Your words…

So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him.* But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life.   Hebrews 10:35-39, *Habakkuk 2:3-4

My words…

Praise

When I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, I didn’t worry that it would crumble beneath my feet and I would plunge into San Francisco Bay. I had confidence in the bridge builders. I have built some “bridges” in my life that I didn’t feel as confident crossing. Like the Raising Children Bridge. I’ve crossed it without plunging into an abyss, but not because I had confidence in my abilities. In fact, that bridge rippled in the wind a couple times, and I barely hung on. I lost my footing on My Faith Bridge more than once (to say the least). I came upon some fog and stopped moving for a while. The fog cleared, and my journey continued. I’ve come to the end of some bridges and some I have yet to cross. But this I have learned from You: I needn’t have confidence in the bridge if I have confidence in the One leading me across.

Prayer for me

There are many areas of my life wherein I lack confidence. If a recipe begins with the words “dissolve yeast,” I toss the recipe and buy dinner rolls. Not an issue. But when I am confronted with someone who is grieving or despairing, I lack the confidence to know how to comfort them, to know what to say. In those times, will You help me? Instead of having confidence in myself, I ask you to lead me in placing my confidence in Your Spirit.

Prayer for others

There is a family who is grieving the murder of their three-year-old daughter. Her body was found in a dumpster. Indescribable grief. I have confidence that You will comfort them when I ask. Wrap them in Your arms and bring them peace. I also have confidence in Your wisdom to bring judgment on those who are responsible for such grief. Woe to those who cause Your children harm and remain remorseless and unrepentant.

Thank You

Thank You for the seasons of earth and the seasons of life. Nothing remains static. Everything changes. The leaves are radiant yet they are dying. I thank You for the autumn of my life.

More praise

You are the One in whom I place my confidence, and I would never throw it away. I hold it in front of me as a shield. I will not draw back. I will not be destroyed.

Your words…

The Lord spoke to Aaron, “When you enter the Tent of Meeting, you must distinguish between the holy and the common…”  Leviticus 10:10

Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord.” Araunah said, “My lord the king may take whatever he wants.” The king answered, “No, I insist on buying it from you, for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings which cost me nothing.”  2 Samuel 24:21-24 selected verses

My words…

Praise

These words of Yours, spoken to Aaron millennia ago, are the foundation and inciting action for my published prayer journey. I reasoned that I should not bring my common words before You; words that have been weighed and found wanting do not belong in a prayer before Your throne. My desire was to offer prayers plump with meaning and honesty, wrapped in holiness. Looking back, I can see I missed the mark at times. But one thing I know: My words are uncommon. No one else has prayed them before I did.

For the past few days You have received prayers and worship which You have never heard from me before. However, these moments of praise and lament did not flow from me naturally since I was reading every word from a book of liturgy. I read, I chanted, I prayed, I listened, I put the book away. Thousands upon thousands of people have prayed and chanted these same words over the years. I balanced this experience with my usual free-spirited style of worship, and a question formed in my mind: Are my prayers and praise holy enough? Are they uncommon enough? They certainly don’t sound anything like what I have been reciting through liturgy. For example, I usually do not begin a prayer to You with a salutation. You know my prayer is to You since I believe there is no other god but You. I usually do not end my prayer with an Amen or a Let It Be So. It sounds like an ending to a book (The End), and I don’t want it to be the end. I want my years of prayers and adoration to be one continuous string of light, twinkling at Your feet forever – a string that grows longer each day. After meditating on my liturgical worship, I believe I know why I left the sanctuary so…joyless: My worship to You was too easy. I didn’t expend any effort. It cost me nothing except forty minutes of my time. It was worship, but, for me, it was inexpensive worship.

My Liturgy

My collection of prayers and praise form my own personal liturgy. I have gone back and recited prayers to You years after I wrote them. My liturgy is imperfect, littered with misspellings, bad grammar, and, perhaps, even worse theology. But every thought is mine, and every word is dedicated to You with a heart gushing with praise and exultation, pleas for forgiveness, and petitions for those I love and those I have never met. It hasn’t cost me anything worth mentioning compared to Your sacrifice, but it has cost me something. And this small, uncommon sacrifice, I offer to You as one more light in the string.

Your words…

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Colossians 3:12, 14

My words…

Praise

Being chosen, set apart and dearly loved by You comes with a Designer wardrobe. The outfit is for every season, one size fits all. Each piece is unique, but when worn together, the ensemble is complete. It’s an honor to be be clothed by the greatest Designer in the universe.

Prayer for me

Here’s something I’ve noticed: When I take off  a garment – say, patience – because I  grow weary of one thing or another and begin to snap, I find that when I go to put patience on again, it doesn’t fit; it’s loose in places and sags. I don’t “fill it out” anymore. Help me to stay clothed always in these virtues. They never grow smelly or stiff. They are infused with the scent of heaven.

Forgive me

I walked by a woman in the bookstore today. She wore a t-shirt which read, “Ask me about my story.” She smiled and met my eyes. I smiled and walked on. I sat in my car and wished I would have asked her about her story. She obviously wants to tell people. I wouldn’t be surprised if her story had something to do with You in her life. I let my humility slip. How much time would she have taken up? I’m on my lunch hour for pity’s sake. It brings to mind how much of my time I think about me, me, me. Forgive me.

Thank You

I am not just loved; I am dearly loved. And not just dearly loved but dearly loved by You. I can’t comprehend the depth of Your love. If I did, my heart would explode, I imagine. So I thank You for Your love and look forward to the day when I will understand it perfectly with an intact heart.

More praise

Your love is the thread that binds my wardrobe together. Your love is the reason I have a wardrobe at all. When I show compassion, it’s because You love me. When I am kind and gentle, I am imitating You. Without Your love, it would all unravel.

Your words…

For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit. For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in You. Romans 8:5-6, 9

My words…

Praise

You don’t seem to mind repeated praise. David did it. Now I will do it. I have praised You so many times for being The God Who Indwells. No other god does it. No other god can. But You chose to exist outside of Yourself, outside of heaven, and inhabit Your children. Only You, who knows full-well the condition of my heart would choose to dwell there. You’re not put off by the mess, and for this I am eternally grateful.

Prayer for me

Life and peace. That’s what I want. I want life to the fullest, to the most abundant where I may exist on earth while holding heaven in my heart. I want to stand against what evil slithers across my path and know I am not alone. When I witness an injustice, I want to be lead to pray. I want to revel in the truth that I am Your child and rely on that confidence when doubt rears its head. That’s what I want.

Forgive me

Forgive me when my mind is pulled away from the “things” of the Spirit and twists toward the “things” of the flesh. (Do I really want to blog this week? Instead, I’ll spend more time on this other task. But this task is just too difficult. I’m taking a much-needed break. Ahhh.) I am learning that “things” of the flesh never work out in the end.

Prayer for others

Oh, that everyone would have the mind-set of Your Spirit! Everyone in the world. Everyone in my country. Everyone in my city. Everyone in my home. Including me.

More praise

Life: it’s what courses through my veins and spirit. Peace: it’s the undercurrent of Your presence that makes life worth living.

Your words…

For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night.  Psalm 90:4

My words…

Praise

When I say I don’t know this or that, I feel stupid. (I don’t know how to fix my computer.) But when I say I don’t know how time is different for You compared to me, I don’t feel dumb. No one knows that answer. No one but You. (And You don’t count in this example.) Did You create time, or was it always just there? If You created time, then that movement from timelessness to time is, in itself, a succession of events, which usually means a passing of time. Yikes. So perhaps You co-exist with time? Maybe? If You live within time, then you can, as scripture says, foreknow something. Yes? Before my noodle is thoroughly baked, I have made the decision not to spend any more time of this matter! Here is what I know about You from what You have taught me over the decades: You are now. You are then. You are always. That pretty much wraps it up for me.

Prayer for me

I have spent my whole life on some sort of time schedule. Even as an infant I lived according to my mother’s schedule. Clocks, watches, sundials, all reminders that time moves along, and I can’t do a thing about it. But lately that fact has been draining my spirit of its joy. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but I swear I just made that turkey last month. But instead of fretting about how time flies, I need to discern the best way to spend each moment I have left. And that is why I look to You and ask for a measure of righteous wisdom.

Forgive me

Forgive me for the hours and days I diverted from what I should have done to what I wanted to do. I can’t get that time back. I don’t want to have to ask You to forgive me for this same sin again.

Prayer for others

Today I pray for those who have so little time left on earth. They are elderly and weak or terminally ill. They may not see their next birthday or live to attend their child’s wedding. For those who long to see Paradise, I pray they will find some joy in their last days. For those who have no hope, I pray You will send some their way.

Thank You

I am so grateful for the time You have given me on this earth. I have enjoyed decades of undeserved blessing. Thank You for holding me in Your hand.

More praise

People say that time is precious. It is. But even more precious is You in my life.

Your words…

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart. No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.  Hebrews 4:12-13

Remember Your word to Your servant; You have given me hope through it. This is my comfort in my affliction: Your promise has given me life.  Psalm 119:49-50

My words…

Praise

I am surrounded by life – people, animals, plants – all moving, growing, talking, chirping. In time, what surrounds me will die, or I will die first. Your word is alive, cutting, penetrating, separating, judging, exposing. Your words have been around before people, animals, and plants. You spoke us all into existence. But You didn’t stop the flow of living words. They streamed from Your prophets, priests, apostles, Son. Your words do not grow out of style. They do not lose their relevance. They remain alive on the page and on the lips of believers. They will remain alive forever, in this world and the next.

Prayer for me

Whenever I am near what is purely alive – a vine bursting with fruit, baby birds in a nest, a playground teeming with children – I feel more alive myself. When Your word fills my mind and heart, I am living most earnestly, most abundantly. Now, one would think that I would strive every moment to maintain that level of existence through a constant connection to Your word, wouldn’t one? We both know I don’t. I pray for a heart that holds a daily thirst which can only be quenched through Your word.

Forgive me

Forgive me during times of distress when I don’t remember Your promises – first. I eventually come around to them but not until I’ve tried my own feeble “remedies” (which usually include some form of sugar). Will you please forgive me, yet again? I know You will. I know You have.

Prayer for others

I drove through an intersection the other day and saw a well-dressed woman praying with a homeless man by the side of the road. His tattered cardboard sign hung at his side as she held his shoulders and prayed with eyes closed. Bless this servant of Yours! She was Jesus to that man at that moment.

Thank You

Your words are sharp enough to carve between what is carnal and what is spiritual. The blade isn’t dull. It hurts, but it’s the only way for me to be free of the stuff that leads to death. What’s left is Your glory. Thanks for cutting.

More praise

I see Your revelations, prophesies, instructions, and promises as invisible, charged particles zipping through my flesh and bones and mind and heart. They never stop moving; they are loaded with energy, spilling truth and wisdom. Never still. Never weakened. Alive forever and ever.

Your words…

Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.  Colossians 2:6-7

My words…

A prayer for my faith

After decades of living around and gazing upon trees, I know there is a difference between having roots and being rooted. A sapling can be pulled from the ground with a little tug. Not so a sixty foot oak. The oak is established. The sapling is not. I am not an established sixty foot oak like Abraham, David and Paul, but I am rooted. And there is only one way my roots will grow deeper and stronger: walking in You, Jesus. Not walking with You where there is space between us. No, walking in You where You can personally and directly strengthen my roots. Then, and only then, will they grown deeper and farther. They will not be ripped out by the surge of doubt, the gust of trials, or the gale of despair. Satan will not have the strength to pluck me from the ground.

And so I pray for You to continue to grow my roots so they are thick and strong and deep. I look to Your word as my fertilizer. Praying to You is like drinking cool water. Praising You is basking in the light of Your glory. You are everything I need.

Your words…

For we are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said: I will dwell among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch any unclean thing, and I will welcome you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God.  2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1

My words…

Praise

Paul presents a good point here. If we are to exist in Your presence – walking with You, praising You, sharing You – the least we can do is clean up first. Just as I wouldn’t show up to a wedding wearing my sweaty gym clothes, so I shouldn’t come before You with an unclean spirit. You promised to be my God, to be a heavenly Father to me. There is no promise in all of creation more precious. It’s a promise worthy of a heartfelt response – a purification of my flesh and spirit.

Prayer for me

There are toxins at work in my spirit. Some I recognize as poisonous, like the fading joy of walking in Your way or the exasperation that accompanies waiting on an answer from You. But there are other toxins I don’t see (or don’t want to see). Shine a light on the places in need of a refreshing detox. And give me the desire to want to do so.

Forgive me

Forgive me when I recognize the gunk in my spirit and decide to leave it there. It’s the easy way out, but it’s also the most insulting to You. How dare I bring gunk in the presence of pure, perfect, and holy radiance?

Thank You

You seem to enjoy making promises – promises with backbone. They are life-giving and life-altering. And the best part? You never go back on a promise. You do what You say You’re going to do. Thank You because I fear I don’t make it easy for You.

More praise

As much as I strive to completely cleanse my spirit and flesh, I always miss a spot (or ten). But this I know: You don’t hold that against me. Jesus, You took care of that.

Your words…

The Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to fight against Jehoshaphat. He was afraid, and he resolved to seek the Lord. He stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem and said, “Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You. Now here are the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir. Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to You. Then, the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel, and he said, “Listen carefully. This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. Yahweh is with you.'”  Selected verses from 2 Chronicles 20:1-17

My words…

Praise

You never stop battling. The Enemy never stops attacking. You battle because You have been sought out by someone in trouble, someone who knows of Your power and might. At first thought, I think: What a troubling existence. Constant battles. No peace. But on second thought, I believe I am missing the truth. Perhaps it is Your joy that rings across the battlefield. You say, “This is my battle, not yours.” And You are overjoyed when Your children say, “Fight for me!” and stand back and watch Your salvation. I wonder what a joyful battle sounds like!

Prayer for me

I was attacked last week, and I didn’t recognize the Enemy for the first few days. I wallowed in self pity and confusion over my life’s circumstances. I didn’t feel as if I were on a battlefield. It felt more like a boxing ring. Satan had me up against the ropes while I tried to lace up my gloves. I don’t even know how to box. Then, from deep within my soul, I heard You say, “This is my fight.” I scrambled from the ring and took a seat in the spectator section. I’m very good at spectating. But I am troubled that it took me so long to hear You. I could have saved myself some bludgeoning if my spirit had been more in tune with Yours. I know we’ll continue to work on that together.

Forgive me

When Jehoshaphat was under attack and afraid, he resolved to seek You and call on You for deliverance. He didn’t wallow. He didn’t pace with his head in his hands. He knew what to do and he did it. Forgive me for wasting time and tears by not emulating him.

Prayer for others

Lord, there is someone I love who is being bludgeoned by the Enemy as I write this. I don’t believe he is aware. He is burdened with grief, guilt, desperation, and weariness. I pray he will recognize his enemy and call on You to fight for him.

Thank You

How do I thank You for taking me out of the ring and, with joy, sending my Enemy fleeing? Perhaps if I were the most eloquent writer to ever exist, I could pen something to adequately express my gratitude. But I doubt it.

More praise

There are no more comforting words than “Yahweh is with you” – four words powerful enough to chase away my fear and despair. I celebrate a victory I didn’t fight or earn. And that’s how it goes with a God who loves me.

Your words…

For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 3:9-11

My words…

Praise

I love the imagery of You as my foundation. In a world where rugs are pulled out from under me and guarantees are like ghosts, I know my foundation is unmovable. It is embedded with splinters from the cross, stained with Your blood, infused with hope. But it’s your love that holds it all together and makes it unbreakable. My foundation cannot be chipped, cracked, or broken. It is solid. A Rock of Ages. When I look very closely, I see you etched a heart in the corner!

Prayer for others

I pray for those who have built their lives on a foundation other than You. The most popular foundation I see is the Personal Accomplishment Foundation. Then there’s the Life Isn’t Fair Foundation. And let’s not forget the Foundations Are Overrated Foundation. They buckle and crumble, and those who have built their lives there are not safe. But You can save them.

Thank You

I drove by an old wooden barn the other day. The boards were weathered, dry, and splintered. The roof sagged; the door hung crooked on its hinges. Yet it stood – after decades of being rattled by wind, pounded by rain, and scorched by sun. A smart farmer built that barn on a solid foundation; otherwise, it would have fallen years ago. I am that barn. I have relied on You to keep me upright. I have built my life on You, board by board. When I lost a child, I kicked a hole in my wall. But I patched it. I sway at times, but I am still standing, and it’s only because of You.

More praise

I praise and exalt You as the Solid Rock on which I stand. I know that all other ground is nothing more than sinking sand.