Prayer – Page 3 – Women's Ministry

It’s Not About Rules

September 12, 2016September 5, 2016by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

There seem to be so many rules about spending time with God: You should pray first thing in the morning. But, also pray throughout the day. You need to pray about J(esus) O(thers) Y(ourself). Praying for 30 minutes is a minimum. Pray the Word. Be quiet and listen. Pray in a prayer closet. Pray with others. Pray by yourself. Pray for your children (for sure before bed!).

Nothing seems to be wrong with any of these guidelines. We WANT to pray effectively. We WANT to be taught how. We will do anything in our power to get it right…And that’s where it seemed to break down for me. I realized I am dependent upon God, even for—especially for—prayer.

I recognize that I have rules/guidelines for interacting with my friends and family, but that is not what I am most thinking about when I have fellowship with them. My awesome heavenly Father captures my attention so much more, and woos me into a love relationship with Him. I just want to be with Him. I want to be led by Him as I grow in my relationship with Him in prayer.

Not that my relationship with God has to have parallels with my human relationships, but I think it does bring up some things to think about. Just as I don’t interact with my husband in the exact same pattern every day, I realized it is the same with my heavenly Father.

Sometimes I can sit quietly in His presence and be refreshed. Sometimes it looks more like a great interceding for a matter that He has placed on my heart. Sometimes I sing a love song to Him (although not as often as I would wish, and certainly not with a microphone). Sometimes I pray for those matters that it says specifically in His word that we should pray for (like our leaders and for Israel).

Right now, I have a desire to grow in these things. I also don’t want my life to be so segregated, but to fellowship with God throughout the entire day.

I love having a sweet reminder of His presence when I see the sunrise. I love when I sense His leading as I seek Him silently in the middle of a difficult conversation. I love when He brings a Scripture to my mind. Walking with Him and abiding in Him all day long is my desire. But it is only in His strength. Thank you, Lord, that your strength is all I need.

I love Philippians 2:13 that says,

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

It’s all in Him. He gives me the desire to have greater fellowship with Him, and then He doesn’t leave me hanging—He gives me the power to do it. I’m grateful.

This post was written by Karen Earhart. To read more about her, click here.

Books, Prayer

The Circle Maker {A Book Review}

May 30, 2016September 9, 2025by hcfwomen1 Comment

Every month, we feature a book review based on our blog theme for that month. For more great book suggestions, check out our Bookshelf tab here. (And for you non-readers, check out the audio book options!)

For May, we’ve been blogging about the power of prayer, and while there are a lot of great books on prayer, I wanted to review The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.

When I first started reading this book, I only read through maybe a third of it—and then I got discouraged. We were praying for miracles in our life, and Mark shared testimony after testimony of God’s answered prayer for his life and for his church.

I suddenly felt a bit forgotten and alone.

And, to be honest, I sort of developed a bad attitude toward the book. I would say stuff like, “Oh, he’s just all about ‘name it and claim it.’ That’s not how God operates.”

Let me tell you, friends, when I did actually come back to finish it—a year or so later—I realized it’s so very far from being heretical.

Mark gives insight into the heart of God for prayer: that we would believe, that we would risk in what we ask for because only then are we exercising faith, and that we would be persistent even when we don’t see anything changing.

He’s very quotatble, so I’ll try to be sparse, but here are a few of my favorites:

“His command better be your wish. If it’s not, you won’t be drawing circles; you’ll end up walking in circles” (p. 16).

“God does not answer vague prayers” (p. 27).

“No doesn’t always mean no; sometimes it means not yet. We’re too quick to give up on God when He doesn’t answer our prayers how or when we want. Maybe your deadline doesn’t fit God’s timeline… Maybe it’s a divine delay” (p. 64).

“If you want God to surprise you, you have to give up control” (p. 66).

“I don’t want easy answers or quick answers because I have a tendency to mishandle the blessings that come too easily or too quickly. I take the credit or take them for granted. Now I pray that it will take long enough and be hard enough for God to receive all the glory. I’m not looking for the path of least resistance; I’m looking for the path of greatest glory… Maybe we need to change our prayer approach from as soon as possible to as long as it takes (p. 196).

Whether you’re a seasoned prayer warrior or are looking for an approach to be more disciplined with your prayer life, you’ll be encouraged by this book!

Pray in middle voice—taking action but depending on God to complete the action.

Let’s exercise our faith through prayer!

This post was written by Laura Brandenburg. To read more about her, click here.

Fruitfulness, Prayer

Influence in Your Circle

May 23, 2016September 5, 2016by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

I once declared, “I won’t do anything without talking with You about it first, God.” The statement came after a terrible time of grief and pride, and as the only reasonable response to a stunning and specific, yet amazingly gentle, correction given to me by Our Father.

I’d like to say that I have made good on that promise 100%, but that would not be true. However, our Counselor reminds me of that vow when I “go and do,” but neglect my conversations with God. I have noticed that the pattern holds: as I pray about personal, marriage, parenting, friendship, church and ministry, vocation, political issues, etc., I see His praise-worthy creative power at work. However, when I neglect my privileged responsibility to pray over my spheres of influence, I hopelessly witness not only my own but others’ terrible times, grief, and pride.

Remarkably, God Himself made nearly the same statement to us as I made to Him. Amos 3:7 (NIV) says,

Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

I believe the reason He does this is to provide the reality of the difference He makes in our and others’ lives. Our spoken prayers toward Him make a difference in our perspective of the world. Also true is that His spoken word—transforming us internally and manifesting externally through us—makes a difference in how He and the world relate to one another. Powerfully, we are in God’s sphere of influence!

Our faith is the only one which states that overcoming this world’s degenerative problems is not just possible, it is the ongoing fulfillment of an eternal promise (John 16:33)! God’s part of the conversation, often given through His disciples, is powerful and effective; He provides correction, encouragement, love, and every good thing.

Many Christians I have known struggle with the words “witness,” “testimony,” and “prophecy”; they sound like they belong to other people and other times. However, John’s Revelation (19:10 – ERV) message, “…the truth of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” is for all disciples of all ages to experience! When we think about it, to witness simply means to provide “public affirmation by word or example,” especially, of our belief in the doctrine of Christianity (the teachings of Jesus and of His Apostles) to those who need the Truth.

Jesus encourages disciples with His timeless declaration, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 – NIV). The world is large, and our problems in it can seem overwhelming; however, the pattern of God’s power in overcoming remains. It is our privileged responsibility to pray about religions and politics, work and recreation, friends, and family; because, these spheres touch and overlap. Praying, we witness God’s influence throughout the world. Beginning with our own little circle, we’ll increasingly see how He changes lives in every good way!

This post was written by Tina Crowson.

Prayer

Praying in Power

May 16, 2016April 23, 2016by hcfwomen2 Comments

About nine years ago, I began gathering with half a dozen women around the HCF kitchen island every week. It is here that I have learned how to pray—for myself, my family, but most of all for our church. Here I have learned what an honor it is to pray for our pastors and church leadership, and to come into agreement with what God is doing in our land. You can learn how to pray in power and authority over our church, too. Dear sister, your prayers over our church matter.

So how do we pray declarative prayers of truth and power over our church?

First of all, we need to pray in agreement with what our pastors are praying (or words they have received) over our church. This increases the power released when we are praying in unity with our leadership (not just praying what we think needs to be prayed). Yes, we all have the ability to hear the Holy Spirit—but the Holy Spirit has chosen to speak to our leaders, so we need to get on board with that! We need to catch the vision of what God is doing in our church and our community…and that most often comes through what He is speaking to our pastors.

Our pastors are not super-human. They are regular people like you and me. But they have been anointed by God to lead our church, and that is a great responsibility. They need us to support them in unity and in prayer.

One of my favorite verses to declare over our pastors is Ephesians 3:16.

I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.

Second, we need to be in tune with God’s Spirit. We need to ask God to make us so aware of His Spirit moving. We need to come ready to hear and see and speak what He is doing and saying. It does not matter if you are on the “prayer team” or not. This is something that every member of the church should be aiming toward every minute of the day.

This is not about us. It is about stepping in and being part of what God is doing. We as the Church have the responsibility to pray God’s Word and God’s will over our church. We are all part of the team. Our prayers create an atmosphere for God to come in power.

Third: Have faith. Spend time drawing near to God. We need to receive what God says about who we are; then He will deposit into us His heart for people. When we get God’s heart, we are able to pray in confidence His words over our church…His Body. God’s heart is for us. God’s heart is for this community. God’s heart is for this Church. So pray believing—for power, miracles, healing, freedom, and transformation. God wants to move in power in our church!

This post was written by Heather Dillard. To read more about her, click here.

Faith, Family, Prayer

Permission to Act Like a Child

May 9, 2016April 21, 2016by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

I am a huge fan of hypothetical situations. I often laugh out loud at hypothetical “what ifs” that play through my mind. In accordance with this pastime, I often think about “what if” we reacted to things the same way as children? Can you imagine?

I am disappointed that my favorite class at the gym got cancelled so I proceed to throw a pathetic tantrum at the front desk. Someone cuts in front of me at the store when I am in a huge hurry…and I respond by tattling to the checker while bringing my shoulder low and pushing my body in front of the person that cut me in line. This brings a smile to my face, but is not acceptable in the least.

While this picture of childlike behavior paints a picture of immaturity and a lack of skills to deal with difficult situations, I have recently begun to consider the spiritual lessons and wisdom that I can gain from my five-year-old daughter, Conley. Recently, I found her in our hallway closet in declarative prayer. My son had jumped off of something and hurt himself (Disclaimer: He was adequately supervised. He is just an intense and very fast child). I was tending to him, and when he settled down, I could hear Conley in the closet speaking the truth of Scripture and declaring him “healed.” She came out and said, “Mom, you don’t have to worry about him. The Bible said God can heal and so he’s ok.”

In another situation, she had heard a story on the radio about a veteran who could not find employment. She asked my husband to pray with her in the truck. She spoke the truth of Scripture over him and a few weeks later told me, “Mom, we don’t have to worry about that man from the radio station. God hears our prayers and he will handle it.” I could share numerous other stories where I have been reminded of how simple Scripture really is when it comes to truth.

Children are able to view the truth of Scripture in a way that is less jaded and distorted when compared to adults. I have been so overwhelmed with God’s generosity as he reveals his strength and truth through my own adult-sized pride. As I have taken lessons from my 5-year-old, it has shaped my prayer life. I now declare God’s specific scriptural truths over my family in the same way as my child. I find peace and freedom in discovering and declaring those truths over my family each day.

I encourage you to seek out scriptural truths to refute the lies you have led yourself to believe, and end the battles you thought you had to fight. Pray from a declarative position as I was so humbly taught by my child. I hereby give you permission to act like a child.

This post was written by Lindsey Wesley. To read more about her, click here.

Fruitfulness, God's Presence, Prayer, Scripture

How to Pray BEFORE the Meltdown

May 2, 2016April 23, 2016by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

I don’t know about you, but taking care of sick kids wears on me after a while. My girls took turns being sick for two weeks and not long afterward my eldest ran fever for 7 days straight. Too sick to go to school but not sick enough to stay in bed. Irritable kids. Irritable mom. Flesh struggling against flesh patterns. Lots of triggered pain. You get the picture.

But my heart is my responsibility.

How do I work through this, especially after I’ve completely lost my composure?Declarative Prayer.

We steer where we stare. Declarative prayer gives me a vehicle with which I can shift my focus back on God and what He says is true. Declarative prayers aren’t speaking magic incantations or denying the difficulties I face.

They help me recognizing that even in the midst of this circumstance, God gets the last word.

Let’s go back to my quasi-meltdown. Afterward, I settled down and thought. Once I verbally processed what I was feeling, I identified the lie I believed: abandonment. It went something like this, “I am alone. No one wants to help me and it’s up to me to make everything come together. Of course, I will fail and it’ll all be my fault.”

Cheerful, huh?

Once I said it out loud I could see the ridiculousness of it all. This lie was in direct opposition to a promise God spoke to my heart a few years back. He said, “Jodi, I’m going to help you.”

That’s it. When I thought about His promise, it wasn’t difficult to enter into declarative prayer. Here’s an example:

“Lord, thank You for helping me through this tough time. You are able to keep me from falling and present me without fault (Jude 24). I’ve had a hard time, but You have not given me a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). Because of the finished work of the cross I have peace with God (Colossians 1:20) and I can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13). So instead of relying on my old coping mechanisms to get me through today, I am going to lean into who I am in Christ and trust You. I am not responsible for making everything work today. Instead of pre-judging others, I will ask for help from the appropriate people and move forward from there. Thank You for helping me walk in reality instead of vain imaginations.”

Bam.

I’ve never spent time praying this way when His peace didn’t give me clarity to take the next step. And friends, honestly that’s what most of us need. We couldn’t handle detailed marching orders for the rest of our life. He’s going to show us the next step. Then we get to choose whether or not we’re going to obey.

When you realize you’re rapidly approaching a pain cycle, I want you to remember that you are not powerless. You can use declarative prayer to release the power of God into your heart, your mind and your response. Go for it!

This post was written by Jodi LaFrance. To read more about her, click here.

Fruitfulness, Prayer

A Call To Fight

June 18, 2015by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. ”

Because of the influence of my sisters, I now mentally make Lord of the Rings analogies to life…and I’ve noticed I’ve been doing this more recently. To me, this and other stories like it give a picture of a time when people lived fully, loved deeply, and fought fiercely. And I believe that we are in a similar place today: a place where we need to allow ourselves to be fully present to those in our lives.

And there comes a time even now when we must fight. Sometimes it’s for ourselves and sometimes it’s for others. We fight for our families, we fight for our friends, we fight for our churches. This is not in the physical, it is in the spiritual, but it doesn’t make it any less important.
We fight to choose life every day.
We fight in worship.
We fight in prayer.
We fight in faith.

There is an account in the book of Exodus when the Israelites are fighting a battle, and their leader, Moses, is standing at the top of the hill. Whenever he lifts his hands up, they are winning, but when he lowers them, the enemy begins winning. Moses is very old at this time, and his hands grow tired. Two of the leaders have to hold up Moses’ hands on either side, and the victory is won.

Our prayers matter. In this, we are lending our strengths to others and speaking life over them. We are reminding them and ourselves of the truth of God’s Word and speaking it into our reality on earth. This does not mean that we let our hearts get hard; but we are willing to step out in courage–to step up and fight. We do this because our hearts are tender, we care about people, and we are willing to fight for them in prayer (and action, too). These are not scared prayers; these are declaring God’s Word over people and situations, and reminding our own hearts that God is bigger than anything we might face.

We do not fight as if we do not know who will win the battle. We fight because we know that our God is on our side, and he is victorious. He does not slumber or sleep, but will keep our hearts and lives safe–hidden in him. In the physical, this may or may not work out like we want. But we know that we can trust our God and press hard into Him no matter what.

This post was written by Heather Dillard. To read more about her, click here.

Friendship, Fruitfulness, Life Groups, Prayer

Community Within a Life Group

August 16, 2014December 28, 2016by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

When I think of a thriving life group, I equate it with the word community. Life groups are really special to me because the leaders and people who attend those groups are fun to be with. In the life group that I attend, I’ve noticed that we are all a conglomeration of mixed personalities and occupations. But within our life group, we find the common ground of praying for each other and encouraging each others’ walk with the Lord.

The leaders of my group have a good grasp on what it means to live a life fully serving the Lord. While we are discussing the questions of the week based on Sunday’s sermon, they are always eager to listen to our stories and share their own experiences, too. Even they will admit that they do not have all the answers, and that they certainly don’t live a perfect life. But what makes my life group so personal to me is that they are trying to follow the Lord and are willing to share joys and hardships that they have experienced. This type of vulnerability makes it easier for everyone in the group to open up and share any questions or related situations we’ve faced.

I have two favorite parts of my life group! One is the food that is served! I’ve been to some life groups who ask each person to bring a dish and share a potluck dinner before the previous week’s sermon is discussed. In our group we have elected to pay five dollars each week to have a homemade meal. It is delicious! Another favorite of mine is the time that we take to pray for each other. Currently our life group leaders have decided to choose a person or couple to pray for throughout the week. Then the following week, the entire group is invited to share what they have heard from the Lord about that person. Our leaders also open up the floor to anyone who needs prayer, and our group prays for individual requests of the week. This prayer time helps everyone in our group to have a part in the fellowship and spiritual aspect of our life group, and I think it is vital in building a community.

What is your favorite part of life groups?

If you are not currently involved in a life group, now is a great time to join one! Life Groups kick off for the fall semester on August 20th! Click here to learn more about life groups, find a group that fits you and your family, and get plugged in to community! You can also pick up a copy of the Life Group Directory in the church foyer on Sunday mornings.

This post was written by Hannah Dillard.

Fruitfulness, Prayer

Hearing God – Part 2

May 15, 2014May 15, 2014by hcfwomenLeave a Comment

(This is the second half of a post from Tissie Beasley on learning to hear from God for ourselves and for others. To read Part 1, click here.)

Hearing from God and talking with him is like having a conversation with an intimate friend. When you spend time with them long enough, and sit and listen intently, you hear their heart. When we spend time with Jesus, we hear His heart for us and for others.

Relationships take time to build. Close intimate ones don’t happen overnight. Here are some practical ways to hear God for yourself and others:

1. Be a willing vessel. God wants to speak; we just need to be willing to listen and then respond. Listening is only half of it; we need to be willing to respond and act on what we hear. Be obedient.

2. Have a sincere heart and love for people. This comes from being in the presence of the Lord. The more we are full of him and his love the more natural it is to love people.

3. Position yourself in a place to hear his voice. To hear God clearly we have to make time to do so. Spending time in his Word and praying opens our heart to hear him. Just remember, this is not a “to do” list, but spiritual disciplines help draw us close to the heart of God, and allow us to commune with him. God shares his heart for us and others when we walk in close relationship with him.

4. Believe that God wants to and is speaking to you! His heart is for you. He has passionately pursued you, so trust that he wants to speak to you. Here is what Jeremiah 33:2-3 says: “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” Here is the same verse in the Message: “This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’” God wants to speak!

5. Have a trusted mentor, life group leader, or pastor who can help you discern the voice of God. Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17), and surrounding yourself with people who are strong in the Lord and who can encourage you is so powerful. We are not in this alone, and God uses others to help us grow. If you hear a word for someone, run it by a leader or mentor, especially if it is correctional. My experience is that God uses us mostly to speak words of love and exhortation to others. Be careful when speaking correction to someone. God’s heart is not for us to go around correcting one another, but for us to build one another up. Ephesians 4:16 says, “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

6. Something that has forever changed my life is the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Being filled and empowered daily by God’s Spirit has opened my eyes, heart and ears to hear and see Him more clearly, and to act boldly and with confidence. It is one of my most precious relationships, and I am very intentional about making time and a way for God’s Spirit to work in and through me.

Be encouraged today that God wants to speak to you, and that he desires to use you to reach and minister to others. Be obedient even in the things you think might be small and unimportant. You never know what will minister to the heart of someone else and impact their life.

This post was written by Tissie Beasley. To read more about her, click here.

Fruitfulness, Prayer

Hearing God – Part 1

May 1, 2014by hcfwomen2 Comments

What do you do when a face or a name pops in your head? Do you dismiss it, or do you ask God how you can pray for this person? It may sound silly, but I believe God is constantly speaking to us and pulling us outside of ourselves into relationships with others. One way is through our thoughts: God places different people in our thoughts that he wants us to connect with.

Sometimes all the connection we will make is in the spiritual, by praying for them.

It’s early Monday morning, and I awaken with a friend on my heart. As I begin to pray, I feel a deep burden for them and hear a specific scripture in my heart. I begin to pray that scripture over my friend and the peace begins to come in my heart. God prompts me to share this scripture with them so I write a quick text: “Thinking of you this morning, this scripture is on my heart for you…praying God’s abundant grace and peace over you today.” I think sometimes we complicate God. He speaks; we just need to learn to discern.

I love the way God speaks! It comes in different forms, but I find that God speaks primarily in 3 ways: through His written Word (the Bible), through others, and directly to us. All are important and all come through relationship. Our God is a relational God. The Bible says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Jesus Christ is the Word of God in the flesh, and by his coming to the earth, he created a way for us to have a relationship with the living, breathing Word of God, and hear him speak directly to us—because now we can have an intimate relationship with him.

Hearing God is a matter of the heart, a positioning of one’s self. A hard heart can’t hear God clearly. Unless there are holes or cracks, nothing can get in or out. God wants to speak to us. He is looking for people who have a desire to hear him, to receive what he has to say, and to act on it. Hear me, this is not about more work you can do to hear God better. It is about a relationship. God wants to be pursued, and he speaks to those who eagerly pursue him. He is constantly pursuing us and drawing us to Him. When we turn and do the same, our hearts become open to hear Him. He says you will find him when you seek him with all of your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

This post was written by Tissie Beasley. To read more about her, click here. Stay tuned for Part 2 later this month!