Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him – a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight will be in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes. He will not execute justice by what He hears with His ears, but He will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. Isaiah 11:1-4
Then the Scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery, making her stand in the center. “Teacher,” they said to Him, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. What do You say?” He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” When they heard this, they left one by one. Jesus said to the woman, “Where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. John 8:3-11 selected
My words…
Praise
You are the Perfect Judge, executing justice with perfect fairness. Human judges execute justice only from what they see and hear. But not You because You understand where the wrong comes from. You didn’t just see a sinful woman being encircled by haughty, religious rulers. You saw her heart, her past, her reasons, and they weren’t much different from anyone else on the scene. You showed the sinful woman her sin, and You showed the religious leaders theirs as well. If she were to be punished, then everyone should be punished. That’s fair. That’s just. You were the only one who had the right to throw a stone, yet You didn’t. Instead, You claimed her sin as Your own and held onto it until the sword pierced Your side and all was forgiven.
Forgive me
Forgive me when I encircle sinners in accusation instead of compassion. Who am I to pass judgment when I am only using my eyes and ears? I am a fellow sinner with no way to peer into a person’s soul.
Prayer for others
Today I pray for those who are being drug before religious courts, accused of breaking religious laws. The leaders are not without sin, yet they sentence the accused to death. The sweet smell of compassion does not permeate their courtrooms. Only the stench of condemnation. Strengthen the condemned and lead the judges to the Spirit of wisdom and understanding.
Thank You
Thank You for not condemning me! All other reasons to thank You pale in the presence of this one. It is of most importance. I pray I could express my gratitude in a worthy measure, but I can’t. I know You will accept it as I offer it. And I thank You for that, too!
More praise
When I speak or write to others, I often wonder if I am being understood according to my intentions. Did a reader misunderstand me? Am I being judged unfairly? Thankfully, when I speak to You, I know I am being understood, accepted, and loved. My prayer may sound like a jumbled mess of thoughts, but You make it perfect along the way.
Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart, for I am called by Your name, Yahweh God of Hosts. Jeremiah 15:16
“Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
My words…
Praise
Your words are sustenance, written so long ago yet so fresh. You present them as a banquet, each course created to nourish hungry spirits and fortify healthy souls. They’re meant to be feasted upon, consumed and digested. Your words are not vapid, and each time I consume them, they taste different, more savory, more satisfying.
Prayer for me
If Your words were a box of food, I would find a serving size with the recommended daily allowance for spiritual nutrition. But they don’t come in a box. The serving size is up to me, depending on the importance I place on my spiritual health, which is only slightly higher than the importance I place on my physical health. It comes and goes. Sometimes I nibble and pick at Your words; other times, I pull up a chair and dine. I pray Your Spirit will turn my erratic diet into a steady craving.
Forgive me
Forgive me when I do not place Your words above any others. Lately, the novel on my bedside table has been getting more of my time than Your words.
Prayer for others
I pray for those who have declined to feed on Your words or have stepped away from the banquet table. Perhaps they have tasted them and spat them out. Perhaps they find their delight and joy in the words of novelists, poets, or self-help writers. They are content with being spiritually malnourished, as if their diet consisted of only bread. Open their eyes to see they cannot live on bread alone.
Thank You
Thank Your for Your words. I have prayed this gratitude prayer so many times, yet it will never be enough. You know I’m a prolific reader, yet there are no words that compare to Yours. Yours are the words of life.
More praise
Your words are alive on the onion skin pages of my Bible. Your words flow from the lips of my encouraging friends. They are sung by the birds outside my window and shouted by the cracks of thunder during a storm. I can read Your words, feel Your words, listen to Your words. They are ageless yet new, powerful yet gentle, serious yet comforting. Perfect words from The Perfect God.
Be careful to obey the command and instruction that Moses the Lord’s servant gave you: to love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, keep His commands, remain faithful to Him, and serve Him with all your heart and your soul. Joshua 22:5
My words…
Praise
You offer me a set of instructions to travel from one edge of my mist of life to the other that assures I will emerge, wholly fulfilled, surrounded by perfect love. The instructions are not complicated, doctrine-heavy yokes. On the contrary, you offer the five-verb version: Love, Walk, Keep, Remain, Serve. These instructions are more precious than Lalique, Rembrandt, or the crown jewels. And, they come with a guarantee: Follow the instructions the best I can, and I will live as a daughter of The King, now and ever after.
Prayer for me
When I was small, I heard my mother say, “Careful,” many times. Be careful crossing the street, sitting near a fire, biking to the city pool, choosing my friends. I knew I must pay serious attention to her instructions. I didn’t take them lightly (well, maybe once or twice). You remind me of the same thing: Be careful to follow My instructions. Take heed! Be watchful! This is not like a road map I used to clumsily re-fold and toss in the glove compartment. These are the cherished Words of My Creator. I pray for help in being more careful, paying greater heed to Your instructions.
Forgive me
Forgive me when I weigh Your instructions and decide which are the most important – to me. I spend more time remaining than serving, more time walking than loving. Who am I to pick and choose?
Prayer for others
Lord, I pray for those who are not interested in knowing or heeding Your instructions. They have created their own to live by. Some get by just fine while others languish. Many are turned off by the word command. “Don’t tell me what to do!” I pray they will one day find themselves on their knees, pleading with You, “Please, tell me what to do!”
Thank You
I am so thankful You didn’t create us and then leave us without any instructions as to how we should live on this orb. Love You. Walk with You. Keep Your commands. Remain faithful. Serve You. And, oh yes, thank You for loving me.
More Praise
When my mom repeated her charge for me to be careful, she did this because she loved me and wanted me to stay safe. There were dangers around every corner. I had to be watchful. You, too, want to keep me safe from danger, seen and unseen. You have given me the instructions as proof of Your love. I will carefully follow them as proof of mine.
Now, on the same day [as the resurrection of Jesus], two disciples (one named Cleopas) were on their way to a village called Emmaus. Together they were discussing everything that had taken place. And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus Himself came near and began to walk along with them. But they were prevented from recognizing Him. It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took the bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. Luke 24:13-17; 30-31
My words…
Praise
Dear Jesus, much of Your humbleness and compassion is on display when, after Your resurrection, You hung around on this lowly planet for forty more days. I would have hightailed it to heaven and been done with this place. But, thankfully, that’s not how You think and act. The private lessons you taught weren’t understood as they should have been, so You had to stick around and keep teaching. Your followers must have slept through the lesson on fulfilled prophesy. They had no idea what was going on. They were expecting one thing only to have their hopes dashed. Discussions and arguments ensued. Who knows how it all would have been sorted out if You hadn’t stuck around a while? But something about You was different; You were no longer recognizable by Your disciples, that is, until You wanted to be. The travelers on the road to Emmaus listened to You interpret scripture while walking for seven miles, and they had no idea it was You. But then You performed a simple act or said a simple phrase, and then they knew! How much more momentous would it have been if they had recognized You right away?
Prayer for me
I don’t want to miss out on opportunities to recognize You. Help me grow to see You where You are in my day, in my work, in my worship.
Forgive me
There are times when I feel like the disciples traveling to Emmaus. You’re close by, but I don’t recognize You. I attribute a success as something I accomplished and not a blessing bestowed by You. I witness the power of medicine and not Your healing hand. I deposit a paycheck without depositing praise for Your provision. I neglect to recognize Your answers to my prayers. (Well, didn’t that turn out nicely?) Forgive me.
Thank You
Thank You for spending forty extra days on earth following Your resurrection. I wouldn’t have been introduced to Cleopas or Rhoda or other followers who were so endearing in their honest reactions when they recognized You!
More praise
It isn’t surprising that when you donned Your servant hat, Your disciples said, “Oh, it’s You!” It was in those moments of close, personal contact that memories were made before Your death and recalled following Your resurrection. You said a blessing over a meal. You shared a loaf of bread. So simple, but so memorable. It’s the same for me. Whenever I read or recall Your words of life, I sit up and say, “There You are!”
When God had finished speaking to Moses on Mt. Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets. As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. Exodus 31:18; 32:15, 19
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Exodus 34:1
My words…
Praise
You are The God Who Works. You’re not a sit-around-and-wait-to-be-worshipped-god. You worked with Moses to create the tablets of testimony. It doesn’t surprise me that You engraved the words. (I can’t read this without wondering about Your penmanship.) But then Moses got angry and smashed Your work. You didn’t blame him. You just fixed it. You performed the work over again. If Moses would have smashed that set, You would have done it a third time, and so on. You perform wonderous works, and Your children smash them. Then You say, “I will fix what you broke.” You work to create, then You work to fix. The never-ending cycle. Praise to The God Who Works…and Fixes.
Prayer for me
Since I am not a stone tablet, I cannot be fixed as such: Write it again. Done. Fixes of the spirit are a work-in-progress. Your work-in-progress. And You’re still working on me. I pray I will welcome Your repairs even when I contend I’m not broken in the first place.
Forgive me
The other day I complained that a friend was too persistent in her communication with me. Why must she be so needy? Day after day, pouring out her problems and worries. You brought me to the truth that I have not accepted neither your repair of patience to my annoyed spirit nor compassion to my selfish heart. Forgive me.
Prayer for others
I pray a blanket prayer for those looking for fixes in the wrong places: substances, other people, work, distractions. You long to stitch together lives that are unraveling. I pray they allow You to do so.
Thank you
Thank You for mending broken marriages, repairing shattered families, refreshing weary faith, healing diseased spirits, restoring crumbling hope. Thank You for fixing us.
More praise
Write a message to me, Lord! With Your finger on my heart.
To the one who lacks sense, Folly says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten secretly is tasty!” Proverbs 9:16-17
To the one who lacks sense, Wisdom says, “Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave inexperience behind, and you will live; pursue the way of understanding. Proverbs 9:4-5
Jesus said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country where he squandered his estate in foolish living. He went to work for one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat the food the pigs were eating, but no one would give him any. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘I will go to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while his son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.” Luke 15:11-20
My words…
Praise
I wonder: Just how many senses do I have (beyond my five sensing organs)? I can sense fear and contentment, tension and peace, and much more. I have come to rely on my senses. But what happens when I leave my senses behind and forge ahead without them? In other words, what happens when I take leave of my senses? I haven’t done it lately since it tends to be a young person’s choice. It doesn’t need to happen very often before vital lessons are learned and remembered. During those times when I turned toward Folly and left Wisdom at the gate, I could not sense danger or regret, nor could I sense peace or self-worth. After a while, the sparkle of Folly faded, and I came to my senses. Wisdom opened the gate, and I walked through. And there You were. Waiting. Like always.
Prayer for me
Wisdom offers a home for my senses – a safe place where they will mature. There is no doubt that I need more wisdom. I will always need more until the someday when I am with You. Grant me Your wisdom. Just a drop will do.
Forgive me
Forgive me when I turn toward Folly, when I make rash judgments, when I allow my pride too much power, when I keep unwholesome secrets. Wisdom assures me that Folly is my enemy. Forgive me when I don’t listen.
Prayer for others
I pray for all the prodigals who are spending their way toward regret and sorrow. They are skipping alongside Folly, laughing without any sense of where they are headed. Lead them back to their senses, Lord.
Thank you
Thank You for never leaving Your children even when they are living outside of Your wisdom. It doesn’t matter how many times we mess up. It doesn’t matter whether we take leave of just a few or all of our senses. You NEVER leave. You NEVER abandon. There are no words of gratitude worthy enough for Your faithfulness to us – to me. But You take what I offer each time I offer it. I pray that’s enough. For now.
More praise
Your compassion is shouted from the hilltop in this parable. Your heart breaks when Your children lose touch with the spirit You placed in them and waste precious time that could have been spent with You. When You see us from afar, You run to meet us, wrap Your arms around us, and welcome us back home. It’s so much more than a parable. It’s a solemn promise. With all of my senses, I know it to be true.
Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10
My words…
Be Still… In these two words, I hear you say, “Cool it, calm down, relax, chill.” It feels as if the whole planet is tightly wound. Most people convey a calm exterior, but their insides are bound and tense. I, myself, carry a latent package of apprehension deep in my soul, straining at the packing tape, hoping to be set free and run amok. When I feel it banging around, I remember Your words: Be still. I am not alone in my soul. You’re there with me, guiding me, teaching me how to be wholly still, cool, calm, relaxed, chill in my soul. A still soul wipes away the film covering my spiritual eyes. I see You more clearly. A still soul flushes out the wax of my spiritual ears. I hear You more clearly. No pacing, wringing, or fretting. All is still.
and know… I believe You placed these two directives together because they are symbiotic. I can’t have one without the other. I cannot know You in the way You want me to unless I attain stillness of mind, heart, and spirit. It is in this stillness You reveal Your nature – a nature that I can know. For sure. Without a doubt. I should not be still and question. I should not be still and speculate. When all is still, then I know.
that I am God. For me, this is the prize. The treasure. I am not still so I can know that You’re some nebulous, baffling power source. You are GOD, the One Always Being, before the beginning and after the end. You created time, and You’re the only One who understands it completely. You chuckle as we play around with Schrodinger’s cat. The universe stretches at Your command. You hold my heart in Your hand along with the Pleiades. You knew me when stars were forming for the first time. Even now, You see the blood coursing through my veins and hear the thoughts as they form in my mind. You see my life’s end. All of this I know when I am still. You are GOD, and You are exalted!
On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. Whenever the cloud lifted above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped. Sometimes the cloud stayed over the tabernacle only a few days. Sometimes the cloud remained from only evening until morning. Whether it was two days, a month, or longer, the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle. But when it was lifted, they set out. Numbers 9:15-22 selected
Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these forty years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. Deuteronomy 8:2
My words…
Praise
Full dependence on You results in a life where true knowledge, wisdom and contentment are realized on earth and in the hereafter. I know that. I also know that full dependence on You does not dwell in a pride-filled heart. There’s not room for both. Pride pushes You out. But how to teach that to Your children? Don’t give them a choice? Yesterday, that’s how I read this history passage. Today, I have a different take on it. If I were an Israelite, camping in the wilderness, and I had my tent all decked out just the way I like it, I may not want to tear it all down when Your cloud lifted from the tabernacle. I may have decided (after a period of grumbling) to stay put and remain in my tent while everyone else moved on. My choice. Maybe a few others would have decided to do the same thing, then we could have formed our own little tribe of misfits. But this scenario could only end one way – death. Either nature or some other hostile tribe would overtake me. But for those who remained dependent on You – those who knew You do not act randomly – claimed their part of the milk-and-honey inheritance and declared boldly: “It was all worth it!”
Prayer for me
Like the rest of the world, I am living six feet from everyone. I am a wanderer in a strange wilderness, a place I have never been. News of death and illness pervades all other news. Confusion among world leaders is evident. Which expert opinion do I trust? Remind me of the One on whom I should be dependent. It is You. It should always be You.
Forgive me
There are times when I allow the crush of speculation and forecast to push my spirit away from Yours and question Your care. There are also times when I want to stay put when You are calling me to move. My pride pushes You out. Forgive me.
Prayer for others
I pray for Your continual presence in the lives of those who are examples of how to stay the course and stand firm under the cloud of your provision. Give them an extra portion of Your Spirit to share with others.
Thank you
Thank you for turning the hearts of Your children toward You in this time of uncertainty. I read so many messages of hope and deliverance from those living under Your cloud by day and Your fire in the dark times. We’re all living under Your cloud of dependency, and You’re bringing out the best in us!
More praise
Satan is on the prowl; he’s wily, and he knows when to pounce. But here’s one thing I’ve noticed: I recognize him more clearly during times of adversity. He’s like a bear trying to hide behind a twig. Perhaps it’s a renewed dependence on You that turns the spotlight on him. His weaknesses are being revealed in this time. And Your power is being glorified.
God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1
My words…
Praise
I don’t know how many spoken languages are used by those living on this planet. Thousands, I would imagine. My guess is that the word “virus” is being spoken by 99% of them on a daily, if not hourly basis. (You would know, which reminds me of how incredibly powerful You are.) That microscopic, infectious agent sure does pack a punch, though. It may be metabolically inert, but it’s socially and economically active. It’s already caused more than its share of sorrow, and it’s just getting ramped up. I think the greatest power of a virus is the fact that we can’t see it coming. It blindsides. It doesn’t play fair. And so we begin to feel anxious and panicky and helpless – deep in our spirits. You expect that, so You provide for that. You will not leave us alone in times of trouble. You are the Light in the storm. So when I allow the “v-word” to zap my faith and my confidence in Your plans for me, I look to the Light where I find refuge and strength. After all, it’s a virus formed from what You created. And what is created will never be more powerful that its Creator.
Prayer for others
Lord, there are so many around the globe who are suffering illness. There are those who are grieving loved ones who have succumbed to this virus. I pray You lay Your comforting hand on them. Blanket them in Your peace. I pray this global event will bring out the very best in Your children.
More Praise
This virus reminds me of another contagious agent brought to earth beginning with a Roman crucifixion and spreading, unchecked, across the globe. Coming in contact did not end in death but life. The message was not built on fear but hope. I am part of those infected. We are a mighty agent, and neither the gates of hell nor any virus is able to stand against us!
Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me? Consider me and answer, Lord my God. Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, I will sleep in death. My enemy will say, I have triumphed over him,” and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance. I will sing to the Lord because He has treated me generously. Psalm 13, a psalm of David
My words…
Praise
I view my prayers as offerings of time and thought and faith. I bring before You various expressions as responses to Your words to me. You speak. I listen. I respond. Being Omniscient God, You know my prayer before I pray it. You know my prayer without me having to say it out loud; I can just think it, and it’s a prayer. Which got me thinking. The prayers I verbalize (write) are only honest to a point because I am only honest with everyone to a point. It’s a defense mechanism (A human term for humans!). Being completely open with others can cause all sorts of drama and trauma. But is that true with You? David obviously didn’t have a problem being completely open with You. He filled some of his prayers with barbs and complaints that make me wince. How dare he speak to You that way? Who does he think he is anyway? Oh yeah, he’s the man after Your own heart. He stood firm in the shadow of a giant. He was anointed king then spent years on the run for his life. He faced danger as a shepherd, as a solider, as a king. When you rescued him, he wrote songs about it. He knew You could stand up against his brutal honesty because it was always surrounded by declarations of adoration and gratitude. And I read that although David ranted and railed, he ranted and railed to You – the only God in existence. You were his only Savior. You were his only Deliverer. That’s honesty robed in faith.
Prayer for me
I have yet to stand in the shadow of a giant or flee for my life. Do I have the same right to be honest with You? If I understand correctly “no respecter of persons” then I believe that I hold that same right. I’m not sure I have put into thought what I truly feel, let alone verbalize it. (Is this even a good idea? Not sure.) But here goes: I don’t have a question of You forgetting about me or turning Your face from me, which is the basis for my first complaint. If You know who I am, and You know my struggle, then why the wait? Where’s Your answer? Sure, I realize that You are not a gumball machine, but I’m talking decades here! Will I even see the answers before I die? (Whew. This is not easy. How did David do it?) And another thing. Evil is everywhere. In every crevice and cranny. Are the archangels being overrun? Has the trumpet of the Lord gone silent? I don’t expect holy behavior from the world. Civilized is close enough. How much longer will the rapes, mutilations, torture, and murders persist around the globe? The planet has been spinning for a gazillion years. I would have thought we’d have gotten farther along by now. (Okay, I’m done.)
More praise
Well, that wasn’t as cathartic as I thought it would be. I pray with the weight of my entire spirit that You are not offended with me. I couldn’t handle that. Was it honest? Yep. Was it necessary? Nope. And truthfully, I think I know the answers to all of my ranting questions. One can’t be a follower of Christ for as long as I have and not know a little of how You work. So, I will wait on You while I continue my petitions. You are my only Savior, my only Deliverer. It may sound like a cop-out to some, but it’s actually honesty robed in faith.
