I Heard A Knock…

These days it seems as though the enemy is running at full strength, attacking everyone any way he can. For the past week I’ve struggled with my writing in both the blog and my text devotionals. I’ve been tired and every time I promised myself that I would go to bed earlier the opposite happened. It took me a moment to realize where my problem lay and it started with the enemy knocking on my door and me unwisely opening the door. How you might ask? It all began…

Continue reading “I Heard A Knock…”

The Struggle

the enemy has taken territory; its time to take it back

Oh my gosh! 21 day prayer journey and I have to say that I am failing at keeping territory the enemy snuck in and stole. That’s right, that thieven enemy entered my territory and managed to take a piece of territory that wasn’t his. How you ask? Well, as much as I hate to admit it, he came at me from the subtle check this out isn’t it the new book in that series you have? approach.

You may or may not remember me mentioning in one of my earlier posts that reading is a weakness for me. I mean put me in a library, leave me food and water and I can easily get lost in the world of books. I have hundreds of books on the bookshelves at home and probably two or three hundred easily on my tablet if not more. Yeah, its that bad. In fact it had gotten to the point I quit purchasing google play cards to keep myself from buying more books. And I had started purchasing google play cards to prevent myself from overspending in our checking account. Yep, bookaholic for sure. So of course after about six or seven months of not buying any books I finally broke down and bought a google card so I could buy a book.

Bought a book and I was fine, read it went on about my business. Started the 21 Day Prayer and there he was, my enemy, leaning against the counter tapping on a book that just so happen to be the next in a series I was reading. I leaned over for a closer look as he slid to the side to allow me a good look at this book I’ve been waiting months to read. Listen, when it comes to Christian romance & suspense, I’m there. Love a good mystery to solve as well.

So my enemy flicked the book open to give me a sample of what was inside. I was hooked. I sat down read the book and when I was finished with it I happened upon two more in a different series that I was reading so of course I just had to have those as well. Needless to say, my prayer time suffered, my devotional time suffered and my blogging suffered as well.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

He stole my time and I let him do it. Didn’t plan on letting him take it but because I wasn’t diligent with spending my time in the Word he was able to sneak in and take over. He’s cunning, sneaky, and if he can’t get to you by intimidation, he will come at you like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And once he has you, the mask comes off and he’ll be laughing in your face at the chaos he creates.

Psalms 143:10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.

May we always make time for the Lord, seeking, searching, praying for His wisdom to guide us on the slippery slope of life. God bless!

Behind the Door

Hey there! What do you see when you look at the door? Do you have grand visions for the new year or is it just another door? Another year of the same old things? Have you already decided that nothing’s going to change and you are basically stuck in a rut? I’m thinking if I were your enemy, this is going to be a great year for me since you’re already feeling defeated. I’ve already won because I’ve worn you down to the point that you can’t see beyond your state of chaos. Good news for me bad news for you. One less prayer warrior out there standing in gap praying.

It’s time to open the door and change how you view your present and your future. It’s time to take back what the enemy stole from you. It’s time to pray. Pray believing and knowing with confidence that He will hear and answer according to His purpose and in His time.

Matthew 6:6 “But you, when you pray, go into your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Prayer is such a powerful tool. It has the power to change the way you think, feel and act. It can fill you with hope, peace, comfort and impact others around you. It can open doors that seem shut to you. Have you ever had someone ask you to pray for them and you said you would? Did you stop and pray right then or did you go on about your day and prayed later? I have to be honest here, I’ve stopped and prayed right then, but there were times when I’ve also gone about my day saying I would and most of the time, I did. But sometimes I would forget until the next day. Sure I prayed but did my prayer have as much impact as it could have if I had stopped to pray right then?

As we enter into a new year, I’m working on being better at taking the time to stop right then and pray when someone asks for prayer. If someone takes time to stop and ask for prayer, then I need to stop and make the time to pray with them. 💗

I’d like to challenge you to join me on a 21 day prayer journey. Keeping a prayer journal I imagine you’ll see changes in how you pray. Pray before you start you day. Sounds easy enough but not always the first thought that pops in one’s mind. Psalms 51:10 “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” This is a good way to start your morning before your feet hit the floor. Pray for yourself. That’s right yourself. Talk the Lord as if He’s right there with you, because guess what? He is. If someone asks you to pray for them, don’t put it off instead, pray for them where you are. [Don’t be shy, boldly pray for that person-you don’t have to shout the prayer for all the world around to hear- just don’t put off the prayer because of a public setting. Guilty. 🖐 I have done that. Put off praying because of a public setting and felt bad afterwards.] Pray throughout your day and when someone comes to mind to pray for them, stop and pray even if you don’t know why. God knows why He put that person on your heart. Pray for your family. Pray before you go to sleep. At the end of the 21 days something’s going to happen. How you handle situations will be different. Even seasoned prayer warriors find a renewing in their own prayer life when they stop to refocus and renew their spirit man. You may find that Jesus is one hundred percent at the forefront of your life when maybe He wasn’t always at the forefront of your thoughts. You’ll probably begin to see life from a different perspective and even though your circumstances may not fully change, how you handle it does. You may find with continued open communication with the Lord that things seem to fall in place. The chaos you may feel begins to fade away. Will every day be perfect? Doubtful. In fact I can almost promise you that you may feel under attack even more so and it would be easy to back off and not pray as often. Don’t do it. Don’t back off. I encourage you not to give up, but instead press in and keep the prayers coming. Pray. Take back the territory the enemy has taken from you. Put the enemy on notice that he no longer is in control.

On the side bar you’ll see the 21 Day Challenge. I’ve listed some scriptures that encourage me to press in and pray. If you decide to take the challenge with me, I’d love to hear from you at the end of the challenge and let me know how it impacted your prayer life. You may be that person who never really had a prayer life or maybe your a seasoned prayer warrior whoever you are at the end of the challenge you’ll find you’ve changed. Behind the door you’ll find the Lord waiting for you. Are you ready to see what changes are coming your way? I’ll be praying for you! God bless!

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