Prayer Gates

When people keep you from doing God's will

smb80 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

I love learning and consider it to be one of the greatest gifts that God has bestowed upon me. Although I don't know what He has in store for me, it excites me to know that everything I do is for His greater cause.

Currently, I am in graduate school and at a difficult point in my academic career. My advisor has the tendency to say one thing, then claim that he never said such a thing, placing the blame of misunderstanding on me. While I don't have difficulty with accepting responsibility for my mistakes, it's hard for me to stay calm when, say, I talked to him on the phone and verified something four different times, only to have him play dumb. He seems intent on making things especially difficult for me, as if he feels as though I'm never on campus because I don't take things seriously. As I've explained to him repeatedly, I've had to deal with some very serious family struggles over the course of these past five years. My list of struggles reads a lot like a country music song-- my great grandfather died suddenly; my friend was killed by a drunk driver; my mother nearly died and had to have 10 hour emergency heart surgery that she wasn't even expected to survive through, while also suffering from a stroke; my grandparents' house burned down; my husband's parents were involved in a bicycling accident. It goes on and on, but I never questioned anything that came my way because I knew that I could never understand the depth of God's reasons. Instead, I continued to walk in faith.

I'm only human and therefore, I can only try to handle all of these struggles to the best of my capabilities. My advisor seems to think otherwise. Every time I think I am moving forward, he pushes me two steps backward. I am so frustrated and feeling like I'm stuck and can't get out of this mess.

All I want is to graduate and start working, so that I may be in a better situation to help my parents. I see them struggle every day and I know that God wants me to honor everything that they've done and sacrificed for me. I continue to pray that God's will will overpower my advisor, humble him, and open his eyes to see just how hard I've been working. I pray that during this time, when I feel so very alone, he will continue to hold my hand and walk me to the graduation stage.

Blythe

Blythe — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Chapter 1: Overcoming Idolatry Excerpt

Blythe — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

I know an Idol is anything that we show more attention to than God. But can an idol be something like a desire to not be where you are? Since I left for the Navy September of 2008, I feel as if every day my faith has slipped. And I wake up every morning wanting to go home. But I fight it because my daughter needs insurance and I need schooling. But sometimes I feel my need and want to go home has overtaken my thoughts. How can that be fixed? I have accepted that I can't go home because of what is more important. But can a feeling or longing of something be an idol?

smb80

smb80 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

stephanieholt

stephanieholt — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

AutumnLynn

AutumnLynn — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

libby

libby — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Do you love me?

Pat Layton: author of Surrendering the Secret — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Can you guess the four most often heard words in counselingrooms across the Nation and the World?

The answer, hands down, is this:

“Do you love me?”

“Do you love me, Daddy?”

“Do you love me, Mom?”

“Do you Love me, Boyfriend?”

“Do you love me, Girlfriend?”

The desire to be loved is the most basic craving of our heartsthat when left unmet, it leads to broken hearts and messed up lives.

The problem is that the way we most often measure love, is EXTERNAL—wordsof affirmation and approval, physical touch, passion, gifts and service, actsof kindness.

In this chapter Beth refers to the “empty cup” that we allcarry from person to person asking,

“Can you fill this?”

“Can YOU fill this?

“How about You or You or You???”

When I was a little girl, my love cup was never full andmost of the time was never even acknowledged. My Dad, who never received loveas a child or a young man himself, simply had no experience or understanding ofthe love needs of a little girl. As I grew from a child to a young woman, Icontinued to seek that greatly needed love “in all the wrong places”, as thesong goes.

I continued to seek an outward expression of an inwardcraving. All I found instead was more loneliness, more shame and a dirtier anddirtier cup.

It makes me think of the birth bath in my backyard.

When it is empty it gets all muddy, dirty and crackedinside. It gathers old dead leaves and looks abandoned and rather sad. Untilfinally, I get out there and scrub the inside with bubbly soapy water then fillit with clear cool water. When I do, that abandoned birth bath becomes theplace to be for all the neighborhood birds. It turns into a party place ofrefreshment and frolic.

Our lives are much the same.

The deep craving that God built into our lives is for His“AGAPE” God-Kind of love, cannot be filled by anyone or anything other thanHim. That is just the way He designed us and He will not let anyone or anythingtake His place. God’s Love is not like the love of any man or any woman. Hislove is selfless, sacrificial, unlimited and unearned.

Every other kind of love is just someone else’s version oftrying to fill THEIR cup!! It is limited, temporary and has agenda’s attached.

Love that is expressed outside of the God Kind of Love isselfish at best and as Beth shares from Proverbs 19:22 …

”A Lie”.

God’s love is INTERNAL not EXTERNAL so none of those thingsthat we desire will ever replace it, nor ever FILL OUR CUPS once and forever.They will always leave us dry and cracked and dirty, at some point or another.

It is only when we experience God’s AGAPE love that theinside of our cup is cleansed and filled to the point of splashing over thesides and drawing others towards us.

Mark 12:29-31 defines it beautifully as love that rises upfrom the heart, embraces the soul, illuminates the mind THEN reflects in ouractions. Until we have it, we are incapable of giving it away.

You cannot give away what you do not have.

When we finally “get it”, when we come face-to-face,heart-to-heart, cup-to-cup with the true and living God, we never face anotherday, another encounter, another rejection, another heartbreak, another failureor loss, that He will not fill with His Agape Love.

amaryllis

amaryllis — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Sculpted

Sculpted — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Waiting for Our Blessing

Sculpted — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

My husband, Daniel, and I were married on April 14, 2007. Three months after our wedding we found out we were expecting a baby. At my twelve week appointment, the doctor could not find our little one's heart beat; I had lost our child. I was so angry for so long. I struggled daily with bitterness and jealousy, and I still miss that baby desperately. God used an old friend and Beth Moore's "Stepping Up" study to chisel away the hardness in my heart and bring me to my knees. I was changed! More than a year after losing our first child, we found out we were pregnant with our second child. Daniel and I both were incredibly happy. As scared as I was of losing another child, I was choosing to trust God to hold our baby in His hands. Sadly, the days God had ordained for our baby, were not what I had prayed for. Again, we lost our child at 12 weeks. My heart was different this time; I made the hard choice not to be angry, and to praise God amidst the worst heartache of my life.

It has been a year and 2 months since our second baby went to be with Jesus. We are still trying to conceive our third. We found out through testing that I am a carrier for a deadly genetic disease. The doctors said our odds of having healthy children are high, but not high enough to push out fear. Daniel and I have chosen to turn our fertility over to God, and will not be receiving any sort of treatments. If God has biological children for us, the Creator of the universe is perfectly able to overcome my health problems and give us a baby.

The wait is becoming grueling for us both. We bought a house last May, and the empty room intended to be the nursery feels like the vast emptiness in my heart. I feel like we're close to becoming parents; I have so much hope. The thought of another Mother's Day creates a painful lump in my throat. We've talked about adoption, but we are not in the position financially to even consider it. My prayer is that we bring home a child this year, or at least conceive a healthy baby. Watching all of my friends experience motherhood is bittersweet; I am so happy for them, and yet, I cannot stop thinking about all I've missed with my own children. Yet, for all the pain I've endured through this experience, I am thankful for the experience. I know I've been radically changed by this. So much so that our marriage has been saved. Also, when our baby finally does come, I can truly appreciate how precious his or her life will be.

Father,

Please, comfort mine and Daniel's hearts through this pain of waiting and grieving. Keep my thoughts pure and holy, and protect me from jealousy and envy. I ask that You miraculously heal my body, and make me whole and complete. Help me to always remember the place You pulled me out of, and how You transformed me. I want to always give You the glory for what you've done for Daniel and me. God, please, send our miracle soon.

Kimberly

If I Could See What You See

PrayerGates — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Download and enjoy the worship song for Chapter 5: Overcoming the Insecurity of Feeling Unloved, "If I Could See What You See," by Maribeth Johnson.

If I Could See What You See (FLV)

PrayerGates — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Flash version of "If I Could See What You See" video.

If I Could See What You See (Lyrics)

PrayerGates — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Download the lyrics sheet of the worship song for Chapter 5: Overcoming the Insecurity of Feeling Unloved, "If I Could See What You See," by Maribeth Johnson.

jodihart

jodihart — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Bonnie Whitnall

Bonnie Whitnall — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Barbara

Barbara — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

riverwomen007

riverwomen007 — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

araismimi

araismimi — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

joano

joano — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT