Category: oneness

10.6.23: One in love

Ruth Kirk
Blumary, Pixabay

Last Thursday morning, when I thought I had finished writing and was about to get up, this prayer suddenly sprang out of what I had already been given minutes before (see: https://wp.me/p45bCr-eiy). God is good!

NB: Yesterday I added a short book called, “Wordless prayer”, to my top-level menu. It’s a work in progress. If you would like to see it, here is a link: https://wp.me/P45bCr-ej9.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God (Ephesians 3:19; NLT). 

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

One in love,
And one in Christ;
One in every sacrifice.

One in darkness,
One in light;
One in Jesus, day and night.

One in joy,
And one in pain;
One in every loss and gain.

One in living,
One in death;
One in every precious breath.

One in truth,
And one in peace:
One in Christ, our great High Priest.

Our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time (Hebrews 10:12; NLT).

References 

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 (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT). 

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20; NLT). 

Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies (2 Corinthians 4:10; NLT).

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind (Philippians 2:1-2; NIV).

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7; NLT).

A reading from John 17:20-24; NLT.

I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began.

9.6.23: You lift me up

Ruth Kirk
geralt, Pixabay.

Yesterday, after posting my blog in bed as usual, I laid down to rest in prayer, and was immediately lifted up on a wave of light.

In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years (Isaiah 63:9; NLT).

You lift me on a wave of light,
And take my spirit far away,
Where all words cease,
In perfect peace,
And I no longer pray.

For you are here, within me, Lord,
There’s nothing that I need to do;
No time, or space,
Just your dear face –
In love, I’m one with you.

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

References

The LORD is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him (Habakkuk 2:20; NLT).

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

The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words (Romans 8:26; RSV).

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

Christ lives within you (Romans 8:10; NLT).

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you (Romans 8:11; NLT).

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

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

He loves us with unfailing love; the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever (Psalm 117:2; NLT).

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

My beloved is mine and I am his (Song of Songs 2:16; NIV).

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

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 (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).

25.5.23: Wordless prayer

Ruth Kirk
Triptych with the Way to Calvary, the Crucifixion, and the Disrobing of Jesus, Netherlandish or French, ca. 1400–1420, at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 306.

Today’s prayer arrived yesterday morning, but it was such a busy and eventful day that I didn’t start working on it until late last night. I finished it this morning, just a few moments before posting it!

Be silent before the LORD, all humanity (Zechariah 2:13; NLT). 

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

Ask, without questions;
Seek, without fear;
Knock, without striking:
Jesus is near.

Pray, without speaking;
Sing, without sound;
Dance, without moving:
Jesus is found.

Join him, forever;
Ages, transcend;
Jesus within us:
One without end.

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

References 

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened (Luke 11:9-10; NLT). 

Be still, and know that I am God! (Psalm 46:10; NLT). 

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

There is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity – the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2; NLT).

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

18.5.23: Heaven on earth

Ruth Kirk
Garden at the Nunnery, Isle of Man; Ruth Kirk.

Yesterday morning, when I was worshipping in silence, this prayer came to me so simply, joyfully and insistently that I just had to write it down.

I love you, LORD (Psalm 18:1; NLT). 

I love you,
And you love me.
My sins are gone,
You’ve set me free
To live with you
In heaven, Lord,
On earth.

You love me,
And I love you.
Lord, you’ve saved me,
Made me new,
And all I want:
To be like you,
On earth.

I in you,
And you in me:
Lord, we’re one,
So we can be
In paradise,
Together, here
On earth.

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

9.5.23: Your presence

Ruth Kirk
Image by Lumina Obscura, from Pixabay.

This is my prayer for today:

We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV). 

Yahweh,
May I sense your presence:
I in you, and you in me,
All day long, and evermore,
In full communion, constantly.

Yahweh,
May I know your presence:
You in me, and I in you,
Then I’ll grow more like your Son,
In all I feel, think, say and do.

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).

2.5.23: Love

Ruth Kirk
Image by JA2020, from Pixabay.

Following the series of short articles I’ve been working on over the last few days, I’ve chosen a short, simple prayer I received some time ago for today’s blog:

My beloved is mine and I am his (Song of Songs 2:16; NIV).

You love me,
And I love you.

You share my life,
And all I do.

You know my sins,
And pay each debt:

Lord, we are one,
In life and death.

Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8; NIV).

11.4.23: Together

Ruth Kirk

This little prayer came to me yesterday morning, as I lay half-asleep:

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

He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT). 

I love you, Lord,
And you love me.
Together,
We are one –
My Counsellor,
My Cornerstone,
My Advocate:
God’s Son.

My way, my truth,
My life, my goal;
My Prophet, Priest
And King –
You’re with me
Every moment, Lord:
I’m safe
Beneath your wing.

How often I have I wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings (Luke 13:34; NLT).

I will find shelter in the protection of your wings (Psalm 61:4; NET).

The Rosary Hospital

Today I fulfilled an ambition, by making a rosary entirely out of parts taken from donations of broken rosaries. All the elements are very small, so it’s a mini-rosary, measuring just 35cm in length. Hopefully, someone will be glad to take it with them wherever they go, in their pocket or bag. I plan to finish it tomorrow.

Mini, recycled, five-decade rosary.

9.4.23: Despite my sins

Ruth Kirk

Happy Easter to you all. This prayer came to me yesterday morning. I jotted it down quickly, but it took 24 hours to put into words!

He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT). 

Lord,
Despite my sins and flaws,
Despite my greed and selfishness,
You help me, and forgive,
Because you love me.

Lord,
Despite my fears and griefs,
Despite my pain and suffering,
I trust you and rejoice,
Because I love you.

Lord,
Despite the times I fail,
Despite the many wrongs I’ve done,
We’re joined in spirit, evermore,
As one.

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

References 

Trust in God, and trust also in me (John 14:1; NLT).

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).

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

Rejoice always (1 Thessalonians 5:16; NIV)

I love you  (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

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

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin (1 Corinthians 1:30; NLT). 

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!

25.3.23: Your will

Ruth Kirk
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Jesus+carries+cross&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image

This prayer came to me yesterday, despite how I’m struggling with migraine and dread at present:

May your will be done (Matthew 6:10; NLT). 

May your will be done today, Lord,
In my body, heart and mind;
In my spirit, and my life,
Then all my actions will be kind.

May I call upon your name,
For I am yours, and you are mine.
Fill my thoughts, and words, and deeds,
Till I become your living shrine.

May I know your strength and courage;
Take my hand, for I am blind.
May I trust you, Lord, and share
Your cross today, our souls entwined.

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 (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).

References 

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

I will put my Spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings (Ezekiel 36:27; CEV).

I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants – men and women alike. And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth – blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved (Joel 2:28-32; NLT).

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).

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).

Trust in God, and trust also in me (John 14:1; NLT).