Faith & Inspiration

On Praying Effectively — Praying for our Enemies

August 31, 2018 By Angie Arms McGill

This is the third in a series of blog posts on “Praying Effectively.” Today’s focus is on:

“Praying for our Enemies”

prayer, balmofgilead One of the most difficult times to pray is when we need to pray for our enemy.

That’s right…the enemy. The person we perceive to hate us, or who is definitely not for us and may actually be against us.

How can we pray for our enemies?

As He hung on the cross, Jesus, having suffered incredible pain and torture, asked God to forgive those who were intent on putting him to death:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

— Luke 23:34

Soon-to-be martyred, Stephen, prayed a similar prayer as he was being stoned:

“Falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord do not hold this sin against them!”

— Acts 7:60

Verse 61 of Acts 7 incredibly records that Saul was there giving approval to Stephen’s stoning.

Stephen was humble, a servant of Christ, full of integrity, fairness and wisdom.

Where would his successor be found?

Ironically…within the ranks of the Enemy. The very person who guarded the clothes of those who had stoned Stephen.

It was Saul (who later became Paul) who God would commission to bring the message of the gospel to Jew and Gentile alike. A Pharisee and a persecutor of the followers of Jesus, including Stephen, this same Saul would be converted and used by God to bring countless souls to Him.

Knowing our True Enemy

Scripture reminds us that we are in a spiritual battle:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

— Ephesians 6:12

Have you ever been on the receiving end of gossip, slander, snobbiness or what millennials or Generation Y call “shade?”

In her article entitled, “A Prayer to Pray for your Enemies,” author Kia Stephens notes that although these actions are painful, unkind, and unwanted when directed at you, you have to recognize that another person’s behavior does not really make him/her the enemy.

Who is the true enemy?

None other than Satan himself.

Praying for others and specifically for our enemies, must include a prayer for ourselves that we clearly recognize who our real enemy is.

This doesn’t mean that we completely dismiss the actions of those around us, but we understand that their bad behavior is heavily influenced by Satan — our most formidable foe.

Charles Spurgeon, known as the “Prince among Preachers,” reminds us that:

“By failing to pray and witness to our enemies, we aid and abet the adversary or Enemy. In these ways, the false witnesses lay down their clothes at our feet, and we, like Saul once was, become their accomplice.”

We make a difference in our lives and those of our perceived enemies through prayer.

We begin by recognizing that our fellow man or woman is not the enemy.

And we pray, as Jesus did — as Stephen did — that God would forgive them and extend His divine grace to them.

Just as He has so graciously done for each one of us who asks.

On Praying Effectively — For our Government Leaders

July 4, 2018 By Angie Arms McGill

This is the second in a series of blog posts on “Praying Effectively.” Today’s focus is on:

Praying Effectively for our Government Leaders

Have you prayed for President Trump? Vice-President Pence? Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi? The Governor of your State? Representatives at the local level?

If you’re like me, I have come to realize that praying for our government leaders is not only a privilege, but an expectation of God in His Word. prayer, bible, balmofgilead

It is God who is the ultimate Authority, and He is the one who authored Scripture
(2 Timothy 3:16).

According to Scripture, it is God Himself who also establishes government authority:

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

— Romans 13:1, NIV

Regardless of our political leanings, professing Christians need to pray for our government leaders.

If the elected leaders are not of our personal choosing and/or did not receive our vote, does not get us “off the prayer hook.”

We can and should pray that God will give our leaders wisdom, and wise counsel, to govern this great country that we love and celebrate today.

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.”

— 1 Timothy 2:1-3, NIV

Would you agree with me that we are not living peaceful and quiet lives, let alone lives of godliness and holiness?

We’re living in tumultuous, chaotic times where words spoken or written are too often dipped intentionally in poison, with the intended effect to offend, shock, or garner support for furthering our own agendas.

In praying for our leaders, we are also to show respect for them.

“Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”

— 1 Peter 2: 17, NIV

It’s not in my power, or yours, to change the hearts of men or women.

It’s in God’s hands.

That’s actually a beautiful thing because unlike ourselves, God listens well.

God’s Word says:

“The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

— Proverbs 21:1, NIV

This verse helps me to sleep well at night because I believe God is in control.

He was, is, and always will be.

If you would like a free copy of Billy Graham’s pamphlet in .pdf format, “How to Pray for our Leaders,” please click here. balmofgilead, prayer

On Praying Effectively — What Does God Want from Me?

June 30, 2018 By Angie Arms McGill

This is a first in a series of blog posts on “Praying Effectively.” Today’s post focuses on:

“What Does God Want from Me When I Pray?”

Ever feel like your prayer life may not be as effective as it could be? praying, christian, Jesus

I have.

As I added “Prayer” to the list of potential topics to be covered for the women’s morning bible study class I teach at our local church, I wondered:

“Could I be the only one who feels this way?”

We often think prayer should be effortless. And sometimes it is, but then sometimes, if we’re honest with ourselves, it isn’t.

“It is a most delightful reflection that if I come to the throne of God in prayer, I may feel a thousand defects, but yet there is hope. I usually feel more dissatisfied with my prayers than with anything else I do.”

— Charles Spurgeon

Effective prayer, in particular, can be hard work. We live in a world full of distractions, and without personal discipline, our prayer lives as Christians can easily be relegated to the “bottom of the proverbial pile” if we’re not careful.

But thanks be to God, our prayers don’t have to be complex, eloquent, or long to be heard by Him.

Defining Prayer

For simplicity’s sake, prayer is simply “talking with God.” Good communication is fostered with good listening skills too. Listening to God is just as important as talking with Him.

What Does God Want from Us in Our Prayers?

The Bible tells us that God wants something from us with we pray. God wants us to express our hearts to Him with genuine (not superficial) communication, a humble and obedient heart, and with a trusting faith that He will answer.

Genuine Communication

The Bible gives us many examples that exemplify how we should genuinely communicate with God. It’s important that we recognize that many times, genuine prayers are not “pretty” prayers. On the contrary, they may be pretty messy as was the case when the Prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah that he would die in the Old Testament.

2 Kings 20: 1-3 (NIV):

“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, went to him and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.’ Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”

Hezekiah learned of his impending death and reminded God that he had served Him with all his heart. Then, overcome with emotion, he couldn’t pray any more — at least not out loud.

But before Isaiah makes it out of the palace grounds, God sends Isaiah back to Hezekiah with a new message, that He has heard his heartfelt prayer. In response to Hezekiah’s prayer, God adds 15 more years to the life of the king!

Amazing? Yes, first that our prayers allow God to shower His divine mercy on us and that God doesn’t want mere lip service; He wants committed, obedient, humble hearts.

Humble and Obedient Hearts

In her article, “The Not-Fair Prayer,” Jennifer Rothschild says that God wants us to “admit our pain, perplexity, and powerlessness,” because God is near to us when we call on Him in truth.

Rothschild, at the age of 15, was diagnosed with a rare, degenerative eye disease that eventually blinded her. She’s an example of a Christian who knows God’s big enough and strong enough to deal with the broad spectrum of human emotions that can include anger, disillusionment, and despair.

God wants you to be real with Him in your prayers. Rothschild notes that instead of being a barrier, our pain can be a “bridge that invites Him in to heal and comfort you.”

Trusting Faith

When we recall the ways God has answered our prayers in the past, it helps us to continue asking and expecting answers. When we come to Him in prayer, we know that He always hears us (1 John 5:14; Psalm 34:15). He provides what we need (Philippians 4:19). And He will always make everything work together for our good when we trust Him with it (Romans 8:28).

My next post(s) will focus on “Who Should I Be Praying For?”

praying, christian, hands, Jesus

Proof that God has a Wonderful Sense of Humor!

January 29, 2018 By Angie Arms McGill

A Time to Laugh

How long has it been since you laughed? I mean really laughed?

The kind of laugh where tears run down your face, you’re hunched over, hugging your belly…and you finally say, “stop, stop, please…I can’t take any more.”

If it’s been recently, good for you! Laughter truly is one of the best medicines.

If you haven’t laughed in awhile, it could be that you may be taking yourself just a teensy-weensy bit too seriously.

I love this quote:

“Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.”

— Regina Brett

It makes me chuckle. Because we can get way-y-y too serious or pious, can’t we? My Pastor refers to it as a tendency to “polish our halos.”

Sometimes, it’s our Creator that may be telling us to “lighten up” a little bit — yes, even to “chill.”

Because you know God has a sense of humor, right?

He made us in His image; He actually gave us the gift of humor.

As with other good gifts, as long as the humor is in good taste, not crude, at the expense of others, hurtful, inappropriate, or sinful, our expression of joy in laughter is absolutely acceptable.

Not only acceptable, but encouraged.

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

— Psalm 16:11 (NIV)*

As Christians, laughter is a beautiful expression of our joy in living our lives surrendered to Him. This includes the ability to laugh at funny situations, a good clean joke, and circumstances or events that tickle our funny bone.

And in today’s blog, I’m going to show you proof that our loving God has a sense of humor too.

Ready?

Pick up your Bible and turn to the book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 5 in the Old Testament.

What the Bible says about Dagon

Dagon, a “fish” god, who was represented as a half-man, half-fish creature, was the main pagan deity worshiped by the Philistines. They believed Dagon provided rain and a good harvest.

The Philistines, however, were polytheistic, meaning they worshiped many gods.

Their thinking was akin to “let’s take the ark of the Lord too, because if it helped the Israelites, perhaps it can help us too.”

That was the game plan.

In Chapter 5 of the book of 1 Samuel, Scripture records the Philistines capture the ark of the Lord and place it in one of their temples in the city of Ashdod. Note that Scripture indicates the ark was placed next to or beside Dagon.

The city folk meander out to the temple the next day and find their Dagon statue prostrated, flat on the ground, before the ark of the Lord.

A definite sign of submission, don’t you think?

Overnight, the mighty statue of Dagon has become their version of the “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” god.

Although the Philistines acknowledged the true God early on, they “worshiped” Him only in the sense of being one “god” among many whose favor they sought.

God wasn’t having that.

I can imagine His smiling, and perhaps even laughing, at the foolish belief that Dagon was equal to Him.

God’s command is that He, alone, be worshiped. He alone is worthy.

Scratching their heads, the people of Ashdod must have thought, at least initially, that something other than the true God of the Israelites was at work here.

Something “fishy” was goin’ on. 🙄

Perhaps they thought it was the ground shifting, although nothing was amiss with the ark of the Lord.

Perhaps they rationalized it was just one of those unexplained coincidences that happen from time to time.

Regardless, they put Dagon back in his place and leave for the evening.

The following morning the people return to the temple and lo and behold, there he is: Dagon — in all his glory — face down before the ark of the Lord.

Again!

Only this time, his head and hands have been broken off. Those pieces are found lying on the threshold.

Hmmm…they must have thought incredulously. How could that happen?

Seems, though, the people smartened up with this last bit of evidence as the true God at work.

Other “unexplainable” things were happening as well.

In addition to humiliating Dagon, God afflicted the Dagon worshipers with “emerods,” which could be boils, tumors, or “severe, bleeding hemorrhoids.”

Not one of the worshipers was laughing then.

The story concludes with the people of Ashdod pleading for the ark of the Lord to be returned to Israel.

The Ark of the Lord is Brought to Jerusalem

2 Samuel 6:12 records the movement of the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem:

“So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.” (NIV)*

There was great rejoicing among the Israelites with the return of the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem.

Scripture records that King David rejoiced and danced because he was so happy the ark had been returned to Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 7:22 records the words of David’s prayer to God:

“How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.” (NIV)*

A great reason for us, too, as Christians to celebrate — to smile — to rejoice!

humor, laugh, christian, balmofgilead

Sharing Our Grief with Others

January 18, 2018 By Angie Arms McGill

Sharing Our Grief with Others

Tuesday of this week, I received a heart-breaking call that a former co-worker and friend had passed away suddenly.

He was a uniquely gifted man who was all of these things and more: brilliant, dedicated, compassionate, selfless, and a man of integrity.

I had mentioned to Gary the possibility of writing a guest blog for me on this website.

Instead, this blog is dedicated to his memory.

Our Friend and Co-Worker

Gary was always thinking of others.

Whether he was mentoring new hires in the technical fields of radiological protection, industrial hygiene, or safety, creating reports, developing white papers, or presenting, he did all his work with characteristic excellence.

And although technically-oriented in his work, he was noted for his kindness, warmth and hospitality to everyone he came in contact with.

We had last exchanged e-mails only a couple of weeks prior to my receiving the call.

In typical fashion, Gary had reached out to let me know of another former co-worker who was ill and in the hospital. Someone we both had worked with extensively, and he knew I would want to know.

Gary was fondly spoken of as “one-r” Gary in reference to the spelling of his name, distinguishing him from another “Garry” in the group who spelled his name with two r’s.

Another nuance is that Gary typically would end his e-mails with a salutation that included a dash and then “little g” for the first letter of his name. He did this even though he possessed multiple technical certifications in many scientific fields: CHP, CIH, CSP, CHMM, etc. (The “etc” is because I’m sure I’ve left one or more out!).

I always thought this lack of pretentiousness indicated what a humble man he was.

He was also a fun person.

He had this dry, and somewhat sardonic, sense of humor and unmatched wit that could make us all belly-laugh and feel better — even when the circumstances we were dealing with may have seemed bleak.

Acknowledging our Grief

My mind is beginning to process the truth of this new reality, that Gary is gone from this earth.

As his friends, we are praying for his wife, Jody, his children, and grandchildren, that he deeply loved. We recognize that their pain is insurmountably greater than ours.

Somehow, we hope that by acknowledging and sharing our grief with each other, our collective pain is lessened, if only a little.

As each one of us must grieve, in his/her own way, and in our own time.

Grateful

I am grateful to have known Gary and to have the privilege of working with him for so many years.

And although I know from his personal witness that Gary is in his heavenly home, I still miss him.

For those who believe in Jesus Christ, we know and are comforted that death is not the end:

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

— John 10:28 (NIV)

In Loving Memory of:

— gary

Born: July 21, 1953
Died: January 14, 2018

mourning, grief, balmofgilead