THE TRUTH OF BIRDS AND BUGS

One day last summer, two of my grandchildren were here. I was watching them while their parents were at work.
During lunch, Gavin was looking out the kitchen window and yelled excitedly, "Look at that bird! It's killing and eating something"
I went and looked; there was a bird, smashing something green. Then he said, " I think it's a praying mantis!"  I hoped it wasn't. We've been seeing lots of them the last few summers, and I hated to think there was going to be one less. I looked again, and he was right; there was a bird beating a bug to death and eating it at the same time. It was a mantis.
I felt a little bit bad about it, because we enjoy seeing the mantises on the house and around the yard. But, it's the way of nature; everybody eats. Some get eaten.

The LORD often speaks to me through His creation. Do you recognize the different ways He speaks to you?

Praying mantises are so named because of their posture when they're sitting and waiting for lunch to come by. They hold their front appendages together like a person holding their hands together in prayer. They also sit this way when you happen upon them and study them, and they quite often study you right back. I think their name should be spelled "preying"mantis, because that's what they really do.

I had been watching some videos by Jennifer Eivaz, a well known Christian speaker and author. She and her husband pastor a church in California, and she had just taught on the praying mantis, and how it represents a praying prophet. It's a strong reminder to pray when we see one of these insects on our front door or screens or plants, and that we can prophesy when we are praying instead of only petitioning Him for things. You can watch her on YouTube if you're interested.  She quoted Job12:7 which says, "Just ask the animals and they will teach you, ask the birds of the sky and they will tell you." I love this, because I actually do talk to the animals that show up in my yard, and I talk to the birds at the feeders and in the trees. So I asked the LORD what he had to say about what I had just seen. And He stopped by and said,

             "THE ENEMY CANNOT KILL YOUR PRAYERS,
                         BUT HE CAN KILL YOUR PRAYER LIFE"

WOW!!! That hit the mark perfectly. It spoke volumes to me about prayers that have been prayed and have yet to be answered. It also spoke volumes regarding whether I pray or not. If I agree with the voice of the enemy, and stop praying because he tells me my prayers are weak, or that I'm wasting my time, it's never gonna happen, I pray wrongly, everyone else prays better, etc. and so on, then he CAN kill my prayer life. And if you listen to that nonsense, he can kill yours too.

So today, if you're reading this, and you have listened and agreed with the father of lies, come OUT of agreement with the voice of the accuser, and get your prayer back on! You can do it, and God is on your side, just like He's on mine.

Blessings to you, and I hope your spirit is renewed today by the One who loves you best of all.

A DIVINE APPOINTMENT

Adam was admitted to the hospital in early February for a shunt revision. You can read about this in some of my previous posts. However, during the first few days we were in the hospital, it was especially noisy and nights were frequently being disrupted by patients having meltdowns and by head trauma patients becoming increasingly and loudly confused and combative. There were more Code calls those first few nights than I've ever heard in all the times we've spent in Stony Brook added together. I prayed for each situation, and asked the Father why there was so much going on. It was really so unusual. I also had some very specific nightmares, which is unusual.

I am usually friendly to everyone when I'm there; it makes it so much better when I keep a positive attitude. I try to be pleasant and helpful to other families; you meet each other in the hallways and in the little kitchen area that is available for snacks, coffee and tea. There's a small refrigerator where you can store some food or drinks for yourself, and a rack to return meal trays if you don't want them in your room until the food service worker returns for them. You tend to bump into people when you're in there. It seems silly to not at least say hello, or to chat for a moment if you have the time.

One evening, I went to get some tea. Adam was sound asleep, so I wanted to walk a bit and stretch my legs, and get some tea before I settled in for sleep. I met a man named Joe that night. He was tired and lonely and wanted to chat. His mother had been on the hospital for a couple of weeks, and she wasn't doing very well. He didn't know how much longer she'd be in, but it didn't look like she'd be getting home any time soon. we spoke for a time, and he told me he was praying for all the patients every night while he was there. He told me that he was sending "white healing light" to everyone. The alarms went off inside of me, but I was patient and asked God for a way to address this with him if he was open. We continued to talk, and he mentioned  God and Jesus, and I asked if he knew them. He said that he did. So I asked if Jesus was his savior, and then as ked if he was the Lord, and he replied yes to both questions. So I told him that it wasn't good for him to be praying for "white healing light" to be released for the patients, and when he asked why, I told him that it was a wiccan prayer. He knew what I meant and was upset about it.  I told him that believers pray for healing in Jesus' name and not for white light. Jesus is the only true healing light. I encouraged him to keep praying but to ask Jesus to release healing instead of what he'd been doing. He said he would. We talked for a while longer, and then I asked if I could pray for him. I just started to bless him with the presence of God, and to ask for peace to come to him. I asked God to lift his worry and fears, and to give him joy, and to show Joe how much he loves him. He was laughing and his entire countenance brightened. He told me that he wanted to weep so badly because of how wonderful he felt and how changed he was, but that he was so full of joy that he couldn't cry. He couldn't understand everything that was happening to him, and he thanked me over and over again. He told me that I had changed his life in those few minutes. I assured him that it wasn't me, and that it was the Father, who loves him so much that he caused us to meet that night.

Joe gave me his business card, but first told me that I wouldn't like it. I said I'd take it anyway, and it was covered in skulls and symbols from many different religions. I smiled and told him to get some new ones made up. He said he would. I went back to my room and he went to his. I saw him a few more times that night and the next morning, but his mother went home two days after we met! God's timing is perfect, and perhaps the change in his prayers freed her from what he'd been doing before.

The other wonderful thing that happened was that when Joe stopped praying his prayers, the craziness in the hospital stopped too. The head trauma patients calmed down, and when they did have episodes, they were much less intense, and also quieter. There were still Codes called at different times, but they were much less frequent.

God is everywhere. We aren't always aware of his presence, but present he is. He stopped by in the little kitchen on the eighteenth floor and rocked a man's world. Mine too. But then isn't that some of his best work? How he does surprise me.

Peace and blessing to you today.