We're Not Beggars

August 12, 2012

Yesterday was a very emotional day for me. There was no apparent reason for my fears and doubts; they were just there and taunting me all day. I hate days like that. It can make you feel so helpless and weak.

This morning I got up and went to church. Can I just say how much I love my church? I attend Harvest Christian Fellowship, and I love it for so many reasons. One of those reasons is that I feel and hear God there. Another reason I love this church is for the people within it. There are some amazing individuals who are connected and in tune with God's will and purpose for our lives and our community, and they are so loving and so supporting and have God's heart. I just love it. This entry was not supposed to be about how much I love my church, but I just had to express how much I am blessed by it.

This morning, one individual said that she just felt like she needed to say that the Enemy gets us to believe some really stupid lies. He tells us that God is not enough or that God cannot help us in our situation. I fall into the Enemy's trap so many times when it comes to my baby and our health. He likes to place really evil thoughts and lies into my head so that I can't enjoy such an incredible gift that God has given to me. God is my provider. He is my father. He loves me, and there is nothing He can't do. In Matthew 7:11 it says, "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how MUCH MORE will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him." I just love this view of our heavenly Father. He is not some hard, judgmental ruler who is just waiting for you to mess up so he can strike you down. We are his children, and he wants to give us good things even more than what our earthly father wants to give. That is just amazing to me because I have a pretty awesome earthly father who has gone above and beyond to give his children all we've ever wanted or needed. God is that much more!

Tonight I returned to church for our monthly CORE service. I was blessed again by the message. The message was about prayer. Often we view prayer as a sort of chore that is really boring. Sometimes we even feel guilty if we forget to pray. Prayer was never meant to be that way. Prayer is a time to be in fellowship with God, and without the Holy Spirt, it is boring. Tonight our pastor gave us a sort of mini lesson on how we should be praying. I don't know about any of you, but I catch myself saying wimpy prayers like this: "God, please please please let my baby be healthy. Please nourish and develop this child as it needs to be. I pray that you will allow me to be a mother to this child." That is not at all how scripture teaches us to pray. We are not beggars before the Lord. We are his children! If we look at the Lord's prayer, that is NOT a wimpy prayer. It says, "Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our trespasses,As we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,The power, and the glory,For ever and ever.Amen." We are to praise his name and declare who He is. He is our Father. Holy is His name. We are to declare His will on earth, in our lives, in our marriages, in our families, in our finances, in our communities, at our jobs, as it is in heaven. We are to ask him for what it is we need-our daily bread. We are to ask for forgiveness so that His forgiveness for us will spill out and we can forgive others. He does not tempt us, but delivers us from the Enemy. He is ruler and has authority and victory for ever and ever. We are to declare His will when we pray. We are to glorify his name. We are not to be beggars before the Lord.

After the sermon tonight, I had an individual who asked to pray with me. God knows just when we need someone to come alongside us and encourage us. Isn't he so good like that? This person just prayed that I would see that I don't have to earn God's provision or His love. I don't have to do anything for that. God has already done that through Jesus. She also prayed that I would just use this time that I have right now alone (since Justin is gone for work so much) to just spend time in worship with God. God was revealing to her that He is moving and working in my life right now and wants to use this opportunity to grow me spiritually. She prayed for our family and our precious baby. She told me that my baby is going to be just fine. I know she is right. God's got this. He loves me and wants to give me good gifts. He knows my heart and knows that this is something I've longed for. I don't have to earn it. I didn't earn it. He just loves me and wants to bless my life. I love my heavenly Father, and I know He is present and with me and that I don't have to worry about anything. He has worked every detail of my life into something good.