Prayers That Marked My Journey July 30 – Dec 9, 2020

We ask that you will cause the tide of transformation to rise as people everywhere receive forgiveness of sins in your name.

King Jesus, Be our strength every morning, our salvation in times of distress. You are the foundation that keeps us stable in the midst of change.

Teach us to pray and give praise in the middle of our darkest moments. Release grace to all of our friends who are in a dark place. Free them from shame and remind them that you have set them free already. In Christ, their chains are broken and their prison doors are opened.

Open our eyes and our understanding to beauty on earth today. Our world misses so much of your glory. It is all around us but we don’t see it. Change us by helping us see you and your new creation here and now. We lift our voices today on earth and we join with heaven saying “Alleluia! The Lord our God, the Almighty, has become king!

We freely confess that on our own we don’t have what it takes to keep it all together. But, you don’t expect us to make this journey alone anyway. So, we aren’t ashamed to say that we need help, support, strength, perseverance… we need YOU. Thank you for telling us the truth. You are the one who announced that the kingdom of heaven has come. And, you are the one who dwells in us… the hope of glory. Fill our conversations with hope today because we know you are with us. 

King Jesus, you are the One sent from God. You are the fullness of God… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the flesh. Fill us with awe and wonder today that the sign that you had arrived was a naked, new-born baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a cattle feeding trough. Please show us similar, humble signs that you are present in our troubles today. Help us see your glory, God. 

You are the One in whom the fullness of God dwells… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through you everything and everyone is being aligned with God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you for loving and accepting us, even though we are a work in progress. Restore peace today in us and through us wherever we go.

Prayers That Marked My Journey July 14 – July 27, 2020

Jesus, we have peace because we are One with you and you have defeated everything that intimidates us. Wake us up to reality… the life of God’s coming age is wrapped up in knowing you.

Your kingdom is completely different than worldly powers. As your kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven, powers of darkness are revealed as chaotic, self-serving, and murderous. Cause your perfect love to drive out all of our fears today.

King Jesus, we speak your word over our lives today. We love being your witnesses. Come upon us Holy Spirit. Teach us to live submerged in You.

Most of your great followers will remain nameless to us. We pray that your church would overflow with the joy of heaven on earth. And that we, your daughters and sons would throw away the idol of earthly fame and live for the glory of Your name more than ever before.

God, in the middle of chaos and upheaval, I can trust You to build your church person to person, home to home, day by day.

You do not live in houses made by human hands. All of Creation is your dwelling place. That includes us. Release something new in us that calls all nations to follow you.

Prayers That Marked My Journey July 3 2020 – July 13 2020

King Jesus, you are real provision from God. You are the food that completely satisfies us. Increase our belief in you today.

King Jesus, you came into the world for judgment, to correct our ‘seeing’. Here in the year of 2020, bring our vision into alignment with heaven.

You are the One Shepherd who chose to lay down your life and then receive it back again. You are not a victim, You are the King of all. May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

King Jesus, you are the resurrection and the life. Give us courage to open our eyes to your faith deposited in us. Help us face this ordinary day in your power and authority.

Thank you that the helper, the spirit of truth is with us. Thank you that you see us. You have seen us, you see us now, and you will see us tomorrow. Our hearts celebrate, and NOBODY will take our joy away from us.

Jesus, we have peace because we are One with you and you have defeated everything that intimidates us. Wake us up to reality… the life of God’s coming age is wrapped up in knowing you.

Your kingdom is completely different than worldly powers. As your kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven, powers of darkness are revealed as chaotic, self-serving, and murderous. Cause your perfect love to drive out all of our fears today.

Prayers That Marked My Journey June 24 – July 2, 2020

King Jesus, awaken us and empower us to stay awake. Pour strength into us to endure with joy all the way through these very hard times.

King Jesus, You are the provision we need. As we receive you today, come and live in all we do.

We are overwhelmed that you laid down your life for us and all creation. Open our eyes so that we can be transformed by the fact that you rose again.

We freely confess that on our own we don’t have what it takes to keep it all together. But, you don’t expect us to make this journey alone anyway. So, we aren’t ashamed to say that we need help, support, strength, perseverance… we need YOU. Thank you for telling us the truth. You are the one who announced that the kingdom of heaven has come. And, you are the one who dwells in us… the hope of glory. Fill our conversations with hope today because we know you are with us. 

We exalt you as the One who laid down your life, your body and then raised it up again. Awaken us, renew in us what it means that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Awaken the youth of our region so that they come alive in your Spirit.

King Jesus, teach us to pray with boldness and courage. Awaken us to your presence as the only path to wellness. 

Prayers that marked my journey, June 16-23 2020

Every Friday I am going to share SEVEN prayers that have marked my path toward a prayer-soaked life. It’s a blessing to share these. ENJOY!

God, we agree with the prayer of King Jesus. Make us One as you are One.

In this time of transformation, empower us to be humble and to release heaven’s joy on earth.

Restore our hearts so that we will welcome others and bless them the way you do.

King Jesus, help us pray the way you did at your friend’s tomb as you called him back to life.

Open our eyes and our understanding to beauty on earth today. Our world misses so much of your glory. It is all around us but we don’t see it. Change us by helping us see you and your new creation here and now. We lift our voices today on earth and we join with heaven saying “Alleluia! The Lord our God, the Almighty, has become king!

We need grace to trust you more. You are the spring of living water. We are resilient because you are in us.

King Jesus, your authority comes from heaven. Mere human authority cannot overtake you. We pray that heaven’s authority would be revealed more and more on earth today.

Through Christ Jesus Our Lord – AMEN

Prayer is Living With God

All of Creation is God’s place. There is nowhere that God doesn’t belong. Anywhere that there is life, there is God. Discovering prayer is discovering God. Discovering God is discovering prayer. Our prayer must expand to make room for us to live. Our lives must expand to make room for our prayer. Together we are a dwelling place for God. God is a dwelling place for all of us together. Prayer is you hearing God’s voice. Prayer is God hearing your voice. Prayer is where we are shaped. Prayer is us shaping things. There is no life outside of prayer. There is no prayer outside of life. Your life is meant to be a prayer. So God make our lives a prayer and make prayer our life. Through Christ Jesus Our Lord. – AMEN

Be Yourself

“Be yourself, not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.” – Henry David Thoreau 

This quote from Thoreau inspires something deep inside of me. I am more than I imagine myself to be. I move through each day governed by motivations that I experience consciously as an after thought. They are real and powerful… these motives. 

Like the world around me, I am always interacting with forces around me. As a human being, I have the unique skill of self-awareness. God has blessed me with the capacity to make choices. 

Like you, I have a love-hate relationship with my God-designed function of choosing how I will work on my life today. The vineyard awaits me every day. Our father instructs me to work in his vineyard today and every day. Yesterday’s work may or may not feel the same as today’s. But it will be unique because this is always a new day… a day of renewal. 

Thoreau’s coaching tip to be myself, not my idea of someone else’s idea… intrigues me. It does inspire me to humble myself in the presence of God (who actually is present with us), and place “myself” under his mighty hand. He promises to lift me up in the right way and the right time. 

Prayer: God, being myself is so core to my sense of well-being. It is too much for me to leave to an afterthought. Help me to get better at surrendering every day to your amazing invitation to work creatively in your vineyard. This is your world and you have a concept of me in the midst of its pulsating life of renewal. You see me as more than any human’s idea including any of my own. Why wouldn’t I trust you? Inform my being today with your thoughts about me. Through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Bless the Wilderness

God is inviting those who will listen to begin blessing the wilderness of 2020. Here in the eleventh hour of this year, we can rise up in faith and declare that King Jesus has been drawing us into deeper intimacy with him through all of its challenges. In Song of Songs 8:5 there is a prophetic question, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?”

May God open our eyes to see the past year through his eyes. May he heal the eyes of our heart so that we will have wisdom and revelation. Our Bridegroom King has drawn us into the wilderness out of his deep desire for us. As we lean upon him with all of our hearts, we can trust that he is blessing us as his Bride and will provide more than we could think or imagine.

Hosea 2:14-23 contains God’s promise to his Bride (the people of God);“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.“In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked.In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground.Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.“In that day I will respond,” declares the Lord—“I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth;and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”

There is a profound glory being poured out from heaven to those who will rise up in bold, courageous faith through Christ and bless the wilderness of 2020. Our Beloved, our bridegroom King Jesus has never let us down. May we have ears to hear and eyes to see how he has led us in 2020. He is good and his extravagant love is about to be displayed as never before upon his Bride. The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come, King Jesus.”

Craving Wisely

My cravings are set on fire by my hunger and thirst. The pressures of life push and pull me to an empty place. Once I get there, my soul demands to be filled. I cannot deny or escape it.

To be alive is to crave more life. I am always hungry and thirsty because I have been created for renewal. As long as I am breathing I will be craving.
For some reason, I find myself journaling this… “Coming to terms with the primal source of life…the kingdom of God… the Spirit of God. It is the presence of God that provides power, stability, breath, life, and more.”

I began to think about prayer. It is bringing my hunger and thirst to the bread of life and the living water… King Jesus. Wisdom tells me that my cravings drive what I do. The reason I pray is to not be a fool when it comes to my heart intentions… what I am REALLY trying to get.

Jesus said, “Blessings on people who hunger and thirst for God’s justice! You’re going to be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6 – The Bible for Everyone) or “How enriched you are when you crave righteousness! For you will be surrounded with fruitfulness.” (The Passion Translation)

We are right now under pressure from adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic. All of us are careening toward a confrontation with our heart motives… what we REALLY crave.

I hear the anchoring voice of the Spirit urging me to come to him every day to eat the bread of life and drink the living water that only comes from King Jesus. Only a fool would ignore Him.

God, lead me in heaven’s wisdom. – Amen

Prayer to Banish the Fearful Spirit

King Jesus, love the world through me. Banish the fearful spirit and cast it far away from me. It is no match for your power, love, and stealth wisdom. And, because you live in me, the fearful spirit is an evil intruder.

Expose all of the disguises it has supplied for me to wear. Bring them all into the light so that I can throw them out with the garbage.

Provoke me to Life in all that I do. Teach me the art of complete love. You have broken the chains and set me free. Animate my day with your living presence and fill it with the agenda of your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. – Amen

“After all, the spirit given to us by God isn’t a fearful spirit; it’s a spirit of power, love, and prudence.” 2 Timothy 1:7 “The Bible for Everyone”