The Circle Maker - GIVEAWAY!

"History belongs to the intercessors." -Walter Wink

The original "circle maker" was a guy named Honi who drew a circle in the sand during a drought, fell on his knees inside of it, and told God that he wouldn't move until God moved; until God ended the drought.

And so God did.

"...the power of a single prayer to change the course of history."

If you are a believer, if you have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, you are called to be an intercessor - a prayer warrior - a circle maker.

I have only recently began obeying this call on my life over the past couple of years and this book - The Circle Maker - has been instrumental in my growth in and understanding of prayer! I have said this before on social media and I will say it again: every Christian needs to read this book.

I believe in God's call on your life and on mine to be prayer warriors, so much so that I'm giving away a copy of this book!

There is only ONE entry necessary - share with me in the comments an answered prayer! It could be from last night, or from 20 years ago. Take a minute to reminisce on the times God answered your prayers (either how you hoped He would or otherwise!) and share one!

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As I write this, we are anxiously waiting to hear back about Marie's blood test results. Derek, my steady, level-headed husband is even struggling with not being able to do anything for Marie's pain. But I was challenged and encouraged by Mark Batterson the other night -

One of the reasons we get frustrated in prayer is our ASAP approach. When our prayers aren't answered as quickly or easily as we would like, we get tired of circling. Maybe we need to change our prayer approach from as soon as possible to as long as it takes. Keep circling!

That's what we are choosing to do. What prayer do you need to keep circling? Or return to circling? Or start circling? Remember that - "100 percent of the prayers I don't pray won't get answered."

You are a Circle Maker.

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16

Prayer for my Boys: Integrity

Integrity: Doing the right thing in a reliable way. Wholeness of character. (vocabulary.com)

Integrity is a rare trait these days.

Maybe it always has been and I'm just noticing now as a grown up and a momma. And being married to someone who has not always been a man of integrity. In fact, quite the opposite for much of our marriage. 

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 1 Cor. 15:57

 I remember when Derek first starting talking about integrity. It was shortly after he truly repented. I was annoyed because we had said yes to something that was looking financially impossible and I just didn't really want to do. But he whipped out "integrity" and decided we were going to keep our "yes" a yes and trust God with it.

It was one of his first real acts of leadership in our family and one of the first times that I had to submit.

Thanks be to God!

Choosing to stick to our word was the right choice and God blessed it. Not just through what we did, but through Derek's stepping out in faith and leading... with integrity.

Today, my man is truly a man of integrity. He is the leader of this home. He is a man after God's own heart.

Thanks be to God!

It is my prayer that the boys God has blessed this family with will follow their daddy's lead.

Integrity

Father, David was a man after Your own heart in spite of his failures because he repented and followed hard after You. I pray Jack will always do the same with integrity, godliness, and obedience (1 Kings 9:4). Help him to not grow weary in doing good (2 Thess. 3:13) but to walk worthy of Your calling with humility, gentleness, patience, and love (Eph. 4:1-2). And by doing this, may his life that glorifies You, silence the talk of foolish people (1 Peter 2:15). May he grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man as Jesus did (Luke 2:52).

Find more prayers-
Prayers for My Boys: Salvation
Prayers for My Boys: Marriage
Prayers for My Girl: Wisdom
Prayers for My Girl: Honesty
Prayers for My Girl: Witness
Prayers for My Girl: Purity
Prayers for My Girl: Friendships

Prayers for My Boys: Salvation

Welcome to the New Year!

2015 was my "year of prayer." While 2016 may have another main focus, I'm excited to see how God continues to grow me in the area of prayer!

So I will continue to share prayers the Lord has put on my heart for my kids.

Jack is 5, Kempton is 3, and Roger is 1. None of them have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus yet. In light of that, this prayer is the most important right now.

His Salvation

Lord, save Jack's soul. Please adopt him into Your family as Your son (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:15). Call him with Your Spirit and lead him to embrace Your truth. Direct his heart to Your love and steadfastness (2 Thessalonians 3:5). And may he fully grasp and tap into the incredible power You used to wash away his sins and raise Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 1:9). Thank You for what You will do in my boy's life!

There is nothing my heart desires more than to see all of my babes come to know their Savior. This is my daily prayer. I am being challenged in The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson to never give up.

Never stop praying.

In John 11, we read about how Lazarus died 4 days before Jesus showed up. We know the story. We know that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead for the purpose of glorifying the Father. But imagine how everyone at the time was feeling. Imagine the frustration, the anger when Jesus didn't come right away. But as Mark Batterson pointed out in his book, Martha refused to give up...

"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." 

Lazarus was 4 days dead and Martha still refused to give up.

Never stop praying.

What prayer have you given up on? Get back to it, my friend!


Find more prayers-
Prayers for My Boys: His Marriage
Prayers for My Girl: Wisdom
Prayers for My Girl: Honesty
Prayers for My Girl: Witness
Prayers for My Girl: Purity
Prayers for My Girl: Friendships

Prayers for My Boys: His Marriage {+ Giveaway!}

A couple of years ago a friend posted on facebook about how she doesn't pray for an easy, happy life for her kids. Instead, she prays that they will be dangerous for the Lord, and that He would use them for amazing things for His glory. Even if it's hard.

I was immediately convicted because I was definitely the type to pray for a happy, blessed life for my kids. But I was missing the point. It's not about being "happy," but about finding true joy in following the true Lover of their souls. So I began praying slightly more boldly.

Just days before Amanda was murdered, Derek and I were discussing trials. The idea of them scares me literally more than anything else! At any moment tragedy can strike. I confessed to Derek that I had been praying that God would use the kids in mighty ways but protect them from horrible tragedies. Tragedies like the one that occurred a few days later.

In the last month something totally unnatural has happened.

While the idea of trials and tragedies still scares me just as much as before, I see them in a completely different light. I see a family, who's wife/mom/daughter/sister's life has been cruelly snuffed out from this earth, be a bright, shining beacon in the midst of the darkest time of their lives. I see God work miracles. I see beauty.

I would never ever ever ever wish such a horrifying experience on even my worst enemy, let alone my babies. But the beauty… I wish that so much for my babes.

My blogging plan for November changed in the middle of the month when pure evil attempted to wreak havoc on God's family. But through watching Davey (Amanda's husband) from afar, I was led to pray for Jack and his future spouse in a way I had never done before: with passion. with hope. with excitement. with determination. without fear.

His Marriage

Lord, I know You have a helper, support, perfect match for my Shnook. I pray that while he runs full speed toward You, Jack will find her running beside him. Protect his sensitive heart as he navigates this cruel, ugly, impure world. Give Jack the strength through Your Spirit to flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18). Give him eyes to see the way out that You always provide (1 Corinthians 10:13), and the power to take captive every thought and make it obedient to You (1 Corinthians 10:5). So when he meets his wife, he will be able to love her as you love us (Ephesians 5).May he be a good steward of his wife's love, and may he always show her honor and grace (1 Peter 3:7). Please, Lord, help them to love You even more than they love each other. May they change the world- together.

Most of this focused praying for my babes happens in my war room. If you have not seen the film War Room yet, it is a must-see! The movie will be available on December 22, but Family Christian not only has it on sale but is also doing an exclusive pre-buy where you get a free prayer journal along with it! And if you pre-buy it, you can pick it up in store in time for Christmas. So go order it HERE right now! Then come on back here to enter for a $25 gift card to Family Christian! Woot!

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Giveaway ends Friday at midnight!

The Day I Stopped Praying

I got the news that morning. I said a quick prayer but didn't think a ton about it because really, "critical condition" can mean so many things. It didn't even occur to me that she might not make it. But when I realized that I was glued to that spot in the kitchen where I first read the text, and that a heaviness had glued me there, I started pleading. And I didn't stop for a solid 24 hours.

With nearly every breath I sent up a plea. Save her life, Lord! Be glorified through the miracle! Don't take that boy's momma away!

Hundreds, maybe thousands, were praying the very same thing! Maybe some of them ventured into the "give them peace" type of prayers, but I spent little time there. I learned from Amanda's dad to pray bold. And that I did. For 24 hours.

Then I received the text I was sure would never be real.

She's gone.

And I stopped praying.

I didn't have anything nice to say.

I wrestled. Struggled. Cried. Repeat. And on my face I asked God, What good are my prayers??

Of the thousands of people praying, there are people so godly they make me look like a heathen. Why do I bother? Better, why on earth do You want me to bother?

But throughout that horrifying first day, in the midst of being angry furious with God for allowing something so downright awful to happen to an amazing family, I kept finding myself on my war room floor. The tears that soaked the carpet far outnumbered my words. All I could do was lay on my face with my hands open and cry.

God laid one particular family member on my heart so I sobbed for her. I told God that I knew He wanted me to pray for her but I didn't know how. So here I am, trying to obey! I don't know what good these prayers will do, but I will obey! Then the Spirit gave me words. Or gave words to my groanings.

Then God laid another family member on my heart today. I still don't know what He wants me to say or why He wants me to pray. But I'm choosing to obey. And He's been giving words to my groanings.

I didn't really know Amanda. But through her death I have fought through the thing about God that I have never been able to grasp: why He allows things that He could change. And I've come to a place - not of understanding, but more of acceptance and trust - a place God and I have never been together.

And through this senseless act of evil, which was only made possible by the sin that has ruled this world since the Garden, I've learned about a girl I've been acquainted with for years. And I'm different because of her. Her story has grown me.

And as this "year of prayer," I've been calling it, comes to a close with the worst tragedy our church has ever seen, I think I get it. I think I'm finally really praying.

 Thank you, Amanda Grace.

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:26-28.

Prayers for My Girl: Wisdom

Day 6 and final day of focused prayer for my Girl.

I had a couple ideas for what to pray for this day but they just didn't seem Spirit-led. What the Spirit did seem to be saying is that I should ask Derek. So that I did.

It only took a moment of thought before he said:

Wisdom

Lord, grow Marie in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). I pray that you will bless her with wisdom in all things as You did for Solomon (1 Kings 4:29) and Daniel (Daniel 1:7). Give her a love for learning, first about You, then about the world You created. 
Help her to not be bitter, jealous, or selfish, but instead clothe her with Your wisdom which is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere (James 3:16-18).
Most of all, I pray that she will never conform to the world. Transform her mind so she will never settle for less than Your perfect will (Romans 12:2).

…God is able to do whatever He promises. Romans 4:21

Prayers for My Girl: Honesty

Day 5 of prayers for my Girl.

Honesty and transparency are very important to me. The first time Marie lied, I felt like I was a complete failure as a parent and her life was headed straight down a nasty path. Not only do I hate lying, the ugliness it causes makes me irrational, obviously. So once I calmed down from that, I remembered that while Satan is the Father of Lies, Jesus is the Victor! So I started praying. And praying. And disciplining. And praying. And I will continue to do so.

Honesty

Father, help Marie to be honest; a woman of integrity whose yes is yes and whose no is no (Matthew 5:37). May she always be quick to confess so that she can experience Your grace and mercy (Proverbs 28:13). Remind her that the truth will always set her free, and that Truth is found in Your Word. Give her passion for Your Truth. Sanctify her in Your Truth because You are Truth (John 8).

Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. Psalm 55:17

Day 4: Witness
Day 3: Purity
Day 2: Attitude
Day 1: Friendships

Prayers for My Girl: Witness

Day 4 of prayers for my girl.

There is only one good thing we can do on earth that we cannot do in heaven. Have you ever thought about that? It never occurred to me until my freshmen year of college when the author, Mark Cahill, came to IWU and talked about his book, One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven. 

The one thing we cannot do is witness. We cannot lead others to the Lord. Everyone in heaven will already be in heaven! So what greater purpose do we have on this earth than to be a light in this ever darkening world??

Let me be real with you here… I fail fail fail at this. FAIL. But that doesn't mean I get to quit. And it's most definitely not going to stop me from praying that Marie is a shining light for her Savior.

I promise Jack was having as much fun as his sister, ha!

Witness

Thank You, Jesus, for pulling my girl out of the darkness and being the light that leads to life! (John 8:14). Let Your light shine so brightly through Marie that people cannot help but see You (Matthew 5:16). Be so very real in her life that she needs to talk about You. May she never for even a moment be ashamed of the Good News. Help her to love others too much to keep from sharing with them the peace, the freedom, the joy that comes from knowing You! Lord, make her dangerous for Your purpose. So, when You usher her home, You can say to her, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:23).

Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Day 3: Purity
Day 2: Attitude
Day 1: Friendships

Prayers for My Girl: Purity

Day 3 of Prayers for My Girl.

This subject of purity scares the living daylights out of me. We live out in the country without TV. We are very sheltered. So stepping out into the world is like a blow to the gut. It's ugly out there! That's expected, of course, as things will only get worse until Jesus comes in on His white horse. But the ugly doesn't stop at the church doors. We Believers have let impurity creep in and take over. Not only behind closed doors and in secret, but even outwardly choosing to join in with what the world has decided is acceptable. I feel so defeated sometimes because I can't imagine how my kids will survive this world and stay pure. On different levels, neither Derek nor I stayed pure.

But THANKS BE TO GOD! He gives us the victory over sin and death through Jesus! 1 Corinthians 15:57.

And I believe -with everything that I have- in miracles. Let's move mountains with our prayers!

Purity

Father, by Your mercy, give her the strength to offer her body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You (Romans 12:1). Guard her heart as it is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23). I pray that she will always remember that her body is a gift to her husband. Please make that truth real in her life so she clings to it- guarding her heart, her mind, her emotions until the time You have for her and her husband to become one. I pray the same for the man you have for her. May his love for You and for Marie, even before he knows her, compel him to flee temptation and live with integrity and purity. And Lord, if there is failure in their lives, give them great victory in You! (1 Corinthians 15:57). Please bless Marie with a marriage overflowing with passion, faithfulness, and unwavering love. But no matter what, may her happiness only ever be tied to You. (John 15:11)

Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him in prayer, pleading for your children. Lamentations 2:19

Day 2: Attitude
Day 1: Friendships

Prayers for My Girl: Attitude

Day 2 of my week of focused prayer for my Girl.

This is a prayer directly from a passage that I have circled for Marie. God laid this passage on my heart for her. The thing is, I desperately need this prayer, too. Create in us grateful hearts, Oh God!

Her Attitude

Oh Lord, fill her with joy. Help her to be considerate. Overcome her worry and lead her to pray. Create in her a grateful heart. I pray that she will experience Your peace as You guard her heart and mind. Focus her thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:4-8)

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2

Day 1: Friendships

Prayers for My Girl: Friendships

In light of the month of thanksgiving, I've decided to spend focused time praying circles around 4 of my greatest blessings: my babes.

I pray for them every single day and have all sorts of prayers for each of them written on my War Room wall, but deciding to really hone in on one kid has already pushed me to pray more often throughout the day.

This week I am focusing on my Goob. I want to share these prayers, and the verses God has used to bring them about, to encourage you in your prayers for any girls in your life.

Marie Love

Her Friendships

Lord, thank You for the gift of friendship. Thank You for blessing Marie with friends. You have gifted her with friends who love You and uplift her. Please bless these friendships and grow them (1 John 1:7). Make them as iron that sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). I pray that they will be unified by Your love, in Your Spirit, for Your purpose (Philippians 2:2). Thank You also for the friends who challenge her faith, who provide opportunity to deal with conflict. Help her to be cautious in choosing her friends (Proverbs 12:26) as "bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33). And, Lord, may You be her greatest Friend of all.

As Mark Batterson says in his book, The Circle Maker, "God honors bold prayers because bold prayers honor God."

So let us come boldly before the throne of our gracious God (Hebrews 4:16) and watch what He will do!

A Sign of a Stagnant Life

For years now I have felt the call from God to be an intercessor or prayer warrior. ((Beware: lots of posts on prayer in our future!)) I still don't know exactly what that means in my life in particular, but something I have learned through the process is one vital thing--

We are all called to pray.

Seems like a "duh" statement, but are you praying always?

Be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

There likely isn't a true believer out there who doesn't know we are to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17) but it still is an area where we are greatly lacking.

Recently I read an excerpt from one of Andrew Murray's books, The Ministry of Intercessory Prayer:

Often we have resolved to pray more and better, and have utterly failed. Our prayers, rather than being full of joy and strength, are often a source of self-condemnation and doubt… Your lack of prayer is likely due to a stagnant state of life. 

I'll tell ya what, that was not a comfortable bit to read. When prayer isn't a constant wellspring in my life, my life is stagnant? We have all been there - I try to walk into my War Room and it's like the door is locked. Not from the inside where communion with my Savior is savory sweet. No, it's locked from the outside, where I could unlock it but something in my life (pride?) is stopping me.

Is there something (or a lack of something) in your life that is locking your war room door? Or even just making it hard to open?

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15

We are all called to pray. What is in your way?

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2

30 Days of Thanksgiving {Day 5}

Thank You, God, for prayer.

How amazing is it that we can go to the Creator of the universe at any time?? And how absolutely ridiculous it is that we don't.

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16

How do we become righteous so that our prayers are powerful? By praying! 

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Derek Lindsay on Pinterest

This adorable picture depicts what I am most thankful for about prayer today (and probably most of the time!)

Sometimes I just don't have any idea what to say. I know I'm not the only one. The other day I laughed at myself because my complete prayer went like this...

"Please... Just... Thank You."

Praise the Lord that "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words"! (Romans 8:26)

Thank You, Jesus, that You always live to make intercession for us! (Hebrews 7:25)

What on earth does that mean - to make intercession for us? I came across this definition from Warren Wiersbe:

"Intercession means that Jesus Christ represents us before the throne of God and we do not have to represent ourselves."

Oh, another thing to be overwhelmingly thankful for! 

Anyway, back to the main point of this post: prayer is a gift and I am so grateful for it.

*If you have a prayer need, it would be a blessing to me to be able to pray for you!*

I will tell of what He has done for my soul.

I've always wanted to be a woman of prayer. Kinda like I've always wanted to be a runner. In both cases, when it gets hard or I don't feel like it, I fall away and eventually start from scratch.

By the grace of God, I finally became a real runner. There is still so much room for improvement, but in spite of falling away here and there, I don't start from scratch anymore.

It's time to put my prayer life in that place. It truly has been a dream to be the type of person that you could say, "Ask Lindsay to pray for you. She'll do it and God always hears her prayers!" I've said similar things about a couple of women I've known in my life. Things happen when they pray. And you will never come across a woman of prayer who isn't a shining light for her Savior and simply a blessing. God always works in the pray-er first before working on the pray-ee.

The last few weeks have been such an amazing blessing and a huge trial all at once. God has been doing some serious work on me, specifically in the area of prayer.

All this to say, I came across this passage today and was so overwhelmed by it and thinking over what God has done in me recently so I just have to share.

Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear; but certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer nor His lovingkindness from me.

Psalm 66:16-20

Do you have a verse/passage about prayer that God has used in your life? Please share in the comments! Or share with me a link to your own blog post.