The Safe Place

(Adapted from Strong Winds & Crashing Waves by Terry Wardle, 83-85)

A Spirit-led exercise to practice the presence of the Lord

Communicating truth by creating word pictures is employed all through Scripture. Isaiah said that God gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart (Isaiah 40:11).  The Psalmist talks about being covered by the wings of God and finding refuge under his feathers (Psalm 91:4).  In both cases, the Lord was speaking metaphorically, creating a picture in the reader’s mind so that he or she could better comprehend God’s protective care.  Creating a safe place within is a way that the Spirit communicates truth through a surrendered and sanctified imagination.  When the Spirit does speak, the truth will always be consistent with the teachings of Scripture, which is in itself the test for what one is seeing, sensing, and hearing during the exercise.

The safe place exercise is a follows:

* Sit quietly in a comfortable position.

* Take several deep breaths, letting them out slowly.

* Begin to whisper words of thanks and praise to the Lord.

* After a few moments, invite the Holy Spirit to take over your imagination.

* Ask the Spirit to create within your mind a safe place where you can meet the Lord.  It may be an imaginary place or somewhere you have actually been before that is special, like a cabin, beach, or spot along a quiet stream.

* Rest there for as long as you like, enjoying all the surroundings.  If you experience some dissonance or distraction, ask the Holy Spirit to take it away in the name of Jesus.

* When ready, invite the Lord to join you in that place.  If that frightens you, ask him to come as the Lamb, or simply allow you to feel his presence.

* Once there, notice the warmth of his love.   Let it soak into your being.  If you are allowing Christ to be there, notice his posture, eyes, and extended arms.  Draw close to him if you desire.

* When ready, tell Jesus how you feel about him.  Then ask how he feels about you.  He may respond with words or maybe actions.  Either way, experience his acceptance and delight.

* If you are ready to conclude the exercise, simply spend a few moments in thanks and praise.

* Take a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly.

* Amen

The Safe Place exercise may take time to develop as a [spiritual] skill.  Many believers, accustomed to a more cognitive expression of the Christian life may have never experienced the Lord in this way.  The idea of giving the Lord access to their “creative imagination” might seem like a foreign concept.  It is important that the believer practice this spiritual exercise every day.  This will be not only a place of peace with the Lord, but it also will be the entree into experiencing the Lord in the healing of past traumatic woundings.

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The Prayer of Jesus: How to Talk to God

Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:1-4

by Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., RPM Ministries (www.rpmministries.org)

 

 

Learning How to Pray in Christ’s School of Prayer

– Prepare to Pray: Meditation—“Our Father Which Art in Heaven”

1. Meditate on the perfect fatherly character of God: Our Father in heaven.

2. Contemplate the nature of God’s fatherhood: Our Father of holy love.

3. Reflect on the Body of Christ: Our Father, not only my Father.

4. Enjoy God the Father’s full attention and acceptance: Bask in His fatherly grace.

– Commune with God: Adoration—“Hallowed Be Thy Name”

1. Praise God for Who He is: Worship, magnify, exalt, and glorify your heavenly Father.

2. Thank God for what He does: Express your gratitude for all His grace-gifts, for His works.

3. Pray that the whole world would be in awe of God: All the earth grasping, enjoying, and exalting the character (name) of God.

4. Set apart God as the supreme desire of your heart: Let your daily mission statement be to exalt God by enjoying God.

– Honor the King: Intercession—“Thy Kingdom Come”

1. Pray for a deepening of God’s rule in your heart: Surrender to God’s governance.

2. Pray for a widening of God’s rule in all people’s hearts: Salvation.

3. Pray for a deepening of God’s rule on planet Earth: Christian living (make a difference).

4. Pray for the soon return of Christ: Second Coming.

5. Pray that you will live for God’s kingdom and not for your own: Total allegiance.

– Radically Commit: Submission/Direction—“Thy Will Be Done”

1. Pray for the right pleasure: That everything you do is motivated by the desire to bring God pleasure.

2. Pray for calm assurance: The understanding that God’s glory and your good are inseparable, that the Father’s will is always good and best.

3. Pray for clear discernment: That you will know God’s will for your personal life, family, church, work, community, country, and world.

4. Pray for radical obedience: That God would grant you the courage to do His will.

5. Pray for supernatural power: That God would empower you to obey His will.

6. Pray with brutal honesty: Share the desires of your heart, any confusion, doubts, and perplexity with your heavenly Father.

7. Pray with other-centered focus: That family, church, community, national, and world leaders would know and do God’s will.

– Invite God-Rescue: Supplication—“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”

1. Confess humbly (Give): Acknowledge your spiritual poverty, admitting that without God you are and have nothing. Pray for the faith to believe that all you need is God and what He chooses to provide.

2. Asks unselfishly (Us, Our): Pray for others and for yourself.

3. Request wisely (This Day, Daily): Pray for today’s needs. Trust God for today’s supply. Ask God to give you nothing more and nothing less than exactly what you need and can handle.

4. Entreat practically (Bread): Pray for physical, material, emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual needs. Pray for freedom from worry as you trust God to supply your every need.

– Savor the Savior’s Grace: Confession—“Forgive Us Our Sins As We Forgive Those Who Have Sinned Against Us”

1. Seek enlightenment: Specifically confess known sins and ask God to reveal hidden sins.

2. Repent humbly: Your debt is immeasurable; His grace is infinite.

3. Enjoy forgiveness: Claim Christ’s forgiveness and acceptance. Your slate is wiped clean!

4. Grant forgiveness: Forgive all those who have hurt you/sinned against you physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and spiritually.

5. Seek reconciliation: Go to anyone who you have sinned against to restore the relationship.

– Triumph Over Temptation: Petition—“Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil”

1. Seek protection: Ask God not to allow Satan even to tempt you to sin.

2. Seek boundaries: Ask God to keep you from situations where you are most prone to sin— your besetting sins, areas of vulnerability, temptations, etc.

3. Seek victory: Ask God to defeat sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil in your life.

4. Seek faith: Ask God to help you to trust His awesome power as your only hope for triumph.

– Confidently Trust God: Glorification—“For Thine Is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory Forever, Amen”

1. Trust God (For): Believe that since God is the Almighty, Eternal King that He can answer.

2. Glorify God (Thine): Pray that God will be glorified by your prayers.

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God’s Reason For Our Suffering

(Adapted from an article, “Praying Through Problems,” by Stormie Omartian)

There are different reasons that tough times happen, and if we can gain an understanding of the reason for our suffering, it will help us overcome our pain, rise to a place of peace, and see our faith grow in the midst of it.

Sometimes difficult things happen to us so that the glory and power of God can be revealed in and through us. Jesus’ disciples asked Him if a man’s blindness was because the man’s parents had sinned or he had sinned. Jesus replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3 NKJV). We may not be able to understand why certain things happen, and we may never know the whole story until we go to be with the Lord. However, when we turn to God in the midst of these difficult situations, God’s glory will be seen in them.

Sometimes God uses difficult times to purify us. The Bible says, “Since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin” (I Peter 4:1 NIV). Sometimes suffering will burn sin and selfishness out of our lives. God allows suffering to happen so that we will learn to live for Him and not for ourselves-that we will pursue His will and not our own.

Sometimes our misery is caused by God disciplining us. “No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). The fruit that this godly disciplining and pruning produces in us is worth the trouble we have to go through to get it, even though it doesn’t seem like it at the time. Be careful not to resist it or hate it. “Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:5-6).

Sometimes we are caught in the middle of the enemy’s work. The enemy would like to make you miserable and destroy your life. Often the reason for the anguish, sorrow, sadness, grief, or pain you feel entirely is Satan’s doing and no fault of your own or anyone else’s. Your comfort is in knowing that as you praise God in the midst of the attack upon you, He will defeat the enemy and bring good out of it that you can’t even fathom.

How do we pray through difficult times?

Regardless of the reason for your difficulty, your prayers will make a positive difference on the outcome. Every day you have another opportunity to affect your future with the words you speak to God. Don’t worry about how many times you feel you are praying the same prayer over and over. God freshly hears your words spoken to Him each time. Your prayer has new life every time you pray it.

Even if you don’t see answers to your prayers right away, each prayer sets something in motion. There is so much happening in the spirit realm that you don’t see. Along with telling God your specific needs, here are some ways to pray that will help you get through the difficult times:

Pray for wisdom. Whenever we don’t make good choices in our lives, there is a price to pay. And we are never more in danger of making wrong decisions than when we are stressed, in pain, or suffering in some way. During those times it’s easy to make a decision born out of desperation, so it’s always good to ask God for wisdom and discernment. And this needs to be an ongoing prayer because too often we have to make quick decisions. On those occasions we don’t have time to seek the will of God. We need to already know it.

Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help. When we’re in the midst of tragedy, loss, devastation, or disappointment, we hurt terribly and find it impossible to think beyond the pain. But we don’t have to go through those difficult times alone, because the Holy Spirit is there to help us. When we turn to Him for help and comfort, we will find it. He will give us revelation and power, the very things we need most when we are struggling.

Pray to have the mind of Christ. The Bible says you “have the mind of Christ” (I Cor. 2:16), and you are to “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). It also says, “since Christ suffered for you in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin” (I Peter 4:1). If you ask God to help you arm yourself with the mind of Christ, He will enable you to endure the suffering for the glory set before you. In other words, He will help you focus on the good that He will bring out of the situation instead of the misery you are experiencing.

Pray for a greater sense of God’s Presence. In times of suffering, ask God to help you sense His Presence in a stronger way every day. Feeling God’s Presence around you will help you increase your faith and not be overcome with doubt. It will give you strength to stand strong in God’s truth and not be swept away by your emotions or lies of the enemy. It will help you be content in your current situation because He is there. We can come to the place where we don’t have to be afraid of bad news because our heart is steadfast, trusting in Him (Psalm 112:7).

Pray that you will stay in God’s Word and obey it. Nothing is more solid than the Word of God. Even when so incapacitated with life situations, reading or even hearing God’s Word will lift the spirits and provide strength. The Word speaks of God’s promises and gives hope. It will allow you to feel that somehow everything will be all right.

Pray to see the good in the bad. None of us likes pain or uncertainty – we want things the way we want them. But the challenging and miserable times are not without their aspect of good. There are things that happen to us in those times that are as precious as diamonds. It’s during the difficult times that we have the opportunity to experience the Lord’s Presence in a deeper way. When we cling to Him, He will reveal the good things that are right in front of us.

Pray that all your expectations will be in God alone. Disappointment and suffering are inevitable because life can never consistently met our expectations. But when we put our expectations in the Lord and acknowledge that our help comes from Him, it takes the pressure off others to meet our needs. We make a mistake by expecting too much from people, life, and ourselves when our expectations should be in God. It pleases Him when we have faith enough in the midst of our disappointment to put our hope and expectations in Him. Don’t run to bitterness or unforgiveness. Run to your father’s arms instead, so He can hold and sustain you.

Pray that you will forgive others. Often our greatest times of hurt and disappointment occur when someone fails us – or we feel they have. People can hurt us deeply. But our fulfillment and happiness don’t depend on other people – they depend on God. Of course, we rely on other people for certain things, and it’s painful when they let us down. But the ultimate success or joy of our life doesn’t depend on them. We have to forgive and release them and not continue to suffer over what others do or don’t do to us.

Pray that God will help you forgive yourself. It’s devastating when we have failed others. Or we think we have failed when we really haven’t, but we torture ourselves, allowing our regret and condemnation to pound our souls like a giant sledgehammer. It’s a weight we can’t carry and were never meant to. Even when we have to bear the consequences for the wrong choices we’ve made, God is still there to bring good out of it. Even in our greatest depth of failure, God redeems everything when we reach humbly to Him. While it is good to examine our motives, thoughts, and actions, it’s counterproductive to beat ourselves up with a constant battering of, “If only I hadn’t…,” “If I just would have…,” Or “Why didn’t I ….”

Pray that you will not get discouraged. Discouragement can descend on you like a flood. You think you are standing strong, and in a weary moment, you get washed away by discouragement. Even though it may seem like forever as you wait for your difficult time to end, and you feel like you don’t have the strength to withstand any longer, tell yourself that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil. 4:13). Declare that you will “rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7). Keep in mind that God has been known to do a quick work for which He has been preparing a long time. It could be today!

Regardless of your present situation, know that God has an abundance of blessings for you. He is working powerfully in your life right where you are; don’t stop praying. Close your eyes, call His Name, and sense His Presence. He wants you to trust that when you are afraid, you can turn to Him and find peace. When you are weary, you will find His strength. When you are empty, you will find His fullness. When you are sad, you will find His joy. And when you are in the middle of a raging storm, you will find His shelter and provision. Don’t let yourself be blinded by circumstances, afraid of what’s happening, easily discouraged, drawn toward bitterness, or quick to complain. Instead, look for God in the midst of your circumstances.

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TALKING WITH GOD

The following are prayers, statements, and key thoughts from other well-known Christians. These have been collected over time from various writings, sermons, radio broadcasts, etc. Use these as your own prayers to reflect your heart and need to God.

Lord, use me to accomplish great things for YOUR kingdom.

Lord, apart from You, I can’t do it; I won’t do it; it won’t get done.

Lord, help me to never, never, never trust in myself, my ability, or what I have done or can do; help me to always, always, trust You every minute of every day for everything.

Lord, I am Yours in all that I have.

Lord, I don’t know where You are taking me, but I trust You know where You are going.

Lord, I trust You as the “Master of Breakthroughs.”

Lord, as I face this problem, I pray that I will be able to discern and do Your will. As I commit my request to You, I pray for the grace to continue trusting You while I wait for Your answer.

Lord, make me willing to allow the Holy Spirit to produce in my life BOTH the desire AND behavior that’s pleasing to You.

Lord, I am willing for You to do whatever it takes for You to overcome this sin in my life and achieve Your goals. Change me and make me willing to change to do Your will and be obedient to You.

Lord, I can’t, but You can.

Lord, I’m leaving it with You; you do what You think is best.

Lord, I want to go where You want me to go. I want to be what You want me to be. I want to do what You want me to do. But, I am at the end of my resources.

Lord, all that I am — all that I hope to be — all that I have, I give it all to You as an offering.

Lord, help me to seek You before, during, and after my time of struggle.

Lord, I entrust my “life dream” to You. I trust Your loving intentions enough for You to determine what my success should be.

Lord, make my greatest passion and deepest longing to know You and make You known to others.

Lord, enable me to trust that You will be there for me. When I can’t feel You, allow my FAITH to take over.

Lord, I am willing to be made willing.

Lord, I have failed. Can we try it together again?

Lord, help me to daily surrender control of my life to You.

Lord, turn my expectations inside out.

Lord, I trust You will allow what You will allow, and nothing can touch me otherwise.

Lord, as I face this problem, I pray that I will be able to discern and do Your will. As I commit by request to You, I pray for the grace to continue trusting You while I wait for Your answer.

Lord, even though You are never in a hurry, help me to trust that You are always on time.

Lord, help me do better than I can.

Lord, I have not been able to live the Christian life; I can’t now live the Christian life; I will not be able to live the Christian life. As a branch I must abide in You, the Vine. Help me to realize You never intended for me to live apart from You.

Lord, I know success depends on You. How do You want me to cooperate with You?

Lord, help me to begin small, but start promptly.

Lord, help me to focus on faith; free me from fear.

Lord, save me from the enemy outside and also from the enemy within.

Lord, help me to realize that no matter how bad it is, it could be worse without You and Your love.

Lord, help me to understand that Your compassion is so great that You gave up Your Son before You would give up on me.

Lord, help me to realize that if You can use anything, You can use me.

Lord, help me to understand that if I have anything at all, I have something to give.

Lord, help me to realize there is no way to avoid life’s storms; but we can walk through them together.

Lord, cause me to know that I cannot go back and make a brand new start. But, starting now with You, I can make a brand new end.

Lord, allow me to understand that when I pray, You are either answering my prayer, or You are fixing me to be able to pray a prayer that You can answer.

Lord, help me to look expectantly for Your hand in all of life’s circumstances and realize there is no such thing as a coincidence. You are in control and nothing happens by accident. Everything occurs for a purpose.

Lord, when I fail, help me to hear You say, “If you want, we can try it again TOGETHER.”

Lord, encourage me to ASK great things from You; to EXPECT great things from You; and to DO great things with You!

Lord, instead of me asking “Why” is this happening now, enable me to see and understand “What” You wisely and lovingly want me to know about You in this situation.

Lord, make it possible for me to thank You for this experience You have sent me even if You never tell me “why.”

Lord, I am hanging on to You. You can do whatever You want. Just carry me through.

Lord, I can�t sense your Presence in this situation. But, I know You are!!

Lord, please make it possible for me not to ‘whine’ but to ‘shine.’

Lord, I need you to be a “WAY-MAKER” in my life now.

Lord, produce the fruit in my life in keeping with my repentance.

Lord, help me remember that the best way to keep the Enemy out is to keep YOU in.

Lord, whether or not my deepest longings and most desperate prayers are granted, enable my faith to be in You. Make my desire to desire Your will above all else.