Category: Share

Naked prayer

Ruth Kirk

You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing!” But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked (Revelation 3:17; NIV).

The Spirit, too, comes to help us in our weakness. For we don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit expresses our plea with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26; TIB).

Naked prayer: don’t prepare –
Spontaneity is all.
Ask the Holy Ghost to help you,
S/He will always hear your call.

Silent prayer: Christ will share
All your troubles, grief, and shame.
Like a child, with trust unfailing,
Praise and bless His holy name.

Honest prayer: God is there –
S/He is all you’ll ever need.
Let your words be short and simple,
God will always take the lead.

Wordless prayer: Threefold care –
Revel in the cleansing fire.
Spirit-led, just keep on seeking:
You’ll receive your heart’s desire.

Take delight in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desires (Psalm 37:4; NLT).

References

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).

When you pray do not use vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7; NKJV).

Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Luke 18:17; CSB).

Keep on seeking and you will find (Matthew 7:7; NLT).

 

Don’t make prayer a burden

Ruth Kirk

Unless you … become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3; NLT).

Don’t make your prayers a burden:
Share every thought with God.
Be honest and spontaneous –
As candid as a child.

Don’t make your prayers a burden:
Share every joy with God.
Be free and uninhibited –
Exult and dance; go wild!

Don’t make your prayers a burden:
Share every pain with God.
Be raw, direct, and unconstrained –
Expressing how you feel.

Don’t make your prayers a burden:
Share every fear with God.
Be straight; cry out with no holds barred –
Above all, just be real.

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

References

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36; NIV).

“Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Mark 14:36; NLT).

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Matthew 27:46; NLT).

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

 

Sharing

Ruth Kirk

You know my thoughts (Psalm 139:2; NLT).

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

Lord,
You know my tangled thoughts!
Instead of using words to pray,
I open up my mind to you,
For you grasp all I want to say.

Lord,
You know my troubled heart!
Instead of saying how I feel,
I open all my cares to you,
For you will comfort, help, and heal.

Lord,
You know my lonely soul!
Instead of hiding all my fears,
I open my whole self to you,
For you will share my pain and tears.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight (Hebrews 4:13; NIV).

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).

 

Inner space

Ruth Kirk

When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen (Matthew 6:6; NIV).

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

A sense of warmth;
Time standing still;
A gentle light;
An inner space –

A place where
I alone can go
To be with you,
The God of Grace.

Here, Lord,
I speak the truth in love;
I ask for help,
And hear your voice.

Then, as we rest
In silence, Lord,
We share our oneness,
And rejoice.

Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God (Romans 5:11; NLT).

 

Holy Saturday

Ruth Kirk

The baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35; NLT).

When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39; NLT).

Jesus,
You’re so holy.
How could I fail
To praise you?

Jesus,
You’re so humble.
How could I fail
To care?

Jesus,
You’re so righteous.
How could I fail
To serve you?

Jesus,
You’re so loving.
How could I fail
To share?

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

 

Prayer

Ruth Kirk

What can we bring to the Lord? (Micah 6:6; NLT).

To pray
Is to bring every terror,
And face it with God.

To pray
Is to bring every sorrow,
And grieve it with God.

To pray
Is to bring every sickness,
And share it with God.

To pray
Is to bring every burden,
And bear it with God.

In all their suffering he also suffered (Isaiah 63:9; NLT).

Day after day he bears our burdens (Psalm 68:19; CSB).

References

Pray about everything (Philippians 4:6; NLT).

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

 

Guilt

Ruth Kirk

Yahweh, I feel guilty when I pray,
And when I don’t;
And also when I care, and share, and help,
And when I won’t.

However much I pray, and give,
And try to do my best,
It’s not enough; not good enough:
I fail on every ‘test’.

Yet you don’t want my constant guilt:
You’ve always understood
My limitations, Yahweh,
And you only want my love.

Please heal my mind, and hear my plea
To serve you, Yahweh God, guilt-free.

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36; NIV).

Reference

He knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust (Psalm 103:14; NLT).

Love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength (Mark 12:30; NLT).

 

Every thought

Ruth Kirk

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 4:5-6; NLT).

May every thought
Become a prayer,
And all I see
Be filled with you;

May all I hear
Be your dear voice,
To help me serve
In all I do;

May all I feel
Be shared with you,
And every word
Be said with love –

Then I will live
Like you, Lord Jesus:
One with God
In heaven above.

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 (John 17:21; NLT).

References

I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name: Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19; JB).

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed (John 20:28; NLT).

 

Even though I’m nothing

Ruth Kirk

I’m nothing more than dust and ashes (Job 30:19; NLT).

Even though I’m nothing, Lord,
I love you,
And even though I’m culpable,
I care.

Even though I’m weak,
I try to follow,
And even though I’m mean,
I try to share.

But even though I’m worthless, Lord,
You listen –
And even though I’m dust,
You hear my plea,

And even though I’m nobody,
You answer,
For even though I’m nothing,
You love me.

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

 

Emptiness (for R.M.)

Ruth Kirk

This is an extra prayer, given to me earlier this morning for reader R.M.

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

Emptiness,
And loss of prayer:
Rest in silence
Everywhere.
God shares all you think
And feel;
Knows your grief;
Hears each appeal.

So, in darkness,
Dread, and tears,
Whisper your distress
And fears,
Sharing all you feel
With him –
Blindly follow;
Simply cling.

Then, in stillness,
All alone,
Though your heart
Seems turned to stone:
Open up your soul
To God,
Trusting in
His staff and rod.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me (Psalm 23:4; NLT).

References

Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word (Luke 1:38; KJV).

He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:37-8; NLT).

He was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44; NLT).

Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done” (Matthew 26:42; NLT).

Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light (Micah 7:8; NLT).