prayer

"in worship, God imparts Himself to us."  CS Lewis

art journaling - "rest"

"to desire revival. . .and at the same time to neglect personal prayer and devotion is to wish one way and walk another."  AW Tozer

art journaling - "hope"

my maternal grandparents, the Donahues, were praying people.  before the days of texting prayer requests or prayer lists sent via email, they kept their ears in tune with God to know when and how to pray.  as a child, some of my favorite stories were of prayers answered and God's miraculous interventions on behalf of the prayers of my grandparents and others. however, the greatest impact on my life was through observing prayer and the subsequent miracles first hand.  

my grandmother would often come into the room where my grandfather was and say, "larry, we need to pray."  immediately, with no questions asked,  both grandma and grandpa would drop to their knees and begin to loudly and passionately lay their petitions before God.  many times they didn't know what the need was, so they would seek God and His answers and pray until they felt "heaven fall".  

grandpa had a loud, booming voice which he would use to its fullest extent when seeking and asking God for answers to prayer.  as they prayed together, grandma, although much more reserved, would raise her voice in prayer to match his.

one day, my grandpa had a stroke walking home from lunch.  from that time on, my grandmother sank deeper into the Alzheimer's that had already started to steal her memories, mind, personality and dignity.  

grandma was in a nursing home.  she didn't know any of her relatives, friends or nurses - she forgot how to swallow - she forgot her words - but she didn't forget how to pray.  

we all sat in disbelief and horror as we watched unthinkable violence unfold as the tragedy of 9/11 was being televised world wide.  in a nursing home, in a little town in texas, there lay a woman,  whose mind and words were stolen.  but on 9/11, as the nurses walked by her room, they heard a voice strong and loud raised in prayer and petition for the United States. my grandmother, who could no longer speak, was interceding for her country on a day of tragedy.  

the day ended - my grandmother was once again silent.  

art journaling - "wings of love"

sometimes we see darkness around us - we talk about it - we worry - we become fearful - we forget to pray.  as Christians, God calls us to be warriors and to coin a term my grandparents used - "prayer warriors".  we need to return to the lover of our soul and spend time with Him.

"if Bible Christianity is to survive the present world upheaval, we shall need to have a fresh revelation of the greatness and beauty of Jesus. . .He alone can raise cold hearts to rapture and restore again the art of true worship."  AW Tozer

art journaling - "warrior"

fear is disbanded when we pray.  everyday i live, i am learning once again to pray and believe.  

pray