Gratitude Archive

I know recently I have blogged several times about praying.  Praying in a crisis, praying for others, praying to show gratitude, and so on.  Well, here I am again talking about prayer.  I guess because I feel it is the only answer to today’s problems and unkindness and that many people have turned away from prayer.  As Christians, I would like to remind us why we pray in hopes of drawing us back to prayer.

I recently heard Dr. Charles Stanley explain prayer and it sent a shockwave to my brain that opened my eyes.  I want to share some of those points with you.  I just love Dr. Stanley because he has such a loving grandfather feel when he speaks.

There is one main reason most people pray and this is fear.  Fear for a situation they are currently in whether it be financial, medical, relational, or pick a topic that would cause worry.  We sometimes don’t have time for prayer when things are going well for us.  It’s when that Mack truck of a situation hits us that changes our life immediately that we begin to pray again.  Remember that situation has been brought to you by God to wake you up and to grow you in your faith.

People also turn from prayer when they are living in sin.  Now I don’t mean living together outside of marriage all though Jesus tells us that is a sin.  I mean when someone cheats a business partner, takes something that is not theirs or is in an extramarital affair.   The prayers stop when we give in to the world and our own pleasures instead of upholding the righteousness God wants us to practice.  We turn in shame and embarrassment for our actions.  I guess we forget that God knows everything and you aren’t hiding anything from Him.

Let me outline what Dr. Stanley taught about why we are to pray constantly and sincerely.

The first point is so dear to my heart because I feel it daily.  We pray because this is how God meets our needs.  Although God knows exactly what we need, he wants us to ask.  God cannot answer prayers that have not been asked.  We need to ask to receive it.   I may pray in the morning for an opportunity for God to place someone in my life that needs my help and what do you know someone reaches out to me to help a domestic abuse victim.  Or maybe it a need to be able to pay a bill I am struggling to clear and my paycheck is more than I had expected.  He fulfills my needs in every way.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Next, we should pray during our trials and heartache so that we may be comforted.  Have you ever felt a blast of anxiety come on you and when you stop to pray you begin to feel God’s comfort?  This was a tough one for me since I didn’t connect these two things going hand in hand for many years. I didn’t know that when I was extremely anxious and couldn’t sleep that all I had to do was to ask my Father to calm my heart and allow me to trust in Him.  Folded hands can clear your mind.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Also, the only way to grow our intimacy with God is to pray.  Relationships grow over time and devotion.  We don’t obtain best friends or a mate in just a few days.  We have to talk to, listen to, confide, and trust someone to build that relationship.  It is the same with God and it comes through prayer.

Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

Next, let’s talk about prayer in times of temptation.  We all have multiple temptations daily we need to overcome and not give in to and prayer is the answer.  I know I personally go to prayer when I want to eat something when I am not hungry but bored.  I also pray when I am about to spend money foolishly online.  “Help me Father to turn my eyes back on You!”  Given a few moments in prayer, my temptations fade away.

Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

How about when we need forgiveness?  Yes, we need to turn to prayer when we have sinned no matter how large or small the sin may be.  Did you know that it is a sin to not do the right thing?  For example; if I saw someone struggling with their groceries but did nothing to help I have sinned? Don’t overlook the little sins to pray to ask for forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Prayer is the only true place to get guidance for our lives.  Yes, the Bible helps with this but going to God in prayer about your specific need offers a clearer answer.  Speaking to our Heavenly Father in prayer many times leads us to particular scripture that we need to hear.  That is God’s guidance.  There have been many times in the past 2 1/2 years of daily scripture posting on my Grateful Gratitude Facebook page that led others to leave comments that said, “Thank you I need this today.”.  I bet you have too!  God works through us to help others in this way and it begins in prayer.

Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

You know, prayer also helps us understand God’s Word.    Just like I mentioned, God will lead us to references in His Word that will simplify your understanding.  I can’t tell you how many times I will read a passage in the Bible and scratch my head in confusion and yet when that passage pertains to my life it is clear.  God reminds me to read it again when I am in prayer and I understand.

Psalm 119:34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart.

Prayer is also a source of healing for myself and others.  When I study prayer I realize praying is not about me it’s about placing others above me.  Last week when I took my daughter to a doctor’s appointment I waited outside the hospital in my car.  You know with the pandemic the hospital is not a place I want to go in right now.  I was sitting in my car and knew I had an hour of waiting so I wanted to do something besides reading emails and look at social media.  I decided I would pray for everyone going in and out of the hospital.  I asked for God’s blessings and protection over the doctors and staff that came in and out.  I saw a man that had recently had part of his right leg removed and it moved me to pray more deeply

“Heavenly Father, I have no idea why this man had to have his leg removed but Father please bless him with healing and comfort.  I see he has a caregiver helping him that maybe is his wife, Father bless her too with strength and compassion.  Keep them both free on COVID and safe under Your wings.  In Jesus’ name I pray.”  I did this over and over  for the people coming in and out of the hospital for the time I was waiting.  My heart was so at peace and I felt closer to people I didn’t know.  These people didn’t know that I had prayed for them.  I suggest you try something like this too.  I felt myself become closer to God and more spiritually mature after this.

Timothy 2:1-4 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Finally, let us recognize that prayer is how we receive the Holy Spirit.  Upon Jesus’ accession into heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon all of us to live within us. Yes, God lives within us.  We are all blessed with the Holy Spirit and there is nothing more beautiful than feeling the peace and love He offers.  If you don’t currently feel the Holy Spirit in your heart, ask in prayer to open you heart to feel His goodness.  It will change your life.

Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

As I end this blog, know I pray for each of you too that read my blog.  I care about each of you.  Always remember, prayer unlocks the gates of heaven and locks the gates of hell.  My love and gratitude-LoLo

All I can say is the last four months have been scary, confusing, controversial, difficult and uncertain.  At least these are the emotions and feelings I have been having.  I look at the things we have been through in these last few months, lockdown, rising COVID numbers, protests and riots, changes in public like wearing masks and social distancing.  The general public that I come in contact with says they are doing alright.  Let’s look at the word alright.

Now alright is a subjective word. Alright, adjective meaning satisfactory but not especially good; acceptable.  I don’t want to be alright, I want to be normal!  Actually, I want to be fantastic but I will take normal.

We have seen such constant change recently that I think people are just shutting down and trying to function on autopilot.  You know going through the motions without much thought.  Living day to day until this all goes away.  I have taken a different look at this time, season, valley or whatever you are calling it.  Because of my faith, I am calling it a season in the valley.

Early in this valley, say mid-April I became very down.  I felt controlled and almost tortured that my life was taken away.  My job was pretty much gone, my ministry was halted because I couldn’t be near people that didn’t live in my house and I was getting more and more confused.  I was not alright or okay for that matter.  I was just trying to exist.  No one reached out to me to see if I was alright (outside of my husband of course).  Everyone I knew was dealing with the same things I was dealing with.  They had their own struggles.  I needed to get back to normal.

Well, there isn’t going to be my normal (or yours for that matter) again.  I look back at the events of 911 and how it changed travel forever.  No more sitting at the gate with family members until their plane boarded.  No more bringing your food and water through security.  Bags scanned for explosives and weapons.  Flight crews trained to look for terrorists instead of focusing on customer service.  This was the first huge change in policies I remember.  I look at these times the same way.  This is another huge change in how things will be handled in the future.

I am digressing away from my topic and for that, I apologize.  I worked hard to move through the first few months of this change by digging deeper into the Bible and practicing more gratitude than I normally do.  Yes, things are changing but what do I have?  I have a loving and supportive husband.  He smiles daily and tells me he loves me.  I am close to my daughter and her family and my parents so we can check on each other often.  I still have people asking to get hearts from my ministry to share with people needing hope even though I am not handing out the hearts, they are still being shared.  We had plenty of food and never ran out of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, soap, or cleansers.  Best of all was that I knew Jesus was walking with all of us to calm anxiety and worry if we allowed Him to.  I felt that I was finally in check with my emotions and feelings and I knew it was time to check on others.

1 John 3:17-18 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

The one good thing about social media is I feel you can read a person’s mental wellbeing through their posts.  For example, I had a friend that I could tell was suffering from depression.  She had lost her job, the family was moving into her house and her world truly went upside down overnight.  I know all of ours did too but I could tell she felt like she was the only one.  She was struggling so I reached out to her.

We met for breakfast (masked and distanced) and she did reveal she was clinically depressed and was having a tough time.  She looked about 10 years older than her age because she wasn’t sleeping and was wrought with exhaustion and worry.  We talked for over an hour and I kept nudging her to talk about her blessings instead of riots and COVID 19 which were ongoing in Dallas where we live.  Lack of sleep makes it difficult to see the brighter side of life but I needed for her to see it.  I talked to her over and over about the things she did still have and how God takes us through valleys to bring us out better and we have to walk the path He lays out in front of us.  After an hour and a half, I saw her face change.  Her eyes lit up and the color came back into her face.  She saw that hope at least for a minute.

Now, this friend is still struggling but now I know to touch base with her to continue to pray for her and let her know I am her friend and truly care.  You can’t snap your fingers and have depression gone.  You have to work daily at keeping yourself lifted which I feel is prayer.  I pray with her through text so she can keep the text to read it over and over if need be.

Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

I am making a point of texting other friends to ask if they are doing okay and if I can pray for them.  Last week I texted several friends and everyone said they needed prayers.  Prayers for anxiety was the number one request, health was second and normalcy was third.  I think I offered more prayers of intercession last week than during this whole life situation.

I think one of the most touching things last week was that one of the people that follow my Facebook page, Grateful gratitude reached out to me to ask me to pray for him, his family, and another special friend.  My heart just shined out love when I was able to pray for him on a Facebook post reply.  He was from Mexico which connected me to someone miles away that chose me to pray for them.  Can you hear my heart beating loudly?

I also posted on my Facebook inspirational page that I wanted to pray for anyone that needed prayers.  Again I got several requests to pray for our leaders, our community, more anxious thoughts and employees, and business opportunities for protection.  I answered each request online in a Facebook reply.  Again I wanted to bare myself in prayer publically so others could maybe see God working through me.  I don’t want to shy away from my faith in public even though I do get some negative posts.  That’s just Satan try to slow me down and it’s not happening!

I am asking you today,  if you’re not okay, message me so I may pray for you.  If you are doing great then please reach out to others to make sure they are okay.  Prayer is so powerful and God wants us to care for our brothers and sister like Jesus cares for all of us.  I will be praying for you, please pray for others.-LoLo

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

It took me many years and honestly until just a few years ago for me to ask someone, “May I pray for you?”.  It felt awkward asking someone if they needed prayers.  I was worried I may bring up a topic (religion) that was to be kept to myself and out of the public.   I would hear people say someone in their family was sick or they were struggling to pay bills and instead of asking if I could pray for them I would respond, “I am so sorry to hear this.”  What a dud answer.

I think I found a pat answer several years ago that I would tell someone I would keep them in my prayers and then walk away.  I think maybe once or twice out of twenty opportunities I actually prayed in private for them.  I wasn’t a very good prayer warrior if I never lifted my shield or sword for others when I said I would pray and didn’t.  I think I was saying what others wanted to hear but not what God wanted to hear.  I was breaking promises constantly.  I think I didn’t understand the power of prayer.  I now do!

Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Our Heavenly Father has commanded each of us to pray for others.  That’s right, commanded.  There is no squirming out of a commandment.  Especially from God.

When we pray for others, it is called intercessory prayer. Praying for others strengthens our bond with them, and it also strengthens our relationship with God.   He asks us to help others in their suffering by praying for them with a genuine heart for healing in all situations.  When we carry the burden of others, we are walking through their journey with them and better understanding what they are going through.

Miracle (n.) a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.  I always have to look at a word’s definition to make sure I have a true concept of it’s meaning.  Miracles are something that can be overlooked easily in our busy lives.  I intend to have you think differently about miracles today.

I am confident that we all take miracles too lightly and begin to think of them as just part of life and are expected.  For example, waking up every morning and taking a deep breath is a miracle.  Think about it; God created our bodies as miraculous wonders.  How does the brain know to think?  How does the heart know to beat?  How do our eyes know how to focus and see?  I could go on and on just on the body alone.  Our bodies are miracles wrapped in the skin!

I know that a simple cut on my finger may be a quick and simple wound but it’s more than that.  Once I wasn’t paying attention when removing a can lid and oops I cut myself.  My body instantly sends out a message to rush platelets to the wound to form a clot and stop bleeding.  White blood cells rush in to prevent infection as red blood cells arrive to build new tissue and heal the wound.  The amazing thing is this miraculously happens without much thought, besides of course saying, “Ouch!”.

I know that is a very simple example of something miraculous that we take for granted and we overlook except when we bump that wound and are reminded of the pain.  Let’s look at other miracles God has blessed my family with.

Over the past 5 years, I have asked God to perform miracles for my family.  We have had three major cancer diagnoses that would require much prayer and trust in God for miracles.  If you have read some of my blogs you know the specifics of these cases.

So five years ago; a family member was diagnosed with bladder cancer.   My family member was told they would have to have their bladder removed immediately and the quality of life may not be optimal.  This was not an acceptable answer to my family so the one diagnosed chose to seek a second opinion at MD Anderson.

After arriving at the cancer center and completing many tests the doctors said there was no need to remove the bladder but to remove the whole bladder.  They said the plan would be to remove the spot (tumor)  from the bladder, start immunotherapy and scan the whole body every three to six months to watch for cancer to reappear.  It has been five years with no reoccurrence.  Truly a miracle.

Another family member eighteen months ago was diagnosed with melanoma cancer.  Again, we were told this was a very aggressive cancer and had a guarded prognosis.  This family member went to MD Anderson as well and was told that surgery, some staging, and immunotherapy would need to be done and that was scheduled immediately. The family member followed up with all the monitoring scans and treatment. Two weeks ago the scans were done as part of the follow-up and she still remains clear of cancer after that original surgery and treatment.  Truly a miracle.

Lastly, two weeks ago a family member was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Oh no, here we go again.  I sobbed for a period of time but then wiped my eyes and looked up toward my Heavenly Father.  “Father,” I prayed, “We have been sitting together discussing cancer before.  But again I ask for your guidance and if it is Your Will then another miracle would be appreciated.  I trust You Father and stand in faith.”.   I released the prayer and took a deep breath.  A peace came over me.

Luke 18:27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.

The original doctor was very guarded about the prognosis to the point of being depressing.  He thought it was a very rare cancer and he had only seen five cases and was not encouraged about the outcome but more scans were needed for the oncologist to make a decision about treatment.

In the past two weeks, follow up scans and discussions with an oncologist have been completed. The tumor seems to be one that can offer a surgical removal option after a stint of chemotherapy as well as no metastasis was seen.  The chemo and even the surgery could be done near my family member because of their location to UT Southwestern and the advances and success they have shown in pancreatic cancer treatments.  Now, this isn’t an easy journey by any means but our heads are now held higher than before.   This also turned into another blessing and in my opinion, a miracle from God!  The miracle is not complete healing as you may expect but positive means to treat this cancer.  Complete healing will come later down the road like happened in the other cases.

God has blessed each of us with our own miraculous body.  We will get sick and injured but we have a miracle to live in.  A body that has many systems, cells, and functions that work in sync without our conscious guidance.  It is the temple for the Holy Spirit.  He is always working in us not only to have a grateful and loving spirit but to also heal and comfort us.  We need to tune into Him within us when we need a miracle no matter what type.

I do want to talk about as I stand in my faith for Our Father to handle issues, I also practice gratitude in the situation.  Let me explain this.

When the family member was diagnosed this last time, I thanked God for allowing me to have this family member in my life for as long as I had.  I didn’t want a negative outcome but if it wasn’t the answer we had prayed for then I wanted God to know I was still grateful.  I shared that I was grateful that the family member was strong enough to travel to MD Anderson and had the financial means to go.  I was grateful he still has their spouse to lean on.  I was grateful that I was able to talk end of life with them and see that they were comforted by God’s will but would do everything medically that was needed for success.  I was grateful that I could share small crosses made of soapstone for his family to hold and comfort them if they became anxious (pictured above).  I was grateful God had brought us through this two other times and we knew God is good.

 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I’m not sure what miracle you are needing today but I am praying you to receive it.  Our Heavenly Father loves us and grants miracles no matter where you are in your journey.  Remember to ask, believe, and receive.  My love and gratitude-LoLo

Matthew 7:7-8Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Why is it we feel that asking for help is a sign of weakness?  Why do we feel like we have to handle everything ourselves in private?  Why do we feel that if I can’t figure it out then I will just give up?

I know as I have grown older the one thing I find that has not changed is the ability for us to ask for help.  It doesn’t matter if I was a young girl in fifth grade in a new school or an adult grandmother like I am now.  We turn to our own thinking and knowledge to solve our problems in life or worse yet, the internet.  Why do this when we have God and the Bible?

John 14:13 ESV 
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

I pray if you are suffering as you read this know that I pray for each of you daily.  I pray for you to feel the Holy Spirit within you and to never fear asking God for help.  I pray you understand and feel the peace I do every day because I am walking with God and trust in Him.  Blessing, love and gratitude-LoLo