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#36 My Heart Undressed: Brick by BrickJANE PHINNEY: As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, prayer is our greatest proactive work. As such, we are called to be “bricklayers,” building spiritual fortresses around people.
BRICK BY BRICKBy God’s design, I am a one-task, hands-on-learner. Sticky notes & lists are my friends as an aid to keeping my mind clear & my thinking uncluttered. I generally feel the least frustration when I finish one project before starting another. When I read, I do so with a highlighter in hand, marking what I want to remember. I re-teach what I’m reading by “seeing” it a second time. In my spiritual life, I’ve found that I retain Truth in much the same manner. I comprehend best if I have a word picture that I can practically apply to my life. According to THE BIBLE REFERENCE COMPANION, there are 340+ verses referencing prayer, a subject that is continually close to my heart. To me, prayer has become far more about a relationship than it is about something I do or check off a list. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it & is safe.” I love that picture! Who doesn’t want to know where to go to feel safe? Psalm 62 says that God is my rock, salvation, hope & stronghold. And, because of that truth, I won’t be shaken. (Check out verses 1&2;5-8.) I’m invited to pour out my heart to Him. Not many people really want to listen to, or deal with, that kind of intense downloading. Thankfully, God isn’t put off by my passionate emotions. One of my frequent prayers is based on Luke 18:1. “Lord, teach me to pray so that I don’t lose heart.” This verse says Jesus taught that lesson in a parable, which resonates with my word picture bent. In my understanding about prayer through the years, I’ve come to see each offering to Him as a brick. When I pray for others, I am figuratively, & spiritually, building a wall of protection (i.e. tower or stronghold) around their lives, brick by brick. The more I intercede, the higher their wall. And, when I pray specific scriptures over them, I am confident that I am praying God’s will. Truth doesn’t change. God isn’t fickle. He means what He says & He keeps His promises. He knows exactly what He intends by His written, & spoken, Word. His answers are perfectly timed. He is just as faithful & able now, as when Jesus physically walked the earth. In the Old Testament account, Nehemiah went to great lengths to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. The details of this enormous project are recounted in chapters 1-6. Overall, the bottom line is, Nehemiah didn’t make a move without praying. He prayed before, during, & after every challenge. He prayed honestly, he prayed humbly, & he prayed expectantly. Nehemiah was resolved & he always acknowledged & honored God. It’s understandable why his name means “Jehovah comforts.” There was no question in his mind that he desperately needed God’s help & directives. Sometimes we erroneously separate what we think we can do for ourselves, from other obvious needs requiring Divine intervention. The Nehemiah story drives home my brick analogy in intercessory prayer. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, prayer is our greatest proactive work. As such, we are called to be “bricklayers,” building spiritual fortresses around people…whether they recognize their need or not. Though I am separated from many of the people I pray for by conflicting schedules, miles, or circumstances, I always pray that they are drawn into the love of Christ & that they will have an unmistakable awareness of God’s presence in their daily lives. Like the united work force in the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall, we can rally together when we hear the trumpet…the call to prayer. When we pray, God fights for us. I don’t know about you, but this is a visual I can wrap by spiritual “arms” around! After God sketched this picture in my mind, my first thought was, “Ok Lord! Who can I enlist to lay bricks on behalf of my family? And who do You want me to be a bricklayer for?” In my “keep” file, I have an old Focus on the Family pictorial newsletter, published in 2002, to commemorate their 25th Anniversary. I held on to it because of one inspiring picture & the caption under it. The 1930s picture was of Dr. Dobson’s great-grandfather, who “prayed from 11 a.m. to 12 noon every day, for four generations of his family, both those living and those yet to be born.” WOW! Even now, I am taken aback by the vision & the time commitment of a faithful Father/grandfather/great-grandfather who took God at His word. This prayer warrior made a difference in generations of his family. Some he would never meet on earth. But by faith, he believed they would walk with God & make differences for eternity. He understood that the effectual prayers of a righteous man will accomplish much. (James 5:16) In my Bible notes jotted by this verse, I wrote that an effectual pray-er is a person completely committed to God’s will for answers & not his own will. This is not a one- time, once-for-all experience, but something we work at constantly, moment by moment. (See pages 54&55 in WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WOMEN PRAY…an older but encouraging read.) As I see it, EVERYTHING in our walk of faith is moment by moment. That’s how dependency works. “Lord, keep teaching me to pray!” When we lived in Phoenix, we belonged to a small, intimate prayer group of 4 couples. The thing that drew us together was our desire to pray for our kids who were all teenagers or young adults at the time. Since our move to Kansas 14 years ago, these ladies are still my primary go-to prayer warriors. We have history. That’s important because many things don’t need to be re-explained. I’ve also been blessed with a special Kansas friend who loves the Lord, has a tender heart, & is trustworthy. When the enemy is pounding on the door, I text. And I know they will respond. We carry no assumptions or judgments about what’s happening in each other’s lives. At this stage in life, we readily affirm that we are needy women. We are aware of our natural inclination to lose heart in tough times. We need prayer…& lots of it! Although I have a wider prayer circle with other given needs, my old-timers are where I feel the safest. The best news about prayer is that Jesus is my/your “bricklayer.” The Word gives account of the many times our Lord drew away from the crowds to be alone…to pray to His Father. How much more should we? John, chapter 17, is a beautiful, spiritually uplifting account of His heartfelt prayer for those who put their trust in Him… for life. Present day, when I can’t adequately express my heart and can only cry “Oh God”, the Spirit intercedes for me according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26&27) When I have no words, He is on the job! Verses 33 &34 assert that Jesus is interceding from His position at God’s right hand when we are under attack. Are you participating in the building of fortresses, brick by brick, seeking His will for yourself & for others? The trumpet is blowing. Brick by Brick © | Stephen Phinney | Vocalist Elijah Musika: Thank you for reading, My Heart Undressed. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Please consider making a small donation to us. We want to extend our eternal gratitude to each of you for taking the time to read our publications and engage with our posts. Your support and interest mean the world to us, and it motivates us to continue creating content that resonates with you.
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