Prayer | Laurie Coombs

Archive for the ‘Prayer’ Category

Romans 8:28 Rings True

Posted on: May 6th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs

relationship with jesus, what is a relationship with jesus, relationship with god, Romans 8:28, Salvation, save, jesus, jesus saves, how does jesus save, grace, by faith through grace, stabbed with a pencil, stab with pencil, daughter, prayer of salvation, sin, faith, following jesus, forgiveness, redemption, saying yes to god, bad news good news, redeemer, murder, forgiveness, christian, christ, forgiveness testimony, forgiveness story, inspirational stories, gods grace, prayer,

Last Thursday began like most days. Toward the end of my quiet time with Jesus, my girls came into my bedroom in all their morning cuteness, blurry-eyed and hair a fright. We cuddled together for a moment before beginning our morning routine of showering, dressing, and the like. My girls usually finish getting ready before I do, so they ran downstairs, busying themselves with coloring and drawing in the kitchen. Moments later, however, I heard Avery, my younger daughter, yell, “Mom, Ella poked me with a pencil!” To which Ella replied, “But it wasn’t very hard!” Really?!? I thought. It was all going so well. Turns out, Ella intentionally “poked” or stabbed (to be more exact) Avery with a pencil. Not okay in my book. But after disciplining Ella, we had a serious talk about hurting others. Ella is seven. Up to this point, we have taught her about Jesus, we’ve talked…

{Lessons Learned} Healing Comes With Greater Understanding

Posted on: March 23rd, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 5 Comments

In this brief video, I speak about how Jesus led me toward emotional healing from my past. Healing only came once I surrendered myself completely to Jesus and allowed Him complete access to my pain. Be sure to watch to hear about how Jesus brought me greater understanding which led to healing. Healing Comes With Greater Understanding from Laurie Coombs on Vimeo. {Greater understanding of the situations in our past can lead us toward healing.} Question: Has Jesus healed you emotionally from your past? What was your experience? Share in the comments.

{Lessons Learned} Jesus Accomplishes the Impossible

Posted on: January 31st, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

impossible, possible, God, Jesus, Christ, Christian, Christianity, following Jesus, follow, with God all things are possible, Jesus is what you need, jesus is your answer, hope, peace, salvation, trials, suffering, pain, loss, forgive, forgiveness, Christian forgiveness, why do we forgive, luke 18:27, prayer journal, Jesus is your answer,

But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” – Luke 18:27 When we follow Jesus, He accomplishes the impossible. [Tweet that] Lord, I pray for Anthony. Help him. Have your will be done in his life, and please, Lord, if he is truly a Christian let him be used by you in prison to turn lives around for your glory. Let him gather your people to you in prison! Lord, help him truly submit to you and your will and help him to be a true strong believer who turns from evil to your light. – My prayer journal, May 2010 I prayed this prayer often as I began correspondence with Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. I prayed for Anthony to come to true repentance. For him to be brought to his knees and to transform him into a strong man of God who gained…

{Lessons Learned} In Order to Follow Jesus, We Must Know Jesus.

Posted on: January 14th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 8 Comments

Christ, Christian, God, Jesus, know, know God, knowing God, god's timing, god's perfect timing, grace, god of grace, mercy, merciful, gracious, god is powerful, transformation, transform, new life, new birth, reborn, repentance, salvation, saying yes to god, change hearts, god has a heart for the lost, least of these, the lost, adoption, god's character, testimony, knowing god, why do i need to know god, how do i know god, many claim to know jesus, how do i know i'm saved, knowledge of god, who is god, character of god, god revealed, do i know god, faith vs religion, the answer is not religion, you don't need religion, 1 peter 2, 1 peter 2:4-5, 1 peter 2:4, 1 peter 2:5, love your enemy, loving your enemy, how do i love my enemy, love my enemy, why love my enemy, god is my protector, good, love, loving, protector, murder, murderer, letters to a murderer, letters from a murderer, fear, no fear, jesus is my shepherd, good shepherd, god has purpose, heal, healing, healer, god is healer, Know Jesus, Knowing Jesus, Know your God, prayer, relationship, in order to follow jesus you must know jesus, know jesus, knowing jesus, follow jesus, following jesus, forgive, forgiveness, forgave, how do i forgive, why forgive, my story, christian forgiveness, forgiveness testimony, god is loving, god is good, how do i have a relationship with God, how do I have a relationship with Jesus, what is a relationship with jesus, what does a relationship with Jesus look like, what is a relationship with God, what does a relationship with God look like,

Do you trust someone you don’t know? Would you listen to the advice of someone you just met and follow them into a risky situation? I think most people would have enough discernment to get to know someone prior to trusting them. And this translates well into our relationship with God. If you don’t know Jesus, why would you trust Him with your life? Yes, it is true. In order to follow Jesus, we must know Jesus. [Tweet that] Here’s how this played out in my story: When I was called to forgive Anthony, I knew God is loving, and that He was simply asking me to give what He graciously gave me. When I was called to love my enemy, I knew God is good, and that He would only ask me to do something that would lead me to a better place. When I feared interaction with a…

Connecticut Shooting: How Do We Respond?

Posted on: December 17th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

Sandy Hook Shooting, Psalm 34:18, Connecticut shooting, anger, angry, how do we respond, connecticut school shooting, elementary school shooting, God, Jesus, Christ, Christian, forgiveness, victim, grief, helping victims, how to help those who grieve, how do you help those who are grieving, loss, murder, newtown shooting, newton connecticut shooting, school shooting, shooting, tragedy, victim, victim's family, ministering to those hurting, ministering,

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18 What do we do when 20 little children and 7 adults are slaughtered before our eyes? How do we respond? No words of mine will ever do justice to this tragedy. To say it was a heinous act is an understatement. Terrible. Wicked. Evil. Horrific. None encapsulate the gravity of what has happened. Having been on the receiving end of tragic news, I still have no words of comfort for those affected by this tragedy. To tell them I know what they’re going through can oftentimes be a slap in the face. I remember many––with good intentions––tried to comfort and console me after my dad’s murder with their own stories of loss. I hate to admit this, but those who attempted to comfort me in this way only made me angry. They don’t know what I’m…

{Prayer Gifts} Praying for the Impossible

Posted on: November 12th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

If you recall, I had Lee Merrill guest post on my blog a while back, and today I’m over on her blog Prayer Gifts. Join me there as I recount the answered prayers throughout my journey toward forgiveness in Praying for the Impossible. If you’re joining me from Prayer Gifts, welcome! I hope you’ll take a moment, read, and stay a while. Be sure to subscribe (along the right hand side of my blog) to receive new posts by email or your reader of choice! Blessings…

{Redemption} “Your Testimony May Have Saved a Life!”

Posted on: November 8th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 17 Comments

forgiveness, christ, christian, following jesus, follow, forgive, Jesus, healing, love, loving your enemy, freedom, murder, letter from murderer, obedience, redeem, redemption, repentance, save a life, sharing your testimony, using your testimony, wholeness, how do i forgive, why forgive, christian forgiveness, christian forgiveness testimony, christian forgiveness story, forgiveness stories,

“Your testimony may have saved a life!” wrote Anthony––the man who murdered my dad––from his prison cell. Holding the letter, I stood in stunned silence, tears rolling down my face. Oh Lord, I thought, as I closed my eyes and dropped my head back, in awe. There really were no words. Thank you, Lord, thank you, was all that I could say in worship to our mighty God. I was called to forgive. To love my enemy. To allow Jesus unhindered access to the pain, the bitterness, and the wounds of my past which took residence in the deepest recess of my soul. I knew that He wanted to take me to a new, better place. A place of healing, peace, and forgiveness. So, I followed. By the grace of God alone, I followed Jesus as He led me down the messy, war-torn path toward wholeness. It was a trial like no…

Just a Bunch of Dumb Sheep

Posted on: October 5th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs

“Really, we’re all just a bunch of dumb sheep,” I told my sister on the phone yesterday. “We’d like to think that we’re smart, that we can figure it all out on our own, but it’s simply not true. Dumb sheep must stay close to their Shepherd!” It doesn’t take long when observing sheep to realize they’re not the brightest of creatures. Because of this, they are vulnerable and need a shepherd to guide and protect them. In the bible, we are likened to sheep, and we are told that Jesus is our Shepherd (John 10). Referring to a shepherd, Jesus says, The sheep hear [the shepherd’s] voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice…. I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down…

{Love Your Enemy} Pray Like the Dickens!

Posted on: September 18th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

I have to be honest, when I began this journey, I understood my need to forgive and knew that forgiving would bring me to a new and better place. I wanted to forgive. The thing I did not want to do, however, was love my enemy. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. The word “love” in the same sentence as “enemy” didn’t seem to make sense to me. What’s more, the word “love” in reference to Anthony was repulsive. Still, I knew that this is what the bible tells us to do. Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Yet, I didn’t quite understand it. The only insight I had on how to do this was to pray for Anthony and to do what God told me to do, which was to bring him a bible. So, out of obedience,…

{Forgiveness} What Biblical Forgiveness IS

Posted on: September 7th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

I am well aware of the fact that we’ve been dealing with some pretty heavy stuff so far. But I’d like to encourage you to hang in there. Don’t let the weightiness of these difficult topics deter you from the blessings that awaits you on the other side of forgiveness. To be completely honest, healing is hard work. It’s painful. It requires you to go to the hard places––to the deepest darkest crevices of your soul––and to allow Jesus to mine out that darkness and replace it with His light. This is no easy feat. It hurts, but beauty is left behind when we allow Jesus full and complete access to our wounds, our walls, our pain. Oh, how I love our God! As mentioned before, I am no expert, and I too, find myself struggling with forgiveness from time to time, but the Lord has taught me much on…