The story is told of a man in a foreign country who kept a heavy suitcase on his lap thorough out a long train trip. When he got off the conductor asked why he had not put it down to which he replied, “I did not know those was a place to put it.” We, as Christians, know we have a place to put our burdens we just have to remember to do so.

The chapter on release the burden in my new book, Unshackled, has some thoughts on how to put our burdens down and leave them down. It can be quite a challenge to disciple ourselves to roll our burdens over onto the Lord and leave them there. In the book I share some true stories of those who have successfully left various burdens with the Lord.

Copyright © 2010, Peggy Park.

“Oh son stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the valley of Aijalon.” Joshua 10:12b

The Lord had promised Joshua that He would deliver his enemies into his hands, and not one of them would be able to withstand him (Joshua 10:8). As the sun was setting, the battle had gone well with the Amorites starting to flee into the valley, but the victory was not complete. Joshua knew that when it got dark, the enemy would slip away under a cover of darkness. He wanted total victory. Joshua remembered God’s word to him. He spoke out a very bold, completely unscientific request. He had the audacity to ask God to make the sun stop in the sky-to freeze time, and that is exactly what God did. “The sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge upon their enemies.” (Joshua 10:13a).

While reading the book, Sun, Stand Still by Steven Furtick, I was really challenged to ask myself, “Am I praying faith filled, audacious prayers based on God’s word?” I know I must have Scriptural promises to back up those prayers, but I also know there are many promises I have failed to appropriate. I am inspired by this account of a bold, audacious prayer in line with a promise God made to Joshua. This has challenged me to search out promises for  my specific needs and pray bolder prayers. As I have struggled with delays in answers to prayers I noticed that I had not been bold when asking. Now I revolve to send those audacious prayers up (in line with God’s promises in His word) and see answers that will defy logic.
Thank you Lord of this insight.

Copyright  © Peggy Park. All rights reserved.

Once a year we set aside a special day to honor our fathers. My father has been in heaven now for a number of years, but I remember many outstanding characteristics he had. I am grateful to the Lord for my father.

Recently I was contemplating the attributes of a good father as I was meditating on the opening of the Lord’s prayer in Scripture. I came up with:

1.    A good father listens
2.    A good father offers direction
3.    A good father offers counsel
4.    A good father soothes

Our heavenly father certainly does all of these as we go to Him in prayer. He listens, He directs us if asked, He counsels us if we are open to that, and He certainly can soothe our troubled, anxious spirit. Of course He is the perfect father and no earthly man can match this, but any father reading this can try to emulate these traits as they fill the role of father to their own children.

Copyright © Peggy Park. All rights reserved.

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

I love the praise, worship, and “loving the Lord” part of my daily time with Him. I admit I have never really gotten as centered in the warfare part of my quiet time.

Recently, out of nowhere, my husband was struggling with a flapping/ extra heart beat ringing in his ear. After a middle of the night trip to the E.R., with no results, he went to the Dr. the next day to be told it was a hair on his ear drum. This was removed but still the affliction continued. It was very distressing and constant for a number of days in spite of trips back to the doctor to try to get some relief. To make it even worse, and more mystifying, the beat did not correspond to his heart beat.

My prayer partner encouraged me to look up a warfare prayer we had used previously and start to declare it over this situation. In three days of speaking aloud the powerful truths of Scripture twice a day the ringing stopped, and it has not returned over many days. I believe the Lord wanted to remind me we have an enemy who wants to see us rendered helpless. That enemy, Satan, was defeated at the cross, but he hopes we do not know that. We have to stand up and claim the victory that was won for us. Now I have been reminded of the benefit of that type of declaration in addition to my “love feast” with the Lord on a daily basis.

We are living in perilous times. We have an enemy who wants to render us powerless. I am thankful for this reminder that I have the sword of the spirit. I just have to use it. Scripture repels Satan. Jesus gave us the perfect pattern in the wilderness as He spoke the word back to Satan.

I am thankful to the Lord for showing me this truth in a way that really impressed me. I pray I will continue to enforce the victory won at the cross by speaking aloud God’s promises that address the situation I am facing.

© 2010 Peggy Park.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  Philippians 4:6

Perhaps you never struggle with releasing situations, but I have and I do. Even though I have seen tremendous answers to prayer, at times I feel the Lord has forgotten where I live. I pray and pray and still can not let go and wait when the answer does not come on my time frame.

I have two practical ways to help me do this. I have a red, heart shaped little plastic box, which I bought at a craft store.  After I have prayed and prayed over a situation and have reached a point of surrendering it to the Lord, I write the need on a piece of paper, date it and put it in the box. This reminds me that the need is covered by the blood (red symbolic of the blood) and the need is in God’s heart of love.

When I am tempted to pick up the concern again, I lift up the box and proclaim that He is working on what I have committed to Him. I do not allow myself to go over all the details again or to get anxious.

The second technique I have used is to write the need on a helium balloon with the string wrapped around a brick. When I have prayed the situation through to a point of release (may take many prayer sessions) I hold the brick out in front of me. When it becomes too heavy to hold, the brick drops, the string is released, and off goes the balloon. I have a visual reminder that I have released the need to God as the balloon soars out of sight. I can point to this moment when Satan tries to get me to take the concern back which, as you well know, he will try to do.

Many of you reading this may have matured beyond this point, but I felt it was what I was to share in this blog.

Copyright  © 2010 Peggy Park. All rights reserved.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8 niv

Do you ever get carried away praying your plans for a friend or loved one? Have you included detailed suggestions as to the perfect answer for an urgent prayer need?

Recently when this happened to me I was reminded of the passage in the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:10. I am to pray God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. I had it backwards! I was trying to pray my will from earth into heaven.

I have had to learn this over and over as I pray for others. My nursing background makes me want to see everybody whole and “fixed.” and not suffering. Just as we do not have the thoughts of God, we often are not on His timetable. He is working in ways we can not discern but, once we pray to the best of our understanding and leading, we must trust Him to work the situation out in His time and in His way.

I realize now it is much wiser to pray for God’s will to be done in a troubling situation. In addition we can search for Scriptures that pertain to the situation and pray those. The Father loves to hear His words spoken back to Him. I could never understand why this would be so until a comparison came to me. It is like a parent who tries and tries to teach a child something and then rejoices when they hear the child saying the teaching back like he was the one who thought of it. Then the parents knows the child “got it.” I think God rejoices to hear His children quoting His words back to Him. It shows Him we have been diligent to read His word and to believe it.

I also am learning to pray that the will of the person involved will line up with God’s will. This is a perfect prayer as it bypasses all my well intended suggestions.

© 2010, Peggy Park

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6

I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing.  I think this has to mean a heart attitude of submitting everything to Him whether we voice it aloud or not.

Volumes have been filled with thoughts on prayer, but the bottom line is mankind connecting with the creator, the lover of our souls through a focused, set apart, time as well as prayer thoughts floating up to Him as we journey through our daily lives. He is always available, the line is not busy when we call Him and he ever waits to fellowship with us.

Let us resolve to take full advantage of this opportunity to have an audience with our Father in heaven.

© 2010, Peggy Park.

“ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,  neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. “ Isaiah 55:8 NIV

Do you ever get carried away praying your plans for a friend or loved one?  Have you included detailed suggestions as to the perfect answer for an urgent prayer need?

Recently when this happened to me I was reminded of the passage in the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:10.  I am to pray God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.  I had it backwards! I was trying to pray my will from earth into heaven.

I have had to learn this over and over as I pray for others.  My nursing background makes me want to see everybody whole and “fixed.” and not suffering. Just as we do not have the thoughts of God, we often are not on His timetable. He is working in ways we can not discern but, once we pray to the best of our understanding and leading, we must trust Him to work the situation out in His time and in His way.

I realize now it is much wiser to pray for God’s will to be done in a troubling situation. In addition we can search for Scriptures that pertain to the situation and pray those.  The Father loves to hear His words spoken back to Him.  I could never understand why this would be so until a comparison came to me.  It is like a parent who tries and tries to teach a child something and then rejoices when they hear the child saying the teaching back like he was the one who thought of it.  Then the parents knows the child “got it.”
I think God rejoices to hear His children quoting His words back to Him. It shows Him we have been diligent to read His word and to believe it.

I also am learning to pray that the will of the person involved will line up with God’s will.  This is a perfect prayer as it bypasses all my well intended suggestions.

Lord, help me to remember that your ways are not my ways, and that I don’t have answers for others unless your spirit reveals it to me.  Help me to learn to wait on you and discern what you may be doing in any given situation.  Help me to trust more in your perfect timing.