Category: forgive

16.9.23: The grace of God

Ruth Kirk
kareni: Pixabay.

I woke early yesterday and couldn’t go back to sleep, so began to pray instead. As I said my familiar morning prayers, the opening words, shape and direction of today’s blog burst into my mind.

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
(Luke 1:46-7; NIV). 

1. I glorify the grace of God,
The mind, and heart, and face
Of God.

2. I celebrate the light of God,
The truth, and peace, and might
Of God.

3. I bow before the fire of God,
The jealousy and ire
Of God.

4. I venerate the hope of God,
The comfort, joy, and scope
Of God.

5. I witness to the love of God,
The Spirit, and the Son
Of God.

6. Lord,
Forgive my sin and shame,
And help me magnify your Name.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt His name together.
(Psalm 34:3; NKJV).

References

Verse 1:
*The grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. (Titus 2:11; NLT).
*The LORD your God is more powerful than all other gods and lords, and his tremendous power is to be feared. His decisions are always fair, and you cannot bribe him to change his mind. (Deuteronomy 10:17; CEV).
*The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21; NIV).
*Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”) (Genesis 32:30; NLT).

Verse 2:
* God is light (1 John 1:5; NLT).
*The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6; NKJV).
*The Lord is peace (Judges 6:24; NLT).
*Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you (2 Chronicles 20:6; NIV).

Verse 3:
The LORD your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24; NLT).
God’s anger will descend on them in torrents (Job 20:28; NLT).

Verse 4:
*I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13; NLT).
*He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us (2 Corinthians 1:4; NLT).
*Yahweh, your God, is in the midst of you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17; WEB).
*God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11; NLT).

Verse 5:
*God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).
*No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39; NLT).
*God is Spirit (John 4:24; NLT).
*The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35; NLT).

Verse 6:
*Forgive us our sins (Luke 11:4; NLT).
*You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken! (Ezekiel 16:63; NLT).

12.8.23: Seek us

Ruth Kirk
The Good Shepherd, by Theodore de Bry; Dutch: metmuseum.org.

This prayer came to me a few days ago, as I prayed before my favourite icon:

The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.
(Luke 19:10; NLT). 

Lord,

Seek us when we turn away
And lose our faith in you:
Please bring us gently back again
And let us start anew.

Save us when we turn aside
And stumble, slip, or fall:
Forgive us; guide us back again –
Lord, hear us when we call.

Help us when we turn from you
In rage, grief, or despair:
Encourage us to lean on you,
And trust, Lord, in your care.

They do not fear bad news;
they confidently trust the LORD to care for them.
(Psalm 112:7; NLT).

Readings

Restore us, O LORD, and bring us back to you again! (Lamentations 5:21; NLT).

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! (Matthew 18:12-13; NLT).

Who among you fears the LORD and listens to his servant? Who among you walks in darkness, and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God (Isaiah 50:10; CSB).

They will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 10:20; NAB).

10.9.23: Prayer before praying

Ruth Kirk
Webandi: Pixabay.

Gradually, I’m learning to let go of words during prayer, and allow myself to be led, in trust.

The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-7; NRSV).

Spirit, help me now to pray,
And lift my words to God above.
Plead through me for other people;
Teach me to express your love.

Intercede for me today,
And ask the Lord to cleanse my sin.
Beg Him, please, to heal the guilt
And shame I carry, deep within.

Intervene for your name’s sake,
And speak for me both day and night
With sighs too deep for my poor words –
Until, at last, we reunite.

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

23.8.23. Don’t wait

Ruth Kirk
Our Lady of Pentecost: commons.wikimedia.org.

Yesterday, when I touched my icon of the Holy Spirit falling on all those present at Pentecost, the first two lines of this prayer came insistently into my mind. Immediately, I wrote them down, then set about discovering where they would lead me. Within half an hour, the shape, and most of the words for today’s prayer were safely set down. The rest then followed more slowly, throughout the day.

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

Don’t wait for me to grow
Before you come, Lord.
Don’t wait for me to fail
Before you save.

Don’t wait for me to pray
Before you fill me.
Don’t wait for me to plead
Before you give.

Don’t wait for me to change
Before you rescue.
Don’t wait for me to weep
Before you kiss –

For I’m a sinner, through and through,
Despairing,
So come, Lord God, have mercy,
And forgive.

The tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13; NIV).

References

Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously (Isaiah 55:7; NLT).

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4; NLT).

17.8.23: You’re good

Ruth Kirk


Only God is truly good.
(Luke 18:19; NLT).

1. We know you’re good,
For you accept us,
Even though you read
Our secret thoughts.

2. We know you’re kind,
For you uphold us,
Even though you hear
Our foolish words.

3. We know you’re great,
For you protect us,
Even though you see
Our selfish deeds.

4. We know you’re love,
For you embrace us:
Make us more like you,
Our Lord of lords.

The Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT).

References

Verse 2
How kind the Lord is! (Psalm 116:5; NLT).

Verse 3
God is great! (Psalm 70:4; NLT).

Verse 4
God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).

20.7.23: Filling my soul

Ruth Kirk
Pezibear: Pixabay.

I had to wake up early yesterday morning for some work to be done in my house. Whilst I was praying, these verses arrived:

The Spirit, too, comes to help us in our weakness. For we don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit expresses our plea with groanings too deep for words. And 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 8:26-7; TIB). 

Filling my soul,
You pray within me –
Lord, I’m your willing slave.

Pleading on my behalf
For others –
Lord, please forgive and save.

Making me weep,
With sighs and groaning –
Lord, please touch every mind,

Ending our hatred, wars
And bloodshed –
Heal us, for we are blind.

In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.
(Psalm 36:2; NLT). 

You will open the eyes of the blind.
(Isaiah 42:7; NLT).

References 

🔻 I am the Lord’s slave  (Luke 1:38; HCSB).
🔻 We all have sinned against you (Jeremiah 14:20; NLT).
🔻 Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good. They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil (Psalm 36:1-4; NLT).
🔻 He touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.” Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! (Matthew 9:29-30; NLT).
🔻 Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment – to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind” ( John 9:39; NLT).

2.7.23: Weak and sick (for B.)

Ruth Kirk
ArsAdAstra: Pixabay.

This prayer rose gently from a beautiful time of bright, wordless prayer. Writing it made me smile, because it arrived backwards, which rarely happens to me.

He knows how weak we are.
(Psalm 103:13; NLT). 

1. Lord,
You know
How weak and sick I am:
I cling to you so tight
That we are one;

2. Help me to serve you well
Each day;
Forgive my every failing, lapse,
And wrong.

3. Lord,
Though I’m nothing,
I rejoice,
Because to you, forever,
I belong;

4. You are my Maker
And my end:
So, though I’m weak and sick, Lord,
I am strong.

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10; NKJV).

References 

Verse 1: I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely (Psalm 63:8; NLT).

Verse 2: Serve him and hold fast to him (Deuteronomy 13:4; NIV).

He forgives all my sins (Psalm 103:3; NLT).

Verse 3: I am nothing  (Job 40:4; NLT). 

Rejoice always (1 Thessalonians 5:16; NIV).

You and I both belong to God (Job 33:6; NLT).

Verse 4: You are our maker; and we are all the work of your hand (Isaiah 64:8; BBE).

“I am the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come – the Almighty One” (Revelation 1:8; NLT). 

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

14.6.23: Breathing

Ruth Kirk
Sanshiro, Pixabay.

This prayer arrived gently yesterday, during silent contemplation:

He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth (Isaiah 42:5; NLT). 

I breathe you in,
And breathe you out:
No word, or thought;
No fear, or doubt.

I breathe you out,
And breathe you in:
You know me,
And forgive my sin.

I breathe you in,
And breathe you out:
You’re always here –
Within, without.

I breathe you out,
And breathe you in:
My Lord, my God –
My closest kin.

Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother (Matthew 12:50; NLT).

References 

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed (John 20:28; NLT). 

O LORD, you are our Father (Isaiah 64:8; NLT). 

Since we are his children, we are his heirs (Romans 8:17; NLT). 

13.6.23: You are peace

Ruth Kirk
Public Domain Pictures, Pixabay.

Seeing this prayer in my mind and heart brought a gentle end to a wonderful time of light, silence and peace last Sunday. Writing and referencing it was a labour of love.

The Lord is peace (Judges 6:24; NLT). 

1. You are peace, and you are love,
On earth, below, in heaven above.
You are fire, and bread, and wine,
Our narrow way, our living vine.

2. You are pity, Shepherd King,
You shield us all beneath your wing.
You are Spirit, truth and light,
The resurrection, and the life.

3. You are Christ, our staff and rod,
So kind, so good, our Lord and God.
Teacher, you forgive and bless,
For you are strength, and tenderness.

4. Yahweh, Holy Ghost, and Son,
The One in Three, the Three in One,
Our faith, our hope, our soul, our call:
You are God, our All in all.

God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28; TIB).

References

Verse 1
God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).
The Lord your God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24; NIV).
I am the living bread that came down from from heaven (John 6:51; NLT).
Jesus told him, “I am the way” (John 14:6; NLT).
I am the vine (John 15:5; NLT).

Verse 2
Yahweh is …pity (Psalm 103:8; NJB).
I am the good shepherd (John 10:11; NLT).
You are my King and my God! (Psalm 44:4; NLT).
I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings (Psalm 57:1; NLT).
The LORD God is our sun and our shield (Psalm 84:11; NLT). |
God is Spirit (John 4:24; NLT).
The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6; NKJV).
God is light (1 John 1:5; NLT).
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25; NLT).

Verse 3
Jesus is the Christ (1 John 5:1; NLT).
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me (Psalm 23:4; NLT).
How kind the LORD is! How good he is! (Psalm 116:5; NLT).
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed (John 20:28; NLT).
You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am (John 13:13; NLT).
He forgives all my sins (Psalm 103:3; NLT).
How he blesses them! (Psalm 107:38; NLT).
The Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength (Isaiah 26:4; KJV).
Yahweh is tenderness (Psalm 103:8; NJB).

Verse 4
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19; KJV).
The LORD our God, the LORD is one (Deuteronomy 6:4; NIV).
Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13; 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).
We keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call (2 Thessalonians 1:11; NLT).
You are our God! (Hosea 2:23; NLT).

6.6.23. You are our Father

Ruth Kirk
Ramdion, Pixabay.

This prayer arrived yesterday morning whilst I lay very still, praying without words. I have included more references than usual, as Biblical imagery about God is so rich.

O LORD, you are our Father (Isaiah 64:8; NLT).

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).

You are our Father,
And our Mother;
You are our Sister,
And our Brother;
You are our Husband,
Wife, and Lover;
You are our God:
We want no other.

You are our Bridegroom,
And our Bride;
You are our Shepherd,
Way, and Guide;
You’re the Companion
At our side;
Living within us:
You provide.

You are our Master,
Saviour, Friend;
Teach us, Lord, help us,
And defend;
Pardon our sins,
Our faults, transcend;
Make us like you, Lord:
Love without end.

God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).

The faithful love of the LORD never ends! (Lamentations 3:22; NLT).

References

Humankind was created as God’s reflection: in the divine image God created them; female and male, God made them (Genesis 1:27; TIB).

For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant (Isaiah 42:14; NIV).

You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth (Deuteronomy 32:18; NIV).

As a mother consoles a child, so I will console you (Isaiah 66:13; NET).

Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother (Matthew 12:50; NLT).

I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine (Song of Songs 6:3; NLT).

You are our God (2 Chronicles 14:11; NLT).

God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride (Isaiah 62:5; NLT).

I promised you as a pure bride to one husband – Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; NLT).

The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need (Psalm 23:1; NLT).

Jesus told him, “I am the way” (John 14:6; NLT).

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me (Psalm 23:4; NLT).

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

God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat (2 Corinthians 9:10; NLT).

You are my Master (Psalm 16:2; NLT).

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior, my God is my rock, in whom I find protection (Psalm 18:2; NLT).

The Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT).