Chapters 8-9 Where W Pray, To Whom We Pray

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

by Evelyn Christenson

 

Where we Pray

Page 79-80

 

Private Prayer—Public Praying

Do you have a secret place for private prayer, a certain corner, a particular chair, or a room set apart where you can spend time alone with God?  A “closet” where you daily shut the door to pray to your Father in secret?  The group concept of prayer is important, and we do need to pray with one another, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (see Hebrews 10:25).  But the drawing apart to pray in secret is perhaps the most vital type of prayer in which we engage.  It is also an indicator of the kind of prayer group participant we really are, for it is our private praying that determines the quality and validity of our public praying.

Other Closets

I can hear you saying, “I can’t spend great periods of my time in a closet.”  No, neither can I, but I have found another kind of closet praying.  It’s just drawing apart to God wherever I am—at the kitchen sink, at a desk, or even in a room filled with people.

Even a plane seat can be a prayer closet.

I remember when I first had the desire to spend time alone with God.  I was a young mother with small children.  It was challenging trying to find that alone time to read my Bible and pray, but like anything good, it began slowly.  I made a commitment to begin with 5 minutes a day.  That time quickly grew because when I made time for God, I felt so much better.  I longed to spend time with him. 

Then I soon realized that I was creating my own quiet place to get alone with God.  I called it My LISTENING Room.  Where ever I lived I would design a small area in my home, (even a walk in closet, see picture to the right) with the things that motivated me to spend time with God.  Doing this gave me great motivation to STOP and speak and listen to God.

When we Pray

Page 86

Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.  Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God:  for unto thee will I pray.  My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up” (Psalms 5:1-3)

It doesn’t say that hours of prayer time are necessary, but at least we must say “Good morning” to the Lord and give Him our day.  So whether you are a lark or an owl, God’s Word says early in the morning, before the tyranny of the urgent, before breakfast, before the school buses, before anyone says a word to you, “Early in the morning, Lord, I will look up, and pray unto you.”

I learned to be an early riser while living in the Philippines as a missionary. 

While living in the States, my time with God was regularly in the morning and I loved it, but living in the Philippines created a new time.  

 

There were people at our door very early in the morning.  Our days were so full and my time with God began to fade. I did not like how I changed when my time with God disappeared, so I prayed about it.  I asked God to show me a time that I could spend with him.  I never believed that he would answer my prayer in such a clear way.

One morning I woke up at 4:00.  I looked at the clock and then thought, “No, not now God”, but I could not go back to sleep, so I finally got up and had a wonderful time reading my Bible and praying.  I began to wake up every morning at the same time and honestly, I had more energy than when I would sleep in.

Finding time with God is challenging, so make it a time that works best for you.

To Whom We Pray

Page 96

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.  James 4:7-8

An often overlooked but very important part of prayer is the drawing nigh to God.  Before we are ready to start our intercessory prayers, we need to wait before God until we know we have established communication with Him.  This is a time of silence when we are shutting out every other thought and distraction around us.  This is not talking to God, just a complete mental drawing to Him, and then, as He has promised, He will draw nigh to us.

Wow, the words of this chapter hit me. Oh, my gosh!  I am so anxious to begin my prayers with praising him that I have not been waiting before God until I know we have communication.  This is really important.  How could I have neglected this?

I am going to take this week and begin waiting on God and see what happens.  Will I know that communication is open?  You can try it yourself, but I will share my experiences next week.

Also next week, we will finish the last two chapters of this wonderful book.  They are........ The Horizontal Dimension of Prayer—Results and Telephone Prayer Chains. 

This has been a wonderful year of remembering my dear Sister in Christ, Evelyn.  I have thought about the times we talked together.  Honestly, she is in heaven now, but she has taught me so much this year.  I wanted to finish all of her books this year, but think I still have three left.  I want to finish them all.  I hope you will continue this Incredible Journey with Evelyn in 2014. 

The three books left:

             November-December         What Happens When God Answers

             January - February                Battling the Prince of Darkness

             February – March                  Praying God’s Way

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7: God Never Makes a Mistake

Quote from the book What Happens When Women (We) Pray:  Evelyn Christenson

 page 65

In order to pray effectively in God’s will, you may need a new view of God—as One who never makes mistakes.

 Page 66

One of the advantages of growing older is that we can look back and see that God has not made a single mistake in our lives. 

Page 71

Did God make a mistake? No.  Not at all.  Romans 8:28 has been our family’s life verse ever since.  We know that ALL things, absolutely everything, work together for our God.

Do you REALLY believe what you are going through right now is not a mistake? 

Do you REALLY believe that God is working it all for your good?

2013 has been a very hard year for me.  I know in my heart that everything will work out for my good, but the waiting part of it is so hard. 

What should I do as I wait?  Believe!  I need to give my burdens to God and leave them there and believe that he is still in control.

Page 76

We may reach the place suddenly, or it may take us years to realize that God isn’t making a mistake in our lives. 

God does not make mistakes.  Believing this fills me with a great peace knowing that my life is in God’s hands and no matter what happens, he is still in control.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to purpose.

Dear God,

Thank you that you do not make mistakes.  I am blessed that I can trust you in everything in my life.  I give my life to you.  Thank you that you know what is best for me and that all things work together for good.  In Jesus name amen.

 

Chapter 6: How to Pray In God’s Will

Quote from the book What Happens When Women (We) Pray:            
Evelyn Christenson,  page 56

Have you come to the place where you can pray, “Only God’s will”?  Do you know that you are in absolute oneness with the will of God?  Have you come to that place?

For many years I ran from God’s call in my life because I did not feel qualified to do what he was asking me to do.  I had my plans and they sounded so good to me.  I worked hard trying to achieve them, but there always seemed to be something missing.  Yes, PEACE was missing in my life.

God is so loving.  He has waited patiently for me to give up my desires and surrender to his plans. I believe Evelyn’s book has once again brought me to the place God wants me to be.   TOTALLY SURRENDERED TO HIS PLAN FOR MY LIFE.

Quote from the book What Happens When Women (We) Pray:             

Evelyn Christenson,  page 64

O God, I want only Your will in my life.  Open the doors You have for me, and give me the courage and faith to go through them.

This is truly the prayer in my life.  The work that he has called me to write is almost completely finished.  What next?  Where does he want me to go?

Quote from the book What Happens When Women (We) Pray:             Evelyn Christenson,  page 60

What happens to me when I am on my face before God and say, “Okay Lord, I don’t know what You want.  That’s a big mountain, that’s difficult surgery, there are hard things in my life, but Lord, no matter what it is, I want Your perfect will”?  At that point does God become an ogre and take advantage of my commitment?  No, at that point He starts to open doors, and fantastic things begin to happen—even prayer seminars—when I just make myself available to Him.

PAGE 62

Has God put before you an open door?  Are you hesitating, perhaps rebelling, or holding back because of fear, when God is challenging, “Look, here’s an open door, wouldn’t you like to walk through it for Me?

Page 63

Sometimes I need a little pushing to go through doors God is opening.  Do you?

Closing, page 64

Don’t say, “I want it my way, Lord,” but, “Lord Your way.  Whatever You have for me, I’m yours.  You just take me, open any door, lead me in any direction.”  You will be astounded at what God will do.  You will be panting, trying to keep up with the opportunities.  Phone calls will come from people you didn’t even know existed.  Who inspired that person to call and ask you to go here or three to minister?  Nobody—but God.

I pray with all of my heart that as I totally surrender everything that I am doing to God, that I will be astounded by what he allows to happen. 

So today, I say before all of you who are reading this:

This is the complete desire in my heart.

O God, I want only Your will in my life.  Open the doors You have for me, and give me the courage and faith to go through them.

Stay tuned and I will share with you what God does.  I can’t wait for the door that God wants me to go through opens.  Please pray with me.

 

Chapter 5: What Happens When Women (We) Pray by Evelyn Christenson

The Method-Six S’s

When I think about prayer it takes me back many years ago.  I remember as a young mom not knowing very much about prayer.  They would tell me at church that I was supposed to do it, but I really did not practice it until I came to a point in my life where I needed God’s help.

Looking back, it all began one cold snowy winter evening.  My husband Dave had gone sledding with a group of Awana kids at church.  He was a leader at that time.  I was home with our two small children.  The hours passed…

Then the phone rang.  With an uneasy feeling in my heart, I picked it up.  I was given the news that my husband had been hurt in a sledding accident.  They had taken him to the hospital. 

OK, I have two small children in bed and my husband is in the hospital.  Fear overshadowed every thought in my mind.  I can not even tell you how I did it, but I bundled up my kids, took them to my sisters and raced up to the hospital.

When I got there I found out my husband was bleeding internally.  Oh my gosh! What should I do?  I somehow managed to act strong, but inside I was filled with fear.  After many hours of waiting, I needed to go home and get some rest.

When I opened the door to my home, I kneeled right down on the floor and began praying like I have never prayed before.  I needed God’s help and he came through.  Dave was in the hospital for a week.  It was one of the hardest times in my life, but many good things came out of this trying event.

One was, I made a commitment to God that night that I would begin reading my Bible and praying for at least 5 minutes a day.  I also prayed that I did not understand the Bible, but asked that God would help me.

When I first began to pray, I felt nervous praying in front of other people, but little by little I kept doing it.  When you see the answers to prayer, you begin to lose that fear of praying with others.  When I pray with others I feel God’s amazing power filling me courage and strength to believe with God all things are possible.

This was many years ago.  I did follow through with my 5 minutes a day.  When I followed through, God blessed me with a desire to read my Bible and pray.  He has given me a desire to encourage other people to stop and get off of the busy treadmill of life we are on and find the time to speak and listen to God.  You will be so glad you did.  He’s SPEAKING!  Are we LISTENING?

Below you will find some practical ways to encourage group praying.  Evelyn has taught me so much about praying together with other Christians.  If you want to begin a prayer group, please continue reading. 

Matthew 18:20

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

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

Evelyn Christenson,  page 44-53

“Well, I suppose you all know how to pray.  I won’t fit into this group.”

With that remark, Betty, my neighbor, joined the three of us meeting in a home on our block to pray for the coming Billy Graham crusade.  There she was apparently wanted to take part, but scared to death to pray aloud, even with only three other women present.

There are thousands of people just like Betty.  They are all over the country—in neighborhood prayer groups, in midweek services, and in special prayer sessions—and they are not praying audibly for only reason:

they don’t know how.

There are Six S’s, six simple rules to follow, whether one is participant or a prayer group leader, a seasoned pray-er or a shy and untrained one.  These six rules serve as effective tools to help a prayer group get started, to encourage newcomers, and to motivate timid people to pray aloud.

Subject by Subject

The first “S” is Subject by Subject—praying in one accord about only one subject at a time.  As one person prays out loud, the rest pray silently on the same subject, not planning their own prayers in advance.

 
Short Prayers
Short Prayers, the second handle, are the secret to the success of small group prayer.  Just one, or only a few sentences from each person on each subject allows time for all to pray if they wish.  No one should be forced to pray aloud:  let pray be spontaneous, something a person wants to do, even if it’s only to hear her own voice in prayer.

Simple Prayers

The third “S” is Simple Prayers.  Those who have never prayed before will find it possible to utter the simple sentence from the heart when the leaders and other participants avoid using complicated phrases and a special prayer vocabulary.

Specific Prayer Requests

Handle Number four is Specific Prayer Requests.   Specific requests listed and specific answers noted are a great encouragement to continuing and expanded prayer.  Use a notebook to list your requests and answers.       

Silent Periods

The fifth “S” is Silent Periods.  Silent periods between prayers are a privilege and blessing.  Don’t panic when there’s a lull—just listen!  Prayer is a two-way conversation with God.  

Small Groups
Small Groups, the sixth “S” are usually best for newcomers, as well as for the shy or untrained.  For some, it would take great courage to stand before hundreds of people and raise their voices in prayer for the first time.  But in smaller groups they can gain confidence in praying audibly.

Whatever we do, we must never underestimate the value of a small group praying, for Christ promised that where two or three of His followers are gathered together in His name, He will be in their midst (see Matthew 18:20).