Tag: Prayer

“it’s too loud!”

Posted on by Fireproof

“It’s so loud in here.”  Ellie exclaims as she yells and adds to the noise.  Having a house with 4 kids and 2 dogs get noisy at times.  Actually noisy isn’t quit the right word.  Maybe It gets a little loud.  No, that doesn’t quite describe it either.  Deafening, maybe that is a bit closer to the noise decibels coming out of our home at times.  To give you a glimpse when Silas was an infant we used to call his cry a  pterodactyl scream thinking it couldn’t get any louder.  So now just imagine adding both twins screaming at the same time on top of that.  (Can I say hearing aids will be in my near future.)  With all that screaming there are moments where it is so loud, you can’t hear anything.  Crazy how that works right?  So much noise that you can’t distinguish any of what is actually being said.  “Chocolate Milk, Apple Juice, Chicken, He’s touching me, Stop, He poked me, she’s copying me, and on and on it goes.”  Wait a second, there are more voices here than just our kids, and then we notice the 4-5 neighbor kids all going in the madness thinking it is hilarious.

I hate to say it but there are times with all the noise Lindsey and I cant hear what is being asked for and it goes unnoticed.  Within 5 minutes or so Eli or Silas will come to us upset asking “Did you get my drink?”  Feeling bad in that moment I normally will reply with, “Buddy did you ask e for any?”  After a glare, the simple response of, “Yeah, but you must not have heard me.”  Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t, or maybe there was just to much noise to tell the difference.  “I’m sorry bud, I must not have heard you amongst the noise of everyone asking.  

You ever think about prayer that way.  That your voice is just one in a million calling out to God all at once.  You begin to feel like they are just hitting the wall amongst all the noise in the world.  Or that your prayers aren’t as vital or important as someone else crying out in the midst of a hurricane or medical diagnosis.  

I know there have been times in our homes where the kids will feel like we just don’t care, but the reality is we just don’t hear them.  

Let me tell you something now and please hear me very carefully.  Even amongst all the noise and prayers going up, God hears you specifically.  He knows your voice and is listening.  Even though you may feel that there are others crying out for other things, you are just as valuable.  

He designed you, he created you, he wants to hear from you.  Just as we want to hear from and speak with all of our kids, how much greater is the heavenly Father’s love for you.  

Maybe it is just as simple as crying out saying, “Lord, I need you.”   Pulling at the pant leg of God just as our girls do when they really want our attention and allowing Him to reach down to be the comfort.  Picture that with me now.  Here you are crying out, “Lord, Lord” and He is reaching down picking you up like a little child.  

You are not just one in a billion voices to Him.  You have a name, a voice, a story.  Cry out to Him like He hears you today and watch as He answers.

Psalms 39:12, “Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears.”

“Go”

Posted on by Fireproof

Sitting at a red-light the other day, I started to hear crying from our back seat and then a scream. Confused thinking something was wrong I looked in the mirror and then trend around only to find Elli starting to yell at me.  “Daddy, I don’t want you to stop.”  Honestly, I didn’t want to be stopped either, as I had been sitting there for what felt like forever waiting.  “Baby girl, I don’t have a choice, the light is red.”  For some reason I thought if I said ti calmly maybe she would understand.  Again as I have shared before trying to rationalize with a three year old doesn’t get very far.  The longer we sat there, the more she cried,  “I want to go home.”  As soon as the light turned green I was ready to go,  and that I did getting moving as fast as I could.  

Can you imagine with me if I just kept sitting there.  The light is now green and yet for some reason because I hadn’t thought through what I would do or get prepared for it, I didn’t move.  Now imagine the girls screaming, “DAD GO.”  

I continue thinking back to this moment when it comes to my prayer life. I don’t know how many messages I have heard throughout my life that speak of God answering prayers in 3 ways; yes, no, and wait.  Without a doubt there are definitely moments where God has to give us the red light, the all out stop, no go, bad idea, don’t even think about it answer.  Lets be honest, most of us hate those moments.  We want to go, to run ahead, and God is protecting you from the head on collision.  

Other times He gives us the wait.  Like I had sitting at the red light waiting upon the light to turn green.  I knew it was eventually coming, I just had to be patient.  How many of us are like Elli though, kicking and screaming about the idea of having to wait.  We don’t like the word wait in today’s culture.  We want the instant gratification, the here and now answer, or for some even the I want the answer yesterday.  What if God is saying in those moment’s you just aren’t ready yet.  I have to prepare you for what lies ahead.  Getting you to s spot in your life where you are ready to hit the gas and run.  

With a stop light we know the green is coming, correct.  What if there are times in our lives where God has made it clear that the green light is coming, and he is getting you ready.  What steps are you taking to get ready?  Are you continuing to trust Him that the green light is coming, or do you give up hope the longer you sit.  Do you get distracted by life, by your phone, by the noise, that when the light turns green instead of going, you just keep sitting.  The next thing you know the light is now red again.  

Are we so discouraged by things in your past that you now find yourself at a spot you have made up in your mind the light is never changing.  Is that how you pray?  Do you pray with a sense of hope, believing that God is going to come through or are you in the mindset that you will be stuck forever?  Are you preparing your heart, knowing the answer is coming?  What is distracting you?  

In Acts 12 Peter was imprisoned and the church earnestly prayed expecting God to move.  Waiting in anticipation, believing God for the miraculous.  Is that how we pray? In expectation of the “light to turn green” if you will.  Praying, in anticipation, expecting, preparing our hearts for when He moves!  One final thought about all this is obedience to go when the light is green to stop when the light is red, and the wisdom to know the difference. 

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭12‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“JESUS, I BELIEVE IN YOU.”

Posted on by Fireproof

As I have shared previously, our family hot tub has turned into my prayer closet. Those moments of sitting out there at night once the kids have gone to sleep, have become invaluable. Even if it is just a couple minutes of silence from our world of chaos and noise. Recently that has changed a little bit though. With the temperatures changing and it getting colder out, all our kids have taken to it as their swimming pool. Now it seems a few nights a week, one of the girls will say as clear as can be, “hot tub, hot tub.” So who can turn down that family time right?

At first I was honestly frustrated, arguing with God, “but that is my time.” (Talk about being selfish). Honestly it turns into a comedy hour. Seriously, I encourage you now to picture yourself in this scene. All of us jammed into a 4 person inflatable hot tub, with not much room to spare. Eli trying to swim laps under everyone else’s legs, Silas acting like he is falling off the side to see how big of splash he can make. The twins learning to get their head under the water or to hold on the side while kicking their feet. Let’s just say a lot of laughter and joy takes places in these precious few moments.

Anyway, I share all that because last week I was explaining to them about it being my prayer closet; my moments to just sit and talk to Jesus. Silas then asked me if he could talk to Jesus like that. “Absolutely bud. What would you want to say to him?” His answer truly caught me off guard. “Dad, I think I would just say, Jesus I believe in you.” I really didn’t know how to respond. “Is that all you’d say or ask?” His eyes started looking around and you could tell his mind was searching, then simply, “yep, that’s all I’d say, I believe in you.”

So simple, yet so profound. What if our faith as adults was just that simple. Instead of overthinking or trying to explain everything. Instead of thinking we need magic words or long drawn out prayers. Just a simple, “Jesus, I believe in you.”

Moments like that make me truly grateful for little kids and their simple minds. I am learning to embrace the everyday conversations where God continues to teach me through my kids. Faith through the eyes of a child. Maybe that is what God will teach me more of in 2024, to have faith like a child, what about you?

“Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Matthew 18:3-4 NLT

“CRY OUT TO ME.”

Posted on by Fireproof

                “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15

As Eli has been growing, I have started to notice that he has different cries, different sounds he makes based on what he is feeling or going through.  For you parents out there, you know what I am talking about.  First there is the “I am hungry” cry, a louder, feisty type cry.  Then there is the “I am tired,”  “fighting sleep cry, where he is rubbing his eyes, yawning, barely keeping his eyes open but screaming at the top of his lungs because he doesn’t want to miss anything.  Then there is the “I am bored,” tired of being stuck in the carseat, get me outta here cry, which if ignored can turn into an all out ear piercing noise.  How about the “diaper needs changed” cry, not really a way to describe that one until you have experienced it firsthand.

In all these different cries it is Eli’s way of reaching out to tell us something is wrong.  As I listen to him cry, I catch myself going Eli, just talk to me, tell me what is up.  I don’t understand what these different noises mean.  Talk to me bud, Talk to me.  Then he starts to reach out to me, crawl over to my leg and grab on, pulling himself up my shin, just reaching up.  I just wish he could tell me what was actually taking place within his body, let me know what his pain was, or what was causing his discomfort  As he cries, All I can do is reach down, pick him up and hold him.  Guess what, most times that is exactly what he want.  He wants his daddy and mommy!

crying

What if that is exactly how we are designed to be when it comes to God.  What if we were meant to just cry out to him, to speak to him, to tell him what is taking place in our lives.  As Christians, many of us would probably say, yeah I get that, we are called to pray, but how many of us actually do it in our times of need.  What if when we are hurt, or in pain, or even just seeking purpose we would just reach up and cry out.

I believe it is exactly what God is asking of us, for us to tell him what is taking place, and allowing Him to reach down, to pick us up and just hold us.    We may feel like what we are going through is not that big of a deal so we don’t want to bother God with it.  Look back at that verse in Romans 8, God wants to be your “DADDY,” he wants you to talk to him about what is taking place in your life.  He wants you to turn to him, to run to him.  He isn’t just an image in the sky or some dictator pointing down at you saying. “I caught you again.”  He is your heavenly father saying, “just talk to me.”  Maybe our issue is that we think we need just the right words for God, to make him understand our situation, like if we say it just right, or add a couple thee’s and thou’s to our prayers.  I know I have been there before where I feel like my prayers are hitting the ceiling and I look up and just shake my fist saying, “God, are you hearing me?”  Okay, if that prayer didn’t work, lets try and reword it a little bit, then maybe He will hear it sooner.  If that is you, please consider this verse.

               “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Romans 8:26

It is not about the words we use though, like I said, He just desires us to cry out.  To hit our knees, to reach up, and allow Him to do what he does best.  As our heavenly Father, He reaches down, picks us up, and says, “I got this, Trust me my child.”