimidating ways.

But on the forty-first day, everything changed.

Errand boy overheard this taunting and he rose up and volunteered to fight this giant. King Saul looked at his size and age and felt there was no way he could stand up to Giant Goliath. David was quick to remember how God had trained him in the pasture. He answered this way:

“But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:34-37

When David headed out that forty-first day, he didn’t know about Goliath. He didn’t know errand boy was about to become Warrior of God. It wasn’t on his plan or agenda, but God had prepared him for this very day. He had come to know the name of the Lord of Hosts. The one who had delivered him in the past would deliver him in the future. Goliath would be just like a lion or a bear and he was confident God would deliver again.

Every place that we experience God, gives us faith to believe Him in the next place.

And God did it again. One stone slung from that shepherd boy’s slingshot took Goliath to the ground. David’s confidence was not in his own strength and ability, but in His God that he had come to know and to trust.

You never know what God is doing while you are stuck in the pasture. Those hard and lonely places that we often find ourselves, God is silently working in our lives as He is growing our faith. He is preparing us for what is ahead.

Will you trust him right where you are? As you experience Him in this place, you will be prepared for the next assignment.

All of those days that David had spent in the pasture just paid off. I wonder how many of us feel stuck in an insignificant place. Forgotten. Unusable. Unnoticed. Alone doing an insignificant work. And yet it is in those very places that God is building something in us that will change a day. You never know when God will send you into the 41st day and you will be the warrior for the day.

Goliath went toward David and David ran toward Goliath. He did not turn and run in fear, but instead he ran toward him full of faith.

“Lord, may we not resent the place that you have us, even when it seems so plain and ordinary. May we set our eyes on you and grow in love and faith. May we embrace every assignment that you have for us. May we know your power, love, goodness and provision right where we are. And when you lead us into the 41st day, we will stand ready to stand against any enemy that comes our way.”

Don't Be Afraid

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“Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” Nehemiah 4:14

Don’t you hate it when you are scared to death and someone says to you, “Don’t be afraid.” I remember a time when I was a child filled with fear most every night. I was so afraid to go to sleep because of a recurring bad dream. I would call out to mama and daddy right across the hallway and the answer was always the same. “Don’t be afraid. Everything is ok. God is watching over us. We are right here. Now go to sleep.”

On most nights, these calming words worked, but there was one particular night that the words did not halt the noises coming from underneath my bed. My daddy was probably tired to the bone and weary with my nightly episodes. I cried out in fear and the same answer came. I continued to hear noises under my bed and daddy came in to calm me. To his surprise, my older brother began to giggle and crawled out from underneath. He thought it was funny that I was afraid of the night and decided to take advantage of my situation. I don’t remember how that turned out, but my guess is my brother went to bed in tears.

I’m not calling my brother the enemy, but the enemy does take advantage of our situations and specifically comes against our weaknesses. He knows how to stir up fear, confusion, discouragement and sheer panic. His goal is to cause us to lose our stand leading to unbelief in God.

I remember numerous times of being afraid and the words, “Don’t be afraid,” just didn’t seem to work. But in today's key verse, I see more. There is an addition of words that come marching behind, that are key for us to stand strong and firm against all fears and attacks from the enemy.

“Remember the Lord.”

Nehemiah had called the people together to rebuild the broken down wall surrounding Jerusalem. As the people began to obey and do the work, the attackers rushed in to ridicule and distract them from the work at hand. Nehemiah’s words turned their focus from the attackers to the Lord.

“Don’t be afraid of them.” AND “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.”

Now those words change everything. The noises and voices can be very real, but these words shift our focus to the powerful VOICE of God. He who is great and awesome comes and calms our fears and gives us everything that we need. As we look upon His greatness and His power, the attack loses its power against us.

And then comes the powerful third part of the direction: “FIGHT”

"Fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

Nehemiah encouraged them in the work they were committed to completing. This wasn’t just any building project, this was about the protection of lives that mattered. In the verses that follow, Nehemiah gave them a specific plan for working and standing against the enemy. He didn’t tell them to pretend there was no enemy. He didn’t tell them to chant, “I will not be afraid.” No, he told them to work with one hand and carry their weapon in the other hand. Always be prepared to fight.

As believers we have the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-19) to face any fiery dart the enemy sends our way. We carry the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can carry on with our assignment as well as carry the sword of the Spirit. His Word is powerful and will turn away the annoying distractions.

So come on, let’s put our hand back to the work the Lord has called us to. Let’s not be afraid of the attackers, but instead remember God. Remember who He is. Remember His greatness and His power. Let’s fight for one another and “encourage one another as the day of His return is drawing near.”

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25