When God wants you to pray

Before we left the US, the Lord spoke to Heather and me about the need for prayer.  He said to Heather very specifically that He would start to give us circumstances that would cause us to pray for specific things.

It is hard to me to list them all here, but God really has been spurring us to pray about very specific things.

When we got to Korea, Joshie lost his voice.  We are still not sure what caused it.  He was fine outside of his voice.  Whenever our kids get sick, I always ask the Lord if there is something spiritual that He is trying to show me. Several months ago, Kara, Joshie and I all had strep throat. Kara got it twice. God rebuked me at that time and said that it was because not everything that came out of my mouth was life-giving; some was death and He wanted me to repent of it.  I asked if Joshie losing his voice this time was similar. Recall that I developed sores all over my mouth.  I really have been sleep-deprived this past week, averaging less than 3 hours of sleep and although I hardly develop sores, I did this time.  After 6 days, my sores are now finally better and I can chew and taste again!  PTL!  To confirm what I was believing God was saying to me, Rev. Sung Hwa Park, Senior Pastor at Immanuel Church (Heather's dad), preached this past Sunday on water.  Some of you know that our new church plant will be called Lifespring Church.  Rev. Park talked about how the effects of water change with words.  It was quite fascinating.  He said that we have to be careful about the words that come out of the mouth because human bodies are 70% water.

God is going through extremes to teach me this. Neutral is not ok. He only wants life to come out. So, I began reviewing this past week and I must confess that I expressed some frustration and was at times agitated, especially as we were packing and cleaning.  Much of the frustration of course went to Heather, but some went towards the kids where I was not as understanding.  I failed to realize that it is tough on them too.  It's tough for them to fly across the globe and make 3 connecting flights. This 100% words of life thing is really hard, but I suggest that you check the words that come of your mouth too and see if they are all life.

On a separate occasion, we were supposed to move into our apartment on Monday, but we realized that we have no furniture so even if we moved, it would be to an empty home and Heather's parents did not want the kids to sleep on the floor so told us to stay until we got more settled with furniture.

We do need to get a sofa and dressers/warddrobe (Korea has no closets), however furniture is so expensive here in Korea.  We realize that many things are so expensive here in Korea. Well one day as I went for my prayer walk, I noticed this used, slightly torn sofa near the trash. I wondered if someone was throwing it out. When I probed, it was indeed a sofa that someone had thrown out.  It was in good condition.  I thought it was an answer to prayer. When I asked Heather's dad, he said, yes, people throw out good stuff all the time. I immediately wanted to go grab it, but Heather's dad said not to.  I think he felt bad that I was even looking at the trash for used furniture. I did not think about the charity of it, but only thought, boy, that is a good sofa and we need one!

Well, the next morning, Heather's mom went to an evangelism outing at their church. This one person did not show up so Heather's mom took her place and was paired with this other member at the church.  After they went out to reach out to their community, the member invited Heather's mom to her house for tea.  While they were there, this member asked Heather's mom if she could pray for their home.  They were about to move and she wanted to have SMN's (Samonim or SMN, is a term used in Korean churches to refer to pastor's wife) prayer of blessing. She shared how she needed to get rid of all her furniture since they got new ones and how hectic it is right now for them.

Well, it was an answer to prayer. Heather's mom asked if we could have their sofa, which is in great shape.  She said yes. She also needed to get rid of her warddrobe/dressers too! Wow! God really came through.

On another note, it has been tough to go on these days without a cell phone. Those in Maryland would know how much I utilize my phone. I tell people that my iPhone in the US is now a glorified iPod here in Korea. We went to the cell phone place here and cell phones are so expensive. Unlike in the US, the upfront cost here in Korea is so high. I tried to see if I could use my US iPhone here in Korea, but unfortunately, no. It is a different system.  So we started to just pray for a cell phone.

A couple of days ago, a couple from Heather's dad's church asked Heather's dad if we already got our cell phones.  They said that they would like to pay for the upfront cost of the phone if we did not.  How amazing! We would of course pay the monthly usage fees, but they said that they would like to sponsor the upfront cost of not only my cell phone but Heather's as well.  I should restate this. They wanted to sponsor not only Heather's phone, but mine as well.  I think they wanted to honor Heather. Regardless, it is so remarkable how God is answering prayer and coming through.  Thus, today, we plan on going to the cell phone company to get our phones!  PTL!  

Yesterday morning during my prayer walk with the Lord, the Lord really spoke to me though a song.  Fee's "Arms that hold the universe."

I felt the Lord speaking to me to pray for peace and comfort and that people will find rest in God's arms because God is in control and He will never let us go.  Of course, later in the day, we heard reports that North Korea fired several rounds to a small island in South Korea and killed and injured several people.  This island is actually very close to where we are (about 40 miles).

It seems that the Korean people are uneasy and the news coverage is relentless.  After watching the news, I felt so uneasy too and it is non-stop on the TV, on radio and in print. So, we are now praying for peace and comfort.

Please pray with us for peace in Asia.

What is He calling you to pray for specifically. Is He using circumstances to guide your prayers? God wants us to pray.

Glory to God.

Here is an audio of Fee's "Arms That Hold the Universe."