Yesterday, while cleaning out files, I came across some writings from years past. I had held onto a variety of musings long forgotten, but this one–a prayer–still speaks my heart so I decided to keep it a while longer. May I share it with you? It may speak your heart, too.
Astound me, Lord,
with the realness of You.
Cause my breath to catch
with new understanding.
Strike the nerve
that will pain me to soberness
and turn me to the greatness
of my God.
Shape me, Father,
in Christ’s likeness.
Mould me that I may
reflect Him truly–
on bended knee
or in running stride,
alone with one,
or in a crowd with many.
Lift me, blessed Jesus,
to the miracle of Your Love.
Teach me, like a child,
to be eager and to anticipate,
to live in all that you are
while standing on tiptoe,
expecting a miracle
with each new day.
Many of us are familiar with the comfort received when we personalize Psalm 91. In verses like 3, we replace “He will deliver you” with “He will deliver me” and we go on in that manner of making the scripture our own. As we face our own trials and fears, we pray back to God the inspired scripture of Psalm 91.
I learned about praying Psalm 91 over myself from a woman long devoted to constant prayer. I was quite ill at the time. Then when my daughter became gravely ill, I taught her to use it in the same way. Sometimes I would read it over her, entering her name throughout, and she found strength and calm in God’s care for her.
There is another psalm that I use even more as a prayer and that is verse 4 of Psalm 6: “Turn, O Lord, and deliver my life; save me for the sake of Your steadfast love” (ESV). Everything we need is in that one sentence. We call on God’s mercy and grace for whatever is our need; we ask Him for deliverance because of who He is and not because we in any way deserve such Love.
There are times when a scripture seems to jump into our vision. The words will magnify as if bolded. I consider these times as God reaching out in a personal way, giving us a scripture to claim in a time of need, and I encourage you to do the same. Thank Him for it. Write it down and pray it frequently. In so doing, He will inscribe it on your heart.
I especially love Psalm 6:4 because it is easy to remember and because it fully encompasses everything. I pray it over friends. For example, I will say: “Turn, O Lord, and deliver Christy’s life; save her for the sake of Your steadfast love.” I use it for our nation: “Turn, O Lord, and deliver our nation, save us for the sake of Your steadfast love.” It is a prayer we desperately need to pray in these days.
The word “steadfast” is an English translation from the Hebrew word “hesed.” Depending on the translation of your Bible, it may also read everlasting, kindness, or mercy. I have read different counts as to the number of times it is used, but all accounts have given it 200 times or greater, with the most use in any single book of the Bible found in Psalms, the scriptures used as the temple hymnal and devotional guide for the Jewish people.
There is great wisdom in praying the scriptures. We engage ourselves with God’s Word, we commit scripture to memory, and we pull power into our lives from the breathed words of God. Can we not imagine the delight of our Father when He hears us speak to Him in His language? He has declared a covenant with us and when we communicate with Him in this manner, we are claiming and agreeing with what He has said.
All scriptures of God’s love are for for us, yet I believe that if you search the scriptures that tell of His steadfast or everlasting love, you will find something that God will lift from the pages and personally give to you. I hope you will give it a try.
Here is a beautiful song about God’s everlasting love from Terry MacAlmon.
Last week, I wrote on the benefits I reaped when I took a day to pray with no petitions, just thanksgiving. At the close of my blog, I encouraged readers to give it a try. Sally Chambers took that challenge and sent me this message:
Pat, I just wanted you to know I read your blog post today and accepted your invitation to choose this day to turn my usual asking prayers into thanksgiving prayers. This afternoon I am amazed at how alert I was, through God’s grace, to have stopped my“Lord, please” prayers and say “No, not that way,” and change my words into prayers that were prayers of thanks. At first, I really did have to concentrate and be deliberate and think, “Now how can I change ‘please’ into ‘thank you.’ ” And I sit here typing this, amazed at how much closer I sense His presence, how at peace I feel, and at how much more successful I’ve been today in everything I set out to do. It has been a sweet experiment that I’m going to do my best to continue.
I love that Sally took the challenge and reaped its benefits. I hope others of you will set aside a day to pray like this (and if you do, please let me hear from you). Throughout the day, thank God for the things He has done for you. If you begin to think about a need, rather than asking God for it, tell Him that you are thanking Him in advance for how He will handle your need. Believe in all the things you expect of Him and thank Him that you can count on Him with all your concerns. Let your words of thanksgiving embrace the Lord in love.
Gratitude journals are popular ways to focus on our blessings. I don’t have a gratitude journal, but I do journal when I see God intervening in my life in ways that can only be Him. When I re-read my notes on these times, I am always surprised at how much God did that I had forgotten. Having those specifics of God’s personal grace will lead me into prayers of praise every time and I recommend this practice to you. You must write it down while you are fresh on all the details; it will be those specifics that you will cherish and will build your faith.
A.J. Gossip, a Scottish professor and preacher, called thanksgiving the language of heaven and recommended we become accustomed now to speaking that language. Great advice! If you need a little help beginning, click on this link https://youtu.be/f1E_4ooa8bo and listen to Andre Crouch sing “My Tribute.”
Studies are being done on the positive things that happen physically to people when they keep themselves in a gratitude mode. That is good information to have—and important. But, as a Christian, the biggest reason I know to be lavish with your thanks to God is to give Him the honor and recognition He is due. There is no way on earth we could ever get close to thanking Him enough. “With His blood He has saved me” sings Andre Crouch. That alone is reason to thank our God all day, every day.
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Find Sally Chambers’ blog, Everyone Has a Story to Share,” at sallychambers.com
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. John 3:14 ESV
We lift up the Son of Man when we understand who He is and gratefully come under Him as our Savior and Lord.
We lift up the Son of Man when we declare our life a waste without Him.
We lift up the Son of Man when we put aside self-centeredness to embrace Jesus-centeredness.
We lift up the Son of Man when we tell others about Him, declaring His truth and His love.
We lift up the Son of Man when we believe and love Him more today than yesterday.
We lift up the Son of Man when we forgive what others do to us, knowing it is how He forgives us.
We lift up the Son of Man when we forgive ourselves because he has forgiven us, and we desire to move forward with Him and not remain immobilized by sorrow and regret.
We lift up the Son of Man when His presence delights us and we eagerly desire to share that Presence with others.
We lift up the Son of Man when time spent with Him becomes our priority and we approach it as our favorite part of the day.
We lift up the Son of Man when faith conquers fear, when we choose to believe in His goodness in our hour of trial.
We lift up the Son of Man when we trust in His grace, when we keep our eyes on Him with expectation and wonder.
We lift up the Son of Man when we recount our personal experiences with his power to save and to heal, when we witness to the certainty of who He is.
We lift up the Son of Man when we choose Jesus at every decision point.
We lift up the Son of Man when we exult in Him in worship and sing praises to His name.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
There is an important and revealing lesson on Christ-like behavior in Luke 7:36-50. The caption over this section in my Bible reads “Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman.” Before reading further, would you say the word that grabs your attention most is sinful or anointed? I suspect it is the first, that which describes the woman. It was so for the Pharisees, and we have enough Pharisee in all of us to do the same.
With puffed up pride, the Pharisees stumbled that day over their own self-importance. Smugly, they asked how Jesus could allow such a person to touch Him. Why, here He was in this fine home, being provided what was sure to have been a sumptuous feast, and this sinful woman was spoiling it all. And how was she spoiling it? With her acts of humble love for the Lord!
We have it wrong when we use man’s approval standards. Why would we want to assess ourselves by the standards of those who are as imperfect as we are? The only true standard we have is this: Does my life reveal the love and humility of Jesus?
Scriptures are to guide us. They give examples of those who did wrong, but were forgiven and rescued by the God of Love. We need these stories to learn of our own access to God’s forgiveness through His redeeming power. He is the God of a second chance, a third, and a fourth. We cannot out sin his grace.
Scriptures are also to teach us that God desires our focus to be on the good we do and the manner in which we do it. He doesn’t want us to over-focus on the offenses of others – or even our own. In every temptation to criticize another, or our self, we might reflect on this: Am I getting too caught up in anger and resentment over someone’s behavior? Am I becoming immobilized to do good because I can’t let go of guilt over my own wrongs? Am I thinking more like a Pharisee or Jesus?
Thank You, Father, for the many teaching examples You have provided through your Word, that we may abide in wisdom and truth.
Of everything I’ve written on Prayerful Pondering, this post has received the most attention. First published in March of 2011, I am pulling it to the top of the list as a repost, and praying it will continue to bless.
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Imagine it. Standing before God, clothed not in all that would condemn us, but in salvation and righteousness. Not in the filthy rags of our sins, but in salvation and righteousness. Not in the paper garment of pride and self-interest, but in salvation and righteousness. Not in the clung to-coverings of resentment, frustration, and anger, but in salvation and righteousness. Not in the way the world sees us, but in His salvation and righteousness!
Isaiah 61:10 says “I delight greatly in the LORD, my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
That leaves me in complete awe. It leaves me without words adequate to express my gratitude. It causes me to fall on knees of thankfulness and weep before the King of Kings, to praise the One who does that for me – the lowliest of the low.
Jesus, He who is clothed in a royal robe of love and sacrifice, compassion and forgiveness, kindness and humility, gentleness and patience – it is He who holds out His arms to me. It is He who gave me the garment of salvation and arrayed me with righteousness when I said yes to Him. This One who alone is Holy has exchanged my unclean earthly garment, foul and unsightly beyond description, and adorned me as His bride, worthy to come to Him and live with Him eternally.
Philippians 3:20-21 says “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.” It is the miracle of God’s love.
