Category: neighbour

1.8.23: You take away my health

Ruth Kirk
PublicDomainPictures: Pixabay.

This prayer took me by surprise as it arrived just after lunch last Sunday . It relates back to “Take my mind”, so here is a link in case you would like to check out that diary entry: https://wp.me/p45bCr-evh.

NB: Because I have so little energy, I now try hard to keep references to a minimum. However, they seemed so essential to today’s prayer that I’ve included them this time.

The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.
(Job 1:21; CSB).

1. Lord,
You take away my health,
My pleasures, and my liberty;
My comfort, and autonomy –
Yet will I cling to Thee.

2. Lord,
You take away my friends,
My neighbours, and my family;
My church, and my security –
Yet will I worship Thee.

3. Lord,
You take away my choice,
My strength, and my mobility;
My self-esteem, and dignity –
Yet will I follow Thee.

4. In death,
You’ll take away my days,
My body, my identity;
My individuality –
Yet will I trust in Thee.

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.
(Job 13:15; KJV).

References 

Verse 1:
* When you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go (John 21:18; NLT).
* Cling to him (Deuteronomy 10:20; NLT).
* I cling to you (Psalm 63:8; NLT).

Verse 2:
* He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me (Job 19:13-14; KJV).
* You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend (Psalm 88:18; NLT).
* Worship the LORD your God (2 Chronicles 30:8; NLT).
* You alone are the one we worship (Isaiah 26:13; NLT).

Verse 3:
* He has taken away my strength (Psalm 102:23; NET).
* Jesus said to him, “Follow me” (Matthew 8:22; NET).
* Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21; NIV).
* Let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives (Galatians 5:25; NLT).

Verse 4:
* Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! (Habakkuk 3:17-18; NLT).
* The LORD gives both death and life (1 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).
* Trust in God, and trust also in me (John 14:1; NLT).
* I trust in God (Psalm 56:4; NLT). 

4.2.23: All wars

Ruth Kirk

As the international situation worsens in country after country, I pray each day for peace in every mind, heart and soul:

His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart (Psalm 55:21; NIV). 

All wars start in someone’s heart,
So, Lord, I pray for all –

That everyone will hear your voice,
And listen to your call

To love our neighbours and our foes,
No matter what they do,

To bless, serve and forgive them –
Then they’ll love themselves, Lord, too.

Love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:31; NLT).

1.10.22: Humility

Ruth Kirk

Context: This blog came to me in a split second, when I was washing my face after getting up late. It was a few days after my hospital trip to London, and I was feeling drained, lonely and rather sorry for myself. God spoke to me so personally that I was nearly knocked off my feet:

The whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Galatians 5:14; NLT).

  • Keep on offering your love to others, but don’t expect their love in return.
  • Keep on listening to others, but don’t expect them to listen to you in return.
  • Keep on taking an interest in other people’s news, but don’t expect them to show any interest in yours.
  • Keep on showing your sympathy to those who suffer, but don’t expect their sympathy in return.
  • Never try to elicit a caring response from those you think might ‘owe’ you some love in return. It won’t work, and the effort will only increase your sadness and loneliness.
  • When you’re too drained to support others, stop trying. Wait until you have some energy to spare. Say nothing; do nothing; rest.
  • Just keep on practicing Mother Theresa’s teaching on humility: “Accept being slighted, forgotten and disregarded” (reference below).

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love (Ephesians 4:2; NLT).

Reference

Here is a link to my blog about Mother Theresa’s teaching on humility: https://wp.me/P45bCr-7Ew

Mother, Father (#1 of 3)

Ruth Kirk

Context: This prayer is the first of three which arrived yesterday morning, one after another. By the time I went downstairs for breakfast, my head was reeling:

Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings (Psalm 61:4; NLT).

Mother, Father,
Priest and King,
In everyone,
And everything,
I come, each day,
To dance and sing
Beneath the shelter
Of your wing.

Stranger, Neighbour,
Friend and Kin,
In everyone,
And everything,
I come, each day,
To hide, and cling
Beneath the shadow
Of your wing.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by (Psalm 57:1; NLT). 

Through loving (#2 of 3)

Ruth Kirk


You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind (Luke 10:27; NLT).

Through loving God,
We learn to love our neighbours.

Through loving them,
We learn to welcome strangers.

Through loving them,
We learn to love

Even those
Who thirst for blood,

And, loving them,
We learn to love ourselves.

Love your neighbour as yourself (Luke 1027; NLT).

When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified – one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
(Luke 23:33-4; NLT).

If you remember me…

Ruth Kirk

Remember the Lord your God.
(Deuteronomy 8:18; NLT).

1. If you remember me,
Do as I bid:
Loving your neighbours,
Just as I did.

2. If you believe in me,
Strive to do good:
Loving each stranger,
Just as I would.

3. If you depend on me,
Help others, too:
Loving each foreigner,
Just as I do.

4. No matter what happens,
Hold fast to me, still:
Loving your enemies –
Just as I will.

🖤

I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’
(Hosea 2:23; NIV). 

 

References 

1. Love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:31; NLT).

2. Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).

3. Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40; NIV).

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

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-8; NIV).

 

 

Love, say sorry, forgive

Ruth Kirk

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.
(Romans 12:9; NLT; my emphasis).

1. Love your family and friends,
Neighbours, strangers, too;
Foreigners, and enemies –
Serve all of them, bar none.

2. Say sorry to your family and friends,
Your neighbours, too;
Strangers, foreigners and foes
For every wrong you’ve done.

3. Forgive your family and friends,
Neighbours, strangers, too;
Foreigners, and enemies –
Then you’ll be like God’s Son.

🖤

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).

References

1. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:8; NIV).

2. If you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God (Matthew 5:23-4; NLT). 

3. If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15; NIV).

When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And … Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34; NLT).

 

I want to hug you

Ruth Kirk

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
(Jeremiah 29:13; NLT).

1. I want to hug you, Father,
But I can’t;
Yet when I hug a friend, Lord,
I hug you.

2. I yearn to kiss you, Mary,
But I can’t;
Yet when I kiss my neighbour,
I kiss you.

3. I long to hold you, Jesus,
But I can’t;
Yet when I hold a stranger,
I hold you.

4. I seek you, Threefold God,
With all my heart;
And when I love my foe, Lord,
I find you.

🖤

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40; NIV).

 

References 

1. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13; CSB).

2. Love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:31; NLT).

3. Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV

4. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1; NIV).

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-8; NIV).

 

Give and take (#1 of 2)

Ruth Kirk

Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will leave this life.
The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
(Job 1:21; CSB).

God gives us everything we have:
Kin, and friends, and neighbours.

He gives us everything we have:
All we regard as “mine”.

He gives us everything we have:
Health, and strength, and senses.

He gives us everything we have:
Flesh, mind, heart, soul; time.

God gives us everything we have:
Faith, and hope, and courage.

He gives us everything we have:
Think about this, and pray,

For we must prepare
To surrender each gift,

As Almighty God
Takes them away.

🖤

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39; NIV).

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
(Matthew 26:42; NIV).

 

May I love

Ruth Kirk

Image: Keith Johnston, Pixabay

🌹

There is […] one God and Father,
who is over all and in all and living through all
(Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).

1. May I love each child, Lord God,
Because they are your cradle.

2. May I love each neighbour, Lord,
Because they are your home.

3. May I love each stranger, Lord,
Because they are your temple.

4. May I love each enemy,
Because they are your throne.

5. May I love you, Father God,
Because you make and keep me.

6. May I love you, Jesus Christ,
Because you cleanse my sin.

7. May I love you, Holy Ghost,
Because you never leave me;

8. And may I even love my self –
Because you dwell within.

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love
(Galatians 5:6; NIV).

🌹

References

1. Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me (Matthew 18:5; NLT).

Jesus, […] though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-7; ESV).

2. Love your neighbour (Luke 10:27; NLT).

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them” (John 14:23; NLT).

3. Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).

Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).

You are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

4. Love your enemies! (Matthew 5:44; NLT).

He loves all his people (Deuteronomy 33:3; NLT).

5. You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength,
and all your mind (Luke 10:27; NLT).

Your hands shaped me and made me (Job 10:8; NIV).

The Lord keeps me alive! (Psalm 54:4; NLT).

6. Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you (John 21:17; NLT).

I will cleanse them of their sins (Jeremiah 33:8; NLT).

7. He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love (Romans 5:5; NLT).

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, [Comforter, Encourager, Counsellor] who will never leave you (John 14:16; NLT).

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

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