Category: trust

Revive my fading faith

Ruth Kirk

Image: geralt, Pixabay

🧡

If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Matthew 26:39; NLT).

1. Lord,
Revive my fading faith,
Then I’ll believe in you.

But if you don’t revive my faith,
I’ll still hold fast to you.

2. Lord,
Renew my ebbing hope,
Then I will trust in you.

But if you don’t renew my hope,
I’ll still cling tight to you.

3. Lord,
Repair my dying love,
Then I will worship you.

But if you don’t repair my love,
I’ll still belong to you.

4. Lord,
Restore my failing health,
Then I will follow you.

But if you don’t restore my health,
I’ll still be one with you.

🧡

References

1. I lie in the dust; revive me by your word (Psalm 119:25; NLT).

Believe in the Lord your God (2 Chronicles 20:20; NLT).

Hold fast to him (Deuteronomy 11:22; NIV).

2. Renew my life with your goodness (Psalm 119:40; NLT).

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

Cling tightly to the Lord your God (Joshua 23:8; NLT).

3. I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages (Amos 9:11; NKJV).

Worship the Lord your God (Luke 4:8; NIV).

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

4. Restore me to health and make me live (Isaiah 38:16; ESV).

Follow me and be my disciple (Matthew 9:9; NLT).

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

Reach out to Christ

Ruth Kirk

Image: Sasin Tipchai, Pixabay

💛

He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands.
Reach out your hand and put it in my side.
Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27; NIV).

1. Reach out to Christ.
Take his way as your own.
Have faith in his teaching,
And make his praise known.

2. Reach out to Christ.
Take his truth as your guide.
Then trust in his mercy,
And walk by his side.

3. Reach out to Christ.
Take his life as your light.
Love all those you contact,
And dwell in his sight.

4. Give him your body,
Your heart, soul, and mind –
Then follow him gladly,
And serve humankind.

💛

References

1. Jesus told him, “I am the way” (John 14:6; NLT).

A person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16; NLT).

Make known his praise around the world (Isaiah 12:5; NLT).

2. Jesus told him, “I am […] the truth” (John 14:6; NLT).

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth (John 16:13; NLT).

I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever (Psalm 52:8; NKJV).

3. Jesus told him, “I am […] the life” (John 14:6; NLT).

His life brought light to everyone (John 1:4; NLT).

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

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress, and refusing to let the world corrupt you (James 1:27; NLT).

The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him (Psalm 33:18; NKJV).

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

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me (Matthew 16:24; NLT).

You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways (Isaiah 64:5; NLT).

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

In danger

Ruth Kirk

Image: Sr. Maria-Magdalena R., Pixabay

🤎

1. In danger,
May I know, Lord,
The protection
Of your rod.

2. In sorrow,
May I trust
The consolation
Of your staff.

3. In sickness,
May I share
The tribulation
Of your cross.

4. In anguish,
May I grasp
The desolation
Of your loss.

🤎

References

1. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod…

2. …and your staff protect and comfort me (Psalm 23:4; NLT).

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy (Psalm 94:19; NIV).

3. If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering (Romans 8:17; NLT).

4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34; NLT).

May I persevere (#2 of 2 linked prayers)

Ruth Kirk

Image: Jeff Jacobs, Pixabay; words: Ruth Kirk

🧡

You need to persevere,
so that when you have done the will of God,
you will receive what he has promised
(Hebrews 10:36; NIV).

1. In darkness,
May I persevere, Lord,
Trusting in your faith,
Not mine.

2. In sorrow
May I persevere, Lord,
Clinging to your hope,
Not mine.

3. In dryness,
May I persevere, Lord,
Living in your love,
Not mine.

4. In sickness,
May I persevere, Lord,
Till we meet,
Beyond all time.

🧡

All glory to him who alone is God, our Saviour
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his
before all time, and in the present,
and beyond all time! Amen
(Jude 1:25; NLT).

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

My prayers

Ruth Kirk

Image: waldryano, Pixabay

❤️

Lord,

1. May my prayers
Be natural –
Childlike, simple,
Sweet.

2. May my prayers
Be genuine –
Honest, prompt,
Complete.

3. May my prayers
Be uncontrived –
Trustful, loving,
Pure.

4. May my prayers
Be uncompelled –
Joyful, short,
Mature.

5. May my prayers
Be from the heart –
Spontaneous,
And true.

6. May my prayers
Be constant, Lord –
Then I’ll be one
With you.

❤️

Image: Pexels, Pixabay

References

1. Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3; NIV).

They will be called ‘children of the living God’ (Hosea 1:10; NIV).

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

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5; NIV).

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

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

I have done no wrong, and my prayer is pure (Job 16:17; NLT).

4. Always rejoice (1 Thessalonians 5:16; NIV).

When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words (Matthew 6:7; NIV).

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:4; NIV).

5. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge (Psalm 62:8; NLT).

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

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

I long for you

Ruth Kirk

Image: falco, Pixabay

🖤

“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die”
(Matthew 20:18; NLT).

1. I long for you
As evening falls,
And dusk turns into night.

Father,
Must I drink this cup?
It’s too late now for flight.

2. I yearn for you
When morning comes.
I want to do your will.

Lord,
I am lost: betrayed; condemned –
And yet I trust you still.

3. My strength is gone
And death draws near.
I cannot bear this pain.

Father,
Come to rescue me,
Then I’ll rejoice again.

4. I thirst for you.
My courage fails –
Destroyed by sin and shame.

Lord,

Why have you forsaken me,
Though I cry out your name?

🖤

References

1. As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God (Psalm 42:1; NLT).

Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 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” (Matthew 26:36-8; NLT).

My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me (Psalm 55:4-5; NIV).

He went on a little further and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me…

2. …Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Matthew 26:39; NLT).

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

The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. Then you can take him away under guard (Mark 14:44; NLT).

So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded (Luke 23:24; NLT).

Don’t you realise that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? (Matthew 26:53; NLT).

3. My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth (Psalm 22:14-15; NLT).

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name” (Psalm 91:14; NLT).

4. Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture),“I thirst” (John 19:28; RSV).

It was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down (Isaiah 53:4; NLT).

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? (Psalm 22:1; NIV).

Trust in God (#2 of 2 linked poems)

Ruth Kirk

Image: Myriams-Fotos, Pixabay

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

1. Trust in God,
For he is perfect,
And his mercy
Is supreme.

2. Trust in God,
Who sent his perfect Son
To teach us,
And redeem.

3. Trust in God,
Whose perfect Spirit
Comes to free us
From all sin.

4. Trust in God,
For he is perfect.
And our task?
To grow like him.

🤎

References

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

Your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48; NLT).

His mercy is very great (1 Chronicles 21:13; NLT).

2. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).

You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am (John 13:13; RSV).

When the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law (Galatians 4:5; NKJV).

By the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:14; NLT).

3. There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death (Romans 8:1-2; NLT).

4. Your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48; NLT).

Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24; NLT).

You are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48; NLT).

Trust in God (#1 of 2 linked poems)

Ruth Kirk

Image: Jaroslav Pitonák, Pixabay

🌺

1. Trust in God.
His will is perfect,
And his timing
Consummate.

2. Trust in God.
His love is perfect:
Father, Shepherd,
Advocate.

3. Trust in God.
His way is perfect;
All his promises
Are true.

4. Trust in God.
His peace is perfect;
He will help
And comfort you.

Your Father in heaven is perfect
(Matthew 5:48; NLT).

🌺

References

1. Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2; NLT).

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners (Romans 5:6; NLT).

2. Perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love (1 John 4:18; NLT).

Because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6; NLT).

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1; KJV).

He is my advocate (1 Samuel 24:15; NLT).

3. God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true (2 Samuel 22:31; NLT).

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

He helps me (Psalm 28:7; NLT).

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4; KJV).

I’m sorry

Ruth Kirk

Image: cocoparisienne, Pixabay

✙

My life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing; my strength has failed because of my guilt, and my body has wasted away (Psalm 31:10; NASB20).

1. I’m sorry that I’m nothing, Lord.
I’m sorry I’m so weak.

2. I’m sorry I can’t serve you, Lord,
And sorry I’m so bleak.

3. I’m sorry I’ve got nothing, Lord,
To show for all my years.

4. I’m sorry that I’ve wasted all my life
On sin, and tears.

5. I can only cling to you, Lord,
As I face each test.

6. I can only try to pray, Lord,
And to do my best.

7. I can only cry to you, Lord:
Father, lift me up!

8. I can only trust in you,
And drink each bitter cup.

✙

References

1. I am nothing but dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27; NIV).

Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak (Psalm 6:2; NLT).

2. You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him (Luke 4:8; NLT).

You have taken away my companions and my loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend (Psalm 88:18; NLT).

3. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth (Matthew 25:25; NLT).

Is not all human life a struggle? Our lives are like that of a hired hand, like a worker who longs for the shade, like a servant waiting to be paid. I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery (Job 7:1-3; NASB20).

4. I was born a sinner – yes, from the moment my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5; NLT).

You have fed us with sorrow and made us drink tears by the bucketful (Psalm 80:5; NLT).

I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken. My spirit is poured out in agony (Lamentations 2:11; NLT).

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

5. I cling to you (Psalm 63:8; NLT).

You examine us every morning and test us every moment (Job 7:18; NLT).

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

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15; NIV).

7. O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry! Listen when I cry for your help! (Psalm 141:1; NLT).

You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth (Psalm 71:20; NLT).

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

He has […] given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink (Lamentations 3:15; NLT).

If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Matthew 26:39; NLT).

Thank you, Lord

Ruth Kirk

Image: Isaín Calderón: Pixabay

✝️

1. Always praying,
Always saying:
Thank you, Lord,
For all you send.

2. Always praising –
You’re amazing:
Thank you, Lord,
My dearest friend.

3. Always trusting
And rejoicing:
Thank you, Lord,
For every breath.

4. Always caring,
And declaring:
Thank you, Lord,
For life, and death.

✝️

References

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

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18; NIV).

Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).

2. You have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you! (Psalm 71:6; NLT).

How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! (Psalm 111:2; NLT).

You are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me (John 15:15; NLT).

Our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God (Romans 5:11; NLT).

3. Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock (Isaiah 26:4; NLT).

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

He himself gives life and breath to everything (Acts 17:25; NLT).

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

Do everything with love (1 Corinthians 16:14; NLT).

Always be humble and gentle (Ephesians 4:2; NLT).

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

The Lord gives both death and life (1 Samuel 2:6; NLT).