Category: mind

1.6.23: Take me over

Ruth Kirk
NadineDoerle, Pixabay.

This prayer came to me silently and insistently yesterday morning:

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20; NLT). 

Lord,
Please take me over fully:
Mind and body, heart and soul;
Then pray on my behalf: I beg
That all the world will be made whole.

Lord,
Please pray within me, always:
Mind and body, heart and soul.
May all repent and turn to you:
Forgive us, save us, and console.

Lord,
Please live in me forever:
Mind and body, heart and soul.
Let’s pray for peace throughout the world
Together: that’s my foremost goal.

I will pray for peace (Psalm 122:8; CEV).

References

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ (Ephesians 4:13; NLT).

We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself asks on our behalf with ineffable sighing (Romans 8:26; CPDV).

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17; NLT).

Help us, O God of our salvation! Help us for the glory of your name. Save us and forgive our sins for the honor of your name (Psalm 79:9; NLT).

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

I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (John 14:20; NLT).

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

I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security (Jeremiah 33:6; NIV).

20.5.23: Resting in prayer

Ruth Kirk
Image by Michael Pointner from Pixabay.

This prayer arrived very early last Thursday. It was so difficult to express in words that I came close to giving up, only finishing it this morning:

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28; NLT).

Resting in prayer:
Silent and dark.
Turning to God:
One mind, one heart.

Bowing in prayer:
Wordless and deep.
Trusting in God:
Shared love is sweet.

Yielding in prayer:
Body and soul.
Joining with God:
Our Maker and goal.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14; NIV).

References

Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker (Psalm 95:6; NLT).

Yield your hearts to the LORD (Joshua 24:23; NIV).

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

The Rosary Hospital

I’m now well-launched on my second large batch of rosaries, which will all be Fiat rosaries this time. Here is a chunky, very tactile one with a recycled cross. I enjoyed making it yesterday:

14.5.23: I pray for love

Ruth Kirk
Image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay.

This prayer arrived spontaneously yesterday, whilst I was praying for the world:

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you (John 15:12; NLT).

Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10; NIV). 

Lord,

I pray for love
Throughout the world:
In every country, home,
Mind, soul, and heart.

But if we cannot love,
I pray for peace,
So everyone can live,
And play their part.

And if we can’t make peace,
I pray for truth,
Then all our hurtful lies
Will end, at last.

And if we can’t have truth,
I pray for hope,
Until our earthly suffering
Has passed.

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33; NLT).

References 

This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope (1 Timothy 1:1; NLT). 

We are saved by hope (Romans 8:24; WEB). 

The eyes of all look to you in hope (Psalm 145:15; NLT).

A reading: Romans 8:23-5; NLT.

We believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently).

13.5.23: Come, Lord, search me

Ruth Kirk
The Temptations of Christ in the Desert, unknown sculptor of Milanese area, ca 1580.

Yesterday, whilst I was praying without words, this prayer came to me most insistently. I wanted so much to go on being silent, but in the end was compelled to write it down.

NB: In the afternoon we managed a rare outing, so I made it into a slideshow called “Silverburn walk”. If you would like to see it, please click on this link: https://wp.me/P45bCr-e3T. Wonderful though it was at the time, it triggered a migraine, but that was inevitable.

Meanwhile, here is today’s prayer:

Come, Lord! (1 Corinthians 22:20; NLT).

Search me, O God (Psalm 139:23; NLT). 

Come, Lord, search me:
Search my mind –
Reveal my sins,
Then I’ll ask your forgiveness.

Come, Lord, search me:
Search my heart –
Lay bare my coldness,
Then I’ll seek your warmth.

Come, Lord, search me:
Search my soul –
Expose my wounds,
Then I’ll entreat your healing.

Come, Lord, search me:
Search my life –
And though I’m nothing,
Make me more like you.

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 

As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world (1 John 4:17; NLT). 

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ (Ephesians 4:13; NLT). 

We will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15; NLT).

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him (Colossians 3:10; NLT). 

Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24; NLT). 

God created human beings in his own image (Genesis 1:27; NLT). 

We will be like him (1 John 3:2; NLT). 

8.5.23: My hope, my way

Ruth Kirk
Stations of the Cross in Althofen; painted by Consuelo Mels-Colloredo, 1983. Neithan90, Wikimedia.

Yesterday I felt very tired, which had its up-side, as I was able to spend time putting the morning’s notes into words whilst resting. The lines in italics form a prayer within a prayer:

O Lord, you alone are my hope (Psalm 71:5; NLT). 

My hope, my way,
My light each day:
I want to do your bidding;
My peace, my Lamb,
My great “I AM”:
For you are God’s dear Son. 

My truth, my life,
My purchase-price:
You, Lord, are my salvation;
My strength, my blood,
My longed-for love:
May you and I be one.

My Lord, my God,
My staff, my rod:
My body is your temple;
My Guide, my Friend,
My start, my end:
My mind is yours, Lord, too.

My bread, my wine,
My living vine:
My heart is yours forever;
My Shepherd King,
My everything:
My soul belongs to you.

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).

Our bodies will return to the dust of the earth, and the breath of life will go back to God, who gave it to us (Ecclesiastes 12:7; GNT).

6.5.23: Pray for all people

Ruth Kirk
Image by Jacek from Pixabay.

This prayer came to me yesterday morning, and proved surprisingly difficult to put into words:

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them (1 Timothy 2:1; NLT).

Lord,
I pray for joy and peace
In every mind, and heart, and soul,
But if that’s far too much to ask,
Please help us all to grow in self-control.

Lord,
I pray for friendliness
In every soul, and mind, and heart,
But if that’s far too much to ask,
May tolerance become our place to start.

Lord,
I pray for love of all
In every heart, and soul, and mind,
But if that’s far too much to ask,
Please teach us to be humble, wise, and kind.

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-3; NLT).

References

Pray for peace (Psalm 122:6; NLT).

Make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone (2 Peter 1:5-7; NLT).

All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom (Psalm 111:10; NLT).

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3; NASB95).

12.4.23: Your names

Ruth Kirk

 

This prayer arrived yesterday morning after a night disturbed by several bad dreams:

I will praise God’s name (Psalm 69:30; NLT). 

Yahweh, Jesus, Paraclete,
Your names, Lord, make my joy complete:
My God, my Shepherd King, my Friend,
My source, my purpose, and my end.

Yahweh, Jesus, Paraclete,
No other words, Lord, taste as sweet:
My flesh and blood, mind, heart and soul
Belong to you, my highest goal.

My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead (Philippians 3:10; CSB).

References 

Your joy will be complete (John 16:24; NIV). 

How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103: NLT). 

We belong to God (1 John 4:6; NLT). 

You belong to Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:4; NLT).

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit (Romans 8:9; NET).

You belong to him in body and spirit (Malachi 2:15; NIV).

The Rosary Hospital 

This is the mini-rosary I made yesterday, now trimmed and finished. The £1.oo coin shows how small it is:

Mini recycled rosary

5.4.23: A dream of love

Ruth Kirk
Image by Timeastor, Wikimedia.

Whilst praying, the morning after writing yesterday’s blog (see https://wp.me/p45bCr-dKZ), I experienced God in a way that was completely new to me. It proved very difficult to express in words afterwards, but I’ve done my best:

This prayer
Is like a dream of love

Beyond this world
And all I know;

A dream in which
The truth is all,

Where mercy
And forgiveness reign

In God, beyond my guilt
And shame;

Beyond my life,
Beyond my death:

One mind, one heart,
One soul, one 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).

Reference

The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life (Job 33:4; KJV).

The life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being (Job 12:10; NLT).

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

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:4-6; NLT).

You also are complete through your union with Christ (Colossians 2:10; NLT).

A reading from Philippians 3:8-11; NLT.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

4.4.23: You hear each word

Ruth Kirk

Yesterday, when I woke in the middle of the night, the first verse of today’s blog came straight into my mind. I knew I had to write it down, before I forgot it. Then the second verse arrived, line by line, until the prayer was finished, and I fell asleep again.

In the morning I remembered what had happened, but retained no memory of what I’d written. Full of curiosity, I opened my iPad to find out. It needed very little editing to make it work:

LORD, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts (Jeremiah 12:3; NLT).

Lord,

You hear each word I say,
And see the thoughts within my mind,
You know the feelings in my heart –
Our souls are intertwined.

You know the secrets in my past,
And all the wrongs I’ve ever done,
And yet, you love me as I am –
And want us to be one.

The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17; NLT).

References 

I know every thought that comes into your minds (Ezekiel 11:5; NLT).

Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely (Psalm 139:4; NIV).

He knows the secrets of every heart (Psalm 44:21; NLT).

The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive (Proverbs 20:27; NLT).

1.4.23: My shadow

Ruth Kirk

After having the dream described in yesterday’s blog (see https://wp.me/p45bCr-dIF), this poem came to me very insistently a short while afterwards:

I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me (Psalm 51:3; NIV). 

Recognising all the wrongs
I silence in my anxious mind,
Help me to disclose my shadow,
Sharing it with you each day.

Facing up to all the guilt
I stifle in my fearful heart,
Help me to reveal my shadow,
Sharing it with you in prayer.

Owning up to all the shame
I smother in my anguished soul,
Help me to express my shadow,
Sharing it with you through dance.

So, may I expose my shadow
To your constant, healing light.
Please forgive my endless sins,
And give me, Lord, another chance.

Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O LORD (Psalm 25:7; NLT).

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more (Isaiah 43:25; NIV).

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:18-19; NIV). 

References 

I know every thought that comes into your minds (Ezekiel 11:5; NLT).

Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely (Psalm 139:4; NIV).

He knows the secrets of every heart (Psalm 44:21; NLT). 

The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive (Proverbs 20:27; NLT).

Speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15; NLT).

You desire honesty from the womb (Psalm 51:6; NLT). 

Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O LORD (Psalm 25:7; NLT).