Pray Like You Mean It

 

And You divided the sea

                 before them,

so that they walked 

through the midst of the sea

           on dry land.

              Nehemiah 9. 11

The parting of the Red Sea

was not just a random historic event,

but that which still guides us

  in our own impossible situations.

God gives us hope

when our backs are 

             against the wall

and there appears no way out.

Hope in the Bible is not

               wishful thinking,

but that on which we can

          stake our lives.

God promises no matter what

          He is still with us.

"I am with you. 

           Trust Me in this."

Pray like you mean it,

listen to His voice,

follow Him one step

and then the next

       will be revealed.

O LORD,

We all face deep waters

  when we can't touch bottom.

But You don't just show up.

    You show us

               the way through

       or how to swim.

Help us to seek You in this

   and hold tight to You.

Reveal to us how to pray

       about our circumstances.

Empower us 

        not just to get through

              the deep stuff,

but to leave a witness there. 

Trust in the Slow Work of God

 

Many are the afflictions

            of the righteous,

but the LORD delivers him

  out of them all.

            Psalm 34. 19

God does not promise 

   we will not have problems

   or troubles or struggles.

Indeed that hard stuff may

      flourish right

      in the center of His will

and bring about things

that otherwise wouldn't 

                be possible.

No matter the affliction,

      God promises

that He is with us

    right in the midst of the mess.

He brings the strength.

He brings us through.

Deliverance may come

  on unexpected paths,

sometimes not out of,

            but going through.

We can trust 

     His redeeming ways.

 In what appears unmoving,

   we can trust His slow work.

 God covers us powerfully,

              beyond our vision

              or sense of time.

For He is good,

and His steadfast love

         saturates even this.

O LORD,

May the difficulties we face

    draw us closer to You.

Form something new in us.

Help us to see these things

  with new eyes

          and a fresh heart,

not just to see how to handle it,

but to witness

        Your glory in it.

Keep us faithful

     in impossible places

as a witness to others.

Even today.

Even in this.

Through A New Lens

 

I do it all

for the sake of the gospel...

      1 Corinthians 9. 23

All things individually

   and collectively,

for, in and through

   the lens of the gospel.

How do we see this situation

    differently through that lens,

for the spiritual well-being

   of the souls around us?

And how do others

  see His abiding in us?

Not that we bring Jesus

  into our comings and goings,

but manifest His grace

   and Christlikeness

in what we do,

how we do it,

how we respond,

and even in our attitudes.

O LORD,

May we not allow our pride

or selfishness

or yes, stubbornness,

stand in the way

    of our loving others,

    even the irritable ones.

Help us to see our work

and our responses

through the lens of

      Your love for us

      and for others.

May Your abiding

     change our vision

and align our hearts

          with Yours.

Be manifest in us, Lord, 

          in all ways today

  to point others to You.

   

Divine Appointments and Strategic Assignments

 

Only let each person

   lead the life

that the Lord has

   assigned to them

and to which 

   God has called them.

        1 Corinthians 7. 17

God does not call us

    to a specific profession

like plumbing or nursing,

but He calls ourselves

   first and foremost

               to Himself.

And that big-C Call re-orders 

     all our little-c calls

and transforms not just

  the trajectory of our lives,

but this jam-packed day,

         this hard work, 

    this difficult conversation.

It is not how things happen to turn out,

but how God divinely appoints

  and strategically assigns us.

We can't do everything,

but we can do something

whether launching

         into unexplored territory,

coming alongside someone

    to encourage and lift up,

nurturing a little patch of what

    looks like no-nothing ground,

  or repairing a broken down wall

that God has entrusted in our care.

Because we cannot know

     how profoundly God is using us.

Lead that kind of life.

Not with a slack "whatever" attitude,

     but a heart for Whom,

knowing every word said, every task attempted,

every weed pulled, every brick put in place

   matters for all eternity.

O LORD,

Help us to realize that You have

                placed us here,

not just for a reason,

but by divine appointment,

   strategic assignment,

   and sacred encounters.

You have called us to Yourself.

You have called us

    as a witness to others

by how we live this life.

May we realize

 there is nothing random

              in what we do.

You are bringing us through

     for Your glory in this.

      

The Name at the Top of the Page

 

...for they perceived

that this work

had been accomplished

with the help

          of our God.

      Nehemiah 6. 16

If our abilities were 

     up to par,

if our work was 

  not so impossible,

if it didn't look like

  we couldn't get it done,

would we even 

  think of asking help

            from God?

God isn't looking for

  the next big thing

           from us,

    but to be faithful.

    Right here.  Right now.

    Even in this assignment.

We need not just 

     to put our head down

             and get it done,

   but lift our eyes to Him.

He shows us a new way through,

      grants us His wisdom,

          strength and words,

      and even brings the snacks

           to encourage us.

We don't just allow God

   into what is before us,

but He invites us

        into His glory in this.

Others are not watching

   to see if we

        succeed or fail,

but to see 

     that God is real.

No way we can

    accomplish this task

without Him.

O LORD,

Help us!

We are in the deep water,

way over our heads,

    abilities, and experience.

Guide us in our work,

  whatever it may be,

    for Your purposes.

Enlarge our vision

  to see our need for You,

not just to get our work done,

  but to bring honor 

           and glory to Your name.

Write Your name

    at the top of the page

and all the way through.

 

What In The World Can God Do With This?

 

Will they revive the stones

out of the heaps of rubbish,

and burned ones at that?

            Nehemiah 4. 2

God has.

God is.

God will.

God takes what we have,

  revives, restores, redeems 

and creates something new

   out of the most unlikely

   and unexpected situations

             and relationships.

God does not recycle our trash.

God resurrects and

     rewrites the story of our lives. 

What in the world

        can He do with this mess?

                 All things new.

Trust Me in this.

O LORD,

We all struggle with something.

We all face what is disordered,

     unraveling, and crumbling.

But You, O God,

   revive what we have,

   and transform our hearts.

Help us to see this day

    and what looks unsalvageable

            with Your glory all over it.

Skepticism has no power over You.

The pieces do not just come together.

  You design it all to fit.

First Response Not Last Resort

 

So I prayed to 

   the God of heaven.

      Nehemiah 2. 4

Caught in a difficult situation,

   Nehemiah's first response

    not his last resort,

                     was to pray.

This was not his first rodeo, 

            nor his last.

Praying was Nehemiah's pattern

 of approaching problems

  and His practice in responding.

When the trouble arose,

Nehemiah knew exactly

      what to do.

               He prayed.

He knew that God does

          not just show up.

God is already there,

          ready and waiting.

God shows us

   not just the first step,

but how to navigate

         all the way through,

    one step and then another.

And the first measure is praying,

in which

God changes our hearts

and sustains us for the next.

Not just when we pray,

      but while we pray,

something always happens.

O LORD,

We come before You

with our difficulties,

emergencies,

rocky roads, and ambushes,

but also with our joys and grateful hearts.

Thank You that You intercede,

You intervene,

You make possible

         the impossible,

You give us Your strength

  to see not just an outcome,

but to see us through           

           this journey.

Bind our blisters.

Heal our hearts.

Show us that there is

    not hope in circumstances,

    but our hope is in You.

You see.  You hear.

  You, Almighty One,

                act.