Silence Speaks

When God allows you to be silenced, learn to listen. It’s hard, it’s depressing, but it’s in this silence you realize how much you really speak when you should be listening. You also realize how much there is to be heard. It is good to be quiet before God. It is good to be quiet when having conversations with others. It is good to listen for that still, small voice of the Lord.

Psalm 46 is a hymn celebrating Zion as the city to which God has pledged himself and through which He will bless the world. 

Ps. 46:1–7 tells us God is a mighty fortress where His people are secure. We are secure even in times of chaos and turmoil. I am so thankful God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. (vs.1)

Verses 2–3, and 6 use earthquakes, landslides, and the raging sea as images of raging nations, kingdoms and turmoil surrounding. We have the same types of things raging around us today. Whether it is work, family, or world issues there are seas raging around us. The opposite can be present too —we just have to BE STILL, or in my case, BE QUIET before God and allow Him to speak to us and reveal His will for us! Elijah didn't find God in the great, strong wind, or the earthquake, or the fire, but in a low whisper...

11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Where to we look to meet God? Do we go about our crazy schedules, or stop and listen for a while to that small whisper? A stream is so peaceful compared to a raging sea, and mountains can be moved with the faith of a mustard seed. His Word is full of so many promises we should cling to; so much imagery for us to breathe in and behold His mighty powers---if we stop and take the time.

We may not understand what is going on, but be still and know that Our Mighty God is in control! Be flexible, follow His plan and path. Choose to adjust with a smile and a "silent" prayer when needed!

Allow God to speak volumes to you during your silence. Learn to embrace the silence and let it calm your soul! 

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. --Helen Keller

It has been 14 days since I had a voice, the last time this happened it was about 3 months of healing before it was normal again due to granulomas on my vocal cords.  I am awaiting an appointment with my ENT to verify what is going on, but we believe this is what is happening again. Hopefully I can say, like Paul the Apostle and Helen Keller, whatever state I may be in, to be content. To take time to BE STILL and know that He is God and still on His Throne!

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Is God asking you to be still, quiet, and content before Him today?

Praying for our students through the year - day 27 (Head to Toe - part 1)

Now that we have made it through the alphabet, we covered lots of Godly Character Traits to pray over our children. Today we are going to start praying for our kids, grand kids, students, and others from "head to toe". A great way to remember them is to think of each of these as you are getting ready in the mornings...

1. Pray for their mind - for them to earnestly seek wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Pray they will learn to value discernment and choose the best yes. Pray they will center their thoughts on holy and pure things--not on pleasures of this world or things that will draw them away from God. Pray they will develop a Biblical World View and focus on God's Word as Truth. (Book of Proverbs, James 1:5, Psalm 119:97)
2. Pray for their eyes - Ask God to protect their innocence and not let them grow up too quickly. Pray they will not look on unwholesome things. I hate to say it, but children are exposed to porn at a very young age now (some statistics show this happens as early as 3rd grade). Pray for God to protect them from this form of evil. Pray they will choose good social media, if they have access to it. Pray they will focus on right and pure things, not lustful temptations. Pray they will have eyes to see the good in people and show Christ-like love. Pray they will love God and their neighbors. (Psalm 101:3).
3. Pray for their ears - Pray they will be quick to hear and slow to speak. Pray they will not listen to gossip, or negative influences around them. Pray they will incline their ears to instruction and to the ways of the Lord. Pray they will listen to music that is positive---music does not make someone a monster, however garbage in will result in garbage out. Pray they choose to watch and listen to good TV shows and movies that are not filled with violence and evil. What shows are their ears and eyes hearing and seeing on TV or the theater? (Proverbs 8:32). 
   
4. Pray for their mouth - Ask God to help them learn to control their tongue. Pray they will learn the value of speaking truth instead of speaking lies. Pray they will learn the value of silence. Pray their words will be pleasing to our Heavenly Father and for uplifting others. Pray they will not use their mouths to bring others down or for destruction. Pray they will speak with respect and use their words to worship and praise God. (Psalm 34:13).

Praying for our students through the year - day 26 (Z) Zeal

Wow our kids are starting their 7th week of school today! We are going to start this week by praying for  Zeal. Romans 12:11 says: "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord."  Zeal or being zealous is energetic enthusiasm; a strong feeling of interest and enthusiasm that makes someone very eager or determined to accomplish something. When Jesus performed miracles he often asked the people not to tell, yet it made them want to tell it more zealously (Mark 7:36).  Today, Christ commanded us to tell everyone about Him to the utmost parts of the earth, but do we?  Revelation 3:19 says “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent”.  We are all guilty of sin, of not obeying His Word, and of having less Godly Character than we should at some point in our lives, but the secret is to learn to repent. Then we can learn to be more zealous. Sincerely ask God to forgive you, and He will. Pray your child will become more zealous for the Lord and His Word today. Pray they will have enthusiasm to share His love with others. Pray they will be eager and determined to accomplish all God has called them to do. 

We have made it through all 26 letters of Godly Character; the Bible says Jesus is the Alpha and Omega which are Greek letters for A and Z (Revelation 1:7-8). He is the beginning and the end of the alphabet; He is everything in between.  Jesus is the Eternal Ruler of past, present, and future. He is the A, Z, Alpha, Omega, Beginning, End, First and Last! We need to be on fire for God because one day this world will have no more chances to choose to accept the Lord, we will be out of opportunities to Go and Tell those He has put before us. Pray your child will have their priorities in line with what really matters in life. It’s all about Jesus! Pray they will have enough zeal to live out loud everywhere and not hide their “Christian-side” from others. Pray God will unsettle them until they seek a deeper relationship with their Heavenly Father. Pray they will seek Him as their personal Lord and Savior. Pray they will grow in their Godly Character daily. Pray they will have uncontainable ZEAL for the Lord today and everyday until He returns! 

Praying for our students through the year - day 25 (Y) Yearning

Today we are praying for our children have a yearning for Christ! Yearning is a deep, tender and urgent longing; an appetite or craving. Pray your children will have a yearning to know more about Jesus and the Bible.  Isaiah 26:9 says “My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you”. The old hymn More About Jesus describes yearning well: 

“More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me. More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern; Spirit of God, my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me...".  

Our lives should be more about Jesus, not about us! Do you yearn to know Him deeper?  Pray you and your family will yearn for a deeper relationship with God. Psalm 42:1-2 says “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”. We have to crave, thirst, yearn for a relationship with God. Pray your child learns to crave and thirst for this relationship above all others. Pray the Holy Spirit will create a yearning for His Word.  Pray they will become more in love with God than anything else in this world. Pray your whole family will work on developing a yearning for God. Make it a goal to spend more time in prayer and reading His Word. Crave Him today!

Praying for our students through the year - day 24 (X) eXcellence

It is hard for me to believe the 6th week of school is almost over and we are almost to the end of the alphabet on praying for our children.  Today we are praying for eXcellence. There are a few character traits in which each of us should have a desire to excel. Just to mention 23...pray for your child to excel in his or her attitude, boldness, courage, discernment, enthusiasm, friendship, generosity, humility, initiative, joyfulness, knowledge, listening, maturity, being neighbors, obedience, perseverance, being quiet, respectfulness, self-control, thankfulness, understanding, victory, and work ethic! (this was the first 23 prayer topics if you need to go back and review check out my old blog posts) Excellence goes beyond dreams and what we can do and is about what we SHOULD do and how we SHOULD act. We need to also pray for our children to excel in prayer. It is vital for us to learn to communicate with God and teach our children to do the same. When I was a student I remember receiving an "excellence in education" plaque every year; excellence is not about just making a good grade or doing what we are supposed to at that moment, but about sustaining that attitude for a lifetime.

Philippians 3;13-14 states: "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus".

We need to press on until the end of our time on this earth and pray our children will do the same. Excellence in all we do should be a priority. Excellence demands that we do our very best with the abilities that God has given us. Pray your children will learn to exhibit moral excellence, then there will be evidence that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is growing in their lives.

"Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation." 1 Peter 2:12 NASB

Praying for our students through the year - day 23 (W) Work Ethic

Today pray your child will have a great work ethic. It doesn't matter if we are doing school work, part-time jobs, working to perform a role in a play, be part of a sports team, doing chores, or in a career, God wants each of us to do our best. Teach your children to use their hands and minds to accomplish good things that honor God. Teach them that work is good, but we also need to let our bodies rest and reflect on all God has blessed us with (Exodus 23:12).  

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24

Teach your children that hard work and dedication produces positive results. The Bible teaches us to develop solid work ethic and to put our all in what we do.  I once heard "wherever we are, be 100% there". It is easy to try to multitask or be distracted when we are busy however we should be dedicated to what we are doing. God put Adam in the garden to WORK and take care of it (Gen. 2:15). 

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. 

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Teach them that all they do has a purpose! Laziness can be a problem and become habitual. Model the example of joyfully working in front of your children and others. Teach them to not be idle; that there are consequences to being lazy.  (2 Thess 3:10). Pray your child will find joy in working, as working for the Lord. Pray they will not want to be lazy or idle. Pray they will put forth their BEST effort in ALL they do. Pray they will have a desire to work hard and want to succeed at achieving their goals. Give them praise to encourage them as you seem them working hard and accomplishing milestones, but remember it is ok to let them fail. Lessons can be learned from failure. Failure may motivate them to work harder next time. Pray for a good work ethic today! 

Praying for our students through the year - day 22 (V) Victory

Today let's pray for victory for our kids. How do we define victory? I am not talking about winning at everything they do, or being first. True victory is loving God with all of our hearts, souls and minds and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-38).

1 John 5:4 says: For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

We have victory over our sin when we are living for Christ. Pray that our children learn to live for Christ every day. Pray they will have victory over their sins. Pray they will overcome this world and all that allures them away from God. Pray they will choose right over wrong. Pray God will provide them with the strength and integrity needed to overcome all that hinders them from having victory. Pray that will not be tricked by the traps and snares of the enemy as he tries to enslave them to sin. Pray that they will understand this victory cannot be accomplished on their own, but through the power of the Holy Spirit living in them, through following His direction daily! Pray they will have VICTORY in JESUS today!