Category: Prayer

Praying for Both Moms – Birth Moms and Adoptive Moms

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Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Exodus 2

As an adoptive mom, the story of Moses has always had particular interest for me. The idea of Moses’s first mom, the mom who gave birth to him, was willing to risk her own life by hiding him for three months, and then to place him among the reeds in hopes that he would be rescued by an Egyptian, reminds of my son’s first mom, the mom who gave birth to him.

I will be forever indebted to her. Though I don’t know the circumstances surrounding my son’s conception or what she went through to bring him to birth, I know it couldn’t have been easy.

So, I’d like to pray for all those first moms out there, the moms who have birth to a child they’re not raising. But I’d also like to pray for all of us adoptive moms who are raising children they didn’t birth. Both moms face unique pains and joys and both moms need our prayers.

Heavenly Father, I pray right now for the mom who has given birth to a child she isn’t raising, a child who is under someone else’s care. I pray that You will encourage her. Help her to trust in You and seek for You with all her heart. I pray that she will someday see in Heaven that child she carried in her womb. I pray that she will know that You are the God of redemption and restoration and second chances, and that it’s never too late to turn to You. I pray that she knows that You are the God who hears and remembers and sees and knows. Truly, You are the God of all comfort. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

And Heavenly Father, I also pray for the adoptive mom who is raising a child birthed by another, who deeply loves a child that You have entrusted into her care. I pray that You will heal the broken places in her heart with the healing balm of Your love. Help her to cast all her cares on you, knowing that You care for her and You care for that little boy or girl, too. I pray that she will remember that You are the God of redemption and restoration and second chances, and that is never too late to turn to You. May she know that You are the God who hears and remembers and sees and knows. Truly, You are the God of all comfort. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Now My Eye Sees You

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Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Job 40-42

“And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.
And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters.”

Job 42:12-13 ESV

In Job 1, we read that Job had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 female donkeys. Here at the end of his life, Job has twice as many of these animals. Yet in Job 1, we read that Job had seven sons and three daughters and now at the end of his life, he once again is given seven sons and three daughters. Why was the number of his children not doubled?

Let me share with you my thoughts: When Job’s first animals were wiped out and he got new animals, he no longer counted the ones he had earlier in his life … but children, they are different. Our children are made in God’s image and are given eternal souls. Our children are irreplaceable. If your child passes away, they remain your child. I have two children who have gone to heaven before me and I have four children here on earth, therefore I have six children.

Job began his life with ten children and he ended his life with twenty. The Lord had indeed given him a double portion.

The pain of losing all of your animals is great, but the pain of losing all of your children is immeasurably greater. But may I encourage you with this word: the pain is great because your love is great.

Job was a righteous man with a deep love for God, but Job grew to know and love God more intimately and personally as a result of his great pain – and so can we. Earlier we read the words of Job, “Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it.” (Job 13:1 ESV) But now at the end of this book, Job says, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;” (Job 42:5 ESV)

I remember all too well how much the Lord grew and transformed me through the pain of losing a baby. I pray that whatever trial you are going through now or have gone through in the past, that you will keep your eyes wide open to see God as He walks with you through this dark valley.

Heavenly Father, please grow our faith. Help us to see Your hand guiding us and blessing us every step of the way as we walk through this valley. You are always good and always right. You are all-knowing and all-powerful. We need You every hour. We pray that we will know how deep and high and long and wide is Your love toward us as Your children. We pray that we will see You in our lives and see You in Your living and active Word because we know that You are there. In the Name of Christ Jesus our Lord we pray, Amen.

Watch my testimony for more on how I came to see God more clearly after losing a baby

A Pinched Off Piece of Clay

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 33

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life…. Behold, I am toward God as you are;
I too was pinched off from
a piece of clay.

Job 33:4, 6 ESV

Have you ever tried making a “pinch pot” out of a little lump of sticky brown clay or have you ever attempted to mold a little clay pot on a potter’s wheel?

I actually grew up with two aunts and one uncle who are professional potters. I spent many hours admiring their work and attempting to make my own. Then a few years ago my oldest daughter and I went to a local pottery shop to try our hand at throwing coffee mugs on a wheel. Let me just say that these experiences have taught me to appreciate the skill involved with making incredible beauty out of a few handfuls of wet dirt.

In this passage of Job, two things jumped out at me.

1. God is the potter. God is who made us and He is who gives us life. He creates and shapes and molds us into what He desires. Friends, none of us are mere accidents. We didn’t just evolve from apes through a random series of accidents. Our lives have purpose. As Ephesians 2:10 explains, “We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

2. All mankind is level before God. Though you and I each have a unique, intentional purpose, we are all equally pinched off from a piece of clay. (Job 33:6) God has fashioned us each to look different so that we might each accomplish the works which He has designed for us, but may we never boast as though we’re better than anyone else for we’re all just jars of clay made by the perfect potter. May this truth keep us humble before God and before our fellow man.

Let’s pray.

Oh, Heavenly Father, what is man that You are mindful of us? You know that we are dust. We are but clay in our potter’s hands. You have a divine purpose for each of us. May that truth empower us to go and do the works that You have designed us for. Keep us humble as we remember that we are equally Your creation, and give us courage as we remember that You have works prepared for us to do. In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.



Praise to the One who Gave Me Breath

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 26-27, Psalm 150

With whose help have you
uttered words, and whose breath has come out from you?

Job 26:4 ESV

Let’s just ponder this one verse from today’s reading.

On the sixth day of creation, the Lord breathed into the first man, Adam, the breath of life (Genesis 2:7) and He’s been doing it ever since. Why are we so prideful, so self-sufficient, thinking that we are independent creatures who don’t need God? Truly, what do I have that I haven’t been given? Even the very breath in my lungs is a gift from God.

And to think of the gift of language, of thinking and speaking and communicating – with God and with others – oh, what a gift! As an educator for the deaf, I witnessed first-hand how desperately children and parents desire to communicate, whether using gestures or sounds or facial expressions. My 100-lb Aussie-Labradoodle is about as smart as animals come, but he can’t communicate nearly so well as my 20-month old granddaughter. God has given mankind a unique gift in the gift of language, so that we can hear from Him and speak to Him like none of the other creatures He has made on earth.

The final psalm, Psalm 150, is a psalm of praise, praising God with trumpets and harps and strings and pipes, praising Him with dancing and loud crashing cymbals, but oh the gift of singing words of praise and making declarations of spoken praise, telling of His mighty deeds! The Lord has put breath in my lungs and with it I will praise Him! As the final verse of the final psalm says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6) Will you join me in declaring aloud His greatness?!

Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, giver of life and breath, You are worthy of all our praise! You created the sun and moon and stars by Your will and by Your word. You hung the earth on nothing. You created the seas and everything in them. You created the earth and the sky and everything that fills them. What is man that you are mindful of us?

You are worthy of every word of worship, every song of praise, every beat of the drum, every blast of the trumpet, every clang of the cymbal. You are worthy! You are holy and mighty and good. All your ways are right and all Your ways are just.

We worship You in the glory of Your presence. We ask that You would make us vessels of Your glory and grace. We ask that You would make us declarers of Your praise! Use us, Lord! By the sacrifice of Your Son, we have been made temples of Your Holy Spirit. Make us pure and holy vessels for You.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord, we pray. Amen.

Great are You Lord

Praying through the Words of Job

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Read through the Bible in 2 years Job 23-24

Last night I had a friend comment that Job is hard to read. Amen, sister. Job is indeed very hard to read. Sometimes I just focus on one thought from Job and meditate on it. I also like to use the words in Job as a springboard for prayer. Let’s try a few verses of that today.

Job 23:8-10 ESV – Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

Heavenly Father, Sometimes I feel like You’re not there. Sometimes I can’t feel You or see You and it feels like You’ve abandoned me. Help me to remember the truth: You will never leave me or forsake me. You have made me Your sheep and I am Yours. It is me – not You – who is prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love. Thank You that You always know the way that I take, that I cannot escape from Your presence, that I cannot hide from You no matter where I go. And thank You for Jesus, my good shepherd who searches for me and joyfully brings me back into Your fold.

Job 23:11-12 ESV — My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

Heavenly Father, please help my feet to remain on the straight and narrow path, to hold fast to You and Your ways. Let me not turn aside. May I ponder the path of my feet and not turn to the left or the right in what I say or think or do. Keep me from sins of omission as well as commission. Help me to actively do good, rather than just not doing bad. I want to treasure Your words more than food, even more than rich, sweet, tasty food. Your love is indeed better than any treasure here on earth.

Job 23:13-14 ESV — But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.

Lord, You are unchangeable. No one can turn You away. You do whatever You desire. You will be faithful to complete whatever You have begun. And I’m so thankful for that because Your ways are always best. There is so often a way that seems right to me, but it’s end is simply the way to death. Help me to trust You. Help me to believe that Your way is always best.

In the almighty, all-good Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Far Too Wonderful (Psalm 139) by Shane & Shane

Good Things and Bad People

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 22; Psalm 73

Have you ever struggled with why “bad things happen to good people”? I believe the simple answer to that question is, “Truly there are no good people. We’re all downright bad. None of us deserve anything that the Lord so kindly gives to us.

But, today when reading Job 22, I found myself thinking about this question, “Why do good things happen to bad people?”

They said to God, “Depart from us,” and
“What can the Almighty do to us?”
Yet He filled their houses with good things…

Job 22:17-18a ESV

Why does God allow the sun to shine and the rain to fall on both the evil and the good, like we read in Matthew 5:45? Why is the LORD is good to all and have mercy on all that he has made? (Psalm 145:9)

Why do the wicked prosper like we considered in yesterday’s reading of Job 21?

In Psalm 73, Asaph wrestled with these same questions. He found himself envious of the wicked, but as he pondered his life on earth and his life in eternity compared to theirs, he realized how much better off he is.

"Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. 
But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works." - Psalm 73:23-28 ESV

When we’re wrestling with all these why’s, let’s speak truth to ourselves and remind ourselves of what we know is true.

Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father,

You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever. I would rather have one day with You than a thousand apart from You. For me, truly, it is good to be near You. You are my refuge and strength and guide.

Truly, You are good to both the evil and the good. You are good and gracious. And I am not.

Make me more like You. Conform me into Your likeness. May Your glory and goodness shine brightly out of my life. Use me as Your mouthpiece. I want to tell of all Your works for You are so, so good. Your steadfast love is better than life.

In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Good and Gracious King by City Alight

Remember not…

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 21; Psalm 25

In the 21st chapter of Job, Job wrestles with God as he watches the wicked prosper. Why were their animals multiplying and their flocks of children running and playing and singing, while his own house and fields had been wiped out.

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever prayed for God to give you a running vehicle so you can get to work while your annoying co-worker keeps bragging about her new minivan? Have you ever pleaded with God to give you a friend while your gossipy neighbor has a house full of companions? Have you ever begged God for a child while you watch a story on the news about a woman who threw her own baby in the dumpster?

I remember how hard it was to go to baby showers for my friends after losing my baby boy. I remember how hard it was to hear about others whose children were so quiet and obedient while mine were outspoken and headstrong.

Frankly, there is no 3-step solution to answer all your questions, no quick pill to take away all your pain, but there is hope and wisdom to be found in drawing near to God and His Word. We must remind ourselves of the simple truth that none of us are good, no not one. All of us are wicked. Our wickedness may look different from that co-worker or neighbor or woman on the news, but none of us deserve God’s great blessings of food and friendship and family.

We must also remind ourselves that this world is not our destination, we are all just passing through. One day judgement will come. One day all things will be made right. Ultimately, the greatest blessings in this life are not found in expensive cars or rich food or abundant friends or even in a house full of children and a happy marriage. Rather, the greatest blessings in life are found at the feet of Jesus. The blessings of joy and peace and purpose are abundant, eternal blessings both in this life and the life to come.

If I had to choose between a mansion with a Lamborghini in the driveway or a life focused on Christ, I’d choose Christ every time.

Remember your mercy, O LORD,
and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love Remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!”

Psalm 25:6-7 ESV

Let’s pray,

Oh Lord God, Remember your mercy and steadfast love – for they have been from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth nor the sins of my old age. My transgressions are many, but Your mercy is indeed more. Rather, O Lord, remember me according to Your steadfast love — for the sake of Your Name and Your goodness.

Your Name is indeed great and Your Goodness is without end. I know that You are good. I know that You are just. I know that You are faithful and true. Help me to remind myself of what I know to be true about You, about me, and about my neighbor.

I pray that You will bless others – my family, my friends, my neighbors, my enemies – with a knowledge of the truth – that You are full of justice and grace. I pray that You would save them today, Lord, that they might turn away from their sin and receive forgiveness, that they might know Your love which is better than life.

I pray, also, for my own sinful heart. Please, Father, encourage me. Remind me of how greatly I have been forgiven. Let me not be like that unmerciful servant who pointed a condemning finger, focusing on the speck in his brother’s eyes, while forgetting how greatly he had sinned against You, our holy and merciful king.

It is in the name of Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, that I pray. Amen.

The Lord is my Comforter

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 16-17; Psalm 23

After Job’s friend, Eliphaz, shares his human wisdom with his grieving friend (Job 15), it comes Job’s turn to reply. Job’s first words to his friends are, “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all.”

Ain’t that the truth? Miserable counselors they have been. When you’ve lost all ten of your children, all of your possessions, and even your health, do you really want to hear words like, “Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash, that you turn your spirit against God and bring such words out of your mouth?” (Job 15:12)

Remember, friends, there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. I pray that we learn to speak those words that fit the occasion, to ask the Holy Spirit, our great counselor, to guide us in what to say to a grieving friend.

So, how amazing it was to then read Psalm 23 right on the heels of the words of Job’s heartache.

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
He makes me lie down in green pastures. 
He leads me beside still waters. 
He restores my soul. 
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; 
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." 
- Psalm 23:1-4 ESV

Job’s friends truly were miserable comforters, but God’s rod and staff bring comfort to His sheep.

According to GotQuestions.org, the shepherd’s rod was a “sturdy wooden stick used as a weapon to fight off wild animals” while the shepherd’s staff was “a long, slender stick, often hooked at the tip, used primarily to direct the sheep…. The shepherd used his staff to keep his sheep out of danger and close to himself…. Together the rod and the staff of Psalm 23 paint a picture of the divine Shepherd who wields them. He is strong, competent, and trustworthy; He is present with His sheep, able to defend them and watch over them through all the dangers they face.”

Jesus truly is our very good shepherd who comforts us in all our affliction. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself,
and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 ESV

Let’s pray,

Heavenly Father,

Please help us to be patient with our friends when they say stupid things because they just don’t know what to say. I’m sure it hurts them to see us hurting. Help us to have grace toward them when they are terrible comforters and say things that make our pain even worse.

I pray that we will trust You all the more as we see what miserable counselors even our dearest friends are. You, Father, are our greatest comforter. Apply Your Word like a balm to our hurting soul. Speak to us through Your Words, healing our brokenness for Your glory, comforting us that we can comfort others.

Lord, I want to thank You in all circumstances and trust that You have purpose in my pain. As I walk through the dark valley, will you please grow my faith muscles? Help me to see Your light glowing at the end of the tunnel, guiding me with your merciful staff and fending away my enemies with Your righteous, rugged rod.

I pray that You will someday use my pain to comfort others who find themselves in pain. Teach me how to speak fit words for hurting hearts. Lead me with Your wisdom to when to speak and when to be silent, when to exhort and when to encourage. I want to be an instrument of Your peace, to be my brother’s keeper, to love my neighbor as myself, and to comfort others with the comfort that we have received from You.

In the Name of our Perfect Comforter, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.

Sitting with a Grieving Friend

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 6-7

The two lowest times in my life were in March of 1994 and October of 1998. Yet these were also the two times when Jesus began to radically transform my faith.

March 1994 was when I finally broke up with my fiance, Eric, and moved to St. Louis. Shortly thereafter I met Jesus and began a whole new life with Him by my side.

October 1998 was when I found out that our stillborn son’s body had been lost by the hospital after his autopsy. I couldn’t understand why God would allow this to happen. My son being stillborn was painful enough …. Why this?

I wrestled and struggled and mourned and questioned and grieved for months. What had I done wrong? Was God punishing me? I didn’t want to go to church. I didn’t want to have playdates with my friends and their children. I just wanted to curl up in bed and stay there.

My friends couldn’t understand the depth of my pain. “He wasn’t even full-term.” “You’ll have another.” “I had a miscarriage, too, once. You’ll get over it. Give it some time.” “It was just a body.” Their words dug into my heart like so many little piercing arrows.

I distanced myself from my friends, and they distanced themselves from me, too. I couldn’t relate to them … And they couldn’t relate to me, either. They didn’t want to just sit and grieve with me day after day. A few days of crying was enough, wasn’t it? Why was this still going on weeks and even months later?

This was when the book of Job really entered my life for the first time. Actually, I had first met Job casually in college when I read it as a “great work of ancient literature” in one of my liberal arts classes. But 1998 is when Job’s words pierced my heart even deeper than my friends’ words.

Out of all that pain and confusion God again did something new in my heart. He grew my faith in new and profound ways. He taught me to trust Him even when I don’t understand. He taught me that He is good even when people aren’t. He taught me that I can always turn to Him in my pain and suffering.

This week, reading Job again, really taking time to sit and study and journal and think, Job’s piercing words are aimed at my heart in a new way. Have I withheld kindness from a friend? Have I made light of a friend’s suffering? Can I look my friend in the eye and hold her hand in her grief?

Sisters, let’s not make the same mistakes as Job’s friends. Let’s run toward our friends in their pain, being willing to mourn with those who mourn, rather than running away out of fear and discomfort.

Let’s pray together.

Heavenly Father,

Your grace is sufficient for me for Your power is made perfect in my weakness. Thank You for giving us this book of Job, that we could better understand the grief of men and the goodness of God. Please help us to be good friends, to run towards those who are hurting instead of running away. Help us to be willing to sit and listen, instead of always trying to speak and fix. Make us vessels of Your love and peace and kindness and comfort.

In the Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

When the Encourager Needs Encouragement

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Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Job 4-5

I’ve often found myself in the position of encourager. People come to me when they need prayer or encouragement or words of wisdom. This is certainly a blessing from God, and I’m honored to serve my sisters in this way. But … what about when it’s me who needs the prayer and encouragement and words of wisdom? Will I be able to take my own advice or will I crumble under the weight? Will my friends take the opportunity to encourage me, or will they point out my shortcomings in my sorrow?

After sitting silently with Job for seven days and nights (Job 2:13) Job’s friend, Eliphaz, finally speaks. His friend’s first words aren’t, “I’m so sorry, Job. I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through. I’m with you and I’ll stay with you through thick and thin. I’m glad to have you as a friend.”

No, Job’s friends’ first words are:

"If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? Yet who can keep from speaking? Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed." - Job 4:3-5

Can I just say how much a simple word of thanksgiving and encouragement can strengthen a heavy heart? Today, at a youth Bible study where I teach, one of the students’ moms approached me and asked if she could take my picture. She went on to explain how much her daughter loves me and that she’s always telling her grandma about “Mrs. Kim.” That put wind in my sails like nothing else. Those few words encouraged me to keep on keeping on.

Something as simple as a hand-written note or a comment on a blog saying, “Thanks for taking the time to write this. Your words really ministered to me,” might just be what that person needs that day. Click the “like” button. Forward a message to someone else who is hurting.

Will we be like the one leper who returned to give Jesus thanks for healing him? Or like the nine who received healing and kept right on their merry way, healed but unappreciative? (Luke 17:11-19)

Sisters, will you pray for me? I’d sure appreciate it.

Will you encourage those who have encouraged you? I know they’d appreciate it.

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your faithful, never-ending grace and encouragement. You never grow tired. You never feel hopeless. You always see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I pray for my sisters who are facing trials today – who have lost a child, a parent, a job. I pray for the one who is losing hope today, who feels like the sun will never shine again, who feels like they can’t make it one more step.

Will you please send someone to them to encourage them? Will You please use me to speak life to someone who needs it? Will You please pour Your love lavishly into my heart, so I have love to give to the next one? Make me Your vessel. Make Your Word a balm to their heavy soul.

Father, I am so weak and I grow weary. Please, Father, encourage me. Pour into me. Lift up my hands and my head. Let me not lose heart. Please send friends around me to lift me up, that I will not faint.

In the Healing Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.