Category Archives: Prayer

Miss Octopus

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Little Emerald is a happy baby, smiling even when she’s exhausted or hungry, sometimes when we’re not even looking at her. And if she’s crying, the slightest encouragement brings a smile while she’s still in tears. She even smiles at her rattles and toys, though she saves her best grins for one toy in particular: Miss Octopus.

Miss Octopus

This aqua-colored stuffed animal was designed to hang from a baby’s play gym, but Emerald liked it so much we hung it from a kitchen cabinet instead. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t have several communication sessions with Miss Octopus, gazing up at her from a blanket on the counter.

I don’t think Emerald loves Miss Octopus with the same adoration she feels for Birgitta, but there’s definitely a strong attraction. When she gets a glimpse of her blue friend she gets instantly happy, no matter what her mood.

Emerald’s world is limited compared to the rest of us. She’s never been far from home and is happiest when keeping to a calm, slightly dull routine. Because of that, it doesn’t take much to get her excited.

That’s not true for the rest of us. We’ve been around the block a few times, so to speak, and it takes quite a bit more than the wide smile of a stuffed octopus to get us going. That’s especially true of our spiritual lives. We might find that our Bible reading and prayer times don’t enthuse us anymore, though we’re not sure of the reason.

Maybe it’s because we haven’t experienced God doing anything for us lately, so we’ve become indifferent toward him. And the reason behind that might be we’ve forgotten what he looks like, so have missed what he’s done for us.

Scripture tells us how to “see” him. We’re to watch for unusual circumstances that first appear to be merely coincidental. Do they have something to do with what we’ve prayed about? If so, could it be God’s movement we’re seeing?

We’ve also learned that when life starts falling apart, we’re supposed to watch for him. In the midst of everything going bad, he’s usually right around the corner. Another place we might see him is just after we’ve received shocking news of any kind. When we cry out in anguish, he responds from nearby, showing himself to be very close.

Delight over Miss Octopus

There are other ways we can see God too, such as in the natural world, but none of the above “sightings” will happen without one prerequisite: we have to look for him. And just like little Emerald looks for Miss Octopus when she’s put on the kitchen counter, we ought to strain to see our Lord. Then, when we do, it’ll be even more exciting than Emerald getting a glimpse of her much-loved octo-friend.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

Money Talk

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This afternoon when Nelson came in, we sat in the living room chatting while twilight gradually enveloped the neighborhood. As often happens, our talk gravitated to Scripture, and he mentioned an interesting prayer he’d read this morning from Proverbs 30: “Give me neither poverty nor riches.”

Money!

Question: Who in their right mind would pray against receiving riches?

It’s easy to nod in agreement when we hear the request against poverty. But riches too? Is that necessary?

We’ve all heard that money corrupts, and as much as we fantasize about having more of it, in our hearts we know it’s true. Nelson and I talked about several people we knew, both famous and not so much, who were ruined by riches. Of course most of us haven’t had the opportunity.

“Try us,” we say to God. “We could handle it.”

But once we had it, could we say with Scripture, “I don’t have to keep it”?

If we find ourselves loving money so much we can’t happily agree to surrender it, we’re opening ourselves to all kinds of trouble. The Bible says so. Money itself isn’t evil, just loving it is, The problem is, we know what wonderful things it could do for us. That’s why it’s so difficult to pray the wisdom of Proverbs: “Don’t give me riches.”

Nelson has long admired a Christian man named George Mueller (Muller) who was wild and wicked in his youth but then changed dramatically after committing his life to Christ at the age of 23. He took the Bible literally for the next 70 years and believed God meant it when he said nothing was impossible. Mueller became a preacher, missionary, educator, and the manager of multiple orphanages throughout the 1800’s.

George Mueller

He kept detailed records of every orphan and every penny given to support them and their schools, and those accountings can still be inspected today. He cared for over 10,000 children full time and educated more than 120,000 in his lifetime. Without asking anyone but God to meet their monetary needs, the Lord sent the equivalent of 9 million dollars through his hands.

And that’s the most interesting thing about this man who kept a healthy distance between himself and any love of money. His massive ministry needs were consistently met only by his asking God to pay the bills. And when too much came in, Mueller gave it away.

God isn’t any different today than he was in Mueller’s day, and each of us can rely on him for our provision. So why don’t we?

Nelson and I agreed that although we’re reluctant to pray Proverbs 8:30, Mueller had no problem with it and actually based his life on it: “Give me neither poverty nor riches.” And it worked out great for him.

“One man considers himself rich, yet has nothing [to keep permanently]; another man considers himself poor, yet has great [and indestructible] riches.” (Proverbs 13:7, Amplified)

The Relief of Restful Days

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This morning my Spurgeon reading included a note about Nate and his experience. The reading began with a familiar verse from Matthew:

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (11:28)

Spurgeon

I read Spurgeon’s commentary and then glanced at the notes in the margins, written in past years. A penned note said, “Nate [at the cottage] soul-searching, 1/14, 1/15, 1/16, 2005.”

I remember that weekend well. He was up to his nose in frustrations and had dropped to a low place emotionally. When he suggested he take a day or two away to think and pray, I heartily agreed and happily volunteered to handle the home front in his absence.

We both decided to fast throughout those 3 days, hoping God would somehow apply food sacrifices to our prayers about the weekend. My journal entries were a mass of requests about my husband and his struggles at that time, but there were also cries for good gifts to be given to him. For example, I prayed God would give him the rest he so badly needed.

When I’d opened Spurgeon’s reading on January 14, 2005, here’s what I’d found: “Jesus gives rest. It is so. Will you believe it? Will you put it to the test? Will you do so at once? Come to Jesus by…. trusting everything to him. If you thus come to him, the rest will be deep, safe, holy, and everlasting.”

Today when I re-read it (8 years later), it was the next sentence that impacted me most. Spurgeon wrote, “Jesus gives a rest which develops into heaven.” It’s an interesting framework for the Matthew promise, and Nate’s move into everlasting rest in 2009 was visible concurrence with that unusual statement.

When God delivered, he did it big-time. He said, “Come to me,” and Nate came. He said, “I’ll give you rest from your heavy-laden condition,” and Nate accepted.

On earth we can only observe backwards, but we can be sure beyond all doubt that in front of us lies relief and rest from every burden. Or, as Spurgeon put it, “Every heavy-laden one [will] cease from bowing down under the enormous pressure.”

Nate didn’t buckle during his remaining time on earth, and as he continued bearing the burdens he was handed (which included killer-cancer), he had no idea complete relief was fairly close at hand. Just a reminder to himself that this was true might have been a relief all by itself, which is something that should encourage the rest of us today still living in a world chock-full of burdens.

Nate kept his own journal on that weekend away, which included several prayers. In one of them he wrote, “Let me breathe the sweet, clean, pure air-of-life that You want for me.”

And not too much later, God did.

“You will fill me with joy in your presence.” (Psalm 16:11)