Your words…

Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, Saul and Barnabas came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God’s message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos. they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear God’s message. But Elymas the sorcerer (this is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul – also called Paul – filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at the sorcerer and said, “You son of the Devil, full of all deceit and all fraud, enemy of all righteousness! Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? Now, look! The Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Suddenly a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul, seeing what happened, believed and was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.  Acts 13:4-12

There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium, or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.  Deuteronomy 18:10-12

My words…

Praise

Oh, Lord, at the same moment when Your son, Paul, battled Elymas, the son of the Devil, were Your holy armies at war with Satan’s in the unseen realm? Was the enemy held back from claiming any more ground when Paul rebuked the sorcerer and You struck him blind? Did Satan shake his fist at Your archangel who rejoiced over Sergius Paulus’ astonishment of You? Does Satan tremble with rage that Your children continue to read this story and praise You? I hope so!

Prayer for me

Lord, let me never forget the reason You warn me against specific evil practices: You know the damage that will result, and You love me too much to remain silent and let me stray into it.

Forgive me

Elymas was warned of the evil of sorcery, yet he chose that vocation anyway. Forgive me when I choose to neglect Your warnings and pervert Your straight paths. You know I do not practice sorcery, but You know the sins I do practice. Please forgive me.

Prayer for others

Since Elymas was born a Jew, I assume he was taught the Law and the Prophets from a young age. He attended synagogue school and memorized Your holy words. He knew what You had to say about sorcery. But something happened, and he decided to trade in a life of adoration and reverence for You for a life of trickery, deceit, and self-exultation. His parents must have been ashamed of him. His Jewish acquaintances may have shunned him. He tied a blindfold over his spiritual eyes and strode through life, living every moment for his own gain. My world is full of Elymases – those who embraced Your love at one time then ground it into the earth beneath their shoes. They are energized by lies and use that energy to twist the paths walked on by those searching for You. The Devil tightens their blindfolds, and they are numb to the pain. Just as You loved Elymas and grieved his choices, so do You love all who have turned their eyes from You and carve out a different path. They cannot escape Your love. You remain alongside them, arms waiting to embrace. I pray that the Devil loses his children back to You – that You reclaim them from their kidnapper.

Thank You

You blinded Elymas so that he would see what You wanted him to see. Thank You for your steadfastness – You never stop forgiving, never stop instructing, never stop loving.

More praise

I praise You for Your plan to save Your creation from all evil and gather us to Yourself in a place You are preparing now. My hope is that I will see Elymas there.

Your words…

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Bless the Lord, O you His angels, you mighty ones who do His word, obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all His hosts, His ministers, who do His will! Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!  Psalm 103:1-5, 20-22

My words…

Praise

 How blessed I am! Blessing upon blessing! More than I could number. These blessings do not flow because of my deeds or because of some uncanny coincidence. They flow from You because it’s what You do. You can’t hold it in. Blessings gush forth like water breaking through a dam. But what about You? How may I bless You? It’s a staggering thought. You dwell in the heavens surrounded by hosts of angels and armies. You hold the planets in the palms of Your hands and wear a crown of stars on Your head. You know all. You own all.

I am just a child, limited, bounded. But my spirit is driven to bless You. So I lay my blessings at the foot of Your throne. They may be vapid, but they are genuine. When I marvel at an eclipse, I bless You. When I thank You for buttered corn, I bless You. My prayers are meant to bless You as are my meditations. I bless You when I share Your words with others and when I accept those shared with me. I bless You when I see a bird on the fencepost and remember that You know the number of its feathers. When I ponder on what heaven is like, I bless You. And when I thank You for Your blessings, I bless You. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Prayer for me

Lord, help me bless You more deeply and more often. Reveal to me new ways to bless You.  They are endless just as Your blessings are to me.

Forgive me

Forgive me when I revel in my blessings and neglect to give You praise. You are the source of the blessing. I am only the vessel loved enough to carry it.

Prayer for others

Lord, I pray for those who don’t feel blessed. They may be neglected, abused, terminally ill. Their loved ones may be suffering, and they feel helpless.  “Where is the Lord?” they cry. “Where are my blessings?” Show them, Lord! Reveal to them Your hand in their lives, Your promise to love them through pain and sorrow, and Your plan to welcome them into a new home with a new body someday.  Receiving Your blessings through suffering is the ultimate spiritual experience. But that is another topic for another prayer.

Thank You

Thank You, Lord, for blessing me. My eyes fill with tears as I write this because I am overwhelmed by Your love and care for me. I can’t express my true gratitude. Maybe there is a heavenly language with words that can adequately capture my thoughts, but I don’t know that language. So Holy Spirit, translate it, please.

More Praise

As a child, I learned that old hymn, Count your blessings, name them one by one. I have never done that. It may take all day. It may take all week. The list would never by exhaustive because there are blessings of which I am unaware. I wouldn’t be surprised if I could only name a small fraction. You, on the other hand, could count how many times I have blessed You. Whatever the number, it is not nearly large enough. But I am happy to add to it during the days I have left to live.

Your words…

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.  Hebrews 12:1-2

My words…

Praise

All praise to the One who stands at the finish line, the bright stanchion of faith whose countenance is a cloud by day and fire by night. As long as I keep my eyes on You, I never fear of losing my way, wandering off track, tripping over snares, and skinning my knees. And even though I see You as the prize when my race is done, You are so much more. You run beside me, training, spurring, protecting. I turn my head to find You there, confident in the fact that I will not lose step. And when I slow to a walk, which I am wont to do, You do not race ahead and leave me alone and ashamed. You lift my head and remind me of the sweet rest awaiting me at the end. And I am off and running again!

Prayer for me

No one knows more than You how easily I am distracted. I could blame it on the lightning speed society of which I am a part – so much to see and hear around me. But I know that even if I sat in a field with nary a tree or person around, I would find something on which to attach my thoughts, and off they would flit, riding on the breeze like a dead leaf in autumn. It’s as if I can’t keep control of where my mind wanders. How absurd!  It’s my mind. But sometimes I think it isn’t my mind. It’s been hijacked and taken for a joy ride through daydreams, and wishful thinking, and rhetorical questions. A black fog appears. Minutes, hours, and days of running blind until I just stop and call out to the One standing at the finish line. You appear through the fog, and my sights are re-set. The distractions will never evaporate. Help me to recognize their uselessness and worthlessness.

Forgive me

The writer of Hebrews calls these distractions “the sin that ensnares us.” I take my eyes off You, and sin is there, grabbing my attention. It’s so very pretty…on the outside. Forgive me when I decide to allow sin to avert my attention. It’s my decision, and it’s always a bad one.

Prayer for others

Lord, I am not the only distracted disciple. We are a large team of runners, tripping over each other, sometimes shoving each other. How can we be a light to others if we keep being drawn off course into the fog? We trip over the snares of doctrine, ideology, traditions and drag others down with us. But You keep shining, Lord! And we get back up, so grateful that You never give up on us!

Thank You

I can’t run this race alone. Thank You for lacing up and running with me.

More praise

You are the perfecter of my faith. You take my bumbling, ankle-twisting, air-gasping race and present it to the Father as one run by a gazelle. And it cost You – in blood. But I have resolved to not let one drop go to waste. I’ll keep running until the day when our hands touch at the finish line.