I don’t think I remember Easter ever being as late as
it is this year. My children get Spring Break around Easter and
we are out of school next week, none to soon. We are all ready
for a little break. Every year I share with you the great item
called the Resurrection
Eggs. These eggs are a wonderful way of telling the Easter
story to children. Each egg includes an item that describes part
of the Easter story. You could have an Easter egg hunt at your
house using these eggs to share the Easter story with children
in your neighborhood. I love any tool that helps share the gospel
in a way that children can understand. May you take some time
during Easter to meditate on the wonderful, glorious sacrifice
Jesus made on our behalf so we may be declared righteous due to
His work on the cross.
Article – The Prayer to pray when it is too hard to pray
Have you ever had a time when it was too hard for you to pray?
You were discouraged, had little energy, or maybe even disappointed
with God? It is pretty difficult to admit to others there may
be times when we are not on speaking terms with God. Can I be
honest with you? If you have been a Christian long enough you
will experience valleys in your Christian walk. After each valley
there is a mountain, but when we are in the valley time we can’t
even see our way to the mountain.
So, what is the answer? As always the Bible leads us in the right
direction. Listen to these verses: “Likewise the Spirit
helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for
as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning
too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the
mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints
according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love
God all things work together for good, for those who are called
according to his purpose.” Romans 8:26-28.
When we become children of God the Holy Spirit immediately comes
to live in us. The only reason we can pray in the Spirit is because
we have been given the gift of the Spirit. This is true of every
Christian.
I love the part of the verse that says the Spirit will intercede
for us with groaning too deep for words. There are times when
we literally don’t know what to pray for about a situation.
We don’t know what God’s will is for our lives or
family. We are truly speechless. This is the time we ask the Spirit
to pray for us. We become silent and the Holy Spirit knows even
better than we do what to pray to God.
We also know from these verses that God knows what is best for
us and will work it for our good, even if we can’t see it
right now. This is where trust comes in. We have to trust that
ultimately everything in our lives is done for our good and (this
is a big and) for God’s glory. The tough time you are going
through right now, may be to show how glorious our God is in all
situations. Jesus would often heal people and say he healed them
specifically to show Jesus power to heal. Yes, the person who
was healed benefitted, but the ultimate goal was to prove Jesus
as the Messiah.
My dear sisters in Christ it is not unusual to have dry times
in your walk with God or totally not know what to pray. Please
don’t forget the Holy Spirit lives within you and is waiting
and willing to pray on your behalf. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit
knows much more about our hurts and desires than we are even aware
of in our lives.
Learn to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit and see what a
difference it makes in your walk with the Lord. Truthfully, every
prayer should be bathed in the Holy Spirit. Learn to depend on
God in all things.
Final Thoughts
Can I encourage you to teach your children about praying in the
Spirit? Honestly, I did not learn this principle fully till I
was an adult. How much better if I had learned it earlier. This
is a wonderful thing to teach your children when they say, “I
don’t know what to pray for Mom.”
Till next time,
Kimberly M. Chastain
Kimberly M. Chastain, MS, LMFT is the Christian
Working Mom Coach and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
She is the author of The Voices of Christian Working Moms,
2 ebooks and an online Bible study. To find out how to receive
coaching tips by email daily, go to http://www.kimberlychastain.com/cwmtips.htm.
To find out more about her books go to www.christianworkingmom.com.
For a free, initial coaching session send an email to free@kimberlychastain.com.
