Category: prayer

Come close

Ruth Kirk
Image: Ruth Kirk

Come close to God,
and God will come close to you
(James 4:8; NLT).

1. Lord,
May I come close to you
In prayer,
Trusting in your presence
And your care.

2. Lord,
May I live close to you
Each day,
Trusting in your gospel
And your way.

3. Lord,
May I draw close to you
In death,
Trusting in your love
Till my last breath.

4. Lord,
May I rest close to you
In grace,
Then I’ll know your kiss,
And see your face.

References

1. When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private (Matthew 6:6; NLT).

Trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge (Psalm 62:8; NLT).

2. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV).

Believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15; NKJV).

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children, and walk in the way of love (Ephesians 5:2; NIV).

3. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me (Psalm 23:4; KJV).

Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last (Luke 23:46; NLT).

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

Those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die (Isaiah 57:2; NLT).

While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him (Luke 15:20; NIV).

Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12; NRSV)

From beginning to end

Ruth Kirk
Image: Rita Bernhardt, Pixabay

Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets,
he [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures
concerning himself (Luke 24:27; NIV).

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end
(Revelation 21:6; NET).

1. I wish I could walk with you, Lord,
In the cool evening breeze,

2. Then talk with you over a meal,
As we sit at our ease.

3. I wish I could follow your passion,
And stay, Lord, to weep,

4. Then cling to your cold, lifeless hands, Lord,
And kiss your poor feet.

5. I wish I could meet you, then watch
As you break bread, and share,

6. Then gaze on your face, Lord, astonished,
And join you in prayer.

7. I wish I could see your ascension,
And hail your return,

8. Then witness your Kingdom on earth –
But, instead, I must yearn.

References

1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1; NIV).

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden (Genesis 3:8; NLT).

2. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat (Luke 7:36; NLT).

3. As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women (Luke 23:26; NLT).

Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching (Luke 23:49; NLT).

4. He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock […] As his body was taken away, the women of Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed (Luke 23:53,55; NLT).

5. By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them…

6. …Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognised him (Luke 24:28-31; NLT).

7. When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honour at God’s right hand (Mark 16:19; NLT).

You, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return (Matthew 25:13; NLT).

8. Just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom (Luke 22:29-30; NLT).

Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last – salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ” (Revelation 12:10; NLT).

I yearn for the Lord, more than watchmen do for the morning (Psalm 130:6; NET).

Prayer

Ruth Kirk
Image: Pixabay

Pour out your heart to him (Psalm 62:8; NLT).

1. Prayer is worship,
Thanks, rejoicing;
Prayer is sorrow,
Fear, and pain.

2. Prayer is spending time
With Jesus,
As he loosens
Every chain.

3. Prayer is mercy,
Love, and healing;
Prayer is sharing
Every sin.

4. Prayer is being one
With Jesus,
So that we can grow
Like him.

References

1. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendour (1 Chronicles 16:29; NLT).

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

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

I weep with sorrow (Psalm 119:28; NLT).

He will calm all your fears (Zephaniah 3:17; NLT).

Feel my pain (Psalm 25:18; NLT).

2. Pray constantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17; RSV).

He wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them (Mark 9:31; NLT).

You have loosed my bonds (Psalm 116:16; NKJV).

He snapped their chains (Psalm 107:14; NLT).

3. His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136:25; NKJV).

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

I am the Lord, who heals you (Exodus 15:27; NIV).

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

4. Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17; NIV).

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

Questions

Ruth Kirk
Image: Free-Photos, Pixabay

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

1. Lord, is the darkness around you
Produced by my sins?

2. Do they separate me from your presence
By hiding your face?

3. What do you think of my life,
And my lip-service prayers?

4. Lord, if I give up my sins
And return to your way,

5. Will you visit me here, on the earth,
In the cool of the eve,

6. Just as you did in the garden
Where I was conceived?

References

1. Clouds and thick darkness surround him (Psalm 97:2; NIV).

2. Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2; NIV).

3. The Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing more than man-made rules learned by rote” (Isaiah 29:13; NLT).

4. Repent of your sins and turn to God (Matthew 4:17; NLT).

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

5. When he visits, what shall I answer him? (Job 31:14; HNV). 

The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8; NIV).

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

I live in you

Ruth Kirk
Image: geralt, Pixabay

All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God
have God living in them, and they live in God
(1 John 4:15; NLT).

1. Lord, my God,
I live in you,
Believe in you,
And trust in you.

2. Lord, my God,
You live in me,
Deliver me,
And comfort me.

3. Lord, my God,
I’m one with you,
Rejoice in you,
And worship you.

4. Lord, my God,
You’re one with me,
Delight in me,
And care for me.

References

1. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV).

Believe in the Lord your God (2 Chronicles 17:14; NLT).

Trust in God (John 14:1; NLT).

2. You are my father, my God, and the protector who delivers me (Psalm 89:26; NET).

You, O Lord, help and comfort me (Psalm 86:17; NLT).

3. Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17; NIV).

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 3:1; NLT).

Worship the Lord in all his holy splendour (1 Chronicles 16:29; NLT).

4. He delights in me (2 Samuel 22:20; NLT).

I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you (Hosea 14:8; NLT).

Seen in prayer

Ruth Kirk
Image: Kapa65, Pixabay

1. You love me, Lord,
And I love you:
We’re one.

2. So, is this darkness mine,
Or yours,
Or ours?

3. And is this radiance mine,
Or yours,
Or ours?

4. And is this face, Lord, mine,
Or yours,
Or ours?

References

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

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

God has united you with Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30; NLT).

2. I will give you treasures hidden in darkness (Isaiah 45:3; NLT).

3. The radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them (Luke 2:9; NLT).

4. We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image (2 Colossians 3:18; NIV).

My way of life

Ruth Kirk


Rejoice always, pray continually,
give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; NIV).

1. May prayer, Lord, be my way of life,
And constant thanks my aim,

2. Rejoicing in your presence,
As I praise your holy name.

3. May faith, Lord, be my way of life,
And steadfast hope my goal,

4. Loving you with all my heart,
And strength, and mind, and soul.

References

1. Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done (Philippians 4:6; NLT).

2. His name is the Lord – rejoice in his presence! (Psalm 68:4; NLT).

3. These three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13; NIV).

4. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength (Mark 12:29; NLT).

To sit alone

Ruth Kirk
Image: Free-Photos, Pixabay

1. To sit alone
With you
Is to be one, Lord.

2. To walk with you
In darkness
Is to see.

3. To live with you
In silence
Is to pray, Lord.

4. To rest with you
In stillness
Is to be.

References

1. Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray (Mark 1:35; NLT).

When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private (Matthew 6:6; NLT).

Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17; NIV).

2. If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God (Isaiah 50:10; NLT).

You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light (2 Samuel 22:29; NLT).

To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you (Psalm 139:12; NLT).

3. Be silent before the Sovereign Lord (Zephaniah 1:7; NIV).

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

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

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

4. Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10; NIV).

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1; NLT).

In everything

Ruth Kirk

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

1. Lord,
You are in everything around us:
All we touch, and taste,
And hear, and see.

2. Lord,
You live in everyone beyond us:
Each neighbour, stranger,
Those from whom we flee.

3. Lord,
You dwell in everything above us:
Every star and planet,
Moon, and sun.

4. Lord,
You are for evermore within us:
In exile, then in heaven,
When life is done.

References

1. Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it! (Genesis 28:16; NLT).

Taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8; NLT).

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

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

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

3. Our God is in the heavens (Psalm 115:3; NLT).

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

He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6; NIV).

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

You alone are the God who is in heaven (2 Chronicles 20:6; NLT).

Choice

Ruth Kirk

Choose today whom you will serve
(Joshua 24:15; NLT).

1. Live with God, our Lord, today,
And listen for his voice;
See his presence everywhere:
Make faith your conscious choice.

2. Live through God, our Lord, today,
And celebrate his reign;
See his hand in everything:
Make hope your constant aim.

3. Live in God, our Lord, today,
And serve with all your soul;
See his face in everyone:
Make love your ceaseless goal.

References

1. He will live with them and they will be his people. God himself will be with them (Revelation 21:3; NLT).

Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you (2 Corinthians 13:11; NLT).

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

2. God has sent his only begotten Son into the world, we might live through him (1 John 4:9; NKJV).

Celebrate his rule with trembling Psalm 2:11; NIV).

The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord (Job 1:21; NIV).

3. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV).

Serve him with all your heart and soul (Deuteronomy 10:12; NLT).

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

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

Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13; NLT).