Month: April 2024

Prayer: Day 10

| Karen

Wow. Who knew that in the midst of a planned 30 days of blogs about prayer, that I would be on the receiving end of more prayers from more people than I could even imagine?

Through an unexpected turn of events last week, I had a heart cath at my local hospital thinking everything would be fine, but I had some earlier abnormal ECGs and stress tests so my doctor wanted to do a cath. I’ve never had chest pain and only started thinking maybe I was short of breath with two staircases in a row after there was a lot of attention on my heart with all these tests (which started simply with my gynecologist hearing a heart murmur which I’ve always had but she said she would feel better if I saw a cardiologist)!

Anyways… I woke up during the cath to see a worried expression on my cardiologist’s face, heard him say “I’ve only seen this once before,” then a lady popped her head in the door and I heard the end of her question: “…shipping her?”

They said I had severe blockages on both sides of my heart, and if I had a heart attack I would not survive.

Soon I was in an ambulance and taken to a huge hospital two hours away in another state. They put me on heparin IV and nitroglycerin IV with defibrillator pads on me. I’m a nurse, so I knew this was prep in case I had a heart attack on the way. They told me I would need either a “high risk PCI” (stent) or open heart surgery, possibly the same day.

I arrived to the Cardiac ICU at change of shift, where 5 staff compassionately and quickly surrounded me, hooking me up to all the monitors and scrubbed my whole body with pre-surgical skin prep wipes.

It was terrifying.

I still had no symptoms.

I’ve walked 5-6 times per week for a year and a half now, lost weight, kept my blood pressure under control.

I’m only 45.

People began to pray. Family, church family, friends, extended family members’ churches.

The next day, two cardiologists checked on me. One reviewed the images of my first cath and felt confident that they could fix it with a high risk stent instead of open heart. I was able to move to a regular telemetry floor on day 3, where I was encouraged to walk as much as possible around the unit while waiting for the next procedure.

Meanwhile, so many people called and texted saying they were praying.

The procedure was scheduled for day 6. I had been praying that if anyone could fix it with stents instead of open heart, that this person would be who I would be scheduled with. And this seemed to be the reason for the wait.

At night when sleep was difficult, I finally thought to play Christian music all night. Each time I said something to the Lord like, “God I just can’t feel Your presence here,” within 2-3 seconds song lyrics were on about God’s presence with me even now. When I said, “God, I’m afraid,” a song I’d never heard was immediately on about Psalm 23, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for God is with me.

Over and over again, exactly what I needed to hear at exactly the right moment came up in songs or even in a book I grabbed at the last minute by Max Lucado about the life of Joseph and how hardships and unexpected detours are things God can use still for His glory. (The book is called “You’ll Get Through This.”)

I believe this was because God’s people were praying.

Finally the day for the second cath arrived; I was ready but nervous. People continued to pray and text … and this surgeon was able to fix the 100% blockage with two stents. And the blockage they initially thought was also on the other side of my heart was no longer there! Praise God!!! No open heart surgery needed!

I feel like it was a miracle. I look at my wrist, at the tiny spot they accessed my radial artery and fixed my heart through such a small place, and I’m truly in awe.

To be on the receiving end of so much prayer is truly amazing. Thank you to all who have prayed for me through this time. Your prayers mean more than you may ever know.

To God be the glory!

Prayer: Day 9

| Karen

Paul’s letters to the churches fill a large part of the New Testament. He established several churches, went through numerous hardships for the Lord (whippings, beatings, even stoned once) and ultimately died for Christ.

He often prayed for others, and I especially love one of his prayer topics in Ephesians 3:17b-19… see if you can fill in the blanks…

”…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to ___________________and to _______________.”

Paul prayed for the church to have power to do what? Establish more churches? Go on missionary journeys? Suffer persecution? All become pastors? Share the Gospel? Fast for 40 days? Become martyrs?

No, in these verses Paul prayed they would have power to grasp how big God’s love is and to know His love that cannot fully be known (my paraphrase/ full verses below).

To know God’s love.

Does this surprise you?

One of my earliest struggles with the Lord was that I believed He could love everyone else except for me. I knew my own faults and sins too well, I thought He never could really love me. I wonder if Paul wrestled with this too, given his prior history of murdering early Christians?

I really never truly knew God loved me until I had my first son. It was then that I finally understood God loves me not for anything I do for Him, but simply because I am His child. He made me, He loves me, regardless of what I do or don’t do.

Unconditional love.

Why did Paul pray this, when he could have prayed for all the other topics above?

I think I know. Because we will never truly be effective for the Lord until we know – grasp, understand, are overwhelmed by, and amazed by- God’s love for us.

Take time today to pray this for yourself and for those around you.

”…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.“
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬b-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬


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Prayer: Day 8

| Karen

Famous quotes on prayer:

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”

Mother Teresa

“Simply defined, prayer is earthly permission for heavenly interference.”

Tony Evans

“If we never pray audacious, courageous prayers, how can He answer them?”

Francis Chan

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Is prayer your steering wheel, or your spare tire?”

Corrie Ten Boom

“For most of us the prayer in Gethsemane is the only model. Removing mountains can wait.”

C.S. Lewis

“Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do by this my proclamation designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer.”

Abraham Lincoln

“Before prayer changes others, it first changes us.”

Billy Graham

Prayer: Day 7

| Karen

Lord, Your will be done. Meet my needs for today. Guard me from Satan’s schemes. Forgive me. Help me forgive others. Let me honor Your name in all I do.

Sound familiar?

Many of us were raised to be able to quote The Lord’s Prayer from memory. But sometimes when I am too familiar with a passage, I can lose the overall meaning. So the short prayer above is just my own paraphrased prayer, in a different order, but it helps me get back to the most basic aspects of this beautiful example of prayer Jesus Himself gave in Matthew 6:9-13.

Then, I like to read it in one of the longer translations such as the Amplified Bible or The Message. I copied the Message version below, which includes verses 7-8:

”“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what’s best— as above, so below. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You’re in charge! You can do anything you want! You’re ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬-‭13‬ ‭MSG‬‬

The context of these verses is about not praying in a public way with a heart set out to glorify yourself but to pray in a private way for God sees all and knows your heart. Jesus often withdrew hours to pray alone, yet when the disciples asked for Him to teach them to pray, it really is a rather short prayer by comparison. Yet so profound.

I encourage you to read The Lord’s Prayer in at least 3 different Bible translations today then turn it into your own personal prayer.

Prayer: Day 6

| Karen

When I don’t know what to pray, I pray Scripture.

I had never really tried this for more than an occasional verse here or there until my sister was diagnosed with cancer. I was so overwhelmed, and I knew prayer was needed, I prayed for healing while also knowing God does not always choose to heal this side of heaven. I am so thankful that she is now cancer-free after a long year of treatment. In those early days when panic and fear threatened to overwhelm me, I did find some peace and clarity of mind as I turned each Scripture I read into a prayer. I often prayed that the faith of myself and my family would not fail in this time, that our faith would only grow. That we would press in closer to the Lord not withdraw from Him in our pain.

”Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.“
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.“
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭61‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.“
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Let your face smile on us, Lord.“
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬b NLT‬‬

”In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.“
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.“
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

”Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.“
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Prayer: Day 5

| Karen

”…pray without ceasing…”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In my own life, it’s been helpful to have a designated prayer time each morning plus reminders to prompt me to pray throughout the day.

One thing I’ve enjoyed in the past and plan to start using again is a display of three small spiral notepads. My husband made this for me. The one on the left has the names of my immediate family. The middle notepad has names of extended family, and the notepad on the right has groups of people such as coworkers, church leaders, government leaders, school teachers, friends, etc. Each day, I will flip over a new page and keep this by my desk to remind myself to pray for these three people or groups throughout the day.

Another helpful prompt has been the Notes app on my phone. I keep a separate list of prayer needs for my Sunday School class, for a school parent prayer group I’m in, and a prayer list of people I know (personally or public figures) that I am praying for them to have a personal relationship with the Lord. I try to look at these at least weekly.

My favorite prayer prompt is the standard calendar app on my phone. Since we can have several different color-coded calendars, the blue one has become over time filled with reminders to pray. I keep the calendar hidden from the rest of my daily agenda but have set each prayer reminder to alert me at separate times during the day. So all day long, my phone has pop-up reminders to pray. Starting at 7:35am a reminder to pray for me and my husband, for continued good marriage. Then 7:40am, pray for my oldest son, then 7:45am, pray for my youngest son. Then my parents, grandparents, siblings and their families, in-laws and husband’s extended family. Also from years ago when I read “The Power of a Praying Wife” and “The Power of a Praying Mother” by Stormie O’Martian, I had set up a unique reminder to pray for something specific for my husband and children each day of the month (over the years and phone changes, not all of these have remained on the calendar, I’d love to go back and update this one day to add them again). Then there are some requests that others have asked me to pray for. If it’s something already on another list in the Notes app, I don’t usually add it to the calendar since I’ll already see it as I pray for those requests. But sometimes the Lord prompts me to add someone to the prayer calendar, often when I can see they are particularly distressed about something. Sometimes I will set a daily alert with an end date a week or a month later. Other times I leave it on the prayer calendar indefinitely, because of the depth of grief or fear or despair I see in a person. It may be after the death of a family member or a new diagnosis of cancer or a marriage that is hanging on by a thread or a friend who has a loved one going through rehab.

Oftentimes, they never know they are on my prayer calendar. But God knows.

Then I add some prayer reminders for myself- a daily prayer for wisdom and understanding, and for me and my family to continue with whatever word or theme of the year I have felt God wanted to develop in us.

Now, many times, I will not see every alert as it appears on my phone. I may forget to check the lists or pray for certain things. I think the most valuable lesson I have learned when it comes to prayer prompts is not letting this become legalistic or overwhelming but simply relying on the Lord, knowing it will never be perfect on my own effort. But the amazing thing is, sometimes prayer alerts pop up at just the key time and I think I didn’t even realize that person was still on my prayer calendar- but there is the alert, along with a nudge from the Holy Spirit to pray. For a particular friend whose daughter died, I had set the reminder to pray for this family for a year. But when the year and a half mark rolled around, I could hear in their voices and see on their faces it was as if grief hit them anew all over again. So they are back on my daily prayer prompts, indefinitely.

About two years ago, my phone was stolen. I was so frustrated and felt like my privacy had been invaded… as I was quickly changing all my bank passwords and social media passwords, I remembered all these prayer alerts, wondering what the thief was thinking as 20 prayer alerts went off every few minutes throughout the day. Did he or she regret stealing the phone then? I guarantee they at least thought about God then, and maybe they hadn’t for a long time. Today I was thinking back on this and felt prompted (especially in light of a recent instagram hack on my account from what appears to be the same phone that has resurfaced) to add this person to my prayer calendar too, for God to change their heart, forgive them, and let them walk closely with God from this day forward.

Ironically today after adding this person for one prayer alert daily, my phone has alerted me THREE TIMES to pray for “the person who stole my phone and hacked my instagram.”

Three times.

That’s a first. Is it the storms in my area today making the phone go haywire? Perhaps. But with each alert comes a strong nudge from the Lord to pray and pray and pray again for this person. Perhaps you could say a prayer for them too. We may never know until heaven how God has answered these prayers.

Prayer prompts- none will be a perfect system, and even then we will not always remember to pray. But having a prayer reminder, whatever type works for you, is a helpful way to get started with praying more. And the good news is God helps us in our weakness when we don’t even know what to pray. He will remind us if we are just open to Him.

What prayer prompts have worked best for you?

Prayer: Day 4

| Karen

Today I’m challenging myself to thank God for 100 things. So far I’m at about 60… and I’m realizing how much I take for granted and forget to thank God for daily. Not only for the family and friends in my life, but for a full refrigerator, freedom to go to church without threat of persecution, for the ability to see and hear, for God’s Word and for a remote job. And so much more.

Prayer is not just asking for things, it’s conversation. And a big part of good conversation is thankfulness.

”Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.“
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (emphasis mine)

Will you join me and thank God for 100 things today?

Prayer: Day 3

| Karen

It happened again this morning. Worry. You would think after being a Christian this long that worried thoughts would no longer be a struggle for me.

But they are.

I was going to say I have worried thoughts 2-3 times per week. But browsing through different dictionary meanings of the word, it seems to mean anxiety or rumination about negative things that are either actually happening or might happen.

There are times in my life when this occurs more like 2-3 times per day.

I think what has changed over the years of walking with the Lord is not the initial frequency of worried thoughts, but how quickly I take them to God in prayer. Yes, there are times I still hold on to worry and try to plan and figure it out all on my own.

But I’m learning to simply talk to God about it more quickly.

There’s really no need to hide worried thoughts from God. When I sit down to have my Quiet Time, worried thoughts come to the forefront of my mind almost as if God is gently putting his finger on them – prompting me, asking me – to come talk to Him about this.

It’s what Paul says in the verse we know so well:

”Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.“
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (emphasis mine)

This morning I knew I only had about 10 minutes initially in my Quiet Time until I needed to make breakfast and get my oldest teen off to his first day of work, so when God lovingly brought my own worried thoughts to the forefront of my mind, I opened my journal and wrote down my feelings, thoughts, and then laid them down before the Lord.

He listened.

He advised.

He cared.

He already knew.

He helped.

He comforted.

He gave me His perfect peace.

Struggling with worry? Talk to Jesus about it. Remember this is all prayer is: conversation. Exchange your worries for His peace that passes understanding.