Prayer Poem

I Said A Prayer for You Today

I said a prayer for you today
And know God must have heard
I felt the answer in my heart
Although He spoke not a word.

I didn't ask for wealth or fame
I knew you wouldn't mind.

I asked for priceless treasures rare
Of a more lasting kind.

I prayed that He'd be near you
At the start of each new day
To grant you health and blessings fair,
And friends to share your way.

I asked for happiness for you
In all things great and small
But that you'd know His loving care
I prayed the most of all.

The first time I read this poem, I was a teenager; but it struck a chord with me. I don't remember where I got it, but someone gave me a small card with the words on it. When I read the words, I was floored. I wanted to make it a daily prayer for myself; so I enlarged the words and hung them on my bedroom wall. Those words stayed on my wall until my parents moved from that house when I was around 23. Every morning when I woke up they were the first words I saw and every night when I was going to bed, the moon seemed to shine right on them so I could read them again.

I am having a rough day today, since my husband and I have not been blessed with children yet; our cats are our babies. Last night when we got home from work, one of our "babies" was having some issues. Our poor kitty couldn't manage to urinate at all. Well we tried what we could, with the vets all being closed by the time that we got home; but the situation was worse this morning. My husband took her to a vet and, as of right now, she's in some serious condition. I know that she's just my pet, only a cat; but she really is my baby.

I don't know how people feel when they are unsure of a loved ones recovery; but I know it's killing me right now to know that if my cat dies, I never got to say good bye to her. I also can't say what God's stance on praying for animals is, but I know that He hurts when we hurt, and right now, I'm hurting for my "baby". This poem says it all for me, I have always felt that prayer is so powerful, and like I've said before repeated prayer is even more powerful! I'm praying for my cat today, and I do feel as if God has heard and, like in the poem, I feel the answer in my heart.

I feel God holding me in His arms and wiping my tears of fear and uncertinanty away. How awesome is it that I can feel Jesus holding me when I'm hurting? That I know He's hurting too; even if it IS just over a cat. I'm not sure if this blog is going the way I inteded or not, but I know that I needed to write it. Just remember we have loved ones out there who need to have this prayer poem read for them on a daily basis, and if you could remember my cat in your prayers today; well I know that would make my day. Thank you.

Dear Jesus, please be with my Pumpkin Spice. I love her dearly and she needs your healing. Please heal my heart of this hurt as well. I love You and thank You for everything. Amen.

Examples

Luke 22:41-42
    "41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

I want to start this by saying that I, in no way, can say I have suffered anything like Jesus. But that hasn't stopped me from identifying with His prayer here. To me it's almost the ultimate prayer for Patience. Jesus is getting ready to give up His life here, His prayer is so intense that is says His sweat was as great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). That is some pretty intense praying right there. He is fighting the need to do His Fathers will against the desire to live. Ultimately He's asking God to either take away the task/pain or to give Him the patience to endure it.

This is the very same thing that I've needed to ask God. I have been looking for a way to pray this to Him. How do I say I really, REALLY don't want to suffer anymore, but if this is YOUR will then I will do what needs to be done? This prayer is as close as it gets for me. I don't pretend that I can easily accept God's will and plan for my life; but it is a starting place for me.

I've been asking for patience this year, patience to wait for healing, a baby and so many other things; but I've also been fighting with my human nature that wants it all now. I've been actively praying for that patience; but have I been actively admitting that it might not be in God's will for my life? At times I have, but most often I have just prayed for healing. Most often I try and force my will, wants and desires on God instead of acknowledging that His will is so much better then my own. After all, God can see what is going to happen to me in the future, He knows WHY His timing is perfect and I don't. The only thing that I can see is the present and past. The past helps me understand why, in the present, I couldn't have certain things; but my future is "bleary" at best. The future I can "see" is only what I dream for myself, not what God actually has planned. Sometimes God's plan and my dreams are exactly the same; but more often then not God's will and plans are so much better then anything I could have imagined for myself.

So while I'm praying for that elusive patience, I need to remember to pray that HIS will be done in my life, and not MY will. Thank You Jesus, for setting such a wonderful example for me, one that demonstrates that it is God's will for my life that I should be seeking. I love you and know that Your timing really is perfect!

Good Friday

Mark 15:37-38

   "37 Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."

Today is Good Friday, traditionally a day of somber reflection on the death of Christ on a cross. I confess that I haven't always understood that. Yes, today is the day we remember that He died for our sins, and how horrible that death really was. But I have always felt excitement on this day. I'm the one who's looking forward to Sunday, to the day He rose from the dead; conquering death its self to free us from all of our sins.

Several years ago, Mel Gibson put out a movie about this time in Christs life, The Passion of The Christ so that people might identify with His suffering and see how it might have been. I can remember leaving the theater after watching this movie and seeing all of the shell shocked faces surrounding me. I wondered what might be wrong with them? Didn't they see it? Why weren't they shining with joy like I felt I was? Then it dawned on me, they did indeed miss my favorite part of the movie...the very last scene. What, you may ask was this last scene? In my humble opinion, the most beautiful part of Salvation: an empty tomb!

That empty tomb is really what my picture of salvation is. I see the light shining on that gloriously empty tomb and do a happy dance! He did it! He rose from the grave, FOR ME! I am now free, and my joy is over whelming! I'm so glad that I have been saved from myself that I can't be anything BUT grateful on this, Good Friday.

I've been thinking a lot about that torn curtain lately; to me it is a symbol of all the things in my life that separate me from God; and how in that one moment that barrier was torn down. Can you see it in your head? That curtain; in the Bible, was separating the inner sanctuary from the Holy of Hollies, where no one was allowed to go, because God dwelt there. It's often said in the Bible, that if you saw God face to face you would surely die. But that day, when Jesus gave up His life, we were no longer separate from God. We could now be welcomed as His children into His loving arms.

As I sit here writing these words, I have a soft smile on my face. A peace that belongs anywhere but in THIS world; but it comes from knowing that I too will get to see Him face to face one day and I just can't wait for that day to happen.

Thank You so much Jesus, for dying for my sins. I praise Your name that the curtain is no longer separating me from You and that the tomb is gloriously empty!

Worship

Psalm 89:15-18
   "15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
     for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

    16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
    They exult in your righteousness.

    17 You are their glorious strength.
    It pleases you to make us strong.

    18 Yes, our protection comes from the Lord,
    and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.


Until I went to College, I made the mistake of thinking that "worship" meant singing; and I admit I was ok with that. Once I took a course in school about worship, I understood that word to mean so much more then JUST singing or music. Dictionary.com defines worship as reverent honor and homage paid to god or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred. The act it's self is so powerful, that it got generations of Israelites into trouble. The Bible is far from silent on the issue of worship, Exodus 34:8, John 4:24 , Psalm 106:36, Jeremiah 10:8 and so on throughout the Bible. So why did I make the mistake of thinking it was all about singing? Even one of those songs I was singing "Come Let us Worship and Bow Down" states IN the song to worship, we bow down; and kneel before the Lord. How did I reach this conclusion then?

I'm not positive but I think it may have had something to do with singing songs in Church when I was growing up. There is something you have to know about me to understand why I might have gotten to that point. I love to sing, I always have and I'm sure I always will. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of my whole family singing around our old piano, in fact my sister likes to tease that our dad would "punish" us if we didn't learn harmony at a young age! Music has always been a huge part of our lives, so it seems almost natural for me to translate that to worship.

Now, as an adult; I realize that prayer, just being in His Presence and many many things, including singing or dancing are all part of worship. After all, the Psalmist said it best when he said :

Psalm 89:15-18
   "15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
     for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

    16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
    They exult in your righteousness.

    17 You are their glorious strength.
    It pleases you to make us strong.

    18 Yes, our protection comes from the Lord,
    and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.

On this, the Holy Week, let us all think of worship in a new light, the Light that is Jesus. After all, His sacrifice was the highest form of worship to God that I can think of.

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Luke 18: 35-43

   "35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him.
But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him,
41 “What do you want me to do for you?”“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”
42 And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too."

Mercy,  what does that mean anyway? Dictionary.com has several meanings listed; one of which is: the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty. In some ways, I think this definition fits the verses. Jesus has the right to heal or not to heal the man, that discretionary power as described in this definition. But is there a better way to define mercy? How about this one,  an act of kindness, compassion, or favor: She has performed countless small mercies for her friends and neighbors.? It was definitely an act of kindness on Jesus part to heal the man wasn't it? There is always the "religious" definition as well, something that gives evidence of divine favor; blessing: It was just a mercy we had our seat belts on when it happened. This would point to the actual act of the healing.

I think all of these definitions, and the few I didn't copy over as well, play into this set of verses. Again, I'm drawn to a verse about healing and in this verse Jesus points out to the healee that their faith has healed them. That faith that I'm still working to achieve.

I love the fact that this poor blind beggar would not be silenced. He would not be quite when told not to bother the Teacher. Due to this lack of being quite; Jesus asks for the man to be brought to Him. I can imagine that Jesus was smiling to Himself thinking; here is another opportunity I have to teach these people who I am, and why I'm here. Too heal the sick, and teach a new way of life; the actual living out of our Golden Rule.

I have been searching the Word to understand my faith, the patience that I need to wait on the Lord's timing for healing all year long. This past week I was reminded of something very important. While my "issues" might be important to me, I am not the only one who is in need of healing. The fact is, some of those people need God's healing a lot more then I do. They are fighting for their very lives, needing things like a kidney, or to be rid of a type of Cancer. These people have families and lives the same as I do, only they aren't able to live them because they are desperately trying to get healthy. While I was listen to one such persons spouse; I immediately felt God whisper in my ear, why don't you pray for THEIR healing as well as your own? What a thought! Yet again, I am reminded that I am a selfish spoiled person who is only thinking of herself. I have added at least three people to my prayer list and have made it a point to pray for THEM when my pain reminds me that I need to pray for myself.

Don't get me wrong, I try to be a giving person, I try to use what I've been blessed with to help those who aren't as blessed as I am. But somehow I have been missing that point in my prayer life, I've been missing the chance to make a difference in someones life just by joining them in prayer to God. While I've been learning my lessons this year, I've noticed that the changes I've needed to maker are rather small. Granted, it adds up quickly; but I'm discovering that I'm only needing to make small changes, a little at a time.

I praise God that I can do all that I can do. Live my life, read His Word and learn my lessons. I know that a lot of people out there aren't able to do these things the same way that I am. I'm reminded; through a poor blind beggar that I too, am in need of God's mercy. So while I'm praying today, I'm going to take a cue from this blind man and pray “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” and continue to pray for the healing of others.

Humble Much?

Luke 17:7-10
   "7 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? 8 No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ 9 And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

It's amazing how God works, just two days ago I wrote a blog about feeling sorry for some particular people in the Bible; and today God shows me, again, WHY it was the way it was. I mentioned in that post that I need to learn humility; and it looks like God is going to show me how. I have to say, as painful as it is for me to read scripture like this; I'd MUCH prefer to learn my lessons in humility through the written word then for Him to have to show me in a "real life" experience. I'm pretty sure something like that would leave me bleeding!

As a human, one of the most difficult lessons I'm having to learn is humility. I've said it before; but I'm a spoiled American. I know that my country has more then most other countries and we can pretty much have whatever we want; when compared to other countries. We have commercials that sing "have it your way, right away" to us. We have car dealerships telling us to go ahead and buy that car, even if you have bad credit! We also have drive through windows in our FAST food joints, as if the term fast food wasn't quick enough for us. I've also felt pressured to buy things because a commercial tells me that everyone else has one. I say all of this to note that the society that I live in doesn't make being humble easy; or normal. Through all of the things that I am learning this year, I've come to a big conclusion that God wants me to be abnormal, wired; different or set apart from the World. I've always known that, but reading the Bible and getting a much closer look points it out to me again.

I've heard it called "secret" blessings, or things done for others without the recipient knowing. This seems to be what God has called us to do, sort of. I don't think Jesus meant to do things without the other person knowing in this particular scripture; but I do think He's saying go about our job, do what you need to do; but don't expect any praise for it.

What does that mean for me? I have a feeling that means my spoiled ways of doing something JUST so I can be praised for it; or that it be pointed out how well I did, needs to become a thing of the past. That, my dear friends, is easier said then done. I think my husband has learned the art, at times. The poor man has been known as "Slash" since we got married. Why, you ask? Well because no matter what his job title has been he's been "the youth pastor/machine fixer/music guy///" or now "the warehouse guy/the "go to guy"/the inside sells///" he sometimes feels like he's doing everything and no one notices. But me? Nope, I need to learn this lesson still. I know that even recently I've felt "put out" or grumpy because a supervisor hasn't noticed the good I've done, but only wants me to do more. I know that when I DON'T get something correct and I'm called out for it, I can get all huffy and think "well I've done this and this right every time, why does THAT have to be the thing them mention?" Not very humble is it? My reaction should be something along this line, "wow, I've got a job. I have a GREAT job with benefits and even if the boss man doesn't notice what "awesome" work I'm doing; he's keeping me on as an employee. I know that in this day and age that's saying a LOT about my ability to do the job". Or maybe something like this. "You are right, I did screw that up. I want to thank you for showing me how to fix it". I'll admit it, that isn't easy for me. I'll also admit that I don't even know where to start with that.

As I'm sitting here typing my thoughts and feelings, I think I'm getting a hint from God. I feel like He's saying, do you think that maybe humility is part of learning patience? Maybe He's telling me that my issues stem from not getting that humility part down, and once I get that, I'll be out of His way and He can work a miracle in me. I'm not sure; but when I type it out, it sure feels like that MIGHT just be the case. I'm in the way here...again. So now I've got more to add to my every growing prayer list: Father, help me to get out of Your way...help me to be humble in Your sight and the sight of the world too. Thank You for another hard lesson. Maybe by the end of this year, I'll get that verse that talks about praying without ceasing...just to get all of my prayers on learning lessons in!

I feel for them, I really do!

Luke 15:3-7
   "3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!"

Today, while I was reading my Bible, I read these words. Jesus actually makes His point very clear here, He tells the story three different ways. He tells it this way, as a women with a lost valuable coin and also in the parable of the lost son. When I read these words every year, I have a hard time. I don't have as hard a time with the first two demonstrations as with the Lost Son version. My hard times come from my spoiled attitude that I have found I share with most of the "privileged" world. That attitude that says "I've worked for this and I deserve it over someone who hasn't worked for it". In fact, here in America we have things called Unions that make sure that if you work for something, you get it. It appears that, yet again, God's ways are not our own.

Look at what He's saying here, He's saying much the same thing throughout His public ministry as well. He tells us he didn't come to "heal" the well, but to save the sick and lost. When I read those other stories I rejoice, but the Lost Son parable and also the story of Martha and Mary always make me sad. I am sad because I know that I'm the "other child" in those stories. I haven't always been that other child, but I am now. I'm the child who works and works to get what they feel they deserve, and then has a hard time when someone else gets that "something" without doing anything for it.

The funny thing about my "hurt" and "issues" is that I'm not upset that those people are saved (the general illustrations are a metaphor for whom God saves; meaning everyone!), in fact I LOVE that God's arms are open to all who accept Him! After all, I wouldn't be who or where I am with out all of that, but it's the actual stories that haunt me. The real life part of the stories. It all comes down to my sense of fair. Most of the time, this sense of fair, is used when I see others being mistreated. I was told continuously as a child that I needed to walk a mile in the other persons shoes. I've taken this statement to heart, and will point it out to others too. For some reason, I have just never been able to apply this statement to these two particular instances in the Bible.

The story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) "38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”  always has me concerned for Martha. How crushing would it have been to be Martha, or the older son in the first story? Tell me how you would feel if these things happened to you? I would be hurt and sad that the person didn't notice what I've been doing all along and noticed the other instead. I've always wondered, and prayed, that there was more to this conversation with Martha then was recorded. I've always wondered if Jesus didn't pull her aside and tell her how much He loved her and how much it meant to Him that she wanted to do those things for Him. But alas, we only have the recorded portion of that conversation, and I nearly cry for her every year.

I've been trying to read the stories from Jesus' perspective and sometimes I can understand what He's saying, but most of the time I end up thinking...man Mary just came off as spoiled there, her job was to help Martha and instead she neglected her duties to do as the men did and learn. Now I also feel jealous that she got to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn, who wouldn't? I guess I would just like Jesus to give some love to Martha as well.

It seems Martha shares my sense of fair, and if it's spoiled for me; that means she was spoiled as well. Again, I rejoice over and over that God has allowed His salvation to come to anyone, and that they can receive that salvation at any time. As part of my act of learning patience, I need to learn that I don't always need to have the recognition that comes with doing something. I need to learn that: 16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16) and become the humble person God is seeking me to become!