Tag: spiritual

A Prayer for SIL, Day 12

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Lord, I lift up SIL this morning. Fill her with Your love. Open her eyes to the truth in and around her, to the truth found in You. Give her the grace to see and hear, heal her heart, convict her of sin, and free her from her chains. Shield her from the enemy so that she has the time and space she needs to respond to you. Protect her until she learns to use the shield of faith herself.

He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. Psalm 91:4

Jesus, I pray that SIL will allow You to cover her with Your pinions and that she will find refuge under Your wings. May she find that Your faithfulness is a shield and buckler to her.

In the Safety of Your Name,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 11

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Lord, I lift up SIL tonight as she sleeps. Heal her heart. Give her wisdom and insight into what she’s doing and what to do about it. Give her the courage and the strength to see what You show her, and to make the changes she needs to make. Call her and set her into a ministry. Surround her with godly women for companionship and for modeling and mentoring. Set her heart on fire with love for You. Renew her first love for You.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a rightspirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:10-12

Create in SIL a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within her. Let her not feel as if You have cast her away from Your presence for I know You have not done so. Fill her with Your Holy Spirit. Restore to her the joy of Your salvation, and uphold her with a willing spirit.

In Your Cleansing Name,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 10

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Lord, I pray your mercy and grace on SIL. Open her eyes and help her to release everything to You. Do the things necessary to bring her to maturity. Make her the woman You made her to be.

…So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15

Lord, I pray that SIL will no longer be a child tossed to and fro by waves of impulses and carried about by the winds of self-centeredness, human as well as self-deception, and deflection. Rather, speaking the truth in love, may she grow up in every way into You, who is the head. May she allow You to control her as a head controls its body.

In Your Mighty Name,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 9

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Jesus, I’m lifting SIL up to You like a child lifts up a broken toy for their father. Fix her, please, from whatever is binding her, whatever is holding her back, whatever is confusing her, blinding her, or lying to her. I pray that she can hear You clearly, see You clearly, know You presence so strongly that she becomes consumed with You and that she puts herself in position to be ministered to by You. Surround her with godly women who will model maturity, and who will pray for and with her.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

Jesus, Your Word says that You heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds. I ask this for SIL. Heal her heart from what broke it years ago, and bind the wounds that she still has and that are keeping her from enjoying the life You’ve given her.

In Your Tender Name,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 6

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Jesus, Master Healer, Binder of the Brokenhearted, I pray you reveal Yourself to SIL. Your word says You heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

I pray you do so now for SIL. I pray that You heal her heart and free her from her past. Unbind her need to think only happy thoughts. Remove her fear of negative emotions. Free her to be who You created her to be. Make her into the woman You call her to be. Manifest Your love within her. Remove the guilt she lives with. Strengthen her to stop doing the things that add to that guilt. Open her eyes to see herself as you see her so she can find strength in your arms as she lets go of all she needs to.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19

Proclaim good news to SIL. Proclaim liberty to her for she is being held captive by things unseen. Restore her sight and set her free from the things that are oppressing her. Let this be the year of Your favor on her.

In Your Liberating Name,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 5

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Lord, I lift up SIL to You again. Heal her heart, mind, and body of all that is wrong. Heal the scars and heal the raw areas. Bring her body into good health. Bring her mind into good health so her thinking lines up with Yours. Bring her heart into good health so she can love You and receive Your love, that her love for You will increase every day. Give her the strength to stop doing the things that displease You and to start doing the things that You call her to do, Give her discernment and the ability to hear You. You said Your sheep know Your voice. I pray that You open her ears so she can hear You, so she can follow You and only You. Give her the ability to differentiate between Your voice, her voice, and the voice of the enemy.

The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:3a-5

Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd – her Shepherd. May she hear Your voice as You call her name to lead her out of the place she is in. May she follow You as You go before her. May she flee from voices that are not Yours. May she desire to follow You above all else.

In Your Good Hands,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 4

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Jesus, I lift SIL up to You. Open her eyes and ears to see and hear You. Speak to her, Lord, of your love and mercy as You reveal her heart to her and call her to repent. I ask that you work in her to mature her, that You heal whatever is in her, whatever pain or scars or walls that keep her a perpetual child. Heal her mind, Lord, so she can live out her life fully and with satisfaction. Lord, strengthen her to look at her deep, hidden feelings and not run from them.

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:1

Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 1 Corinthians 14:20

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:7

Lord, please grow SIL until You can address her as a spiritual woman and not as a woman of the flesh. I pray that she will want to be a child only in evil but mature in her thinking. I pray that she will crave pure spiritual milk so intensely that all distraction fall away as she fills herself with Your Word. Lord, Jesus, only You can make things grow. I pray that SIL will allow You to do so with her.

In Your Healing Name,

Amen.

Throw Out the Bath Water – But not the Baby

On By LindaIn My Thoughts, UncategorizedLeave a comment

With all the stuff coming out lately – the Epstein files, false prophets, immoral pastors – it seems that the people who have been speaking out against rich white males have a point. Rich and powerful men have been doing all kinds of bad things for many years. And most of these have been white.

Yet there are millions of adult white men who are nothing like these. Millions of adult white men are living decent lives. They work hard to support their families, give of themselves to their community, and share their resources with those in need. Judging all white men because of those who are doing wrong is like throwing the baby out along with the dirty bath water. Besides, there are plenty of non-white men doing evil – and it’s not limited to just men. Women can be just as evil.

We need to get rid of the evil but let’s not do so at the cost of the baby. Let’s clean up our lives so our light, which comes from Jesus, will shine in dark places and we can rightly call out the evil happening around us.

Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. John 7:24

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. Ephesians 5:11

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, Ephesians 5:13

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

A Prayer for SIL, Day 2

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Jesus, be with SIL as she sleeps. Give her a sense of Your presence. Counsel her. Show her what she needs to win the battle she is in. Clarify her vision and open her ears. Protect her from the enemy. Free her from her past. Show her her need for help, her need for other people, her need to look at herself, and her need of Your strength. Pour your grace over and through her. Heal her heart and her mind. Grow her faith so that she can mature in You. Make her to be the woman You call her to be.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.   Psalm 16:7

May she hear you as You speak to her in the night. Fill her heart with knowledge of who You are, what she needs to do, and what she needs to let go of. When she awakes, I pray she feels Your presence and will use the strength that comes from You to do the things You placed in her heart.

In Your Most Precious Name,

Amen.

Prayer for a Struggling Loved One – Day One

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Most Christians have no trouble praying for the needs of someone who is struggling. Words seem to flow from them no matter how often they pray.

Not so with me. I tend to pray very short prayers, and once prayed, don’t see the need to repeat them. God heard me. God will handle the situation. What else is there to say?

But recently I have found a situation that requires daily prayer. Several people I know are in intense battles for their minds, souls, finances, relationships, and health. A one-time prayer doesn’t seem to fit anymore.  And yet, I am unable to repeat myself every day without it becoming rote and passionless.  

I wonder how many Christians can identify with me.

For those who have no problem praying verbally, this series of blogs is not intended for you, although you may certainly read and pray them, too. This set of blogs is for those who struggle to find the words. As I work to put into words the yearning of my heart for my loved ones, I hope posting them will empower others to pray for their own struggling loved ones easier and more faithfully. May the Lord use our prayers to free His people from the battles that bind them.

(I will refer to the person I’m praying for as SIL – Someone I Love – in these posts. But when I pray, I use their real names. It would be good if you did the same.)

Day One

Lord, I lift up SIL to You. Please calm the storm around her so she can see. So she can hear Your words to her. Help her to fight. Strengthen her and show her who the enemy is. Whatever is in her, whatever pain or confusion or pride that is controlling her thoughts and reactions – and her silence and passive aggressiveness – I pray You break through and free her as You freed me. Not because I want it, though I do. Not because she needs it, though she does. But because You love her and died to set her free. Protect her from all forces trying to destroy her. Protect her from demonic thoughts as she fights her own flesh. Fill her with your Spirit. Let Your light illuminate the issues she’s struggling with. And let Your strength bolster her enough to have victory in this battle.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  2 Corinthians 4:6

Scripture paraphrased:

May You, O God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” shine in the SIL’s heart to give her the light of the knowledge of Your glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

For it is in Jesus we find freedom.

Amen.