Prayer as Everyday Life

Prayer As Everyday Life

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Tuesday, April 30, 2013

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I recently came across the term “Christ-encountering prayer” through an article by Fred Hartley entitled, “A Praying Church Is a Missional Church” in Prayer Connect Magazine. This concept grips my heart and had me asking the question, “What does Chr ... Read More

Prayer-Empowered Service

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Monday, March 25, 2013

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Prayerfully taking inventory of your day allows you to learn how live more fully for Jesus and to serve Him in Christ-like ways. ... Read More

Imagining Jesus in Your Prayer Life

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Sunday, March 03, 2013

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Have you ever considered bringing the living Jesus into your prayer life by way of the imagination our creative God gave you? Learn one way to intercede with the direct involvement of the One who lives to intercede for us, and delights to be involved ... Read More

Do You Want God to be God?

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Wednesday, February 06, 2013

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Dallas Willard said, “Wanting God to be God is very different from wanting God to help me.” If I could grasp this, my praying would be very different much of the time! ... Read More

Ten Prayer Resolutions for the New Year

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Friday, January 04, 2013

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Perhaps you have already set your New Year’s resolutions in committed stone for 2013; however, I encourage you to consider weaving one or more of these powerful prayer resolutions into the mix as you seek to be more like Jesus, the One who lives to i ... Read More

The Prayer of Seeking

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Monday, December 03, 2012

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Prayer is the deepest love connection with the Father, made possible by the sacrifice of His Son. It is an awesome privilege, and our deepest connectivity with the heart of God. His Word says that if we seek Him, He will be found by us. ... Read More

Mustard Seeds and Mulberry Trees

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Thursday, November 01, 2012

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If you are a follower of Jesus, and have a personal relationship with Him, at some point in your life, you prayed a powerful, life-changing prayer that has forever altered your spiritual condition. ... Read More

If My People...

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Wednesday, October 10, 2012

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“Whatever is natural in you will come out of you in a crisis…and crisis will reveal the true state of your heart.”

I came across this teaching from Allen Hood, Associate Director of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO, as I was cons ... Read More

Gazing at God

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Monday, September 03, 2012

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As I considered and prayed about how to encourage you this month, this quote came my way: “If you begin to live life looking for the God that is all around you, every moment becomes a prayer.” Frank Bianco ... Read More

Are Your Prayers the Key to the Salvation of Others?

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Sunday, July 29, 2012

Comments:3

As you interact with the people in your own family, your friends, coworkers, fellow students, business associates, customers, or even the strangers you pass every day, have you ever considered whether or not anyone is praying for them? What if your ... Read More

If You Could Ask God One Question...

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Tuesday, July 03, 2012

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“What can you ask God that will help you be more complete?” This was the question posed to me in a friend’s blog recently. As I considered my everyday life, it occurred to me that I already have everything I need in Jesus for a complete life…and, on ... Read More

Before You Intercede: Learning to Dwell in the Quiet

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Tuesday, June 05, 2012

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Quietness is becoming more and more a necessary part of the transformative work of God in me. I am not a naturally quiet person; yet, I crave seasons of silence and solitude more and more. Stillness centers my heart, and gives me the opportunity to e ... Read More

Simple Prayers for a Complex Life

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Comments:1

A friend of mine recently wrote about a question that was asked at the end of a devotion she was reading: “What is your simple prayer today?” As I thought about what a “simple prayer” looks like for me, I was reminded of a quote by author, Lee Anne P ... Read More

How Long, O Lord? (Experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul)

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Friday, March 30, 2012

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If you are like me, there are seasons when your prayer life seems out of sorts…when it feels as if God is not speaking or leading you as He perhaps has in the past. It is during such times that I begin to question why there is a lack of the sense of ... Read More

Praying With a Faith-Filled Heart

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Tuesday, February 28, 2012

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One woman touching Jesus' cloak in the midst of a crowd, believing for her healing. Did she know that it was God’s will to use her to bring glory to Himself? Perhaps not; however, her humble act of faith provides a good model for us to pray bold, fa ... Read More

Blessing Prayer: A Gift of Love and Encouragement

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Tuesday, February 07, 2012

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Other than the gift of interceding for others, it is especially powerful to pray specific “blessing prayers” from Scripture over loved ones, missionaries, neighbors, coworkers, pastors and church leaders, and yes, even “enemies.” Not only has God com ... Read More

Lord, Make Me Holy

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Tuesday, January 10, 2012

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I used to struggle uncomfortably with the command of God to be holy as He is holy…not because I didn’t believe it or think I could become more holy, but because I couldn’t imagine being holy in the same way that God is holy. I equated holiness with p ... Read More

God with Us

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Sunday, December 04, 2011

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If our awareness of God's presence begins even before we are born, how can we most effectively nurture and encourage a life given to prayer in the generations to come? ... Read More

Spiritual Disciplines of Prayer (Part Two: Silence as Intimacy with God)

Author:Kim Butts

Topic Date:Thursday, November 03, 2011

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MY BLOG HAS BEEN RELOCATED!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Hello to my blog followers! I just wanted to let you know that my blog is now being hosted on another site! You will still be able to follow/subscribe - just go to the bottom of the new blog and enter your email. Here is the Link!

Thanks! We wanted to put all of our blogs for Harvest Prayer Ministries et al on the same site, so you can now check out multiple blogs on prayer at: www.prayerconnect.net/Blogs

Prayer Connect is our new magazine on prayer! Please help us get the word out!

Blessings and thanks!

Kim...More»»

Spiritual Disciplines of Prayer (Part Two: Silence as Intimacy with God)

Thursday, November 03, 2011

“But oh! God is in his holy Temple! Quiet everyone – a holy silence. Listen!” Habakkuk 2:20 MSG

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…” Psalm 37:7a

Jesus frequently separated Himself from the busy, noisy life of His ministry to be alone in the Presence of His Father. Scripture teaches clearly how He repeatedly went to quiet, lonely places to pray. Jesus drew apart in order to hear from God and to be refreshed and renewed in the Presence of His Father. Because of this disciplined intimacy, Jesus was able to commune with God and discern His voice in the midst of the noise and activity around Him. If this was the regular rhythm of the life of Jesus, it should be so for us as well.

Dallas Willard states, “God's provision for us and for His work through us is adequate. We do not have to ‘make it happen.’ We must stop shouldering the burdens of ‘outcomes.’ These are safely in His hands. Someone insightfully said, ‘The greatest threat to devotion to Christ is service for Christ.’ Allowing service for Christ to steal our devotion to Him is a radical failure in personal soul care. But it is one from which the practice of communing with Christ in times of solitude and silence can deliver us.”

If we can’t hear God in the silence, how can we ever hope to hear Him in the constant hammering din of everyday life? It is difficult to separate ourselves at times from all of the spiritual “do-ing” in order to take the time necessary to listen for His voice, no matter what form it takes (that’s entirely up to Him). Often, we make a perfunctory attempt to be still and know that He alone is God, when we are really consumed with wondering “how long is this going to take before I hear something?” Perhaps a key lesson within silence is to learn how to be content in the Presence of God whether He chooses to speak or not. A sweet memory came back to me while writing this. I remember one late night when my husband and I discovered it had started to snow. We turned out the lights and sat snuggled together on the couch just watching in perfect silence…no words were spoken. Simply being together in that moment was enough.

Our purpose for silence must never be attached to an agenda in order to “get” something from God. Our intent is to simply be in His presence…and if we learn how to be content there…we will become in time, a prepared, consecrated vessel, ready to hear from Him when He chooses to speak. Silence teaches us contentment in waiting. Can the knowledge of His presence be sufficient in your every day life?

How do we make the transition from silence to carrying His Presence into whatever each day brings to us as Jesus did so seamlessly? Carving small moments of stillness into my day often helps…little mini Sabbaths of rest such as taking a walk, gazing out a window, putting on headphones to block out the noise around me, etc. There are creative ways to be still, but it is definitely a discipline that needs to be nurtured.

“In a noise-polluted world, it is even difficult to hear ourselves think let alone try to be still and know God. Yet it seems essential for our spiritual life to seek some silence, no matter how busy we may be. Silence is not to be shunned as empty space, but to be befriended as fertile ground for intimacy with God.” Susan Muto...More»»

Spiritual Disciplines of Prayer (Part 1: Seeking God in Silence)

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6)

Do you find that you are sometimes easily sidetracked from the importance of an issue at hand by small, insignificant things that can cause you to lose your focus completely? I am very susceptible to such distractions, especially when I am attempting to attend to my own soul. For instance, it is a simple thing to be intent upon sitting in the lovely company of the Father, only to find that something left undone on my “to do” list can quickly yank me out of His presence.

Oh, I know about devices such as writing down the distracting issue in order to go back to it later; however, my ultimate goal is to be so fixed upon Jesus that nothing can keep me from seeking more of Him once He and I are in the midst of a sweet time of communion. Are there some prayer strategies that can help us remain in the Presence of God without allowing the persistent annoyances of life to intrude, even if we are in the middle of them? I believe there are several that, when practiced regularly, can allow our love relationship with the Father through prayer to be embedded into the natural flow of life. Today I will focus on the discipline of seeking God in silence in the ordinary moments of life. Be watching future blogs for other spiritual disciplines that help us to focus upon God in prayer.

“To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart and there to stand before the face of the Lord, ever present, all seeing within you.” --Theophan the Recluse

When our minds are separated from our hearts through the busyness of life, it is difficult to be continually present to God. If we desire to hear His voice and seek Him continually, we must learn how to submit our minds to Him at the level of our hearts, silencing the din around us. Therefore, we bring all of our worries, stresses, situations, relationships, work, needs, joys, sorrows, etc. to the Father in a prayer of the heart. Like an open book we stand before the One who lives within us through the power of the Holy Spirit. If our purpose is to seek Him, and to draw near to Him, then our hearts are the location of that meeting, and our priority is to submit our activity, work, and feelings to Jesus.

How is this possible? How do we come near to God in this way? What kind of posture, position or mindset will draw us into His presence? It is in silence that we surrender to His kingdom purposes for us. When we still our noisy thoughts and quiet our driven ambitions, we are able to meet face to face with the Lord while He may be found! We are able to call upon Him while He is near, because there is nothing blocking our communion. His full attention is upon us at all times…but now our full attention is also upon God.

If we practice stillness before God in the midst of the noise around us, taking time to close ourselves off from the distractions of the moment we are in, we will be able to hear the Father speak in our yieldedness. It may mean finding a quiet place to spend a few minutes alone in order to block out the din around us. Or, it may mean putting on some headphones or inserting earplugs. Taking time to be still in silence takes much practice; however, the result will be invaluable to our souls. As we listen, God may give words of comfort, encouragement, conviction, etc. Or, perhaps He will just sit with us in a way that we know we have been in His Presence, even for a moment…and that will be enough.

“In silence, you leave the many to be with the One.” (Mama Maggie Gobran)

...More»»

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