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Kayla's Only Heart

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Kayla's Only Heart

Tag Archives: prayer

Fill Your Cup, Share the Fruit

06 Saturday Oct 2018

Posted by KaylasOnlyHeart in Uncategorized

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bible, Christian, Christian living, community, devotion, hope, Joseph, Old Testament, prayer, purpose

This morning I read Genesis 40 during my prayer time, and I remembered not only that I read it during another morning’s devotion about a week ago but that Joseph’s story in Egypt offered examples beyond his character we can apply to our lives now.

I have read Genesis 40 during my prayer time twice in the last two weeks. This story of the cupbearer and baker in prison with Joseph, who finds himself imprisoned innocently due to Pharoah’s wife not succeeding with her sexual interest in Joseph, reminds me that not only does Joseph’s character serve as a model for our lives today but so do the people he meets. The cupbearer and baker each share their dreams with Joseph, and Joseph interprets them through God. Joseph tells the cupbearer of the fortune that will soon come to him and implores him to remember Joseph.

The cupbearer’s fortune comes to fruition during Pharoah’s birthday celebration, but he forgets Joseph. It seems that because he has no worry anymore he need not remember the support he needs. He forgets to use his good situation to restore the person who helped him get there. All too often we forget the same details. We finally find ourselves meeting a goal, and we neglect the fact we did not arrive at success alone.

God plants a purpose in us when He makes us. We owe it to Him to follow His will; we cannot succeed without taking those steps of our own volition. However, He still marks the path and gives us success for His glory. This happens in community as we “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13). This encouragement helps us build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11) to stay on the path for with more than one together, they will have someone to pick them up when they fall (Ecclesiastes 4:10). We want to remain steadfast on our path, not forgetting the community of believers God gave us or forgetting to remain on His vine so He may prune and develop us.

On our own, we don’t get anywhere. Let’s not forget that in the good times or the bad. Remain close and trust like Joseph. He continues to follow God’s Law and later finds himself working with Pharaoh to find success for himself, Pharaoh and the whole Egyptian community. We too can fulfill the role God gives us, share that hope with those around us and see fruit available for our community.

Book Review: Women Who Move Mountains

29 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by KaylasOnlyHeart in books, Uncategorized

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Bethany House Publishers, book review, books, Christian living, prayer, Sue Detweiler

I received a copy of Women Who Move Mountains: Praying with Confidence, Boldness, and Grace by Sue Detweiler from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review.

This book serves as a reminder and guide through any season of life. Detweiler encompasses the depth and range of prayer, describing its effects, approach and connections. She outlines how prayer can heal us from hurt we experience or hurt we have caused others. Through a description of how it reaches us and how we can ask for it, she shows us we can have peace. She also reminds us how Jesus came to save us and connect with us. As God’s chosen people, we can go to God in prayer. We have His presence open to us.

As practical and accessible as it is deep, Detweiler writes a book rooted in biblical truth and life application. I recommend this for as a boost of confidence in your prayer life.

Book Review: The Essential Guide to Prayer

21 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by KaylasOnlyHeart in books, Uncategorized

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Bethany House Publishers, book review, books, Christian, Christian living, prayer, praying life

I received a copy of The Essential Guide to Prayer: How to Pray with Power & Effectiveness by Dutch Sheets from Bethany House in exchange for a review.

While a lot of books already exist regarding prayer and a praying life, Sheets manages to deliver new material. Most of this comes from examples he has uncovered and analyzed. He notes the importance of lifting up requests and how they get answered accordingly.

Especially pertinent for today’s world involves the note to play the role of a watchman. This means not only praying for protection when in danger but always praying for safety and deliverance. These requests save people when they may not even realize it. Sheets shares an example of a man saved from harm after praying for protection when he didn’t even know of the imminent danger around him. Sheets reflects on this deliverance writing, “We shouldn’t assume that we need to pray only when warned. Jesus told us to pray daily for deliverance from the evil one,” as a way to maintain a “proactive watchman prayer” (130). This reminded me to pray daily for my health and safety, perhaps starting with a regular recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.

Another practical reminder Sheets gives his readers relates to pray using Scripture. He reminds us to find the appropriate verses for our situations and to use them to confess, declare and make requests to God. This gives a foundation and power to intercession. Sheets also uses 1 John 5:14-15 to note the confidence we can have that God will answer prayers as they align with His will.

Overall, this book provides good reminders as well as evidence through stories and Scripture to back them up. It gave me some notes to reflect upon to improve my own prayer life as I move to intercede.

Book Review: Praying With Eyes Wide Open

05 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by KaylasOnlyHeart in books, Uncategorized

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Baker Books, book review, books, Christian, Christian living, God, prayer

I received a copy of Praying with Eyes Wide Open: A Life-Changing Way to Talk with God by Sherry Harney with Kevin G. Harney from Baker Books in exchange for a review.

The Harneys visit a common theme of prayer but provide good insight into its necessity and effectiveness in everyday life. They emphasize the concept to pray continually from 1 Thessalonians 5: 17. This includes prayers of lament, joy and intercession. When we pray, God will respond.

The book urges us to pray openly and honestly with God as we go through our days. My favorite takeaway from the authors is that “Honest prayer can actually crystallize our thinking and teach us to trust God at deeper levels.” As we keep the line of communication open, we can learn more about God and thus see Him acting on our behalf.

Overall, the book serves as a reminder for prayer life, some ideas new and some repeated. They use scripture, anecdotes from all over the world and analysis to illustrate their points with authority. It can serve as a good book for anyone needing a little encouragement in their prayer life.

Garden Gnome

15 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by KaylasOnlyHeart in Poetry/Lyrics, Uncategorized

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despair, flowers, friend, friendship, fulfill, garden, hope, poem, poetry, prayer, rain, reason, soul, sunshine, together

Glimpsing your flowers

I need not guess

to discern sunshine

the reason to your air

 

strolling your garden

I need not dig

to measure the depths

the root of your despair

 

dancing in rainfall

I need no gauge

to know it’s fertile

this soil we may share

 

growing together

we need not feast

to fulfill our souls

this one endless prayer

Gray Skies Proclaim Deliverance

10 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by KaylasOnlyHeart in Essay, Journal

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answered prayer, bible, change, Christian, Christian living, clouds, darkness, deliverance, glory, God, hope, Jesus, light, open door, opportunity, prayer, progress, Psalms, sky, stress, transition, work

My morning commutes to work give me time to admire the beauty of the sunrise God paints every morning as He reminds me He has gifted me with another day. Especially this week, I have witnessed the sky’s proclamation of God’s glory. This week maintains such a mix of gray clouds and light reflective of confusion and spiritual warfare in life. My week and weekend has included aspects of both, making the morning skies even more reflective of God’s ever-presence. The gray masses of positive stress adapting to my new job, spiritual warfare experienced by myself and co-workers as we band together to spread the Gospel, and confusion about pursuing new writing goals hover over my head much like the morning’s clouds. Yet light always bursts forth. As Psalm 19:1-2 sings,

The heavens declare the glory of God;

The skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

Night after night they display knowledge.

This emphasizes my personal connection to God’s glory, reflection on it, and my writing aspirations.

This week we have some weather reprieve from some rainfall; this provides more change in the sky as the clouds develop and move. My week has had its share of stress as well, notably from emotional buildup and schedule adjustments. A few times, I have gotten in my car and shared with God that He knew how I felt and painted the sky for me, maybe further pushing me to write about it later. I always note the light coming through the center of a dark cloud or a bright silver lining around a raincloud and am thankful that God is light and that darkness will never overcome that light. Even when the gray clouds merge into one, God will make sense of it all. My biggest example of this comes from the end of the week where the sky was simply gray when I left for work. Just a ways down the road, I noticed the blue above me. I could let go of my confusion because God has already answered my prayers.

At work and in my personal life, God clearly has answered several of my prayers that have been weighing on my heart lately. It seems like as soon as I was more open to letting Him use me and me placing my brokenness and desires in His hands, the more He enlightened me and the more He opened doors for me. These revelations most notably came through encouraging interactions with friends and co-workers.

To give an idea of my heart lately, I have been contemplating several writing projects, healing from heartbreak, settling into my new job, and joyously adapting to my regular working hours routine. Again, this all creates positive stress, but it involves a lot of transition at one time. God has spoken to me through His portraits in the sky (an artistic fitting way for a reflective writer like me) and the conversations I have. A friend of mine has casually told me that I should write the novel I’ve had growing in my mind, just the little push of courage I need to get past my first line I’ve had for a while; my boss has found ways to utilize my writing and editing skills and noted me for a volunteer position with our organization that would get me the media exposure and experience I need; I have been reminded of the continual purpose of certain relationships with people; a couple people I recently met have reached out to me in what might be an answer to my prayer for a mentors relationship. God has reminded me that my heart for Him and how I share His love is a testament to Him and can touch other people; I have even met another person at my work who is helping me find outlets to publish my work. Doors are opening, and God is showing His glory.

What stands out to me most throughout all this is how much God honors our efforts to be open to His plan. One of my co-workers pointed out that we should all know good things are ahead when because some of us were going through some spiritual warfare. She is so spot-on. Just look at how God has delivered me again this week and shown me opportunities to glorify Him. As I open myself to Him and His plan for me, He honors my efforts to share His love, especially as I do that through the support of His body and the power of prayer. Now I pray that God will continue to give me courage and strength to pursue the use of my gifts and that they ultimately point to Him. I lift up the end of Psalm 19, verse 14:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be pleasing in your sight,

O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

to remind us that God holds us firmly and delivers us that we may serve Him. May the skies and the efforts of our gifts proclaim His glory forever.

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You can't make advances if you don't take chances. These posts share my perspectives of my journey as I step forward, walking in the Light.

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