WHEN U PRAY

How do you feel when you see me?

You know who you are,

You know what you’ve done.

When you see me are you reminded?

Do I remind you of a love you lost?

A friend you betrayed or a hurt you caused?

Do I remind you of Love denied, of guilty pleasure?

Do I ever cross your mind?

I see you whenever I see you. I see the hurt, the pain and the destruction. I see you

when I see you and I wonder if your heart is broken and I want to provide a way for it to heal.

I wonder if your Spirit is low and I want to tell you, it’s ok, I survived you and I want you to survive too.

I want to tell you I forgive you for your part in my pain, and to let you know I’ve grown because of it.

I pray that God will heal that place in you that caused you to hurt me. I pray that you will have strength to resist the enemy the next time temptation comes knocking on your door.

I pray that all of us are better for the lesson you helped us to learn. I place no blame at your door or anger at your presence for I know one thing is true: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/rom.8.28.kjv

I’m good!

““As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15:9-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

http://bible.com/111/jhn.15.9-12.niv

Wow, all I have to do is love my fellow man? I don’t have to fix them, change them and make them grow up? NO, love them, that is the commandment from Jesus himself.

We won’t always agree on things, we may not see eye to eye or even believe in the same stuff. Some of us are caught up in religious rituals and sacraments and have some rules we beehive we have to follow but at the end of the day, if I never light a candle, cross my arms correctly or step to the right on time, God will still love me. Jesus will still love me and I am still forgiven.

Don’t allow anybody to make you feel bad about how you choose to process religion. At the end of the day, if you love your fellowman, respect people and treat them with kindness, you are love.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:7-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

http://bible.com/111/1jn.4.7-8.niv

“If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:3-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

http://bible.com/111/1co.13.3-7.niv

Mathew 15 21-28 finds a Gentile woman who was looking for Jesus. She was beseeching Jesus to help her with her daughter, who was being tormented by demons. He did not say a word to her, and the disciples were telling Jesus to send her away. They felt like she was bothering Jesus and wanted her to be sent away.

Jesus told the woman that he was sent to help Gods people, the people of Israel. She did not let his words stop her request, she was persistent. This woman continued to worship him and plead with him to Help her.. Jesus says this,

“He answered her with this saying: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.” The woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces of food that fall from their master’s table.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15:26-27‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/mat.15.26-27.erv

She was not accepting NO for an answer, her need was too great. This woman was determined to see her child made whole and restored. Jesus was concentrating on the people of Israel at this time in his walk, he had not yet died and become the savior for all people. It’s like she was asking him to do something he was not prepared for. This woman made a call on the future anointing of Jesus when she said, Lord help me!

He could not continue to ignore her cry. She believed that he was able to heal her daughter in spite of his current assignment. Her faith in his ability was so strong that he said,

“Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! You will get what you asked for.” And right then the woman’s daughter was healed.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15:28‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/mat.15.28.erv

Ahhhhh, he told her it was her FAITH that made the difference. What are you believing God for? Do you know what he is able to do for you if you just BELIEVE? Are you willing to put your pride aside and make your need be known? Are you willing to trust in spite of what someone else believes? The crowd was trying to convince Jesus to ignore her because she was not who they believed she should be, but hallelujah her FAITH convinced Jesus.

“Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/heb.11.1.erv

“What the law says is for those who are under the law. It stops anyone from making excuses. And it brings the whole world under God’s judgment, because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:19-20‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/rom.3.19-20.erv

You ever wonder why kids always tend to find the of crowd of people that are normally called “The Bad Crowd”? Because they accept your kids, they let them in their life, love on them and fill the void that is left by so called “social norms”. When our kids become sullen or depressed or start to veer off the path we give up, we say stuff like I’m going to pray for them but it’s up to God, or we talk about how much pressure and strain they have put on the family. Instead of hugging and loving on our kids we beat them up with the law of the Lord.

““If you love only those who love you, should you get any special praise for doing that? No, even sinners love those who love them!”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:32‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/luk.6.32.erv

Many people who have come to know the word depend on it to chastise and correct because they have fallen in love with the law and the promises of God. We forget that God is able to do so much more with the law than we are. God uses the law with grace and mercy and meets us at our need. What God wants us to do is love his children.

“This is my command: Love each other.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15:17‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/jhn.15.17.erv

““I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13:34‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/jhn.13.34.erv

Many people get beat up by life , make bad choices, have bad things happen to them or fall short of what WE expect of them. When they find themselves falling there is usually condemnation and emotional pain. Instead of reaching down to help them we remind them of what they should have done or could have done to avoid the fall. We tell them how good God is to us and boast how that thing did not happen to us. We stand in front of the church and give testimonies of how good God is and remind the people we deem failures that if they prayed the right prayer or knew the right scripture that God would love and bless them too. We don’t tell them about the struggles we had as new christians, we don’t tell them that we learned to pray because we were at rock bottom and had nothing to live for. We don’t tell them how we learned to remember the scriptures because the words of the scripture where the only words that kept us sane. We don’t share that our marriages have struggled through financial insecurities, infidelity and just plain ole apathy and that it’s by the grace of God that we are still married. We don’t tell them that our children and grandchildren have struggle in the same area and that it was prayer and fasting that allowed us to survive until God brought healing to the situation. We hide behind the word and don’t want to reveal our past because we don’t want to be judged. I pray that we all let go of our self righteousness and remember that is the Love of God that keeps us and if we share it, there will be no lure to the bad side.

“So these three things continue: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:13‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/1co.13.13.erv

You are not a victim, stop acting like it. So many times we act as though we are held hostage by our careers or our situations when the truth is we have choices.

If every morning you dread getting out of bed to go to work, stop 🛑, you need to re-evaluate your job. That job is not your supplier, God is.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/php.4.19.kjv

If every morning you are sad and upset, you need to rethink what you are thinking. Your attitude determines your outlook. You are responsible for how you feel and no one else.

“Brothers and sisters, continue to think about what is good and worthy of praise. Think about what is true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/php.4.8.erv

In all things trust God, stop allowing the enemy to make you feel powerless, you serve a God who can do anything, he created the heaven and the earth, he saved 3 boys in fiery furnace and made a few loaves of bread and a basket of fish feed the masses. You don’t serve some lower case God, pick your chin up.

“We have freedom now, because Christ made us free. So stand strong in that freedom. Don’t go back into slavery again.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:1‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/gal.5.1.erv

“And that is what will happen if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must remain strong and sure in your faith. You must not let anything cause you to give up the hope that became yours when you heard the Good News. That same Good News has been told to everyone on earth, and that’s the work that I, Paul, was given to do.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1:23‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/col.1.23.erv

“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:57‬ ‭NLT‬‬

http://bible.com/116/1co.15.57.nlt

“So we always have confidence. We know that while we live in this body, we are away from the

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:6‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/2co.5.6.erv

Death, the great equalizer. One thing I know for sure is that death is inevitable. Death is as much a part of living as breathing but it’s so hard for us to manage.

I think of how many of us have lived our lives so that when we leave this earth we have another home in glory but as soon as we stop breathing our families erupt in chaos. We hear the old southern hymnal “ Don’t cry for me” and we all start bawling, well I do. We hear “His eye is on the sparrow” and there we go again but we forget the circle of life. If our loved one died in Christ it should be a home-going celebration. I mean think about it, many of them gave their life to Christ, and you know that meant they had to chang some things in their life. We may not understand all the changes that each person had to go through but if you are in Christ you know it costs something and death is the reward for those who died in Christ.

I struggle with death, especially children and people who I deemed as “good people”. I know it’s crazy that I would think like that but I’m human. When I get caught up in my emotions about death I look to God because I can’t do it alone.

The Bible tells us to use joy,

“We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/heb.12.2.erv

To use our faith,

“Faith helps us understand that God created the whole world by his command. This means that the things we see were made by something that cannot be seen.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/heb.11.3.erv

To be at peace

“And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/php.4.7.erv

And to trust him

“Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:5‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/pro.3.5.erv

“Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:38-39‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/rom.8.38-39.erv

Married and wondering what is going on? Yeah I’ve been there. During different times in my life I have prayed and begged God to have a closer relationship with Michael (my husband). I can remember days when my husband did not come home, running around in the streets getting high, gambling and sleeping with this chick or another. I say this to encourage you, because today he provided the scripture and a prayer to open church. Who knew right? “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. These are the people God chose, because that was his plan.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/rom.8.28.erv

That’s not the story though, I was thinking about how often we, as Christian Women, want our man to have a closer relationship with God. We pray and fast, we moan and groan, beg and plead without knowing what that will mean for us. I bet you wonder where am I going with this?

We often want what the world tells us is the perfect alignment of a relationship. We want the man to move to the head of the family, make the decision, be the man and all that Jazz. We want a husband who is like our father or grandfather but also like our brother and cousin (cool and hip). We expect him to morph into something he is not just because society has said so. You know who your husband is, you know what man you married, so how can him accepting Christ change who he is foundationally? If you’ve always made the decisions for the family, you still will after he accepts Christ. If you lead the family before, you may have to continue to do so after he meets Jesus formally. Getting saved and accepting Christ is not a magic potion, it does not give a man super powers.

I’m saying this, know the man you are married to and learn to accept him as is, the way you want to be accepted. Trust that God knows what he is doing, just like he is working on you, he is working on your husband, but that does not mean he will automatically make him someone different. Your marriage may not look like everybody else’s but does it work for you? Pick your battles, fight the fights you can win. Trust God with your husband, know that he knows what you need and he will provide you with the skills you need to do any job he has set before you. I ask that you remember your husband and why you agreed to marry him.. those special things are still special and I know what you hear about dominion and stuff but does it look the same for every family? I say it does not. I say there is a lid for every bottom and someone has to lead and someone has to follow. If your husband all of a sudden becomes the leader, can you follow?

Are you prepared for what you are praying for? You have been the decision maker and now you will be required to bend to the will of someone else. This could create a whole new set of problems unless you are truly ready. Just think what that could look like? Be prepared for what you are praying for or you will be unhappy because you will be caught up in your feelings because now he is telling you no, not right now or asking for explanations that you believe are unnecessary. When he is leading you have to trust he is hearing from God and that the decisions he are making is for the good of your family. You have to take a back seat when your used to driving sista, it’s not easy and if you are not prayed up the devil enters in. He starts reminding you that you did this job without his help all these years, who does he think he is telling you no, you work every day. Etc etc etc, the devil uses your dissatisfaction to wreck havoc on your marriage. I’m not saying the man should not move to the head of the relationship but I am saying, only if it’s God will. “Your help made me so happy. Give me that joy again. Make my spirit strong and ready to obey you.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51:12‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/psa.51.12.erv

It’s not easy being a wife because there are no real rules but I say let your heart rule❤️