Welcome to A Family House of Prayer Site!

It is only just begun, and yet we are already changing the future. We are one little house … one little house that has become "a house of prayer for all nations." Please, join us in making a difference far beyond the reach of your hands …. Just say “yes” to the Lord and watch Him faithfully complete the work in your own home. “Yes, Lord. Make our house a house of prayer for all nations.” Go to the side bar and look for the first post in March "In the beginning" for starters.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

He is Near.

Prayer rises from our humble den - our family house of prayer - a fragrant incense, and we barely take a moment to consider how quickly it moves to our Father's throne.  In an instant He hears.  Our God who hears; our God who sees.  He is near.

Lately, our hearts burn with prayer requests so near.  Oh, yes, we pray for our nation, for Israel, for China, for Mozambique, and our darling sponsored child in India... but my prayers take on more urgency as I press through the complexities that fill each day.

Prayer ... the only viable alternative when faced with the ever shifting landscape of mood swings, heartache, drama, laughter, tears, squeals, and squabbles that accompany life with six girls ages 10 - 18.

Day One, as beautiful, smart, funny teen comes home in tears, rejected and "friendless" ... with best friend hundreds of miles away.  I sigh, compassionate fingers tracing the beauty of golden waves that frame her face.

Day Two, as classic beauty's eyes darken at the thought of a future that is both too close and too far away ... not to mention impossible to fathom.  I hold her hand as we walk, talk, walk, talk, and find at least a light of breakthrough.

And I hug and hold tight beautiful birthday girl who joins the ranks of double digit girls.

Day Three, as recently added beauty struggles to gain footing in a new school when the educational system has failed her for a decade. And I assure her again, "You can do it."

Day Four, as dark-haired beauty's eyes brim with tears, as she realizes that her life is perched at the brink of another world - one called adolescence, and she has no idea what that is supposed to look like and how she is supposed to fit in.  And I hold her close against the storm.

Day Five, as mommy/teacher winces at the seemingly insurmountable hills that stand between each young beauty and her future dreams.  How will the two ever overcome the odds that others have stacked in front of them?  How will one make a decision among a myriad of possibilites?  How will another stand strong in her commitments in a world that constantly tells her to do the opposite?  How will mommy/teacher reach them all and teach them all and not fall flat on her face in the face of everything?

And yet, falling flat on my face is not so bad when Father God is here to lift me into his arms.  Was it only last week that I cried and cried at his feet, crying for the loss and pain that my own arms cannot heal?  Yes, His arms are the ones who can heal them .. and heal me.  The God who hears; the God who is near.  So near.

So near to me now.  I fall.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The Suddenlies of God

I have always enjoyed listening to passionate people tell stories of how God suddenly invades their lives with something new and exciting - a new job, a new revelation about how to serve him, a sudden trip to Israel, or a sudden idea to earn money for the Kingdom.  Although I don't recall when I first heard the phrase, "the Suddenlies of God," I do recall my response:  a sudden rash of Holy Spirit goosebumps.  Later I would imagine waking up in the middle of the night and suddenly understanding how my various roles and duties and talents all intersect in this beautiful and simple synergistic vision of 'where I am going from here'.  This would be "my suddenly" that came finally, after years of simply trusting that somehow it would all make perfect sense.

My recent experience with suddenly is quite different than I or anyone else would have imagined.  My husband and I find that suddenly we have become parents of one more daughter.  Our nest of five has grown to six .. without labor, and without paperwork (so far).   And she's already 15 years old!  My head is still spinning over this suddenly which only the Lord himself could orchestrate amidst the craziness of a life already bursting at the seams.  And I wonder, had it not been for the Lord's very clear signs, could I have embraced this suddenly?

How could I not, though?  After years of praying "God, yes!  Let it be unto me according to your will," could I have said, "Uh, no; that wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

This is clearly not my imagined "suddenly," for rather than being a piece that brings all the others together to make perfect sense, it is a piece that fits only in the sense that suddenly our hearts have expanded once again to fully embrace another beautiful gift, and even to begin to imagine that she will always be a part of us - an "us" that only God himself could fashion.

Thank you, Lord, for your suddenlies ... and the way you smile down from heaven, perhaps with a bit of amusement, as we try once again to figure out what our minds cannot yet conceive - the riches of your glorious inheritance, forming anew, in us.
 

See Beyond Stories

Use the link at the left to visit my relatively new blog where I have posted original stories!  All ages welcome!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Does God Really Answer My Prayers?

This week we resumed our regular Family House of Prayer routine, and one of our studies was this:  "Does God Really Answer My Prayers?"   That same day we lifted up an urgent prayer for a young man in the Army - Jesse.   Jesse had experienced a severe rotator cuff injury during one of his basic training drills, and the Army had scheduled surgery for Monday.  With this injury, there was some question whether Jesse would recover quickly enough to remain in the service, and he was very nervous about the possibility of a medical discharge.  All of his future plans were hanging on a speedy and complete recovery.  

So that day we prayed together for Jesse in the mix of all our other prayers for miracles, healing, wisdom, and provision.  "Lord, please heal Jesse so that he can stay in Army." 

The very next day we received the news.  "Praise the Lord!  Jesse's surgery has been canceled.  They checked his shoulder again and there are only bruised muscles!  In fact, he has already started some training." 

When I shared this awesome report with my children, they were quite happy to hear it ... and yet, it didn't surprise them too much.  After all, there have been so many answered prayers over the past three years.  And, besides, we had just finished our lesson that God always hears our prayers.  And He always answers.  Sometimes theses answers are not ones we wanted - such as, "wait patiently" and "later" and "I have something bigger in mind."   But we serve a trustworthy and loving God whose perspective is far beyond our own.

We look forward to a year of answered prayers in our humble little den, where we gather to worship and lift our prayers to our Faithful Father ... where we drop our small stones and glass gems and coins into our small bronze bucket, sometimes more aware than other times that each prayer ascends to the throne of the Most High God where His ear is always attentive to our cries, and His heart is always longing to pour forth Love.