"They saw everything," Hezekiah replied, "I showed them everything I owe-all my royal treasures."
2 Kings 20:15
2 Kings 20:15
My Take Aways
Something Old:
The enemy always returns to those places in our lives where he has been most successful. He is returning to my hot spots this week.
Something New:
Isaiah 38:16
The Lord's discipline is good for me. It leads to life and health. Even though discipline is painful it is good for me. I need to remember this piece of good news.
Something to Do:
Hold tight, cling to the Holy Spirit's leadership in my life. He is keeping me from falling into habitual sin.
Thank you God for the Holy Spirit!
23 Comments:
Jen-Ren, I am praying that your depression will be lifted. I don't know if you ever read anything that Mary Southerland writes. She is part of the ministry team "Girlfriends in God" and she suffered (suffers) from depression as well. Her witness is very powerful. You can find her both at www.girlfriendsingod as well as on the Crosswalk site (www.crosswalk.com/devotions)
Michelle, thank you for the link to Charles Stanley's "Does Prayer Influence God" yesterday. I went to the site to listen and don't have time now before work. I will listen tonight. It is perfect given the topic Wendy touched on this morning! I admit that I am one who struggles with this question a lot! Jennifer Kennedy Dean discusses it in her study "Leading a Praying Life". I don't have my study open here, and I don't want to misquote her, so I will summarize my memory of the discussion. Her point was mainly that God is all-knowing and does not change His mind. But He allows us to act. He expects us to act. He wants us to participate in His plan. In the cases of Hezekiah and Wendy, your mom, I think He put a choice in front of them. He wanted them to turn completely to Him and to trust in Him to heal them. He wanted the glory to be given to Him as He rescued them. They then had (have) the opportunity to be powerful witnesses to His immeasurable love, grace and goodness. This is one perspective, but I think we won't know the answers until we see God face-to-face. I think that is also part of His plan; Deuteronomy 29:29 - "The Lord our God has secrets known to no-one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that He has revealed to us, so we may obey all the terms of these instructions." These instructions include praying in all situations.
Jacque, thank you for the list of prayers. I agree with Grace and Peace that it is very comforting to know we are all covered in prayer. Thank you also for the update on Michael. We are praying for your situation too! Dixie, I am glad to hear the surgery was not so bad. I am praying for your speedy recovery. Jessica, you make me smile! I have this mental image of you that shows a very upbeat and happy person who is giving thanks and praise at all times; even for puddles on the floor! You inspire me! Donna great news on the first day; I know it was hard for you, but I heard in your post a determination to keep on keeping on! Gaylene, you are in my prayers too. Amy, safe travels! Jodi, be blessed today! All of you who post are so special to me, and the great cloud of people out there who don't post, but follow on in the background, I pray for you too, that the Word of God be powerful and active in your lives, and that He meet you in each of your individual situations.
Remember, He can move the sun backwards 10 points on the sundial; it's easy for Him! Lay it at His feet, He will help you bear your burdens.
Karen, Basel
Day 203 yall.
Wendy you have been hitting the nail on the head this week for me.
"The enemy always returns to those places in our lives where he has been most successful." This is such a true statement for me. My area is thoughts of hurting myself whenever I get depressed or upset.
Wendy may God keep you and bless you to get everything done including reupholstering the prayer benches if he leads you to do that and get everything done for She Speaks.
P.S. I went to VBS last night. I'm just in such a depressed mood. I'm so ready to move and have a new start even though it will be so hard to leave my church. I've been there for almost 18 years. I told my mom if my sister already didn't have someone renting her basement I'd ask her if I could live with her. Keep me in prayer. Last night every dream I had was a bad dream and a little depressing or stressful.
Jen Ren, I am praying for you to feel lifted up today, and that you get a nap. When we don't get our sleep, we aren't able to think right.
Dixie, so glad the procedure is behind you! The waiting is hard, but we will wait with you.
I saw a foreshadowing in 2 Kings 20:10-11.
When Hezekiah became ill and death was eminent, he prayed and wept. God heard his prayer and saw his tears, and promised him a longer life. When he asked for a sign from God, he chose the sundial to move backward ten steps (a reversal of nature, supernatural), and then he would go to the Temple three days later.
Our own sign from God is also a reversal of nature, supernatural—that Jesus wept, he died, but then was raised from the dead three days later.
Gotta get to work now, have a great day!
Blessing and praying for you all,
Jacque
i love that jacque!
glad you went to vbs jr.
Boy Wendy, your words are right on for me today! A couple days ago, the Prov 31 devotional challenged us for 1 week to be humbly joyful and content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. Well, I wrote it down and took the challenge...yesterday I blew it so bad! My Spirit has not settled down yet. I have some work to do with my Jesus. I was attacked in my weak spot, that is for sure!
Needing to humble myself and repent of my pride like Hezekiah did in 2 chron 32:26!
Morgen
Can God change His mind?
He's God; He can do anything He wants.
May the Holy Spirit lift you today Jen-Ren!
Morgen
Hezekiah's test from God is about pride and a right spirit. Hezekiah has an incredible time in which he can give the glory of all he has and his healing to God, a powerful testimony. But, he doesn't. I need to check, am I giving God the glory or am I trying to shine the light on me?
Noticed today the But, Then, and However.
Praying for the needs; praising for the answers and giving all the glory to God.
I do not know if God changes His mind due to our prayers, but I have been witness to more than one miracle. God has given us freewill and so sometimes the results may go do to the choices we make.
Striving for those outer limits today as I celebrate another year of life!
Gaylene
Great lesson today! Something that flew off the page for me was 2 chron 32:31b God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what really in his heart. Am I giving God the glory, even when things aren’t going how I want them to go? Do I trust Him and Him alone? Something I will ponder as I write in my prayer journal today.
Karen, thanks for the extra thoughts on if God changes His mind. Something to think on.
Jacque,loved the comparison that you pointed out. I did not see that until you pointed it out.
Linda
Good morning, GIGs,
I slept poorly and woke up cranky, so I got up and immediately got a nettlesome errand off my plate, then took my exercise walk, all the while gibber gabbering at the Lord about this and that. I think he probably rolled his eyes as he listened, but he then showed me mercy and brought a calm to my soul. Thank you, Lord, once again!
Wendy and Jen Ren, satan has been attacking me this week, too!!He comes in through the crack that just never seems to heal. I suppose God keeps that crack open to test me, like he tested Hezekiah today.
Karen, I appreciated your discussion this morning on prayer. I am going to do a post following this one that will cover the key points from Dr. Stanley's sermon. I find him to be a very riveting speaker (I imagine God's voice might sound like Dr. Stanley's)so I do hope your busy schedule will allow you to listen via the links I posted yesterday.
Jen Ren, I'm praying for you to be lifted up today. Last week I prayed for Wendy to take a nap, and she did, so today I am going to pray that you put on some wonderful music and dance and sing! Also, try this little activity I do sometimes. Count a blessing for each finger you have and don't stop til you use all your fingers!
Jacque, that foreshadowing you caught was awesome. Dear Lord, please allow Jacque to have a peaceful, productive day at work. Keep turmoil away from her, and let her words soothe and calm all those she deals with today. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.
Morgen, I was thinking about you on my walk today, and I chatted with the Lord about how something has seemed not quite right with you, and I prayed that the Lord would help you with whatever your need is today. Peace be with you, Sister.
Gaylene, I agree with your comments about free will, and that God expects us to pray for the situations in our lives. Did I catch a hint that this may be your birthday? If so, Happy Happy to You!!
Linda, I'm with you on giving God the glory, for my past, my present and my future. I love the line, "work as if everything depended on you, AND pray as if everything depended on God." Now that's a winning combination.
Have a blessed, 4:8 day, all!
Peace and Gratitude,
Michelle in New England
Good Morning GIG's,
Please pray for our mission team (husband included) to return safely from the Dominican Republic tomorrow, Friday. They are sceduled to fly out 8:50 am Eastern time to go to Miami. I'm asking the Lord to lift the hurricane winds and rain and turn it east.
If He can move the sun, He can certainly move a hurricane. He is all powerful.
Was it Hezekiah's son that was born after his extended 15 years of life and the son was an evil king? I can't remember his name.
Is.38:16-17 says,"Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live!"
Thank you Father, it is a true statement. I am alive because of You!
May the Lord bless today.
Good Morning GIG's,
Please pray for our mission team (husband included) to return safely from the Dominican Republic tomorrow, Friday. They are sceduled to fly out 8:50 am Eastern time to go to Miami. I'm asking the Lord to lift the hurricane winds and rain and turn it east.
If He can move the sun, He can certainly move a hurricane. He is all powerful.
Was it Hezekiah's son that was born after his extended 15 years of life and the son was an evil king? I can't remember his name.
Is.38:16-17 says,"Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live!"
Thank you Father, it is a true statement. I am alive because of You!
May the Lord bless today.
Good morning GIG's!!!
This is the day, this is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
That song has been in my head for the past couple of days. I am not at home and do not have my Bible with me but my thoughts are crying to be let out.
First of all, what a patient God we serve. Hezekiah pled for healing, which God did, and then he also asked for a sign, which God provided. Why, as humans, do we find it so hard to trust what God promises? As Wendy said today, I'm preaching to the choir here. He has shown us miracles, grace, mercy, etc and yet when we have need we pray and then question. When God??? How God??? Why not now God??? I pray that he gives me patience to learn to trust to Him.
The verse that Wendy highlighted today about Hezekiah showing all he owned also struck a chord with me. I think there are times when God blesses us that the blessing is just for us. It's not meant to be shared with everyone around us. It's not meant to be thrown out into the world for Satan to use as a boomrang for other's to think us prideful. It's for our joy only. As my momma says "there are just some things you don't share with other people".
JenRen--you have been on my heart since your post. Lord, I pray that you reach down and wrap your arms around this sweet, sweet child of yours. Give her the confidence to embrace what she knows to be true....that you love her and that she is your child. I rebuke Satan and his minions who throw the darts of despair at her. I lift her up to you Lord. I give you the glory and the praise. Amen!!!
Blessings to each of you
Jessica B.
JenRen,
This song is for you today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZaiWn96q58
Jessica
Yesterday I posted links to a two-part, (48 minutes total) sermon by Dr. Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries on “Does Prayer Influence God?” which was broadcast on my local Christian radio station. For those of you pressed for time, I am going to summarize some of the key points here. I hope to entice those of you who have the time to listen to this wonderful, inspiring sermon which goes so well with what Wendy has been teaching on the past few days.
Dr. Stanley cites many verses in scripture to support his points, especially Matthew 7:7-11 which is on page 1337 (October 3) in our One Year Chronological Bible.
1) Prayer honors God -- He is the source, and our resource, and we should not take Him for granted
2) Prayer helps us grow spiritually by helping us develop and intimate relationship with Him
3) Prayer gets us involved in His work - it allows us to be a tool in the kingdom of God. A triangle is created when we pray for others, its vertices being us, God and the one we pray for. Blessings accrue to us and to the other, and glory to God.
4) Nothing we can do or pray for can change God’s eternal decrees, but there are conditional things we can effect (the “IF my people will obey….THEN ” things). Prayer is a powerful asset, and our greatest privilege. God is willing to answer our prayers.
5) In some cases, our prayers help God to work on our will and bring us into harmony with His will.
6) We are responsible for praying about our life, and our prayers are like a power line. “Unplugged”, we do not have access to the Lord’s power. We should work to have prayer become the heart and core of what is going on inside us.
Peace and Gratitude,
Michelle in New England
P.S. Jessica, I heart you!!!!!
Hey, y'all! Thinking of ALL of you in my prayers today! Happy birthday,Gaylene! Hope it's a wonderful one!I'll listen to the vlog after I post today.Thanks so much, Wendy!
What really touched my heart this morning was 2 Chron 32:31...where the ambassadors from Babylon arrived to ask about the remarkable events. "God then withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart." It made me think that our God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow will test us the same way! It was a little unsettling that God withdrew from Hezekiah. I want Him to be with me in those tough and challenging times. He already knows what we will do and say. I suppose that when He does withdraw, it is a chance for us to truly show our trust and obedience in Him. Do y'all think that sounds right? Just curious!!
Try to stay cool! This heat is miserable!!!
Hugs!
Susan
Hello, Just started with you all yesterday after being invited by my sister Jacque a while back. Thank you all. I am convicted in todays scripture to be on my knees praying more than ever. God does listen but wants me humble. I am convinced that He is waiting for me to surrender each and everything. I have held on to so much instead. I was reading in Jeremiah (Jer 18:7-10)and it reaffirms what Wendy said about God changing His mind. I ask God's mercy in my sinful life and I want to repent, not simply confess, my unforgiveness toward my husband. I thank Him for doing this work in me only by the power of His Spirit, Amen.
Liz
Welcome, Liz.
Happy Birthday, Gaylene.
Michelle, thanks for the Charles Stanley summary. Are you participating in his 140 days to pray for our country?
I found this in Streams in the Desert Devotional. I thought it was relevant since the verse that came to me was God withdrew to see what Hezekiah would do:
Worship in the Night
"Ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion" (Ps. 134:1, 3).
Strange time for adoration, you say, to stand in God's house by night, to worship in the depth of sorrow --it is indeed an arduous thing. Yes, and therein lies the blessing; it is the test of perfect faith. If I would know the love of my friend I must see what it can do in the winter. So with the Divine love. It is easy for me to worship in the summer sunshine when the melodies of life are in the air and the fruits of life are on the tree. But let the song of the bird cease and the fruit of the tree fall, and will my heart still go on to sing? Will I stand in God's house by night? Will I love Him in His own night? Will I watch with Him even one hour in His Gethsemane? Will I help to bear His cross up the dolorous way? Will I stand beside Him in His dying moments with Mary and the beloved disciple? Will I be able with Nicodemus to take up the dead Christ? Then is my worship complete and my blessing glorious. My love has come to Him in His humiliation. My faith has found Him in His
lowliness. My heart has recognized His majesty through His mean disguise, and I know at last that I desire not the gift but the Giver. When I can stand in His house by night I have accepted Him for Himself alone. --George Matheson
"My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace,
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God;
'Tis His to lead me there, not mine, but His
'At any cost, dear Lord, by any road!'
"So faith bounds forward to its goal in God,
And love can trust her Lord to lead her there;
'Upheld by Him, my soul is following hard
Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer.
"No matter if the way be sometimes dark,
No matter though the cost be ofttimes great,
He knoweth how I best shall reach the mark,
The way that leads to Him must needs be straight.
"One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay;
One thing I do, I press towards my Lord;
My God my glory here, from day to day,
And in the glory there my Great Reward."
Hi ladies (and gents),
Wendy - you're last two vlogs hit home for me. The closer we get to she speaks - the more garbage keeps getting added to the pile. Lord - I am asking You to take up my defence. I am weak but You are strong. Place me in the Shadow of Your Wings.
Wendy - it's so true. I can feel the enemy working those "hot spots." Really trying to get me going. Thank you for the reminder to take it to the Lord - to lay the bad before Him.
I was also hit with your words of advice about watching tv and filling myself up with junk instead of entering sleep with praises on my tongue. I am going to try and really commit to giving thanks from now until the conference before bed!
Michelle - thanks for the summary on the video! I will be writing some of that in my journal.
Lots of love to you all today. Many thanks to those of you who have been praying for me and my little Elliot. Lifting up your prayer requests now.
Jodie
Michelle in NE...boy...thank you for the prayer. You were spot on when you said something isn't quite right. Ever since getting arriving home from Europe I have been in a "Jesus Funk"....and cannot seem to move from it. I keep trying to be patient; God doing His work in me right now. I feel a bit frustrated and lost right now.
Thank you so much.
Morgen
Dixie-Continued prayers this week on good results and peace.
It amazes me that if we pray earnestly that God's mind can be changed.
Thank You Wendy and Proverbs 31 team for all the work you have been doing for She Speaks. Been keeping you all in prayer.
Thank You Lord for She Speaks this year and all those women at P31 and the love and care they are putting into this conference. May your loving hand be so apparent and seen by all that weekend.
Blessings, Debra
I am back. Was reading past few days posting that are added later in the day. Wanting to comment
Jodi - my daughter has been diagnosed with fibro - and now they are re-thinking it is connected with low thyroid. Even though she is taking thyroid. I have been told that Armour Thyroid med is the best. It is not chemical and is more constant. Insurance won't pay for it,because it is not a chemical, but it is $10.a month.
Jacque, what about your daughter's biopsy? Let us know how to pray.
Donna - TX
Happy birthday Gaylene!
May God richly bless you today and make His presence known to you.
Linda from Ark.
Just popping in to say hello and welcome to Lizzy! Friends, I am so proud to be her big sister-- she is such a beautiful example of faith and love, an inspiration to me. {{Hugs}} to you sis!
Happy birthday to Gaylene! Do your grandkiddos put their fingers in the birthday frosting too?
Donna, thank you for your question and caring-- but I must have been referring to Dixie's biopsy yesterday. How are you doing today sweet Dixie? I will keep on keepin' on with my prayers for you.
G&P I loved loved loved the "Worship in the Night!" Thank you for the challenge to recognize His love and to offer my love to Him in the darkness of my life.
Blessings and prayers for you all tonight,
Jacque
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