Day 76: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

For tonight and this weekend, we have been blessed with the opportunity to attend Conclave 2013, a training event for youth leaders, where Kristian Stanfill is leading worship. Tonight, he led us in singing the song "In Christ Alone." During the 4th verse, I (Shane) felt impressed to lay my hand upon Ember's "temporary home" and pray and sing those lyrics over her. In some ways these words echoed our first prayer for God's will in Ember's life, reminding me that in all areas of her life, God will be and already is in complete control. So from birth to death, this is and always will be our prayer for our sweet little baby girl.

I Christ Alone: Original 4th Verse Lyrics 

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Could ever pluck me from His hand

Til He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I stand

Our Prayer Over Ember

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ that we pray would be in Ember

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus, command her destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man 

Could ever pluck her from Your hand

Til You return or call her home

In the power of Christ may she stand

Day 77: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Humility... if you ask my wife I'm sure she will tell you that this is something I (Shane) need to learn rather than teach... so praying for another person (even my daughter) to have a humble heart is a little awkward. Being a radio announcer and being the master of ceremonies of various concerts puts my life in the bright lights of the stage. The hardest thing for me to do is to juggle between taking pride in my accomplishments and being humble when a listener compliments me on how my "show" was that day. My answer customarily is... "I am just glad that God can use this crazy mixed up guy to bring you a blessing". While I do genuinely mean that, it thrills me so much to know that "I" did something that mattered to someone else. When I have those calls or comments I rush to "brag" to my wife about what was said about me. Webster's defines humility as "the quality or state of being humble" and humble as "not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive" I am a spotlight junky, meaning I really enjoy the attention. Christ the King of Kings was born in a feeding trough, lived homeless, washed feet, and served the rejected all to point the attention to God, His Father. While I want Ember to have talents and gifts and to have opportunities to use them, I pray that she will not get the big head or rub people's noses in the fact that she may be better than they are at a particular thing. I hope that she can gracefully receive a compliment and project the glory to God keeping none for herself.

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that I would learn humility so I can exemplify it to Ember. I pray that she will acknowledge you as the provider of her strengths, talents, and gifts and allow you to receive the praise and glory for them. When a compliment comes I hope that she will receive it with a humble heart, and when she wins, I pray that she will not be pulled into the bright lights of a stage of fame, but reflect your light to the spectators. Allow Ember to develop a humble spirit in all she accomplishes. In Jesus' name, I pray this prayer for the person my daughter will be. Amen. 

Worship Wednesday: Changing Grace!

Today, as I was spending some time in worship and listening to what God was trying to say to me, I had this thought and had to tweet it...

Some Christians specialize in condemnation, but I am determined to listen to Christ instead. Condemnation never changed anybody!
— Lauren King (@kingencounters) January 30, 2013

If you are like me, you may have suffered under condemnation long after accepting Christ and surrendering to Him. Living under the weight of condemnation stalled much needed change in my life and kept me from worshiping God. Over the past several years, I have been learning what God's grace really means. I've been learning to live under His grace and let it change me. Before, I was living under the constant sting of condemnation, full of guilt and trying to change myself for the better. I don't know why it was so hard for me to understand that I was living under a burden that had already been lifted, but I have discovered that there are many believers like me.

In our student ministry, The Underground, we have been confronted by several students who are suffering from the lingering effects of condemnation. They have turned to Jesus; they have a heart to do what is right and to follow Him, but their parents, their friends, or even their own flesh has told them that they can't be free of all that they have done wrong and they will never be able to change. Sadly, some people in the church hold other believers under condemnation instead of lovingly encouraging change in their lives. This is so damaging. We can't make people change by dangling condemnation over their heads.

Accepting God's grace and rejecting condemnation has plunged me into deeper worship of the Savior! When we realize that we are free from condemnation, God's grace becomes so precious to us...it's meaning becomes so clear, and we can't help but worship Him for the gift of His grace. God's gift of grace and our response of worship then initiates the Holy Spirit to activate godly change in our lives.

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

                                                                                         Romans 8:1-4; 31-34 NLT

Our God is a God of love and grace. His grace changes us and sets us free...and that is something to rejoice about...something to praise Him for!

I want to share the song that helped to inspire these thoughts today. It is a song about what it truly means to surrender to Christ and be baptized, a song about living under God's changing grace.

Changed

By Rascal Flatts

Day 78: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

2 Chronicles 1:7-12 NLT

7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

8 Solomon replied to God, “You showed faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place. 9 O Lord God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! 10 Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?”

11 God said to Solomon, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people— 12 I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!”

It seems as if God is speaking to us today saying, "My children, what do you want? What will you ask of me?"  We have an open invitation to lay our request before Him, to show Him our list of desires. Many many times, our list has looked nothing like Solomon's list of wisdom and knowledge...yet we need those two things so desperately in our lives. That is something that Solomon understood. Yesterday, we prayed that our daughter would embrace wisdom and seek it all her life, and today we pray, in much the same way, that she would desire knowledge and be given that knowledge.

Dear Lord, we thank You and praise You for giving wisdom and knowledge to all who ask. God, we especially thank You for the wisdom and knowledge that we have received at certain times with assurance that it could have only come straight from Your hand. Father, we pray today that You would flood us with the knowledge of how to love and take care of a child. Help us to seek knowledge that would make us better equipped to carry out Your call on our lives, both our call to the ministry of the church and our call to the ministry of parenthood. Give us a deeper knowledge of You so that we may share that knowledge with our daughter and others. Help our sweet Ember to be full of knowledge relevant to Your call on her life. Help her to earnestly search for opportunities to gain knowledge. Give her knowledge of Your saving grace, Your loving character, and Your will for her life. May her heart never become puffed up because of the knowledge she has, but help her to see that knowledge as a precious gift from You to be used for Your glory. May she also put her knowledge into action everyday, always acting and speaking with wisdom. This we pray as we await the arrival of our beautiful gift, Ember Faith. 

Day 79: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

If there is one thing that we want from God more than anything, for ourselves and for our daughter, it is wisdom. Wisdom saves us from many troubles and mistakes in life, and wisdom helps us live life according to God's plan. God is the ultimate giver of wisdom...we can find wisdom nowhere else.

Let's look at a definition of wisdom. Wikipedia says (emphasis mine):

Wisdom is the judicious application of knowledge. It is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgments and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions (the "passions") so that universal principles, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one's actions. Wisdom is also the comprehension of what is true coupled with optimum judgment as to action.

The book of Proverbs deals almost completely with wisdom and the attainment of wisdom. In chapter 2, we see that wisdom has many benefits. It is so valuable that it is described as a treasure!

Proverbs 2:1-12

New Living Translation (NLT)

My child, listen to what I say,

and treasure my commands.

2 Tune your ears to wisdom,

and concentrate on understanding.

3 Cry out for insight,

and ask for understanding.

4 Search for them as you would for silver;

seek them like hidden treasures.

5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,

and you will gain knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord grants wisdom!

From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.

He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.

8 He guards the paths of the just

and protects those who are faithful to him.

9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,

and you will find the right way to go.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will fill you with joy.

11 Wise choices will watch over you.

Understanding will keep you safe.

12 Wisdom will save you from evil people,

from those whose words are twisted.

Today, we pray that Ember would seek after wisdom and make wise choices.


Lord, we thank You that You grant wisdom to all those who seek it. Help us to be seekers of wisdom and ultimately seekers of You. Help us to make wise choices when it comes to raising our daughter, and help us to teach her how to make wise choices for herself. God, we ask that as the giver of wisdom, You would give our daughter a wisdom beyond her years. Help her to grow strong in the knowledge and understanding of all that is right and true and to put that knowledge and understanding into action. Lord, we pray that our daughter would desire wisdom more than anything else in her life. Give her a passion to seek after wisdom and to display wisdom in all that she does. May Your guiding hand of wisdom ever be upon her, and may wisdom keep her safely on the right path. This we pray as we await the arrival of our own priceless treasure, Ember Faith.

Day 80: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

                                                                          1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT

Today, as we come to the subject of love, we realize that we have already prayed that Ember would know God's love and that she would be full of love and compassion. However, since love is the greatest virtue that we can have, it doesn't hurt to double or triple up on prayers regarding love in her life. So, today, as we pray for the virtue of love in Ember's life, we pray that she would develop healthy, loving friendships.


Dear Father, we are so grateful for the loving and supportive friends that You have given us! We pray that Ember would be surrounded by the love of friends, that she would have healthy friendships. We pray that You would place special people in her life that she can share with. May she also learn to reach out and offer her love and friendship to those who are outcast and alone. Help her to be a good friend, showing Your love to all those around her. Lord, help us to be about sharing Your love and building relationships, so that we might lead our daughter by example. This we pray as we wait for the arrival of our precious baby girl.

Day 81: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

                                                                          1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT

To hope means to desire and look forward to something with confidence and expectation. Hope is what keeps us going! As one of the three essential virtues for our spiritual well-being, it is developed in us through faith and understanding of God’s love and grace toward us. The hope that we have as Christians is a longing and expectation for God to fulfill His promises to us. Today, we pray that Ember would have that hope in her life.

Dear Father, our hope is in You! We know that You hold our future and we are waiting expectantly for You to work out Your plans in our life. We know that the You have good things in store for us. We have hope that You are working all things out for our good and Your glory. God, help us to convey that hope to our daughter...help her to feel it. We pray that Ember would have a heart that longs for You and expects You to do a work in her life. Lord, we know that the opposite of hope is despair, and we pray against any feelings of despair in our daughter's life. May she know that her future will always be bright if she keeps her eyes on You. This we pray as we wait with expectancy for the birth of our precious daughter, Ember Faith.

        

Day 82: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

                                                                              I Corinthians 13:13 NLT

When times have been tough in our life, we have found this scripture to be so true. Faith, hope, and love are the three things that we have had to hold on to, and those things have sustained us. So, we begin to pray today that Ember would have all three of these virtues.

Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

                                                                                          Hebrews 11:1,6 NLT

Basically, faith is trusting God. Trusting that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. Faith or trust in God is crucial to living an abundant Christian life. The more faith we have in God the more our lives will reflect the fruit of the Spirit, and we will have a full and abundant life. Today, this is what we pray for Ember, that her life would be full of faith and trust in Christ, her Savior.

Lord, we pray that You would increase our faith and trust in You. We pray that You would fill our  daughter with faith. Help her to see You for who You are and know that she can trust Your Word. Help us to demonstrate a life lived with faith, so that Ember may learn from us that You are someone to have confidence in. This we pray as we wait for our precious little girl, entrusting her to Your loving care.

Day 83: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

As I (Shane) look back on my life and the mistakes I've made, some were out of ignorance... simply not knowing any better, while others were due to a lack of self control or discipline. As I write this prayer for Ember to possess discipline, I hear the words of one of my former youth leaders echoing in my head... "I know I shouldn't do it, but I'm gonna do it anyways." He explained to us that this was the downside of God giving us freewill because we will always have the freewill to disobey Him. As Ember learns the difference from right and wrong and between being in or out of God's Will, I pray that she will have the self control and discipline to abstain from evil and walk with God. We need discipline in our lives not only to keep from making mistakes but also to keep us doing the very things that we should be doing. Discipline and self control are just as much about walking down the right road as they are about not taking the wrong one. We want Ember to have the self control to stay away from the junk of the world while the discipline to maintain a Christ like life.

Dear Father in Heaven, we pray that Ember lives a life full of discipline and self control. This trait will serve her well to steer her from making painful mistakes and equip her with a desire and dedication to follow the right path and ultimately to follow you. Grant our daughter possession of this trait to enhance her life in You. 

Day 84: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, 

Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].

                                                                          Galatians 5:22 AMP

We are continuing to focus on certain biblical virtues in our prayer time, and today we are focusing on gentleness. I love looking at the Amplified version of the fruit of the spirit here. We see that the word translated gentleness is much deeper than our definition of gentleness. To be gentle in this context means to be slow to anger, reacting calmly. It means to remain humble and teachable, not to be harsh and abrupt with people, and today we pray that the Spirit would grow the fruit of gentleness in Ember's life.

Dear Lord, You have been so gentle with us, gradually working out Your will and Your way in our life, making us a new creation. Help us to follow Your example and treat our daughter and those around us with gentleness. Give us the strength to hold back harsh comments and attitudes when faced with difficult people. Teach us to walk in meekness of spirit. Lord, may our daughter learn from us to exhibit the controlled strength that is the essence of gentleness and meekness. Help her to react calmly, to be slow to anger. May Ember be known for her gentleness and meekness of heart and action. This we pray as we await the arrival of our precious little gift.

Day 85: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

It's hard to believe that in 85 days (give or take a week or so) we will have a tiny baby girl to love and care for. There are so many things we want for our baby girl and so many things that we want her to be. We are continuing to pray that she would develop a life full of virtue, and today we pray that Ember would live faithfully.

Dear Lord, Your Word tells us that You are faithful, and throughout our lives You have proved that You are faithful to Your promises. We have learned that we can trust You with our future, our dreams and our finances. You were faithful in fulfilling Your promise to give us the desires of heart when You sent us this child, and we are trusting You today with our daughter's life. We pray that she would develop faithfulness in her life, faithfulness to You and others. Help her to always keep her word and to be a loyal friend. Give her assurance of Your faithfulness, and help her to trust You with her whole life. We ask that our daughter would be full of faith, and that she would be trustworthy and reliable. Help us, as her parents, to keep our faith in You and Your promises and to be faithful and trustworthy in all that we do, so that we may set a good example for our daughter. This we pray as we as we faithfully wait for You to allows us to hold our sweet Ember Faith in our arms. Thank you Lord, for doing all these things! We believe that you will do it!

Day 86: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

One of the most foundational truths of the Christian faith is that God is good. We must believe that God is good in order to put our faith in Him and trust Him with our lives. God's goodness is the culmination of His mercy, His grace, His care, and His love and compassion towards us. It is the essence of His character, and since we were originally created in His image and as Christians are instructed to be like Him, goodness should be the essence of our character as well.

There is only one problem...since the fall, we are imperfect and incapable of good. Goodness no longer comes natural to us, as Paul expresses in Romans 7.

 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

                                                                                                Romans 7:18-19 NIV

We are only able to be good because of Christ living in our hearts bestowing His goodness upon us. That is why goodness is a fruit of the spirit. Goodness is akin to love and kindness, but it goes deeper than that. Goodness is more of a condition of the heart out of which we operate with kindness and compassion towards others. It is a combination of honesty, integrity, and compassion, and today, we pray that goodness would become the essence of Ember's character.

Dear Father, goodness seems so unattainable to us sometimes. We try to be good and do good on our own, but we fail terribly. We need Your Holy Spirit to fill us with goodness, to make us like You. Give us pure motives in all that we do. Help us to raise our daughter in the knowledge of Your goodness, and to set an example for her by living a good life. Lord, we pray that you would place deep within Ember, the desire to be good and do good. We pray that she would understand that goodness comes only from You and that she would rely on Your strength to be the good person she was created to be. Lord, You have given us all the tools we need to lead a good life, and we pray that You would remind us of that. May our lives and our daughter's life be reflections of Your ultimate goodness. This we pray as we await the precious gift of a child that You are sending to us!

We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.

Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others, and love. If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful.

                                                                                              2 Peter 1:3-8 CEV
                                                                                   

Day 87: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

                                                                                        Ephesians 4:32 NKJV

We could always use more kind-hearted people in this world. Kindness for our fellow man is certainly a dying art in this day, but our Lord instructed us to be kind to one another...and what better way to show God's love to the world than to act with kindness.

Today, we pray that Ember would be full of kindness.

Lord, it is Your kindness that leads us to repentance. We are grateful for Your kind actions towards us, and we seek to reflect Your kindness. We admit that kindness is not always easy for us. Some people are just very hard to be kind to. However, we desire to set an example for our daughter. We want to show her how to treat others, so help us to be kind to one another and all those we come in contact with. God, we pray that Ember will learn to act with kindness at an early age, and that people would recognize her kindness and in turn see You in her. May her life be marked by intentional acts of thoughtfulness,  proving that she has within her a selfless heart like Yours. This we pray as we wait for our sweet child to enter into this world.

Day 88: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Many people warn against praying for patience, and there is a pretty good reason for that. You've probably heard that when you pray for patience, God brings people and situations into your life that require you to act with patience. Well, God does seem to work that way, but I don't think that means that we should avoid asking for patience. If we are striving to follow Christ, God will work in us to produce patience whether we ask for it or not. If we were to ask, maybe He would give us a supernatural strength and ability to operate with patience. James 1 tells us that patience works in us to produce perfection or completion:

 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

                                                                                                     James 1:2-4 NKJV

There is no doubt in my mind that patience is difficult to cultivate, and I could surely use some work on that virtue in my life. You could say that the past couple of years have really began to develop patience in me, but I learned a lot of those lessons in patience the hard way. Today, it is our prayer that Ember would begin to develop patience earlier and more easily in life than we did.

Dear Father, You are so patient with us! We are forever grateful, but we admit that we often fail when it comes to being patient with You. We did not always act with grace during the period of waiting for You to give us a child. We were tempted, like Sarah, to take matters into our own hands. Lord, we pray that You would give us strength to live life with patience, so that we might set an example for our daughter. Help us to be patient with her as she learns and grows. Help us to be patient with You as we face times of uncertainty. Help us to wait for You to show us Your direction. We pray that our daughter would learn to be patient and wait for Your voice in every situation that she finds herself in. Lord, give her supernatural strength to stand strong while she waits on Your direction. We pray that she would be patient with us as we learn and grow as parents, and that she would to be patient with all those around her, showing them Your love and grace. This we pray as we patiently await the arrival of our beloved Ember Faith.

Day 89: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Peace is a subject that has been discussed often on this blog over the past year and a half, something that we have struggled with and sought after through some very difficult times. We have learned a lot about true peace in the midst of our struggles, and today we want to pray for that virtue to be strong in the life of our daughter. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the fruit of the Spirit known as peace:

Peace is the result of resting in a relationship with God.^[15] Peace is a tranquility, a state of rest, that comes from seeking after God, or, the opposite of chaos. Peace or eirḗnē is God's gift of wholeness and derived from eirō, "to join, tie together into a whole",^[16] properly, when all essential parts are joined together as one or as a whole.

The word "peace" comes from the Greek word eirene, the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word shalom, which expresses the idea of wholeness, completeness, or tranquility in the soul that is unaffected by the outward circumstances or pressures. The word eirene strongly suggests the rule of order in place of chaos. When a person is dominated by peace, he has a calm, inner stability that results in the ability to conduct himself peacefully, even in the midst of circumstances that would normally be very nerve-wracking, traumatic, or upsetting...Rather than allowing the difficulties and pressures of life to break him, a person who is possessed by peace is whole, complete, orderly, stable, and poised for blessing.^[17]

Today, we pray for peace for our daughter, Ember Faith:

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.
                        Isaiah 26:3-4 NKJV

Oh God, we thank You for making Your peace real to us. We thank You for filling our hearts with peace in the middle of the most desperate circumstances. Lord, help us to create a home that promotes peace and teaches it as a gift that comes from knowing and trusting You. We are asking that You would speak peace to our daughter everyday of her life, that You would whisper words of peace to her heart in every situation that she is in. Help her to trust You completely and to rest in You. May Ember not only feel Your peace in her heart, but also live out peace in all her relationships.

God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
                            Matthew 5:9 NLT

Lord, may our daughter's life be marked by incomprehensible peace. May she be known as one who works to bring peace! This we pray as we await the arrival of our sweet Ember Faith.

Day 90: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Today we continue our series of prayers that express certain virtues we hope will be evident in Ember's life. Most of these virtues are the fruit of the Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV):

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."

 Today, we pray that Ember would have joy in her life.

"Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!"
                                                          Nehemiah 8:10b NLT

Dear Lord, we pray that You would teach us to live in Your joy and to share that joy with our daughter. We pray that Ember would learn that Your joy is her strength, and that a life lived in Your joy is the most abundant and fullfiling life. Lord, may she come to understand that joy is not something she can find in life by seeking things that will make her happy. Help her to see that joy is only found in having a right relationship with You and seeing things from Your perspective. Fill her life with Your joy and the strength that comes from it. May Ember be known as the kind of person who spreads joy to everyone she meets. This we pray as we await the arrival of our precious little blessing. 

Day 91: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

It seems like time has been moving so fast since we started this prayer countdown. Everyday, we are surprised by what day we are on. Today, we are beginning to pray a series of prayers regarding the kind of person we want Ember to be. Ultimately, we want her to be exactly who God created her to be. We want her to be a follower of Christ, who is surrendered to His will and His plan for her. However, we also want to ask God to develop specific virtues in her. So today, we pray that Ember would be full of God's love and compassion.

Father, You are so loving and so kind. You surround us everyday with evidence of Your love and compassion, if we would only open up our eyes and see it. Lord, we desire to share Your love with our daughter, and we pray that she would grow up to be a young lady known for her compassion. May You fill her heart so full of Your love that she would not be able to keep it to herself. We pray that she would learn to show Your love to all those around her, even those who seem unlovable, those who may have hurt her. May her heart never be afraid to love. May her hands never be to busy to show compassion to someone in need, and may her life never be so full of people that she has no room to love You. This we pray as we await the arrival of our sweet Ember Faith.

Day 92: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Over the years, we have each had different people in our lives sent by God to challenge us and encourage us in our faith for a season. We have also gone through seasons in our lives when we have prayed to God asking, even begging Him, for mentors and friends in the faith to encourage and guide us on this path. We realize that, as parents, our child will need more than the guidance and encouragement that we can provide. So today we pray for mentors and spiritual shepherds for Ember.

Father, we are humbled by the fact that You would look into our hearts, see or deepest desire, and then give it to us. We can not stop thanking You for the opportunity You are giving us to raise a child of our own, and we know that it has all transpired in Your perfect timing. Thank you for sending us friends and mentors along the way to mold us and shape us into the man and woman of faith that we are today. We know that everything that we have been through and every person that You have put in our lives has been preparing us for the task that is now set before us. Thank You for that! Lord, we pray that You would surround our daughter with people who will encourage her in the faith and help her to be who You created her to be. Father, send her those who will care for the condition of her heart, soul, and mind. Help us to do our part, but raise up those who can fill in the gaps in her life. people of deep faith, wisdom, and compassion. You orchestrate our lives so well, and we trust that You are composing a beautiful symphony for the life of our daughter. We pray that she would recognize that and allow each key player to play their part in the symphony of her life. This we pray as we await the arrival of our precious Ember Faith.

Day 93: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Over the past 6 years of marriage, we have learned how important it is to trust God for every little need that we have, and today we were reminded again. Our only working vehicle now has a blown transmission (the other one has a blown engine). We have put it in his hands, and we are trusting that He has great things for us right around the corner. With this strong on our hearts today, we have decided to pray for provision of Ember's daily needs.

God, You have been so good to us. We have seen tough times, but You have always brought us through. With this new little life that You have entrusted us with, we know that we will have to learn to trust You even more. We are praying, today, that You would provide for our little family. Lord, we ask that Ember would have all that she needs. We know that her care is not just in our hands, but in Yours as well. It is our prayer that Ember would learn from us that she can trust You to provide for her. Help us to model that trust, and live by faith in Your love and care for Your children. We thank you in advance, Lord, for supplying Ember's needs. May her heart be confident in Your divine provision. This we pray as we await the arrival of our precious little gift.

Day 94: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

All through the Bible, the anointing of God is seen as a symbol of His power and presence resting upon the anointed one. The anointed one is also set apart for a special purpose. We desire that our own lives would be covered by the anointing of God, and today we pray for God's anointing on Ember's life.

God, You are great! You are far beyond our comprehension. We know that Your power is far greater than we will ever know. So, today, we pray that Your power would rest on our lives and the life of our precious unborn child. We pray that You would set Ember apart for a special purpose and that Your presence would forever be with her. It is our desire to see our daughter accomplish far greater things for You than we could ever imagine, so take her life and anoint it! May Your power and presence be so evident in her life that others would stop and take notice. This we pray as we await the arrival of our precious Ember Faith.

Day 95: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Before we found out that we were having a little girl, people would always ask us what we wanted...a boy or a girl. Of course, we both said that the gender of our child really didn't matter to us, but most people would add to that response, "As long as it's healthy, right?" While we acknowledge that they meant well, that response always bothered us a little. You see, we made a choice at the very beginning not to undergo screenings for various birth defects, because it would not affect our decision to keep this child. The phrase, "as long as it's healthy" could imply that if our child was not healthy, we would not want the child, but nothing could be further from the truth. We know that the blind man in John 9 was born blind so that "the works of God should be revealed in him.", so to us this child is a gift no matter if she is healthy or afflicted. With this in mind, on Day 100 of our countdown, we prayed that God's perfect will would be done in all areas of Ember's life. However, it is our prayer and desire that Ember would come into this world healthy and remain healthy, so today we pray for Ember's health.

Dear Lord, we recognize that this new little life is a precious gift from You! We have surrendered her to Your perfect will, and we trust that You have a wonderful plan for her. We pray, today, that Ember would come into this world safe and healthy. We will love her no matter what, but it is our desire to see our precious child free from suffering. So, we ask that you would protect her body from illness and keep her healthy and strong throughout her life. May her birth be peaceful and free from complications, and may her life be free from the crippling effects of physical pain. We know that it is unrealistic to expect a life free from any pain, after all we live in a fallen world. However, we ask that Your hand would be upon Ember and that You would lessen the sting of her pain. Give me (Lauren) the wisdom and insight to make the best decisions for her health right now, as she grows inside of me, and give both of us the same wisdom and insight, as parents, to guard her health after she is born. This we pray as we await the arrival of our precious gift.

Day 96: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

The love of God for mankind reaches far beyond our comprehension. Yet, God gives us the ability to partially understand His love for us through His Word, through people in our lives and through specially orchestrated events in our lives. Today, we pray for Ember to see and understand the love of God.

Oh God, You have revealed Your love to us in so many ways, and we recognize that in answering our prayer for a child, You have, yet again, shown us the depth of Your love for us. We are so grateful! We pray that You would empower us to love Ember in such a way that she would began to understand Your love. May You surround her with evidence of Your love everyday of her life. Help her to see Your love in the pages of the Bible, in every sunrise and sunset, in the people that she meets, and in the very breath that she breathes. Help her to grow in the knowledge and understanding of Your love everyday. Let Your love be the very thing that comforts and satisfies her. 

May this verse become very real to her:

The Lord your God is in your midst,

    a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

    he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

                                                Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

Keep our sweet daughter covered by a blanket of Your never-ending love, and help us, as her parents, to always show Your unconditional love to her. This we pray as we joyfully await the arrival of our precious Ember Faith.

 

Day 97: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

To quote C.S. Lewis, "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." So, today, we want to pray for Ember's soul.


Lord, we just want to thank you again for the gift of Ember Faith. We pray that she would come to know you and, as her name suggests, put her faith in you. God, we pray that Ember would learn from us the gift of Your love and the gift of Your Son. We pray that she would have a longing to enter into a relationship with you. Help us to show her what it means to live as a Child of the King, as a soul loved and saved by the Creator. We desire nothing more than to see our daughter eternally saved and living for her Savior. We want her to know the peace and satisfaction that we have found by giving our lives to You. It is not always easy, but it is worth. Lord, You said that through Your death You would draw all men to You (John 12:32), and we pray that you would draw Ember's heart and soul to You...and that You would forever keep her heart and soul in Your hands. This we pray as we await the arrival of this sweet, promised child.

Day 98: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Today we continue our "almost selfish praying". Yesterday, Lauren took the opportunity to pray over her part as mother and today I will pray over my part as Ember's father. Again, this is not for our own benefit. We want to ensure that the role we each play in Ember's life aligns with God's design for godly parents, and that we make the best decisions in molding and shaping our daughter.

Today I  pray for myself, as Ember's father:

Dear Heavenly Father, I am so emotionally confused, feeling so many different things. As I think of myself as a father I reflect on my earthly father that you blessed me with. I pray that I can take his example and add Your Word and guidance to be the best father that I can be for Ember.  Help me to be a real man, following the biblical definitions of a godly husband and father that I am supposed to be. I pray that you give me discernment and discipline to be a good example to my daughter. I know that she should learn of you through her father, who should be the spiritual leader of the home. Show me the things in my life that would cause her to stumble on her path to you. Grant me the knowledge and the insight to make the best decisions for her care and education (with my wife's help of course). I pray that her mother and I would show her a healthy and loving relationship and that she would grow up feeling safe and secure in her home. Show me the times to teach her and the times to allow her to make her own mistakes. Show me the limits of discipline and the power of grace. God I do not feel equipped for this responsibility so I am counting on you to show, lead, and guide me to be the father that Ember so desperately needs. Please grant me these request not for me, God, but for the well being of this beautiful daughter you have blessed me with. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Day 99: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

For the next two days we will be praying almost selfishly, because we are essentially praying for ourselves as Ember's parents. However, this is not for our own benefit. We want to ensure that the role we each play in Ember's life aligns with God's design for godly parents, and that we make the best decisions in molding and shaping our daughter.

Today I  pray for myself, as Ember's mother:

Lord, I am so completely grateful to be given the opportunity to be a mother. I am praying, for Ember's sake, that you will help me to be a good one. Help me to be the woman, wife and mother that I am supposed to be, so that I can be a good example to my daughter. I know that she will learn how to be a godly woman from watching her mother, so show me anything in my life that might hinder her from learning that lesson well. Help me to grow and mature in whatever areas are needed for me to become a fit shepherd for my daughter. Give me the knowledge and the wisdom to make the best decisions for her care and education (with my husband's help and insight of course). I pray that her father and I would model a healthy and loving relationship for her, and that she would grow up feeling safe and secure in her home. Lord teach me how to be a loving caregiver, a creative teacher, and a fair disciplinarian. Help me to know when to hold on and when to let go. Lord, I ask that Ember would not inherit the negative traits of her mother, such as perfectionism, anxiety, and a critical spirit. Help me to deal with those things and not pass them on to my daughter. Give me the strength to bear the load of responsibility that is about to be placed on my shoulders, and lead me and guide me in Your path so that I may show my daughter the way.

Day 100: Ember Faith Prayer Countdown

Both Shane and I have a passion for prayer and feel that it is one of the most important disciplines of the Christians life. Over the past year we have seen just how powerful prayer is. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray without ceasing, and we really believe that when we keep open the lines of communication with our Creator, everything changes...our attitude, our perspective, our behavior...everything! We have set our hearts upon becoming increasingly faithful in prayer this year, and we feel a special need to pray for our unborn child. So, today, we start our 100 days of prayer for Ember Faith.

Just as our Lord taught his disciples to pray and just as He prayed in the garden, we begin our prayers for Ember by asking that, above all else, His will be done.

Thank you, Lord, for choosing to bless us with Ember. We surrender her life to you right now and ask that you would have Your perfect will in every part of it. May we always strive to seek Your will for her and for our family. Help us to accept whatever Your will might be and to walk in it continually. We pray that Ember would learn to seek Your will above all else in her life and that she would recognize Your goodness, Your power, and Your ultimate authority. We believe Your promise in Jeremiah 29:11 and we declare it over our daughter:

"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."

Lord, have Your will and Your way. This is what we pray today as we wait for Ember to arrive. Keep all three of us in the center of Your perfect will. We can not thank you and praise you enough for all that you have done! You have done great things! May we never forget that.

 

Ministry Monday: A New Year, A New Journey & A Spark of Faith

We (The Kings') are in a totally different place then we were last year. So much has changed in our lives over this past year, and we find ourselves here, in 2013, at the beginning of a new journey in life and ministry. We shared about some of the most recent changes in our life in an update post back in November, but today we want to give you a more detailed look at what is possibly the biggest ministry opportunity that we will be taking on this year and for the rest of our lives: the ministry of raising a child.

Back in August, I (Lauren), received the best birthday gift ever, the news that we were finally expecting our first child. After almost 4 years of a heartbreaking struggle with unexplained infertility, it took a little while for the shook and disbelief to wear off. To some extent, we are still reeling from the shock of it all, but we are so happy and excited, and we feel extremely blessed! In November, we discovered that are baby is a precious little girl, and we are anxiously awaiting her arrival in April.

As soon as we found out that we were expecting, we began talking about meaningful names for our new addition. To us, a name is a very special thing, and we wanted our child to have a name that meant something special and reflected how God was at work in our lives and would be in hers as well. So, for our precious little girl, we have chosen the name Ember Faith, our little spark of faith.

Here is the story behind that name:

In early August, before we knew that I was pregnant, we took my 2 younger brothers on a late summer camping trip in the Smoky Mountains. Daniel, who is 9 years old, had never been camping before. So, this was a chance for us to teach him some things about camping and the great outdoors. One of the things that we taught him was how to build a fire and how to cover up the embers of the fire with ashes at night so that it would be easier to build a fire again the next morning. All through the night, the glowing embers of the fire would be stifled beneath a thick layer of ashes, but in the morning, we would dig through the ashes to reveal the faintly glowing embers. Then, we would blow on those embers and watch as the oxygen caused the embers to spark into flame again. We would then add some kindling and more wood until we had a nice morning fire.

Weeks later, as we were thinking of meaningful names for our child, we thought about our love for the mountains and camping and we remembered our recent camping trip. The name Ember popped into my mind, and as soon as I said it out loud, we both fell in love with it. The name Ember Faith, our little spark of faith, would describe perfectly what God had been doing in our lives. He had removed the ashes that were smothering us, and with the breath of His Spirit, He had reignited the embers of our faith. 

Over the past year, our faith has become stronger, we have learned to trust Him more fully, and He heard the desires of our hearts...giving us the opportunity to become parents, an opportunity we thought we might never have.

Today, marks 100 days until Ember Faith is due to arrive, and for the next 100 days, we are going to post prayers for our little girl. We both feel very strongly that this 100 days of prayer for Ember is going to make a huge difference in her life and ours. We welcome all of our family and friends to join us on this journey and pray for us as we begin this very special ministry of forming, shaping and guiding a life entrusted to our care.