7.6.23: You are awesome

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay.

My husband and I are still completely flattened by his sudden, acute illness and hospital stay last week. It’s made me realise how quickly things can go wrong at our age. I’m also even more aware of how vulnerable I am without him, but God is in charge of our situation, as always.

The Lord Most High is awesome (Psalm 47:2; NLT).

Yahweh,
You are awesome
And eternal.
It’s hard to grasp
That I can talk to you,
And that you even notice
My existence,
Yet I have faith, dear Father,
That you do.

Yahweh,
You’re within me:
I’m your temple.
Please draw me ever closer,
Through your Son.
Then he and I, at death,
Will quit this body,
To live forever in your love,
As one.

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


References

God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple (1 Corinthians 3:17; NLT).

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

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

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

26.5.22: Your will

Crown of thorns, courtesy of Pixabay.

One day, recently, soon after beginning to pray, this short poem arrived. I was even able to finish writing it before I had to get up, for which I was very thankful. After breakfast, I sorted out the references. Then it was time to face whatever the day would bring.

Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT).

Yahweh,
May I say, like Christ:
“I want to do your will, not mine”,
Then I’ll give thanks, whatever comes,
Accepting not my will, but thine.

Yahweh,
May I pray, with Christ:
“I want to do your will, not mine”,
Then I’ll rejoice, whatever comes,
For I will be your living shrine.

God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple (1 Corinthians 3:17; NLT).


References

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).

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing (Psalm 143:10; NLT).

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21; CSB).

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

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14; NIV).

9.5.23: Your presence

Image by Lumina Obscura, from Pixabay.

This is my prayer for today:

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). 

Yahweh,
May I sense your presence:
I in you, and you in me,
All day long, and evermore,
In full communion, constantly.

Yahweh,
May I know your presence:
You in me, and I in you,
Then I’ll grow more like your Son,
In all I feel, think, say and do.

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ (Ephesians 4:13; NLT).

16.4.23: God forgives and forgets

Image by Megan Hall, on Pixabay.

Today’s prayer came to me last Friday morning, very soon after waking up. I welcomed it immediately, and went with its flow. It summarises everything I’ve been learning about God’s forgiveness over the last few weeks, and throughout my whole life.

As I mentioned yesterday (https://wp.me/p45bCr-dR3), being forgiven is a very difficult subject for me. I didn’t experience forgiveness as a child, and have never understood it, or been able to believe in it, or to feel it for myself, then move on. Fortunately, despite this, I can readily offer forgiveness to others.

How kind the LORD is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours! (Psalm 116:5; NLT). 

Yahweh,

You are merciful,
And kind.

So when I face my sins, Lord,
And repent,

And when I’m honest with those I’ve hurt,
And tell them what I’ve done,

And when I say I’m sorry, Lord,
And try to put things right:

Then, you forgive me,
Wiping out my sin;

Then, you remember
Each new wrong no more,

Loving me still, Lord,
Just as you did before. 

He loves us with unfailing love; the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever (Psalm 117:2; NLT).


References 

If you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God (Matthew 5:23-4; NLT). 

Forget the events of the past, ignore the things of long ago. Look, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth – can’t you see it? I’m making a road in the desert and setting rivers to flow in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:18-19; TIB).

He forgives all my sins (Psalm 103; 3; NLT).

Who am I? I’m the one who wipes out your offenses! For my own sake, I do not remember your wrongs (Isaiah 43:25; TIB). 

I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins (Isaiah 43:25; NKJV).

12.4.23: Your names

 

This prayer arrived yesterday morning after a night disturbed by several bad dreams:

I will praise God’s name (Psalm 69:30; NLT). 

Yahweh, Jesus, Paraclete,
Your names, Lord, make my joy complete:
My God, my Shepherd King, my Friend,
My source, my purpose, and my end.

Yahweh, Jesus, Paraclete,
No other words, Lord, taste as sweet:
My flesh and blood, mind, heart and soul
Belong to you, my highest goal.

My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead (Philippians 3:10; CSB).


References 

Your joy will be complete (John 16:24; NIV). 

How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103: NLT). 

We belong to God (1 John 4:6; NLT). 

You belong to Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:4; NLT).

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit (Romans 8:9; NET).

You belong to him in body and spirit (Malachi 2:15; NIV).


The Rosary Hospital 

This is the mini-rosary I made yesterday, now trimmed and finished. The £1.oo coin shows how small it is:

Mini recycled rosary