Tag Archives: music

What Does My Life Look Like as Prayer?

I met a lovely woman from the John 3:16 Network when I offered to host her during a book launch. Lisa Lickel has graciously offered to guest post for Under the Cover of Prayer today. Would you please give her a warm welcome.

What Does My Life Look Like as Prayer?

by Lisa Lickel

“Make my life a prayer to you,” runs through my head…a lot! In fact, now that I’ve written it, I’ll probably hum it for the rest of the day. Some of you might recognize the lyric from a Keith Green song. I love it as a challenge and an occasional chastisement for forgetting to keep the line open to God.

What does my life look like as a prayer? (click to tweet)

It’s pretty messy, to tell you the truth. I can occasionally get fixated on the problem or the joy of the moment and forget about daily life. I more often forget to lay my endeavors before Him, which is absolutely ridiculous. I can praise but forget to ask, or typically, ask but forget to praise. I can get caught up in treating my prayer life as a formula: forget one part and the whole equation collapses; or I get caught up in treating prayers like wishes, as a friend recently reminded me.

“Lord, make my life a prayer to you”, is easier to sing than to live. (click to tweet)

It’s easier to hear than to do…but isn’t that our life challenge? To capture each thought, to take each moment, to give thanks even when we might not feel like it?

As a writer of fiction, I’m challenged with creating an enjoyable interlude for my readers, peopling my stories with characters who are real in their endeavors to live godly lives. It’s tempting to sugar-coat situations, to create people who never forget to pray, or in the case of my latest book, to create a pastor who’s so perfect he chooses to ignore a family need so that he can take one simple hour to pray, uninterrupted, for his church.

I find that my prayer life can’t be confined to those few minutes of “quiet time” with God when I haul out my Bible and read a devotional. I have to snatch moments during the day to sit back and wonder at the love and joy, or the hate and spite I encounter, to pray for someone who pops into my head, or a situation I’m reminded about, of a loved one who shares a special situation. It’s not my nature to save up prayer requests and throw a broad blanket over them, or gather them in a group hug once a day.

How about you? Have you been inspired by a hymn to challenge your life?

Here is the song Make My Life a Prayer by Keith Green.

Lisa Lickel is a Wisconsin writer who lives in a hundred and sixty-year-old house built by a Great Lakes ship captain. A muti-published, best-selling and award-winning novelist, she also writes short stories and radio theater, is an avid book reviewer, blogger, a freelance editor, and magazine editor. Visit LisaLickel.com.

Lisa’s latest inspirational novel is The Last Detail, released in January from the Prism Book Group. Hope, love, and loss meld two polar opposite personalities. How long can they keep passion for their ministry and each other after the wedding?

ISBN: 978-1940099330

$3.99 eBook/$14.99 Print

HOW TO USE HYMNS TO PRAY

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How to Use Hymns to Pray

by Janis Cox

There are many times that I find myself humming a hymn or praise song. Or I am reading a passage of Scripture and a song comes to mind. I sing it right then as a prayer to God.

This past month this has happened many times. One day I read this passage from Oswald Chambers:

Never let cares or tribulations separate you from the fact that God loves you” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, May 19).

The fact that God cares for us is the name of my blog/website – He Cares for You. Based on 1 Peter 5:7.

Cast all your anxieties upon him because he cares for you.

So what song came to me?

Safe and secure from all alarms.

Where did that come from? A hymn of course. And remember this verse from Mark 13:7, NIV.

When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

We remain safe and secure – He cares for you.
Don’t worry. Give everything to Him in prayer. (Tweet this.)

Prayer:

Father we pray for those who feel alarmed with health issues, family problems, world situations or personal problems. We ask You to pour out Your Spirit upon them. Help them to know You in a personal way, Jesus. Remind them that we are safe and secure from all alarms. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

Here is the hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”. I hope you enjoy listening and singing with it in prayer.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Are You Struggling With Your Prayer Life? (underthecoverofprayer.wordpress.com)
How Can I K.i.s.s. to Pray? (underthecoverofprayer.wordpress.com)
Do I Live With a Lid on My Prayer Life? (underthecoverofprayer.wordpress.com)

Janis Cox

Janis, a former school teacher and small business owner, found a new passion in writing in her retirement. She has published two devotionals and a number of articles for magazines and a Bible study. She is owner of Under the Cover of Prayer and moderates the site. She is also a contributor to a group blog called Family and Faith Matters. Janis has completed a children’s book called Tadeo Turtle. She is the author and watercolour illustrator. Word Alive has published Tadeo Turtle. See more information at Janis’s Website.

Places I link to – you would enjoy them

SUNDAY STILLNESS – Vessel

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Sunday Stillness – Vessel

Three Vessels by Janis Cox – Watercolour 2013

I have taken the liberty to change “silver” into “pottery” from Proverbs 25:4.

Remove the dross from the silver,
and a silversmith can produce a vessel

I took a few pottery courses and know that when I am using the wheel there are pieces that must be cut off while the wheel is spinning. Even in hand building the potter must smooth out the rough edges.

In order for God to produce a vessel to hold the Holy Spirit we need to get rid off the dross that clings to us. Think of what clings to you: indecision, fear, lack of trust, worry, self-image, pride and on and on. Let’s give this dross to God and ask Him to refine us.

I love the Scripture of 2 Timothy 2:20-21 as written in The Message:

Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.

Wow – that is pretty clear. We are to become the vessels where people can see Jesus.

I found an excellent analogy called Spinning Off the Dross by Grace Anderson. She states:

The potter molds, re-shapes, removes all the dross and spins off the lumps of the clay to make the jar completely clean, clear of any flaws.

And of course Refiner’s Fire is one of my favourites. Here it is sung by Brian Doerksen.

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