The night prior to this, before I got into bed to sleep, I put a pillow on the floor beside my bed as my intent was to roll out of bed at 5:50am and hit my knees as I pray in this area, my circle. After prayer, I had purposed to grab my glasses and begin Day 1 of the devotional, then pray again.
Maybe this was a little too structured.
You see, the book prepares to guide you through a 40 day prayer challenge. The premise is if you pray regularly, irregular things will happen! Our God is amazing this way! And I have no doubt, He will not let me down!
As it so happened, I awoke several times from sleep that night. I assume I was very excited to begin the prayer journey. I finally was wide awake at 5:11am and decided I should get on up.
I hit the floor on my knees as intended. Ouch! I had forgotten that an overweight person with arthritis in the knees has a hard time on those knees. Even on the pillow I had so carefully placed the night before, my knees were hurting. I'm sure Satan was thrilled, it was too uncomfortable to continue in this position. So I rose from my knees and bowed over my bed, with the bed sort-of as an altar. (Side note: sweet hubby was in another part of the house, having his morning quiet time. He awakes at 5ish each morning for his time with our Lord.)
The change of position did not stop me from praying. The prayers continued and I was so very excited to meet with my friend and Savior that morning! I could not wait to open the pages of the devotional and see where it led.
I turned the light on, grabbed my glasses, sat in the chair to my desk and began to read.
Day 1
I wrote this in: 3-5-14
1st day of Lent
Get Ready
He prayed to God regularly.
Acts 10:2
I read the first chapter with wonder and anticipation. I will highlight for you the things I underlined in my book, as I saw were the main points God had highlighted for me personally. These things will be notated by a " * ".
* when or where, in the morning or evening, what he said or the posture he prayed in. regularly. when you pray to God regularly, irregular things happen on a regular basis.*
The author was referring to scripture on Cornelius. Now, the reason these things so grabbed me immediately was God had already began answering prayers! First paragraph!
I had been so caught up in "what" to pray and "where" to pray and the "posture" in which to pray, and God was letting me know right off the bat...It's not important to Him! C'mon Gin! It doesn't matter what you look like, where you are, who you're with, what position you are in...just come see me, talk to me, be with me!
Wow! I told you He is amazing!
* God is always preparing us and positioning us for divine appointments. prayer is the way we discern the next move. God will take us places we never imagined going by paths we didn't even know existed.*
Now, if you're new here, you don't know me. You don't know my testimony. You don't know my life. Let me share a bit with you...
I have five adopted children. We adopted Angel, Andrew & Danny when they were 4, 5 & 7 years old. We adopted Everet and Amber when they were 14 & 16 years old. Three at once then two at once added to the three. (What were we thinking, right?) In all these 13+ years that these said children have lived with us, we could not tell you the many times God has personally and loudly answered prayer for them, to them, about them and the children themselves are answers to prayers of a barren woman.
I am a planner and a list-maker. Bless his heart, John is not. He is very business-minded and excellent in what he does but he is not the preparer I am. That is why God gave us each other, I am his perfect "help meet". He is mine. I like to plan everything out and I like it when things go according to plans. Ummm...I guess you can tell where this is going.
God was answering prayer again...Gin, you don't have to look for what's going to happen with your children. You don't have to worry about their future or yours. I'm preparing and positioning you for divine appointments and the way you will know what to do is to stay in prayer with me! I will place you and the children where I want you by way of paths you didn't even know existed, girl! Hang on! I got this! (Yes, God kinda speaks to me this way. We gotta close, personal thing going on! Lol!)
The next page I simply circled *Acts 10*
That was my cue to re-read Acts 10. I barely remembered the story of Cornelius and Peter. We had studied it in Sunday School and I had read it before that, but to actually commit to memory the story? I had not. Let me tell you about it...
Cornelius was a centurion (he was over 100 men) for the Roman army and lived in Caesarea. (Sess-a-ree-ah). He actually was a devout, God-fearing man, and so was his family. The Bible tells us he gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.
One day, he had a vision of an angel and the angel told him that his prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now, send some men to Joppa for a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon who is a tanner and lives near the seashore. The Bible then tells us as soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his personal servants, a devout soldier and one of his personal attendants and told them what to do.
One day, he had a vision of an angel and the angel told him that his prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now, send some men to Joppa for a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon who is a tanner and lives near the seashore. The Bible then tells us as soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his personal servants, a devout soldier and one of his personal attendants and told them what to do.
Again, God is giving me direction and guidance in His Word. Give generously to the poor, pray regularly. When I call you and give you direction: Go! Act on them, immediately! I'm so glad He is long-suffering with me when I don't do these things.
Back to Cornelius...The next day as Cornelius' men were nearing their destination, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He was hungry but they were preparing food and it was not ready. I can just imagine the smells of the food being prepared wafting up to the roof and filling his senses, making his mouth water. Yet, he continued to pray. As he was praying, he fell into a trace and received a vision. The sky opened and something like a large sheet was let down by the four corners. On the sheet were unclean animals like reptiles, birds. A voice said to Peter, "Get up, kill and eat."
What the what? Peter said, "NO, Lord." "I have never eaten anything unclean by our Jewish laws." (paraphrased) The voice spoke to him again and said, "Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean." He had this same vision 3 times and the sheet was then suddenly lifted to Heaven. Peter was thinking on what in the world this could mean when the men who had come for him found the home and stood at the gate. They asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying here.
I have to interrupt here and share this with you: While I am doing the 40 day prayer devotional for Lent, I am also enjoying a Daniel-type fasting. I share this with you, not to brag or to tell you of my fast, but because it is one of the areas of prayer in my life. Due to health issues, I am working on eating clean, whole foods and hardly any meat at all. The above Bible story hit me personally as I was determining what was clean and whole foods and had not sought God's opinion on this. I was trying to take the lead. It is not lost to me, sweet ones, that the very first day of the prayer devotional there is food in the historical account of the story! Do y'all see how much God loves us? He is paying attention to every tiny detail!
I have to interrupt here and share this with you: While I am doing the 40 day prayer devotional for Lent, I am also enjoying a Daniel-type fasting. I share this with you, not to brag or to tell you of my fast, but because it is one of the areas of prayer in my life. Due to health issues, I am working on eating clean, whole foods and hardly any meat at all. The above Bible story hit me personally as I was determining what was clean and whole foods and had not sought God's opinion on this. I was trying to take the lead. It is not lost to me, sweet ones, that the very first day of the prayer devotional there is food in the historical account of the story! Do y'all see how much God loves us? He is paying attention to every tiny detail!
Meanwhile, Peter is pondering his vision on the roof and God spoke to him to tell him 3 men had come for him. He instructed Peter to go downstairs and go with these men without hesitation as He had sent them. He also told Peter, Don't worry.
Another huge thing for me. "Don't worry." God's got this! Why, oh why, do I worry so?
So, the men told Peter of Cornelius' vision and visit by the angel and he heard their message. He invited them to stay overnight and the next day went with them accompanied by other brothers from Joppa.
When they got to Caesarea the next day Cornelius was waiting and had family and close friends with him. He then told Peter about his vision of the angel and what the angel had told him to do. I sent for you, you came, we are gathered here to hear the message the Lord has given you.
As Peter entered, Cornelius (this big, strong military officer) fell at his feet and worshiped him. Peter was like, Dude! Stand up! I'm a human being just like you! But let me share this with you...God showed me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean, that's why I came without objection as soon as I was sent for.
As Peter entered, Cornelius (this big, strong military officer) fell at his feet and worshiped him. Peter was like, Dude! Stand up! I'm a human being just like you! But let me share this with you...God showed me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean, that's why I came without objection as soon as I was sent for.
Peter then explains that the Lord does not show favoritism. He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right in the eyes of God. This is good news for the people of Israel, there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Peter began to tell them the very simple version of the gospel. Long verses made short: God said it, Jesus came, He arose, we saw Him, He told us what to do, we did it, all are saved that hear and confess and believe." Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on those listening and they began speaking in tongues and praising God. Then, Peter asked if anyone objected to them being baptized after they had rec'd the Holy Spirit? No objections, they baptized them in the name of Jesus Christ. He stayed and visited with them for several days.
What beauty happens when we obey the Lord. But, notice, both men were praying when approached by God. Both men were alone praying. We should pray without ceasing: in the car, in the shower, swinging on the porch swing, etc. but we should take time to be alone to pray. We can't hear God speaking and allow God to give us visions if we are not able to be still and be quiet and listen. Then immediately after both men rec'd word from God, they acted. They didn't wait. They didn't write it down on a To-Do list, (talkin' to me, y'all) they did it right then! Immediate action!
Also, the book points out that because Cornelius was a Gentile and was the first Gentile recorded to receive God into his heart and family and be baptized, then the message of God's love is open to ALL people. Not just the chosen Jews but to ALL. All colors, all races, all creeds, all denominations...ALL!
The book reminds us that Peter and Cornelius were separated by time, logistics and ethnicity. (Remember: I was worried about when and where and how?) And these two never should have met. Peter broke every law in the Jewish books by entering the home of Cornelius. But I think he knew that God's laws and commands supersede any land laws by man. And we should learn from this too. No matter where God calls you or who he calls you to meet with, do it! We were not meant to have biological children and through the miracle of adoption, we crossed the sands of time and crossed from NC to adopt children from WV. And from NC to adopt children from NV. These children were born years before we finalized the adoption. They are each different races than we are! We have three Native American children, one Mexican child and one Puerto Rican child. I can go on and on! I hope y'all are hanging on! It's gettin' good!
The next words I underlined in my book: Get ready.
Turn the page and you'll see underlined: *When you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, you never know who you'll meet, where you'll go, or what you'll do.*
You're gonna get an Amen from me on that one! We had no idea when we got married that we would adopt FIVE children, and that they would be from different states! And praise be to God, not only are these children now safe from abuse and neglect and loved unconditionally, but three out of five of them are saved by the grace of God through belief and Baptism! God is good, beloved, all the time!
Continuing in the book:
* If you establish a prayer routine, your life will be anything but routine. You don't need to seek opportunity. All you have to do is seek God. Who you know (God, Jesus) is more important than what you know. seek first His kingdom. Stay humble. Stay patient. Stay focused.*
Now, since the Lord seems to be sending me down this journey of remembering how we were blessed via adoption, I can just keep applying that to the above underlined words from my book. Our children came out of fervent prayer. They, themselves, were answers to prayer. And as you can imagine, with five teens in the home, four of them with special needs, our lives are "anything but routine". We didn't seek opportunity, we sought after God and His prompting led us to adopting the first time and especially the second time. Staying humble and patient was not even an alternate option. In adoption, you MUST be humble, patient and stay focused.
Now, after sharing all this from day one, let me share with you the prayers God laid on my heart for this day: (These are also penned in my book)
1. My relationship with Christ to grow.
2. Health for self and family.
3. Children to love us and themselves.
4. Jobs for children.
5. Financial freedom from debt.
My embellishment on the above prayers:
1. I so long to grow closer to Christ. We once served at a homeless shelter where we met Donnie. Donnie walked right up to us and told us what a beautiful day it was and began singing, "Every day with Jesus, is sweeter than the day before..." Donnie was homeless. Donnie was crippled from a really bad motorcycle accident. His clothes were worn and dirty. But Donnie, he was spotless in the eyes of God. In the eyes of God Donnie was rich beyond imagination, he was blessed by the King of all Kings and he was loved enough to die for. Donnie is not homeless, he has a mansion awaiting him and a Heavenly Father that will never abandon him as his earthly family seems to have done. I want to be a Donnie. I want to grow so close to Jesus that when you see me, you don't see Ginger, you see Jesus. Donnie was Jesus to me the day I met him. I'll never forget Donnie and I pray to spend eternity with Donnie, loving Jesus.
2. Health for self and family. This prayer encompasses so much! I have health issues and have for a few years now. I have an addictive spirit that has settled over me and God is helping me, but it is a slow process and a battle each day, sometimes each moment. Every day I long for health to better serve Him. My three boys each have mental and emotional health issues and two of them have neurological disorders. I pray for them to be healed by the stripes of Jesus and by His Holy power! My mom & step-dad have health issues, John's mom has health issues and so many others in my family. Lord, we ask for complete healing and give us wisdom to discern what to do and which doctors to see, give the doctors wisdom to help us in godly, not earthly, ways. All natural, super-natural even, all from God.
3. Children to love us and themselves. It is no secret that if you adopt a 16 year old that it may take a while for that person to bond. It is no secret that adopted children have a hard time believing this next set of "parents" won't abandon them and hurt them as the ones before have. It is no secret that adopting older children from hurt places isn't easy, but nothing...and I repeat, nothing...makes me more like Jesus than giving my children unconditional love. Loving and giving, when they don't love or give back. Lord, I ask that you allow them to love us back. I am also praying for them to love themselves and see themselves through your eyes. When you look at them, like when you look at Donnie, I know you see all the good, all the potential and all the perfection you will bring to their lives. Let them see it so they can feel loveable.
4. Jobs for children. I'm not gonna worry on this one any more (thanks to answered prayer in Day 1) but I am gonna pray fervently over it. These kids are young adults now. At 18 & 19 years of age, please lead them to jobs they can excel at. Jobs they can enjoy and be proud of. Give them good attitude, good heart and let them do everything they do as unto you, Lord.
5. Financial freedom from debt. Lord, continue to lead us through the journey of becoming financially independent. You know that I have lists and I have plans to "snowball" the debt and get this paid off in less than five years and to even have the mortgage paid off in less than 10 years, but those are my plans. Lord, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil for THINE is the Kingdom! Let us remember this is all temporary but allow us to alleviate debt so that we can better serve you and as Cornelius' example showed us, give to the poor. And give to the needy and help those without family or water or food, and give to further ministries to spread your Word. This is honestly, my joy to pray as I know this is in your will. Let it be so, Amen.
Well, sweet friends, I know this was a great deal of words to read through. I so hope that you have stayed with me and not skipped one word. This is my heart pouring out to you because it is my love to share it with you. God is so good to me and all I wanna do is go, tell, share His love with you!
So, sweet friends, precious brothers and sisters, I hope you'll continue this journey with me as next I will share with you what God revealed in Day 2.
* Special note: I took great liberties of paraphrasing and rewording lines from the devotional book and the Bible. There are some direct words from the book Draw the Circle. The 40 Day Prayer Challenge. by Mark Batterson and I give all credit to him on those direct quotes here. When I tell you I have underlined something in my personal book and I place an " * " for you, those are to let you know that it is directly from his book. I have no intent to defraud or misrepresent him or his publisher and certainly no intent to harm the meaning of the Word of God through my paraphrasing. Thank you for understanding this.
