Context: I wrote this poem quite a while ago, after experiencing a series of shattering realisations during prayer. Yesterday I rediscovered it amongst my drafts, and decided to post it today:
I love you, Lord (Psalm 18:1; NLT).
The Father himself loves you dearly (John 16:27; NLT).
I love you, Lord – that’s easy!
But: You love me, too – that’s hard!
Why do you love me, Yahweh? Why do you guide and guard?
You know my every weakness,
And my sins are all too real,
So why do you help and comfort me? Why do you cleanse and heal?
Ah! It’s because you’re perfect, Lord, Pouring out love and peace,
And sending your Son to make us all one:
Your mercy will never cease.
His mercy endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34; NKJV).
Context: Both my husband and I have covid, so I’m not able to write at present. However, here is a prayer which arrived a short time ago. I chose it because it seemed to follow on from yesterday’s (https://wp.me/p45bCr-cKC):
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25; NLT).
I believe in Jesus,
For he is all I need:
He heals my mind,
Forgives my sins,
And hears me when I plead.
I believe in Jesus,
For he is all I seek:
He heals my heart,
Redeems my life,
And helps me when I’m weak.
I believe in Jesus,
For he alone can save:
He heals my soul,
And cares for me –
His humble, willing slave.
Whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else (Mark 10:44; NLT).
Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:4o; CSB).
Context: Last Saturday was a rare, blessed, unpressured day with no hospital appointments, and no building work taking place at home. I had breakfast in bed, followed by the luxury of a whole morning to write this prayer, which arrived soon after I woke up:
Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things (Ecclesiastes 11:5; NLT).
God: in stillness, silence, darkness;
Here, in yearning –
Our unknown.
God: in worship, wonder, rapture;
Here, in bliss –
Our stepping stone.
God: in nature, labour, service;
Here, in love –
Our source, our home.
God: in weakness, envy, anger;
Here, in sin –
Our cornerstone.
God: in conflict, terror, trauma;
Here, in carnage –
Our shalom.
God: in sickness, sorrow, anguish;
Here, in pain –
Our flesh, our bone.
God: in striving, yielding, dying;
Here, in all –
Our Lord, alone.
The LORD is our God, the LORD alone (Deuteronomy 6:4; NLT).
References
Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD (Zephaniah 1:7; NLT).
God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).
By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made (Genesis 3:19; NLT).
The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22; NLT).
I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT).
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).
Yield yourselves to God (Romans 6:13; RSV).
Now yield and submit yourself to Him [agree with God and be conformed to His will] and be at peace (Job 22:21; AMP).
Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit (Matthew 27:50; NKJV).
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 God and Creator of all, who is over all, who works through all and is within all (Ephesians 4:5-6; TIB).
Rosary-making news:
I’m longing for the arrival of some 1mm cord from the UK. This should hopefully thread through the wooden beads I’ve already bought. At present, I only have 1.5mm cord, which is too thick to go through them. Until the thinner cord arrives, I’m limited to making necklaces and bracelets, practicing barrel knots and threading a few beads by chewing the thread. Still, today I made my first ever equal-length sliding knots.
Context: Today I’m in London again, for further specialised hospital tests. These trips are a big challenge, because of my limited mobility and chronic fatigue. There’s something good to look forward to, though, as I’ve sent for all the basics I need to start learning the craft of making rosaries. If there’s any news worth reporting, I’ll include it when the time comes.
Following the prayers posted here for the last two days, today’s strikes a more optimistic note. It continues to build on the recent, recurring theme of inner healing:
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41; NIV).
My flesh is weak,
My mind is scarred,
My heart is crushed,
My soul, afraid;
And yet, my spirit Leaps with joy
Because you love me:
Lord, I’m saved!
God’s love toward us is great, God’s faithfulness, eternal (Psalm 117:2; TIB).
You are the God who saves me (Psalm 25:5; NLT).
References
He knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust (Psalm 104:14; NLT). .
I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart (Psalm 38:8; NLT).
Yahweh is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18; LSB).
Fear came upon every soul (Acts 2:43; RSV).
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! (Luke 1L47; NLT).
For you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture (Malachi 4:2; NLT).
God already loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God (John 16:27; TIB).
God’s love toward us is great, God’s faithfulness, eternal (Psalm 117:2; TIB).
Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved (Joel 2:32; NLT).
Context: I’ve been struggling badly since a new drug was added to my cocktail a week or so ago. Amongst other side-effects, it made me unable to concentrate, or to pray, and therefore, unable to write. Worst of all, it made me feel that life was no longer worth living.
However, yesterday, with medical help, I reduced the quantity of this drug by 50%, and today, to my great joy, I found I could both pray, receive inspiration and write again.
Tomorrow I hope to post what I was given this morning, but for now, here is an astonishingly appropriate piece I chose and prepared last night, with no idea that my state of mind might be about to change.
This prayer arrived very early one morning some weeks ago, when I woke at dawn and couldn’t go back to sleep. The photo is the view from my bedroom window that day:
My God turns my darkness into light (Psalm 18:28; NIV).
You turn my darkness into light,
My sickness, into health;
My weakness into strength, Lord,
And my poverty, to wealth.
You turn my mourning into joy, My sighing, into prayer;
My loneliness, to oneness, Lord,
My selfishness, to care.
You turn my water into wine, My sinfulness, to good;
My anger, into peace, Lord,
And my bitterness to love.
You turn my losses into gains, My dross, to precious ore;
My death, Lord, to eternal life
With you, for evermore.
In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28; NIV).
References
I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life (John 5:24; NLT).
You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! (Psalm 30:11-12; NLT).
Context: Yesterday I woke up very late. Whilst I lay still, praying without words and longing to see into my soul again, this prayer arrived:
Here I am. Did you call me? (1 Samuel 3:5; NLT).
Here I am, Lord. Did you call me? Speak: I long to hear your voice.
You are all in all to me, Lord,
Speak, for I have made my choice –
You’re my faith, my hope, my Saviour,
You’re my God, my great High Priest;
You’re my bread, my living water,
You’re my wine, my inner peace;
You’re my fire, my strength, my spirit, You’re the light within my soul;
You’re my way, my truth, my life,
And you’re the One who makes me whole.
Jesus, though I’m weak and sinful,
You will come to set me free –
Speak; your servant, Lord, is listening,
And you’re everything to me.
Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening (1 Samuel 3:9; NIV).
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 (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).
Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10; NIV.
The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.
One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God was.
Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.
So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Context: After posting yesterday’s prayer (https://wp.me/p45bCr-c36), I saw that the image of the wolf lying down with the lamb is a wonderful way of representing the revolutionary quality of relationships in the Kingdom of God (Isaiah 11:6-9; NIV).
This radically new way of living is characterised by treating everyone with love, regardless of how they behave towards us. We all have the potential to live like this, because God’s Kingdom is present within everyone (Luke 17:20-21; NKJV). Jesus lived as a citizen of God’s Kingdom on earth, and we, too, as individuals, can work towards the same goal.
However, for the Kingdom of God to hold sway throughout the whole world, we must all overcome the temptation to judge, reject, hurt, hate and destroy others. This applies to every person, family, group, denomination, caste, sect, class, tribe, religion and nation.
Both individually and collectively, the human qualities we need to overcome include:
Behaving selfishly and callously towards others
Refusing to share what we have
Controlling, dominating, bullying and abusing those less powerful than ourselves
Taking what belongs to other people
Judging and rejecting others for being different from ourselves in any way
Rejecting those with different spiritual beliefs and practices from ourselves
Looking down on, or hating, those whose skin-colour, sexuality, or way of life, is different from our own
Pursuing cruel, destructive conflicts and wars
Overexploiting and destroying the earth, our only shared home
Using richly symbolic, visionary language, Isaiah vividly illustrates what it will be like when everyone lives in the Kingdom of God:
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:6-9; NIV).
Following this train of reflection, today’s poem quickly came to me, though it was very difficult to put into words:
Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.” He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough” (Luke 13:18-21; NLT).
What is the Kingdom of God like?
The strong take good care of the weak,
Men treat all women as equals,
And wait for their sisters to speak.
What is the Kingdom of God like?
The rich share their wealth with the poor.
The healthy assist the disabled,
And all give up hatred and war.
What is the Kingdom of God like?
It’s heaven on earth and above,
For colour and creed make no difference
When all live in God, who is Love.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV).
References
When He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21; NKJV).
The LORD will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore (Isaiah 2:4; NLT).
I heard a loud voice calling from the throne,“Look! God’s Tabernacle is among humankind! God will live with them; they will be God’s people, and God will be fully present among them. The Most High will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, for the old order has fallen.” The One who sat on the throne said, “Look! I’m making everything new!” and added, “Write this, for what I am saying is trustworthy and true.” And that One continued, “It is finished. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To those who are thirsty I will give drink freely from the spring of the water of life. This is the rightful inheritance of the overcomers. I will be their God and they will be my daughters and sons (Revelation 21:3-7; TIB).
Context: Yesterday, during a very significant conversation with a friend, I faced and revealed my deepest unhealed childhood wound: my terrible fear of never being forgiven by someone I have accidentally angered or hurt.
This fear is the consequence of long years of experience with my mother, whose uncontrolled fury was truly terrifying. She neither forgave, nor forgot, retaining deep, permanent grudges towards all those she believed had offended her in any way, including me. Sharing the lifelong effect this has had on me with my friend triggered today’s prayer soon afterwards.
O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
(Psalm 139:1; NLT).
Lord,
You know my wound,
Unhealed.
You see my bruise, Although concealed.
You know the childhood fear
I shield,
But now my weakness
Is revealed.
Through trust, my secret
Is unsealed,
Then to your healing hands
I yield.
Though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal.
(Job 5:18; NLT).
References
“I will give you back your health and heal your wounds,” says the LORD (Jeremiah 30:17; NLT).
We know that God makes everything work together for the good of those who love God and have been called according to God’s purpose (Romans 8:28; TIB).
Context: When I woke up yesterday, I said the Lord’s Prayer, closed my eyes again, and continued to pray, using very few words. This went on in darkness for some minutes, until I was suddenly flooded with bright, golden light. Then today’s prayer started to flow. It was a wrench to open my eyes and start writing, but I knew it was essential, for the words would otherwise disappear as quickly as they arrived.
My expectation is that only when I’m dying will I see this wonderful light and not need to break off to write. From that moment onwards there will be no more need for words: I will simply be absorbed into God’s brilliant, beautiful, infinite light, peace and love.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. (Micah 7:8; NLT).
Yahweh,
When I sit in darkness,
You re-fill me with your light,
And, when I am weak and weary,
You restore me with your might.
Jesus,
When I’m stressed and anxious,
You refresh me with your peace,
And, when I am judged and censured,
Your protection does not cease.
Spirit, When I’m sad and lonely,
You surround me with your love,
And, when I must leave this world,
You’ll bear my soul to heaven above.
Threefold God, My source, my goal,
My Father, Mother, kith and kin,
You are here, and live forever –
All around me, and within.
The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
(Job 33:4; NLT).
The dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
(Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).
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).
