Get in Your Prayer Closet and Put It On!

 

Worn out? Worried? Frantic? Confused? Emotionally and spiritually exhausted? Well, you're not alone. it happens to all of us who are fighting the good fight of faith for the glory of God.

But God already knows all of this. He knows us. Everything about us. He is sovereign and controls everything he has created...for His glory and for our good. So ya think we should listen to Him? He provides what we need when we need it. God has provided a supernatural, protective shield that is custom tailored for every woman who follows Jesus! It's very powerful because God designed it. We see His Son represented in every piece of powerful armor!

Our Father in heaven lovingly instructs us, "Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind be alert and keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18.     

This armor of God enables us to overcome evil and keep standing in the midst of the devil's vicious attacks of his fiery darts aimed at us. And remember this very important truth: the devil does not have a shield, but we do! There is nothing in Scripture that tells us he has a shield.                                                                               

Another important note: The suit of armor is only effective if we put it on! We have to take off self-protection, also known as "survival mode" and put on Christ to protect us. He IS our spiritual armor, Sisters! Get in your "prayer closet" [whatever that looks like] and put it on!

My Challenge to the Sisterhood: Go deeper to see for yourself how much He loves you.

I've been experiencing it in a new way!  The Lord has provided me with a specific early morning devotional time focusing on three Scripture passages, which have become transforming, supernatural gifts to my heart. Obviously, the Holy Spirit led me to this specific arrangement of verses over a period of time.

1. Get up at least 15 minutes earlier than your normal time. (30 minutes is better to give yourself more time to let His word soak into your soul.)  Grab your Bible and find a quiet corner to read three passages of Scripture. Yes, coffee or tea, when required!  Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you focus and concentrate on what you're reading.

2. Oh, and the secret to this transforming power is to read all of it aloud. Yes! Scripture says,
"Life and death is in the power of the tongue. Speak LIFE!"  You will be listening to yourself speaking powerful, healing truths to your soul. But this is the main reason to read all the passages aloud: the concept and promise found in Isaiah 55:11: "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

3. Here are the three verses in order. Give yourself time to read slowly and out loud:

Psalm 51. the entire Psalm. (We are confessing our sins & transgressions against God. We see His grace and mercies.)

Psalm 139 the entire Psalm (We see our Creator's deep and abiding love from before we were created in our mother's womb and the preciousness of His love sovereignly carrying us through this life!)

Acts 17:24-28 (This paints a broad stroke of a glorious, powerful Creator, our God who deeply longs to have relationships with His chosen ones. We see His Majesty and His Rule over His creation and His beloved people.

That's it. You'll be in your secret place of prayer armored up with the presence of God, ready for battle! The Holy Spirit of God will use it for His glory and our good. If we commit to reading these Scriptures aloud daily, we get a special bonus of transformation and memorization! "The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword!"(Hebrews 4:12) But it's your choice, of course. This has been amazing for me personally and I just wanted to share it for anyone who wants to do it, too! Human nature is that we seem to find time to do what we want to do. Just sayin'.

I pray this post blesses and encourages your socks off, for the glory of God.

💖Polly

Psalm 34:3

Spiritual Eyes. Supernatural Life.

 

We can't see the blood of Jesus covering our sins. Nope. We don't walk around this planet with His crimson, life-giving blood stains on our clothes. Right? But actually, we do, Sister. 

If we have repented of our sins, confessed them to the Lord, cried out for His forgiveness and love to cover us and carry us through this life...then, Baby, we are covered in His protective, redemptive blood. We just can't see it, but as Christ followers, we believe it's there!

"For He chose us before the creation of the world. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us" (Ephesians 1:7).

What about getting totally dressed in God's designer wear of the armor of God? Huh? What color is your suit? Did you get your's online? At the mall? LOL! Right?

We cannot see the spiritual suit of armor our loving God has hand-tailored for each one of us. Nope. But look what He provides for us as described in Scripture:

"Be strong in the LORD and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against  spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms..." (Ephesians 6:10-12).

 Okay, first of all, we can't see the armor because it's spiritual protection from God. The entire body armor is God's shield for our spiritual warfare! Every part of the armor is a description of who Jesus is to us! Belt of Truth. Shield of Faith. Breastplate of Righteousness. Sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God). Shoes of Peace. Helmet of Salvation. Do your shopping (open 24 hours) at this address: Ephesians 6:10-18. That's where you get it, Sister, and it is guaranteed to fit perfectly! 

He's got us covered. All we have to do is obey His command to put it on! But again, we can't see it with our human eyes. 

We can't physically see God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, but as believers, boy, oh, boy do we see the effects of Holy, Powerful Presence in the heavens, the earth, the deepest of seas, in our daily lives, and in our hearts!  Look at the stars, the crashing waves, the mountains, birds building nests, a baby forming in his mother's womb! "Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD"' (Isaiah 66:2). 

We can't see the wind, either, but it exists! How do we think a colorful kite shoots straight up in the air trying to break loose from a little white string in the clutches of a little child's hands? Yep, a strong gust of wind yanks it upward, of course!  "The wind blows wherever it pleases, You can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from  or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).

We can't see the Three Persons of the Godhead with our human eyes.God is a Spirit. Jesus sits on His throne in heaven at the right hand of God the Father. The Holy Spirit of God lives inside of every Christian.  But, we have spiritual eyes of faith. We believe. We "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). We believe!!!! And with that faith we are privileged to live a supernatural life! 

Think about it. Wow. We can't see the long, sharp Sword of the Spirit fight for us every time we quote a Bible verse. But it does! "The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing the soul and spirit..." (Hebrews 4:12).

This is a spiritual life we are living, Sisters! It doesn't make sense to the rest of the world.

What about prayer? How does that work? How can I, in Georgia, be praying for a specific request from our daughter in California, and she will call me and joyfully tell me God surpassed our requests! (Ephesians 3:20). All I did was pray from the east coast and God specifically answered on the west coast! How? We can't see "how" but our family prays because we know there is no one greater than God. He tells us to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). And in (John 15:7) "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father's glory that you bear much fruit and show yourselves to be My disciples."  We believe He is who He says He is! 

Everyone - believer and unbeliever -- has seasons of pain, heartbreak, suffering, discouragement and loss. Yes. Life is hard. And sometimes it gets dark, very dark, spiritually. But Christ followers have a powerful, loving Father in Heaven; Jesus as the LORD of our lives; and the wise counsel of the Holy Spirit to help guide us. He is our Help and Strength! We gladly admit we love and need Him.

And when we pray, whether it is anxiously or confidently, our Father hears our cries and  responds with the greatest love, power, and wisdom in the universe.

At times, our walk with Jesus suffers because our gaze selfishly comes back to ourselves and the things of this world, instead of remembering God has enriched us in every way with a supernatural, spiritual life in Him. 

"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law." 

Psalm 119:18

Rediscover the Wonder!

Polly💖

Catch & Release

The Lord knows those who are His.

Whenever Jesus goes fishing for disciples, He already knows who will become His catch of the day; one of His many faithful followers. His true disciples will see His invitation to follow Him as a supernatural blessing, while others will see His invite as a curse.

While Jesus was teaching at the shore of the Sea of Galilee (Luke 5), more and more people continued to gather to hear Him. At the same time fishermen had pulled their two boats up onto the shoreline after fishing all night. Their boats and nets stayed empty all night and they were washing their nets.

Think about this: Jesus was sent by God to this specific shore to call His first disciples. He knew it was the place ordained by His Father to begin the training that would eventually change the world with His life-giving message. He knew their hearts would sovereignly be transformed, from being fishermen to become fishers of men. 

With crowds pressing in on Him on the shore, Jesus came to the water's edge, stepped into what was Simon's boat and asked him to "put out a little from shore" so He could continue teaching the crowd. Simon, who would be later called Peter, was already worn out from fishing all night. Exhausted. Tired. Probably sleepy, too. Ya think?

When Jesus finished teaching, He said to weary Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked so hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets" (Luke 5:5).

Wait a minute! You mean weariness isn't an acceptable reason to say "no" to Jesus when He gives us a command? Nope. Why? By faith, if we really know Him, we would, even when we're exhausted, realize Jesus has specific purposes for everything He does! He says they will turn out for good (Romans 8:28). Just do it and watch what God will do with our faith and obedience.

But what if we were fishing all night and not catching anything? Why would we go back out on the same night?  Simon was frustrated and exhausted because he didn't catch any fish all night! But he obeyed anyway.  And maybe with Jesus helping, things would turn out differently. Ya think? Uh-huh. That's right.

When we don't do what we know is the right thing to do, we're not believing God is always working things out for our good. Again, Simon was very tired, and Jesus was fully aware of his state. This is an example where our faith comes in; we don't always know why God urges us to do something we don't understand, but there's always a blessing included in it. Here, God was in the midst of preparing to bless Simon's socks off [my paraphrase], and also catch Simon's fishing bros, including bros James and John. However, Simon saw going "out in the deep" as just extending his already long night of not catching any fish!

While they were out there fishing in deep water Simon tried to pull up his nets, but they were breaking from all the fish spilling out of them! He called out to nearby fishermen to come with their boats and help pull the bursting nets out of the water! Both boats were overflowing with so many fish, the boats began to sink! Think of that! What? Yes! Simon was so overcome with the abundant blessing of the fish, and in humility told Jesus, "Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man!" (v. 6)

Jesus got his attention. Simon and his fishing partners saw Jesus, as the miraculous Gift of God from heaven. They believed in Jesus and became fishers of men. They pulled their boats back up on shore to begin their walk with Jesus!  

"They left everything and followed Him." (Luke 5:11). Jesus caught them in His spiritual net of unconditional love, forgiveness, miracles, and everlasting life; and then released them into the world to tell who He is! And it's still happening today...as His disciples--that's us--go fishing for souls who will follow Him, too!

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the 

glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

Habakkuk 2:14

For His glory,

Polly💖

"The LORD knows who are His."

 2 Timothy 2:19

Soul Starving, Anorexic Faith

 If I don't take a few brief moments to talk to God before my feet hit the floor in the morning, then I'll be starving my own soul of the strength and nourishment I'm going to need for the new day. I'll be hungry listening to my own voice, focusing on my own circumstances, and coming to my own conclusions about life. Yikes. Huge mistake. Why? 

God created me, saved me, unconditionally loves me and generously cares for me and I would ignore Him? "He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else" (Acts 17:25).  So, if I chew on this truth for a while -- that all things come from Him and He controls everything -- why wouldn't I be hungry to know more of this Magnificent Savior?

Frankly when I'm really physically hungry I do not like to wait to eat. I don't normally put off eating when I'm famished. Nope. I want to be fed good food, real food, nutritional, life-giving food. Organic. Real. Healthy stuff. I know I will be strengthened after eating such a meal.

So, if God brings us to a place in our lives where we finally believe we need Him every moment of our lives; for strength, guidance, protection, love, help, healing...why don't we "seek Him first" (Matthew 6:33)? If we believe He is the source of satisfying nourishment for our souls giving us the power to help and serve others, why wait to seek His face? If we know we need His presence in our lives and we're dependent on Him to meet our needs for everyday living, why do we often put time with God on the back burner?

Do we answer, "Ain't nobody got time for that?" Well, that's the worldly chatter in our heads saying, "I'm too busy." Guess what, Sisters? We always seem to find the time to do what we want to do! Yes, we do. Yep. It's amazing how we can manipulate circumstances to do what we want to do! We really have no excuse for not daily, intentionally spending more time alone with God.

In this generation God's Word is served in countless ways for hungry patrons: the Bible (with actual paper pages!), smart phones, podcasts, online video sermons, blogs by pastors, the Bible recorded on DVDs, and CDs. We can even feed our souls the truth of God's word in a takeout menu of a podcast during a morning run!

"The one who feeds on Me will live because of Me" 
(John 6:57).

Early mornings in our home have the inviting aroma of fresh brewed organic coffee. A cup of that comforting beverage is my companion piece to meeting with my Savior. God has made me hungry for Him...because I know Him. I need Him to talk to me, and I always have something to say to Him. :)

I know without getting equipped with the Word of God each day I don't battle the enemy of my soul like a warrior...I behave more like a wimp. Yep. I confess it's weakness on my part even though He has given me a spiritual suit of armor to wear to protect myself. He calls His Word the "sword of the Spirit" as part of our weapons of warfare. He's always at our side, Sister!

If I didn't read His Word -- through the help of the Holy Spirit -- I wouldn't know about the magnificent ways He has equipped each one of His children for each day. He wants us to spend time with Him. In fact, He invites us to dine with Him and says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and He who believes in Me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35).

 Amen. 💖

Polly
Psalm 34:3 
Isaiah 62:1

EASTER. He Who was Crucified as a Criminal Is the World's Savior

 "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." 1 Corinthians 1:22-25.

[After His resurrection] Jesus looked to heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify You [. For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."  (John 17:1-3)

"To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." (Jude 1:25).

"I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.  And now Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." (John 17:4-5)

HALLELUJAH! 

Polly💖

Truckin' Through Life with Child-like Faith

The mind is where our battles begin and end. It has everything to do with our belief system. Whatever we’re thinking, we can ask ourselves, “Is this true?” Whether we’re a Christian or not, whatever we think about situation determines the way we’re going to respond or react toward a person or circumstance. God has given us a command to take our thoughts captive. That means He gives us the ability to get a grip on our thoughts and train our minds with the truth of God’s Word.

He tells us our weapons to resist the lies of our negative thoughts “are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).”

My eyes were opened in a new way while I was preparing to share this message in a women’s marketplace study; that we’ve been given this “divine power to take our thoughts captive.”

Think of it like this: As a young teenager, when you drove a car or truck for the very first time do you remember how huge and powerful and fast and dangerous the vehicle seemed to be? You felt like, “Wow, this is amazing, but I need to be careful and drive slowly, so I don’t lose control of this heavy, powerful thing!” You were given the privilege to drive this vehicle, and it would take you where you wanted to go, but you needed to think clearly and carefully because of its size and power.

However, how long did it take for you to get careless and begin to speed, cut corners, run stop signs, and red lights? It’s a privilege to have a vehicle to drive and it’s a huge responsibility at the same time. What are we doing with what God has given us? He gives us so much! The point I’m trying to make is that God is so very great and ultimately powerful and for us to carelessly drive our vehicles can be dangerous to those who don’t submit to His authority.

Now substitute the analogy of vehicle with the word life. Get it?  And we see this over and over again in other areas of our lives, as we mature. When you become a Christian you inherit the awesome power of God inside you –but because we must “work out our own salvation” by seeking God for ourselves to learn about His greatness, His love, and His power. It's like having the capacity of a powerful weapon in our hands that can be used for good, demolishing the strongholds in our lives.

What are we going to do with what God has given us? He’s given us life and breath and everything else. He has a promise for those of us who are faithful stewards of our lives and of all the gifts He continues to give us. He wants us to have abundant lives. He wants us to “bear much fruit showing ourselves to be His disciples” (John 15:5). He wants to bless us: “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:14).

So yes, we’ll stop at stop signs and red lights, obeying rules that keep us safe. And then with child-like faith, we’ll keep on truckin’ through life --just like our little grandson -- with all the joy and gratitude we can muster!

Polly💖

My "Rediscover the Wonder" monthly column appears in the Woodmont Word magazine; this is the April issue.

How to Thrive in 2025

This photo and story are from my new monthly column, Rediscover the Wonder,

 in the January 2025 issue of The Woodmont Word.

Rediscover the Wonder 

By Polly Balint

Maybe you, too, have seen little plants popping up through tiny cracks in concrete sidewalks and parking lots. But I don’t know how many of us stop and take-in  the wonder how this tiny, fully alive plant broke through the concrete. But hey, who has time to enjoy the little wonders of life, which are really opportunities to be grateful for the beauty of creation that God gave us to enjoy. I’m too busy for that, right?

Well, we each could be like that vigorous, bright green plant this New Year! For many of us our world in 2024 was like that cold, hard, cracked concrete: losses, sorrows,  illnesses, disappointments, brokenness, discouragement, worries, fear filled, and burdened with regret. If we want to live without regrets this New Year, we’ve got to stop taking everything in our lives for granted. Entitlement is a lie. This life is a gift.

So just like that flourishing plant, as we enter this New Year we can decide to thrive too. Countless opportunities to improve our lives are waiting for us. In fact, the best gift we can give ourselves and everyone around us is to be present. Yes! Be the gift you want to receive from others! Pay attention to where you are now and  in every moment from now on decide to be grateful for every day, each day! In your relationships be present and engage in the other person. Put the phone down. Look for opportunities to make someone’s day better. Smile. Laugh. Laugh at your own jokes; I have done that for years and it really makes people laugh harder (and they usually roll their eyes, too).

Take in the beauty of your surroundings when you’re outdoors. Discover the wonder of a sunset or a sunrise, again. Choose to be in awe of the changing seasons. Winters can be extremely cold and harsh, but snow really is beautiful, and a fire crackling in a fireplace is so cozy.

Look for the good, you’ll find it. Look for the negative, you’ll find it. Imagine that little bright green sprout wasn’t hindered by the burden of that concrete, it wanted to live in the light of life! It’s a choice. Look, you made it through 2024, you’re alive and reading this column right now.  Share your grateful heart with everyone around you.

My photo of this little plant is an amazing visual of God’s promises to His children. We are the flourishing, fully alive plants rooted and abiding in Jesus, and the world is the cement. God has promises for us and the power to keep us going.

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon, planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and green.” Psalm 92:14.

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Bio: Polly Balint is the author of five books; her sixth book will be launched early spring 2025.  She lives in Woodmont with her husband, Don, and their rescue dog, Polo.