Chapter 3- Forgiven as We Forgive

Quote from the book, What Happens When Women (We) Pray, Evelyn:  page 32

So, unless we keep our relationships with other people clear, we cannot be effective intercessory pray-ers.  Now, let’s remember one more thing from chapter two:  God always hears the penitent sinner’s prayer confessing sin and seeking Christ as Savior.  God also hears the plea for forgiveness of sins by the one who is already a Christian.  But for us to refuse to forgive others is itself sin.  We can’t be right with God and effective intercessors if we harbor the sin of the unforgiving spirit—even though we may have confessed all other known sins.  This is a very difficult lesson for some to learn, but it is important.

One thing I have learned about myself is that I cannot live with bad relationships. 

I realized this first hand while living in the Philippines as a missionary.  When you live, work and have a social life with the same people it can be a breeding ground for sin.  I was constantly working on relationships in our Church House.   So many times I had to swallow my pride and say I am sorry when I did not feel like I was the only one who had done anything wrong.  There were times that I did not want to forgive someone for something they had done to our family, but we knew God wanted us to have a forgiving heart.  The blessings would always follow.

I have someone in my life, right now, who is upset with me because I chosen to obey God over listening to them about a situation.  I have forgiven them in my heart and I am at complete peace.  In fact, today I decided to send them a “thinking of you card”.

When God teaches us about the way we should live, he also gives us what we need to be obedient to him.

Chapter 4-Praying in One Accord

CHANGES

When people start praying together in one accord to our Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus, and practice praying together, things begin to change.  Our lives change, our families change, our churches change, our communities change,  Changes take place not when we study about prayer, not when we talk about it, not even when we memorize beautiful Scripture verses on prayer; it is when we actually pray that things begin to happen. 

I have spent my whole life praying for my family.  I have seen answers to prayers that they do not even know I prayed.  I know and have seen what the power of prayer can do.

I remember what happened after my mother died and went to heaven to be with Jesus.  I felt that something was missing in my life.  I knew my mother prayed for me every day and the lack of her prayers was very evident after she was gone. 

I wonder, what will happen to my family when I am gone.

What would happen in a family, in our communities, in our world if we all prayed together for the challenges we face in everyday life.  Just imagine it! 

I have a dream that one day everyone in my family will pray daily for each other.  Imagine what could happen!

 

What Happens When Women (We) Pray

Throughout my life, I have experienced the power of prayer in so many ways. 

There is power in prayer, but the hard part is finding the time to pray.  As I have shared with you before, this has been a very hard year for me, filled with many challenges and growing times.  During some of those times, prayer was the only thing I could do.  T he circumstances were out of my control.  All I could do is pray, but there were days I was so broken that I could not pray. 

In many ways, reading Evelyn’s books have kept me trusting and believing that God was still there working everything together for my good.  Through the ups and downs of this year, I feel like I am ready to turn the corner.  I want to pray, pray, and pray.  To be more specific, I want to pray, pray, pray, for myself and my relationship with God and my family.    

Dear God,

Thank you for this challenging year.  You have taught me so many things.  One this day, October 22, 2013, I give my life and my family to you.  I want prayer to be the number one focus in my life.  As we begin a new book by Evelyn called, What Happens When Women (WE) Pray, I want to use the power of prayer in ways I have never experienced before.  Teach me all that I need to learn, and unleash the power of prayer in my life.  Thank you for what you are going to do. 

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Our New Book:  What Happens When Women (We) Pray by Evelyn Christenson.

Quote from page 17

Prayers, Not Plans or Programs

We learned that things could happen when we didn’t plan at all, but just prayed.

Quote from page 18

Pray First, Plan Afterwards

Even if you are plugged into God’s will and know we’re going in the right direction, we may be going at a snail’s pace.  God says, “Look, you see only a tenth of what I have for you.  There are nine-tenths that you’re not seeing that you don’t know anything about.”

Good wants us to make ourselves available to Him and to say before we start to plan, “Lord, tell me what You want me to do, where You want me to go, how You want me to do it.”  Then our omnipotent God, with all the abundance of heaven at His disposal, will pour out His power upon us.  Instead of following our tiny, tiny, plans, God wants to open heaven and flood us.  It’s exciting.

This sounds so refreshing to me.  I need to pray and not plan, but let God lead me.  Oh, how enlightening this is for me today.  I feel released from me doing it, and at peace giving God the controls in my life.  I am here to do whatever he wants.  I don’t want to plan my life, I want him to.

Set FREE from planning.  Released to let go and let God work his plans for me. 

Quote from page 19

In six months we had learned that “the effectual, fervent prayer” of a righteous person avails much—not plans or programs, but effectual, fervent prayer.

Yes, PRAYER is powerful, but what will happen if I don’t use it. 

Quote from page 28-30

A Prerequisite to Answered Prayer

Do you wonder why your prayers aren’t answered?  We’re going to learn many reasons why they are not, in the chapters that follow, but here is the first one:  sin (or sins) in your life.  It is “the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous person that availeth much.”  If your prayers aren’t availing much, this many be the reason. 

Your problem may not be sins, but sin.  And this is a very important point.  When our Lord was talking to His disciples just before His crucifixion, He told them that He was going to send the Comforter, the Holy spirit, who would convict the world –those who were not Christ’s followers—“of sin, because they believe not on me.”  (John 16:9)  This is the sin that will keep God from hearing intercessory prayer—the sin of not believing in “Christ as your person Savior.  If this is your sin, the only prayer from you that God promises to hear is one of repentance and faith as your invite Christ into your life.

Dear Father,

Bring to my mind that sin or sins keeping You from hearing my intercessory prayers.       I confess whatever You have brought to my mind as sin.

Thank you, Lord, for cleansing me as You promised in 1 John 1:9 and qualifying me for effectual, intercessory prayer.

1 John 1:8-9

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins a

nd purify us from all unrighteousness.

 

 

Chapter 12 Losing My Right to be Free from Suffering

This has been a perfect book to read during a challenging time in my life.  You know, life is filled with hard times no matter who we are.  Do we like going through these times in our lives?  No, at least not at first. 

This past year and reading this book has opened my eyes to a lot of things that I take for granted.  The first one that comes to my mind is that God has blessed me with the most wonderful husband in the world.  He is always there for me and supports me in whatever I feel led to do.  My niece is staying with us for awhile.  I asked her if she wanted to get married someday and her response touched my heart.  “Yes, if I could have a marriage like you and Dave.  You guys are so sweet to each other.”  I guess the happiness I enjoy with my husband shows.  So I can happily say today.

Dear God, thank you for my wonderful husband, Dave.

Then when I think of my children I am blessed.  Life is not perfect in our household, but we are supportive of each other.  This has been a very difficult year for us losing our right to have a completely healthy family.  I have been forced to accept that one of our children might be experiencing mental health issues.  It’s all been very hard, but we are in this together.  We recently had a family phone call to talk about the issues facing our family.  Every one of our children are very busy in their professions, but they stopped, took the time to talk together how we can help our son.  After the phone call ended I felt so blessed.  I did not feel alone in what we were going through.  Praise God.  We can gain in our lives, while losing. 

Dear God, Thank you for our four sons and three daughters in law. 

As I travel around speaking and sharing the gospel with women, I have seen so many women with REAL heath issues.  Many of these women experience pain all the time.  I can run, I can bike, and I can swim and do just about anything I want without pain.  Yes, I could be taking my health for granted, but not anymore.

Dear God, Thank you for good health.

What about life?  In the midst of the pain and suffering in my life, can I find something good to be thankful for, something to praise God for? 

As I finish the book Gaining Through Losing, I am encouraged as I go through the trial that I am.  

Quote from the book Gaining Through Losing. Evelyn:  page 172

The more I lose my right to have suffering removed, the more I gain the ultimate privilege possible for any human being: not only being like Christ—but actually sharing His suffering

Page 178

It’s the word commit in 1 Peter 4:19. 

So then those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

When we suffer the same word Christ used on the cross when He was suffering while absolutely innocent.  Jesus, our example who all through His life entrusted Himself to His Father’s will.  Even at the time of His supreme suffering, the crucifixion, He committed His soul to the Father.

Page 179

And, because I too have LOST my right to be free from suffering, I have GAINED the greatest of all gains:  I will reign with Jesus.

Are you gaining through your losses—with God?

Honestly, I have learned from this book first hand, this year.  Even though I am not at the end of losing, I have the hope that “something to gain will happen through my story.”

Thank you dear Evelyn, for all you have taught me through this book.  I remember now, the first time I read this I had to stop in the middle somewhere because I did not want to deal with losing in my life.  Losing is not easy, and how well you know this, but through it all God’s reasons will one day shine through.  I do not know what is going to happen through my Losing Year, but I do know that I am a different person because of this year.

Dear God,

Thank you for opening my eyes to the fact that even though it has been a losing year in some ways in my life, I need to look beyond and realize the good that is still there waiting for me.  Thank you for opening my eyes. 

Chapter 11: Losing My Right to Be an Unfit Christian

Quote from the book Gaining Through Losing. Evelyn:  page 153

God’s Exercise Program

Before the foundation of the world, God knew we would need spiritual as well as physical exercise.  So He placed in the Bible His spiritual exercise program.  Surprisingly, I have discovered that, as does physical exercise, it produces the same exhilarating lifestyle, pleasant mental state, an antidote to depression, the ability to respond to stress and pain, and adds life to one’s years!

But what about spiritual exercise?  Don’t be surprised if you don’t know.   In the Book of Hebrews we are told that we have all forgotten God’s method of exercising His children, as set forth in Proverbs 3:11-12, so the writer reminds us:

“My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord…for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth… afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are EXERCISED thereby” (Hebrews 12:5-11 Caps are mine)

Exercised by what?  By an often misunderstood biblical word—chastisement.     

Accepting this teaching is often difficult because of our negative concept of the chastisement—assuming it to mean “punishment.”  This causes us to think that all the hard things which come to us are God’s form of retribution for our wrongdoing.  But the accurate definition of that word is “discipline, training.”  How different!  The purpose is just the opposite – not punishing, but perfecting.  God assuring us that the things which come into our lives and the things which He sends will be used by Him to exercise us—to make us fit for the tasks and trails of life.

Chastisement is not a word that makes me feel encouraged in my Christian walk, but “discipline, training” makes me feel a lot better.

Is it ever easy to experience pain and suffering in our lives?  No, it is very hard.

Hindsight can be 20/20 vision.  Looking back on this past year I can see how the challenging times I have been through have “grown me”.  It has been a process. 

In the beginning, I felt wounded and somewhat angry for the suffering that was occurring in my life.  It was honestly hard to keep believing that what I was going through was for my good.  I actually felt mad at God.  I did not like those feelings, but they were there.  I felt like a spoiled child.  I could not pull together the strength to cope, so as a result I shed many tears.

I knew God was always there and as I read my Bible, he would encourage me with verses like Isaiah 41:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Colossians 4:2, Isaiah 57:10 and on and on.

Nothing changed UNTIL I finally gave it all to God. It was my turning point and I knew it.  After surrendering my pain to God, I truly began to experience  “peace in the storm”.  Slowly my “discipline, training” was developing in my life.

Even though the life challenge is still there, I am different, changed, and experiencing God’s strength.  I have peace like a river in my life.

Thank you Jesus!