A child's prayer

Have you ever listened to a child pray? A couple weeks ago a 5 year old boy in my Jr. Church class volunteered to pray. As he started to talk with God about things in his life a couple others kids started to chuckle & laugh (they thought he was praying wrong). I quickly quieted them and told the kids there isn't a right or wrong way to pray. We are to talk with our Heavenly Father about things on our heart. This is exactly what this little one did! He talked to God like we talk to each other. There was no repetition, nothing pre-learned; a simple and pure conversation with God. 

I encourage my kids this same way. My son is 3 and so many times he would ask me, "Mama, who should I pray for?" Or "What should I pray next?" I would tell him to talk to God like he talks to me, what's on his heart, for people that are sick, those who don't have food or a home, hurting, sad, who needs Jesus... Things like that. Last night he really started to open up to our Heavenly Father. To hear this little 3 year old pray nearly blew me away at his conversation. It was simple and sweet yet it was powerful and deep! He didn't stop to ask questions, he simply prayed. Beautiful! It is no wonder Jesus welcomes children, their innocence and faith in Him speaks volumes. 

"But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." Mark 10:14

So many people are afraid to pray for fear of doing it wrong. Many think they need to pray prayers others wrote or repeat the Lord's Prayer rather than sharing their heart with the One who made us. It is the Lord's desire to hear from us... Every age & every stage. If something touches our life in good or bad, He wants to hear from us! 

Hebrews 4:16 says, 

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Through Christ, it is possible to come straight to God's Throne, it is the Father's delight to hear the voices of those who will call upon Him. 

Whether a song of praise or a deep need for others or yourself, will you bring all things into God's presence? After all, He's invited us to His great Throne! 

Invisible Ink

"That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:12-14

Have you ever held onto a receipt for any length of time only to see the ink fade? Does this invalidate the purchase made? No! The purchase is still legitimate long after the ink wears off! Now think of us in Christ, we too were bought with a price and sealed with His Holy Spirit of promise... Over time, we may loose that outward excitement we once had at our new spiritual birth. Allowing this to happen can cause us to fall into a spiritual depression; which is a land-mine of enemy attacks! Good news is, since we have this invisible ink, His Holy Spirit, we STILL belong to Christ! No purchase made by Christ blood is void! Wherever you may be in your journey with Him, stop and praise Him! If that passion for Christ, His Truth and the lost has begun to fade, will you ask Him to revive your heart, hope & trust once again?

Cast away the cloth

"Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence." Isaiah 30:22 

A woman's time of the month isn't exactly a pleasant thought. Yet The Lord God compared idolatry to a menstruous cloth! Gross!!! A woman will grasp this thought a little better than a man, as it's a part of life we regularly deal with. 

God created this time for women as a natural way of cleansing. It's His way of removing toxins from our female bodies. Let's look at this spiritually... If we've allowed any image of anything or anyone to replace God on our heart's throne we've defiled our hearts, minds and walk with Christ! It's no longer just an outward thing, it's become an issue of the heart! 

This monthly cycle is often painful too, so is letting go of what we shouldn't have gripped hold of to begin with! Also this aspect of bodily discharge can be odorous. Truth is SIN stinks! 

A woman knows the ugliness of theses cloths... Sin is ugly, it hurts, it stinks and it must be tossed! One of the most dangerous effects of keeping this contamination within us is it damages us internally! Spiritually speaking it hinders our walk with Christ and we lose our discernment! How TRAGIC! 

In essence, if you've allowed anything to reside in your heart & mind that should not be, it's imperative that it be acknowledged for what it is- let go if, cast off, tossed away, and put in its proper place... The trash! Sin so deep cannot be battled on our own or in our own strength; it requires total dependence upon The Lord God Almighty! Let go & let God!