Author: Christine Wyrtzen

Prayer For When I’m Hemmed In

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“Before a word is on my tongue, You know it completely, O Lord.  You hem me in – behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me.”  Psalm 139:2

Hem – To confine, secure, bind up and enclose.

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Oh Lord, I feel trapped?  Things feel wild and out of control but I know You are sovereign.  You could easily make a way out but You haven’t yet.  Oh, I am afraid that my honest thoughts have not yet become words.  Perhaps I’m hiding accusations against You.   I think I’ve been scared to let You know what I’m feeling.

But You already know. If I don’t trust You, show me and give me the strength to admit it.  If I don’t believe You love me, give me the courage to ask You.  If I am angry with You because my discomfort has gone on so long, give me the guts to face my rage.  This fire is hot and the dross of my heart is rising to the top. Is this the fruit of suffering?  To unearth hidden sin and bad theology?

Today, I will be like David.  I will admit my fears, my anger, my sins against You.  But I will also say, ‘Who do I have besides You?’  I feel You have afflicted me and confined me, but I will offer my praise.  You do all things well.  Even though I don’t understand why my deliverance is taking so long, You know the reason.  Though I feel trapped and am tempted to panic, I remember that with You, there is no such thing as trapped. I will make my heart defer to Your truth. For You make roadways in the wilderness and streams in the desert.  (Isaiah 43:19)  With mustard size faith, I thank you for my confinement for it has exposed my sinful heart.

‘If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.’  Psalm 139:9-10  

Prayer For Spiritual Savvy

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Please read this prayer out loud!  Satan cannot read thoughts.  Since any warfare prayer is the equivalent of serving the enemy legal papers, it is critical that these kinds of prayers are spoken rather than silently internalized.

Warrior, fight on.  The battle is the Lord’s and victory can be yours.   Christine

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Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.  Psalm 144:1

Trains ~ Perceives by sight or some other sense.  Distinguishes and discriminates.

PRAYER:  Teach me how to fight my enemy like You did, Jesus.  He comes at me like he came at you; quoting scripture, presenting spiritual arguments in such a persuasive way that it’s hard to discern if what I’m hearing is a God-breathed idea.  But You knew the difference when You were in the desert and You will train me to develop my spiritual senses, too.

Many decisions lay in front of me.  How do I know Your plans for me?  My enemy mimics Your voice and wants to lead me to do something spiritual at the wrong time.  The consequences are too great if I am a novice.

He told You to turn stones to bread when You were hungry.  It wasn’t an evil idea Lord, because You did it later with the loaves and fishes.  The miracle in the desert would have just been premature but how did You know?   Was it because He promised You a way out of pain before it was time?

Today, I am asking You to teach me, train me, make me sharp and discerning.  You promised You would when You sent Your Spirit to live inside Your children.  “He will become your teacher and guide,” You said.   How I need You.  Satan would have me move when I should be still, speak when I should hold my tongue, overextend myself when I should simplify, feel guilty when I should celebrate Your forgiveness, and even bring an end to something holy when it’s nearly time for advancement.

Speak Your Word into my spirit.  Speak loudly and clearly.  You promised that Your sheep would know Your voice.  So, let me know without a doubt that it’s You and not him.  Or, let me know that it’s him and not You.  Give me the precise Word to speak to overcome the voice of the tempter and liar.  Make me skilled and seasoned with the Sword for a battle that I cannot see.  All for Your honor and glory.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen

Prayer for Treasures in the Dark

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PRAYER FOR TREASURES IN THE DARK

I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. Isaiah 45:3

PRAYER:  Jesus, is it possible that there is wealth and treasure in all the darkest places of my life?  The places that have felt like death and destruction?   My eyes do not yet see what You see yet in certain places.  You are saying that what has appeared to nearly destroy me really contains a treasury of spiritual riches?  Wow, Jesus!  What I have wanted to curse, I should bless.

I am willing to have my mind changed.  I am willing to begin to see that event as You see it.  I am willing to give up my entitlement that says that You should have prevented it.  I am willing to do whatever I need to do to see redemption rather than pain.  Begin to speak to me about this and take the veil off the eyes of my soul.  Forgive me for speaking words of hopelessness. I have not seen the vast treasury you have been investing into the shadows of my life but I accept that reality today by faith.

I am Yours.  You speak my name right now with tenderness and ownership.  I realize that Your death became my treasure.  Your darkest hour became my saving hour.  So, give me the grace to embrace my cross so that Your treasures may be revealed.  In Jesus name, Amen

The Ending To Romans

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THE ENDING TO ROMANS

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God to bring about the obedience of faith – to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!  Amen

         It’s the end of Romans.  How do you feel?  Have you been changed?

         I remember the day, sitting on the edge of my bed in a hotel room in Minneapolis, that God spoke to me and impressed upon me to study and teach Romans.  I was trembling, literally, with the prospect of such an undertaking.  That was two years ago.  Two hundred and forty devotionals later, you’ll never know how many mornings I feared that I would never grasp the meaning of the verse in front of me.  My testimony today is this ~ The Holy Spirit loves to teach and is faithful to anyone who seeks to be moved by the most difficult scriptures.

         In the end, Paul’s last words are about the sources of strength.  He will need it for the violent end of his life and ministry.  And he knows we will need it too.  We have been sent out to live as sheep amongst wolves.

         Are you fearful of the wolves?  Are you out of physical strength?  Out of emotional stamina?  Are you intellectually tormented, wondering if what you believe is really true?

         Paul sends us to three places to get strength. Continue reading “The Ending To Romans” →

Jesus Showed Me How

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JESUS SHOWED ME HOW

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Romans 16:20

         How does God crush Satan under my feet?  Now, that is a visual! I crush the serpent’s head the same way Jesus did.  This act of subjection was predicted in Genesis.  “You (Jesus) shall crush his head and he shall bruise your heel.”  Gen. 3:15   While Jesus declared that he came to destroy the works of the devil, and he did this through signs and wonders, the actual crushing of Satan’s head didn’t happen until the cross.  Jesus had to give His life as the perfect Lamb in order for Satan’s power to be broken.

         Paul says that I have a similar opportunity to crush Satan under my feet.  How does this happen?  Just as Jesus gave up all rights to his life and came to do His Father’s will, and Satan was crushed, this act of subjection is repeated again and again through me and every child of God.  When I give up all rights to my life and choose righteousness over sin, Satan is crushed.

         Ultimately, Satan must use people to get his work done.  He needs bodies he can control.  Continue reading “Jesus Showed Me How” →

Making Right Judgments

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MAKING RIGHT JUDGMENTS

Your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent and what is evil.  Romans 16:19

         Do mature Christians need to be concerned about being deceived?  Aren’t they grounded enough in the Word to be past such a threat?  Apparently not.  And if any of us believe we are, we live dangerously.

         As long as I live here on earth, I can be fooled.  Good and evil aren’t always obvious.  The author of evil is so good at deceiving that he can make what is sinister appear holy.

         What is wisdom?  Warren Wiersbe defines it as ‘knowing what to do when there is no biblical precedent.’  Satan is always in the cobwebs.  He weaves webs around the outlines of our Christian lives and mixes in his own brand of what appears to be holy.  His options are never dark-colored but glittering and full of light.

Who Would I Mention?

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WHO WOULD I MENTION?

Priscilla, Aquila, Epaenetus, Mary, Anronicus and Junia,

Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, Aristobulus, Herodion,

Narcissus, Tryphaena Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus, Asyncritus,

Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, Julie, Nereus, Olympas.

People Paul remembered in the last chapter of Romans.

         I’m nearly at the end of Romans.  What a journey over this past year.  As I start reading the last 5-6 verses, I realize these are the last words of Paul’s to the Roman church.  He won’t see them again and he has invested so much of himself into the birth, and growth, of their church.  He did it to his peril as he was beaten and imprisoned.  Though Paul has often gotten a bad rap as being non-relational, his closing words are all about people and relationships.

If I were about to die or to be taken away in chains, what kind of a goodbye list would I make?  This morning I daydreamed.  I imagined that I will send a good friend on a journey to visit the people who have impacted my life the most profoundly.  “Tell _________ that I thank him for showing me the face of Christ through his kind spirit.”  Continue reading “Who Would I Mention?” →

Thriving In Change

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THRIVING IN CHANGE

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life.  Romans 16:3-4

         In a day when so many have lost their jobs and businesses and are trying to get any kind of employment to make ends meet (even something that has nothing to do with their field of education), it is easy to believe that life is over.  Watching their homes go into foreclosure, moving across state lines to live with parents and relatives, these undermine feelings of stability.

         It is always comforting to know the stories of those who have gone before us.  Priscilla and Aquila, invaluable in their work for the kingdom, lived on the run.  Stability was not measured by predictability but by learning to rest in a God who would use them and provide for them no matter where they went. Continue reading “Thriving In Change” →

Is It Really Insignificant?

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IS IT REALLY INSIGNIFICANT?

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchrae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.  Romans 16:1

         A ex-murderer wrote a letter to a church in Rome.  A woman who was moved by his faith contributed extensively to his ministry and felt called to serve him.  When he needed someone to deliver his letter, she took on the burden of carrying it to the Roman church.

         Travel for women was dangerous.  Most likely, she had others traveling with her but Paul doesn’t mention them.  Phoebe stood out.

         She had no idea the power of the letter she carried on that trip.  The theological history of the church was in that letter.  The Reformation was in her satchel.  Continue reading “Is It Really Insignificant?” →

More Than A Mention

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MORE THAN A MENTION

I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints.  Romans 15:30-31

         Some of you are struggling for your lives whether spiritually, emotionally or physically.  You know that you desperately need prayer but where are those who will cover your needs in a way that is more than just a quick mention?  Where are the ones who will get on their face before God to listen to the Spirit on your behalf, to invest time and energy and be spiritually intuitive as to your needs?  Who will cover your situation from every possible angle?  They are few.  And they are always the ones who believe in the power of God and the power of answered prayer.

         Someone who is having surgery today needs a more strategic prayer than this ~ “Lord, be with him in surgery today and be in control.  Amen”  This is pretty lame, lazy, and shortsighted.  Continue reading “More Than A Mention” →