A Goldilocks Life

Prayer for Immeasurably More

Ephesians 3:14-21

I remember the day Darla Petty died. She was my pastor’s wife when we lived in Colorado Springs. Dear Darla, that’s what I called her. Faithful. Funny. Smart. Talented as a church pianist. Hard working—she had to be as a pastor’s wife. How brief this life is, I thought as I read the news of her passing. How fast things change. Her daughter, Emily kept all of us old friends updated with her hopeful posts through a month-long health ordeal. But those last days sounded less optimistic. I sensed the end was near, even though we prayed for healing. Emily’s post that day said, “She’s home. She’s home. ❤️ she is with Jesus, and we rejoice~”

Because of her faith in Jesus Christ, dear Darla is Home! We may rejoice. Though we asked the Lord for a return to health, Darla received the ultimate healing. She’s with her Savior Jesus Christ; her pain is gone. The family left behind suffers, but not as those who have no hope. We wanted Darla with us longer. It wasn’t the Father’s will. That didn’t stop us from praying, though. And we still trust in God, despite the outcome. Why? Because Christ dwells in our hearts through faith, Ephesians 3, verse 17. We know no matter what that Christ’s love is deep, wide, long, and high. God wants us to know His love surpasses knowledge. He calls us to be filled with His fullness. We are consoled by such amazing love.

This powerful prayer by the Apostle Paul directs us to look up, to consider the God we’re appealing to. Paul prays for us who believe to be rooted in God’s power and love. He wants us to grasp Christ’s love and be filled with it. Verse 20 says “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” Be assured He is working. Let’s pray and watch for immeasurably more.

Praying with Paul

Hoopla is one of my favorite inventions. Since I spend a lot of time in the car or cleaning and cooking, I keep up with reading using audio books. Yes, I am a fan of multitasking—aren’t most people, especially women?

If you’re unfamiliar, Hoopla is an app available for library card holders in our town and other cities, too. Libby is a similar app but is not linked to a library. You may borrow Ebooks, Audiobooks, Movies, Music, etc. A few months back I finished my latest Hoopla read, and under the row of my recent reads I noticed some enticing books on Recommended For You. Among the titles was Praying with Paul by D. A. Carson. Since I knew of the author and am interested in praying, I borrowed the audio version.

I only remember reading one other book twice in a row. The first time was when I was sixteen years old and had just finished Gone with the Wind. Tears were streaming down my face as Scarlett and Rhett split up. No!!! And the very next day, I began reading again from page one. Surely Margaret Mitchell couldn’t have let Rhett get away! Alas, the book’s ending didn’t change by the end. I’m a perennial fan of GWTW.

All that to say that after finishing listening to Praying with Paul, I turned right around and started at the beginning. In it, Carson does a deep dive on the subject of the prayers of the Apostle Paul as recorded in the New Testament. Obviously, it changed my approach on prayer, even though I have prayed with diligence ever since my “prayer night” thirty years ago. I digress—that’s a story for another time.

I highly recommend D. A. Carson’s fine book, Praying with Paul, in whatever format works best for you. I believe it will change anyone’s prayer life for the better.

Double Blessing

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

Looking out the picture window into the dark early morning, I wondered if it was raining. Leashing Lexi and pulling the hood over my head, we felt misty rain as we walked around the pond. Looks like a gloomy day ahead, I thought.

Later, driving home with a friend after her doctor’s appointment, we began to see blue sky and light-colored clouds instead of solid grey. We smiled and kept up our conversation. Sun ultimately won the day.

Though some folks thrive on cloudy weather, sunshine cheers me up. Like conversation with a friend, it gives me encouragement and brightens my outlook as well as the surroundings.