Fastening Our Seat Belts and Double-Tying Our Shoes

 

And I lifted my eyes

      and saw,

and behold.....

       Zechariah 2. 1

(Through prayer

 --the lifting of our eyes

from the miry bog

    of our circumstances--

God changes not just

   what we see

but how to navigate and respond

      and follow Him into it.

Prayer is paying attention

    to what God is doing.

Prayer softens our hearts

      and changes our minds

and helps us to realize

         God is God,

    and we are not.

When we lift our eyes to Him,

it is not a matter of

seeing this situation differently,

    but how to respond differently.

What can God do with this?

Prayer is fastening our seatbelts.

   and double-tying our shoes.

God is not just at work

     in this situation.

He is already hard at work

                   in us.)

O LORD,

Help us to not just

    lift up our eyes to You.

Not just to see differently

          in this situation,

    but to behold You.

You don't just show up.

We are the ones

          late to realizing

that You are with us.

May prayer be our

             first response,

   not our last resort.

Let our prayers for others

   not just soften their hearts

   and change their minds,

but let praying change us,

        right to the core.