Tag: pray

God

God’s Ways Are Perfect

meghanewhite

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This stunning flower is from a carrot. I never pulled up my carrots from last summer and just let them be, resulting in the most gorgeous flowers. The term for this is called bolting. It’s a survival mechanism in plants when conditions are no longer ideal for the plant. The plant is producing seed to continue on. There is no longer viable fruit or vegetables after bolting occurs, but the seeds remain. New life will emerge.

It would have been great to enjoy a large bunch of carrots, but that did not happen. There were a few carrots early in the summer. Later, the unbearable heat made it challenging for me to do much work in the garden so the carrots were neglected. However, along with the stunning flowers, I pulled up this gargantuan carrot.

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It’s hard to tell from the picture, but this carrot is massive. Bigger than any I’ve ever grown. That’s what happens when you leave them through the winter. I will not eat it, but it sure was fun to find that in my garden.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

God’s ways are perfect. He made every plant, fruit, and vegetable. Only God can make something beautiful from a plant in distress. The fruit is no longer viable but the flower produces seed which means new life can continue. That’s not how I would do things, but I’m not God. I would have chosen an abundant carrot harvest, but I would have missed the stunning flowers. Sure, lots of veggies was the goal, but the circumstances were not ideal, and the plant was in distress.

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. Psalm 18:30

Whatever God allows is perfect. The hard things, painful things, and beautiful things, He allows. God’s way is perfect, not easy. Sometimes, His way is quite difficult for us. But He is a shield for us who take refuge in Him. He will help us. We don’t always understand His ways, but we can trust that He is faithful, and is working everything out for our good, and His glory.

We can trust God in all things. His ways are perfect.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your faithfulness and your perfect ways. Thank you for always working in our lives and turning beauty from ashes. Only you can do that Lord. You are our defender and protector as we take refuge in you. Help us, O God, to trust you more and give you everything that we are holding onto. Help us to place our fears and worries into your capable hands.

Amen

Love you all,

Meghan

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Photo credit: Meghan E. White

healing

The Root of the Problem

meghanewhite

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This ugly, gnarled up root ball does not want to leave my backyard. I don’t remember when this weed tree appeared, but it seemed like it just popped up along our wrought iron fence one day. The first few years I trimmed it and did my best to hack it down, not really knowing what exactly it was. It took a while until I realized it’s just a weed tree.

Weeds can be tricky to get rid of, and a tree that has taken up residence in your yard, without being invited, is even more difficult to destroy. I would trim all the branches off and cut it down to the stump. For a while it looked like the unwanted tree had died. Then a small sprout appeared while I wasn’t looking, which rapidly multiplied, and turned into branches, and the nasty thing got bigger.

There is only one way to dispose of this nuisance, kill it at the roots. If the roots die, the tree dies. As I was digging and clawing at this hideous eye sore I was going deeper to expose the roots. The deeper I dug, the more I saw just how vast the root system of this ugly tree was. I quickly figured out I needed help from someone bigger and stronger with way more experience, my husband.

Our sins, our secrets, our addictions, and those shameful things we never talk about can turn into weeds in our soul. We’ve covered it all up, buried it with a nice pile of dirt, and believed that took care of it. Yet, we never killed the roots and it keeps growing and we keep trimming branches and hoping and praying that maybe it will just go away.

With each push of the shovel, the Lord reminded me of all the stuff I can let take root in my life if I’m not careful. Resentments, unforgiveness, and past hurts that seems so small can grow over time and become weeds in my life. I am not strong enough on my own to get rid of these uninvited guests. Only God can heal me and set me free from my sins, pain, and heartache. There is no root system too big for the Lord to destroy if we let Him. He is bigger.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139: 23-24, NIV

Come in, Oh Lord, to every part of us. Heal our hearts and destroy, at the root, anything that is sinful, or causing us pain. Give us the courage and grace to face the ugly stuff and stop covering it up. Expose those nasty deep roots, dear Lord, and set us free! Amen!

Love you all,

Meghan

Prayer

Silent Before the Lord

meghanewhite

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My soul waits in silence for God only; Psalm 62:1

I am a pro at giving God my laundry list of “to do’s”. I talk, and talk, and cry out to Him as I am supposed to as His daughter. We are to cast all our cares on Him. What an incredible blessing to give all of our concerns to God, knowing He will take care of whatever concerns us.

There are times when we need to stop talking and just rest in Him.

When was the last time you were silent before the Lord? I don’t mean not knowing how or what to pray. I mean sitting before the Lord in silence. Not asking, or pleading, or begging Him to do something. Just being in His presence and letting Him, through the Holy Spirit, do the talking.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26, NASB 

This may sound weird, or uncomfortable. After all, we are supposed to bring our requests before the Lord, and we absolutely need to do that. What if we hit the pause button on the requesting every now and then, and just sat at His feet, and waited for Him to talk to us. I am learning to do this more and more, and it’s quite remarkable what happens to me. I get more peace just being with the Lord.

Being silent before the Lord takes some discipline, and you can’t have distractions. Turn off the phone, or place it out of ear shot. No music, no noise, no screens. Allow nothing that will grab your attention. Close your eyes and ask the Holy Spirit to speak. Now, be still, wait, trust, and let Him speak to your soul.

As we sit in silence with the Lord our confidence in Him grows stronger. He already knows what we need before we ask Him, so ultimately, every problem we have He has an answer awaiting at just the perfect time. We can take this time to find refuge in Him, knowing He will take care of us.

My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. Psalm 62:1, NASB

God is our salvation. While we wait for His perfect answer to our prayers we can be confident in the God of the universe. Waiting in silence is placing our complete trust in Him. This is not passive. While we wait, God will refresh our souls, give us new strength, and new perspective.

He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. Psalm 62:2, NASB  

We can trust God.

He will answer. He will come through. He is the Rock.

Love you all,

Meghan

Photo credit: Meghan E. White

grief

The Compassion of Jesus

meghanewhite

img_6507There is no end to the love and compassion of Jesus for the hurting. He still acts the same today as He did two-thousand years ago. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. No one has the amount of compassion that Jesus does, and as His kids we get the benefit of that compassion. It’s unbelievable to experience the love of Jesus through His compassion. What an amazing Savior!

A beautiful illustration of Jesus’ compassion is when He healed the widow’s son. It’s just another example of His many miracles that appear in the middle of an ordinary event, yet it was all part of God’s perfect plan.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Luke 7:11-13, NIV 

Jesus stopped everything to help this hurting woman. She had already lost her husband, and now her only son was dead. This poor woman had twice the pain and heartache, and Jesus saw her. His heart went out to her, even though He was surrounded by a large crowd, probably wanting His help. Jesus had compassion on the widow.

It does not say she had been praying and asking God for a miracle. Maybe she was asking for a miracle, we don’t know, but God intervened. There was a perfect meeting between Jesus and the widow at the exact perfect time. Jesus felt her pain. His loving words, “Don’t cry,” say it all. 

It gets even better.

14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Luke 7:14-15, NIV 

Jesus touched the coffin (bier) with His mighty power and brought the young man back to life. In an instant the widow, and all the mourners, went from sorrow to celebration. He brought life from death, joy from sadness. Only Jesus can do that. 

It doesn’t end there.

16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. Luke 7:16-17, NIV

Because Jesus stopped and helped a hurting widow by bringing her only son back to life, the good news spread. It wasn’t just about helping one person. God can multitask like no one’s business. He can accomplish one million things in a nanosecond. 

Jesus’ heart went out to the widow. In the middle of large crowds of people all clamoring for His attention and help, He saw the widow. Jesus helped a grieving soul with His words of comfort and compassion. And then He performed a great miracle by raising her dead son back to life. 

Jesus’ compassion for the widow changed everything for her. The moment He came on the scene a great miracle happened with one touch. A young man sat up in a coffin, a mom’s heart was filled with joy, and many people learned about this wonderful Jesus. Lives were forever changed.  

Jesus sees you. He knows when you cry. He knows when you are hurting, devastated, and hopeless. He sees, and He knows. His compassion for You is powerful, and life changing, because He loves you and will help you. 

Love you all,

Meghan 

Photo Credit: Meghan E. White 

sickness

There Are No Hospitals in Heaven

meghanewhite

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It’s been an eventful several days. Not the kind of events that are fun. My husband Tom is in the hospital. Friday, he had four seizures really close together, which he’s never had before. I called 911. He was rushed to the ER, where we were told kidney failure, and dangerously low hemoglobin. It was a nightmarish deja vu, as we went through a similar situation two years ago with the very same problems. This time it’s more complicated because of the seizures. 

Tom was admitted to the ICU Friday night with a large team of doctors overseeing his care. He was given five blood transfusions which then caused fluid on his lungs. So transfusions had to stop to clear out his lungs. Hemoglobin has gone up and down since Friday. However, after a sixth blood transfusion yesterday, his hemoglobin was improving. The blood loss has been one of the top priorities in all of his symptoms and problems. His kidneys are still not doing well and were worse yesterday afternoon.

There have been non stop scans, tests, procedures and everything in between. Because of the seizures, there is a special camera in his hospital room that monitors him in case he has more seizures. Thank God Tom has not had any more seizures. It was more than likely caused from losing two thirds of his blood combined with kidney damage.

There are so many things going on his body I can barely keep up with all of the specialists and their prognosis and assessments. There is far too much information to share in this post so I’m trying to hit the highlights. Tom was moved to Intermediate Care on Monday, it’s a step down from Intensive Care. That’s a good thing.

We have excellent doctors and nurses taking care of Tom. We are grateful. Tom has a good attitude. I just want him healthy. I am praying for healing and so many others are as well. We have a large prayer team of friends, family, and strangers, praying for Tom. We are truly blessed. 

Our church has been incredible! They are storming the gates of heaven for Tom. Church members are calling, texting, and emailing to let us know they are praying and here for us. Our church family is ready to bust through the hospital and lay hands on Tom. We are grateful for such a wonderful body of believers supporting us. 

Every prayer matters, so thank you to all of you who have been praying. I believe in prayer and its power, because it is God’s power on display. He does some of His best work in impossible situations. I can’t wait to see what He’s going to do for Tom. He has already done so much for us. I know He’s not done.

In the middle of our crisis God has given me peace. I have times where fear and discouragement come in, but it doesn’t last long. The Holy Spirit keeps reminding me of the truth, and Who is in charge. Tom is in God’s mighty hands, no matter what a doctor says.

Spending some time in the ICU has given me a fresh perspective on suffering. Each time I walk the hallways I see so many names on the outside of hospital rooms. That’s someone’s loved one, suffering and sick. Some rooms are filled with people and some are quiet.

The other day I heard loud shouting, and I thought, “Oh no, someone is angry and letting a staff member have it.” I leaned my head out of Tom’s room to check out the commotion, and realized the loud voice was a loud prayer for healing. It was coming from a room of a very young man, late teens, maybe early twenties. A man was calling on the Lord to heal this young guy. How many others are praying right now in a hospital, asking God for a miracle.

Yesterday, Tom’s daytime nurse was answering my questions and updating his vitals and all his numbers to me. I shared my concerns about Tom’s kidneys and mentioned that we are Christians which she replied that she too is a Christian. She began to share scripture with me and encourage me greatly. As she was talking I noticed her name tag said Comfort. A wonderful nurse, placed at the right time, at the right place named Comfort. Thank you Lord.

There is someone reading this right now, and you are in the middle of your own crisis. You might be wondering, Where are you God? He is right there, as close as your next prayer. He is faithful and He will see you through your trial.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV 

Thanks for your prayers, love, and support. 

Love you all,

Meghan 

 

 

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for taking such good care of my husband during this scary time. You bring peace, comfort, wisdom, and healing. I am asking You to heal Tom, completely. You have the final say on Tom’s health, and life. You are faithful, perfect, holy, awesome God! We praise and thank You!

I lift up the person reading this who is overwhelmed in their own crisis. Lift up their head Lord. Provide every single thing they need. Bring healing, breakthrough, peace, freedom, and absolutely anything that they are crying out to You for. Nothing is impossible with You. Comfort and protect them.

In Jesus Mighty Name, 

Amen!

Photo Credit: Meghan E. White