For
the eyes of the Lord are
on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers.”—I Peter 3:12 (NKJV)

The
earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes
tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”—James 5:16
(AMP)

Prayer
at its highest is a two-way conversation and for me the most
important part is listening to God’s replies.”—
Frank
C. Laubach

God
never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that
we may intercede.”—Oswald Chambers

I
hate to go all Poltergeist on you, especially with a devotional, but
the saying is so fitting for right now. Ladies…I’m baaaaaack! The
manuscript for “Eyes Opened; Legs Closed” (which was eye-opening,
indeed!) was turned in last night and I ask you to pray that the
publishers are at peace with it. It was God’s food for thought with
Shellie’s brand of seasoning sprinkled on it and so it’s definitely
not the typical kind of mental meal. More than usual, on a lot of
levels that the Church won’t boldly go when it comes to sexuality,
sexual restoration and sexual wholeness, I did…because the Lord
told me to. (Luke 12:12)

I’m
currently working on another message (in my mind) entitled,
“Endangered Species”. Long story short, it’s sooooo time out for
us sitting back and letting the world take over the kingdom of God
AND THE RIGHTS THAT COME WITH IT. The Message Version of Isaiah
33:15-16 clearly states:

The
answer’s simple: Live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation,
refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements. This is how
you raise your standard of living! A safe and stable way to live. A
nourishing, satisfying way to live.”

Complacency
towards sin is not the character trait of a true disciple. We are
here to heal; not to conceal…to meet needs, not to cosign on
spiritual negligence.

OK,
but that’s kind of getting me off of the point. Kind of, but not
really.

Over
the weekend, after writing all day long, I took a break with my
interceding partner, LaShawn. We had both said that we wanted to see
“Star Trek” and although I am no movie Hollywood movie critic,
let me just say, “It is one of the best movies I have seen this
year.” (No, really!) There were so many spiritual messages in there
that I thought I was gonna lose my mind trying to jot those points
down on my bubble gum wrapper! I’m dead serious. The
endangered species message came from it. A daily motto that I now
live by (“What is necessary is never unwise.”) came from it. Two
other upcoming titles that I will pen later came from it. And, the
title/focus of this message as well came from it.

I
don’t want to give the plot away for those of you who haven’t checked
it out, but when Zoe Saldana’s character realized that her boyfriend
would have to leave the ship for a dangerous mission, after kissing
him she said something that tripped me (and LaShawn) right on out:

I’ll
be monitoring your frequency.”

At
first, I thought it was just me, but then I heard LaShawn say, “What?
Did she just say, ‘I’ll be monitoring your frequency’?!?”

I
turned to her and said, “See…that’s what I’m going to be telling
people from now on. That sounds a lot like, ‘I’ll be praying for
you.’”

And
it is.

Monitor: to
listen to (a radio conversation or channel); keep tuned to; to
observe, record, or detect (an operation or condition) with
instruments that have no effect upon the operation or condition; to
oversee, supervise, or regulate; to watch closely for purposes of
control, surveillance, etc.; keep track of; check continually

Frequency:
t
he property or condition of occurring at frequent intervals;
the condition of returning frequently; occurrence often repeated;
common occurrence; as, the frequency of crimes; the frequency of
miracles

This
past weekend, I also attended a wedding that was absolutely
beautiful. I have a surrogate mother who transitioned out of cancer
(my way of saying “died”) a little over two years ago. Her
husband married his new wife this past Sabbath. It was a bit
awkward…seeing him with someone new, but it was also
amazing…seeing him with someone new; seeing what God will do when
we release our will into his plans; plans that he promised us, ahead
of time, were good. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Well,
the other thing that moved me so was that I promise you I can’t
remember the last time I attended a wedding ceremony that had so
much Word
in it! I mean, it had to have been about an hour(at
least) of nothing but scriptures and hymns. It really made me look
at the sanctity of marriage in another light: a brighter light.
(Shout out to the Episcopalians!)

Anyway,
while I’ve heard what I am about to say, in some shape, form or
fashion before, for some reason, I heard it differently on that day.
Truly we really must watch not only what we hear, but how we listen. (Luke 8:16-18) Anyway, the priest began the service by
asking people to refrain from taking pictures. Now, I don’t think
I’ve heard that since the last time I went to a concert, but his
logic behind it was very similar: “This is a special time between
Jim, Solveig and the Lord. We don’t want there to be any
distractions.” Distractions. I tell people pretty often that there
is one thing that I think is worse than sin, and that is a
distraction. In my opinion, it’s because it seduces you in such a
subtle way.

I’ll
pray right after I watch this television show.

I’ll
double up on my tithe next week (there is a blessing that comes with
giving your first fruit—Proverbs 3:9)

I’ll
help that person out right after I finish checking out of this line.

Shout
out to the pastor for discerning that even with all the excitement
that was going on, this moment in time was about the three
people—well two people, one Godhead—entering this covenant: the
husband, the wife and the Lord. And yet, it caused me to pause. The
Bible speaks on the kind of man godly men should be (Titus 2:2 &6-8).
It lends us to believe that women should have a wifely qualities
about themselves when their future husbands are brought into their
lives. (Proverbs 18:22) OK, but where is God in this three-fold
covenant? Why don’t we hear more about his involvement?

I’ll
tell you why. It’s because it’s rare that we involve him…as much as
the other two parties, anyway.

There
is nothing worse than a man who thinks that a loose woman (Proverbs
5) will change just by walking down the aisle. There’s nothing worse
than a woman who thinks a piece of swine (remember one definition is
a “brutishly sensual person”) will change just because he jumped
the broom. There needs to be a heart change way before the
big day, baby; there needs to be an established relationship based on
loyalty, trust, honesty and commitment already set into place. A
wedding is simply to solidify and consecrate what’s already present.

And
yet, even if the (future) wife and (future) husband are accounted
for, there is another being that shouldn’t be left out until the main
event: God. And here is where “monitoring your frequency” phrase
comes in. While penning my book, one of the things that I shared was
that it was very rare, if ever, that I asked God—concerning the men
that I wanted—if they were right for me. It was even rarer if I
asked God if I was right for them. James 4:1-3 plainly tells us that
when it comes to what we want, either we don’t have it because we do
not ask God for it, or because he doesn’t trust the motives behind
our desires. Either way, to get to our own personal Promise Land,
yes, even when it comes to our covenant partner, God must be
involved
. Even in the beginning stages of a relationship, if it
is to be a sacred union, GOD MUST BE IN IT.

My
point?

Some
of you right now are pining away over some guy and it’s stressing you
out. What’s he gonna do? Where do you stand with him? Does he want
the same things that you want out of the relationship? You feel like
you’re gonna have a mini-nervous breakdown because you’re so
anxious…and that’s because you’ve overlooked the third (or first,
depending on how you look at it) being in the relationship:

Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

Currently,
I am walking out a very interesting journey with someone that I have
grown to deeply care for. I am fairly certain of the outcome, but
until he speaks this same certainty, all I can do is my part and
trust in the other member (not him; God) of this growing friendship.
Ladies, one thing that makes this journey different is because I know
that we both value God and his instruction in our lives. I can’t
remember the last time I’ve had—or even wanted—that in my life.
We don’t talk a ton and we see each other even less (in this season,
anyway—Ecclesiastes 3), but do you know what provides me comfort?

“‘You
don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What
you’ll get is the Holy Spirit.’”—Acts 1:7 (Message)

But
the Helper, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”—John
14:26 (NKJV)

I
don’t get to see “him” as much as I would like, but I do get to
dialogue with the Spirit who resides in both of us (I Corinthians
6:19) as much as I want. Because God said in his Word that he will
withhold no good thing from me (Psalm 84:11) and I know that I serve
someone that cannot lie (Titus 1:2), I have to trust that, however it
turns out, he is working out all things for my good. (Romans 8:28)
Don’t you see? I don’t have to be around the guy in the physical to
be present in the spiritual. Even if we aren’t verbally speaking, I
can still MONITOR HIS FREQUENCY through prayer; through conversing
with the one who created us both.

I’ve
shared several times before that my mother often says that we don’t
have to tell people everything; we can tell God and let him
translate. During this time of unsettling (for some of you), I
encourage you to take this message deeply to heart. God is not going
to give us any one if they are going to take the place of him (Exodus
10:3, Romans 1). Something that I’m growing to understand is that I’m
often not getting the kind of attention I want from the object of my
affection because I am not giving the kind of attention to the one
who wants mine. (I know, right?) There’s three of us in this
thing…three of us should feel like we are involved.

And
so, I’m gonna get off of here now. I actually have an early morning
prayer date with the third chord of this relationship and the one who
is truly becoming the first love of my life (finally!).

Who
knows when I’ll chat with my friend again, but the comforting thing
is God does (Revelation 1:8) and as I wait (did you know that one
definition of “wait” is “to pause for another to catch up”?),
he told me what I can do. I can monitor “his” frequency. I can
pray.

And
with prayer, there is much power…from the third source.

THE
MAIN SOURCE.

Selah.
Amen.

©Shellie
R. Warren/2009