Mary's Song

We are all thankful; we have so many blessings in our lives. Even when times are hard, financially, relationally or personally, we all have things to be thankful for. We have gratitude in our heart to God. But sometimes expressing it can be difficult. Let's look at Mary and see and hear her great gratitude and praise that she expressed to God for what she was experiencing and for His plan that was becoming evident in her life.

The following scripture from Luke 1 is a passage that is often overlooked or at least downplayed in many churches. When I was young and in Sunday School, I don't remember this ever really being discussed in our story of Christmas. Nor did I hear this from the pulpit.
Mary was only 13 or 14 years old. How on earth did she come up with this amazing outburst of joy and gratitude? Well, that's the key. Mary herself did not come up with this response. This was a spontaneous outpouring of joy and praise that was orchestrated by the Holy Spirit Himself. God just took little Mary and gave her words that she probably had never thought of before, let alone spoken. And when little Mary opened her mouth to praise God, to thank Him, and show her gratitude, what came out in all it's beauty was a wonderful expression... the "Magnificat", or Mary's Song.

Luke 1:46-55


46. And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord, 47. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48. "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. 49. "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. 50. "And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him. 51. "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered [those who were] proud in the thoughts of their heart. 52. "He has brought down rulers from [their] thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. 53. "He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. 54. "He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, 55. As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his offspring forever."

I want to talk a little about prayer and praise...and "thanksgiving".

Ephesians 6:18 (New International Version)
18. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.


Romans 8:26 (New International Version)
26. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.


1 Corinthians 14:15 (New International Version)
15.So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.


Philippians 4:4-7 NAS
4. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5. Let your forbearing [spirit] be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Each of these scriptures indicates that there is the element of Holy Spirit inspired prayer.


Quite some time ago,when God was first calling me to a deeper more intimate spiritual walk, I was involved in a prayer ministry at our church. We had a prayer group that met on Wednesday evenings to pray for church matters and people in our congregation. I really enjoyed that time of seeking the Lord for a deeper prayer life. We had a volunteer prayer group for our church that had a goal of 24 hour prayer coverage. This was not just our small group, but church wide. My time schedule for prayer was at 10:00-11:00 on Wednesday evenings. We called it "the wall". (When you have time you might want to read the book of Nehemiah, especially chapter 1, where he prays for his people and then God leads him back to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall.)


I had a weekly update on things to pray for, but at that time my being able to stay focused in prayer for an hour was a real struggle. (still hard, who am I kidding?) I would find that I would cover all the list in the first 15 minutes, then be left feeling inadequate and spiritually immature. I had a knowledge that prayer was key in expanding my relationship with My Heavenly Father, I just couldn't get there by myself. I will never forget the night it all changed.

Here I was, once again, trying to do justice in prayer for all the people that were ill, church financial needs and requests, and even going the extra mile to pray for individual ministries at our church. That night I promised God that I would stay there until my time was up. That I would not be a slacker and that I would make every minute count. I glanced at my watch every few minutes,...by golly, I thought, I CAN do this! Whew, time was almost up. "I'll just finish up by reading a little scripture" I said to my self.

I opened my Bible to Ephesians  and began to read.

Time's almost up, Yeah, I've made it. I've sat still and concentrated on God for a whole 55 minutes. OK only a minute or two to go... down to the finish line... Gee, I have a lot to do for tomorrow, clothes to iron, a kitchen to clean, cats to feed....lots to do God, but hey, I'm still here, see, I'll give you those few extra minutes!

Then, in the last minute...home stretch... I hit Ephesians 4, Okey dokey, times up!!!

But at that very moment I heard a voice in my spirit, just like I had a phone to my spiritual ear. Very clearly The Voice said, "If you will stay with Me one more hour, I will make it worth your while. I will give you your "call".


Well, I stayed for an extra two, and believe me, my life changed. Not only did He speak to me about what He wanted me to do in my life, but He put something in me that energized and made my prayer life new. He instilled His Holy Spirit into my prayer life, and it's never been the same. Now I depend on Him for direction in prayer. I invited the Holy Spirit to take over my prayer time, and with that came new focus, and new depth of understanding and purpose.

Mary became infilled with the Holy Spirit. He directed her prayer. She uttered words and thoughts that were not from her "conscious" mind, but from her spiritual mind. Her heart and mind submitted to God.


Prayer has many components. We'll talk about those at some later time, but just know if you feel unable to articulate your needs; if you are at a loss as how to communicate in prayer to God, just call upon the Holy Spirit to inspire your prayer time and life. He will gladly do that. He will enrich and renew your prayers with His own mind and heart...and you will connect with God in a whole new way. You will be like Mary, you will open your mouth (yes, praise and worship and give thanks verbally, out loud. God just loves that!) and you will sing...sing your own song of joy, worship, praise, and thanksgiving.

Have a wonderful week in preparation for Thanksgiving.

Let God inspire and refresh you.

Blessings,

Debra

Healing Scripture:

Deuteronomy 7:13-14

13. "And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you. 14. "You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. 15. "And the LORD will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you.

Warning! It may not always be easy...

Remember the song, "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden"?  Ouch 1973.

As I have studied and prayed over this passage in Luke 1 concerning the angel's announcement to Mary of her favor with God, and then the plan that is put before her, I get the feeling poor little Mary must have been one frightened little gal. The angel made a point to say "Fear not" to her. If I was met with a large spiritual being while I was making my bed, or doing the dishes, I would have to say that I definitely would be a little surprised and a lot nervous. But more than just for the momentary excitement, I think the angel needed to let Mary know that what he was about to say to her, could cause her fear.

God had a plan. This was His Big Plan, and He needed someone that trusted Him, loved Him, and revered Him. God needed someone who was willing to lay down their own plan, and pick up the plan that God was laying before them. Mary was just a young teenager, 13 or 14, I have heard. She had met and was engaged to a young man named Joseph. They had a plan. They were going to get married and live happily ever after.

Most young women have a plan similar to that. I know I did. Whether it's a career, or a marriage, or travel (or all of it) we all have dreams and aspirations, that's just part of our human nature...and it's good that we have that. Plans and dreams motivate us. Our plans and dreams may have slight variations, but most include a love story, a family, and a white picket fence. Youth sees things through those rose colored glasses that maturity often requires us to remove.

Version: NAS

Luke 1:30-34

30. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32. "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33. and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end." 34. And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"


Version: NAS
Luke 1:37-38


37. "For nothing will be impossible with God." 38. And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Now, back to The Plan. When we become a Christian, we not only ask Jesus into our hearts, spiritually, but in turn we should be willing to hand over our hearts to Jesus. I have said before that when I became a Christian I made Jesus my "Lord and Savior", but it took a long time for me to allow Him to become "Lord of my Life".
Read it again please, not just Saviour but The One Who is in Charge.
 
So here is Mary with her own plan, and now she has to be willing to say "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."
 
My life didn't change a lot until I finally got to the place where I said, "Lord, I am willing to put aside what I think and want, and let You show me what You want." That was not an easy time for me. It was a process of letting go of some things. It wasn't a rose garden, but if we do use the analogy, then there were some mighty big thorns and a lot of manure that I had to be forced to deal with.


Mary "signed on" as I said before. She agreed with God for His plan. Now, I'm not spouting doom and gloom here. God has good plans for us.

Version: NAS
Jeremiah 29:11-14


11. 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12. 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13. 'And you will seek Me and find [Me], when you search for Me with all your heart. 14. 'And I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'
 
He has good plans, they may just not always be easy. Remember when James and John's mother came to Jesus. She asked what she thought would be a good question. She asked Jesus if her two son's could sit with Jesus in Heaven. She really didn't know what she was asking.

Version: NAS
Matthew 20:20-28


20. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, bowing down, and making a request of Him. 21. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left." 22. But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to Him, "We are able." 23. He said to them, "My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on [My] left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father." 24. And hearing [this], the ten became indignant with the two brothers. 25. But Jesus called them to Himself, and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and [their] great men exercise authority over them. 26. "It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27. and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28. just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Mary signed on to become a "servant", a bondslave of the Lord, she was "indebted" to Him.


So, even though we may have to lay down our own plan for our life, wouldn't you rather be doing what God has planned for you? I know I would. I'm shortsighted and don't know what's best. I've gotten my own self in lots of ditches over the years. I have found that God has good plans.
They may not  always be easy, but they are best, and His best for me.

Version: NAS
Romans 12:1-2


1. I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship. 2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.


I would love to hear from you all. What has God asked you to lay down for His plan for your life? How has He taken "your plan" and given it an "overhaul"? I know you all are out there, I'm asking you just to leave a short (or long) comment on these posts, if you feel God nudging you. Let's hear what each other has to share. :)


Healing Scripture #2

Exodus 23:25-26
25. "But you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst. 26. "There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

Be Blessed, Everyone.

love, Debra

My alarm clock is ringing...

Do you ever get a sense of urgency from the Lord? One day it's an idea or a concept, and then all of the sudden there is a fire burning under you to do something! Well, this afternoon it happened again.

About  four years ago God gave me a Bible Study on "Healing". He totally "downloaded" it into my spirit. When I started this blog a month ago, I knew I wanted, and probably would at some point, follow what He had given me in writing posts from it. I saw it as starting after the New Year, when we all have more time and are in the "resolution mode".

I have been following Melanie at Bella Mella for a short while, and praying for her son, Andrew. Today Melanie left a comment and joined in as a follower. Her response was the match that lit the fire.

When I had the first round of heart attacks seven years ago, God had me start "collecting" healing scripture, and then building on the list. It has grown and grown, and with each new scripture I have received an ever expanding revelation of the Trinity, God's deep love for us, and His goodness.

I was fighting for my life, and even recently the Lord reminded me I need to read and speak these scriptures out over my life and physical body daily.

So today please join me and many others in praying for Andrew, be sure and go by Melanie's blog to find out more about her wonderful family and their strong faith...and then pray for them.

I will continue focusing on Mary for another post or two. Then I'm not sure where the Holy Spirit is leading.

I have wanted to start a prayer focus, so I will try to do that for now, by just posting on my sidebar a copy of your email or comment. If any of you are battling an illness, or know someone who is... or just want to have a better picture of how God feels about our physical well-being, just email me. I will send you a copy of the healing scripture list. I will start listing them on this blog, starting at the beginning.

This feels good and right, l will stick with the continuing Bible Study. Mary's life and calling is such a deep well to explore, if you haven't read the other posts on her please do.

I feel that God is wrapping His arms around each of us and can use us for His purposes, together. 

Please look up this scripture in your own Bible for a more complete understanding and word from God.

1.) Exodus 15:25-26 "...for I AM the LORD who heals you."   Jehovah Rapha

Blessings,

Debra