Cathy's Heart

Learning To Contend in Prayer - Part 2 Sometimes, I wonder if others knew the real me would they be shocked or disappointed or dismayed? My biggest worry is how others perceive my prayer life. You see, nearly every day, I receive requests and have the privilege of lifting up the prayers of others to the Lord. Last month, when I began my study on contending in prayer, a beloved and familiar passage of scripture took on new life for me when I read Romans 8:26-27 NLT,  And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. As I looked at these passages through the lenses of contending in prayer, I learned: I am weak in prayer What a revelation, and a sweet relief, to read with fresh eyes how God knows I am weak in my ...

Learning To Contend in Prayer - Part 2 Sometimes, I wonder if others knew the real me would they be shocked or disappointed or dismayed? My biggest worry is how others perceive my prayer life. You see, nearly every day, I receive requests and have the privilege of lifting up the prayers of others to the Lord. Last month, when I began my study on contending in prayer, a beloved and familiar passage of scripture took on new life for me when I read Romans 8:26-27 NLT,  And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. As I looked at these passages through the lenses of contending in prayer, I learned: I am weak in prayer What a revelation, and a sweet relief, to read with fresh eyes how God knows I am weak in my ...

Part 1 - Lessons from Good Friday Preparation If you were to flip through the pages of the Bibles on my bookshelves you would notice the letter P, over and over again, in the margins and columns. It seems I have always been aware of and searching for God’s instructions about prayer. So, recently, I was surprised to wake up with the strong impression that I needed to study about prayer. At once, I understood this was not just to be about prayer in general, but a study with an emphasis on contending in prayer. This, I had never done. And, as I had just experienced several sleepless nights of praying for those in hard and hurting places, I trusted this was from the Lord. I planned to find a study notebook and begin my assignment as soon as life settled down, but God had other ideas. My study began that day when I stopped at the coffee shop to have my daily devotions.That morning’s reading happened to be Luke 22. As I came to verses 39-47, I saw my first lesson on contending in prayer as I...

Part 1 - Lessons from Good Friday Preparation If you were to flip through the pages of the Bibles on my bookshelves you would notice the letter P, over and over again, in the margins and columns. It seems I have always been aware of and searching for God’s instructions about prayer. So, recently, I was surprised to wake up with the strong impression that I needed to study about prayer. At once, I understood this was not just to be about prayer in general, but a study with an emphasis on contending in prayer. This, I had never done. And, as I had just experienced several sleepless nights of praying for those in hard and hurting places, I trusted this was from the Lord. I planned to find a study notebook and begin my assignment as soon as life settled down, but God had other ideas. My study began that day when I stopped at the coffee shop to have my daily devotions.That morning’s reading happened to be Luke 22. As I came to verses 39-47, I saw my first lesson on contending in prayer as I...