When God writes your love story

Hi everyone, my name is Joey and I am a prayer manager at the prayer center. I will love to share my love story to you all today :)

Last Wednesday, the last day of 3 years together with my boyfriend, Alvin, he got down on one knee, under the Brooklyn Bridge, overlook the beautiful sunset of NYC, and he asked me the most beautiful question of all time, "Will you marry me?"

I was in tears, couldn't even say a word, just nodding my head, lol! There were so many things running through my head at that time, all I can think of is, Jesus, You are good, all the time.

To be frank, I went through a lot of broken hearts before I met Alvin. I would spent time feeling sad about my loneliness, cried myself to sleep over boys who do not love me back. Sometime I feel like he was the right person but it was just at the wrong time. I did not understand why God will allow me to be so lonely and broken, yet He promised that He has the best plan for me. However, I did not know that all the while, Jesus wanted me to know that right thing in the wrong time is still a wrong thing.

There's one night when I was crying and praying in the balcony of my dorm in the heart of the city of Malaysia, God gave me a peace to trust in Him. I committed myself to Him, let go completely the pen of my love story to allow Jesus to write one for me. I still remember doubting Him that He will take away my feelings toward a particular someone at that time completely but I promised to keep on trusting.

I committed myself in doing morning devotion early in the morning at the balcony, praying while the sun was rising. I volunteered to help out a missionary from the states who were serving in Malaysia at that time. My heart was occupied by Jesus every day. I was very busy but I was full of joy. I found love and joy that I will never find in an earthly relationship. Little did I realized, I had completely let go of thinking about boy friends or liking someone who will not like me back.

I heard of people saying, "when you stop thinking about dating, that guy will appear". I guess, love is waiting till you are ready, till is right. And I met Alvin. I did not have any feelings towards him at first, we were just friends. I love being with him. He never lead me on emotionally, instead he protected me like how a brother of Christ should protect their sisters in Christ. We are both crazy about Jesus and as times passed by, I started to have strong feeling towards him.

However, the feelings I have is different. There is no scary moment or sadness, it was just pure joy and peace. Even though we knew at that time that we like each other, we decided to wait and pray since he would be going to school in New York while I was in Virginia. Jesus makes things beautiful in its time. This is true! Despite of long distance, my feelings towards Alvin grow stronger each day and finally he asked me to be his girl friend after talking to my parents. As an engineer who loves logic, Alvin is not boring at all. He is so romantic and he makes me fall in love more and more each day. Most importantly, with his leadership in the relationship, we fall in love more and more to our first love, Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for all the blessings from my beloved families and friends. And I am amazed and beyond grateful to my sweet Jesus.

I love this quote from Brooke Fraser, my favorite singer:

I could write a million songs about the way you say my name
I could live a lifetime with you and then do it all again
and like I can't force the sun to rise or hasten summer's start,
neither should I rush my way into your heart

I am glad that I waited for the Lord, and when God writes your love story, He will blow your mind away ;)

Love,

Joey

Keep Praying!!

If you quit before the call, you'll never get the reward you were intended to have. I recently started working at the Liberty University Prayer Center and realized that the 4-6 hours a week were actually making an impact on my own time. With all of the homework and other groups that I'm involved in, I began to wonder if God had me in the right place. Sadly, I started feeling like maybe I needed to focus on my own needs rather than others- a convicting thought. But today I realized that God has me in the exact place He wants me to be. I received a prayer request and responded with an email and prayer. Surprisingly, the requester asked me if there was anything he/she could pray for me about. I responded and thanked him/her for his/her kind effort! Within 2 hours I received a fantastic email and prayer from him/her that encouraged me beyond what I could have imagined. Breaking down in tears I realized that praying with the Prayer Center team has been more of a blessing than an hindrance as I thought at first. This simple prayer changed my night and my perspective of God's sovereignty. Prayer WORKS as proven by my experience tonight. So I challenge you...Who can you reach out to and pray for today? Take 5 minutes to truly listen to and to pray for someone else's need, not your own. Maybe you're interested in praying for others in the Prayer Center and seeing the change in your own life? If so, stop by/email us and tell us you want to volunteer! Or maybe you need prayer? Let us help by emailing us at prayercenter@liberty.edu, texting us at (434) 515-1854, or coming to visit us on the first floor of dorm 17 on the hill! May God work in your lives as He just worked in mine!

By Liz Kemmerer

Prayer Center Minister

"Where Are the Men and Women of Prayer?"

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:16, “[Redeem] the time for the days are evil.” We live in exciting times. More people are alive today than any previous generation. The opportunity to impact our world for Christ has never been greater. We have all the resources we need. But there’s one disturbing question, “Where are the workers?”

Jesus said that the solution to enough workers for the harvest is found in prayer (Mt. 9:37-38). But that presents another problem. Where are the men and women of prayer?

Too many of us have become so busy that we have no time for God. It’s impossible to have an intimate relationship with anyone without sufficient time with that person. How much more true is that with God? We long to spend time with those we love. Therefore, if you truly love God, you will desire to spend time alone with Him sharing your heart and allowing Him to share His heart with you.

This may be the greatest hindrance of this generation of pastors. We have become “professional” ministers and learned well how to produce “quality” programs. But we’ve forgotten the secret chamber of prayer. We often entertain but seldom convict. We draw crowds to our buildings but few to our Savior. We’ve learned the art of developing partnerships, but lost the passion to know the one Partner that really matters.

The Father longs to spend time with His children. He calls to us. Steal away and make time to meet with Him. If there is any hindrance to your intimacy with God, identify it, confess it, and repent of it. Determine in your heart that you long to know Him, really know Him, more than anything in life. He will come to you. He will meet with you. Don’t allow any obstacle to keep you from such intimacy with God.

–Adapted from Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry (Chapter 37, Hindrances to Effective Prayer by Sammy Tippit).

"When God Calls"

Imagine you get a personal phone call from Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. asking you for a favor. Let’s say he asks you to come to his office right away so that he can talk to you about something very important. He tells you not to worry about your class schedule; he can have his secretary take care of that for the rest of the day. He is adamant about needing you there immediately because the window of opportunity is small. Do you drop everything and go? Are you excited about the possibility of sitting in his office and visiting with him about how you can help him? Or do you share with him that you are busy and do not have any free time until tomorrow afternoon? What about simply not showing up at his office and ignoring his request? What if he called you personally every day for a week…would you go meet with him?

Ken Davis brought us a challenge on Monday during Convocation (watch it online if you missed it! Ken Davis). If God clearly and miraculously revealed Himself to you and called on you to do something for Him…how long would it take you obey? We were reminded that God speaks to us every day. When God comes near and speaks to us we are standing on holy ground. God promises to build His Kingdom but He chooses to use our lives to do the work. Moses was a less than capable ordinary guy empowered by an extraordinary God. For every excuse Moses gave as to why he could not do the job, God reminded him that it wasn’t about his abilities…it was all about God’s abilities! “God will never ask you to do anything He hasn’t first prepared you to do.”

God wants us to experience live to its fullest. Full life is directly connected to our level of obedience when God calls. We cannot do our own thing, ignore God’s call, and assume we should enjoy the blessings of being fully alive. How often do we believe we should be given more blessings than we already have? Is God loving when He tells us “NO”? Is it right for God to withhold from me when I refuse to obey His call? Which excuse am I using to ignore God’s call to me? “Who am I?; How should I explain who You are God?; What if they don’t believe me?; What if they won’t listen?; What if they doubt me?; What if…?” God tells us “You can’t…but I can!” Will you trust Him?

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:21 NLT

"Who Gets the Thanks?"

Have you ever realized a habit or tradition you practice regularly but have no idea why or what it's purpose is? You have heard of the husband who asked his wife why she cuts the holiday ham before she cooks it. Her answer was, "My mom always cut it". One day out of curiosity he asked his mother-in-law why she cut the holiday ham before cooking it. She answered "My mother always cut it." Now he had to know why this family always cut the holiday ham in half before cooking it. One holiday they were all at grandma's house so he asked her: "Grandma, why do you cut the ham in half before you cook it?" She answered, "That's simple, I never had a pan large enough to cook a whole ham!"

How often do we stop to consider why we hold to the traditions we do? I think this is an excellent time of the year to consider the purpose of holidays, most specifically Thanksgiving! I have always been amazed at the many people who celebrate Thanksgiving, yet have no appreciation for God or what He offers us through His Son Jesus. They believe they are self-made and have no appreciation for the blessings God has given to them. If one does not believe there is a God who sovereignly rules and is the source of all blessings, then there must be another answer. Here is an answer I found online: "The Pilgrims had the first Thanksgiving, because they wanted to give thanks to Squanto and the Native Americans for teaching them how to do things and live life in different ways, not just the ways the Pilgrims used to live like. Without the Native American's, they probably would have died. Today, at Thanksgiving time, we express gratitude for the good things, people, and events in our lives and the greater world around us." So basically some believe we are simply thankful to each other for what we have. We fail to mention that the Pilgrim's gave thanks to God Almighty.

President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation was pretty clear: "...To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. ...They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God...I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens..." 10/3/1863

Maybe you can help someone better understand the history of Thanksgiving Day in America by pointing them to the goodness of our Lord. We are so blessed and enjoy the many gifts that have come from His hand even though we do not deserve any of it. Let's help each other keep a proper perspective this year as we remember to give thanks to our Creator God! Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!!


"Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation." Psalm 100:3-5

"Steven Furtick: How to Approach God"

It’s common practice to teach your kids to say "please" and then "thank you" when they have requests. It’s considered proper protocol. And when talking to adults, it is. But with God, things are a little bit different.

God has a protocol for how He wants to be approached. And it starts with thanksgiving:

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5

With God, "thank you" should always come before "please." The first thing that needs to come out of my mouth in prayer and worship needs to be praise for who God is and what He has done. Not just instructions for what I want or even need Him to do.

Thank you is the key that opens the door to God’s house. There’s a lot of reasons for this, but more than anything, it’s about perspective.

If you thank God for everything before you ask Him for anything, it makes you realize you deserve nothing. It gives you the worldview that but for the grace of God, you would be in hell. And in turn, it makes you even more thankful because you’re not. And because God still answers your prayers.

Additionally, starting with "thank you" is just practical. When we start with praise, we establish the goodness and greatness of God right off the bat. Now all of our subsequent prayers and complaints can be answered by a good and great God who can both respond to us and who wants to.

It’s impossible to be self-absorbed and God-conscious at the same time. Realign your perspective in prayer today.

Start with "thank you." And then move on to "please."

by Steven Furtick

"Understanding Prayer = Effective Prayer"

I continue to meet people who honestly admit that they do not fully understand the game of football. Now most of us would be surprised at this revelation, thinking that clearly everyone understands such a well-known popular past-time! Yet the reality is that some people watch the game without: really making sense out of all of the plays or the penalties; knowing what the individual referees are responsible for (why do they need so many?); knowing why there are so many coaches among the players; or why so many players stand around on the sideline dressed in their jerseys, without pads on, but don't look injured! There may also be some confusion about the various rules: is it the knee or elbow on the ground...or both, that stops the play; how many feet need to touch before it is a catch; does a touch-back come out to the 20 or 25 yard line...is that on a punt or kick-off; why can some guys grab with their hands but others try it and get a yellow hankie thrown at them; why do they call a safety when a safety tackles the QB in the end-zone; what about downs, conversions, PAT's, illegal touching?, huddle, snap, flea-flicker, swing-pass; and the list could continue...

I believe that prayer is similar in a way to football. It is easy to listen to it, talk about it, watch it, participate in it, and even like it, without understanding it. When we do not understand something well, we are at a distinct disadvantage when trying to explain it to others, enjoy it fully, engage in it, teach it, lead it, improve it, or simplify it. In other words, what does it take for our prayers to be more effective? Is it possible that many people who pray or those who would like to pray more than they do, might not understand what they should about prayer? Like football, is it simply easier not to ask the questions because we might be embarrassed for not knowing the answer? Could it be though, that the answers would actually lead one to a greater understanding of prayer or football, which would also open up greater enjoyment and appreciation on our part? I imagine the difficulty in recruiting for a class on "Becoming a Better Fan - Understanding Football Better"...would anyone attend? I have discovered that when people hang out with those who truly know the game of football and humbly share what they know, knowledge of the game is passed along, understanding increases, and appreciation for the game grows. Is it possible that it would be the same for prayer? Let's talk about prayer....

Ascribe Glory to the LORD

Ever been in a situation where you just don't seem to have the desire to worship God anymore? Simple solution: don't try. As human beings, we are given the privilege of free will--to act and respond. Hence, we simply cannot outwardly express our worship to God if it does not exist inwardly. For example, if a water bottle is empty, one cannot pour a single drop of water from it unless he first refills it. Therefore, instead of trying to muster "water" from your "empty bottle," try to fill your empty bottle with His Word and let worship overflow as a natural response to Him!

Psalm 29 centers on calling the Israelites to ascribe glory to the Lord. In efforts of leading the Israelites to worship, David provides a context in which the Israelites can respond. Verses 3-9 are an account of the power and awesomeness of God's voice. The voice of the Lord is over the waters, thunders, is powerful, is full of majesty, breaks the cedars, makes Lebanon skip like a calf, flashes forth flames of fire, shakes the wilderness, makes the deer give birth, and strips the forest bare (Ps. 29:3-9). In essence, David is trying to remind the Israelites that God is and will forever be enthroned over all things because He is the King of all kings. By His voice alone, God is able to make His will come true!

In response to God's omnipotence and God's sovereignty as revealed in His Word, let us meditate upon His majesty and allow worship to naturally flow out of us--to ascribe glory and strength to Him, to ascribe to the Lord glory due his name! 

(Revelation 4:11) “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Knowing God vs. Seeing God

We live in a day when electronic communications rule. We have the ability to email, text, tweet, Facebook, blog, Skype, etc. (does anyone know what a pager is?). I did not get text capability until about two years ago, thinking I wouldn't like it...now I don't know how I got by without it! I thought it would damage my ability to know how to have meaningful conversations on the phone, let alone have quality face to face conversations. But I have since discovered that texting can enhance our communication options. (I still believe time spent together is priority and that we should practice quality phone skills!)

Working in the Prayer Center, I am able to communicate with many people using digital tools. It truly helps as I try to encourage as many people as possible in a meaningful way. At the same time I also realize that it can appear somewhat impersonal to have prayer with/for someone through e-mail or text. I would much rather sit with the person, look at their face, experience their emotions, and allow them to receive a touch of God's love through my being with them personally. 

We would all agree that a relationship has a better chance of developing into one of quality as people have more time spent with each other. Chances are you know the people sitting next to you in class better than the average student who sits across the room. Clearly there will be levels of friendship within any group of people simply because we cannot spend the same amount of time with everyone. How well do we really know people? Do we simply know something about most of our friends?

Louie Giglio shared with us today that there is a difference between information and revelation, that knowing about someone or something is not the same as knowing them intimately and personally. Many of us know a great amount of information about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have experienced a few really cool spiritual moments. We know about Sanctification, Justification, Redemption, Atonement, Glorification, all of the Omni's, Heaven, Hell, Rapture, Millennium...you get the point! The question on the table is: Has God revealed Himself to you personally? Did you find yourself without words to speak when you realized you were in the Creator's presence? Have you experienced what it is to worship such a holy, awesome God? For the men out there - have you ever been overcome with tears that you couldn't explain? Ladies, have you experienced His arms wrapping around you and the security of being in His grasp? When you walk into His throne-room, is it familiar territory? 

God wants to reveal Himself to us, but He will not do so if He knows we are not longing for Him to do so! Will you allow God to "ruin" you as in Isaiah 6:5  “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”  Let's not limit our relationship with this great God to "digital communication." Let us seek an audience with Him and allow Him to invade our space in all of His Glory...we will never be the same again!

Even if He Doesn't

Daniel 3:14-18

"Nebuchadnezzar said to them, 'Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?' Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.'"

About 2600 years ago, three brave men made their decision to worship God. Although these three men have faith that their God is able to save them, they were resolved to worship Him even if it means death by the fiery furnace. They were not willing to give their worship to anyone else! What an incredible amount of faith!

However, these three men were not the only ones who had such resolution to worship God. Abraham resolved to worship God and was willing to sacrifice his one and only son, Issac; Moses resolved to worship God and was willing suffer with his people although he could have enjoyed the richness of the Egyptian Kingdom; David chose to worship God and placed his faith in Him when David faced Goliath despite the possibility of losing his life as a young lad. The disciples of Jesus were resolved to worship God even in the midst of persecution. The people of God worshiped Him despite the circumstances that surround them!

Often times when we read about these stories, we feel inspired to live a life to worship God. We feel the passion stirring within us to worship Him. Yet, in reality our passion just fades away too soon. What kind of experience did these people have which allowed them to live such radical lives? How did they become such persevering worshipers? Namely this: "...Though overwhelmed by many troubles, [a persevering worshiper] is overwhelmed even more by the beauty of God."-Matt Redman, The Unquenchable Worshipper
Though suffering, these people were able to worship God because they have experienced God Himself. They were able to withstand trials and suffering because they were overwhelmed even more by the beauty and worthiness of God Himself! They chose to worship God because God is worthy and bigger than all that they are facing!

In our society today, we all face a similar situation that those persevering worshipers face, namely our decision to worship God. "Situations change for better and for worse, but God's worth never changes." We must choose for ourselves whom we want to worship today! Yet, just like those who have gone before us, our worship must be fueled by the revelation of God Himself. Therefore, don't give up in seeking God in your quiet time and devotions! Be prayerful always!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." -- Hebrews 12:1-2