prayer – Fortress of Hope Ministries

One of the enemy’s tactics against believers is fear. He uses fear that something bad will happen to us, whether it is a tragedy, natural disaster, financial difficulties, disease, or anything else. Bad things do happen in our fallen world. Jesus said we will experience trials, but we can be courageous BECAUSE Jesus conquered the world (John 16:33). Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). So if Jesus is life and He has conquered the world,…

Pray for Peace

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Prayer

After my son was sent to the state penitentiary, I read in Jeremiah 29 how the Lord allowed His people to be taken into captivity. The Lord allowed it because the people refused to humble themselves before the Lord and live according to His ways. My son admitted that his lifestyle was not pleasing to the Lord and the Lord allowed him to be taken into captivity in order to get his attention. In the early days of his incarceration,…

What Can I Do?

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Prayer

When a family member goes to prison, we feel helpless. We go through the “could of” and “should of” list of what we could have done differently that would have prevented the incident or situation that led to his (or her) incarceration. But there is something we can do – Pray! Yes, there are many other things we can do for them such as visitation, put money on their accounts, and send letters and books. However, the number one thing…

Always Pray and Never Give Up

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Prayer

“… always pray and never give up” (Luke 18:1 NLT). That phrase from the NLT version in the first verse of Luke 18 became seared in my mind after my son’s arrest. While my oldest son sat in a county jail awaiting trial, I cried out, “Lord our life is not supposed to look like this!” I prayed for my son to love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, and mind. Now we faced a tragic situation…

Pray Like This

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Prayer

One of Jesus’ disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Even those who walked with Jesus in the flesh asked Him to teach them how to pray. Today, we still want to know if there is an effective way to pray. Jesus answered the disciples request by saying, “Pray like this. . .” (Luke 11:2). Then Jesus prayed a model prayer that we know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Based on this prayer we have a model to follow (see Matthew…

The Most Common Hindrance to Answered Prayer

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Biblical Living, Prayer

How long have you prayed for something you know is God’s will, but still have not received the answer yet? First, how do we know if it is God’s will? God’s word is His will. So, when we pray His Word, His word does what He says it will do. (Isaiah 55:11) However, there may be times in our lives that it seems we pray and decree the Word of God. We ask and ask. After all the Bible says, “Ask,…

Enduring the Storm

Shonda Savage Whitworth

hope

In life, we experience storms and floods. And those in Southeast Texas and Louisiana are in the midst of it and Tropical Storm Harvey does not seem to be relenting. When the storms and floods come, we must continue to press into prayer. Those who are not in it must rise up and pray for those who are. Let’s pray: Lord, we ask for Your hedge of protection over those who live in the area where the waters are rising.…

Advocating for Your Loved One – Part 1

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Advocacy

Advocating for our incarcerated loved one at one time or another during their confinement is inevitable. I learned early on as a family member on the outside that I needed to learn to find a balance between when to call the unit on behalf of my son and when to leave things alone. On one hand, it may be beneficial for the prison staff to know that the inmate has family on the outside who care about their loved one…

How to Have a Relationship with the Lord

Shonda Savage Whitworth

General

In the last post, we looked at Daniel and his resolve not to eat the king’s delicacies. His resolve was much deeper than sheer willpower. His resolve was rooted in his love for the Lord. When we love someone, we want to know them and be in relationship with them. This week, let’s resolve to build a relationship with the Lord. Our God is a relational! How do we engage in a relationship with the Lord? We set time aside…