December 26, 2024

Seeking Him by Coleen Hayden – Jesus

March 16, 2013 by

In our current series, Seeking Him, we have looked at the joy of having a dedicated, purposeful devotional time—your quiet time alone with God.  Over the past ten weeks we have considered the importance and deep value of seeking Him by intentionally removing ourselves from distractions and quietly being in His presence.  This week, as we conclude the series, we will consider our greatest example—our Lord Jesus.

Throughout the Gospels, we read of many times when Jesus purposefully withdrew from His disciples, and from ministering to the needs of the people, and went to pray.  We see how valuable it was to Him to be alone with His Father, seeking Him and spending time in His presence.

And in the morning, long before daylight,
He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed.

Mark 1:35

And after He had taken leave of them, He went off into the hills to pray.

Mark 6:46

 But He Himself withdrew to the wilderness (desert) and prayed.

Luke 5:16

 Now in those days it occurred that He went up into a mountain to pray,
and spent the whole night in prayer to God.

Luke 6:12

Within the context of each of these glimpses into Jesus’ life, we observe that He:

  • before even beginning His day, went and prayed
  • in the midst of trying circumstance, went to be alone with God
  • in preparation for important decisions, got alone with His Father and prayed
  • after much time ministering to the people and teaching them, He left and sought God and prayed

How much more do we need to emulate His heart and actions in recognizing our own great need to be alone with our heavenly Father seeking Him and praying?

Perhaps the most poignant example that Jesus left us is His time seeking His Father in prayer  just prior to His betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane.

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told His disciples,
Sit down here while I go over yonder and pray.
And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
He began to show grief and distress of mind and was deeply depressed.
Then He said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved,
so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and keep awake and keep watch with Me.
And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying,
My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me;
nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire.
And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter,
What! Are you so utterly unable to stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?
All of you must keep awake and watch and pray,
that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Again a second time He went away and prayed,
My Father, if this cannot pass by unless I drink it, Your will be done.
And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were weighed down with sleep.
So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, using the same words.  Matthew 26:36-44

Words escape me to express how deeply I recognize my Lord’s awareness of His need of His Father at this incredibly stress-filled, sorrowful time!  But my heart is convicted and reminded of my own need to do the same!  If Jesus, the Perfect Man, who was totally without sin and always able to rise above any temptation, so needed this time seeking His Father…then I am without excuse to ever think I do not need the same…and more!

How very blessed we are to know that this is God’s Will…that He desires us to seek Him…that He is always available to us…that our yearning hearts will always be welcomed into His presence.  How very thankful we are to know that through His suffering, persecution, death and resurrection, Jesus—our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord and Master—has broken down any barrier between us and Almighty God, and made it available for us to approach His Throne of grace!

But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were [so] far away,
through the blood of Christ have been brought near.
For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony).
By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law
with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two
might create in Himself one new man, so making peace.
And He came and preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off
and [peace] to those who were near.
For it is through Him that we…now have an introduction (access) by one [Holy] Spirit
to the Father [so that we are able to approach Him].
Ephesians 2:13-18

“You are beautiful beyond description, yet God crushed You for my sin
in agony and deep affliction, cut off that i might enter in
who can grasp such tender compassion?
who can fathom this mercy so free?
You are beautiful beyond description, Lamb of God, Who died for me”

<3

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Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!

Jeremiah 29:12,13
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Praying for each of you!  I know that the Lord will answer your heart’s cry as you are seeking Him with all your heart!

♥  coleen

If you are interested in contacting Coleen in regards to this blog, please email her at: Coleen@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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Seeking Him – Quietness

March 2, 2013 by

This week in our current series, Seeking Him, we continue to look at one of the joys (and privilege!) of our relationship with our heavenly Father—our ‘quiet time’ with Him.  Each Saturday we have been looking in-depth at some of the more important aspects of a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time.

Over the past few weeks we have thought about a few of these aspects, such as:

  • reading the Scriptures
  • singing our praises
  • being intentional—seeking Him
  • physically expressing ourselves: cry, kneel, raise hands, etc.
  • speaking out our ‘love’
  • praying

In addition to each of these, I do believe that quietness is required as a major component of a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time.  Actual physical-absence-of-distracting-noise quiet…and perhaps even more important…quietness in our hearts.

Our Lord recognized His need for quiet.  If He, in His perfect sinless life, needed quiet time alone…we do also and even more so!  His example speaks clearly to us.

And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a deserted place,
and there He prayed.

Mark 1:35

…and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.
But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Luke 5:15, 16

There is also another type of quietness—a quiet, peaceful heart.  Isn’t this something that each of us yearns for?  Truly I believe it can only be found as we seek Him.  There is a incomparable quietness that we are promised as we trust in our Lord.

Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him;
fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way,
because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing.
For evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord
shall inherit the earth.

Psalms 37:7-9

Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.

Psalms 46:10 and 11

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened,
and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]

Matthew 11:28

Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He has promised!

Jeremiah 29:12,13
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Praying for each of you!  I know that the Lord will answer your heart’s cry as you are seeking Him with all your heart!

♥  coleen

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Seeking Him – Prayer

February 23, 2013 by

Each Saturday in our current series, Seeking Him, we have spent time looking at various aspects of having a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time. This week we continue to appreciate the joy and privilege of being with our heavenly Father—our quiet time alone with Him.

The aspect that we are talking about is prayers and petitions. (For those of you who have been following along with us each week and perhaps asking yourself, “WHEN is she going to talk about praying?  Isn’t it foundational?” …this is it! <3)

David wrote about his ‘quiet time’ in the following verse.  Does your Lord hear you expressing your heart to Him in the same way?  I believe that as we are intentional and seek Him that, yes, this is how God sees us.

In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord;
In the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You
And watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
Psalms 5:3

Here  is a great example of God’s design for our prayer life:

Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life],
Being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving.
Colossians 4:2

Those are some very intentional words used at the beginning of that verse, yes?  Other versions use similar words: devote, persevere, continue….

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything,
but in every circumstance and in everything,
by prayer and petition (definite requests),
with thanksgiving,
continue to make your wants known to God.
And God’s peace [shall be yours, that peace]
which transcends all understanding
shall garrison and mount guard
over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6 and 7

Now, of course, that time you spend alone with Your Lord—your quiet, devotional time—is certainly not the only time to pray!  Actually, I think, being intentional…seeking Him first and foremost…prepares our hearts for the rest of our day to be filled with continual little prayers and petitions directed to our God.

How often do we go along through our day accomplishing the normal even mundane tasks talking with our Father?  Or driving (yet again) to school to pickup your children; isn’t that a great time to pray?  Or waiting for them at dance/soccer/baseball practice or music lessons/cub scout meeting/awana time/_______ (you fill in the blank); yet another small amount of time that can be eked out of our day to pray and seek Him.  Paul wrote a number of times in his letters to the Christian believers about the importance of praying.  He used terms such as, “pray at all times,” “keep alert and watch,” “pray with ceasing.”

Listen to this encouragement:

Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit,
with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty.
To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance,
interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).
Ephesians 6:18

Pray without ceasing;  in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 and 18

So I think that we see by seeking God first and foremost, by being intentional in our quiet time in our  prayers and petitions, we will be better prepared to “pray at all times, and, keep alert and watch, and, pray without ceasing.”  We will be continually seeking Him throughout each day thus carrying out His will (1 Thessalonians 5:18)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EDGmeP1aA4

Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!

Jeremiah 29:12,13
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Praying for each of you!  I know that the Lord will answer your heart’s cry as you are seeking Him with all your heart!

♥  coleen

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Seeking Him – In His Presence

February 2, 2013 by

This week in our current series, Seeking Him, we will focus on the joy of intentionally seeking the Lord and His presence during our quiet time.

Each Saturday we have been looking in-depth at a few of the most important aspects of having a dedicated, purposeful quiet time.  At the beginning of this series I had the privilege of sharing with you a few thoughts from some friends about their own quiet time.  Gathering from their experiences, there seem to be a few basics which include:

Bible reading
Prayer
Praise Songs
Meditation
Seeking the Lord

As we have taken the time each week to consider each of these aspects in turn, we have learned that the quality and the depth of our quiet time is truly based on our hearts’ attitude as we enter into it each day.  If we force ourselves to simply eke out a few minutes…sing a song…and read a few verses…voice a quick prayer—and be done—we surely are not going to experience the joy of what the Psalmist communicates as he wrote about how important his time with the Lord was. Here is just one example from the book of Psalms where we read of David expressing his absolute need of, desire for, love for seeking his God and being in His presence.  Listen….

Psalms 27:4-11
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life,
to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness]
of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.
For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter;
in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock.
And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me;
in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; have mercy and be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need].
My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek,
inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].
Hide not Your face from me; turn not Your servant away in anger,
You Who have been my help! Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!
Although my father and my mother have forsaken me,
yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child].
Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain and even path
because of my enemies [those who lie in wait for me].

Can you feel yourself being drawn into David’s experience?  Can you ‘hear’ the passion in his voice?  Can you understand, to an extent, just how very much David yearned to just dwell in his Lord’s presence?

Here…try this: read these verses through again and this time, in each place where David speaks of and about himself, think of yourself.  Put your name in there.  Try it, would you?

Almighty God desires to make Himself known to you.

He wants you to seek Him with all your heart.

“As we seek Your face…May we know Your heart…Feel Your presence, acceptance…As we seek Your face.   At Your feet we fall…Sovereign Lord…We cry ‘holy! holy!’…At Your feet we fall.”

Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!

Jeremiah 29:12,13
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Praying for each of you!  I know that the Lord will answer your heart’s cry as you are seeking Him with ALL your heart!

♥ coleen

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If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning the series, Seeking Him, you may email her at:  Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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