Prayer. We know we need to do it. The Bible commands us to pray, because we have a God who wants to interact with us. However, praying is not easy. It’s not easy! Trying to set up a regular time to pray takes herculean effort. Whenever I prepare to pray, I feel a sudden urge to do other things. Suddenly I have to make phone calls, and I hate phone calls. During a crisis, I can squeak out one work, “Help.” My creativity gets tangled up, and I can’t slow down long enough to concentrate on a conversation with my maker. At a time like that, I recall the Apostle Paul’s command to pray rather than worry. How fast that rolls off the lips, but doing it requires effort.
Once when Spurgeon was very ill, he wrote to his congregation to pray at a blood heat. What an image. Truly he understood the importance or prayer.
Julie K Gillies is my guest today. She believes prayer ministers to a woman’s soul and can even bring healing. We are going to get her input and learn from how it’s ministered to her. She’s the author of Prayers for a Woman’s Soul.
1:45 Do you consider yourself an expert on prayer?
2:20 What practices help you to pray?
7:06 Are you talking about praying through the day or that concentrated time when all you do is pray?
7:52 How do you keep from getting distracted?
I really like the statement, “You are worth praying for.”
9:15 Did you ever feel like you were cheating God when you showered AND prayed? I’ve heard people say to only pray because God must have our full attention.
11:06 Do you see any differences in yourself because of your prayers?
11:51 How do you keep other issues from crowding in?
13:01 Tell me how the Holy Spirit brings up your needs?
Have you ever been shunned? I’ve always been a little shy and studious. When I was in ninth grade, I took a Spanish class and found it challenging. A friend who was also learning Spanish and I wrote to each other in Spanish in order to learn faster. I was also taking a Home Ec class that year, and when we finished our sewing project, we could work on other things. Since I was free, I tackled my Spanish epistles home ec class.
I happened to sit near a group of girls who were very playful and silly. When they found out what I was doing, they found it quite funny. And they began to crack jokes and tease. I brushed them off at first. But as other girls watched, the number of participants grew and things got vicious. Pretty soon half the room was ridiculing me.
One day after class, I burst into tears and the teacher asked me why. I spilled out my story, and she was horrified.
But I will never forget the feeling of being laughed at. Being weird, odd
If you have a medical problem, people are compassionate, but if you have a mental illness, it’s a different story.
Ephesians 4:32 says we should be kind to each other, tenderhearted. I love that word. It means you ache for someone who hurts. You have compassion.
I have a friend who is bipolar, but she won’t tell anyone because she hears awful stories told of bipolar people. She doesn’t want the label. But these folk are ill, and they need us to be tenderhearted.
Today I have Leeann Jefferies who was a model for Eileen Ford, and author, Eva Marie Everson. Together they wrote Leeann’s story: The Bipolar Experience.
2:15 What is bipolar
3:40 Eva Marie, this is been part of your life too. Please share your story.
3:55 Describe cycling
6:00 Leeann, tell me how you feel
6:50 What does a high feel like?
10:15 What’s the answer for the manic phases?
[tweetthis]A bipolar person needs love and understanding[/tweetthis]
[tweetthis]Be part of the team for your bipolar friend[/tweetthis]
I don’t know if you’ve ever had a time when you felt panicked, but I have. My youngest son is disabled. With numerous overlapping issues, he’s severe. I was homeschooling him, and I saw intelligence despite his barriers. A series of events led us to seek complete testing. The idea of testing bothered me because I worried how well he could perform with the number of problems he had. In time found a neuro-psychiatrist who came highly recommended. The doctor administered test over a few days.
At last came our final appointment. My husband and I would meet with the doctor for test results and a final diagnosis. That was the scariest day. The diagnosis he received would impact him for the rest of his life.I can recall my heart pounding and my chest tightening at the thought of driving to the office. I survived by praising God. All day I sought the Lord. I praised him for the air conditioning in the car, the blue sky, the car, the fluffy clouds, the dress I had on, my favorite color. Those prayers kept me calm enough to hear what the doctor had to say.
Think about the words Paul wrote in Philippians four: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and thanksgiving make your request known to God and the peace that passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” Those words are easy to say. Doing it can be much harder.
Today I have Maureen Pratt. She’s written a book called, Don’t Panic, which teaches how to prepare for a crisis.
