8.9.23: Follow and worship (updated today)

Hans: Pixabay

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).

8.9.23: Follow and worship

Hans: Pixabay

My husband is suffering from a virus, and I now have it as well. Yet still God gives, and still I write, though very slowly.

N.B: I posted today’s prayer at midnight, last night, with the first 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 reposting the final version again, for their sake.

A highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way (Isaiah 35:8; NIV). 

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 whose loss was gain.

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).

20.6.23: An invitation

Needlework picture by Anna Matilda Curtis, 1820, American, metmuseum.org.

To my great surprise, this complex, mysterious prayer arrived whilst I was saying grace before breakfast last Sunday. It is by far the most challenging piece of writing I have ever undertaken, and has taken many hours to put into words.


Seek his face always (1 Chronicles 16:11; NIV). 

1. Sisters of the Face of God,
Reach out:
Seek me while you may.

2. Brothers of the Word of God,
Draw near:
Follow me each day.

3. Mothers of the Hand of God,
Join me:
Cling through good and ill.

4. Fathers of the Way of God,
Bear up:
Learn to do my will.

5. People of the Peace of God,
Listen:
I will make you new.

6. Children of the Love of God,
Come now:
Let me welcome you.

The crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God.
(Luke 9:11; NLT).

You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
(Galatians 3:26; NLT).


References 

Verse 1
Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother (Mark 3:35; NLT).
They will see God’s face (Job 33:26; NIV).
God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us (Acts 17:27; NIV).
Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near (Isaiah 55:6; NLT).

Verse 2
He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God (Revelation 19:13; NLT).
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings (Hebrews 10:22; NIV).
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). 

Verse 3
The LORD will hold you in his hand for all to see – a splendid crown in the hand of God (Isaiah 62:3; NLT).
Cling tightly to the LORD your God (Joshua 23:8; NLT).
The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21; CSB).

Verse 4
They took him aside and explained the way of God (Acts 18:26; NLT).
The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:16; NIV).

Verse 5
The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7; NIV).
This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him (Mark 9:7; NLT).
I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart (Ezekiel 36:26; NLT).

Verse 6
Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it” (Luke 18:16; NLT).
Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39; NIV).
I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am (John 14:3; BSB).


The Rosary Hospital

Yesterday was quite challenging, so for part of the afternoon I took refuge in making a fiat rosary.

16.6.23: Peace and justice

fjaka, Pixabay.

This blog came directly out of my personal, spoken prayers yesterday:

If only you had paid attention to my commandments! Your peace would have been like a river, and your justice would have been like the waves of the sea (Isaiah 48:18; CPDV). 

I pray for peace and justice, Lord,
Throughout this troubled world,
That everyone will listen,
And your voice, alone, be heard.

I ask for deep repentance, Lord,
Throughout this troubled world,
That every heart will turn to you,
And every conscience stir.

I beg for care and kindness, Lord,
Throughout this troubled world,
That selfishness will be renounced,
And sharing be preferred.

I plead for hope and healing, Lord,
In every human soul,
That all will learn to live in love,
For then we will be whole.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:16; NLT). 

29.5.23: We praise you

The Healing of the Blind Man and the Raising of Lazarus Date: first half 12th century (possibly 1129–34), metmuseum.com.

This prayer arrived when I was praying without words very sleepily last Saturday morning. Having just learned how to make videos here after 10 years of using WordPress every day, here is a recording of it, in case that’s better for you than print: IMG_3546

We praise you, Lord (Psalm 21:13; GNT).

We praise you, Lord,
And worship you;
We learn from you,
And follow you;
Believe in you,
And long for you:
Our Teacher.

We love you, Lord,
And serve with you;
We trust in you,
Rejoice in you;
Depend on you,
And pray to you:
Our Master.

We grieve with you,
And yield with you;
Accept with you,
Endure with you;
We suffer and unite
With you,
Our Saviour. 

He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:6; NLT).


References

You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am (John 13:13; NLT).

Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! (Luke 17:13; NLT).

Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:11; NLT).


Something extra


Here is a link to a gallery of photos which tell the story of a beautiful, short walk we enjoyed last Saturday. I apologise for having messed up my sharing of this yesterday, and hope it will work properly. I can’t claim to be a mistress of technology! Just click on the live link if you would like to view it: https://wp.me/P45bCr-eaC.

23.2.23: Feeling unacceptable

Introduction
The day before yesterday, as soon as I woke, I wrote down the emotions crowding that night’s dream. For the first time in years, this included some positive feelings alongside the usual negatives, although this blog will mainly focus on the negatives:

Negatives: Feeling unacceptable, disliked, rejected, ashamed, unloved, unlovable, a failure, vulnerable, insecure.

Positives: Briefly feeling wanted, joyful, loving, connected with a person, connected with an animal.

A learning opportunity
Dreams are a learning opportunity. Writing down the emotions they generate enables me to connect with aspects of myself it would be much more comfortable to ignore, deny, or suppress.

As I began to pray, I saw that the emotions experienced during my dream were showing me how I feel about myself. Then I understood that throughout my life a lot of my waking behaviour and sense of self have been driven by the negative emotions listed above.

The origins of my fear and insecurity 
The feelings I typically experience during dreams have their origins in my relationship with my mother. As a child, I had no way of understanding them or putting them into words. I instinctively concealed them, because expressing them in any way risked incurring my mother’s criticism, anger and punishment. It was made crystal clear that I was a burden, so, unsurprisingly, I grew up feeling deeply unacceptable to others.

However, I couldn’t hide the effect this had on me. My distress was revealed by behaviours I couldn’t control, including tears, anxiety, fears, lack of confidence, recurrent nightmares, headaches, stress, perfectionism, bed-wetting and sleepwalking.

As I got older, the origin of my fears was buried far beyond conscious awareness. However, my damaged sense of self continued to fester in my unconscious mind, surfacing as panic attacks which seemed to come out of the blue. Anxiety, agoraphobia, claustrophobia and depression went on to dominate my life for many years, until I eventually started to get effective help.

My emotional framework
I see now that all my dreams essentially reveal how I have come to feel about myself as a result of how I was treated as a child. My negative experiences formed the foundation of my adult self-image.

However, alongside this realisation I’m beginning to glimpse that perhaps my feelings about myself don’t actually belong to me at all; they may simply be how I was made to feel when I was young. Hopefully, more will be revealed in the coming days.

Positive emotions
Meanwhile, I haven’t forgotten those rare, positive emotions experienced during my dream. These have given me hope that if my unconscious mind, and therefore my dreams, can change, perhaps my conscious sense of who and what I am can change as well.

So, after that long introduction, here is today’s prayer:

Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18; NIV). 

Thank  you, Lord God,
With all my heart,
For the secret riches
You give me
From the darkness
Of my unconscious mind.

Through Jesus’ name.
Amen.

I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness – secret riches (Isaiah 45:3; NLT). 

11.2.23: Healing through dreams

God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds (Job 33:14-15; NLT). 

Forgotten dreams

In prayer yesterday, I saw that when I can’t remember a dream, I can be sure that it contained nothing I need to know about or deal with at present. 

The same is also true when I remember a dream, but no significant theme or emotion stands out. After thanking God for these quiet dreams, I simply let them go. Experience shows that any vague fragments I recall will quickly fade from consciousness.

Recurring dreams

Even if I miss or forget something significant, I’m confident that it will emerge repeatedly in my dreams until I’m ready and able to catch hold of what it has to teach me. This is because the contents of my unconscious mind (memories, traumatic experiences, hidden desires, buried emotions etc), are constantly present, even though I’m not conscious of them. They bubble away beyond awareness, constantly influencing all I feel, think, say and do. They affect how I understand and judge my past, how I react to events in the present, and how I approach the future. They help to determine how I experience life, and how I relate to others.

If I had to face all the contents of my unconscious mind at once, I’m sure I they would overwhelm me. I would become very disturbed, and break down. On the other hand, if I tried to avoid facing them altogether, I would be unable to change, grow and move forward in my life.

Gradual healing, through dreams

Given time, I believe that every significant unresolved experience, trauma and emotion buried in my unconscious mind will gradually be revealed in my dreams. This natural process will continue until I have remembered them all, named them, and written them down. This will enable me to face them one at a time, bring them into the light of my prayers, and asking God to heal them. Thus, through dreams, these issues will no longer remain hidden in darkness, until symptoms such as panic, loss of temper, or despair erupt uncontrollably and without warning, apparently from nowhere.

Cause for rejoicing

So when I check my notebook each morning, I rejoice to see what has been harvested from my unconscious mind during the night. Despite no longer remembering the dreams themselves, their major themes have been safely retrieved and made accessible, ready for prayer. This is all I need.

No surprises for God

Of course, there are no surprises for God in all that surfaces; only for me. This is because God already knows the thoughts of my heart and everything about me that is hidden from conscious awareness. With dreams as my way forward, it’s wonderful to know that even my unconscious mind is being healed.

O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me (Psalm 139:1; NLT).


References 

I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness – secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name (Isaiah 45:3; NLT).

I am the LORD who heals you (Exodus 15:26; NLT).

31.1.23: When I ask

When praying with my circlet, I’m learning to wait in silence on each new bead. Once I can see what it holds, I pray with it until the prayer is complete. Then I let it go, and move on to the next, as described in today’s prayer:

The Spirit also helps us in our weakness; for we do not know what prayers to offer nor in what way to offer them (Romans 8:26; WNT). 

Jesus,

When I ask your help,
A prayer awaits me in each bead:
All I have to do is listen
For your Holy Spirit’s lead.

Some hold silence, inspiration,
Intercession, thanks, or praise;
Some are full of light and warmth,
Of our shared love’s united gaze.

So I say the words you offer,
See all I am meant to see:
What a joy it is to know
That every day you care for me.

May I speak the words you give,
And learn what I am meant to learn,
Living, walking in your Spirit
Here, on earth, till I return.

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


References 

I will put my Spirit in you and you will live (Ezekiel 37:14; NIV). 

I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness – secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name (Isaiah 45:3; NLT). 

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion (Ephesians 6:18; NLT). 

Listen to God’s voice (Deuteronomy 26:17; TIB). 

The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving (Psalm 28:7; NLT).

He cares for those who trust in him (Nahum 1:7; NIV). 

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? (1 Corinthians 6:19; NLT). 

God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us (1 John 4:13; NLT). 

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25; KJV).

21.1.23: Understanding ourselves

Last Thursday, whilst praying for those who wage war on other people, I saw that whenever we harm or hurt someone else in any way, our behaviour reveals that we are unconsciously at war with some aspect of ourselves. Then today’s prayer started to flow:

We don’t understand (John 16:18; NLT). 

Lord, please help us to understand ourselves, because:

When we judge others,
We are are unconsciously judging ourselves.

When we don’t forgive others,
We are unconsciously unable to forgive ourselves.

When we hate others,
We unconsciously hate ourselves,

And when we wage war on others,
We are unconsciously at war with ourselves.

Lord, please help us to choose your perfect way, because:

When we learn to accept ourselves,
We will spontaneously accept others.

When we learn to care for ourselves,
We will spontaneously care for others.

When we learn to forgive ourselves,
We will spontaneously forgive others,

And when we learn to love ourselves,
We will spontaneously love others.

Love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27; NLT).


References 

God’s way is perfect (2 Samuel 22:31; NLT). 

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2; NLT). 

Follow the way of love (1 Corinthians 14:1; NIV).

“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 14:4-6; NLT). 

He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left (Isaiah 30:19-21; NLT).


The Rosary Hospital 

Yesterday I enjoyed fulfilling a request for a smooth, comfortable Fiat Rosary. It is destined to be worn around the neck, always ready for use, and always ready to bring comfort:

21.9.22: God’s presence

Context: I woke, began to pray, and saw afresh that God is constantly present in us all.

I walk in the Lord’s presence as I live here on earth! (Psalm 116:9; NLT).

Practicing awareness

Once we recognise this, we can begin to practice remaining consciously aware of God’s presence, until our awareness becomes continuous. This is easy to say, but extremely difficult to put into practice. In fact, it can seem like an impossible task, for we have many distractions each day. Attempting it quickly reveals how easy it is to forget about God’s presence altogether for hours at a time.

Tangible reminders
However, tangible, meaningful reminders of God’s presence can be a useful aid. Those chosen will be different for everyone, depending on our faith and circumstances. Personally, I like to wear an olive-wood cross day and night, always available for me to kiss and hold. There are also a few pictures, icons and wall-crosses strategically placed around my home. Plus, as soon as I open my iPad, my favourite icon is there on the screen, as well.

Living in God’s presence
Slowly, usually through many years of practice, we can learn not just to remember God’s presence all the time, but to live in it. This means communing with God, whilst expressing God’s love as best we can, in all we think, say and do.

Becoming more Christ-like
Through constant contact with God, we become increasingly aware of our oneness with the Divine. This helps us to become more Christ-like, and even, astonishingly, a little more like God.

Constant oneness
In fact, of course, our oneness with God is unchanging, whether or not we are aware of it. This applies before birth, during our time on earth, and after death. So, if we want to live in the joy of God’s presence, all we have to do is to consciously practice remaining aware of, and communicating with, God, who lives within us.