Be the Hands that Lift Her

For years I have prayed for one person who seems to be blocked in on all sides by disbelief. It as if there is a plot to keep her penned in so that she cannot reach out and accept the love God has for her. Our church is entering into a season of reading prayers every day to be in one accord,  growing in fellowship with God and strengthening the inner man.

Today in my own prayer  time I came across some portions of Scripture and some phrases from a book that leapt off the page as a prayer for the one who cannot believe.  I am calling the prayer: BE THE HANDS THAT LIFT HER.

Here is the prayer. You may choose to add the name of the person for whom you are praying, print it up, and read it daily.

Father, please hear _____________________'s cry. Never hide Your face from her. Answer her speedily when she calls. Thoughts taunt her. Let her know that You are enthroned forever. Lord, arise! Have pity on her. Favor her. This is the appointed time for her salvation. Build her up, Lord. Appear in Your glory. Set her free so that she can declare Your name. (1) I am wrestling in prayer for _____________ so she may stand firm in all the things of God.(2) I wrestle in prayer combatting the enemy on her behalf, praying for Your will in her life and for her ultimate victory. I intercede for her:  motivated by love, empowered by the Holy Spirit and accomplished in the name of Jesus. I share her burden. I fight for her freedom and inner healing. I am a warrior raised up in battle on her behalf. (3)

Below are the sources but I have broadly adapted them for my purposes.

(1)  from Psalm 102
(2   Colossians 4:12
(3)  Wounded by Terry Wardle

The Danger of The Hard Heart (and how to soften it)

THE DANGER OF A HARDENED HEART (and how to soften it!)

A Bible Study  Written for Women with a Vision by Cheryl Skid

Psalm 95: 8-11

“Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness

When your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”

Therefore I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” 

Taking a look at ourselves

Can you pinpoint a specific time when you wanted to—or maybe you did—shake your fist at God saying, “OK God! If you’re really there then why____________________________________________________________”

Can you look back at your life and say, “Yes, at that time I knew God was there; in fact if it weren’t for God I would have ________________________________________”

Were there, or are there times in your life where you seemed to have no  rest in your spirit….constantly anxious, on edge, worried, never at peace?_________________________________________________________ Did you journal during that time? __________What was/is going on? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Were there, are there, times that you seem to be at odds with everyone—someone’s always mad, feelings are constantly being hurt, the least little thing provokes a major blow up? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s look at Language

Here are some words from our text. I’ve gone back to the original language to give us a better understanding of the passage.

Loathed          קןט   (koot) some versions say grieve, but the big, huge, fat Hebrew dictionary that I have says loathe or to be disgusted with. Can’t get much plainer than that!

Meribah         מר'בה            quarrel, strife, contention

massah)           מסה              melt down! Frighten, discourage,

Rest                 מנוחה  (menukhah)   resting place, repose, sanctuary, quiet,     ease

Let’s look at other places in the Bible

What’s this talk about  Meribah and Massah?  Let’s read Exodus 17: 2-7.

In simple words, what happened? (I’m going to suggest something that some people may argue about. I suggest you get a copy of an easy-to-read Bible along with whatever you usually read and can’t understand. The New Living Translation is one that just makes the hard words easy. It unravels difficult passages so that at least you can wrap your brain around them) ___________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What kind of environment were the people in before Moses led them out of Egypt?   

 Let’s read Ex 1:8-14 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So they had a life that was horrible. They were slaves, treated like beasts, forced to build the huge cities of Egypt with the pyramids and monuments one brick at a time—and they had to make the bricks!  They were beaten, not fed well, and tormented because of hatred. So what happened? Moses led the people out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, and ended up in the Wilderness. The people were mad as wet hens at Moses because they were thirsty and there was no water. Moses listened to God, did what it took to get the folks water and then threw up his hands to God because of the stubborn, rebellious HUGE GROUP of grumblers he spent every day trying to lead.

Ex 17:2 says that ONCE MORE the people grumbled—so this was not an isolated incident.  So why did God get mad? What do you think? They weren’t mad at God. They were mad at Moses, so why did God take it personally? ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

                                                 Meaning for Today

  

Consider the actions and attitudes of the people that were angering God.  Describe them. _______________________________________________________

Moses was the chosen leader. Chosen. As in elected? ________________

No? Chosen by God? ____ Do you remember when that happened? What was the situation when God tapped Moses and gave him this daunting task of schlepping this ungrateful group of former exhausted, worn out, hungry, hopeless people out of Egypt? ___________________ Read Exodus 3. It was  a long time from the bush to the desert. Moses never asked for that leadership position. He even fought it. So for people to argue against Moses ‘ leadership they were really doing what? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Take a Look Inside

There are many ways in which our hearts can get hard and all are painful. We may feel unjustly treated, embarrassed, unappreciated.  We may have been passed up at work, humiliated in front of a crowd of people. Prayers may have seemed to be unanswered. Mega-disasters may be sweeping the world. And we allow our heart to be hard.

But today’s lesson is on ONE hardening agent: disrespect and grumbling against God-ordained leadership.

Check yourself. Is it you? If so, how can we soften our hearts? How quickly are we able to repent? Once we repent how fast does God forgive?  Let’s look at 1 John 1:9 and 10.  We confess our sins AND He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from that ugly ME inside us that knows better. He not only wraps His arms around us but He cleanses that ugly place in our hearts. Watch out! Look at 10. Are you saying, ‘Not me! I’m fine! Nothing wrong me me!’  Well that is exactly what IS wrong with you!  NO ONE IS EXEMPT. We are all under leadership that God has ordained and a sure way to keep our hearts soft and yielded is to recognize that it was God who set him or her in authority over us! 

Let God Search Your Heart

And write your prayer here: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box

Maddy was surprised every time she turned the handle of the Jack in the Box to hear the ‘thwack!’ and ‘boing!’  Up would pop the little clown. Maddy would squeal in delight then push the clown down.  He always needed an extra push. Mommy was right beside her waiting, knowing that soon Maddy would need her help. Mommy let Maddy know that she was a big girl able to do things that big girls did. But sometimes Maddy’s little hands were not quite able to push the clown back in the box. It was much easier to turn the handle until he sprang forward. Putting him back was much harder.

 As Maddie grew up she discovered that if She pushed a little too hard in life she often got an  unpleasant surprise.  but Mom was always there. Whether it was  in the same room, another room, or  another town., mom  was always there waiting…waiting…waiting for the nudge, the knock on the door, the email, or the phone call.  “Mom. Do you have a minute?” Mom always had time to help Maddie push the unpleasant, unplanned mess back in the box. Maddie realized as time went by that she couldn’t push and push and push in life and avoid getting those unpleasant pop ups. Yet she didn’t want to walk through life so fearful that she didn’t push at all. She chose to know that no matter what, she had a cushion to safeguard her. She had a mother.

Behind Her Eyes

The Butterfly

April watched the butterfly flit from flower to flower. It did not move in a straight line like the bees that her daddy kept in the hive in the back yard. 

It didn’t swoop like the mockingbird that chased every other bird from what he considered HIS yard. No. It flitted. Up. Down. Side. Float. Dip. April loved watching. She watched and remembered so that on her bed at night

when she closed her eyes she could bring back the sights from the daytime. It was her nighttime garden behind her closed eyes.