Prayer Archives - Kristin Saatzer

Feel the Feels

March 19, 2020 By Kristin Saatzer 2 Comments

Last Thursday, after the word came that my job is no more (for now), I lazed on the couch in my pj’s, remote in hand, and watched the news. Melancholy took over. It was a blue day for America and our family. A day of loss. As my kids called in with their reports of school and sports shutdowns, job losses, no graduations, etc., fear knocked on the door to join the disappointment. A full cocktail of emotions.

Yes, I know that we are fortunate. We are healthy and my husband is still employed, and I get to hang with my kids, a lot. We have a roof overhead and a safe place to lay our heads. But the gloom and surrealness of Thursday took its toll and I let myself feel the feels.

I imagine you are feeling them too and that is okay.

Yesterday, a friend confided that she is experiencing persistent panic attacks. She’s not alone. The bad news is relentless with daily death counts and stats of the sick. People are frightened in mass; we see this illuminated by the hoarding of toilet paper. Fear is the ruling force in our culture.

And there’s the time thing- It seems there was never enough and now I have plenty. It’s odd how it shifted so significantly in one day. As I move into this new normal, I want to make the most of this “gift” of quarantine.

Although I am still bummed (and letting myself be so), I sense a shift in my soul as I push past the malaise and grab my Savior’s hand. In almost every trial of my adult life, I’ve turned to Him (although sometimes stiff-necked), and that ain’t going to change now. God is the stability of my life. When I open the Bible, wisdom springs up via the Lord’s counsel and with courage-laced words. Therefore, I must soak up God’s truths as I entrust this weird period in our world and my own life to Jesus and ask Him to infuse my heart with help. With courage.

And with compassion toward those who hurt. Those who are afraid. Even the toilet paper-hoarders.

I want to make the most of my time by being a praying friend. If you are feeling the feels, too, I want to be here for you. Even when the gloom and unease slide back in or when I’m hiding from my family in my closet, I can pray.

So, friend, please let me pray for you in this season of instability. You can leave your request in the comments or send me a private message.

We will get through this. We will. Let’s give ourselves and one another permission to feel the feels and then hold on tight to Jesus, the stability of our times.

May God bless and keep you; may He fill you with courage and peace.

Confident and Fearless

April 27, 2018 By Kristin Saatzer 4 Comments

Surrender your heart to God, turn to Him in prayer, and give up your sins- even those you do in secret. Then you won’t be ashamed; you will be confident and fearless.

Job 11:13-15 CEV

This passage from Job is my favorite of 2018 so far. I find I whisper these words to myself almost daily. Because I love this scripture, I decided to dissect it and go deeper. Care to join me?

Surrender your heart~

The Greek word for heart is kardia, meaning the affective center of our being. From Strong’s Concordance

Vines Greek New Testament Dictionary explains, “… the heart is used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life.”

Our hearts are tender, easily broken, vulnerable, and the center of everything we are. The hidden springs of our person. Thus, here is the crux of our faith-walk: presenting and trusting this tender part of ourselves to our Savior. Every. Single. Day.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Christina Rossetti

Turn to Him in prayer~

Prayer is conversation with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Christiananswers.net

The NIV version of this verse says, “Stretch out your hands towards Him.” What a powerful picture of postured prayer. As my year of Surrender continues, I notice myself praying this way. When I am grasping on to something in my heart, I physically reach my hands towards God as I pray in release.

“The right way to pray is to stretch out our hands and ask of One who we know has the heart of a Father.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Give up your sins~

2. Any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle. 3. any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense. Dictionary.com

I noticed a few weeks ago that discouragement had crept in. I was a walking sigh – allowing difficult health and a relationship strain control my outlook. This was not yielding to God, this was sin.

I repented, grateful to God for His conviction, and for filling me with hope and courage again.

It is never too late to give up our sins, to change, to repent, or to rededicate ourselves to God.

“If you’re truly His child, you can know that when you do sin God will teach you a lesson through it and use it to change you more into His likeness.” Kay Arthur

What To Do In The Wait?

January 31, 2017 By Kristin Saatzer 7 Comments

Unwell. Unengaged. Uninterested.

It was as if I stood in a hallway before an unopened door, knowing health and healing lay on the other side.

Ten years ago, I pleaded with God to heal my malaise. I desperately needed and wanted Him to open the door and allow me to step out of the gloomy hallway. Yet there were blessings in that place. Time passed and eventually, God drew me out of the hall, through the doorway and into His healing light.

These days, I find myself in yet another hallway, praying for another door to open. Only this time it involves two family members struggling through deep waters of pain.

How about you?

Do you stand before a door today, waiting for God to answer? To heal? To provide? Do you need Him to show you the way you should go? Is there a difficult decision before you keeping you awake at night?

And the door seems bolted shut.

What Do I Want God To Do For Me In The New Year?

January 18, 2017 By Kristin Saatzer 4 Comments

What do I want from God in the New Year?

Wait a second! Shouldn’t I be asking God what I can do for Him in the New Year? Shouldn’t I take an unselfish approach to 2017?

AND He’s not a genie or Santa. We can’t just present a list before Him and ask Him for stuff.

Or can we?

I found 67 “asking” verses in the Bible. Even Jesus begged God to do something for Him (see Matthew 26:39).

He asks us to ask.

This idea hit home months ago during a severe trial. I prayed for everyone else involved in the heartache, even those barely affected. A lot. Yet, I was not praying much for myself. I knew others were lifting up my situation and took deep comfort there. However, I was the one intimately acquainted with my legion of needs. So, why didn’t I pray for myself?

In taking an honest look, I saw fear and guilt. A fear God may not answer my prayers in the way I wanted Him to and a prick of guilt in focusing too much on myself when millions of others suffer with much worse.

However, God’s word (67 verses) says it is ok and more so- welcomed. He asks us to ask. Again and again.Continue Reading