Monthly Archives: August 2019

Challenge Day 11

Posted on by

Today’s Inspiration. Several months ago, I was longing for God to show me what he wanted me to do—what his work for me was in this life—when he reminded me of something. He had already given me things to do, and I wasn’t doing them—at least, not all of them. One of the things that had been on my heart, but I hadn’t moved on, was to start a writing group at my church.

When I realized I needed to be faithful in the “little things” (Luke 16:10), I started planning for the writing group. I got a plan put together, and then I had to wait. And—surprisingly, although I’m not very good at waiting—I was able to be patient. And now? In September, it’s going to start. (Eek!)

There are still some choices to be made, some choices that my friend and I discussed over coffee earlier this week (she also happens to be heading up this particular area of ministry at our church through her role as pastor’s wife). We talked about possibilities and choices that need to be made, and then, when we were both agreeing to pray about it and getting ready to wrap up and leave, she said, “I don’t know if you fast, but I think this is something I am going to fast and pray about.”

I don’t know if you fast….

That little statement of my friend’s, and the conviction that I should consider fasting about this (not just consider, but do it) are the inspiration behind today’s topic: Fasting and praying. Yes, it’s a very personal inspiration for me, but I think in some ways it can all apply to all of us. Two of us are seeking God’s direction for starting a new thing—seeking his glory, his hand in the ministry, his tug at the hearts of his people—and I’m sure that at some point in our lives, each individual has decisions to make that could require some focused time in prayer. So if you’ve ever considered the need to fast, today’s challenge will help you to explore—perhaps even act on—that option.

A pile of plums. Photo text: Challenge Day 11, fasting and prayer. #writinglifeaugustchallenge

Today’s Challenge. With such a personal inspiration for today’s challenge, I’m going to challenge myself, personally, to fast over the soon-to-start writing group and the options for it. Fasting is “forcing yourself to focus and rely on God for the strength, provision, and wisdom you need.” When searching for resources and a Biblical basis for fasting, I found the website I just linked to—they also have pages about how long one should fast, how to start fasting, types of fasting, and scriptures about fasting. I determined that I should fast because I am making an important decision (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23) and this is a way to take my eyes off of distractions and focus on God and what he wants (Matthew 6:16-18). And rather than fasting from food, I’m going to fast from the most distracting thing in my life: social media (meaning I’ll be scheduling this post rather than posting it manually, and posting on Instagram early rather than doing it in the morning).

But that’s just what I’ve decided to do.

For your challenge, you have a choice: Your challenge is either to explore what the Bible says about why, how, and when to fast, or to fast from something and pray about something in a Biblical way. If you’re not sure where to start, do what I did: check out the All About Prayer website linked above, or search for something like “prayer and fasting bible” and see what pops up.

Today’s Participation. I’ll be honest: I’m not a person who makes a regular practice of fasting, and my friend’s question is the only thing that made me realize that might need to change. I’ve been actively choosing to rely on God more and more in my own and my family’s life, and along with that it makes sense that I focus more on God when I’m seeking direction. (I feel like saying “duh!” to myself on this one.) For today’s participation, I’d love to hear your thoughts on fasting—perhaps a before/after today’s challenge, a description of how/why if you make it a regular practice, or whatever is on your heart on the topic. You can post in the comments below, on the challenge post under @rhondalorraineblog on Instagram, or create your own Instagram post using #writinglifeaugustchallenge and PM me to follow your account—if it’s private—so I can see it.

Challenge Day 10

Posted on by

Review. On August 10, I started creating daily challenge posts as part of the Writing Life Challenge. I wanted to encourage people to spend time in prayer and in God’s word each day, but simply telling people what I do didn’t seem to be the way to do it. This challenge was born instead, and has (for me) taken on a life of its own—it has become a study. The challenge comes in when someone chooses to take the time to do it. Each day so far, the study/challenge has asked us to look at a different aspect of prayer:

Day 1: Thankfulness & Prayer
Day 2: Praise & Prayer
Day 3: Watchfulness & Prayer (my favorite so far!)
Day 4: Devotion & Prayer
Day 5: How to Pray
Day 6: Who to Pray For
Day 7: What to Pray For
Day 8: When to Pray
Day 9: Where to Pray (a close second favorite!)

Today’s Challenge. Did you catch that? If you’ve been following along on the challenge posts, I usually put “Today’s Inspiration” before the challenge. But today, putting the challenge first felt natural. That’s because I’m sure, if you read the review, you know what question we’re asking today: Why should I pray?

Closeup of a painted, decorative metal container in light and shadows. Photo text: Challenge Day 10, Why to Pray. #writinglifeaugustchallenge.

Earlier in the challenge, I suggested an answer to this already: We pray because prayer is the way we communicate with God. We can’t get to know someone unless we communicate with them in some way, and God has given us prayer as a means to come to know him. God wants us to come to him with everything—nothing is too small (or too big!) for us to take to him in prayer. But if you look at the question above, it’s a personal one, written in the first person. It’s Why should I pray, not we. Another question we could ask here—perhaps more appropriate, depending on your own heart—is Why do I pray?

Your challenge today, then, is to choose the version of the question you’d like to explore: Why should I pray? or Why do I pray? Pray asking for guidance, for understanding, and for God to reveal your own heart to you, and then go on a search. Look for reasons from the Bible God tells us to pray. These may tell you why you should pray (a good question to ask if you don’t pray on a regular basis), or they may tell you what needs to change or continue in your personal prayer life (if this is already a practice of yours). I found two good resources to help you begin your search if you’re not sure where to begin: “Prayer has its Reasons” by Focus on the Family, and a blog that addresses most of the questions we’ve been asking for the past several days, “Why, When, and How Should We Pray” posted by FaithGateway.

Today’s Participation. To participate and become a part of an online community of believers encouraging each other to continue in and grow in our faith in Jesus—even if it’s only a community of you and me (there has been low participation so far, but that’s okay)—post a reason you do (or do not) pray in the comments below. If you did the challenge, post something about what you learned, too—and whether you think anything should change in your prayer life as a result. Alternatively (my favorite method), you could create an Instagram post using the hashtag #writinglifeaugustchallenge and visualize a reason to pray (I have to be your Instagram friend—@rhondalorraineblog—or your account has to be public for me to see it, though). I participate, so search for my answers using my handle or hashtag on Instagram, too!

Today’s Inspriation. Today’s inspiration continues to come to us from Colossians 4:2:

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (NIV)

Happy challenging!

Challenge Day 9

Posted on by

Bird house in a field of tall grass. Photo text: Challenge Day 9, where to pray. #writinglifeaugustchallenge

Review. For the month of August, I’m posting a daily devotional challenge. I wanted to encourage people to spend time every day with God in prayer and in the Bible, and thought this would be a fun way to do it. You can find all of the challenge posts under the August Challenge menu (👈🏻 or 👆🏻, depending on the device you’re using to read the blog).

Inspiration. The inspiration for today’s challenge is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (I couldn’t resist that one):

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2, NIV

But let’s take a step back a minute. When I use the subheading “inspiration,” what do I mean? What does it mean to be inspired? To inspire?

Let’s look at how Merriam-Webster defines the word:

in-spire
1 a : to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration

To be inspired, then, means to be divinely (that means it was done by a deity, and I believe in only one deity, the God of the Bible) influenced or guided. The Bible tells us that in writing the books that make up the Bible, the authors were inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So when I use the word “inspiration,” I’m looking to God and the word he’s given us—the Bible—to guide our thoughts for the day.

Challenge. Today’s challenge is to consider the fourth of the “five W questions,” Where should I pray?

The question of where may seem unimportant to you. After all, we can pray anywhere—there is nowhere we can go where God is not (Psalm 139:7-8), so why should it matter? And in one sense, it doesn’t matter—at least, the physical location doesn’t. I think what does matter, especially if we are trying to establish a regular, personal prayer practice, are the characteristics of the “where.”

When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, he described the type of place one should go for this type of prayer:

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father… (Matthew 6:6, NIV)

But what was he getting at? That is your challenge today—to explore one or more examples in the Bible of people engaged in personal prayer (meaning not corporate, or group prayer, which is different) and notice how those places are described. (Some people I can think of who prayed alone are Jonah, Elijah, David, and Jesus.) What words did the author use to describe the place? From the description(s) that you read, and from what Jesus told us, how would you describe a place that would be ideal for daily prayer in your own life—and can you think of such a place? Read about it, think about it, and most importantly, pray about it.

Participate. In the comments below, list three adjectives that describe an ideal place to pray. If you have decided to use or create a space like this for yourself, we’d love to know where it is! Maybe you could give someone else an idea for his or her own space. If you use Instagram, post a picture of it with your adjectives in the caption. Use #writinglifeaugustchallenge (and a public account) if you’d like others doing the challenge to see it.