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PRAY: Prayer for Those Who Are Battling Addictions

Photograph  © Andrew Pieper, 2012  “Today marks one year of sobriety for me,” my friend wrote. “A year ago I could not imagine one day without a drink, let alone an entire year.” He wrote to give glory to God and to ask prayer for others who suffer from addiction. I know many, and I’m sure you do, too. For a few weeks, I’ve served as part of a small online prayer group that encourages a young mom who’s made the bold step to stop letting her addictions win. Her honest sharing about tearing down these idols has challenged me to look at the things I put above my relationship with Christ. Not long ago, I met another young friend at a conference. God has used her to speak and write about her victory over addiction. But in the swell of victory comes the temptation, once again, to defeat. And so I’m lifting all of these and more before Him today. Lord who is our Strong Tower, We know we can run to You and find safety. We can cling to You and find hope. We can hide in You and find rest. So I pray all these things for my friends battling addictions today. Yours is the name above all names. You tell us to place nothing and no one above You. You are a jealous God because You are an all-loving God. And like any parent, You long to see Your children walk in wholeness.   By Your power and grace, our most precious Father, we lay our idols down. We surrender our cravings for things of this world and ask You to replace them with holy desires and longings. Help us, God, to look not to a drink or a smoke or a pill or a powder, not to shopping or exercise or a slice with a razor blade but only and always to You. God, some of us don’t recognize our addictions. We’ve buried them in beauty. We’ve couched them in socially acceptable patterns. And when we haven’t done that, we’ve made excuses. We’ve lied. We’ve stolen. We’ve broken relationships. And we’ve wasted time, effort, and money on things that do not bring honor to You. Forgive us, Lord Jesus. Draw us near to You. Be our everything. Give us Your strength to walk away, to turn it down, and to reach out to others for help. Move in us that we might live in You. Smash the enemy’s temptations and don’t give him one ounce or inch of victory in our lives. Allow us, Lord Jesus, to run to You. Live in us as the true and only desire of our hearts. The power that raised...

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PRAY: Prayer for Those in Low Places

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. (Psalm 130:1)Photo © Andrew PIeper, 2012 Perhaps you know someone in a low place. It might be a place of depression, of dark emotions and unspoken words. It might be a place of humility, of coming down from the heights to valleys unseen and undesired. It might be a place of pain and unheard-of imaginings. It might be a place of low respect or ill repute. It might be a place of consequences. It might be a place of choice. It might be a place of regret. It might be a place of the past. It might be a place of the now. I offer today’s prayer for those, for whatever reason, find themselves there. Lord, I come to You with the real sense of Your greatness and my nothingness. I confess to You my weakness, my failure, my inability, my sin. I know I need Your power to lift me up. But Father, I also confess to You my feelings about this low place. Too often, I look on it with loathing. I long for the former or future things. I desire affirmation and exaltation. I crave kindness. I miss mercy. And sometimes, I search for a way to go higher and ignore your call to stay low. Lord, help me listen to You. Help me see the broken beauty that surrounds me. Help me stop seeking false roads toward the heights—or false heights to ascend. And help me learn the lessons of this low place. God, I’d love to move out of the depths, but only in Your time and Your way. Only when I’m ready to comfort others with the comfort You give me. Only at Your word and with Your anointing. Please, Jesus, give me the power You had to empty Yourself and take the form of a servant. Give me the power to stay low until such a time as You choose to raise me up. Give me the power to exalt You.  As You increase, allow me to decrease—all for Your glory, AMEN. Do you find yourself or someone you love in a low place? Share a prayer need in the comments below or in an email. I know about the low places, and I’d be honored to lift you...

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PRAY: Prayer for Those Who Need to Step Out in Faith

Photograph © Andrew Pieper, 2012 I have a beautiful, joy-filled friend who serves on the mission field in a country in Africa. Her most recent prayer letter challenged me in deep ways. She and her husband realized they were walking in fear rather than faith. God had given them specific direction and they’d delayed their obedience. Their reasons for waiting made sense. The decision would affect their finances. They have three young children whom they’re raising far from family and the conveniences of the United States. And yet: What did God say? My friend wrote, “More and more He began laying it on our hearts that we needed to step out in faith and make our actions line up with our values!” They realized they could no longer wait for circumstances to line up or a safety net to surround them. Instead, they must listen to God’s voice, move forward in faith, and trust Him. Period. And my friend’s advice? “Living in faith is so much fun! Join me in the adventure of obedience!” So today, this is my prayer—for my friend, for myself, and for so many of us: Lord, So often I need to step out, but instead, I cling in fear. Yet You have more than proven Your faithfulness, goodness, and power. You’ve never pointed me the wrong way. You’ve watched over me. You’ve brought good out of bad and light from darkness. You’ve stayed with me in the trial, in the storm, through the pain and through the problems. You are good. Always so good. And me? I am frail and full of weakness. I am prone to wander, born to fail and fall. I often live as little Much-Afraid although Goodness and Mercy hold my hands and guide my steps. I declare with You today that I don’t have to live this way anymore. I can hear Your voice. I can read Your Word. I do have Your Spirit within me. And I will step out in faith because You have provided, You will empower, and You are enabling me. I have the victory and He is here! In Your wonderful, powerful, almighty name I pray, AMEN. Are you paralyzed by fear? Do you need to step out in faith? Feel free to share your prayer request in the comments below or via email. Please know I’ll continue to pray as I keep stepping up—and out—in...

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READ: Winners! (and a brand-new book trailer)

Photo © 2012, Andrew Pieper   I’m back from teaching/serving as chaplain at the 2013 Florida Christian Writers Conference, and ready to post a winner to last week’s contest. Although the review had a number of views, only one person left a blog comment, so she wins my review copy of Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front by Karen Whiting and Jocelyn Green. I think a mom of almost-seven with an Air Force pilot husband deserves this book, don’t you? Marcie, message me your mailing address and I’ll get it right out! I decided to add to the celebration and post another winner today, too. I never had a response from the first winner of the Valentine Prize Pack associated with my review of Sandra Bricker’s Always the Baker, Finally the Bride. Today, I resubmitted names to www.random.org and drew a new winner: Mrs. Lopez. You can email me if you see this, Mrs. Lopez, or I’ll be in touch soon to collect your mailing address. Thanks to those who entered either or both contests. And thanks for supporting Read. Write. Pray.  BONUS: Here’s the book trailer for Always the Baker, Finally the Bride. It wasn’t yet available when I posted my review....

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READ: Review, Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front by Karen Whiting and Jocelyn Green

If asked to give a one-word description of Stories of Faith and Courage from the HomeFront (Battlefields & Blessings) (AMG, 2012), I’d use packed. Far from a slim volume, this devotional book offers 365 true stories of military men and women from the French and Indian War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But authors Karen Whiting and Jocelyn Green, both military wives, don’t stop there. After each devotion, divided into themed weeks, they include appropriate Scripture and an accompanying prayer. They also begin each week with what they call Original Words—excerpts from journals, letters, or news articles pertinent to the time. And each week ends with a Glimpses into Daily Life section that gives further insight about life during a specific era.  BONUS: The authors also provide dual QR codes in the front of the book linked to extra material for homeschoolers and couples. Military couples—or anyone—seeking an inspiring devotional book to use alone or as a couple (perhaps while one is deployed), take note. Homeschool families looking for a devotional book that provides history and character lessons too, take note. Anyone who enjoys true stories of America’s heroes and the price they pay (or have paid) on our behalf, take note. Stories on the Home Front is worth more than its weight in history-revealing, character-developing truth. Are you a military family? Do you know someone who would love to read this book? Leave a comment about why you’d love to receive it, and I’ll enter you in a drawing to win my review copy of Home Front. I didn’t yet get to give away my Valentine’s Prize Pack, so I’d love to share this and one other military-themed book with the prizewinner.  Because I leave soon to teach at the Florida Christian Writers Conference, you’ll have until next Friday night, March 1, at midnight EST to leave a comment. I’ll announce the winner, chosen at random.org, a week from Monday (March 4). Find a local Christian bookstore Find this book on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or at ChristianBook.com (FTC Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher. I was not required to post a review or a positive...

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