Candy's Prayer Closet

Do you have burdens? Do you feel your load is constantly heavy and you need some relief? If that’s you keep reading.

Every person walking through this life deals with burdens, and I can’t begin to say who has the most burdens. With that being said I do know a little bit about the burdens I carry and the ones some Christian wives and mommas carry. I am blessed! You are blessed…. right? Let’s face it though those burdens and struggles from our everyday lives get heavy. If we keep adding to our load and never find a spot to let go of some it, then it can be overwhelming and way too burdensome!

This Sunday morning my pastor preached a message on burdens. His message really helped me and got me thinking a lot about how to lighten my own personal load. I’m going to share the 3 types of burdens my pastor preached on, and then ways to lighten those burdens. This will be a lengthy post but hang in there with me and we can all get some help from this.

So your probably thinking and wondering what kinds of burdens are there?

Burden number 1- The burdens we place on ourselves.

First and foremost, there are the burdens that we put on ourselves. While it’s not popular to hear, the truth is a lot of the burdens that we carry is a direct result of things we have loaded ourselves down with! As women we carry a lot, right? The question is how much are we carrying because we HAVE to, and how much is because we choose to? In today’s society the family dynamics in homes can look a lot different, but this will be in reference to my home. As a stay-at-home mom to a toddler who also runs a business my life constantly feels insane. I have to keep a business running and customers happy, I have to keep my baby boy alive and well, I do the cooking, the cleaning, the finances/bills, the doctor visit scheduling, the gift shopping, and so many other things. My house is never clean, I miss important things with our business, I don’t cook every night. These things can make women feel like a failure, but why? Either we think people and society expects us to be perfect or we just anticipate that we should be. Thankfully my little boy isn’t old enough for extracurricular yet, but we have to mention all the sports, dance recitals, field trips, birthday parties for friends, family gatherings, church events, school events, the list could go on for days! Moms hear me when I say this YOU CAN NOT DO IT ALL! As moms we have to learn to say NO! We try to raise our children teaching them to say no right? Say no to drugs, say no to sex before marriage, say no to sin, say no to bullying, etc.! Yet they watch mom say yes to everything until she becomes bitter and cumbered about like Martha in the Bible.

Luke 10:40-42 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. [41] And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: [42] But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her

Martha was so busy trying to take care of EVERYTHING she was missing out on the most important thing, which was right in front of her, Jesus!

I’m not pointing fingers ladies I’m the guiltiest person you know on this subject. It wasn’t until Zachariah was born that I learned to say no, and I’m still not very good at it. It’s ok if you don’t get your house spotless today. It’s ok if your friends invite you to dinner and you can’t make it. It’s even ok if you tell your child they need to pick a sport and not try to play 5. Saying NO is ok! It’s even healthy. We have created such a busy life with such high expectations that we have put a load of burdens on ourselves, and we have become cumbered about.

What do we do to fix this problem?

Hebrews 12:1 
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Say NO! You read that right but read it again! Say NO! The bible tells us to lay aside those things. If it’s a weight that we placed on ourselves it’s our job to lay some of it down. If you are so stressed, booked, and busy that you become cumbered about it’s time to lay some things down. It’s time to say NO! If you find yourself not having time for God because of the load you have placed on yourself, it’s time to lighten that load.

The bible tells us the Lord is a jealous God and for us to have no other gods before him! When you place the things of this world in front of the Lord you are creating other gods. A simple dinner with friends is not sin. A regular basketball game for your child is not sin. Going to a birthday party is not sin. Although, when your life is so full of all of those things all the time that the Lord doesn’t get any of your time it has now become sin.

Prioritize your life. Make a list. Keep a calendar. All of these things are places in my life I’m working on. If I look at my calendar and it’s already got too many things, I’m striving to say NO when other things are put in front of me. I also want to add while this blog isn’t focused on how important church is (because I will be blogging about that later). I will mention if things are scheduled during church time it’s an automatic NO for our family. I don’t have to ask my husband, or even mention it because the answer is NO!

Joshua 24:15.......... : but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Remember to make time for God! This alone will lighten your load.

Burden number 2- Burdens from Satan

Christian friend, mom, wife out there. I need you ladies to think about this and think on it hard. The devil is here and looking for a way into your home and your life. While God has all power, Satan still has some power. The bible clearly shows us these things and tells us how we should be on guard. Now we know Satan only has the power that God allows but in this sinful flesh that we live in the Lord has given us free will. With free will comes the fact we are going to at some point choose sin. We shouldn’t, yet we do. (For all have sinned) With sin comes consequences. Sometimes those consequences come simply in the form of the Lord allowing the devil to have his way with us. It’s not our place to try to understand why God has allowed some things, yet as humans there will probably come a time when we find ourselves doing exactly that.

Satan can attack us with so many things. sometimes it may be sickness, unexpected financial burdens, marriage problems, misbehaving children, him placing people in our lives or our children’s lives that could be a bad influence, etc. There are a million things the devil can use against us and if he gets the chance he will!

I want to also remind you that if you are a Christian and you are living for God you can guarantee Satan is going to work overtime against you and your family! The last thing the devil wants is you brining other people to Christ, so he tries over and over to stop you and I from sharing the word of the Lord with others! Don’t let him win!

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

How do we get rid of the burdens given to us by Satan?

The answer is simple seek God! Rember how I mentioned earlier that Satan has some power but our God in heaven has ALL power. It’s the truth! When we look back at the book of Job in the bible there is so much to learn. In this book we seen God allow Satan to try Job! Satan gave him sickness, took his children, took all his money, gave his wife bitterness, etc. Ultimately God allowed him to do all these things, yet he would not allow Satan to take his life. Now if Satan had all power no one could stop him from taking Job’s life. Yet these scriptures reinforce who is in control.

Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath [is] in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

After Satan did his very best to get Job to turn on the Lord, we see in the scripture that Job stayed faithful. At the end of the book, we see that Job prayed for his friends and his captivity was turned. The Lord proceeded to bless him with far more than the devil took away. I cannot begin to understand what Job went through. To be honest I never want to be in those shoes, but if he can turn to the Lord and stay faithful through all of those burdens so can we. I want to point out a couple of scriptures and two main points, one showing something we have that Job didn’t, and the second one being something that we should pray for every day to be more like Job.

Job 9:32-33 For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. [33] Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.

What we have that Job didn’t– We must remember Job took place in the Old Testament which was before Jesus was sent as a man to die for our sins. That daysman that Job longed for and wanted so badly is Jesus Christ! We have that direct access to God through Jesus. Yet whether our burdens are heavy from ourselves, Satan, or anything else, instead of going to the Son and calling on the Father we rely on ourselves. Ladies we have to seek the Lord and the only way to God is through Jesus Christ! To seek the Lord means to pray! We must hit our knees, pray, and seek God for he has ALL power and can deliver us from the devil’s attacks. Pray for your family, your husband, your children, and most importantly pray for yourself. It is not selfish to include ourselves in those prayers. When we set aside our pride and remember what God has brought us through we remember our wretched our flesh is. The only way to serve God to our highest potential is by seeking the Lord and asking him to help us. To convict us. To help us become better wives, moms, and Christians. Pray!

Ephesians 6:11-12 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. [12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

When we seek God we make room for him in our lives and we remove the cravings our flesh has for this wicked world. When you remove the world from your home and put God as the center you help protect your spouse, your children, and yourself from the devil and his vices. Prayer, bible study, church, godly friends all of these things help you battle against the devil. He uses his tactics to fulfill his plan which is ultimately to tear our families apart. That’s what the devil wants but remember who has ALL power!? The Lord!

Ephesians 4:27 neither give place to the devil
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

What we should pray for to be more like Job- Job had something at the very beginning of the book that us women should be praying for ourselves, our husband, and our children. Job had a hedge. A hedge of protection that God placed around him. I will post scripture below, but basically when God mentioned Job, Satan responded with saying that the Lord had a hedge about him. What Satan was saying was he couldn’t touch him! Wow! Ladies we don’t have the power, but our Lord has ALL the power. Through prayer God can grant you a hedge about your house. Pray for that hedge. That hedge can be the defining factor in what Satan can burden you with. Pray for the Lord’s protection and for him to build a hedge around you and your family!

Job 9-10 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? [10] Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

Burden number 3- Burdens from God

You are thinking in this moment- burdens from God? He doesn’t give burdens. Are you sure about that though? I can’t tell you how many times the Lord has burdened my heart for something or someone. I have a burden for lost souls, so I witness. I have a burden for teen girls, so I took up teaching our teen girls at church. I have a burden for moms with babies who are in a season of raising children and not always getting the spiritual food that they need. So, I accepted the position of nursery director to help make sure those mommas have a safe place to keep their babies when they need to hear a message from God. The list goes on and on of the burdens the Lord has given me. Working for the Lord isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it. He gives us burdens, but he also equips us with the ability to fulfil the job, position, or place he has laid on our heart.

So, if my burden is from God what do I do?

My answer for you is this- Listen for that still small voice then answer the call. If you are a child of God, he has a plan for you. You may say I’m just a mom, just a wife, just a home keeper, just a believer, but I’m here to tell you if God has burdened you with something he will equip you to do it. Step out of your comfort zone. Have faith that the Lord knows what he is doing. Again, seek HIM! When you follow on the path that God wants for your life, he is going to bless you far more than you could ever imagine. Just like he did with his faithful servant Job! When you submit to His plan that burden will be lifted. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. 🙂

Everyone has burdens!

If you are reading this, I know you have burdens! I may not know what those burdens are, but you can almost bet they will fall in one of these three categories. I challenge you to examine yourself and your life! What is really hindering you? Can you lay some things aside? Is there sin in your life that needs purged? Can you make more time for God? Can you pray more? Can you submit to God and the calling he has for your life? I pray these thoughts have helped you. If you have read this far and the Lord leads you to please leave a comment below letting me know you read my blog and if it was a blessing in your life! Let’s share our burdens and pray for one another!

Dear Lord, I pray for the person reading this blog. I pray their burdens would be lifted and they would feel your love and compassion. Lord, we know we are undeserving, yet you continue to bless our lives and our homes. I know sometimes when the burden is big, and the load gets heavy our vision can be blurred and we can forget all the things you have blessed our lives with. I pray you would place someone or something in this person's path to remind them of the gifts you have given us. Lord, I pray they would humble themselves and examine their life to see what changes they can make to lighten their own loads. Lord, I pray you would use me to be a light to others and you would use this post to touch the heart of the readers. Please help me Lord to lighten my own load and strive to be a better wife, mother, and Christian! God, I thank you for sending your son to die on the cross for our sins and giving me a way to heaven. Thank you for giving us that daysman (Jesus Christ) I pray if the person reading this does not know you as their savior, they would believe on you and ask you to save them. I love you Lord thank you for the blessings of life. Please bless this reader, Lord. I love you! In Jesus name I pray! Amen.