Month: November 2013

Hello to all readers. This prayer encapsulates a single moment of insight, when I glimpsed an understanding of why God shields himself from our sight… 

Protected by darkness

• God is light; in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
• For the Lord your God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24). 
• Clouds and thick darkness surround him (Psalm 97:2).
• My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me (Acts 22:11).
• God [is] the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. (1 Timothy 6:15-16).

Father,
Thank you for showing me
That the clouds and thick darkness
Surrounding you
Protect us,
Your frail children,
From being blinded
By the incandescence of your light,
And consumed
By the destructive power of your fire.

How merciful,
And kind you are!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

 

 

Hello, everyone. I’ve suffered from anxiety since I was very small, and once it starts, I just can’t turn it off. For the last few years, I’ve been working on reducing my anxiety by developing healthier relationships, which is very hard work!

NB: It’s just possible that my technically BRILLIANT husband has solved my formatting problems…

Inner peace

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator (Colossians 3:9-10).

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace (Romans 14:19).

Father,
I want to have inner peace.

Help me to be self-aware:
To build and maintain
A healthy relationship with myself,
With others,
And with you.

Help me accept myself as I am,
Always listening to my body
And to my gut feelings,
Always in touch
With my innermost thoughts and concerns.

Help me to set good boundaries with others
By speaking and acting honestly,
On the basis of constant self-awareness.

Then I will be at peace –
With myself,
With others,
And with you.

I ask this in Jesus’ name,
Amen.

 

Hello to all readers. I used to fear death terribly, seeing it as an unchosen, unbearably irrevocable step straight into the unknown. However, coming to understand it in the way pictured by today’s prayer has made me feel much more hopeful and accepting about it. See what you think:

Death

Into your hands I commit my spirit (Psalm 31:5).

Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his (Psalm 100:3).

…the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecc .12:7).

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him (Luke 15:20).

The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you (Deuteronomy 33:27).

 

Father,

You wait to welcome us home

At the end of our exile.

 

At the moment of death

You take us in your arms –

We have nothing to fear.

 

Our lives are fulfilled

In blissful reunion with you,

And this is Heaven.

Amen.

Hello everyone. There are definitely days when God can seem very distant, or even horribly absent, perhaps because of illness, lack of energy, anxiety, or not having time to pray quietly alone. Then I have to rely on faith, rather than on feeling his presence… 

 

 Seeking God

 

One thing I ask of the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple (Psalm 27:4).

 

Do not hide your face from your servant (Psalm 69:17).

 

 

Father,

I seek your face,

And want to be close to you 

All day and all night.

 

So when I can’t sense your presence,

Or feel your warmth,

Or see your light;

And when you show me nothing in my prayers,

I am bereft.

 

I need you, Lord.

My heart cries out to you.

 

I am empty without you.

My spirit has no home but you.

 

Yet I know you never leave me,

Even when I cannot feel your presence.

 

You never forsake me,

For you love all you have made.

 

Lord, 

Just knowing you love me is enough.

 

It satisfies my longing,

And fills my soul with peace.

 

Thank you so much for loving me.

Thank you for your peace.

 

In Jesus’ holy name, 

Amen.

 

Hello, everyone. Whilst contemplative prayer can be very peaceful, 
even ecstatic, it can also be very alarming at times. I've never heard 
this discussed anywhere, but here is my exploration of such an 
experience.

Overwhelmed 
For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth (Psalm 47:2).

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

Father,
You overwhelm me
With your power.

I am afraid.
Silenced.
Awestruck.

I want to run away,
But cannot move,
And there is nowhere to hide.

I am nothing.
You are all.
Lord, save me!

Yet despite my fear,
I love you so much,
And know that you love me.

Therefore,
I dare to worship you.

 

Father, I love you  

Sing to him a new song; play skilfully and shout for joy (Psalm 33:3).

David was dancing before the Lord with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14).

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him (Psalm 37:7).

Father, I love you.
I love you so much.

I wish I could shout with praise,
And sing to you at the top of my voice.

I wish I could play wild music,
And beat a drum until it burst.

I wish I could run, and dance,
And turn somersaults of joy.

I wish I could embrace you,
And kiss your feet.

I wish I could hold your hand,
And weep with you for the world.

But I can’t do any of these things, 
Lord.

I can only worship you,
In the stillness and silence of my heart.

Heaven

Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you (Isaiah 46:4).

Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains… Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, their utter darkness, and broke away their chains (Psalm 107:10,13-14).

Father,
I’m getting old
And my body is wearing out.

But my mind,
My heart,
And my soul
Still rise joyfully
To greet you each day.

Thank you, Lord,
For loving me.

Thank you
That I belong to you.

One day,
I won’t need my body any more.

Then you will release me
From these chains,
To live with you forever,
In heaven.

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised (Job 1:21).

Father,
As we go through life,
All that we think we have