Tag: Prayer

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Backing away from the mental edge of a cliff.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“Rescue me from my enemies, O God. Protect me from those who have come to destroy me. Rescue me from these criminals; save me from these murderers.” Psalms‬ ‭59:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How to pray when you’re attacked! David knew how to bring his honest, earnest thoughts, fears and prayers to God. Again, how many of us talk with God with such specificity? David lists their methods of stalking and trash talking. “They come out at night, snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets. Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths; their words cut like swords. “After all, who can hear us?” they sneer.” Isn’t it interesting that David KNOWS that God hears his prayer, but also hears the profane disregard for decency of the thugs that work for King Saul.

David also asks God to NOT kill them, but to throw them off balance, “Don’t kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons; stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees, O Lord our shield.”

But while all of this is going on, even amidst the prayer for protection, David decides to behave in a very specific way. He decides, “But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.” He sings about God’s power, not the thugs. He starts his day by singing with joy about God’s unfailing (secure) love! David owns his attitude and sets his behavior everyday that he is going through this incredible pressure of being hunted down by the King. This is a lesson for me, for us when we feel that we are under the threat and pressure of attacks – real or perceived!

Prayer

​Dad,
You know that when I am feeling out of control or certainly under any kind of attack, that my mind obsesses, for days, over the possible negative endings. And if it feels like an unjustified correction or complaint against me – it just sends me spiraling.

I’ve have tried and tried to shorten the amount of time it takes me to gain my mental footing and talk myself back into anything healthy. David met his enemies both external (the thugs) and internal (his own fears) with a very practical action – he prayed, he sang. He reminded himself of who YOU are and then sang about how trustworthy you are until joy and a sense of peace brought him back from the brink of that mental cliff.

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How is your family name and legacy doing?

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“The proverbs of Solomon: A wise child brings joy to a father; a foolish child brings grief to a mother.” Proverbs‬ ‭10:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There are a number of these son to parent proverbs. Modern translations substitute “child” for son, but that undermines the purpose of these writings. If Tim Keller is right, and I believe he is, he says that the proverbs were written as curriculum training for young men. This isn’t a put down on young girls or women in general. It was poignantly written to train boys to become great men – nothing wrong with that, right? We do want our boys to become great men, correct?

Think of this curricula idea being drilled into every Hebrew boy – your decisions effect MORE than just yourself. A constant theme of respect and family responsibility towards their own parents. I was given no such training, no such purpose, no such direction. Yet, even with zero input from my own fathers on how to be man, a husband or a father, I personally learned from God, from Proverbs one of the foundational necessities of life – get wisdom!

By the time Robin and I had children I was able to give regular and constant reminders to all three of our children about this proverb right here – “be wise” and it will bring us ALL joy. Be wise and you will have what is necessary to live a good life, influence every single person you meet and leave a legacy for our family. I didn’t quote the verse to them, I lived it with them. I was adopted, so my birth name is Spear, but when my last name changed at four years old, I grew up understanding that my own adopted father had trashed his family name.

When Christ rescued and redeemed my life, I spent time absorbing the wisdom of God through Proverbs, I instinctively knew my responsibility- clean up the family name and pass it on to my children in good standing. I have worked so very hard to rebuild the Garvin name in every way possible. I wanted it to be morally sound, fiscally sound, socially sound and every bit spiritually sound. I wanted my children to be proud of their father’s name and even more proud of the work God had done to restore that name. Garvin would come to mean, faithful, funny, hopeful, caring, responsible and respectful. I told each one of my children to remember they are a Garvin and to be proud of it!

I know of families who bear the grief of a tarnished name, especially when both parents tried to live godly lives, and raised their children the best way they knew how. There is no shame or judgment towards my friends, I have known them our entire adult lives. But I do know the shadow that their own children have cast on their family reputation.

I also know something else. God’s stories are very long and prayer still works. A momma’s prayer, a daddy’s prayer can move mountains and shake the heavens to bring about change in the hearts of our children. So like the prodigal father who waits, everyday looking for his son to come home, so I know that there can be a “come to their senses” and a desire to return home. Angry words towards and bitter images of our prodigals will not bring them home. However, a godly prayer and prophetically seeing a redeemed image of possibility will yield a huge hug and welcome home party someday. How important is it to raise a child in the wisdom of God? The difference between great joy or great grief in all of our futures!

Prayer:

Dad,
My job, our job is not done even though our children are grown. We still influence them and their decisions. They still need us to speak godly wisdom into their lives. Plus, we now get to focus on our grandchildren and not only reinforce what the parents may say, but put our own special touch of grand wisdom and love into their lives as well. Many a child have rejected a parents advice but still hold to the love of their grandparents. Help us continue to give our family your grace and wisdom to leave a godly legacy!

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What can mere mortals do? A LOT!

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side! I praise God for what he has promised; yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” Psalms‬ ‭56:3-4, 9-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David, with promises of a future in his head, faces his daily routine of running for his life in this season. This chapter has such a unique heading, “To the tune of ‘A Dove on Distant Oaks’. When the Philistines had seized David in Gath.” I think this is when David feigned crazy and it worked!

Here’s the thing, David not only faces his fears, he lists them, writes about them and walks us through how he processes those feelings. Currently, the phrase for these ANTS (automatic negative thoughts) is “name it to tame it!” Get it out in the open before God and deal with it instead of letting it bounce around in our head causing all kinds of havoc!

I’ve written about David’s emotionally honest prayers and how effective they are to read and ride those crummy circumstances all the way down to the bottom and let David’s words of truth about God’s character lift us back up again.

David uses this phrase about “mere mortals” twice! So, what can mortals, man or flesh do to us? They can attack, hurt, lie about, tear down and erode the way we think. One powerfully placed NEGATIVE question can cause me to spin-cycle and doubt my effectiveness and worth for days! I hate it!

David’s ability to reframe, not just his circumstances, but his views of God are CRITICAL to stopping the blame-shame game in my head. Dave also repeats the most important phrase in this passage, “I trust in God.” I TRUST in God.

PRAYER:

Dad,
This is a big struggle for me. I can go for days or weeks with no battles, real or mental. But then, when they come, man they are fierce. And, they are so hard to shake. I am getting better at recognizing how powerful these mental struggles are, but I am slow to take them to you, speak them out and let you help me kick them out of my head and replace them with truth about who you are!