Put in Some Prayer

Helpful reminder from Charles Spurgeon and C.J. Mahaney…

I came across a quote by Mr. Spurgeon recently where he said, “I always feel it well just to put in a few words of prayer between everything I do.” That is seriously helpful counsel, because too often I don’t put in just a few words of prayer. I move from one meeting to the next meeting, and cares are accumulating in my soul because I am not stopping at a certain point to “put in a few words of prayer.” Read more…

Update on My Brother’s Knee

Thanks for the prayers! Jeff has seen a couple doctors and they are pretty sure he damaged the ACL, but, amazingly it sounds like it is not uncommon for people to keep playing with this kind of injury. Jeff is encouraged that he’ll be able to finish off his senior year and he’ll be looking into surgery in the off season. Thanks again for the prayers.

Prayer Request

Would you please say a prayer for my brother Jeff? He was hit in his hockey game tonight and thinks he might have torn his ACL. This would be a season ending, college career ending injury. He is planning to have an MRI tomorrow. Please pray for nothing more than a sprain.

Thanks.

Before getting hurt he had 2 goals and 2 assists….breaking 100 points for his college career….

"So Much" – A Poem

This poem came to me during worship at church today.

So much
So much of you, I don’t know
So much I have, I don’t deserve
So much I want, I don’t need
So much I owe, I can’t repay
So much I hate, I can’t stop doing
So much

Prayer Thoughts

Why does God command us to pray for the well-being of others? If he has already purposed to heal them (or not to) our prayers make no difference. Or do they? Does my prayer (or lack thereof) somehow force God’s hand? Like…God wanted to heal “Jim” from his cancer, but since I didn’t pray everyday for a month, God was forced to alter his plan and let Jim die. Or, does prayer somehow put up resistance to the work of evil so that God has more freedom to do what he wants?

Prayer is a mysterious thing when we use it to try and manipulate or force God to act. The Bible seems to teach that a) Prayer influences God to act; b) God does what he wants in all circumstances. Maybe, then, prayer, in regards to prayers for others, is more about us feeling empathy and compassion for people, and it is an act of slowing down and putting someone else in the center of the universe for a change.

Knock, Knock

Knock, knock. Another door to knock on. Another one that seems promising. I guess we’ll see.

But I don’t want it if God doesn’t want it for me. I’d rather get denied 100 times than get a job that God doesn’t have for me. So my prayer is that he is in the details of this one and that some good my come of it so that my family and I can settle down into a bit more steady frame of mind.

Amazing how uncertainty and anxiety makes us pray. Maybe God brings some waves into the waters of our lives simply to cause us to speak with him. Maybe. I’ll have to ask him someday.

Answered Prayer

Stephanie and I try to model prayer for the kids whenever we can. Stephanie is especially good at stopping an activity and instructing the kids to pray about ‘this’ or ‘that’ throughout their day. I thought I would borrow a play from her play book tonight.

As I was buckling the kids into their car seats after some shopping at Cub Food tonight I noticed a man having trouble starting his car. Sounded like a bad starter. So I stopped what I was doing and I asked the kids to pray for the man and ask God to start the car so the man could get home. And I kid you not – before they were even done praying the car started! How awesome is that! Jacob happily remarked, “God helped him!”

And I believe that he did. God heard our prayer and he responded. For my kids. And for me.

Big Day

Today is going to be a big day.

If you think of me at 2 pm please pray for me. Pray that God’s hand would be in my circumstance, that I would be bold and confident, and that the desires of my heart would be granted.

Thanks. I’ll say more later.

Prayer Requests

Would really appreciate your prayers this week.

Stephanie and I have both been waiting to hear back on a couple things and we expect some kind of news either this week or next. I am also going to be having an important conversation tomorrow that I hope will provide Stephanie and I with a clearer sense of what direction we should head in the future. In addition to that, we are hoping to have our house finished and ready to be listed by June 1st.

Needless to say there is some stress in the Balvin home. Requested prayers would include…

- patience in all circumstances and with all people
- exceptional child behaviour
- focus on what need to be accomplished
- wisdom and discernment in planning
- joy in whatever God reveals to us
- that we would know and experience the desire of our hearts

Thanks.

The Need for Husbands to Pray With Their Wives

A couple years ago Stephanie and I attended a one day marriage conference. One of the main challenges we heard there was for husbands and wives to pray together every day. This was one of those challenges that came with a ‘no if’s, and’s, or but’s’ clause. Unfortunately our good intentions after that day were somehow thwarted by the flow of life.

However, when the new year rolled around one of my resolutions was to pick up this prayer practice again. I believe that it has made a major difference. Praying together every night forces Stephanie and I to come together as a couple, both physically and emotionally. It provides an opportunity for us to share intimate feelings, concerns, praises, worries, and hopes. By laying out our hearts before God in prayer we are opening ourselves up to one another and carving out space to be vulnerable and authentic.

We have found that by bringing ourselves to God we end up drawing closer to one another. Think of an equilateral triangle. As two individual persons (the bottom two corners) draw separate lines upward to God (the top corner), any given point on those two lines becomes closer to its counterpoint on the opposite line. Meaning that the result of developing intimacy with God is developing intimacy with your spouse.

Men, husbands, the Biblical mandate is for you to take a loving, servant-hearted lead with your wife. (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:23) You MUST be the one to initiate the prayer time. You MUST be the one who leads the prayer and does the majority of the praying. You MUST be the one who brings the thanksgiving and petitions before Christ. You MUST lead your wife and your family. The onus for spiritual growth in a household is the chief responsibility of the man in the home. So men, lead and serve and guide your families towards Jesus.