IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION FOR FUTURE LIVESTREAMS: I just saw some of you in the blog comments mentioning that you got on the site and it asked for a password and you didn’t have one. Prior to the broadcasts, there is a set up and test-run process involved. The password is so that, during the hours prior to us airing, only the ones testing the set up can get on. Otherwise, you’ll just watch Lindsee or several others on staff getting the set ready and volume adjusted. While the sanguine in me would think that’s kind of fun, it’s not the best way to do it. Grin. The password-only access gets lifted at least 15 minutes prior to going on the air. I’m so sorry if that caused you to miss our time together today. I didn’t know of the process myself or I would have given you a heads up. We’re all just learning here! Thank you, Lindsee and Sabrina for your hard work in helping to make this media possible!
What a blast, girls! If you joined us for our livestream chat this morning, our topic was prayer. Sabrina told Lindsee and I that the number of viewers spiked from 700 to 1400 during the course of our time together. Oh, how I pray that God found joy in it and will use our discussions today to build up this segment of the Body of Christ. Just one person’s effectiveness in prayer touches the lives of countless others.
As I promised you in the livestream, this blog post is for you to share with one another what “works” for you in your prayer practices. We defined “what works” as what produces fruit. We talked about the principle Christ gave us in John 15:2 – “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” The beginning of a new year is a great time let God cut away some things in our lives that are simply not bearing fruit and seeking Him for things that will.
So, have at it, Sweet Things! Share with one another what has been effective for you in your pursuit of God through prayer and in your practice of intercession. (By all means, share even if you weren’t part of the livestream.) I especially hope to see some of you moms of young children sharing practical approaches. You are also welcome to share what challenges you and where you could use some help in hopes that some of your sisters might offer practical advice. If there are more challenges than effective approaches and no one replies to you, don’t be discouraged. It’s not personal. People just run out of time and can’t get to all of the entries. Be sure and read through the other replies and comments to see if someone lends some insight to you.
I am so honored to serve you. May the pursuit of Christ be (or become!) the joy of your very valuable life.
With so much love,
Beth
The only prayers I ever heard as a child were rote, generalized prayers. So, as I became older and deeply tragic events unfolded, I had no sense of how to pray. The most amazing principle for my family’s prayer lives is to pray Scripture over all situations and people. It forced me to learn what God says in His Word and fostered a hunger for His Word.
For parents, my husband & I pray aloud wiith our boys and have always done that. We ask them to pray for specific needs and we always keep them updated. When issues we’ve prayed over do not have our desired outcomes, we have very real discussions about believing God no matter what. Devotional & prayer time is part of our morning routine. My boys know I will ask if they’ve had time with God. It is an accountability and discipline exercise. We talk about our days after school/work and we pray, right there, over any yucky stuff or concerns. It takes effort. It means slowing down and spending time. Many days, we have big questions arise. We have made prayer and study of God’s Word a lifestyle choice for our family. God has blessed us over and abundantly for that. He is so amazing. With my background, I am humbled and so joyful that He saved me and that He has blessed me and my family so much. Glory to His name and praise God for Jesus and His unfailing love.
T Marie,
I just love that idea of stopping immediately and praying with your children. I remember a friend of mine just talking to her daughter one day and an issue came up and she said, “Honey, let’s just pray over it.” and they both bowed their heads and prayed right there. How awesome to be teaching your children to call out to the Lord immediately and all through their day. I just love it and I know the Lord does too.
I wasn’t on the blog, but I watched it this morning. WOW! What a worthwhile conversation…I LOVED hearing Beth’s creative ideas. It motivates me to find what works for me. Keep up the practical stuff Beth! Thank you!
Thank you so much Beth for sharing so openly about your prayer life!!! I was able to listen to the live feed & peek once in awhile as I multi-tasked at work. 🙂 Funny thing – I found myself wanting to ‘rewind’ a part, cuz I didn’t hear it good enough . Glad you also have it archived for more intense listening! 😀
I haven’t been much of a prayer ‘journaler’ but will try that. Memorizing scriptures has started me praying God’s word – I would repeat my verse & then start praying as it brought to mind concerns. I also started using Stormie Omartian’s “The Power of Praying for your Adult Children”. And I see that several others are using some of her books – now I want to see what else she has to say. It has been helpful to have some direction in prayers that are ‘long haul’ concerns. I started making an effort to spend time with our Abba (thank you for teaching me that) in the morning combining Bible study & prayer. Beth you have been a very real inspiration to me, thank you again for sharing your life with all of us & pointing us to Jesus!!
You said it was archived where do we go to watch that?
Hi Dora, because of some technical difficulties, it is no longer available. I am so sorry! But, rest assured, this is not the last time we’ll do this. Blessings!
Linsee,
Will there be a outline of Beth’s main points? Everyone in the comments speaks of her great suggestions on prayer. It would be awesome if we could just have an outline. I realize it was a once in a lifetime moment, so it can not be reproduced, but I sure would love just an outline. Thanks so much!!
Hi Sue, I cannot make any promises, but I will definitely see what we can do!
Thanks so much, Linsee!!
So sad–I started watching the recording the day after because I was working the day of the live stream and was interrupted. So I my plan was to watch over the weekend. Wish so much something could be done!!! 🙂
I enjoyed the live stream! Beth, when you were talking about tearing out pages from your former journals, I have done that too. Now I have a legal pad right by my journal and when I need to really pour out my heart for just the Lord to see I write on that. For me writing seems to get it out of me and then I feel less heavy with things. I then shred it up. I sometimes wonder when I get to heaven will there by a big container of all my prayers that I shred up.:-)
Hi Ann — Loved your post. Don’t know if there’ll be a big container in heaven, but there will be “golden bowls.” (Rev. 5:8). Be encouraged and pray on!
I would like to say Thank you for doing this. It brought alot of new fresh ideas for me to add to my prayer life! I believe in the power of prayer seen so many of my prayers answered!
As the mother of five beautiful, young children…all under eleven, I have to get up before they do in the morning. Sometimes I feel exausted when I do :), having been up several times in the night. It’s not just the reading and quiet that I would miss if I stayed in bed, I would miss Him. It is my time to sit at his feet. I have a four year old, named Tyler. When he is needing comfort or snuggling, he hides under my arm. There are times when I ask Jesus if I can hide underneath His arm, like Tyler does with me. The thing that helps me the most, is not to see getting up as JUST reading…but spending my own personal time with my Jesus. It is so wonderful to know that He wants to be with me, too.
Dear Beth…Wow…this was my first view of your new found way to share your passion with us!
I have been in such a ‘season’ for the past 2 years, 24 years, my whole life. My journey over this past two years with you walking in my path with me waking up with Esther, finding my way with Breaking Free and learning the depth of God’s word in Daniel. My last study with you was one year ago and I miss you so in a Bible Study forum. I made it half was through SSMT (officially) but it made such a difference in my life. Long story short, I left my life (literally) two years ago. I left the man that I loved more than myself, I left my home of 16 years, I left my children to be with their father for half of their days each month. I was afraid, unloved and lost. You mentioned physical abuse but my was as internally physical as it could be and I believe on the ledge of becoming external. My MIL passed at the beginning of December and my heart was touched by the Holy Spirit the night she left this world. I understand in testimony of giving unconditional love through me form God. It is the most painful yet enormously joyful experience of my life. I love my husband unconditionally and am finding my way to share my truth with him. He is resistent, hurt, afraid, bitter…all of it. Please pray for my family. I pray for my family to be whole in God’s word, I pray for God’s peace within my family, I pray for God’s unconditional love, unconditional forgiveness and unconditinoal acceptance pouring like a river within my family. Here is the biggest Wow for me…that piece of iron on the wall behind you is on the wall at the entrance of that home I lived in. You are taking my home in so many ways. Dear Beth…I truly love you and want you to know that someone you have never met and probablly never will face to face has felt the love you profess for us. Thank You Dear God!!!
PS…I am 45(+1, this would be the year I have not been studying with you)!!!
I loved the prayer journal that Beth said she’s using these days. Can you show it to us here? Or share the template?
Thanks~
Susan
Susan, the prayer journal that Beth talked about is called “Prayers of My Heart” by Debbie Taylor Williams of Hill Country Ministries. The book is available on Amazon.com. I have used it in the past,love it and still use it. It helps to keep you focused in prayer and you also have the list of those you need to pray for. Debbie also has another book that you can use along with the prayer journal called “Pray With Purpose, Live With Passion.” This book is praying the Attributes of God and along with your prayer journal you can pray a different attribute of God each day/week over each person or situation that you are praying for. Both are great tools for your prayers.
thank you Carol for the suggestions. My prayer life needs to become consistent, not just when I think about it or there is a crisis. I will check these books out.
Andrea
I agree Susan. I would love to seen an up close or even pdf template of the sheet she is using. Any chance LPM will make prayer journals like you did SSMT spiral cards? Please. Pretty please! Thanks!
Right, Darcy. The one she said she makes with her own computer.
Thanks for figuring out what I meant. 🙂
On another note, Beth how do you study the word? What do you use as a tool? I wonder how you take a word from a verse you’re studying, find it’s original word and then the biblical meaning or historical meaning. I love when you do that! I think it would benefit me to study that way sometime.
http://www.blueletterbible.org (you’ll have to cut & paste) is a great (free) online tool to look up a passage of scripture, then see the original Hebrew/Greek meanings of the words. There’s Bible software and commentaries, too, but this is the cheapest I know of 🙂 plus, it does have some commentaries on it, as well.
I know I’m not Beth, but I hope this helps!
Audrey
Audrey thanks for this info, I have been wondering where to find a site for this. I am just learning how to search for things, so this is very helpful.
Debbie
This could not have been timed more perfectly with my Lifegroup’s study of “Discerning the Voice of God” by Priscilla Shirer. Watching the video this afternoon and having it followed by the lesson and discussion in my group last night was AWESOME! There is no denying that God is working certain things out in my life for His purposes and there’s no denying that he’s calling me to a better (deeper, truer) prayer life!
missed the livestream…was distracted by working on 29 prayers for February (one a day) for the shut-ins and nursing home members of our church!! funny how that happened.
When I get caught out of sync with God, I sing a little tune…”Good morning, God, this is Your day, I am Your child, show me Your way” and it catapults me into an abbreviated prayer time, whether in the car, at home, in the store…
Wow, I haven’t heard that little song for a long time. It’s one I used to sing with my children and used all the time while doing children’s ministry. Thanks for sharing it in the context of prayer.
When I was in college I had a friend who was my prayer partner. We would get together on campus and pray everyday. That seemed powerful. There definitely were results.
Now that I’m older and a busy mom I find it helpful to write my prayers out. It helps me stay focused. I don’t do this all the time, but I do if I need focus.
One of the best things I’ve done as a mom is memorize scripture. It has to be there, fast, already in you,so that it can come up and do the work. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11 When you are mom somedays your brain is jello-like, so it’s hard to even form the words to pray or trying to do quiet time you might fall asleep! (my daughters are 11 months apart:) BUT, you can read a scripture – read it several times a day. Keep it in front of you and so let it sink into your heart. It does get easier moms with tiny kids! Mine are 6 and almost 7 and I can do quiet time whenever now!
I really think scripture memory is one of the most important things we can do – And Praying scriptures!!! Beth’s book Praying God’s Word has been HUGE for me. Huge.
Also, my advice is: whenever you feel a need – go for it! My mom taught me this by example. No sooner had we voiced a worry or concern, but that she would say. “Let’s pray about it.” And we did. And now I’m that way. I pray in the car, in the kitchen , no matter where I am, I know I can go to my Father. So, if you feel a need, do it! Corrie Ten Boom said: “Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.” I agree.
Also, if you feel the PROMPTING to pray – don’t ignore it! It’s precious that God would take us into His work, so if you feel the prompting to pray, don’t save it for later, pray right then, when you are prompted.
I also pray with my mom, sister and friends over the phone.
I love to write and it helps me organize my thoughts, so my favorite way to pray is to journal my prayers… to write letters to God. (Most of you are bloggers who love to write, so this is probably something you would enjoy!) I wish I could say that I do this daily… I need to get back in that habit! When I do, I always write out a verse that I’m praying over or that speaks to my heart that day. If a worship song is on my heart, I write out the lyrics to that as well. If I’m frustrated or overwhelmed, I write those emotions too, and God always turns it around and helps me focus on what matters. It is really awesome to look back and see what God has done in my life and the lives of my family and friends, and where He is still working. But honestly, what encourages me most when I look back is usually the verses that I’ve written there! So I know that it’s important to let God do some of the talking! 😉
Oh my, my…I just proofed this…I few typos but the most important correction is that I meant to say ‘You are taking me home in so many ways!’ Please correct before you post if possible.
I also realized that I referred to my husband as my husband but technically we are divorced although my heart does not reflect this. I believe all events in our lives together have been orchestrated by God, put together, torn apart, finding our way back to him individually and back to each other through him. This is my long range prayer request that your message will continually resonate with me to persevere! You speak to my soul and comfort my spirit. I praise God for the gift of you and your ministry!!!
Teach Me To Pray by Andrew Murray is truly opening my eyes to Jesus’ teaching on prayer in the Gospels. I haven’t read many books on prayer, but this one is just covered with the Spirit. I would truly recommend.
Also, thanks to Beth and everyone for all their comments on prayer. The Lord is showing me what I needed was organization! So, He gave me a fun name for my Prayer Journal – Prayer Planner! I took lots of your suggestions and prayerfully made my own. It’s a two-sided piece of paper with a Word template of a week calendar on each side (two weeks on one piece of paper). I’ve got the days and categories as the Lord led me and fun boxes to document specific requests. I love what God is up to with this blog community! He is truly glorified here 🙂
Hi Liz,
Is there a way for you to post your format somehow? I’m in need or organization in my prayer life as well and I’m so curious what kind of categories you use and about the boxes where you document specific requests. (I can’t picture things well until I either see them or hear more description!) Thanks for getting my mind thinking. I look forward to your post! Lynn
BETH, YOUR BOOK “GOOD-BYE, INSECURITY…” HAS BEEN NOTHING, NOTHING SHORT OF A GOD-SEND. I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TRANSPARENCY, YOUR SHARING PERSONAL EXAMPLES. I THINK IT WAS YOUR PERSONAL EXAMPLES THAT MADE ALL OF THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD TO ME. I HAVE NEVER BEEN TOUCHED BY ANY BOOK LIKE THIS ONE. THAT’S A BIG STATEMENT FOR ME TO SAY AND I MEAN IT. Love, Lynn
Linda, Carolina Beach, NC
I wasn’t able to watch live, but I did watch the video. I received Beth’s book “Praying God’s Word” in 2003, the same year I accepted Christ and it has transformed my prayer life. My husband walked in while we were praying and on my knees in my home office and ask “What are you doing?”. I looked up smiling and pointed to Beth and said “Praying”… He said “Oh”. God’s perfect timing. 🙂
Emails to God – well, I haven’t found his address yet but for now I send my praise & thanks and prayers to my own address. Can also archive them like a journal!
Thanks so much for recording the live stream…Awesome!! I loved hearing your personal time, formal/informal and praying Scripture for people. This is so funny (not really, since I prayed this week about it!!) I am teaching a class at church on Sunday on “Developing a Consistent Quiet Time”….this week is on prayer!!! Thank you, Beth…I have more specific ways for people to write out their prayers and use Scripture. loved it. Pam in San Diego
I loved the video!!! Thanks so much for talking about prayer!! It is so God to have it be the exact message for what is going on in my life right now! Last year was a very challenging year with LOTS of talks with God! This year He is showing me how to press in even more!! Each day I pray, Lord, let me be your Light to every single person I encounter and to let them see Jesus through me!!! i ask Him to fill me up with His Holy Spirit and to be a Light in this dark world! There are so many hurting people that I talk to on a daily basis! I want them to have that special connection that I feel with God! I have so much more to learn on prayer but I know my day goes so much better when I start it out with Him first! Then talking to Him all through out the day too and especially thanking Him for everything in my life even down to the little things!! The fear thing spoke to me and I just try to have ” Big Faith and Believe that I have received “when I present my prayers to Him. Thank you so much for challenging us to become better prayer warriors!! I love you Beth!!
I prayed through “The Power of a Praying Parent” book by Stormie Omartian twice last year. Let me tell you, there is a very distinct difference in their behaviour and demeanour when I’m not praying for them specifically. I’ve prayed for aspects of their lives that I never would have thought of on my own and I love that the book prays through scripture for each topic. I’ve seen God’s hand in my 8 year old girl regarding anger and in my 7 year old son regarding his temper. Prayer works, my friends.
This went so against my grain, but it is SOOOO working for me. I have a black 3-ring binder where I printed out my daily focus for prayer each day. Each day I have listed to confess, have humility, spirit of revelation, etc. then…Mondays, I pray for missions and list everything regarding missions there. Tuesdays, my personal family. Wednesdays, extended fanily, intercession, etc. Thursday, I am just thankful before my Father…you get the gist. It has blessed me so much in the area of being consistent in my prayer life and actually remembering to pray for people who asked me to pray for them.
Haven’t checked out the livestream video yet….but here’s my “what’s working.” After having the privilege of a Mission Trip to India last year, one of the biggest differences I noticed there, was there willingness to take everything of any level of importance to them to prayer….
* Take everything small and big before God and keep track. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve noticed an answer to prayer years later and only a freakish memory surge allowed me recall that it was a prayer…how many answers have I overlooked due to not recording….
* Prayer Closet: This struck me as a little strange when I first heard about it, but this New Year, my husband and I committed our prayer time together (which always seems to trickle off) to a specific place to keep us in the habit…we chose a walk in closet and an electric candle. Wow. Big change having that specific place to pray.
* Grab opportunities to recruit others. When I have a particular concern, I don’t hesitate to add it to prayer web-sites. It doesn’t have to be “end of the world” magnitude. I have a great testimony of missing my opportunity to get a living proof live ticket in Minneapolis. I committed this to prayer with a web-site along with me. 6 weeks of praying and I got a random call from a woman on Craigs List. Really showed me the value of utilizing those ministries.
* Praying in the “spirit.” I grew up in more conservative denominations, but I would encourage people to really look into what God’s word teaches on the Holy Spirit. He’ll speak to you if this is a road he wants you to take some steps on. He did this for me this year and there is some great intimacy in this relationship. I heard a fabulous teaching which I can boil down to this point which resonated with me. When we receive Christ that is a purchased gift (not purchased by us, but by His blood). With that purchased gift there is a free gift (the Holy Spirit). Many people find out about the free gift later and some run back to get it not wanting to miss out, but many are content with their purchased gift alone. I loved this. I think the teacher talked about the gift analogy being a Big Screen TV (purchased) and an IPAD (free gift). Who wouldn’t go back to get the free ipad….well, many of us, for many different reasons haven’t gotten our Holy Spirit gift. I’m sure I’m not communicating this very efficiently. But if it sparks interest, just look for some resources from credible teachers and God’s Word and it will all come together.
I believe that corporate prayer can get our minds comfortable with general prayers for forgiveness, blessing, etc. I started praying very specific prayers several years ago (I believe with right motives) and God answered exactly as I had asked Him. I don’t believe in coincidence. One interesting thing about those prayers is that God required nothing from me to answer them. He did it! I praised Him!
But recently, I prayed in Target about a shoe size for young person who lives in a foster situation in a third world country. I was buying him athletic shoes. They had sent sizes for the kids and his said he wore size 9. I knew he was 15 and I had a 16 year at home. I felt like the size was too small, so there in Target, I asked God, “Is this right? What size shoe should I buy for this child?” In my spirit, He said “Ten.” I bought a 9 1/2!!
Before Christmas, I was part of team that took the gifts to the children on that list. Others on the team measured for shoe size while we were there. They asked me, if I had gotten shoes for the boy and what size. I said yes, size 9 1/2. Anxious, I asked, “What did measure?”
“Size 10.”
This time I had asked God specifically and he answered specifically— but I did what was right in my own mind (sin). This answer to prayer required me to have faith in God’s answer! I repented and God gave me grace later when I was able to give my personal pair of tennis shoes to a young girl… another cool story.
The point is that prayer is a two way street and I am very grateful that the Lord is teaching me that. He needs me for nothing. He can make a 9 1/2 fit like a 10 and the God that moves mountains can grow shoes to fit feet or the other way around!
Prayer is powerful. Jesus valued it so much as he stayed in tune with the Father. That is very convicting to me.
What gets results for me from prayer is to believe that God is answering my prayer. I know God hears my prayers, and I believe that He answers my prayers. The amazing thing is that God answers prayers in unexpected ways!
I have not been able to get the recording on prayer to play. It says it has been removed, so I can’t comment on it.:(
Dear Siestas,
While we are on the topic of prayer will you please pray for my teenage daughter? She strongly needs the Lords protection over both her physical and emotional well being.
She turned in a friend who has been threatening suicide… the fallout over doing the right thing has been HUGE and many tears are being shed at our house.
Nancy in Iowa
I am standing up in ovation to your daughter as I type this. God will bless her obedience, I am sure. I came very close to taking my own life a few months ago; there is nothing more disastrous. There might be fallout for your daughter right now, but I really do believe that her friend will thank her in the end.
Praying!
Marie,
Whatever hand stopped you, may it ever be blessed. You are right there is nothing more disastrous. Suicide leaves so much carnage in it’s wake. May you remain healthy, strong and cling every moment to the love of Christ that surrounds you.
God Bless and thank you for your prayers.
Nancy
Praying for your daughter, Nancy. Lord, please set her behind and before and lay your hand of blessing on her. Put a hedge of protection around her.
I had to do that in college. Scared the daylights outta me. May the Lord provide.
Kathy,
Thank you for your prayers. It has been a rough couple of weeks, but things seem to be balancing out.
Friend is getting the help she needs and is not constantly lashing out that we ruined her life. Daughter is not spending every moment fretting, fearful and crying. This has been SO hard on her.There are so many things that mommas just can’t fix!
What happened to the taped version? I was in the middle of watching it, got interrupted, went back a few minutes later to watch & it seems to have been removed! I am so disappointed!
Any tips on how to encourage/train teenagers to keep a prayer journal? I have tried explaining how it works for me, but different personalities process things differently. My daughter does not like writing-plus she is a teenager and her mother was suggesting it-need I say more? :)Any practical suggestions are appreciated!
PS-missed the live feed. 🙁
Hey Bethany,
I believe Beth told us many moons ago, when her girls were still at home that each morning she would read a devotional, sign her name at the bottom of the page and leave any prayers requests she may have that day. Then as each girl got up and moving that same morning, she would take her turn reading the devotional, signing her name and adding any prayers requests that she had. I believe they left the devotional/joural out on the hearth of their fireplace (where mothers could unobtrusively check later to see if everyone made it to the “hearth” that morning). It seemed to me a marvelous way to encourage teen kids in their quiet time without being to legalistic or oppressive.
After hearing this we practiced it in my home for quite some time–until the kids seemed to need their own individual material.
Also, would love to see the Daniel study and Esther study written for teens! It would be so relevant since both Daniel and Esther were teens when their stories were documented in the Bible-and they stood strong in the face of a sinful culture.
Selina, Barbourville, KY.
I have found that I see more fruit when I call out to God with all seriousness. I pray for whatever it is that I need Him to move in no matter how silly it may sound when I speak it. He knows my heart.Even though I had read my Bible all the while growing up, I did not realize the impact of praying God’s word. I do this now and claim those precious promises! This blog has really helped me to memorize and stay more devoted to reading and meditating on God’s word. Meditation and seriousness. That’s what does it for me. I’m so glad to be a part of Siestaville! I pray that God will move in a mighty way in each one of your lives this year. Love you all!
Prayer time…up until about 3-4 years ago I didn’t have a very consistent quiet time. I’d journal prayers or happenings of the day for a while, then drift away from that~something about just writing what happens in my day doesn’t seem all that exciting, but…
I purchased Beth’s “Whispers of Hope” devotional book/prayer journal and decided to give that a try. I liked having a general format to follow (PRAISE~Praise, Repentance, Acknowledgement, Intercession, Supplication for self, Equipping). I usually just use a 1-subject notebook (I’m not much of a big spender!), but still follow the same general format. She noted on the intercession portion we might want to divide those requests into days of the week so they are more manageable~I’m much more likely to pray for 3-5 specific things each day, than 20 all in one day…I’ll just get overwhelmed and give it up. So I decided to make a specific focus for each day of the week (the topic capitalized helps me remember which day I’m focusing on it!):
Sunday~I pray for our church and churches all over the world and the Salvation of those yet to receive Christ.
Monday~I pray for Marriages, those that are strong and ones we know are struggling, and sometimes for young men & women that will be marrying soon, to make wise, pure choices.
Tuesday~I pray for Teachers, the education system, principals, parental involvement in their children’s education, homeschoolers, etc.
Wednesday~I pray for World issues…unjust leaders to humble themselves, our military, police, lawyers, judges, president & people in influence.
Thursday~I pray for THis upcoming Sunday’s services, for the children’s teachers, D-Group leaders, servers, greeters, worship team/leader, preacher (he gets prayed for a lot since I live with him 🙂
Friday~I pray for issues of Freedom…freedom from sex trafficking, poverty, child soldiers…for healing for the victims and for the oppressors to open their eyes to see the injustice and turn from their sin and for the rescuers who so boldly press on.
Saturday~I pray for Social Injustices…which many times duplicates Friday’s topics, but also hits on hunger and specific countries having difficulty with that, and I figure the extra prayers can’t hurt.
I don’t necessarily pray for each idea for every day, those are just things God has brought to mind. If there is a particular item weighing heavily on my heart, I pray for that, too, and God usually guides my thoughts in my prayers for others (as in bringing them to mind).
Also, I pray with our boys (7 1/2 & 9) before each meal and before bed, but our prayers started to sound stale (and were sometimes lengthy…”dinner’s getting cold!”) because we were praying for the whole kit’n kaboodle at each prayer time. So we divided our daily prayers into four segments~breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime. Not too hard. For a while we’ve let our boys take turns choosing our order of who prays at bedtime (Ezekiel, Daddy, Isaiah, Mommy or whatever they think sounds good on their particular night), so now, on their day they’ll pick our focus for each of our prayer times, too. Not sure it’ll work forever, but it works for now.
Sorry it got so long…I never want to leave out a detail!
Audrey
Really good suggestions Audrey, especially how you break down the days of the week thank you!
God has been teaching me a lot about obedience lately, and one of the things He has laid on my heart is to pray as soon as something comes up. Someone says they have a need, a situation comes into my head, whatever. I have to pray about it right then – out loud if possible. When I’m at work, this means I slip into the bathroom. Passerby probably wonder why the crazy lady is whispering to herself. 🙂
This has produced fruit in my life in that I actually pray. If I just tell someone I will, I almost always forget. Or I try to get through the day in my own strength, which never works.
Speaking of prayer, I need some Siestas to shake the heavens for me. I’m having some medical tests done on Monday. Don’t want to talk much about it yet, but it’s scary. Thanks.
yes, i just shook the heavens for you regarding Monday tests. a priviledge sister…
Lord, I ask you to keep Marie in your care and bring her much peace and comfort through the medical tests.
Be very near her, guide the medical staff and bring her healing and help.
In Jesus name.
I just prayed for you sweet sister. May God’s peace be upon you and the test results be favorable.
Marie,
Praying that the Lord God of hosts, Creator of heaven and earth, will strengthen, comfort and encourage you. That the one who has healing in His wings will heal, repair and restore you, and that above all, You will feel His peace and presence up until and through the tests. All things work together for good to them that love Him…will continue to pray for you through your testing time and beyond.
Dear Marie, I am praying for you now, for your medical tests, and for your sweet heart. I read above that you considered ending your own life recently. I am thanking the Lord that you did not, praying that you will continue on a path toward Him, and feeling so certain that your testimony will one day touch the lives of others who might be considering the same thing. I am so sorry for whatever circumstances that brought you to such a place. Praying for you now.
Christy
I haven’t read all the comments, so forgive me if someone already shared this. But my favorite quote on prayer is about Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles and 20 something others. No kidding. She was said to have pulled her apron over her head and called it her prayer closet. Isn’t that darling? I figured on my worst day, I still had more time, energy and groceries available to me than that dear one on her best day.
What a timely broadcast! Since the beginning of the year, I have been focusing on my lack of a disciplined prayer life and resolving to do better. The broadcast and ideas from the sisters will give me the boost I need to take action and make prayer a priority in my life. Thanks for all of the ideas.
Hi, I watched the recorded live stream last night (and loved it) – wanted to go back and watch one part again and found that it was deleted because of technical difficulties. Are you going to repost?
I am afraid we won’t be reposting it. I am so sorry!
Oh, I thought I would have time to watch it tonight. I wish it would get reposted…
Oh my, just watched the live feed. How fun is that??? It is so fun to watch and listen to Beth. It is like hearing a voice from home. One of these days I will get to watch one live. I work four 9 hour days and until 10 on friday. So hopefully I can catch one then.
We do Bible Study in the fall at our church so women don’t have to be out driving in the Northern Indiana winters at night. I do have one I read when I get the chance that is called Faith Connections for Adults. Keeps my mind in the right place.
I have had the most wonderful year. It started off with doing the verses. All the ones I would come up with would talk about not having fear. Next thing you know at 56 yrs old I am buying my first house in a small town I have wanted to live in for 30 years. However I never did get back to doing the verses. I had some internet issues and it just drifted away. I am totally hoping to get in on the Bible Study this summer. We have done several of yours at my church and we held the live feed about insecurities. One day I just have to see you do your thing in person. You are such a blessing to my life. Your deep down, totally honest enthusiasm just brings me right up. I lived in Texas for a time and love that accent. So listening to you just makes me smile. Love it.
You will never be forgotten. Love you Beth Big Big Hugs
Lindsie,
Is there anyway ya’ll could post a summary of the categories, etc. that Beth talked about in her prayer journal?
Since you aren’t going to be able to repost the video is there any way you could post the ideas/thoughts that Beth gave? I was wanting to go back and take notes on what she said. I was watching it live on my iPhone in our car on our way to visit my husband’s grandmother in the hospital.
Thanks for all you guys do for all of us!!
Brokenhearted.
Oh darn, I was just trying to send a friend the link!
Oh good, another Texan asking where is the Live Stream. 🙂
I pray most effectively when I follow the example in Matthew 6:5 it is most powerful scripture. It is the Lords Prayer. Where he tells us How to pray. I also use Jesus example in John 17 which is how Jesus prayed and taught his disciples. Most importantly, God knows my thoughts and Satan can not have access to that. I feel it isn’t prayer that is affecting Gods people but the lack of unbelief. I struggled with that too. Thankfully Breaking Free assisted me there. The power of prayer is in your heart and mind. It isn’t on paper. Believe sisters, Believe.
Um, where did the prayer video go? I didn’t get a chance to watch it until tonight and it’s vanished. Eeeep!
I’m learning to not deny my feelings and to cry out to God whenever I’m overwhelmed and facing difficult circumstances…most recently caring for my dad who is 89 and my husband who is legally blind. Because of abuse in my childhood, I have a history of holding in my emotions–just pushing them aside with a Bible verse and pressing on. But that no longer works. The pressures are too great. I’ve learned crying out to God relieves that pressure. I cry out and ask Him for His help and then I pray Scripture and tell Him I believe what that Scripture says and I’m counting on Him. I cannot tell you the relief that comes from that.
Most favorite book on prayer…
Too Busy Not To Pray by Bill Hybels.
Thank you Beth once again for reaching out to us in such a unique way. Looking so forward to another Livestream, so cool. Prayer is definitely the key and I know that 2012 is the year that Siestas will move and be moved for God because we are focused on Him by going face down! Blessings…
Just wanted to share that praying God’s word, and learning to dig up scriptures for my own use has made a huge change in my prayer life. Drawing me into a place with Him I could have never imagined a few years ago.
I love praying. Prayer is what has shaped me and created a character of hope that does not wane.
one day if i have the time and patience would love to share with you an extreme patience prayer that i saw the fruit of that “work” almost TEN YEARS LATER!!!
and i’m still young y’all, so ten years just blew me away but i’m so glad to see God is the Author of time!!
so if there is any ounce of help i can give to you, beloved siestas in Christ, it’s this:
BE FAITHFUL and FRUITFUL AS you pursue HIS WILL in EACH REQUEST you give your HEAVENLY FATHER!!
wow. yeah. please, if you feel distraught and discouraged i pray right now that God would renew your strength like the eagles so you may soar with Him to HIs Height and His view on your request…trust Him, He knows the REAL DEal to every request on your heart!! Do not GROW WEARY or FAInt – HE IS FAITHFUL!!
k – so here are some things i have done that “works” for me
*make a time and a place – there is something about us that when we designate something that is important or passion to us – we are more focused on the task at hand. to some it may be a room or a special place outside or a place that brings a significant memory to you. Make that your place. When i was very young, i would have a Tree that was in the school yard…and every time i needed to talk to God i would run and sit under that tree at recess and talk to God…
*Journal your prayers – i would be testifyin to truth on writing prayers – because you could be writing history, fact and Evidence in the words on the page…
Date your prayers written…you will be amazed how Great God’s awesome plan is at work in your life when you see after the weeks, months and perhaps years you understand why the request was answered in the right time…
A challenge God has had me on lately…is not to be so superficial in saying i’ll be praying for people, i am challenging myself and holding myself accountable to ACTUALLY pray if God sees fit right in that moment. i know i can feel awkward or fearful…but i want to acknowledge God working in their situation and not simply having them relying on me praying for them. There is something about praying with the person in that moment that encourages them to trust completely on God.
i don’t know how some here would feel about this, but there are times when i have a ‘token’. in saying this – i do not worship the token nor do i place it in more importance, but i sometimes find having a focus helps me to remember to pray about that paticular theme. A simply way would be one time i went out and bought a spice shaker of ‘mustard seeds’ . yes many of you know that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain “move” and it will cast itself into the sea. well when i can look at the size of the seed, and know wether or not my faith is big or small, the fact is that i have faith. i believe God’s Word for that situation..and so it helps me to focus on that.
there was one time where i was praying about bondage, and i went out and bought some plastic chain to hold in my hands while praying…and i remember feeling foolish and it was hard to pray it through, and i asked God about it because often i have no problem praying with a token. and God finally revelaed to me that it wasn’t the fact i was fearful of praying with Chains for the people i was praying for…it was that i was fearful of people seeing ‘my chains’. it was obvious that even through this act God showed to me that unless i know how to surrender my chain and lock to God to break me free, praying for others would not be as impactful. So it opened up for a reality check about my own situations and understanding how God desired to break ‘my chains’ as much as anyone else i was praying for! and it helps to know that i came to relate breakthrough on another level for it!
but maybe you are alittle ‘ehh’ about doing something like this. may i tellyou, if you do not have the confidence to pray aloud…i encourage you if God places a passion in your heart to pray for someone – maybe just write them a card or a letter? write the prayer in the card or simply share from your heart that you are praying for them. i have had countless ‘works’ in this area because the times i have prayed for people and sent them a card or a letter, it seems to be at the exact moment it was needed for them. and i’ll be honest 90% of the people i send prayer cards out to , i never see on a regular basis so most times my prayers are litterally by faith and spirit!
but i know that time is the greatest measure of faith. Because it never seems how much faith you have , but how much time your faith has served. again, maybe one day i will be able to share my story of praying and acting in faith that was answered ten years later…let me know if you would like to know !! Blessings, CLJ. eh? 😉
There’s this awesome website where you can make a prayer list and then set it to send a random prayer from the list to an email address at specified times. http://www.echoprayer.com. You can also set certain prayers to be sent to you more or less often than others. I take sometimes even just a few seconds to offer up my prayer request and it’s AMAZING how often God has sent a specific prayer request and then I’ve found out someone needed prayer for that exact thing!
God was SO in the timing of this! Thanks to you and your staff, Beth. In the last 6 months my devotional life has changed. What started from a commitment to pray for our youth pastor every day (by plugging a reminder into my phone) has led to a 5×8 binder full of people… because my phone was filling up!! Praise the Lord!!!
Pages include:
1) Family – every relative I can think of (right down to the last cousin)
2) Friends – as many as I can remember
3) Ministries (LPM!!)
4) Military
5) Govt
6) Other individuals I encounter and ask to pray for
7) THE PERSECUTED CHURCH (Please check out Voice of the Martyrs online and get their prisoner alerts – your brothers and sisters in Christ need you…read Hebrews 13:3)
8) The sick and the grieving
9) Specific requests I have or have received from others
I used to wonder how people could pray for hours. Now, I understand and am hungry for more quiet time. I want to pray these pages every day but must split them up over the week. I take the binder with me everywhere…you never know when you might have 5 mins or need to add someone. I have also added an ap to my phone Bible.is and can read and listen to Scripture dramatized. And then, “Wednesdays with Beth”….ahhhhhhh. Beth, you have become my adopted mentor/teacher. As a pastor’s wife, I have needed to be refreshed. Praise the Lord for His call on your life for you have blessed mine. Finally, I found ChristianCourses.com. They have both free courses and credit courses. I’m hungry! Girls, it is time to Enlist, Mobilize and Occupy till He comes!! Somebody say, “YeeeeHawww!” :o)
sorry about the little icon with the glass… somehow my 8 and parentheses converted. I wish converting PEOPLE was that easy! Good night, Siestas!
one thing (out of a million) i’ve taken away from my study of the kings… is an example of prayer by king hezekiah. in 2 kings 19:14 –> hezekiah gets hate mail from assyria and he “read it, took it to the house of the LORD, and spread it out before the LORD.” in v. 19 he’s like look what he said, God! i just love the picture of spreading it out before the LORD, it has helped me to just immediately say God did you hear that? and remind myself he did hear, he does know, and it has me talking it through with him instead of carrying it myself!
Taking an online year long group on prayer this year, with quite a few other women. Looking forward to being better focused, praying the Word more and journaling.
Deeply needing prayers as well, for our small business is struggling severely. Little income and a major stressful issue making things worse. Many of my current prayers are focusing on friends and family and strangers in similar situations with finances and/or health issues. Not hard to fill up the list lately it seems.
Thank you so much for the livestream. It was so timely. I was preparing for our church’s 24 hr prayer vigil starting that day and felt inspired.
One thing that has increased my faith in prayer is to start my time, and randomly thru the day, by declaring who God is. Not asking Him for a thing but simply adoring Him for who He is!!! For example-You are great, You are good, You are provider, You Healer, You are holy. . . I have found and marked many of them in my Bible and I just open it and can quickly find them. When I do this I don’t start the petition part of my praying till I have spent considerable time focusing on who He really is. . . . and it is not long and He is who He says He is in my situation. It has transformed my prayer life!!
Thank you to all who have shared, I love it!! Blessings!!
‘Just watched the “live stream” not so live! 🙂 So glad I got to see the recording!
As fro prayer? WOW…that’s such a huge challenge for me, but a couple of things that have worked well: a dear sista shared with me that when someone asked for prayer she would ask to pray right then, or pray herself at that very point. That really struck me, because I would always want to fulfill my commitment to pray for someone as promised, forget and then feel GUILDY later…ugh…so that is a habit I’ve tried cultivating. SO thankful for sistas in Christ!
Also, I journal when my prayers when my mind starts wandering or my words just sound repitivie and stale..that has really helped. Prayer is really work, but work that is so worth it…always a struggle for me, but always glad God is gracious and faithful to encourage me to keep trying!
Love ya all…can’t wait til next week-end!
Something that has changed my prayer life and actually my life is this past year for some reason is the passage that states, ‘don’t worry about tomorrow, today has enough worries’ (my paraphrase). This hit me between the eyes recently, even though I’ve read it a 1000 times. See, I’m a worrier. Since then my main focus on prayer, whether for myself or others is to pray about TODAY. Who knows, tomorrow I might be in heaven. So when concerns about the future hit me, I ask myself if it concerns today and put it on the back burner if not. This has been a discipline, but has freed up my prayer life and my living. It is not a legalistic thing that I am not allowed to pray about the future, but a guideline to keep my prayer life fresh and focused. I can pray and prepare for future events or things, but not worry about them. I’ve been intentional about this and I can say that I am much freer from worry than ever before.
Praise God !!! countdown is on for Houston and my daughter and I have been planning this for a year…. cant wait to see what God is going to do!!! see you there!!
This year I am spending more of my quiet time listening. I am good at writing pages in my daily prayer journal or praying lengthy prayers. It’s the “hearing from God” part that I have trouble with. This year I believe I will hear from Him better than ever. So I spend some time just sitting. Not an easy thing to do for a multi-tasker like myself. I find also that He speaks to me through out the day. He tells me words of affirmation! This is wonderful because my self-talk is usually very hard on me. Memorizing the word over the last 3 years has changed that and opened the door for His Words to me!!! Praise Him!!! Thanks Beth.