1 Thessalonians 5:17 puts it simply, “Pray continually”. This has honestly
always been a struggle for me because I sometimes fall into stubbornness and
believe the lie that “I can do it on my own”. It's easy for me to get in a routine
of praying when I wake up and before I go to sleep, but the reality is that I
need to be in constant communication with Jesus to handle any situation I might
face throughout the day. Conditioning myself to immediately run to Jesus in
prayer constantly throughout the day, in moments of both despair and
celebration, has been difficult, but so rewarding and eye opening. I’ve learned
that when I talk to Jesus about what is going on (the big and even the little
things), an immediate wave of comfort covers me. It doesn’t necessarily mean
that the situation changes or things are better in that moment, but what I gain
is so much more…peace that only comes from my Father and Best Friend, because
of my choice to put my faith in Him.
Sharing my faith and who God is with my students
and others here in Bolivia has opened my eyes to such extreme spiritual warfare
as I’m actively in this spiritual battle daily in ways I’ve never opened myself
up to before. What joy we have in the truth that God can and will give us peace
that we can’t humanly fathom…and all we have to do is turn to him and accept
this precious gift. As Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.”
I
recently listened to a powerful song "I Will Waste My Life" by Misty
Edwards. Here are the lyrics:
“I
will waste my life, I'll be tested and tried
With
no regrets inside of me to find I'm at Your feet
I'll
leave my father's house and I'll leave my mother
I'll
leave all I have known and I'll have no other
I am
in love with You There is no cost
I am
in love with You There is no loss
I am
in love with You I want to take Your name
I am
in love with You I want to cling to You Jesus
Just
let me cling to You Jesus”
The
idea of “clinging” to Jesus really struck me. What powerful words. It made me
think about how my relationship with Him is a daily choice and commitment. It
is two-sided just like any other relationship. If I’m not in constant
communication, giving my all, and being in His Word to learn more about
Him…then what is the point of the relationship.
While discussing the importance
of striving to be in the Word consistently with our 12th grade discipleship
girls a few weeks ago, we began talking about what an authentic relationship
with Jesus is. It was good to verbalize some simple truths that are sometimes
so easy to forget…a relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship
we will ever have, communication with Him is crucial throughout the day -
every day, and we need to get to know Him by reading His Word consistently. After
all, a relationship won’t continue if the elements of communication, trust,
love, and wanting to continue to learn more about the other person are not present. If
those things are priorities and crucial in our relationships with family,
friends, significant other…shouldn’t they be evermore so in our relationship
with Jesus? I want to cling to Jesus…every day, every week, every minute. That
is my prayer for you as well!
Time after time of trying to handle things by myself on my own strength just
continued to break me down until I couldn’t do it anymore and finally ran to
the One who could. Through being in constant communication with Jesus and
giving him every part of my life and who I am, I am able to be in His perfect
peace and receive strength through Him…especially in the midst of the storms
and trials that will inevitably come in this shakable world.
As we discussed this idea of God’s “unshakable” kingdom during our staff
retreat a few weeks ago, we studied Hebrews 12:28-29 which says, “Therefore,
since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and
so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a
consuming fire.” I read a devotion recently by Mary Fairchild and felt that she
really put this idea of Christ’s unshakable kingdom into perspective:
“When
we entered into relationship
with Jesus Christ, we received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We
may live in an unstable world with earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods,
tornados, oil spills, terrorist attacks, wars, market crashes, unemployment,
sickness, grief, and millions of other things that attempt to rock our
foundation and destroy our peace of mind.
Don't
let these temporal things take your eyes off God. Life may seem scary right
now, but God is an all-consuming fire. He wants your total trust
and reverence. Always remember, we belong to an unshakeable kingdom.”
It’s been on my heart for a while now to be in more continuous prayer for my students.
However, I didn’t want to just stop there, I wanted to open up the door for
others to join me in this opportunity to prayerfully support these precious
kiddos. Prayer is powerful. So how incredible would it be to have people from
all over the world prayerfully supporting these precious children? Therefore,
you…my family, friends, colleagues…immediately came to mind!
I currently have fifteen sweet kindergarten kiddos in my class. Since my
kindergarteners have a half day on Tuesdays and Thursdays and leave at noon, I
am also able to work with English language learning students during
Tuesday/Thursday afternoons each week. I am currently working with five ELL
students (one 2nd grader and four 1st graders: two of
which were my kindergarten students last year). All of these children
come from a variety of backgrounds and faiths.
My daily prayer is that I can be the hands and feet of Jesus as I love them and
serve them. This is something I cannot do in my own strength or
alone. I am looking for prayer partners for these incredible children! Would
you consider committing to pray for a child here in La Paz? If this is
something you would like to do, please respond to this blog post or email me
(keporter22@gmail.com) and I will send you a picture of a child and a short
biography (please let me know if you prefer a boy or girl). I will do my best
to keep you updated on his/her progress and prayer needs. You can also send
emails to this student and I will make sure to read them with him/her.
Psalms
145:18 “The LORD is
near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”
Thank you for investing in my life and in the lives of children in Bolivia!
Thank you for investing in my life and in the lives of children in Bolivia!
With much love,
Katie
