The Lord is Trustworthy - A Prayer

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 3:5-7

Lord,
Thank You for being trustworthy. I praise You and lift up Your holy name to be honored and glorified throughout the earth. Thank You for being a loving guide. Your love, wisdom, grace, and mercy go beyond my comprehension. Your faithfulness abounds. Your shelter and protection never fail. Let me never forget who You are. Continue to teach me more about You. Forgive me when I allow other things to pull my gaze off of You and distract me from the details of Your plan for my life. Help me to not trust in or act based on my own understanding. Forgive me when I don't acknowledge You. You alone are worthy of all praise! Give me the strength to turn away from all evil. Let it not get as much as a toe-hold in my life. Let me not compromise or be complacent. Help me to be committed to the things You've called me to do and love well those You place in my life. Let every day of my life be filled with service and love.
Amen.

Lord,

I praise You for who You are! You are good, holy, perfect, sovereign, love, gracious, patient, faithful, marvelous, wonderful, priceless, awesome, and amazing. I can't even begin to comprehend Your

Complete Goodness.

There is nothing evil, selfish, prideful, or harmful in You. Not even a drop. My fleshly, sinful heart and mind can scarce imagine it. No wonder everyone falls at a mere glimpse of You.

My heart wonders; let it stray no more. Do not turn from me. Make me faithful. Mold me to be more like you. I do not ask for forgiveness in this moment because I know your mercy and grace has flowed over all my sin already. It is washed away completely by Your blood. Thank You, Lord!

Thank you!!

Response: 
You're welcome, My daughter. My love for you is infinite. Draw close to Me and I will draw close to you. Soak in my love. Bask in My love. Receive my glory. I love you, My precious child. I love you.

Remind Me, A Prayer

Lord,

Remind me every moment of every day that You are still in control. Thank You for Your love, faithfulness, mercy, and grace. Help me to be the woman You created me to be. Let everything in my life bring glory to You!


I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God hwo loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

Learning in Prayer

Prayer is something that I have done for decades. Even before I became a believer, my sister and I would say the Lord's Prayer together at night, each being in our own beds on opposite sides of a wall. From those early, innocent prayers, God has taught me much about conversing with Him. It seems like I fall asleep and wake up most days talking to Him.

However, I have known for a while that my prayer life has lots of room to grow. There always seems to be someone or something important or in need that I leave out with my fairly quick, if frequent, prayers. I also often fail to stop and listen. To really engage the Holy Spirit interactively. He is there. He has invited me. But I tend to move on too fast to the next thing.

The Lord graciously reminded me this past weekend of His invitation to sit with Him, dwell with Him, and rest in Him. My desire is to be faithful in accepting that invitation. I know the blessing in doing so is unimaginable and I commit to no longer be "too busy" or too distracted to spend that sweet time with the Lord - not just quantity, but quality.

In giving myself some accountability, and hopefully to be a blessing, I'm going to start regularly sharing my prayers here. Not all of them, some of them are just too private and personal. But when I

sense it could draw someone other than me closer to the Lord.

I will also sometimes include or post the Lord's response back to me. It may be weird for some to consider the Holy, Mighty, Sovereign God of the Universe would talk to us, but it is scriptural and truth. He loves us enough to lead, guide, direct, and pour into us to make us more like Him.

I hope that you are blessed by my sharing of what God's teaching me about and in prayer. I also invite you to share your prayers and God's responses to you.

Sing Praise to the Lord

Psalm 104:33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

The Bible is full of radical statements and this is not the least of them. At first glance it can bring warm, fuzzy feelings and pictures of arms raised in praise. Singing joyfully, whole-heartedly, passionately.

While I'm sure the psalmist had some of these feelings in mind, a closer look at this verse reveals its radical nature.

All my life. As long as I live. Think about waht that might entail. Losing a child. I will sing to the LORD. Being betrayed and abandoned by a spouse. I will sing praise. Coping with chronic pain. Praise the LORD, O my soul (v.1.) Losing every material item you've eer owned to a natural disaster such as a tornado or flood. May the glory of the LORD endure forever (v.31.) The loss of a job. The loss of sight. The loss of agility. The loss of being able to take care of yourself. Hallelu Yah. Praise the LORD!

Now that's radical. It's not easy, but nor is it impossible.

When we remember the things God has done - He set the eart on its foundations (v.5), He makes springs pour water into ravines (v.10), He makes grass grow for the cattle (v.14), He knows the number of hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7) - Who He is - the LORD is great and clothed in splendor and majesty (v.1), He is a wise creator, God is love (1 John 4:6), He is faithful (Isaiah 30:18) - and that He is in control of everything, we will be able to sing praises to the LORD ALL OUR LIVES!

After the Storm

All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. Galatians 2:10

I heard a comment recently on AFR that spoke to what good comes from tragedy. I don't remember who was speaking, what program I was listening to at the time, or who they were quoting. But I do remember the words. And the message.

In times of tragedy, people come together to help each other unlike any other times in life.

Often when tragedy hits, people question God. Why would this happen? Wouldn't a loving God take better care of His people? Why me? Couldn't God have prevented it?

There are not easy answers to these questions, but the statement above gives us insight, if we're willing to look into it.

Tragedy, by its very nature, is never pleasant. It's painful, heart-wrenching, and devastating. Loss is never easy. Whether it's the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, of possessions, or of your home. We have an expectation that life's supposed to be easy and go our way. Bad things aren't supposed to happen and when they do, we're caught off guard and want to blame God.

However, while in control of every detail of everything in the universe, God is not to blame. God knew before He set the foundations of the earth that sin would enter the world, and with it pain, disaster, and trials. But just as we have children knowing that they will most likely rebel against us, God created us for the love that would be returned in relationship.

Our parental instinct tells us that we'd protect our children from everything bad that we can, and wouldn't God do the same if He loved us? No. Because easy and pleasant isn't always what's best for us.

One of the reasons my heart is so drawn towards the people who most recently experienced tragedy in the form of devastating tornadoes is because I've lived through a natural disaster. Not nearly as life-changing as what most people are going through now, but I have an inkling of the emotions and difficulties attached. And so I'm compelled to give.

And so are thousands of other people. Whether they've been through disasters or not. They are compelled to help others who are hurting. Whether they know them or not. They are cleaning out their houses, buying extra groceries, delivering goods and donating money.

People are coming together to help each other.

And this is only one way good comes from tragedy. We are willing to get out of our regular routine and get outside our selfishness and think of others. It brings joy to us to be useful and joy to those we help to know someone cares.

The good that can come out of tragedy doesn't take away the pain, but it helps lesson it. It doesn't make it easy, but it makes it easier.

When I recognize what others have lost and focus on what I can do for them, I quit grumbling about the little things like a clogged sink or stepping on legos or piles of laundry. And I will learn to always Praise God in the Storms.

Sing a New Song, Old Song, Any Song

Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Psalm 105:2a

I love praise music! It can turn my mood around and get me moving around the house like nothing else. Last year, after being resistant to move from my radio and CD player, I received and ipod for my birthday. I never could have imagined how much I would rely on it. But, I’ve put dozens of praise and worship songs on it, it has become a lifeline. Even washing dishes and dusting can become joyful activities when you’re praising the Lord.

As an added bonus to getting to praise God and shift my not-always-great attitude, my children are learning to praise God as a normal part of life.

The wealth of music available today to praise God is truly unlimited. And access is also. I can listen to Klove online, buy CD’s and download songs from the computer. As I go through my daily chores and do the same thing day after day, being able to connect to God through music helps me keep my focus on Him and remember that everything I do (including changing diapers, scrubbing toilets, and taking out the trash) are part of the job God’s called me to do. And since He’s called me to be a wife, mother, and homemaker, I’m to do it as if I were doing it for Him, and not for anyone else.

So, regardless of what’s going on – what losses you face, what disappointments you’ve experienced, what discouragement you feel, what distractions life throws your way – make time to sing God’s praises and open yourself to what work He wants to do in you through it.