Daily prayers for Christian living and personal growth
1. Lord,
I seek you out
In contemplation,
2. Though you are beyond words,
Thoughts,
And feelings;
3. Beyond movement,
Time,
And place;
4. Beyond awareness
Of any separate self –
5. My Lord,
And my God.
References
1. Keep on seeking, and you will find (Matthew 7:7; NLT).
2. Be silent before the Sovereign Lord (Zephaniah 1:7; NIV).
3. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
5. “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed (John 20:28; NLT).
1. United, Father, with your mind,
I freely leave my self behind.
2. United, Father, with your heart,
I gladly let my self depart.
3. United, Father, with your soul,
I lose my self to be made whole.
4. United: Father, Spirit, Son –
I need no self, for all are one.
References
1. If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me (Luke 9:23; NLT).
2. The dust returns to the ground it came from and the Spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).
3. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; RSV).
4. You are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28; NLT).
My old self has been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me
(Galatians 2:20; NLT).
1. Self, Lord, is a shadow,
Created by the sun;
Self is an illusion,
When we forget we’re one.
2. Self, Lord, is a daydream,
A temporary state;
Self is what we leave behind
When we seek heaven’s gate.
3. Self, Lord, is a mirage,
Created by the sun;
Self is a delusion,
When we forget we’re one.
4. Self, Lord, is a bubble,
An unimportant loss;
Self is what we leave behind
When we take up our cross.
References
1. For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow (Job 8:9; NLT).
Common people are only a vapour; important people, an illusion (Psalm 62:9; CSB).
You are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28; NLT).
2. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace (1 Chronicles 29:15; NLT).
You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13; NLT).
3. They are all a delusion; their works are nothing (Isaiah 41:29; ESV).
4. 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 (Philippians 3:8; NLT).
If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me (Luke 9:23; NLT).
Here is a strange, vivid dream, which I would like to share with you:
I was sinking deep into my self, towards a small, intense, single cell of white light. It had a clearly outlined border, and a dark nucleus. I watched it slowly moving and changing shape, rather like an amoeba. It was alive!
As I descended towards it, I realised that this light was far larger and brighter than it had seemed at first. Suddenly, I plunged into it. The light surrounded and inundated me completely. Instantly, I lost all sight and sense of it having any boundaries at all, and realised it was limitless. Then I understood that this light was God.
There was no separation between this light and myself, other people, animals, the living, the dead, creation, past, present, or future. Rather, all things were the infinite, incomprehensible oneness of God, who is, “Over all, in all, and living through all”.
I woke up with daylight streaming into my room. Later, whilst I was dressing, it came into my mind that whatever the future holds, I have been healed. Then I was overwhelmed by awe and wonderment.
References
God is light (1 John 1:5; NLT).
No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39; NLT).
How great is God – beyond our understanding (Job 36:26; NIV).
There is […] one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).
O Lord, please leave me – I’m too much of a sinner to be around you (Luke 5:8; NLT).
