Prayer for Those Who Need to Stop Playing Games
Dear Friend, “Stop playing games.” We hear it so often it’s become cliché. But when people manipulate rules, rhetoric, and relationships, it doesn’t feel cliché, does it? Game-playing hurts. It wounds those deceived by the game. It harms those in any of the circles touched by the game. And of course, it hurts the game-player, too. Today’s prayer addresses this problem. As you read it, please know I’m praying for you or those you know who find themselves in this situation, intentionally or not. Lord of life and truth, I come to you today concerned about those who play games. I know about games because I’ve played them myself. I’ve acted like someone I’m not. I’ve used words to impress or deceive. I’ve even—at times—used you, or what people perceived as my relationship with you. So first, forgive me, Lord. Forgive me for the times I’ve been less than honest. Forgive me for putting my own reputation above yours. Forgive me for manipulating the scene or situation to make myself appear to be someone I’m not. And Lord, for those trapped in game-playing, please tear down the tiles. Take away their pieces. Throw the board in the air. Do whatever it takes, God, to cancel the game and the steps and schemes it includes. Bind the enemy and the shadows his involvement adds. I ask, Oh God, that you bring your truth, your light, your healing into this game-playing web of destruction. Let your Word have prominence and your truth pre-eminence. Cast down strongholds. Lift up the weak, the fallen, the scheming. And amidst it all, reveal your glory. We praise you, our Lord, for you are a mighty king. You are a sovereign master. You triumph over every lofty thing and lift up every low one as you choose. Thank you for hearing our cries and for stopping the game-players before they pass Go, before they collect $200. Thanks for your simple, sufficient love. In your name I pray—AMEN. Do you know someone caught in the deception of game-playing? Or do you find yourself in this snare? Feel free to share your prayer request here, on Facebook, or through the email link at the top of the page. Please know you’re on my heart and in my prayers as always. For His glory, ...
read moreHow to Fit Prayer into an Already Busy Life, Part 3
Dear Friend, How can I ever find enough time to pray? I’ve shared some of my initial thoughts in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. But today, it’s time to share a secret that’s not. I call it a secret because most people don’t seem to know about it. But it’s not a secret because I find evidence of it throughout the Bible. Here it is, written out as today’s PrayerKeeper tip: Prayer is both a relationship and an activity. Think about it. We speak about prayer as though it’s something we do, an activity. I pray. You pray. We both want to pray more. But a while back, when I was answering the “How do I find time to pray?” question for myself, I kept seeing verses that told me prayer had to be more than something I did. How could I possibly “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17) or “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18a)? I realized the only way this could happen was if prayer was more than something I did. Prayer, then, must be a part of my ongoing, continual, always-happening relationship with God. Prayer is not just what I do, but a part of who I am. One of my favorite small books, The Practice of the Presence of God shares the wisdom of Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century monk. The book shares how this simple man of God learned to increase his awareness of his heavenly Father while engaged in the everyday chores of cooking and cleaning. Over the years, I’ve asked God to help me have the type of relationship with Him that keeps me more and more aware of His presence. And as I become more and more aware of Him, I interact with Him more and more. Who can have a relationship without communication? The marriages I know that lack communication become the ones that falter and fail. When a parent-child relationship takes a wrong direction, the problem can often be traced back to a lack of appropriate communication. If you hope to improve your prayer life, ask God to help you grow in awareness of His presence. As you grow in knowing Him, you’ll grow in talking to Him, too. Prayer will become less and less an activity and more and more a lifestyle. Have you thought of prayer more as a relationship or an activity? Have you tried practicing His presence? Let me know. If you’d like to leave a comment or prayer request, feel free to do so below, on Facebook or through the email link at the top of the page. For His glory,...
read morePrayer for Those Who Need to Slow Down
Dear Friend, When I asked you to share with me what you would like to read in these posts, one thing you didn’t mention was prayers. No one said they’d love to see a prayer about this topic, that topic, or, in fact, any topic at all. However, when I review my blog’s history, the most popular and consistently viewed posts are (you guessed it) prayers. “Prayer for Family Healing” has multiple views every day. Other popular posts include “Prayer for Those Who Need a New Attitude” and “Prayer for Those Who Feel Betrayed.” (Search the “Pray” Posts in the blog archive if you’d like to find more prayers like these.) Because those statistics mean real people with real needs, I’ve decided to keep posting prayers–real prayers–every so often. Today’s came because on my morning prayerwalk, I was climbing one of the larger hills in our not-very-hilly subdivision when an SUV whizzed past me. Of course I don’t know its speed, but I do know it was traveling much faster than it should have been for neighborhood driving. Shocked at first, God reminded me of all the times I’ve buzzed past a person or a situation without taking time to consider the need. To slow down. To pray. Our Father, Thanks for stopping me mid-stride and turning my irritation into a prayer. Thanks for reminding me to slow down. Help each of us take time out for moments like this. Train our eyes to look beyond the speeding vehicle, the harried sales desk, the anxiety-filled waiting room. Train our hearts to see the people inside and to lift them before you. Help us also to see ourselves and our moments or season of hurry. Give us that longed-for refreshment from your Word and by your Spirit that whispers, “Peace, be still.” Push us from the rush of routine, remove us from the blast of obligation, keep us from the flash of folly and pull our hearts close to yours. If we don’t slow down, we won’t hear the whispers. And if we don’t hear the whispers, we’ll miss you. In your holy name, AMEN. For His glory, Marti Do you have a prayer request that pertains to the need to slow down? Post it in the comments here, on social media, or email me through the link at the top of this page. It will be my joy and privilege to lift you before...
read morePRAY: How to Fit Prayer into an Already Busy Life, Part 2
My dear friend, I ran into you the other day. I noticed the faraway look in your eyes, the ever-so-slight tapping of one foot. I know you were thinking about the zillion and one items on your to-do list. Maybe you were wishing there were a way you could put me on Bluetooth and multitask the way you love to do with phone calls. How did I know? Because I often think like that, too. But sometimes, we need to slow down. Sometimes, we need to meet face to face. Last week, we talked about how God’s Word informs and inspires our prayers. I want to add to that today with this week’s PrayerKeeper tip: Take time to read God’s Word with a heart of prayer. In other words, when you read the Bible, don’t just read it. Don’t try to plan your day or pack lunches during your Bible-reading time. Instead, ask God to show you the jewels of prayer locked inside His Word. Yes, some lie glistening on the surface: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (Ps. 51:1-2). Other gems may even identify themselves with words like “I bow my knees,” which comes just before one of my favorite prayers in the New Testament: “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:14b, 16-19). But some treasures reveal themselves only with time and care. When I read the story of Jacob and Esau, for example (Genesis 25-27), I pray for the many who struggle with a sibling relationship. When I read of a warrior who considered his own reputation more important than following the simple instructions passed on to him by a man of God, I pray for myself and others who, like Captain Naaman (2 Kings 5) often let pride play too great a role in our lives. Read the Word. Ask the Father to open your eyes to the prayers, hidden and otherwise, there. And let me know what you find (or have found) in the comments below, in an email (see “Contact Me” at the top of this page), or via social media. I’d love to share in your prayer journey, and your insights will touch others as well. For His glory, Marti...
read morePRAY: How to Fit Prayer into An Already Busy Life, Part 1
My dear friend, So you’re wondering about how to fit prayer into your life. Or, more appropriately, how to fit more prayer into your life. After all, you already squeeze in eating and sleeping and working and preparing meals and running errands and–sometimes–exercise and relationships and HUNDREDS OF OTHER THINGS THAT ALL SCREAM FOR YOUR TIME. Right? Although some of the verbs vary, of course right. So how can you find time to pray? I won’t pretend to know the answer. But I will share, today and over the next few letters (formerly known as blog posts), what I’ve learned and am still learning. And maybe it will help. It might even become the answer to a prayer. First of all, please know that I don’t consider myself any kind of expert on prayer. Intercession is both a gift which God has given me and a task to which He has assigned me. I can’t approach it, then, without a sense of both wonder and responsibility. My prayers have no special power other than the power of Christ in me. And my advice has no special weight except as it carries the holy burden of God’s Word. So today’s tip for improving your prayer life is a simple one: Fit more of God’s Word into your life, and He’ll pour more prayer out of it. I’m not referring to a book that teaches you how to pray God’s Word (although I know of several good ones) or a set of Scriptures hand-picked to cover particular areas or relationships. Instead, I encourage you to spend time reading, studying, and even memorizing the Bible. I already acknowledged your full schedule. And now I want you to fit one more thing into it? Yes, because that one thing will transform the others. It will change your priorities. It will, especially as you read it over days and weeks and years, change you. And if you approach the Word with an open mind and heart, you’ll find yourself praying what you read. For example, part of my reading today was Psalm 141, which begins, “O Lord, I call upon you! Hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!” Yes, I read these words, but I also prayed them. God’s Spirit took the words I was reading and applied them personally and specifically to my life and my situation. And even when the words of Scripture might not look as much like a prayer as this example, He can still do the same thing. We’ll talk more about that next time. But for now, let’s join together in asking God to help you fit more of His Word into your life and into your prayers. My PrayerKeeper post today was for those making a fresh start. Would you like to make one in your prayer life today? Let me know if so. Because I’m praying for you. For His glory,...
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I've asked God to use my writing and speaking to count for eternity. I'm passionate about relationships and creativity.
