Overwhelmed
Your words…
But I trust in You, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” The course of my life is in Your power; deliver me from the power of my enemies and from my persecutors. Show Your favor to Your servant; save me by your faithful love. Psalm 31:14-16
My words…
A prayer of the overwhelmed
Lord, I spend a fair amount of time reasoning through Your word as it applies to my twenty-first century life. When David pleads with You to deliver him from the power of his persecutors, he was referring to mean people with sharp weapons who were intent on killing him. I am not in danger from mean people with sharp weapons. My greatest persecutor is ME. David says, “The course of my life is in Your power.” I say, “The course of my life is in MY power.” I make all of the decisions, setting my own schedule, relying on my own strength. Then, when things don’t go according to plan, I drop my head in my hands, overwhelmed by unmet deadlines, deferred responsibilities, and uncooperative technology. At the end of the day, I am left feeling hollow, discontent, and restless. My spirit reels.
And then, Your Spirit calls the class to order and begins to teach. (A repeat lesson, I am sad to say.) In whom should I place my trust to direct my daily plans? In the One who will deliver me from my own habit of power-grabbing. In the One who will grant me a day of blessing and contentment. My deadlines may not get met, and technology may still fail me, but what You will for that day will be accomplished because, ultimately, the course of my life is in Your power. When I truly grasp that truth in my heart, I am no longer overwhelmed, and my spirit is grounded. What peace! I slide into bed at the end of the day and pray a four-word prayer: “You are my God.” And then I close my eyes and sleep.
Sparrows
Your words…
What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops. Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:27-31
My words…
Praise
Father, You keep close watch over the sparrows, little birds with little value. You know the number of the feathers on their backs. You see when they fly, when they fall, when they die. Every single one of them. How much more did You keep watch over the apostles who were being sent out to share the love of Your son with others? They girded themselves with this thought and walked across the brink into the dangerous unknown. It’s amazing what people can accomplish when they know they are being closely watched by You.
Prayer for me
I don’t deserve to be considered more valuable than a sparrow. But because You see me as such, I should live as such. I am so incredibly important to You. You delight when I fly. You care when I fall. Forgive me when I don’t live up to the value You have placed on me. You know the number of hairs on my head, which to me means You know me better than I know myself.
Prayer for others
I hope the sparrows know how much You care for them. It is the greatest joy of my life to bask in the certainty of Your passion for me, and I am saddened for those who live each day outside of that joy. I pray they will search for it and find it.
Thank You
It is a humbling privilege to come before You and thank You for knowing me so well and loving and caring for me in spite of that knowledge. Thank You for Your protection, for Your lessons, for Your direction, for Your comfort.
More praise
I realize that Your care for me doesn’t mean I will never suffer. I have suffered while under Your care. And that is when I experienced Your benevolence the most. You have devoted Yourself to my well being. What god does that? You!
Control
Your words…
The Lord of Hosts has sworn: As I have planned, so it will be; as I have planned it, so it will happen. I will break Assyria in My land; I will tread him down on My mountain. Then his yoke will be taken from them, and his burden will be removed from their shoulders. This is the plan prepared for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out against all the nations. The Lord of Hosts Himself has planned it; therefore, who can stand in its way? It is His hand that is outstretched, so who can turn it back? Isaiah 14:24-27
My words…
Praise
It’s been an oft-debated question among Your uppity creation: How much control do You really have? I live in a very big and powerful nation. It’s like a hyperactive child – hard to control. My nation is splintered. Hostility is rising. Divisions are widening. Satan is having a field day. But I don’t believe for once second that You are not in control. You hear the prayers of my countrymen and women. You bless the millions of souls who have not bowed their knee to any other god. You delight in the faithful who preserve and study Your words, who revere and adore the Bible. You strengthen the parents who tirelessly teach their children how much You love them. How do You control the nations? No idea. But we have Your full attention. And that’s all I need to know.
Prayer for me
Lord, I need something from You. Would you impart to me the wisdom I need to comfort others with the assurance that You are in control of the nation? No one seems to believe me. “There is so much evil,” they say. “So much inequality. God is just watching everything spin.” Open my mind and heart to receive Your word and share with others the same peace I hold dear.
Forgive me
I have prayed that I have complete faith in Your control of the nations. But there are times when a wriggling worm of doubt wrecks my day. Like when a godless nation carries out mass murder of the innocent. Or a power-hungry, overweight dictator starves his own countrymen, women, and children. Forgive my lack of faith. You see all. You see beyond time and space. I see what’s in front of me.
Prayer for others
Lord, there are those who this very day are in despair because they have lost hope. They believed at one time that Your omnipotence reigned over the nations of the earth. But now they are oppressed or enslaved or abandoned, and they have cried their faith away. Restore their trust in You in heavenly ways, unknown by mortals. Transform them into messengers of Your love. Fill them with hope of a heavenly reward.
Thank You
Thank You for being in control. (I realize that that is like You saying to me, “Thank you for being a person.”) Because You aren’t just a spectator-god, I can sleep peacefully at night. Thankfully, Your hand is never idle.
More Praise
When You are in control, there is no power or principality that can oppose the plan You have set. Your outstretched hand is more powerful than any army commanded by a human general or Satan himself. How praiseworthy is that?!
Dwell
Your words…
Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise – dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8
My words…
Praise
You created me with such a complex thought system. My motives, intentions, ambitions, and actions all spring from my thoughts – what I think about. What I dwell on. I’m not like the dog on the leash who wraps himself around a lamp post and can’t figure out how to get free. You have given me the capabilities to figure things out (some days more than others). You made me responsible for my thoughts. When I think about what I dwell on (not to get too “meta”), I realize how weighty a responsibility it is. Which leads me to believe that You have faith that I can dwell well. You gave me everything I need to do so. You didn’t leave me wrapped around the lamp post, trying to figure out what’s going on. You left me a very clear example on which to pattern my thoughts: You, Jesus. Your thoughts weren’t recorded in scripture, but they didn’t need to be. All Your true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable thoughts were perfected into Your words and Your actions because You knew how to dwell well.
Prayer for me
You created me with this responsibility to dwell because I am called to make a choice. Each of my thoughts is a deliberate choice. However (I wish there weren’t a however), during the times of mental over-stimulation or when I have grown spiritually flabby, I neglect to dwell on the virtuous, and I get wrapped up in social rhetoric, moral debates, and Satan’s victories. In other words, I make bad choices. Help me, Lord, to think intentionally.
Forgive me
Forgive me when I neglect to use my time wisely, and I end up with all my waking hours used in mindlessness and idleness. Being a faithful dwell-er takes time. It requires sacrifice and discipline. Forgive my selfishness. I’m only hurting myself.
Thank You
I am so thankful that I was created with the capacity to ponder, meditate, and imagine. I couldn’t know You without it.
More praise
Dwelling on the virtuous is not sticking my head in the sand and refusing to see the world for what it is. You have given me the ability to see the false and the true, the dishonorable and the honorable, the unjust and the just, the polluted and the pure, the ugly and the lovely, and the unworthy and commendable. It is then I recognize which is more powerful. One builds. The other tears down. When I dwell on You, I enter a temple filled with hope, peace, and love. And it’s the best place to dwell.
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.