Praying by the Book, Part 6: Jordan Stones

How do you record family history? Some of us have multiple charts of names with birth and date deaths. My husband has several notebooks of such charts plus old photos from his interest in family roots. I have some family history information that goes back to a great-great-something grandmother from Norway named Ingeborg, which means “hero’s daughter” or “refreshment.” (I named my daughter “Inga.") I also have a note, passed on by my mother, that somewhere in distant family lore a Viking ancestor eloped with a French nobleman’s daughter, probably a princess. Because she disgraced her family by running off with a wild man, her family expunged her name from local records. Whoa.

Let’s get serious. How do your record your spiritual history? In Bible times, rocks were often heaped in a pile to note a historical or sacred occasion. One of the most famous was on the west side of the Jordan River. It marked the end of forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the completion of an entire nation migrating from slavery in Egypt to a new homeland in Canaan. The book of Joshua tells about this monument, established about 1400 B.C. As the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River—its waters miraculously held back--Joshua relayed God’s command to have a leader from each of the twelve tribes choose a large riverbed stone. These they were to heap at Gilgal, just east of Jericho, as a monument for future generations to remember both miracles of water-crossing: the Red Sea and the Jordan (see Joshua 4).

The “Jordan Stones,” the final section of your Personal Prayer Notebook, is an ongoing list recounting what might be called the “God-times” in your life. There may be happenings prior to your faith decision where, looking back, you realize except for the protective hand of God you wouldn’t be where you are now. Perhaps there was serious health issue, a car wreck or a bad relationship you left. Your decision to follow Christ would be one “Jordan rock.” Maybe there was a financial provision that had to be a miracle. Births of children are definite “God-times”!

Take some time in compiling your “Jordan rocks.” Think through stages of your life (childhood, teens, early adulthood, marriage, children, career, and so on). Identify what might be the fingerprints of God on your life. Write them down as God-moments. For example, next to 1978, the year I turned 31 and both my parents died, I wrote: “God in the darkness of grief: ‘I will never leave you not forsake you.”

The use of this list? As you look through it, to praise God for His faithfulness to you. This is a time when it’s okay to dwell on the past, when you see it through the lens of how God is moving you forward in His purposes for your life—and for eternity. It’s an open-ended list because—as that old saying goes—God is not finished with you yet. The list might also be a tool to share your faith with others.

In the spirit of the Jordan monument, you remember… “so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God” (Joshua 4:24).

Next week: Praying without the book

Praying by the Book, Part 5: A-Z praises

Ever thought how you’d like someone to describe you to another person? Think beyond age, height, body build, hair and eye color. If there was a hidden microphone and you were listening in, would you hope to hear positive, kind things said about you?

Imagine that you didn’t have a legal name, but you were called by some sort of attribute. Hopefully it would be positive! One of my dad’s pet names for me in childhood (and I hated it) was “Prune Juice.” I don’t know if that had something to do with a physical issue or a facial expression!

Now think of how you use God’s name when you talk with Him. Are you in a rut on the names you use? Do you ever dwell on Who He really is? His attributes? His great works? His character?
The “A-Z Praises” section of your personal prayer notebook is something you build, name by name, attribute by attribute, as you discover new ways to describe and honor God. Psalm 105:3 says, “Glory in his holy Name.” We do that when we speak back God’s Names to Him in praise and adoration. It also expands our vision of God’s infinite greatness and wisdom.

Designate separate pages for letters of the alphabet, perhaps combining P-Q, V-W-X, and Y-Z. As you become aware of a special name of God, write it down. Include a reference if you wish.

The A-Z Praises section will help you avoid the trap of letting your prayer notebook become a list-reading time. Pondering the meanings and promises of God’s names will help you worship in wonder and love at all God is. An example: “God is LIGHT.” Beside that word in my prayer notebook I have written three verses that I came across in my scripture reading times.
Isaiah 9:6: “On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
John 1:3-9: several verses that speak of Jesus as “the Light.”
John 8:12: Jesus’ own statement, “I am the Light of the World.”
Prayer: “Light of the World, I think of the problems, the dark places, that shadow the things I pray about. There is the darkness of bad choices. The darkness of living apart from You. The darkness of losing hope. Thank you, God of Light, that Your light of truth will never go out. I am so grateful that light dispels the darkness. Thank you for the physical light that comes with each sunrise, a promise of your infinite love and care. Thank you for bright hope. I praise you, Light of the World. Amen.”

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet, and 30 to 31 days in a typical month. As you build your “names” list, using a different letter per day, your understanding and love of God will grow.
If you need some starters, this website has hundreds of names: http://www.characterbuildingforfamilies.com/names.html
I also commend this list from The Navigators: http://www.navigators.org/us/resources/items/Thirty%20Days%20of%20Praying%20the%20Names%20and%20Attributes%20of%20God
One of several books I’ve read and appreciated on this topic:
Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler

Next week’s blog: Prayers from your “Jordan Stones”

Praying by the Book, part 4: Praying for adult family members

When my friend’s daughter was in the foot-stompin’ twos, an important attitude change took place. That’s when her daughter quit saying “Mommy help?” and declared with a pouty voice, “Do SELF!” That stubborn streak of independence follows us way into adulthood. Rather than ask for prayer, we insist, “Do SELF! Me do it!”

That’s not quite like the Bible says to do it. Life is hard, seek support! Or, as the apostle Paul put it: “Be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18). “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil. 4:6). “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too….” (Col. 4:2).

In reading through Paul's letters, I'm amazed by how he wasn’t shy about asking people to pray for him. Even though people might hear his letters read aloud months after he wrote them, he sought prayer—holy co-involvement—in his life and ministry. He would have loved the immediacy of E-mail to get the word out!

The other thing I noticed about Paul’s letters is how he prayed BIG for others. His letters to the churches are marked by bold requests for their growth in spiritual character. Check them out: Ephesians 1:16-19. Ephesians 3:16-19, Phil. 1:9-11, Col. 1:9-14, Philemon 4-7, 2 Thess. 1:11-12.

Among contemporary authors, I appreciate how Stormie Omartian has compiled scripture for bold, character prayers for loved ones. I’ve given copies of her “Power of a…” series as gifts.

If you want a simpler approach to praying for the adults in your life (parent, sibling, spouse), here are the character-based petitions that I drew out of one of my favorite prayers of Paul, from the first chapter of Colossians.Incorporate them into your Sunday-through-Saturday sections by writing them on the back side of the tab page for that day’s prayer section.

SUNDAY: To follow God’s will, for spiritual wisdom and understanding. Scripture: “Asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9).
MONDAY: To live worthy of God and to bear spiritual fruit. Scripture: “to live a live worthy of the Lord and…[to]please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work” (v. 10).
TUESDAY: To continue to grow spiritually and to love the Bible. Scripture: “growing in the knowledge of God” (v. 10b).
WEDNESDAY: To experience God’s strength for spiritual, emotional and physical challenges. Scripture: “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” (v. 11a).
THURSDAY: For endurance and patience in life’s hard places. Scripture: “so that you may have great endurance and patience” (v. 11b).
FRIDAY: To have gratitude for God’s gifts. Scripture: “joyfully giving thanks for the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (v. 12).
SATURDAY: To love God wholeheartedly. Scripture: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (vv. 13-14).

Are the adults for whom you pray not walking with God? All the more reason to pray for them. They may have few, if any, believers in their support network. Offer to pray for needs they express to you. And while you also pray for them to know God, pray that they’ll desire the hope and relationships expressed in Paul’s Colossians 1 prayer.

Right now, they may be saying, “Do SELF!” But they’ll find out it doesn’t really work out. We have a Savior who is waiting and watching, and who yearns to help them.

Next blog post: Alphabet praises

Praying by the book, Part 3: Special prayers for your children

Central Washington, where I live, is a high desert area with inspiring mountain views, irrigated and fruited valleys, and a moderate climate that gives us four seasons without too many extremes. We don’t have hurricanes (though sometimes a wild wind storm), tornadoes (just dust devils in the wheat fields), blizzards (though a few significant snowfalls), or major earthquakes.

But we do have fires. Whether lightning- or man-caused, they quickly churn through dry forest or brush lands toward homes and towns. Sometimes smoke settles on our valley like a dirty shroud, hard on those of us with asthma and other breathing issues. I remember a couple summers when our urban area of about 40,000 was put on notice for possible evacuation because the fires were rampaging our way. Thankfully, it never happened for us.

As a result, those who live in rural areas prone to wildfires have learned what not to do, like not planting trees near a home where they’ll just act like torches. Instead, they create firebreaks with cleared, bare land, often ringing homes with gravel.

This whole scary fire scene is a picture of the need to pray for our children. They’re out there in a fierce world where sudden gusts of opposition or trouble can put them at risk. Spiritual battles aren’t fought well with the garden hose of wimpy prayers on the order of “Bless Billy” or “Be with Jane.”

For years, I prayed with my kids at bedtime and privately when there were crises, like a health issue or a difficulty at school. But I wasn’t consistent in prayers for the “big picture” of their lives. When they got to high school, I realized that needed to change. Every time they entered that big, gray, almost windowless building, they were in a battlefield of standing for God in a culture that for the most part ignored or dishonored God in word, deed, and purpose.

That’s when I decided I would pray for character issues for my children on a daily basis, in addition to whatever immediate need they faced. I came up with seven big areas on which to focus their prayer, one per day of the week. These I wrote on the back of each divider page of my personal prayer notebook, as follows:

Sunday: growing faith, place of ministry.
Monday: to delight in God’s Word.
Tuesday: purity, future mate.
Wednesday: health and safety.
Thursday: careers, values
Friday: positive attitude, gratitude
Saturday: true, godly friends.

My son and daughter are now in their late twenties. They upheld purity and married Christians. They’re active in their churches. They survived hundreds of miles driving to and from a college four hours away. They prepared well for their careers. They value simple things, like growing a garden or enjoying a community park. They express gratitude to their parents and others. They’re helpful. They have chosen good friends. They are good friends.

As I write this, I thank God for His care as they navigated those turbulent teen years. Many of their peers got too close to the fires of bad choices and continue, as young adults, to grieve their parents.

I still pray for them daily, revising those big areas for the needs I’m aware of in their lives. For example, instead of “future mate,” I’m praying for the mate they now have.

A special note to those who have no children or may not be married: carry the prayer burden for the children or a relative or special friend. God will honor that. Just as dozens of fire fighters stave off destruction in a real fire, there’s lots of room for those who intercede for the next generation.

PRAYING BY THE BOOK—Setting up a prayer notebook, continued

In my Oct. 3 blog post about setting up a prayer notebook, I summarized the nuts-and-bolts of dividing prayer requests among days of the week, including missionaries or Christian workers you know. I promised to detail later more about praying for your children and for adult family members.

I forgot something! As you spread out your heart concerns among days of the week, consider adding some other prayer areas. Mark them on the back of each day's divider tab. Here are ones in my notebook:

Sunday: specific needs of my church. For example, mine had two extended pastor searches. Now, our church is being challenged to participate more in serving the local and global poor.
Monday: my own work and ministry. Even though praying happens in front of my computer when I really struggle with a piece, I also pray about the big picture of my writing/speaking ministry.
Tuesday: the 10/40 window (the greatest concentration of Islam between these latitudes on the globe) and a child in Haiti we sponsor in a compassion ministry.
Wednesday: government. This includes local and national leaders. How much we need to do this! Check this web site, sponsored by a non-profit group, for some specifics: www.presidentialprayerteam.com
Thursday: neighbors. While praying, I imagine walking around my block and stopping to pray for each household. Addictions, broken marriages, spiritual apathy—there’s lots to pray about.
Friday: the spiritually troubled, including specific prisoners I know of, others with addictions, and those family members and friends who don’t see their need of Christ.
Saturday: long-term special needs. My list includes friends and relatives with rebellious children and others struggling to “do life” in their Christian journey. Most are not aware that I am praying for them.

Next post: praying for your children. Is this helping you? Please forward the blog link to others: http://jeannezornes.blogspot.com

Praying by the book, Part 2: Setting up a Prayer Notebook

Ready to be more proactive in your prayer life? In this blog I’ll explain, as promised in last week’s blog, how to set up a personal prayer notebook.
You’ll need:
*A small ringed notebook and at least about 30 sheets of filler paper. I prefer a six-ring notebook that measures about 4 ½ by 7 inches, small enough to fit in the pocket of my Bible cover. Mine was second-hand; my local drug-etc. store sells them for $5 in the stationery aisle. For some reason, I haven’t found them in office supply stores in my town.
*Small photos of people you pray for regularly, such as missionaries
*Heavier paper, like card stock, to make dividers
*A paper punch
*Stick-on colored tab dividers. I cut them in half, which means several people could share one package for the 10 sections I suggest. Instead of the heavier plastic dividers, you could use self-adhesive blank address labels (the 1x3” size), folded over to make a tap on the outside of the paper.
*Sticky notes (like Post-it ®)
*Paste
*Scissors
To assemble the notebook:
1. Using the heavier paper, cut ten dividers the size of your filler paper.
2. With your filler paper as a guide, punch ring holes.
3. Prepare divider tabs: one for each day of the week plus one labeled “A-Z” and another “Jordan Stones.”
4. Attach tabs to divider pages. Your first divider will have no tab (it’s for daily prayer reminders). The second one will start with “Sunday.” Your last two dividers will be “A-Z” and “Jordan Stones.” [These last two involve praise reminders.]
5. Add filler paper behind each tabbed section.
6. Consider putting an address label on the front inside cover of the notebook, just in case if gets lost.
7. Place a sticky note on the front blank tab and write on it the names of those in difficult situations that you decide you will pray for daily. This may be people with serious or terminal diseases, the grieving, and those in troubled marriages. When someone I know loses a spouse or loved one, I tell them that I will commit to praying for them daily in the first year of being alone. I mark after their name the date of their loved one’s death, so I know when the year is up. At that time I write them a note of care.
8. Behind each divider for a day of the week, use separate pages for people you will focus prayers on. For example, on Sunday, I pray for my church and for a pastor. I divide missionaries and Christian workers among other days of the week. Each person or family has its own “page” with a photo, contact information, birthdays, and a sticky note for current prayer needs. (The sticky note enables me to make changes without re-doing the whole page.)

NEXT BLOG: Praying for children