When a decision needs to be made regarding “big things” in life, we can feel like we’re on a dead end street However, knowing the will of God can be simplified when we follow the directives from His Word. The Refresh Her podcast that was published today will break down how to discern God’s will.
Continue reading “How To Know the Will of God”Category: God’s Will
Nothing Makes Me Happier
A couple times this week I’ve heard someone say,
Nothing makes me happier than…
One person said showing women how to fix their own hair makes her happiest. Another said giving blood brings her the most joy. It made me stop and ask myself, “What gives me the greatest happiness?”
Continue reading “Nothing Makes Me Happier”
When You’re Waiting On God
What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails
And puppy-dogs’ tails,
That’s what little boys are made of.
For one of our little grandsons, that poem is so accurate. He loves any kind of animal, and will warm up to whatever dog or cat is around, no matter its hesitant nature towards children. He has a way with them, and a heart that melts to love and care for this furry friend. His brother is far more resistant and quite leery about animals, perhaps knowing how quickly one can turn on an unsuspecting child.
Last year, their parents did the loving thing and purchased a puppy for their animal-loving son and his twin brother. Beasley was welcomed into their home as a wiggling, barking, ever-moving Labradoodle. His teeth were never satisfied with the likes of store-bought teethers. He would nip and snip at the boys when they were running through the yard. Our animal lover thought this was hilarious; his brother was traumatized by it. All kinds of dog-training methods were used, but over time the puppy continued to howl and bite, and the frightened grandson, became more and more upset.
Continue reading “When You’re Waiting On God”
A Heart for Prayer
This is a continuation of the review of the book, A Woman After God’s Own Heart, but Elizabeth George
Whenever spring arrives, you will find me taking bags full of items that are being sent out to donate. They are things that are no longer of use to me. They are weighing me down. The truth is, however, that those bags typically sit in my garage for a long time before they finally get hauled away. I know they need to go. I know it will feel good to get rid of them. I know it’s the best thing, but I keep putting it off, until finally I’ve had enough and the task finally gets done! It feels so good to unclutter my home! I always wonder why I didn’t do it sooner!
While that is so freeing to me, the act of taking my load of sin, burdens and requests to the Lord is even better! We often carry that load around with us and the burden of it all is weighty and deadening to our spiritual growth.
Most Christians delay praying. We put it off and resist it! We make excuses as to why we don’t pray. Satan doesn’t want us to have that fellowship with the Lord, and we listen to his lies until we finally are at a breaking point and we pour out our heart to God. The result is better than we could ever imagine.
In her book, A Woman After God’s Own Heart, Elizabeth George shares seven blessings of having a fervent prayer life. When I read these, I wondered why we put it off, why we don’t pray more. Look at to these incredible blessings ~
- A deeper relationship with God. How can we have a relationship with the God who saved us if we don’t communicate with Him? Just as you and I long for fellowship with our husband or friends, God longs to enjoy fellowship and communion with Him. That happens when we pray. It’s not out of obligation, but because of a relationship. I Peter 5:7
As a camel kneels before his master to have him remove his burden, so kneel and let the Master take your burden. - Greater purity. As we talk with God, the Spirit of God will reveal sin in our lives. That leads us to confessing that sin and getting it right with Him. Elizabeth shared about being convicted of gossip. She began to make it a real matter of prayer that God would help her defeat this sin. “I faced my sin regularly in prayer. Sin led to confession, which led to purging.”
- Confidence in Making decisions. – As we face decisions that need to be made, giving them to the Lord and making it a true matter of prayer will give us wisdom about what to do. God will never lead us to do something that is contrary to His word. So as we pray about the decision, He will direct us in His truth. We need to pray about everything. Elizabeth lives by this mantra ~
No decision without prayer.
NO DECISION? None. “Should I go here?”
“Should I say yes to this invitation?”
As we are directed by the Lord in prayer, we can have confidence regarding those choices. When God has led us to say Yes to giving the devotion at a baby shower, we won’t dread it or be afraid, because we remember that He led us to make that decision, and He will fulfill all the good pleasure of His will! - Improved Relationships. Making specific prayer for those people closest to us will strengthen our relationships with them. How does this happen?
- You can’t think about yourself and others at the same time.
- You can’t hate the person you are praying for. Jesus instructed us to pray for our enemies. Matt 5:44 and God changes our hearts as we do so.
- You cannot neglect the person you are praying for. As we pray, we find ourselves involved in those people’s lives.
- Contentment. As we give to the Lord our wants, realizing that He will keep His promises to provide our needs, we will learn that “If He didn’t meet it, we didn’t need it. Paul said he was initiated into the secret place of contentment. This secret place is the place of prayer. If you’re praying about something and want it so badly, take it to your time of prayer.
- God-confidence. As you face your own inadequacies, prayer will give you confidence in what He can do through you. You will learn to trust Him.
- The ministry of prayer. No matter if you have physical strength to go and do other ministries, you can always have a ministry of prayer. You don’t need to go anywhere, you don’t need anything except a heart to bring burdens to our God Who promises to hear us when we call out to Him. So pray for others! Pray about your own burdens! You be the one who reaches out to pray with a friend over the phone, or in your home. Be the intercessor for others because of your heart to pray.
Are you a praying woman? Or are you carrying around the load and weight of your burdens rather than taking them to the Lord? You’ll be so free if you’ll spend time sharing your heart with God. You’ll also wonder why you didn’t do this sooner. God wants fellowship with you. Call out to Him. Draw near. He will draw near to you.
Do you have a prayer journal? I have offered a pdf for my favorite prayer journal in past. I’m still happy to send it for free to anyone who emails me here at Refreshherblog@gmail.com.
You can find the previous chapter of the review of A woman After God’s Own Heart here.
How Do We Have a Hot Heart for God?
I am going through one of my favorite books…again. A Woman After God’s Own Heart, by Elizabeth George. When I was a young mom, I began reading this book every other year because I found it so helpful for growth in every area of my life!
Now I have the blessing of going through it with a woman who is in the same stage of life as when I began studying these truths that Elizabeth carefully penned. These principles are life-changing. For that reason, I thought it would be helpful for me to share highlights from the chapters as I review them. I won’t give all the details, but will share the important truths from each chapter. I pray that you’ll find them as helpful as I have over these years.
Discipline – nothing great happens without it, and that includes spiritual growth. We don’t grow by our grit, but by the steady commitment to being a woman who stays in God’s Word. It cannot be a casual approach that studies when we have time, or only when there is a crisis. But how do we have the discipline to be a woman after God’s heart?
We must choose God at every opportunity.
In Luke 10 we read the beloved story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha. Mary chose to stop all activity and listen to the Lord. She ceased all other activity so she could do just that.
Perhaps we need to ask –
- What activity in my life is keeping me moving, anxious and unable to listen to the voice of the Lord in His Word?
- How do I find myself “interrupting Him” as Martha did?
It’s hard to hear and heed God’s Word without the discipline to sit still and listen. We must make the choice to choose the one thing that is needed. Then after we’ve given it to the Lord, He takes over. He does the Psalm 32:8 thing ~
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”
Each day, commit yourself afresh and anew to the Lord. Give Him your time, your possessions and your home – even if they are few, yourself – even as weak as you are, and ESPECIALLY because of your weakness!! Give him your husband and each child. Name each one. If you are not praying for your husband, who is? If you are not praying for your child, who will?
Andrew Murray said, God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.
Elizabeth says to “cultivate a hot heart for God.” Cultivate is to “Foster the growth of,” “To improve by labor.”To have a hot heart for God is to go against the culture of this world where we are only encouraged to “have it your way!” But we have to do the work necessary to have that heart that is burning for Christ!
I’m always intrigued to read obituaries in the paper. When I see that a Christian has died, I always wonder how they are described by their family. “She loved the beach” “She loved to bake cakes for others.” “She was the best grandmother.” I pray I can be remembered as a woman who had a hot heart for the Lord!
How do you want to be remembered? If it’s your desire to be a woman who follows God and has a heart for Him, then you must make a daily decision to choose God’s ways, make a commitment of yourself to the Lord daily, and then a cultivate a heart of spiritual fervency.
What you’re doing with your life today is contributing to how you will be remembered. Make today count.
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