Tag: prayers

How Can We Have Effective Prayers?

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

There are many Scriptures that show us we are all imperfect people. Romans 3:23 says that we all have fallen short of the glory of God. This verse does not say some people or even most, but all people have fallen short of the glory of God.

As it is written in Ecclesiastes 7:20, “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.” But James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” How can we possibly become righteous when Ecclesiastes states that no one on earth is righteous?

Credit: JC

God answered this question by sending His Son, Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross for us, He offered a way to put on His righteousness and holiness. It is when we believe in Jesus that we then become righteous because we are now in Jesus. We become ‘set apart’ which is another meaning for holy. We put on the righteousness of Jesus, which is part of the armor of God; the breastplate of righteousness is a piece of God’s armor that we have to pick up and put on. The action we need to take is belief in Jesus. Righteousness belongs to Jesus, He earned it for us – all we have to do is believe.

Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, thank you so much for Jesus and for what He did for us on the cross. Lord, we lift up all church leaders and members. Please give us the strength to pick up the armor of God and put on the righteousness of Jesus. Help us to share and follow the Word of God. Help us to stay on the paths that You have laid before us. It is in Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Shield of Faith

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

One of the many gifts that God has blessed us with is the armor of God. While there have been many commentaries and thoughts on the armor of God, we will focus on one simple question after we review the Scriptures.

In Ephesians 6:10 to 6:18, we read,  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Credit: JC

Each piece of the armor is critical, the helmet of salvation we must wear on our heads to keep our minds focused on the fact that we are redeemed and belong to Jesus. The belt of truth is worn to keep our bodies tethered to the Word of God, the Truth. We put on the shoes that carry the peace of God, wherever we walk, we carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to a hurting and dying world. The breastplate of righteousness is us putting on the righteousness of Jesus, through His sacrifice and love, we are protected. We pick up the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the Word of God that must be thrust in the face of the enemy as lies are thrown at us every single day.

The last piece of armor is the shield of faith. When you visualize the shield, please do not picture a small round shield. These shields were massive pieces of military equipment. The shields were about two to three feet wide and three to four feet tall. They were able to protect the entire body of the soldier when they crouched behind them. The shields were designed to continue to protect the soldier and remain strong under heavy attack, including flaming arrows. When the soldiers lined up shoulder to shoulder and ‘connected’ their shields, an almost impenetrable wall was built to protect many at once.

Why do you think the shield of faith is the largest piece of armor? As the Scriptures say, the shield is to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Every single day, the enemy will hurl arrows at you – from all directions. The more you use that shield of faith to cover your entire body, the better protected you are. And, like the soldiers, when they were under heavy attack, they stood shoulder to shoulder and were even better protected with the shields lined up. If you are under heavy attack, seek out brothers and sisters in Christ to stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Have them praying over you and for you. When you feel tired or beat up by the world, stand under their shield of faith, tell them the lies that the enemy is throwing your way and allow their shield of faith to protect you by speaking the Truth. As James 4:7 says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  

Let’s pray. Father in heaven please help us to put on the entire armor of God each and every day. Lord, help us to protect ourselves with the shield of faith. Remind us who we are in You. Help us to resist the devil by standing behind our shield and leaning into the faith of others when we need reinforcements. We praise You and thank You for Jesus. It is in His precious name we pray, amen.

Secrets to Life – Part Five

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

It seems that everyone is looking for the secrets to life to increase happiness, joy, peace, love or to attain some other positive state of mind. Each week, a secret to life has been revealed that is intended to lead you to a more peaceful, love-filled and joyous state of being. This week, the fifth secret to life is revealed.

Credit: JC

Purpose. You are still here on this earth for a reason. God has not finished with your life; your purpose still lies ahead or you would no longer be here. Discovering that purpose is a secret to life – bringing peace, satisfaction, joy, and love.

How can one find their purpose? Begin with asking a few questions . . .what makes you excited, what do you love doing, what do you feel inspired by or passionate about? Also ask a few friends or family members these questions and see how they would answer about you. Once you have gathered this information, choose the top one or two answers that occur most often.

From there, you can begin to invest more intentionally into those one or two areas. Start with prayer and create a plan on how you can spend more time in your passions and less time in other things. Focusing your prayers, time, energy and/or money into areas that bring you joy and peace is a step on the path that results in you living out your purpose. You can also prayerfully consider what things you spend time or money on that do not support your purpose and determine if you should continue. If you choose to continue investing into things that are not in your passions, identify why and make peace with that decision.

Let’s pray.

Father, thank You for placing in each of us a specific purpose that only we can fulfill. Help all of us to find that purpose: the reason why we were created the way we are with the specific story and experiences that we have. We know there is only one person like us in all of history and that we have been given the opportunity to fulfill that purpose for You. Thank You for loving us and giving us each an important assignment. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Partition in Our Minds

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

In church and in Christian circles, there appears to be a partition being placed in our minds about prayer.  A partition, or wall, placed by the enemy that is a slow burn to turn us away from prayer, our direct connection to God.  Just over the past few months, I have encountered three different groups of people that identify themselves as Christians.  The first group was people who think they are unworthy to pray and/or God won’t listen to them.  They believe in God, but just not that He will listen to them when they pray.  When I say ‘I am praying for you’ to them, either they change the subject, or they appear uncomfortable and end the conversation. I found this to be a surprising reaction from someone who labels themselves as a Christian.  

There is a second group I have met that call themselves Christians, but prayer seems like a foreign concept or even shocking to them. When I share with them that I am praying for their sick child or a lost pet, they cannot fathom that I should bother God with such things.  They say, ‘After all, there are wars going on in the world, why does God care about a lost pet or one sick child?’ Yet, God does care, He cares deeply.  

Credit: JC

There is a third group of people that when I say ‘I am praying for you’, they immediately freak out and want to know what bad thing has happened that they need prayers. They expressed concern that I knew something they did not and asked me to tell them what horrible thing had occurred to cause me to pray for them. This reaction saddened me. We are to be praying for each other regularly.

If Satan can blind us to the importance of prayer through these or other ways, he disrupts our conversations with the Father and our advocate, Jesus. Prayer is how we grab a hold of the spiritual realm and connect to Jesus.

Prayer is like air, it is needed daily and constantly, prayer is not a nice-to-have.  When the enemy decreases your desire to pray or your desire to even receive the prayers of others, you have a problem.  When you have a problem, pray. When you try to pray and the enemy enters your prayer life to distract you by luring your mind to wander, you have to fight. Pray for the strength to fight. Use the enemy’s attempts to decrease prayers to instead increase them. Then we really will be praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Keep Fighting

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

There is a common phrase that people say, “Keep fighting”.  This phrase is applied to many situations and I am fairly certain you can think of one instance in your life that someone told you to keep fighting.  Sometimes to keep fighting is not the answer. Instead of fighting, consider the many Bible verses that say to “stand firm”.  There are over 30 verses that command us to “stand firm” between the Old and New Testament.  From Moses to Ezra to Job to David to Solomon to Isaiah to Jesus to Paul and more – we are told to “stand firm”. See below for just a few example verses. 

Credit: JC’s Gram

Exodus 14:13:  “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again’.” 

2 Chronicles 20:17: “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.” 

Psalm 20:8: “They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.” 

Isaiah 7:9  “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”

Matthew 10:22: “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” 

Luke 21:19 : “Stand firm, and you will win life.” 

1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.” 

1 Corinthians 16:13: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”

Galatians 5:1: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of sin.”

So how do we stand firm?  2 Corinthians 1:21 says “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.”  The answer is God.  God is how we stand firm. It is not in our own strength, but through our relationship with God that we are able to stand firm.  So don’t just keep fighting in every situation without praying through whether God would have you fight or stand firm. If you feel God is telling you to stand firm, then know and believe God’s promises. There is no need to fight. “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you.” Deuteronomy 30:1.

Let’s pray. Father, please give us wisdom in our circumstances to know whether you would have us keep fighting or stand firm. Either way, please give us Your strength. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Close Your Eyes

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

2 Corinthians 5:7 says “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”  There is a practical way to live this out – literally.  If we walk by faith and not by sight, maybe one way to apply this verse is to close your eyes.  When times arrive that you are struggling or you need guidance or you just need to feel God, close your eyes literally.  Then you cannot see, you can only focus on Jesus. With your eyes closed, use that time to pray, and fight to keep your focus on Jesus.  Do not let your mind wander and if it does, that is okay – just return your focus back to Jesus as soon as you realize you have wandered.  The goal is to turn off your human senses that are connected to the world: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smells to fully connect to Him.  Walk by faith my friend, not by sight.

Credit: JC’s Gram

Is It Possible We Are Looking for God in the Wrong Places?

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies Blog1 Comment

I am in a season of waiting. I have been praying and occasionally fasting for something since 2008. It is a dream that God put on my heart quite some time ago. I still have faith that He will bring this dream to fruition. I have tested the dream to ensure it is Biblical, of His character and something that would advance the Kingdom of God.

We must objectively assess whether the thing we are pursuing is of us or of God and these are a few ways to complete that assessment. I did not ask for this dream, it just showed up one day deeply engrained into my spirit. When I think about it, I am filled with joy and see how God would be glorified. But it is not a reality.

I cannot tell you how many times I have prayed about it. There have been times where I have asked God to remove the dream if it was not to be fulfilled. It sometimes causes me pain to have a glimpse of what could be and then snap back into reality and recall how long it has been – the waiting, the hoping, the praying.

I tend to ask God to communicate to me in a very obvious way, a way I would not miss. If He is talking, I certainly do not want to miss it. And I can be oblivious at times. But I also wonder if I am looking for God in the wrong places. I tend to think that when He speaks, it will be like a thunder bolt or so obvious that I could never miss it. And sometimes He does communicate with us like that.

Yet, we see how God communicated with Elijah:

“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?'”
1 Kings 19:11–13 NIV

I am looking for the big, obvious revelation. Whether it is a street sign telling me the next step in my journey or a stranger walking up to me and handing me a quote from God that says “Go do X. Love, God”. And yes, He does talk to us that way sometimes, but I tend to think He speaks to us gently, in whispers.

If every time He spoke, the Earth cracked open around us or a tornado blew through, I think we would all have an issue. Instead, what if He is talking to us in those whispers we hear, also described as a still, small voice? We need to be close to Him and lean in even closer when He speaks. We need to write down what we hear lest we forget. We need to ensure what we heard is Biblical, aligns with God’s character, and advances His Kingdom and His Glory. If so, then we need to do what we hear as soon as we can. This approach opens up an ongoing flow of communication, we grow closer to Him, and we learn more about how He communicates so it becomes easier to hear Him.

Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, we thank You that You speak to us through Your creation, Your Holy Spirit, Your Word and other believers. Help us to hear You better. Help us to look for You where You are and hear You in the whispers. Thank you for loving us and never giving up on us when we miss Your whispers. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen