Wait In His Presence

Asking God to give me an anchor verse for the New Year was a new idea to me, but I liked it very much. Tammy at “Not Mine, But God’s Story” shared this idea a couple of weeks ago, and the verse that the Holy Spirit gave her touched my heart as well.
(Psalm 37:7).

I prayed about what God wanted me to have and I couldn’t get away from the same verse. I kept praying about it and He gave me three more verses of the same theme. It is sort of like having the thought pounded into my spirit.

“My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” (Psalm 62:5)

“The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14)

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently on Him to act.” (Psalm 37:7)

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)

Waiting can be very hard. We live in a society that offers instant gratification for almost everything we want or do. Many of us have been praying the same prayer for months or maybe even years. We grow tired and impatient and sometimes depressed. Our focus is on the problems and not the problem-solver. Our distressed crying drowns out the voice of the Holy Spirit.

I believe the Holy Spirit is telling me, and perhaps you, that it is time to be quiet before Him, and to sit in His presence, wait and listen for His voice. That does not mean that we can stop praying. It simply means, trust God to have the answer and listen for the Holy Spirit's guidance.

Have you ever been with a friend or relative who talks the entire time you are together? When she leaves, you realize that you may have only spoken two or three sentences. How does that make you feel? She left before you could share your thoughts. Sadly, that is the way most of our prayers are spoken to God. Do you take the time to hear what He wants to share with you?

Lord, I am hungry for Your presence. Thank you for loving me and compelling me to seek more of You. I know that Your word says…
“You will make me full of joy in Your presence.” (Acts 2:28)

Friends, please watch this video and hear the beautiful prayer sung by Hillsong.
(Turn off my Playlist music first.)
It is my prayer as well, and may it be yours.



Blessings to you and your family.
Carolyn

How Serious Are We?

In Remembrance of Her

How serious are we when we pray for our unsaved family?

We think about their life-style and know, from our own experience, that they would be happier if they gave their life to God to follow His plan.

We are concerned that they would be left behind if Jesus returns while they are unsaved. Sadly, I believe that thought is rather vague most of the time.

We seldom think about the possibility of them dying, without warning, at a young age. Even though, we probably do pray daily for their protection.

The mother of two of my grandsons died two days ago from a brain aneurysm. She suddenly went into a coma last week. As far as I know she was unsaved. I prayed all week that somehow, by the grace of God, she would be aware enough to know what was happening and to make her heart right with Jesus. Only God knows. She was 45 years old and was a member of my family until the divorce about 14 years ago.

My heart is so stirred with the realization that she may not have been ready. We do not know a person’s heart and I do not want to judge her, but this is the first time that I have felt such uncertainty about a person who is, or was close to me. In the years past I prayed many prayers for her, and I know God answers prayers, but He does not force Himself on us. He allows each of us to have a free choice, so we may not see our prayers answered in the manner that we expect.

Some would say that I am suffering from guilt. I don’t think so. Guilt does not come from God. I really believe the Holy Spirit is showing me how important and urgent it is for us to continue to make intercession for our family daily. Yes it takes time, but how important is it to you to know that your loved ones are safe in the arms of Jesus?

My family is large and my prayer list is long. It is very difficult in my own strength to be diligent and persistent in my prayers. But I must not give up, because it is a spiritual battle and the devil is not giving up fighting for their souls. That’s why the Holy Spirit has promised to make intercession for us when we grow weary or don’t know how to pray.

As I was praying and weeping for her in the past several days, God gave me this verse… “For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayers.” Psalm 6:8-9
Praise God for His promises of comfort!

Please help me pray for my grandsons to have tender hearts to God and to accept Him as their Savior. They are young men who have always been good kids, but they were not raised in church. I don’t know if they have ever made a true commitment to God. My prayer is that they will realize, Jesus is their peace. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.”

God is a God of love and even when we can’t understand the bad things that happen in life, we can still trust Him. He knows what He is doing and knows each of our lives from beginning to end.

On Monday, Dorinda at ‘Treasures in Jars of Clay’ http://findingtreasureinjarsofclay.blogspot.com/ wrote this:
Faith says, “God can.”
Hope says, “God will.”
Trust says, “I will serve him still.”

Thank you, Dorinda.
Those have been words of encouragement to me that I really needed this week.

Thank you, to each of you for your prayers.

Blessings to you and your family,
Carolyn

Joy In His Presence!

Most of us eagerly look forward to a new year, anticipating good things to happen. If bad things have happened during the previous year, we can put it into the book of the past and move on to a fresh beginning.

However, maybe you are like me, I like looking back to recap the year and count God’s many blessings. When I take the time to really think about the year, I see how the Lord walked with me every step of the way giving me strength, protection, peace and His love. His faithfulness and presence is far too awesome for me to express in words.

He has answered so many of our prayers in 2008 and my heart rejoices in praise to Him. When I began writing today, my intention was to list some of those prayers, but I realize now that the most valuable lesson He has taught me is learning to be still in His presence.

I have found that the most important desire in my life is to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit. I stand in His presence and weep, because He is so awesome. They are not tears of sorrow or frustration, but tears of joy and adoration. His presence is so sweet and so close.

Psalm 16:11 “Your presence is fullness of joy.” I pray, “O Lord never take Your presence from me. I can do without many things in life, but without Your presence I would cease to live.”

My heart’s desire is to see my entire family walk in truth and to know the sweetness of His love. I know that many of you who are reading this have the same desire. My faith is strong that soon we will see these answers to our prayers. God is so good and faithful!

Blessings to you and your family,
Carolyn