breath – Seeking God's face together

8.9.23: Follow and worship (updated today)

September 8, 2023September 8, 2023Ruth Kirk

I posted today’s prayer at midnight last night, when it only had seven verses. However, this morning, when I was praying without words, I suddenly received the final couplet, which makes it complete. So that email followers don’t miss this, I’m now posting the final version for their sake.

A thoroughfare will be there – it will be called the Way of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8; NET).

Follow Christ on the way of love:
Worship Him who reigns above.

Learn from Christ on the way of faith:
Worship Him and seek His face.

Talk with Christ on the way of prayer:
Worship Him, our thoroughfare.

Serve with Christ on the way of light:
Worship Him both day and night.

Weep with Christ on the way of pain:
Worship Him who rose again.

Walk with Christ on the way of death:
Worship Him; one final breath

Then rest with Christ when life is past,
And worship Him with joy, at last.

Lord, though I’m on the way of dust,
I’ll worship you with steadfast trust.

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you (Isaiah 26:3; NIV).

References

The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).

You were made from dust, and to dust you will return (Genesis 3:19; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:1; NLT).

Those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die (Isaiah 57:2; NLT).

30.8.23: I follow you

August 30, 2023Ruth Kirk

I had barely begun to pray last Sunday morning when these couplets came to me. They took several hours of concentrated work to put into words.

This happens more and more frequently. The first stage of writing takes so long that by the time it’s finished, I have missed out on the experience of wordless prayer. In fact, there is a constant, seemingly irresolvable tension between my longing to pray, and the drive to express in words what I am given, so it can be shared here.

All I can do is to echo the prophet’s words: “My work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward” (Isaiah 49:4; NLT).

So now, here is today’s blog:

Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34; NLT).

I follow you, my only Lord:
My guide, my way, and my reward.

I honour you, my Shepherd King:
My strength; the truth to which I cling.

I thirst for you, my living God:
My breath, my life, my staff, my rod.

I trust in you, my light, my love:
My daily bread from heaven above.

I worship you, my Father’s voice:
My resurrection, and my choice.

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25; NLT).

Choose today whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15; NLT).

27.8.23: My heart returns

August 27, 2023August 27, 2023Ruth Kirk

The very moment I began to pray early yesterday morning, these verses hijacked me completely.

Sinners will return to you (Psalm 51:13; ESV).

Lord,
My heart returns to you
Each day when I awake,
For you are Christ, the King of kings,
Who suffered for my sake.

Lord,
My mind returns to you
Each day as it grows light,
For you love all, so even I
Am precious in your sight.

Lord,
My gaze returns to you
Each day: I persevere
In seeking out your Spirit,
For I know that you are near.

Lord,
My soul returns to you
Each day until my death,
Then we will reunite at last,
For I, Lord, am your breath.

The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

21.8.23: Good morning

August 21, 2023August 22, 2023Ruth Kirk

This prayer came to me yesterday morning as I kissed the cross on my bedroom shrine, then blessed myself with holy water. All I could do was to start writing it down immediately.

To my utter astonishment, the second line of the second verse had already been given to me the day before, though at the time it seemed unconnected with anything else. As always, I had noted it down, but with no idea how it might be used. It was only as I finished roughing out the first verse that I realised the purpose of this precious phrase.

1. Good morning, Mother, Father: Yahweh –
God of gods, and Lord of lords;
My thanks for all you send each day –
The “good” and “bad” that life affords.

2. Good morning, Teacher, Saviour: Jesus –
Son of God, and Son of Man;
You are the sacrifice for sins –
The consummation of God’s plan.

3. Good morning, Ruach: Holy Spirit –
Breath of God, the King of kings;
All life, and truth, and peace are here –
Beneath the shadow of your wings.

Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
(Psalm 63:7; NLT).

Notes and references

Verse 1
* Will I, who causes others to give birth, not also give birth myself, says the Lord? Will I, who bestows generation upon others, be barren myself, says the Lord your God? (Isaiah 66:9; CPDV).
* “As truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother” (Julian of Norwich).
* “The personal name of God, Yahweh, which is revealed to Moses in Exodus 3, is a remarkable combination of both female and male grammatical endings. The first part of God’s name in Hebrew, “Yah,” is feminine, and the last part, “weh,” is masculine” (David Wheeler-Reed, “What the early church thought about God’s gender”; the conversation.com).
* Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).

Verse 2
* The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Hebrews 1:3; NIV).
* The angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35; KJV).
* Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20; NLT).
* He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins – and not only our sins but the sins of all the world (1 John 2:2; NLT).
* Once at the consummation of the ages He has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26; NASB20).
* This is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6; NLT).

Verse 3
* “In Hebrew the word for Spirit (רוח) (ruach) is feminine“ (Gender of the Holy Spirit, Wikipedia).
* God, who knows everything in our hearts, knows perfectly well what the Spirit is saying, because her intercessions for God’s holy people are made according to the mind of God (Romans 8:27; TIB).
* The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life (Job 33:4; KJV).
* The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6; NIV).
* The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6; NKJV).

30.7.23: We are your children

July 30, 2023July 30, 2023Ruth Kirk

Yesterday, when I was praying even more sleepily than usual, this prayer hit me between the eyes. Instantly, I was wide awake. There was no going back to my deliciously drowsy state, so I began to write. Within less than an hour it was finished, including a few essential references.

NB: This prayer relates back to “My Alpha, my Omega”, which can be found here: https://wp.me/p45bCr-eL2.

You guided my conception and formed me in the womb.
(Job 10:10; NLT).

1. Dawn of Conception:
We are your children.

2. Source of All Souls:
You give birth, life and breath.

3. God of Creation:
We are your people –

4. You are our First,
And our Last, beyond death.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22:13; NLT).

References

Verse 1:
🔻 You guided my conception and formed me in the womb. You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together. You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love (Job 10:10-12; NLT).
🔻 We are his children (Galatians 4:6; NLT).

Verse 2:
🔻 The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).
🔻 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life (Job 33:4; NLT).
🔻 God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth (Isaiah 42:5; NLT).

Verse 3:
🔻 You created all things (Revelation 4:11; NLT).
🔻 I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God (Jeremiah 24:7; NLT).

Verse 4:
🔻 The LORD gives both death and life (I Samuel 2:6; NLT).
🔻 The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

26.7.23: My Alpha, my Omega

July 26, 2023Ruth Kirk

This prayer quickly overtook me when I began to pray yesterday morning. I didn’t even realise what was happening: the first two lines arrived together, then the whole piece slowly took shape, little by little.

The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).

The ground of my being
And source of my soul,
My Alpha, my Omega:
You are my goal.

The dawn of conception,
Of birth, and of breath,
My Alpha, my Omega:
You conquer death.

My reason for living,
My meaning, my cause,
My Alpha, my Omega:
Lord, I am yours.

The God of creation
Beyond space and time,
My Alpha, my Omega:
Lord, you are mine.

My Maker, my essence,
My spirit, my song,
My Alpha, my Omega:
Lord, we are one.

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

23.7.23. We’re one

July 23, 2023July 23, 2023Ruth Kirk

Despite, or perhaps because of, my ongoing migraine, I was blessed with this prayer yesterday morning:

I love you, LORD (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

I love you, and you love me:
We’re one for all eternity
Because you’ve cleansed, and made me whole:
One flesh, one mind, one heart, one soul.

You live in me, and I in you:
We’re one in joy that’s always new
Because you’ve ransomed me from death,
And filled me with your sacred breath.

I am yours, and you are mine:
We’re one beyond all space and time:
For you are here, and never cease
To keep me in your perfect peace.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isaiah 26:3; NLT).

24.6.23: Out of my stillness

June 24, 2023Ruth Kirk

This prayer-poem arose during wordless prayer yesterday morning:

Be still in the presence of the LORD (Psalm 37:7; NLT).

1. Out of my stillness,
Out of my silence,
Out of my darkness,
And out of my depth,

2. Lord, comes your Dayspring,
Lord, comes your Spirit,
Lord, comes your voice, and your Word,
And your breath.

3. One day, in stillness,
One day, in silence,
One day, in darkness,
You’ll take me, in death.

God will redeem me from the world of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
(Psalm 49:15; NIV).

References

Verse 1: Be silent before the Lord (Zechariah 2:13; NLT).

Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light (Micah 7:8; NLT).

Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD (Psalm 130:1; NIV).

Verse 2: The Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:78-9; NKJV).

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

We have the Holy Spirit within us (Romans 8:23; NLT).

After the fire came a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12; BSB).

He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God (Revelation 19:13; NLT).

The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).

Verse 3: I shall return to take you to myself, so that you may be with me where I am (John 14:3; NJB).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).