How To Pray When It Feels Like God Isn’t Listening

How To Pray When It Feels Like God Isn’t Listening

  

Reading Time: 5 min 46 sec

Have you ever wondered if God is off taking a vacation when you pray? Okay, maybe not a vacation, but it seems like every time you call out to him, you are met with deafening silence. You secretly wonder if you are doing something wrong.  All your friends, your pastor, people at church are always mentioning, God said this…or I hear God today.. and you are like, “WAIT, did I miss the memo? Did God show up today and I didn’t hear about it?”  

 

The fact that you must be defective, or a really immature Christian, festers in the back of your brain, you feel embarrassed, and you try to mask the fact that apparently you and God aren’t on speaking terms. You push your prayer frustrations to the side until one day you are confronted with pain.

 

Whether the death of a loved one, frustration at work, a rebellious teen, violence in the world, something stirs your heart, and you cry out to God, “God, where are you? I am in agony. I am confused. I am frustrated. You say you love me, but where are you when I need you? All I get is silence. Am I doing something wrong? Do you not love me? Where are you? I need you now.”

 

If that’s you, keep reading…

  1. Playing Hide and Seek with God 

2. The Invitation 

3. Practice Showing Up 

 

 

1. Playing Hide and Seek With God 

 

 So where is God? Seriously, it can seem like every time we desperately need to hear from him, he is off saving the world. What about us? Where is he, when we call out in our pain?  Does he even care?       Psalm 139:1-12 gives us explicit directions as to where God is hanging out.

 

It says, “God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too—your reassuring presence, coming and going.

This is too much, too wonderful. I can’t take it all in!  Is there any place I can go to avoid your Spirit? To be out of your sight?

 If I climb to the sky, you’re there!  If I go underground, you’re there! If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon,You’d find me in a minute—you’re already there waiting!

Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I’m immersed in the light!” It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.”

 

Is there a word or phrase that jumps out at you in this passage?  

 

Do you notice that it says, he knows what we are thinking?  Not just what we are doing, but our very thoughts and that there is no place we can go to avoid his Spirit.

 

King David, the author of this Psalm, was known for having a deep, intimate relationship with God, and out of that intimacy, he shares his experience of God with us.  Now before you think that this is just a picture of David’s relationship with God, David wrote this psalm for the choir director. Meaning this song was written to be sung by people of Israel, proclaiming Gods praises, attesting of Gods’ faithfulness to us.

 

 We read this passage and tell ourselves, yes, of course, God is with me.  Any person who has been a Christian for longer than five minutes knows that God never leaves us or forsakes us.

 

 We know this truth mentally but it sure doesn’t feel like he is present.  So, if we can’t outrun, out hide, or out fly, the love of God than why can’t I hear his voice?

 

 

2. The Invitation

 

I was having a conversation with an acquaintance, and halfway through, I noticed that her eyes kept drifting, and she was looking very distracted.  All throughout our conversation, she kept smiling and nodding to the people around me. Needless to say, it was a very distracting conversation for both of us.

 

We can fall into this same trap in our conversations with God.  We are either so desperate for an answer that we spend the entire time shouting our requests to God. Or we say a five-second prayer, wait for a moment or two, and then rail at him when he doesn’t show up in a miraculous way.

 

Anthony Bloom, a spiritual writer says it this way, “We complain that God does not make himself present to us for the few minutes we reserve for him, but what about the twenty-three and a half hours during which God may be knocking at our door and we answer, “I am busy. I am sorry.” Or when we do not answer at all because we do not even hear the knock at the door of our heart, of our mind, of our conscience, of our life.”

 

 God loves spending time with you.  He is not hiding or playing games with you. He genuinely loves to hear your voice. And he is presenting you with a Grand Invitation. He is inviting you to go deeper into a love relationship with him. He is asking, “I am inviting you to spend time with me?”

 

He is asking you to invite him into your entire day, not just the twenty minutes you spend reading the Bible each morning.

 

 So how can we practically be present with God all throughout the day? How can we give him more than a distracted conversation in a time of crisis? 

 

3. Practice Showing Up 

 

 Do you ever feel like you are wasting your time when you sit down to have devotions and nothing seems to happen? That there are so many other responsibilities clamoring for your attention, taking twenty minutes out of your day can seem well, a lavish extravagance.  

 

You go through the motions of reading a Bible passage or filling in the answers in a devotional, and at times it can just seem…well boring. (GASP!) Yes, I did say boring, because frankly, devotions can be boring.

 

I got bored. I wanted something more than filling my head with facts about God (though it is an important part of our faith), I wanted to actually have a living, breathing experience of God. I wanted what Daniel, David, Esther, Mary, and countless others had with Jesus. I wanted to have a real relationship with him. 

 

To have a deep relationship with him, we must be active participants in our conversations with God. Setting aside distractions (or at least keeping them at bay), and engaging in talking and listening to God. And here is the key part…even when it feels like nothing is happening.   

 

It seriously is about the practice of showing up, day after day and laying down our agenda for his.  Asking God that he would spark a deeper desire for more of him in our hearts.

 

Here are some suggestions of practical things that you can use throughout your day as a reminder to be present to Jesus.

 

1. Light or use a battery powered candle to remind you that God is with you and in you.

 

2. Place a small cross in your pocket. Every time you touch it serves as a reminder to turn your focus back to Jesus.

 

3. Set reminders on your phone. You can label them with messages, like “You are a beloved child of God.” “How is your day going? Love, God” “I am with you today- Love, God”

 

4. Hang a meaningful symbol from your rearview mirror. Every time you get in the car, let it serve as a reminder to pray.

 

5. Put a picture of Jesus holding a lamb, or with children on the background d of your phone or computer. Let it serve as a reminder that you are a child beloved by God.

 

 

Do you want to learn how to live WITH God? Do you want to experience a deep relationship with Jesus not just find out more facts about him?  Check out Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren. This book was pivotal in my own journey, in learning how to be present to God all throughout my day. I LOVE it!

 


What about you? What is your #1 issue when it comes to living life with God?   Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!    

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How To Avoid Feeling Like An Inadequate Christian

How To Avoid Feeling Like An Inadequate Christian

  

Reading Time: 5 min 15 sec

The last couple of weeks I hit a major writing block. I would stare at a blank computer screen, for what felt like decades, with just fragments of thoughts. I knew the topic I wanted to explore but every time I went to set pen to paper (or fingers to keys as the case may be) my mind would go completely blank.

 

It was disorienting. I had deadlines to meet, to-dos to cross off and here I was with zip, nada, nothing. As time went on, panic set in, and fear crept up the back of my throat.  Doubts started to plague me.  “Who do you think you are?” it yelled, “You aren’t qualified to write about this topic”.

 

As deadlines came and passed, a cloud of discouragement and fear came with it, whispering in my ear, “You obviously don’t know anything. Sit down and let the professionals handle it.”   

 

Have you experienced the paralyzing fear of inadequacy? Have you worried that if your friends, family, and coworkers really knew you, you would be seen as a failure, a big disappointment, and a fraud?

 

So, what do we do when fear of failure rears its ugly head?  

 

  1. The Imposter

2. Who Am I? 

3. Daily Surrender

 

 

1. The Imposter

 

The Imposter mentality is all around us, we see people filling their lives in a flurry of activity, maintaining superficial relationships, shouting their achievements, all desperately trying to keep the overwhelming sense of emptiness and failure at bay.

 

This crippling fear that we are not enough can paralyze us. We can end up leading lives of stress, pushing ourselves to higher and higher levels of achievement all in the desperate search to find validation. To get some relief from the doubts and fears that harass our thoughts.

 

We can also see this mentality popping up in our relationship with God. We work so hard to do, say, and be all the right things, only to worry that we might be a modern-day Pharisee.

 

Do you ever feel exposed before God?  Do you wonder if he is sitting in heaven passing judgment over our many failures?   If we are honest, we can quickly fall into the trap of feeling like our relationship with God is like a soul-sucking list of “should’s”. 

 

  • I should know the correct way to pray.
  • I should know how to hear from God.
  • I should know more about God.
  • My prayers should sound more spiritual.

 

The list goes on and on.  And so we begin to run on the wheel of performance, trying to prove our worth to God, to others, and trying to fill that hole in our hearts; with a book list, a workshop, a podcast, or a conference. 

 

This exhausting cycle can keep us from embracing all that God has for us. It can keep us from living a life of freedom.

 

 

2. Who Am I? 

 

So, what do we do when we feel the need to find our validation in anything other than God?

 

We need to know who we are.

 

1 John 3:1 says, “What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.”

 

We are called children of God.  God chose us. He knows all of our sin, all of our mistakes, all of our frailties, and yet even then he extended his love to us.  The God of the Universe calls us by name, and showers love upon us.  He knows our innermost thoughts, and yet he still chooses to shower lavish love upon us.

 

Romans 8:32-35 unpacks it with these words, “If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us?  

And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way!”

 

There is nothing and no one that can separate us from the love of God.  We don’t have to work for, manipulate, or portray something that we are not in order to gain his acceptance or approval.  

 

He loves us just as we are, no performance necessary.

 

3. Daily Surrender

So how do we live out of our true identity as beloved children of God?  It needs to become a part of our core DNA.  

1. The Imposter

 

The Imposter mentality is all around us, we see people filling their lives in a flurry of activity, maintaining superficial relationships, shouting their achievements, all desperately trying to keep the overwhelming sense of emptiness and failure at bay.

 

This crippling fear that we are not enough can paralyze us. We can end up leading lives of stress, pushing ourselves to higher and higher levels of achievement all in the desperate search to find validation. To get some relief from the doubts and fears that harass our thoughts.

 

We can also see this mentality popping up in our relationship with God. We work so hard to do, say, and be all the right things, only to worry that we might be a modern-day Pharisee.

 

Do you ever feel exposed before God?  Do you wonder if he is sitting in heaven passing judgment over our many failures?   If we are honest, we can quickly fall into the trap of feeling like our relationship with God is like a soul-sucking list of “should’s”. 

 

  • I should know the correct way to pray.
  • I should know how to hear from God.
  • I should know more about God.
  • My prayers should sound more spiritual.

 

The list goes on and on.  And so we begin to run on the wheel of performance, trying to prove our worth to God, to others, and trying to fill that hole in our hearts; with a book list, a workshop, a podcast, or a conference. 

 

This exhausting cycle can keep us from embracing all that God has for us. It can keep us from living a life of freedom.

 

 

2. Who Am I? 

 

So, what do we do when we feel the need to find our validation in anything other than God?

 

We need to know who we are.

 

1 John 3:1 says, “What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.”

 

We are called children of God.  God chose us. He knows all of our sin, all of our mistakes, all of our frailties, and yet even then he extended his love to us.  The God of the Universe calls us by name, and showers love upon us.  He knows our innermost thoughts, and yet he still chooses to shower lavish love upon us.

 

Romans 8:32-35 unpacks it with these words, “If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us?  

And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way!”

 

There is nothing and no one that can separate us from the love of God.  We don’t have to work for, manipulate, or portray something that we are not in order to gain his acceptance or approval.  

 

He loves us just as we are, no performance necessary.

 

3. Daily Surrender

So how do we live out of our true identity as beloved children of God?  It needs to become a part of our core DNA.  

“In order for our knowing of God’s love to be truly transformational, it must become the basis of our identity…An identity grounded in God would mean that when we think of who we are, the first thing that would come to mind is our status as someone who is deeply loved by God.”-David Benner

 

Instead of identifying ourselves in what we do, we need to see ourselves for who we are in Jesus. This also means that we have to daily (sometimes hourly) surrender ourselves to God.

 

Every morning I ask God to help me place my value, not in my roles (wife, mother, etc.), or in what I accomplish (or don’t) throughout the day, but as his beloved child. I pray that I would come to experience at deeper and deeper levels that there is nothing I need to do to gain his love or approval.  

 

This takes transparency and humility. We want to always be doing for God.  It can be scary, messy and countercultural to accept and rest in his extravagant love. And I sometimes fail miserably.  I get moving too fast and fall back into the lie that my worth, my very identity is tied up in what I produce.

 

“Genuine transformation requires vulnerability. It is not the fact of being loved unconditionally that is life-changing. IT is the risky experience of allowing myself to be loved unconditionally.”-David Benner

 

In our independent culture, receiving an extravagant gift when we didn’t earn it can be uncomfortable. God has done so much for us, we just want to do our part to pay him back. 

When you learn what it means to just be with God instead of working for God, to experience (not just know about) his lavish love… it’s transformational.

 

When fear and self-doubt threaten to take over, remember God chose you. You are the beloved of the king of all kings.  You don’t need to perform to earn his love.  When you daily surrender your feelings of inadequacy to God, and you walk through life resting in the security that you are enough, just as you are, fear loses its grip. You have nothing to prove.

 

Today is the day.  Lay down fear, the rat race of performance and embrace God’s overwhelming, never stopping, beyond comprehension love.. for you. I promise you your life will never be the same.  

 

 

Do you want to learn how to live out of your true identity as one chosen by God? Check out David Benner’s Surrender to Love. This book was transformational in my own journey to laying down fear and living freely and lightly as a beloved child of God.


 What about you? What is your #1 issue when it comes to living life with God?   Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!    

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12 Kid Approved Gifts that Focus on the True Meaning of Easter

12 Kid Approved Gifts that Focus on the True Meaning of Easter

  

Reading Time: 4 min 56 sec

One of my most favorite memories growing up is visiting my grandparents’ house and participating in a massive scavenger hunt to find my very own Easter basket. Even though the basket was pretty much always hidden in the dryer, it was an amazing time of fun, excitement, and it ended with a basketful of chocolate!  

 

As a follower of Jesus’ the celebration of Easter is the most important day of the year. Jesus death and resurrection are foundational to our faith.   If Easter is so important, what are we communicating to our children when we condense it down to fancy outfits, beautiful eggs, and tons of candy?

 

I am not saying banish your Easter traditions. Instead, what I am saying is that what if we intentionally moved the focus from candy to Jesus? Can you imagine our children experiencing Jesus’ over the top love for them as they come to appreciate his sacrifice on the cross in a whole new way?  

 

Children go deeper in their faith, and own their faith through experiential learning. By watching you, experiencing life in a family and church context, they are being told each day what is really important.  Easter is a huge opportunity to pour into the spiritual lives of our children. So how do we do that?

 

Intentionally invite Jesus into what you are already doing. Instead of giving an Easter basket or gift, full to the brim with chocolate, what if you included some items that would turn your child’s eyes towards Jesus?  Instead of hurrying past Lent without much of a thought, what if you took some time to journey through an Easter devotional or watched a video of Jesus’ death and resurrection together as a family?  These small steps make a POWERFUL impact on the lives of your children.

 

Today, we are going to be talking about twelve amazing resources that you can use to help turn your family’s eyes towards the true meaning of Easter this year!

 

1. Devotionals 

2. Toys 

3. Books 

4. Journals

5. Art 

6. DVD’s

 

 

Good Dirt by Lacy Finn Borgo

1. Good Dirt: Lent, Holy Week & Eastertide

This is the BEST devotional I have found yet for kids during Easter. The devotional is very doable for each day (it’s about a half a page). The devotional covers Lent, Holy Week and Eastertide and is written from an evangelical perspective.

I really appreciate how each devotional is broken into four sections:

– Till (Prayer)

– Plant (Meditate on Scripture)

– Water (Reflect)

– Weed (Examine)

As you travel through lent, this is a great resource to serve as the foundational piece of your day.

Jesus Doll

2. Jesus Doll

My children LOVE this doll! They sleep with it every night and it serves as a tangible reminder that Jesus is always with them. One of my children told me, “I know I don’t have to be afraid (of the dark) because I hold my Jesus doll and remember that Jesus is in the room with me.”  This doll is perfect for a young-elementary child because it is not huge and will be easy to carry around.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

3. The Jesus Storybook Bible

 This is a phenomenal paraphrased Bible for kids. The text is age appropriate, the illustrations are captivating, and the overarching story focuses on God’s never ending, never giving up, always and forever love for his kids.  I have read what feels like HUNDREDS of Bibles (okay, a little overdramatic here) and I haven’t found one yet that comes close.

4. A Picture of Jesus

This is huge!  When you place a special picture of Jesus with a child or a lamb in your child’s room it is a daily reminder that Jesus is always with them. It is also a huge reinforcement that Jesus is priority in the life of your family.  For years, we have asked our children, Who is that that lamb that Jesus is holding? And they shout out, that’s me!

5. The Boy And The Ocean

“God’s love is like the ocean, my little boy,” she said. “It’s always here. It’s always deep. It never ends. God’s love is special.”

Oh my word, hands down, probably my favorite Christian picture book. The illustrations are beautiful, the words are life-changing, and what an amazing book to pull out at bedtime.   The story draws parallels between Gods creation and his vast love for his children. I love how Max Lucado, portrays parents who include God in everyday life. Both boys and girls will love this book.

God's Great Love For You by Rick Warren

6. God's Great Love For You by Rick Warren

This book is all about Gods overwhelming love for his kids told in such an imaginative way. Written by Rick Warren, the book shows a young girl on different adventures discovering God lavish love. The illustrations are adorable and though the book can be read to girls and boys, the book is specifically geared towards young girls.

Writing To God Kids Edition

7. Journal - Writing To God: Kids Edition

This book is an amazing and creative resource full of journal prompts that guide children in learning how to talk to God.  This book has 35 different prayer journal exercises and it covers prayer topics on events that happen during the day, emotions, praise, thanks, pain, and using their five senses.  Your child comes to find out that you can speak to God about EVERYTHING, and has actually practiced doing just that throughout the book. Love it

Praying in Color Kid's Edition

8. Journal - Praying in Color - Kid's Edition

Have you ever heard “But I don’t want to pray? I don’t know what to say? I’m embarrassed to pray out loud?” This is a revolutionary resource for children (and adults) who want to try another way to spend time with God.  The author, Sybil Macbeth gently leads children in understanding what prayer is, common prayer problems, how to pray, and step by step of how to pray using art. This has been an amazing resource for children and students who have felt inadequate or have had a hard time concentrating when it comes to prayer. Love it!

The Bible Doodle Book - Amazing Bible Pictures You Can Complete and Create!

9. Journal - The Bible Doodle Book

This doodle book has 100 unfinished drawings and stickers for children to complete.  I love it because the children can use the prompts to help them complete the drawings. You can use the drawings/prompts as a complement to your daily family devotions. A creative way to engage with the Bible!

Blank Journal

10. Journal

Choose a journal (with no lines) for your child to write or draw prayers that can be especially for this Lenten season.  After a lot of searching, the best journals seem to be found at your local craft store. Let me know if you find a great journal somewhere else!

The Animated Passion Trilogy

11. DVD - The Animated Passion Trilogy

This is a great visual retelling of the Easter story for preschool-elementary age kids. Something about a video allows the children to really experience the life of Jesus in a whole new way.

Matthew - Visual Bible

12. DVD - Matthew: Visual Bible DVD

This is a wonderful movie for older elementary children who are emotionally ready to watch the crucifixion and resurrection. It is not as graphic as the Messiah but I would still preview it ahead of time to make sure your kids are ready for it.

How to Help Your Child Experience Jesus this Easter

How to Help Your Child Experience Jesus this Easter

  

Reading Time: 5 min 31 sec

Have you ever had a year where you are so busy that one minute its Christmas and the next, it’s the Saturday before Easter and you are scrambling trying to cobble together outfits and stuff a million Easter eggs with chocolate bunnies?  

 

Do you wish that there was a way to really help your children understand that Easter is more than eggs, candy, with some Jesus thrown in?  ME TOO!

 

In our fast-paced society, it can be easy to pass over the importance of the lent season with nothing more than a thought or a good intention to stop eating chocolate.

 

But Lent is more than giving something up; it is a time of reflection, of preparing our hearts, of remembering Christ’s life, death and resurrection, and a concentrated time of refocusing on Jesus. A forty day (not including Sundays) fast, interwoven with prayer and giving that culminates on Easter Sunday.

 

We do not celebrate Lent or Easter as a way to earn more brownie points with God or as another task to complete. There is nothing we can do to make God love us any more or any less than he does right now.  We participate in Lent and Easter as a way to actively participate with the Holy Spirit in the transforming of our hearts.

 

I love how life as a follower of Jesus, is an ACTIVE, experiential life. We don’t just get to hear about God, we get to EXPERIENCE a relationship WITH God.  Children learn experientially, and active participation is formational in their spiritual growth. Lent and Easter is a time rich with experiences and a perfect way for children to actively engage in their faith.   

 

We are going to be talking about 13 meaningful experiences that you can have with your child as you learn to walk through this Easter season with intention. 

 

These are just suggestions. You do not need to do everything on the list but choose one or two activities that are speaking to you.   I pray that the Holy Spirit moves in the hearts of your family in powerful ways this Easter season.

 

  1. Art

  2. Devotional

  3. Drama

  4. Events

  5. Decorations

  6. Music

  7. Practices

 

A Couple of Tips: Your active participation with your child in the activity is HUGE. Do not to rush through these activities. It is not about getting them “done” and giving your child an Easter experience. This is not about being productive but about moving slowly, savoring, and giving the Holy Spirit elbow room to speak with your child. Allow for silence, (yes, this can work even with preschool children) in and around the activity.  

1.Use a Lent-Easter Family Devotional

 This is the BEST devotional, (Good Dirt Lent, Holy Week, Eastertide Devotional)  I have found yet for kids during Easter. The devotional is very doable for each day(it’s about a half a page).

 The devotional covers Lent, Holy Week and Eastertide and is written from an evangelical perspective. I really appreciate how each devotional is broken into four sections: Till (Prayer) Plant (Meditate on Scripture) Water (Reflect) Weed (Examine).  The book includes 14 weeks of devotionals.  You can grab your copy here!

2. Decorate Your Home

 Allow the decorations in your home to serve as a daily reminder of the importance of the Lenten season. The color purple serves as the traditional reminder of Easter. It symbolizes not only the pain of the cross but it is also the color of royalty, and it celebrates Jesus’s resurrection.  Decorate a table or space (or throughout the house) with the color purple, you could add a cross, a Bible and or a candle.  

 

3. Observe Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday serves as the start to the lenten season. It is important for your child to witness the community of God gathered together to worship him. Carving out time to attend serves speaks louder than words to your child about your family’s priorities.

 

4. Light a Candle 

 Every morning, start your day, by lighting a candle each day to as a reminder of Jesus’ shining light in the world. You can follow the lighting of the candle with prayer inviting him into your day.

 

5. Look at Art

 

Visit a church, or museum, in books, or print some pictures off the internet depicting the crucifixion and resurrection.  

 Start by inviting Jesus into this time. Find a piece that speaks to you or your child. Spend some time just enjoying the art.

Ask God what he is saying to you through this piece.  Remember, this is for you as much as it is for your child. It is powerful for your children to watch you engage with the Holy Spirit through art.

 

After a couple of minutes ask your child:

a) How does this piece make you feel?  

b.) What do you love about it?

c) What do you think the Father is saying to you through this piece?

 

Tip: Don’t rush. The goal is quality over quality. You are there to create elbow room for the Holy Spirit to speak to them through art. You are not there to teach your kids something (though they will learn). Also, don’t feel like you have to be there an hour to make it worthwhile.

6. Listen to an Easter Playlist

It is important to place a special emphasis on creating an environment that draws their hearts towards Jesus during this Lenten season.

Tip-I am loving the Lent and Easter Worship Songs Playlists by Salt of the Sound on Spotify

 

7. Act out the Easter Story

This can be as simple or elaborate as you desire. 🙂  This is great for allowing the children to really engage in the story of Easter. Remember this is not about getting it “right” but about engaging in the story of Jesus’ resurrection. 

Tip: Your children can also do this with stuffed animals or dolls.  

 

8. Draw Prayers to Jesus 

Layout art supplies, plain paper, and have your Easter playlist playing quietly in the background. Encourage your child to write or draw prayers to Jesus.

 Tip: This should not feel like a homework assignment. There is no correct way of doing this. This is their personal prayer to God. Let them know that they can but don’t have to share their prayers with you when they are done.

9. Watch a Video of the Easter Story

 

Here are two suggestions for younger and older children:

  1. Preschool-Elementary- The Animated Passion Trilogy
  2. Middle School-High School- Matthew:Visual Bible 

10. Use Playdough to Recreate the Empty Tomb

This is a GREAT, hands-on, simple activity to allow children to engage in the Easter story.

 

11. Draw or Paint an Easter Scene

Read through the story of Jesus’s death and resurrection. Encourage your children to draw or paint a picture of a scene from the Easter story that grabs their attention.  

Tip: I typically put on instrumental music in the background to help focus their attention on listening to Jesus.

12. Look for Ways to Serve Others

Pray with your children. And ask God what way he wants you to focus on serving others during this Lenten season. 

13. Attend a Good Friday and Easter Service

If appropriate allow your children to join you for all or part of the service. The death and resurrection of Jesus are foundational to our faith and allowing your child to witness that at a young age is HUGE!  Also, Easter sunrise services are amazing (especially for elementary age children).

 

14. Plan a Special Meal for Easter Sunday

 

The goal is to plan and prepare WITH your children a special meal celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. Invite over family and friends to celebrate.

 

Give your Easter season a strong foundation by grabbing your own copy of the Good Dirt: Lent, Holy Week & Eastertide Devotional. I am excited to travel through it with my own family this year!  You can get it here! 

 

What about you? What are your favorite ways to encourage a love of Jesus in your child during Easter? 

If you try any of these activities, let me know! Leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

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5 Ways to Recognize the Voice of God When You Are Desperate

5 Ways to Recognize the Voice of God When You Are Desperate

  

Reading Time: 5 min 8 sec

Are you desperate to hear God’s voice? Do you have an issue that you desperately need wisdom on how to solve? Do you hunger to hear God’s voice for yourself?

You are not alone. We all struggle (even the great men and women of faith) with hearing God’s voice at different points in our relationship with him.

 

So, what’s going on? Is God playing some sort of game? Is he trying to make it difficult to have a conversation with him?  You ask, “If he truly loved me why can’t I hear his voice clearly?”

 

One of the reasons we might have a hard time hearing Gods voice is that we barely slow down long enough to hear our own voice. We have a problem and we want ANSWERS yesterday! We rush around bemoaning the fact that we can’t hear from God when we haven’t allowed him to get a word in edgewise. 

 

We are so busy moving, talking with others, and talking at God that no wonder we can’t hear his voice. We want a thunderbolt from heaven when he is talking in a still small whisper.  I love this reminder to slow down and be present with the one, who is ever present with us.

 

1 Kings 19:11-13, “And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 

We are in a relationship with a God who is always talking. He loves us. Period. When you love someone with a never giving up, beyond comprehension love, you don’t hide from them, but delight in spending time with them.

 

 Jesus said it this way in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

 

So how do we hear from God?

 

We need to practice recognizing his voice. God lives life with us. He is always talking to us. And he is endlessly creative. God can and is speaking to us in a PLETHORA of ways we just need to become aware of his voice.  

Here are five basic ways to recognize his voice. They are to serve as guideposts to help you practice noticing God voice in your everyday life. This is just a starting place, as you come to know God in deeper ways, you will see that he is literally talking to you ALL the TIME and in a multitude of ways.    It’s awesome because you go about your ordinary life having an ongoing internal dialogue with God about EVERYTHING!

 

By taking the time to practice you are taking an active role in participating with the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

 

Here are 5 basic ways to recognize his voice: 

  1. In the Quiet

2. Godly Council 

3. Intersecting Thoughts

4. The Word of God 

5. In Dreams

 

 

1. In the Quiet

 

I have found that in our fast-paced culture that the very act of carving out space to meet with God can feel like an uphill battle. We are a culture that focuses purely on doing, not the being.  

 

 Jesus modeled how we should come before God in Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” And in Luke 5:16, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”.

 

Make it priority to spend time with Jesus in quiet. Just be with him in silence for 5-10 minutes (it’s more challenging than you think).  And then let him know what’s on your mind. You have to make spending time with Jesus a priority or it will never happen. 

 

2. Godly Council 

 We always want to jump to getting Godly council but I would encourage you to spend time with God on your own FIRST before you talk with others.  You will be more in tune with listening to the Holy Spirit and will be able to weigh the advice of others.  It’s a given but always make sure that any advice you receive lines up with Scripture.  I would also seek people that you know are pursuing a deep relationship with God.

 

3. Intersecting Thoughts

 

Have you ever been thinking along one path and all of a sudden you are shocked with some thought you know wasn’t from you (typically because it is super Godly :))?  I have had multiple situations over my life where I will be thinking about work, my children, or what to fix for dinner and all of a sudden, I will randomly have someone’s name come to mind.  I know that I wasn’t thinking about that person AT ALL, but I realize that God was trying to get my attention for a reason, and I immediately stop and pray for that person.  I have a number of times where I have had a chance to talk with that person later only to find out that they were going through a crisis at the very moment I was led to pray.  

 

*Always make sure that any intersecting thoughts line up with scripture.

  1. The Word of God

 The number one way you can hear from God is spending time in his word.  I love what Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Do whatever it takes to sit with scripture, turning it over in your heart, and allowing it, by the power of the Holy Spirit to transform you

5. Dreams

 

Yes, God can speak to you through dreams. Sometimes, I think that is the only time we are still enough that he can get our attention. 🙂   I love how God spoke to many people through dreams throughout the Bible. I have had a number of people close to me hear God through dreams.

 

If you have a dream that you think might be from God, I would first, write it down. Second, make sure it lines up with scripture. Third, I would spend a period of time just praying about it. Fourth, I would ask God if this is something for right now or something for the future.   I have had a couple of close friends experience dreams where God didn’t reveal the interpretation until fifteen years later. 

 

Remember, this is just the starting point. God can speak through worship, nature, art, angelic appearances, books, physical activity, music etc. As you grow deeper in your relationship with God you will come to hear in his still soft voice in a multitude of ways. This is just just the beginning!  

 

If you want to know how to get started in living a deeper life with God; grab your free Deeper Life Beginners Guide (get it below). And join our community of moms who are hungry for more of Jesus in their lives and in the lives of their families. 


What about you? What is your #1 issue when it comes to hearing God’s voice? Feel free to leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

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