Prayer In Secret (by Margaret Duran)

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV)

© 2010 Carolyn Marshall, Living Life Photography

Years ago, as a very immature, disobedient child of God, I would pray for all the things I wanted (more than what I needed). But, as we mature, we learn to pray for others and their needs. It is such a joy when we see those prayers answered. I also learned that as I prayed for others I received the blessing as well. All my needs are met, and I am being abundantly blessed spiritually. This is the wonderful joy of intercession on behalf of your family, friends and those you come in contact with daily.

The Father does know all that we have need of, and when our hearts are turned to the needs of others, He truly blesses us even more. I feel very comfortable with simply talking to Jesus as I would talk to a very dear, close, intimate friend. He is truly all of these and more. Practice makes perfect. The more we pray, the more comfortable it becomes, until we can just pour out our soul to Him with all the love in our hearts. That's when answers come from the Father. "… The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16 (NIV)

TEACH ME HOW TO PRAY

Teach me how to pray, Lord,

For I want to know Your way.

Draw me closer to You,

Be my guide for each new day.

Show me who is needy

Of a kind and gentle hand.

Let me be Your water

On this dry and desert land.

Fill me with compassion

For the hurt and lonely heart.

Fan the flame inside me

So Your light can pierce the dark.

Bless me with Your Spirit,

When I don’t know what to say.

Guide me as I witness,

So the lost can find the Way.

(© 7/12/10 Carolyn L. Marshall)

May you truly be blessed and find peace as you talk with our Heavenly Father in your quiet time today and always.



Are We Falling Away? (by Margaret Duran)

“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:11-12, 14 (NIV)



© 2010 Carolyn Marshall, Living Life Photography

So often the cares of this life become more important than our relationship with Jesus and we become stagnant. We fail to grow and we are out of God’s will. It takes quality time with Jesus daily to grow and become disciples able to teach others the way to salvation. It is my hope that the following poem will touch your heart and bring you back to your first love for Jesus.

Determined To Hear God’s Voice

Please meet me in the garden, Lord,

That peaceful, quiet place,

And let me linger on Your lap

To gaze upon Your face.

I long to hear Your gentle voice,

Soft whispers in my ear;

With loving tugs upon my heart,

I feel You draw me near.

Too many times, in weakened state,

I let the world close in,

When all I ever need to do

Is trust my one true Friend.

Surrendered heart I give You, Lord,

And wait on bended knees,

Determined now to hear Your voice,

O God, please speak to me.

(© 12/08/09 Carolyn L. Marshall)

His Yoke Is Easy (by Carolyn Marshall)

“A man was carrying a heavy basket. His son asked to help him. The father cut a stick and placed it through the handle of the basket so that the end toward himself was very short, while the end toward the boy was three or four times as long. Each took hold of his end of the stock, and the basket was lifted and easily carried. The son was bearing the burden with the father, but he found his work easy and light because his father assumed the heavy end of the stock. Just so it is when we bear the yoke with Christ; He sees to it that the burden laid on us is light; He carries the heavy end.” (John T. Faris)



© 2010 Carolyn Marshall, Living Life Photography

 There isn’t a man, woman or even a child living who doesn’t have “issues” that need to be dealt with every minute of every day. Those of us who have surrendered our lives to Christ do not get a “magic pass” to escape all of our burdens as some people may think, either. We struggle the same as everyone else, and sometimes more. Because now, as children of God, the adversary (Satan) has to work even harder to try to pluck us out of God’s hands. “Try” is the operative word here, because once we surrender our lives to God, we are forever His. Praise God! But it doesn’t stop him from trying.

You don’t have to be up to date with current events in the newspapers, on the radio, television, or Internet to know that we all deal with our burdens in different ways, either. Just open your eyes to the people around you - depression, alcoholism, suicide, divorce, bankruptcy, abortion, murder are on the increase at an alarming rate. As human beings, we tend to want to take control and deal with problems in our lives in our own way. In the beginning, we think we are strong enough to handle whatever life may toss our way because we are “tough”. Some may be able to hold on longer than others but, eventually, they will reach the end of the rope of “their own strength”. They will have to make a decision to keep struggling with their problem or let go and give it all to God.

So many times, we suffer needlessly because we don’t give our burdens to the Master problem solver, our heavenly Father. We read in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

And, oh, what peace we find when we do surrender! We can come before God as His “child” and sit in His lap. Picture yourself laying your head on God’s shoulder, looking up into those beautiful all-loving eyes. Feel His arms wrapped around you. I can’t think of a better place to be. Can you?

Let's Dance! (by Carolyn Marshall)

We all get a lot of email forwards in our mailbox, I know I do. A lot of it isn’t of any use so it gets put in the trash pretty quickly. But, occasionally, a message comes through that really makes you think; one that blesses your heart and makes you smile and say “thank you, Lord!” The following was one of those messages that I received. I would love to give credit to the writer, but there wasn’t a name attached to it. So, if you’re reading this and know who wrote it, please leave a comment for me so that proper credit can be given. In the meantime, I hope this gives you a smile in your heart and causes you to lift your eyes to Jesus with Joy!



© 2010 Carolyn Marshall, Living Life Photography

“Guidance . . . When I meditated on the word GUIDANCE, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other. My eyes drew back to the word GUIDANCE. When I saw "G," I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i."  "God, "u" and "i" dance – God, you, and I dance!" This statement is what guidance means to me. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead. My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies be upon you and your family on this day and everyday. May you abide in Him as He abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting Him to lead and to guide you through each season of your life. Prayer is one of the best gifts we can receive, so let’s continue to pray for one another. I hope you dance!”