August 2021 – ♥️ Take heart!

Share my darkness (#1 of 2 linked prayers)

31.08.2021Ruth Kirk

Pray about everything
(Philippians 4:6; NLT).

I want to share my darkness, Lord,
With you throughout today –
My foolishness; my ignorance;
My weakness, and my sin.

I want to share my emptiness
With you, Lord, all day long –
My brokenness; my barrenness;
My silence deep within.

I want to share my loneliness
With you, Lord, day by day –
My weariness; my suffering;
My sorrow, and my pain.

I want to share my littleness
With you, Lord, every day –
My worthlessness; my nothingness:
Then I won’t live in vain.

Pray continually
(1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).

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Inner prompting

30.08.2021Ruth Kirk

I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying
(Psalm 85:8; NLT).

Lord,

I hear your inner prompting
Daily, in my heart
And mind,

And your silent inspiration
In my soul,
Where you’re enshrined.

Thank you
For your inner prompting,
And your inspiration, too –

Help me, Lord,
To use these gifts,
So others come to trust in you.

Then others will realise that they, too,
can believe in him and receive eternal life
(1 Timothy 1:16; NLT).

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Help those who never hear

29.08.2021Ruth Kirk

God speaks again and again,
though people do not recognise it
(Job 33:14; NLT).

Help those who never hear your voice,
Although creation sings your praise.

Bless those who never see your face,
Although your glance sets stars ablaze.

Heal those who never know your love,
Although you cherish all you make.

Guide those who never try to pray,
Although their sorry hearts may break.

Teach those who never seek your Son,
Although he dwells within us all.

Draw those who never grasp, Lord God,
That you must wait, until we call.

The Lord must wait for you to come to him
so he can show you his love and compassion
(Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

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These are not our mountains (with thanks to A.K.)

28.08.202129.08.2021Ruth Kirk

The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
everything in the world is yours – you created it all
(Psalm 89:11; NLT).

These are not our mountains, Lord,
But yours.
Creatures, plants, land, sea:
You make them all.

Every speck of dust,
At your command;
Sun, moon, stars:
From genesis to fall.

Food, and drink, and life
Come from your hand.
Faith, hope, love and peace:
Supplied by you.

Help us, Lord, to seek you,
And to find.
Then we will see, hear, taste:
And know it’s true.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.
(Psalm 34:8; NLT).

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things
(1 Chronicles 29:11; NLT).

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Everything, everywhere, everyone

27.08.202127.08.2021Ruth Kirk

Lord,
May I hold fast to you
Forever, day and night,
Sharing everything with you,
And walking in your light.

Lord,
May I remain in you
As you remain in me,
Then I will find you everywhere,
In all I hear and see.

Lord,
May I encounter you
In those whose lives I touch,
For you are here in everyone,
And love us all so much.

References

1. Hold fast to the Lord your God (Joshua 23:8; NIV).

2. Remain in me, and I will remain in you (John 15:4; NLT).

3. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

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Saint Raphael

26.08.2021Ruth Kirk

Christ Healing the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda
Murillo 1670, National Gallery, London (Yandex)

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralysed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had
(John 5:2-4; NLT).

Saint Raphael,
Please hear my prayer,
And carry it to God,
Asking him to heal my life,
And spare me from his rod.

Saint Raphael,
Please stir the pool,
And help me to step in;
Then I will be forgiven,
And my mind set free from sin.

Saint Raphael,
Please hear my prayer,
And carry it above,
Asking God to mend my heart
With his unfailing love.

Saint Raphael,
Please stir the water;
Help me in, to bathe,
For then I will be whole again,
And my poor soul be saved.

He will save the souls of the needy
(Psalm 72:13; NHEB).

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I’d like to be your helper

25.08.2021Ruth Kirk

Stop and help
(Exodus 23: NLT).

I’d like to be your helper, Lord,
Befriending one and all.

I’d like to be your servant, Lord,
Assisting those who fall.

I’d like to be your slave, Lord,
Loving stranger, friend, and foe,

But I’m happy to be nothing, Lord –
The lowest of the low.

I am nothing
(Job 40:4; NLT).

You will be brought low; from the earth you will speak, and from the dust where you are prostrate your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground, and your speech will whisper from the dust
(Isaiah 294; NASB 1995).

I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people
(Ephesians 3:8; NIV).

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