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First
Your words…
Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine. Proverbs 3:9-10
My words…
Praise
There is something precious about the first of something. The first bloom of spring, the first cry of a newborn. I’m not a farmer, but I know I would be amazed by the first tomato, the first melon, or the first bean that appeared from the dirt. You know all about firsts. Everything You created was a first, and perfect the first time. No do-overs. And all of Your firsts were made for me to enjoy and to use as another way to praise You. No two people are exactly alike. Each one is a first. No two stars, no two grains of sand, no two snowflakes (although I have never really checked). – all firsts. The first of something has more value. In ancient times, the first of something was the best of something. What better way to honor You than to give You my first and my best? But I’m not perfect, so neither is my best. It’s like a preschooler proudly giving her daddy a painted picture where all of the colors ran together to produce a brown blob. But, to him, it’s refrigerator worthy. My first and best isn’t good enough for You, but You’re so glad to get it that You hang it in heaven and show it to the angels.
Prayer for me
Lord, I need a lesson about how I can honor You more often and more perfectly. Remind me to glorify You with my first day of each week, with my first thought of each day, with my first bite of each meal, and every other first in my life. You, Spirit, are a wonderful teacher, but I can be an unmotivated, stubborn, distracted student.
Forgive me
Forgive me when I give you second best (or third or fourth). How many times have I said, “I’ll get to God later. I have to finish something else first” ? You know the number. (I don’t want to know.) You would never treat me like that.
Thank You
Thank You for Your longsuffering. I always thought, by this age, I would be farther along in my efforts at naturally offering You the firsts of my life. But I lag. Thank You for loving me as You wait on me to grow.
More Praise
As it happens, I am writing this part of the prayer on the first day of the week, in the first moments of my waking hours. I praise You along with the birds who are singing their first song of adoration to You, along with the brilliant rays of morning sun, paying homage to the Christ, the Light of the World. Dewdrops are glistening in a show of reverence before they disappear. Parents are lifting their babies from their cribs and thanking You for another day together. A troubled soul has awakened and decided that today will be the first day back on the path where You wait with open arms.
I offer my first and best to the One who is First and Best.
Speak
Your words…
Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord because the work of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Once again, for the third time, the Lord called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. He told Samuel, “Go lie down. If He calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came, stood there, and called as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel responded, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:7-10
My words…
Praise
Nothing amazes me more than the concept of You speaking to…well, anyone. And because You are God, You speak through earthquakes, burning bushes, dreams and visions, rainbows, a still small voice, and yes, through scripture. But it’s Your “voice from heaven” that amazes me the most. Whatever language You use, everyone understands it. No one ignores it. I know people who have heard Your voice, and they were never the same. Whenever You speak, the message is simple. The message is essential. The message is for the good of the hearer. Some within Your creation erect a boundary around how You communicate. You can speak in this way, but not in that. (An image forms in my mind of a turkey lecturing Einstein. It would be comical except no one is laughing.) The One who created the mind is welcome to reveal. The One who created the tongue is entreated to speak. Whenever and however You choose.
Prayer for me
In the past, I envied those who testified to hearing Your voice from heaven. I wanted to hear You, too. I’ve changed my mind. I no longer believe I could bear up under it. My spirit would melt. So I asked Your Spirit to speak to me through my spirit. I ask You questions, and I receive answers. The answers take root in my mind, and I know they are from You. I praise. I thank. I move on to the next question. It’s a spiritually enriching process for me except when I decide to ignore Your answer. Which leads to…
Forgive me
…me asking for Your forgiveness. Who am I to ignore Your voice? To decide that I have a better plan? To refuse Your answer because it may cost me more than I’m willing to give? Who am I? I’m an ungrateful child; that’s who I am.
Thank You
Thank You for not withholding Your counsel and instruction even when I recklessly discount it or reject it outright. Thank you for repeating and repeating. Thank You for not treating me as my actions and thoughts deserve.
More praise
All praise and glory to You, the God who speaks! You are not a totem. You are not an idol. You have a voice. Speak, for Your servant is listening!
Giant
Your words…
David took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached Goliath. He said to David, “Come here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” David said, “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies – you have defied Him. Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I will strike you down and cut your head off. When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet him. David took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead, and Goliath fell on his face to the ground. David ran and stood over him. He grabbed Goliath’s sword and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. Selected verses from 1 Samuel 17.
My words…
Prayer for me
Lord, I stand today in the shadow of a giant. It’s a thick, dark shadow that has blocked out the sunlight. How am I going to overcome it? As I wring my hands, the image of a teen aged Israelite boy appears in my mind. He, too, stands in the shadow of a giant – a thick, strong giant, blocking out the sunlight. But the kid doesn’t wring his hands. He doesn’t consider the odds. He listens to Goliath’s taunts and insults – insults directed toward You – and grows incensed. My Goliath gibes me as well. I hear his voice in my head: You’ll never be able to conquer me. You’re not smart enough. Your faith isn’t strong enough. Give up, and call me the winner.
David got mad. I lower my face in my hands.
David’s weapons were rather flimsy, which is the whole point, right? It’s the main reason this story appears in scripture. A boy’s sling against a giant’s sword. David couldn’t care less who should win. He knew who would win. A teenager with the faith to drive out all doubt. He had a plan: slay the giant, cut off his head, watch the enemy flee. He knew if he did his part, You would do Your part. He knew it.
David formed a plan. I sit and worry.
Satan was there, sitting along the edge of the cliff, dangling his feet over the edge, eating popcorn. (Okay, maybe not exactly.) Goliath was the Devil’s mouthpiece. Israel quaked in his presence. How Satan must have gloated. David cut off the head of his enemy and lifted it in the air to the shouts of Your army. When it was all over, and You were glorified across the battlefield, Satan skulked away. I can just hear him thinking, “Blast! I bet this little incident is going to be told and re-told again and again.” Good bet.
David glorified You. I eat another piece of chocolate.
Praise to the spirit shaker
Enough, I say! I don’t compare myself with David. I could never. But the God who empowered David to slay Goliath is the very same God who empowers me today. YOU! Who am I to think You cannot work through me to slay my giant. Shame on me. Your Spirit has taken hold of mine and shaken it. Now I’m mad. Now I have a plan. And when this plan is accomplished through You, I will slice off the head of my giant, hold it in the air, and give You all the glory and honor. And then Satan will skulk away and mutter, “Blast. I bet this little incident is going to be told and re-told again and again.” Good bet.
Prayer for others
As You well know, I’m not the only one holding a sling in the shadow of a giant holding a sword. Shake their spirits, Lord. What are money concerns compared to Your wealth? What are job stresses compared to Your peace. What are health conditions compared to Your grace and healing? Help them to say, “Enough!” Take up the armor and stand! Send Satan skulking.
We come against the giant in the name of Yahweh of Hosts!
Fruit
Your words…
The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God. They will bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare: “The Lord is just; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalm 92:12-15
And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11
My words…
Praise
I wonder why You liken Your righteousness to fruit. Then I think: Is there anything so lovely as a healthy tree loaded with ripe, colorful apples? At harvest, the branches are weighed down. Nothing can keep the apples from bursting onto the scene. And I am drawn to them. I can’t walk through an orchard without reaching up and plucking one from a branch. That’s what it’s there for. It’s not supposed to hang until it rots and falls to the ground. It’s there for everyone to enjoy. My hunger is satisfied, and I absorb the nutrients and grow. Oh, I get it. Sounds a lot like Your righteousness.
Prayer for me
I am called by You to be a fruit-bearer, but I’m convinced that my branches are not weighed down, loaded with the fruit of righteousness. Oh, there are a few here and there within the leaves, but not nearly enough in light of the source of growing power living within me. Help me to keep growing, longing to be filled with Your righteousness so my fruit will burst forth. And not only in what I do with my hands, but every thought, every intent, every decision.
Forgive me
Forgive me for being tempted to believe that bearing fruit for You and through You is a wearying prospect, and one that lessens with age. The Psalmist writes that those who thrive in Your courts will bear fruit into old age – healthy and green. My body may be drying out, but my fruit should be fresh and plentiful.
Prayer for others
Lord, I pray for a particular group of people today. Some of my brothers and sisters in the Spirit suffer from depression, melancholy. They are not bearing fruit because they cannot see past their sadness and hopelessness. I cry out to You to comfort them today. Lift their spirits out of the darkness and into the warmth of Your light. Wrap them in Your love and ease their distress. Smooth the wrinkles of their brow and dry their tears. Drench them with hope. I long to see them laughing again.
More praise
I praise You and thank You for fruit. Not only the fruit of Your righteousness, but the fruit with the juice that drips down my chin.
Homeland
Your words…
These [Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob] all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on earth. Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. But they now desire a better place – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:13-16
My words…
Praise
Abraham and his family: sojourners, foreigners, wanderers. They never built a house; they lived out of a suitcase. They bought fields and caves from strangers to bury their loved ones. It wasn’t important that they have a permanent earthly address when they knew they would enjoy a heavenly one built by You. They saw it in the distance through eyes of faith, and they waved to it! You are so proud of them. You say to the heavenly hosts, “I am their God!” You have built for them a beautiful city where they may dwell forever. No more luggage. The homeless have found a homeland.
Forgive me
I have an earthly homeland, one of the best on the planet. I have a permanent dwelling with a kitchen, and a bed, and a rather nice pillow. It is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Luggage is for vacations. My homeland will one day cease to exist as will my dwelling and my pillow. I cling to what I own. Forgive me for thinking any of it is really mine. Forgive me for grasping it all too tightly. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”
Prayer for others
Father, I pray for every single person who thinks that this dirt, this air, this body is all there is. How sadly one-dimensional. Open their eyes of faith (everyone has them) to see the infinite dimensions of You and to greet Your far-off homeland with a wave.
Thank You
Only a God of love would take it upon Himself to build a city, a place for all to call home. Only a Father-God would want all of His children around Him in one place. Thank You for being that God – my God.
More praise
Because of You, I can let my spirit soar with thoughts and visions about the city You are preparing. No more wandering. Just rest. And chats with Abraham.