The Weary Intercessor: Praying in the Gap

The Weary Intercessor: Praying in the Gap

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2268419/fan_mail/new] If you are listening today with a heavy heart, carrying the names of family members and friends who desperately need a breakthrough, I want you to know right now: you are in the right place. Take a deep breath, and let’s sit together in God's presence for the next few minutes. Today’s episode is incredibly close to my heart. We are talking about a very specific kind of exhaustion. It’s the spiritual weariness that comes from standing in the gap for people you love when absolutely nothing seems to be changing. Maybe you are a mother crying yourself to sleep over a prodigal child who has walked away from everything you taught them. Maybe you are a wife praying for a spouse whose heart is not in sync with God. Or maybe you are a best friend watching someone you love sink deeper into depression, anxiety, or addiction. You’ve wept. You’ve quoted scripture. You’ve fasted. And honestly? Some days you feel like your prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling.  If you have felt that secret frustration, you are not a wavering Christian. You are human. Let’s be completely honest with each other. Intercession—the act of praying on behalf of someone else—is hard work. It is spiritual warfare. When we pray for our friends and family, we aren't just reciting a wish list to God. We are carrying their burdens.  But what happens when weeks turn into months, and months turn into years, and the situation actually looks worse than when you started praying? Doubt starts to creep in, doesn't it? The enemy loves to whisper in those quiet spaces. He tells you: * "God isn't listening to you." * "Your prayers don't matter." * "They are never going to change." If you are hearing those whispers, I want to give you a foundational truth to anchor yourself today from Psalm 34:17: "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles." Notice it says the Lord hears. Silence from God is not absence. Just because God is quiet does not mean He does not hear your prayers. Think about a seed planted in the dirt. For weeks, looking from the top down, it looks like dead soil. Nothing is happening. But underneath the surface, roots are breaking, life is forming, and structures are shifting. Your prayers are those seeds. Every single time you cry out for your spouse, your child, your sibling, or your friend, you are dropping a seed into eternity. God does not lose track of a single one of them. Revelation 5:8 gives us beautiful imagery of golden bowls in heaven filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Your tears and your prayers are so precious to God that He stores them. They do not expire. So, how do we practically keep going when intercessory fatigue sets in? How do we find the strength to keep kneeling?  Let’s shift our focus from the problem to the promise. We have to change our prayer strategy. We have to shift our focus away from the size of the problem and look directly at the size of the Promise Maker. Often, our prayers sound like this: "Oh Lord, look at how badly they are acting. Look at how deep they are in this sin. Look at how broken this marriage is. Look at how sick they are." We may spend twenty minutes describing the mountain to God. But God already sees the mountain. What we need to do is start describing our God to the mountain. Instead of focusing on your loved one's rebellion, focus on the relentless grace of God. Look at Galatians 6:9. It tells us: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Loving people through prayer is the ultimate good work. To help us shift our focus, let’s look at three specific biblical truths we can stand on when praying for others: 1. God loves them more than you do. This is hard for us to grasp, especially as mothers or spouses. But He created them. He died for them. As Romans 5:8 reminds us, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." His investment in our loved one’s redemption is infinitely higher than yours. We can trust His plans. 2. God can get into spaces you are locked out of. You might be blocked on social media, they might be ignoring your phone calls, or they might completely shut down when you try to talk about faith. But doors, walls, and distance cannot block the Holy Spirit. Remember Psalm 139:7: "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" He can reach them in a bar, in a prison cell, in a hospital room, or in the dead of night when they are alone with their thoughts. 3. God’s timing is perfect, not human. We want the microwave breakthrough. God is often doing an oven-baked work. He isn't just trying to fix their behavior; God wants to transform their soul. 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." That beautiful patience takes time. When you shift from begging God to fix things to trusting that He is already working, the heavy weight lifts off your shoulders. You realize you are not the savior. You are just the witness.

The "ONE" Mission Trip to Point Hope, Alaska

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2268419/fan_mail/new] A Blessed Mission to Point Hope, Alaska, with the Aglow Transformation Team and my friend and fellow podcaster, Colette Lawrence Christopher. I praise God for a powerful and deeply blessed mission trip to Point Hope, Alaska. My heart is full as I reflect on the incredible opportunities the mission team had to share the Good News of the Gospel with the beautiful people of this community. Through every event, the team witnessed the Holy Spirit moving and hearts opening to the message of hope and salvation. Here are the ways God worked through our time there: Vacation Bible School: Children gathered daily to learn about Jesus through lively songs, creative crafts, and foundational Bible lessons. Teen Night: A dedicated space for the youth to connect, enjoy fellowship, and hear how the Gospel speaks directly to their lives and challenges. Women’s Night: A powerful evening of deep connection, mutual encouragement, and spiritual refreshing for the women of Point Hope. Messages & Testimonies: Public gatherings where the mission team shared the life-changing truth of God's Word and personal stories of His faithfulness for all to hear. I returned home deeply grateful for the warm hospitality of Point Hope and the seeds of faith planted. Please join me in praying that the truth shared during this trip continues to take deep root and bring forth lasting fruit in the community. Point Hope, incorporated as a second-class city in 1966, is the second-largest city in Alaska's North Slope Borough. Located on the Chukchi Sea coast above the Arctic Circle, it has a population of approximately 760 residents and is exclusively accessible by air or sea.  The remote, largely Iñupiat community relies heavily on traditional subsistence hunting, fishing, and whaling for its local economy  Colette L Christopher, Author, Christian Life Coach & Empowerment Speaker; Founder: Colette Marie formerly The MEE Movement LLC Web: https://www.colettemarie.online/ [https://www.colettemarie.online/] Podcast: https://positionedforpurposeconversationswithcolettemarie.buzzsprout.com [https://positionedforpurposeconversationswithcolettemarie.buzzsprout.com/] Aglow : Transformation - Aglow International [https://aglow.org/transformation/]

Known Before Time: Embracing the Blueprint of Jeremiah 1:5

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2268419/fan_mail/new] Hello and welcome to The Gathering: Daughters of the Living King. I am your host, Judy Killebrew, and today we are stepping into a truth that has the power to completely re-anchor your identity. If you are walking through a season where you feel invisible, where you might feel too busy, or you don’t know why you are here……..I want you to take a deep breath. You are not an accident. Your presence on this earth is not a mistake. As women, we are constantly bombarded by cultural scripts telling us who we should be. We look in the mirror and face the pressure to be the perfect mother, the high-achieving professional, the flawless friend, and the woman who seamlessly balances it all. We curate online profiles, try the latest wellness trends, and constantly ask ourselves, "Am I doing enough? Am I enough?" Yet, the harder we try to measure up to these shifting standards, the more fragmented we feel. Today, we are stopping the hustle. We are anchoring our hearts to foundational truth. We are diving into a single verse from the Old Testament that shifts our focus from “How do I prove myself?” to “Who has always known me?” Turn your hearts to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 1, verse 5. God speaks to a young, terrified prophet—and through His Word, God speaks directly to our souls today: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Think about that. Before a single medical scan showed your heartbeat, you were an active thought in the mind of God. Over the next few minutes, we are unpacking three life-altering dimensions of this verse: God’s preconception knowledge of you, His intentional design of your life, and His specific consecration for your purpose. Let’s dive deep. To truly understand the weight of Jeremiah 1:5, we have to look at the world into which these words were spoken. Jeremiah was not living in a time of peace and prosperity. He was called to minister during one of the darkest, most chaotic eras in Israel’s history. The setting was marked by impending judgment, political corruption, and deep spiritual blindness. The nation of Judah was sliding into moral decay. The terrifying superpower of Babylon was rising on the horizon. It was into this cultural minefield that God called a young man. Scholars estimate Jeremiah was likely a teenager or in his early twenties—young, inexperienced, and fully aware of his own limitations. Let’s read the dialogue that happens right after God’s declaration. In verse 6, Jeremiah responds: "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth." Can you hear the panic in his voice? Jeremiah looks at the assignment, looks at his resume, and sees a massive deficit. He says, "I am unqualified. I don't have the status. I don't have what it takes." We do the exact same thing, don't we? God prompts our hearts to step out in faith—maybe to lead a women's Bible study, to mentor a younger sister, to navigate a difficult medical diagnosis, or to speak truth in our workplace—and our immediate reaction is to list our deficiencies. "Lord, I’m too tired. My past is too messy. I don’t know enough scripture. Look at all these other women who are better equipped than me." But notice God’s immediate correction in verses 7 and 8: "Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,’ says the Lord." God completely bypasses Jeremiah’s excuses because the assignment never depended on Jeremiah’s adequacy. It depended on God’s authority. When God told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you, I knew you," He was giving him an anchor. God was saying, "I engineered you precisely to handle this exact moment in history." He says the same to you today, my sister. You were engineered for this moment. Let’s break down Jeremiah 1:5 phrase by phrase. There are four distinct verbs used by God here that outline the anatomy of human identity: Formed, Knew, Sanctified, and Ordained. 1. "Before I formed you..." The Hebrew word used here for "formed" is yatsar. This is the same word used in Genesis 2:7 when God forms Adam from the dust of the ground. It is an artistic, intentional word. It is the language of a potter shaping clay. Think about a master potter. They don’t just throw random clay on a wheel and hope for the best. They have a blueprint in their mind before their hands ever touch the material. They decide the thickness, the height, the texture, and the purpose of the vessel. For every woman listening who has ever struggled with body image, physical insecurities, or health challenges: your physical frame is not a cosmic accident. Your genetic makeup, your natural inclinations, your physical traits, and even the era of history you were born into were hand-formed by the Sovereign Architect of the universe. 2. "...I knew you..." In ancient Hebrew, the word for "know" is yada. This is not a superficial, intellectual knowledge. It isn't God looking down from heaven saying, "Oh yes, I know of her." Yada denotes a deep, intimate, experiential relationship. In the Old Testament, yada is used to describe the most sacred covenant bond between a husband and a wife. When God says, "I knew you," He is saying, "I loved you, I chose you, and I set My heart upon you before time began." You were loved before you ever had the chance to perform, to succeed, or to fail. Your value was established in eternity past. 3. "...before you were born I sanctified you..." To "sanctify" means to set something apart for a holy, specific purpose. In the temple practices of Israel, a vessel that was sanctified could not be used for ordinary, everyday tasks. It was reserved exclusively for the service of the King. Before you drew your first breath, God put a claim on your life. He set you apart. This means you do not belong to the culture's expectations. You do not even belong to yourself. You belong to the Living God, set apart to reflect His glory in your family, your community, and the world. 4. "...I ordained you a prophet to the nations." The word "ordained" means to appoint or to give a specific commission. Jeremiah’s specific assignment was to be a prophet to the nations. Your assignment will look different. You might be ordained to cultivate a holy home, to bring justice to a corporate space, to minister to the brokenhearted, or to break generational curses in your family line. But make no mistake: you have an assignment. You are here on official kingdom business. The theme of being known by God before birth is a golden thread woven tightly throughout the entire tapestry of Scripture. When we see a truth repeated across different writers, generations, and covenants, we must sit up and pay attention. “I am not an accident. I am hand-formed by the Creator. I am deeply known by the King. I am set apart for His purposes. I am fully equipped for my assignment. My identity is secure in Jesus Christ.”

The Lioness Within: A Mother’s Courage to Roar

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2268419/fan_mail/new] Today, we give thanks to God for the gift of mothers—women who reflect His heart through their love, their strength, and their faithfulness. We honor the mothers who carried us, who nurtured us from our first breath, who taught us to walk, to pray, and to hope. We honor the adoptive and foster mothers, who surround their children with intention and love, showing the world the beauty of God’s redeeming embrace. We honor the grandmothers, aunts, and guardians who stepped in with courage and tenderness, filling homes with stability, wisdom, and joy. And today, we also honor the Spiritual mothers—the women who have poured into the lives of others through prayer, discipleship, and encouragement. These are the women who teach Scripture, who listen with compassion, who speak truth in love, and who help shape the faith of the next generation. Their influence is eternal, their ministry priceless. To every woman who has mothered a heart, guided a soul, or lifted someone up in Christ— God sees you, God loves you, and God blesses you. Your labor is not in vain. Your prayers are not forgotten. Your love is a reflection of the God who shelters us all with His comfort and His grace. May the Lord strengthen you, refresh you, and surround you with His peace. May He reward your faithfulness and fill your life with joy. And to every mother who grieves today: may you feel the nearness of God in the empty places, and may His gentle comfort remind you that your love still matters, your story still matters, and your tears are seen by the One who holds you close.

Strength & Dignity for Every Season: Serving in Ministry while Parenting Emerging Adults

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2268419/fan_mail/new] Today, we are discussing women serving in ministry and who are parenting children who are emerging into adulthood. If you have children, more than likely you have gone through this season, or you are going through this season, or this season will be in your future. Having gone through this season myself with 5 children, I want to share the unique challenges and spiritual opportunities of this special time in our lives. The call to serving in ministry is sacred. It’s personal. And for many women, whether we are leading a small group, teaching Sunday School, working in non-profits, or serving our community….ministry is a life poured out in service. But when ministry overlaps with parenting older teenagers or college‑aged children, something shifts. The pouring out continues, but the vessel itself is changing. This season is full of tension, transition, and deep emotional complexity for mother and child. Our home — once filled with the daily work of hands‑on parenting — becomes a place of prayerful watching. Our young adult children are stepping into independence, yet they still look for our wisdom, our steadiness, and our love. And for women serving in ministry, this season can feel like a delicate dance: Releasing our children into adulthood while staying present with them, and at the same time, leading and serving our community while continuing to nurture the home environment.  Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us, “To everything there is a season.” But to be very honest, this season can feel especially complicated. Because women who serve in ministry often feel the weight of two worlds: * The public calling to serve * The private responsibility of the family We may feel scrutinized — by congregations, communities, or even our own expectations. We may self-impose pressure to appear spiritually strong or even try to maintain a certain family image…which can be heavy……creating guilt, exhaustion, or a sense of inadequacy. Women may wrestle with guilt—feeling they are not doing enough at home or at work.  But friend, Scripture pushes back on that pressure. God never asked us to be perfect. He asked us to be faithful. 2 Corinthians 12:9 reminds us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” And I love the Apostle Paul’s words in Galatians 1:10:  “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?” That is powerful. We must remember that our audience is God, not people. Parenting emerging adults requires discernment, emotional presence, and spiritual resilience. And serving in Ministry requires the same. Jesus’ invitation to us for rest becomes essential: He states in Matthew 11:28  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus modeled boundaries. He withdrew. He rested. He said no.