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Your Inner Room


So now, I'm officially convicted.

I'm reading through Matthew 6, noticing Jesus' use of the word hypocrite. Seeing that word used for some who will give to the poor in order to be honored by men, I know in my heart that He's not talking about me. I intentionally don't let others know how much I give (sometimes even my own husband, much to his chagrin when paying our bills...thankfully, he always supports my heart).

But Jesus uses the word hypocrite three times in this chapter, and it's the second one that nailed me. Jesus says we're hypocrites when our inner room prayers are nothing more than meaningless repetition.

Ouch.

Do you and I pray the same prayers day after day, and are they ever, well, meaningless? Are they anything like the prayers the apostle Paul prays in Ephesians 1 and 3? Do I pray that my heart-eyes will be enlightened? Do I pray to know the hope of our calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance, and the surpassing greatness of God's power in me? Do I bow my knees to the Father (stop there!), and ask to be strengthened with power through His Holy Spirit, so that Christ will dwell in my heart through faith,... (I could go on and on, but I'll leave the conviction to the Holy Spirit, and the challenge of finding these beautiful prayers to you and your own study of God's word).

Let's change our inner-room prayers today, shall we? I like to go to David's soul-Psalms and read through his words (and then I use them myself!), because, let's face it, no can beat a man after God's own heart prayer. I don't want to be a hypocrite. I don't want to be like them (Matthew 6:8), because, like Jesus says, my Father knows.

Slip into your inner room-that place reserved only for you and God, take your heart and soul words, and talk to your Father. He knows what you need, and what you need most is just Him.

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About Me

I am a learner.  I have an insatiable desire to learn, so I read a ridiculous amount of books.  And, because I love to read, I process my thoughts through journal-writing. 

I guess this would also make me a writer.  

I think that a writer puts their time into something they want to read again, and hopefully invite someone else to read as well.  The words mean something to them, and they want those words to mean something to others, too.

I believe that readers and writers are also pretty good story-tellers, and there is nothing I love more than a good story.

Stories tell us the things we need to know, and not just the facts we seem to think define us.  I am more interested in someone who drives a 95 Astro van than someone who drives a new car with a personalized license plate, because I know there's a story behind it (and I love that I am married to the one who drives the van).

So I wrote a book called Tell Me a Story.  In it, you will find stories of people that most don't sit and listen to; maybe because they've never traveled out of the country in order to hear them.  Or maybe they've never really thought about the importance of just listening. 

I didn't listen because I thought I was special; I listened because I believed they were. 

I've taught high school Bible for more than 20 years, written curriculum for all of my classes, led mission trips around the world, taken lots of pictures, made lots of journal entries, and prayed every single day for the people whose faces appear in my heart.  Each blog post will take you to a story; some will be from my memory, some from my journal posts, some from people I'm around every day, and others will be from the best Story-teller I know, Who wrote a book long before I did.   His story keeps writing new stories in mine.  I hope someday to get mine published so that others will be encouraged to read more of His.

 

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