Prayer: This Season's Theme

As I look back over my walk with Christ, it seems that there are certain themes that go with each season of life. I remember the first season was surrender...wow...that seems to be an ongoing thing! LOL. Then came grace and forgiveness. Accepting the Lord as my heavenly Father. Obedience. Legalism/Performance vs. Relationship and now Prayer!

Does not seem to matter what is going on in my life, it all comes back to prayer. Prayer for praising Him. Prayer for begging His strength. Prayer for wisdom. Prayer for others. Prayer for closeness and intimacy. Prayer for battle. Prayer for joy. Prayer for everything!!

It warms my heart to be able to look back over my journal entries over the years and see the way the Lord has shaped my prayers. Once single-focused - on myself and whatever the chaos of the day, now diverse - with praise and petitions and tender conversations with my Beloved. Prayer has taken me on a journey with Jesus I could never have forseen.

So I wanted to share something I read this morning. Matthew 6:5-8

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

I hate to cut this passage short, so perhaps I'll have to do a part 2 blog for the rest of it. But let's look at this passage and I'll share with you a few treasures I have found.

1) And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

So when we pray, it's meant to be an intimate communication between us and the Lord. There is nothing of benefit to us, except perhaps the praise of onlookers, when we pray in public just for the sake of hearing ourselves speak. Notice it specifically addresses our motives. If all we want is to appear holy or righteous or somehow more "spiritual" because of our prayers, then that's all we get - appearance. Nothing beyond the superficial.

2) But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then you Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Yet, the Lord does not just tell us what not to do, He gives us the way we should go! Here the Lord shows us the intimacy he intended for prayer...the benefits of remembering the relationship of true disciples over the religion of rote pharisses. Notice, it mentions that our Father is unseen. An obvious thing, but mentioned, I think because we need a reminder of the faith required for true communication with the Lord. It is by faith that we can talk to and hear from our Heavenly Father who is unseen! And what a blessing it is to do so!!

3) And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

I do not know about you, but I have had the inclination at times to keep on and keep on thinking that if I say it enough, the Lord will grant whatever I'm asking for. But the thing this scripture teaches me about His character is that 1) He is not impressed by mere words and 2) He already knows what we need and as a perfect Father already knows what He will and won't give us because His will for us is as perfectas he is!

Application? We pray in an attitude of intimate reverence. We keep it simple. And there is great reward in the relationship we develop with the Lord. This is what I've experienced in my walk with Christ and I LOVE IT!!

I hope there is some treasure in these verses you have found and that you'll be encouraged in your own prayer life with Jesus. He does answer prayers and He loves to be intimate with us! Won't you go to your quiet place and have a conversation with Him today? I pray you do!!

Blessings to each of you! ~Shannon

An Amazing Weekend

As some of you may know, my husband is a professional wrestler. It's not his main job and he isn't contracted with WWE, but he still does it and has for over 10 years. Recently, a great guy Shea has had the privilege of working with in the past - a great friend and brother in Christ - asked Shea to participate in some shows he had lined up with a new organization. This new organization is Christian Pro-Wrestling! It is an awesome organization and something akin to Shea's wildest wrestling dreams come true! So we agreed to go on this trip (two weeks after getting married LOL) and it was an incredible trip!

We drove from DFW to the Lufkin area Friday afternoon. The first show was Friday night at a little church in Zavalla! It was amazing to see the hearts of the pastor and his wife! Shea hadn't been in the ring for a while, so I was pretty nervous for him. I had hoped he would have more time in the gym before he went, but that was not the case. So I prayed hard he would not get injured. The matches were great!! The guys did a phenomenal job and the crowd was amazing! But it wasn't just about wrestling! After Shea's match, he was able to share his testimony and be transparent with people a bit. Then after the main event, our friend Mark Von Eric gave his testimony, shared the gospel and invited them to receive Christ.

Just watching the children alone was enough to move you to tears! Watching people waiver and wonder if they really should go forward...then, the decision made, they move. I believe it was somewhere around 30 decisions and many more rededications were made that night. I was able to connect - even if it was briefly - with some amazing people who loved the Lord! Then came Saturday's show which was even bigger!

We moved back up to Lufkin for Saturday. It started off with some fellowship with Brother's Keeper Church - WAY AWESOME PEOPLE!! Then on to the high school to set up and get ready! They were expecting roughly 1000 people. I do not know how many came, but by my calculations there were probably four or five hundred at least, I would think. (Just please don't hold me to the numbers). The crowd was excited and buzzing! The talent for Saturday night surpassed the great talent they already had from Friday night by adding some more great guys!! And the testimonies were incredible! I was especially proud of my husband and what he said to the men that night! From start to finish it was awesome! But let me tell you about the finish.

There is nothing that blesses me more than being used of God!! I love to leave a bit of Jesus with as many people as I can throughout my day. And Saturday was awesome for that! I was able to encourage believers. I was able to witness to the lost. I may not have been wrestling in the ring, but even behind the scenes God was moving! He was moving everywhere!!! For me, the icing on the cake was sharing with a 7 year old boy who accepted the invitation to receive Christ and walking him through that prayer of salvation! NOTHING - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING more precious to me than to see a person raised from death unto eternal life!! At 7 years old, I am praing for radical change in him and his family!!

I do not know how many decisions were made Saturday night, but I think there was a bigger crowd that came forward than the crowd from Friday...each child, woman or man a new creation in Jesus Christ! A new brother or sister just beginning their journey with our Precious Lord! Another soul won from the pit of hell! One more sinner turned saint to rejoice with in heaven when we get there!! WOW!!!!!

I LOVE IT!!

I am so excited to see what else God has for Shea and I as we keep moving on this journey! I hope that this encourages you to look around and see who it is YOU can share Jesus with today! Is there a believer you can encourage? Is there a lost person you can reach out to? How can you be salt and light to the dying world around you?

I love what it say in Philippians 1:20-21 "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exhalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Be blessed, be of good courage and be on fire for Christ!!

30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge for Wives

I've been married for a whole 8 days! According to our friends at church today, we're still suffering the "wedding glow" and what better time to instill some great habits than right at the beginning stages of this marriage thing!

Recently on Revive Our Hearts Ministry with Nancy Leigh DeMoss (www.reviveourhearts.com), I've been encouraged through Gods word to step up as a woman and be more of what God has called me to be as a helpmate to my husband. (by the way, even saying "my husband" is still a bit weird to me.) lol Being that I know what a sharp tongue I have and how easily and almost unconsciously I can slice through my husband's heart with mere words, the 30 day husband encouragement challenge is daunting!

The bible says we hold the power of life and death in our tongues. I agree. The life of your marriage, ladies, very well could be suffering slow death from the jabs your own tongue have made lately. So I am hoping that you'll take this challenge with me!

What's the challenge? For the next 30 days:

*You can't say anything negative about your husband ...to your husband...or to anyone else, about your husband.
* Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband...to your husband...and to someone else, about your husband! (Daily)

Tough challenge, huh? For 30 whole days you and I will have to keep our criticism to ourselves and let the praise reign and rain! But why? Why would we do something like this? I mean, come on, guys need to have their big egos deflated, right? They need to know what is on our minds, right? What about "constructive" criticism?

Those thoughts and many others flooded my mind when I thought about this challenge, but let me remind you of the truths I was given:

"The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life." Prov. 31:11-12 It is NOT, I repeat NOT, our place to humble anyone, especially not our husbands, ladies. And contrary to popular belief, our husbands alleged "ego" is next to non-existent, despite its appearance as "over-inflated", so retrain your minds wives - you DO NOT need to deflate anything! You are called to build him up and do him good ALL the days of your lives!

"It is better to live in a corner of a roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman." Proverbs 21:9 Not everything on your mind, especially if you have a particularly negative point of view, needs to be voiced. Personally, if I have a lot of negative things I'm thinking about, I need to be reminded of Philippians 4:8-9 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." Because you see, if I am thinking about whatever is true and honorable and right and excellent, I have little time to be thinking negative things. And when I think less negative things, I SAY less negative things and am therefore less likely to be that contentious, quarrelsome wife that is noted in this proverb. What are YOU thinking on and what kind of things do YOU say throughout the day?

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21 We reap what we sow ladies. If you speak death into your marriage, you will reap death. But if you speak life, you will reap life! It's God's law! Learn it, live it, love it!

"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" Galatians 5:13 How do you serve your husband? How do you appreciate the ways in which he tries to serve you and your family?

"In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." 1 Peter 3:1-4

Ladies, it isn't the outward stuff that makes us good wives. It is the heart of who we are and who we allow God to mold us into that determines the beauty of us as women, wives and mothers. That heart quality is something eternal...doesn't fade with age or time, but in fact, can be heightened with age and time.

To live as God would have us live...to honor His presence in our lives and His Lordship of our hearts, then I ask you how this challenge can do anything but bless you, bless your husband, bless your children if you have them, and bless your Savior Jesus? I challenge you to not shy away because of fear that you "can't do it" because we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. I challenge you not to shy away because you think your husband might not appreciate it because it is not the praise of men we are after, but the praise of the Lord. Our deeds ought to shine the light of Christ before our husbands and families that they may see His work in us and praise the God whom we serve!

So what do you say ladies? Will you take the challenge and begin to lay down a foundation of encouragement in your marriage? It doesn't matter if you've been married 8 days, 8 years or are approaching your golden anniversary! It is NEVER too late to be transformed by the renewing of your mind!

God bless you and your husbands and may your hearts be transformed!