Enlarging Our Vocabulary

 

...may those who love Your salvation

say continually,

        "Great is the LORD!"

          Psalm 40. 16

(God does not just change our hearts.

    He enlarges our vocabulary.

Does anyone see

        any difference in us

in how we speak,

how we respond,

      even what we talk about?

What if we said

    --in so many words--

       "Great is the LORD?"

We rarely acknowledge Him

      even among church people.

What if we make others aware

   to what God is doing,

engraving His Presence

   into our conversations,

allowing God to transform

  the trajectory of our chats?

We talk freely about a lot of things.

But do we mention Him?)

O LORD,

May our conversations,

our vocabulary,

our words

   bring glory to You.

Nudge us in situations

   to speak of You.

We cannot know

  how You will use

      even an informal chat

      to draw someone to You.

Enlarge our vocabulary

and our willingness

   to know You

   and make You known.

  

How We Say Yes

 

And He answered them,

     "You give them

       something to eat...

How many loaves

    do you have?

             Go and see."

And when they found out,

they said, "Five and two fish."

             Mark 6. 37-38

(We pray for God

        to guide and provide.

And in turn,

God reveals that

He has already

      supplied the answer

   for us to unpack.

When we respond and go forth,

we realize God does not just

                 cover a need,

  but multiplies,

    exceeding beyond what we can imagine,

      way more than enough,

        sometimes even with dessert.

Praying enlarges what we see,

   but also what we can do.

When we cry out,

       "Oh, God, do something!"

He replies,

    "That is why I put you there."

What resources

         has He put in our hands?

     Do we even know?)

O LORD,

We see the gaps and needs

    and broken places.

You see the opportunities

  for us to be

          Your hands and feet.

When we pray,

please make us aware of

    how we are saying yes to You.

Grant to us big hearts

    to set many more places

                       at the table.

In Your eyes,

    there is always room for more.

You do not just make it work

    with rolls and two fish,

    but cast Your glory over it.

Help us to not just do

         with what we have,

but create a feast

   in impossible situations.

May our love and grace

be a strong witness

   to everyone around us.

Surprise even us!

    

Who Exactly Is Waiting?

 

But for You, O LORD,

       do I wait.

It is You, O LORD my God,

      who will answer.

             Psalm 38. 15

(Do we wait on the LORD

    or barge right through?

Do we even give God

   the space to squeeze in,

   enter and move?

Answering is not

   the only action verb here.

But listening, waiting,

     watching and responding.

Waiting is not at all about

     God's ability to act.

His answers don't fit

  on the short dotted line we allot,

but a shelf of 800-page volumes

     would not be enough.

It is, perhaps, on us

       that He waits

to get a word in edgewise.)

O LORD,

Please grant us 

not just the strength

      to wait,

but how to wait.

You never meant

   for waiting to be

   a passive verb,

but a passage through.

Waiting is being aware

     of Your Presence

          and dwelling in it

in unexpected places,

when we would rather be

       somewhere else.

Please help us

   to trust You

in Your divine appointments,

Your precise timing, and

Your strategic positioning,

         for Your glory.

You have shown us 

that waiting is not about

         what is next

but what is eternal.

Even When We Don't Know How

 

...the seed sprouts

       and grows,

he knows not how.

        Mark 4. 27

(We scatter the seed,

nurture our patch of ground,

water, and pull up weeds,

but God brings His growth,

      sometimes fruit

      we don't even recognize,

and casts His glory all over it.

We have no idea

      how He will use us,

planting a seasonal crop

  or a forest of Sequoias.

But we can be faithful.

Right here,

         in the now

and in what is about to emerge.)

O LORD,

You change the landscape

    of our circumstances.

You have placed us

  in these situations

  to repair and restore

     and scatter seeds

    of hope and grace.

No ground is too hard or fallow

      that cannot bear fruit.

And only You can bring it.

Redeem, Almighty One,

    our work for Your glory,

even when we

         don't know how.

Something Always Happens

 

And Moses said,

"This is the thing

that the LORD commanded

     you to do,

that the glory of the LORD

may appear to you."

           Leviticus 9. 6

(God does not demand.

       He commands.

Demand is to force.

Command is to invite us

           to join Him.

Demand is 

   an impersonal "Do this."

Command is an intimate

     "Follow Me."

Command means to appoint,

    to set up,

    to charge us with His purposes,

most of which we may never know,

  but to be faithful anyway.

When we respond to God's leading

in the familiar or unexpected,

   something always happens.

God covers it with His glory

    and reveals Himself to us,

often in unlikely, improbable,

    and unexplainable ways.

And others are impacted too.)

O LORD,

Thank You that You show us

   not just a way to go

            or what to do,

but You draw us to Yourself.

Appoint us, set it up,

   charge us not just

with stuff to do

   but to be

   in relationship with You.

Spread Your glory

     in thick layers

             over this day.

Help us to grasp Your Presence.

You do not just show up.  

    You reveal Yourself.

You are already here.

How To Handle This Day

 

Trust in the LORD,

        and do good;

dwell in the land

  and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the LORD,

  and He will give you

  the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD.

trust also in Him,

            and He will act.

                  Psalm 37. 3-5

(God spells out

      how to handle this day:

  trust, delight in Him,

          commit our way,

   and trust Him again.

Our part is seamlessly integrated

             with His.

The promise is

         "and He will act,"

in amazing ways

  we cannot ever foresee.

Diligently following Him

    into this day,

    into this mess,

    into His wonders,

changes not just

   our perspective or attitudes,

but our heart, vision, actions,

   and how we respond.

Circumstances may or may not change,

      but we can.

Trusting God never comes

      with a Laz-E-Boy recliner

but trail shoes double-knotted,

     ready to roll. )

O LORD,

We can be confident and sure

   that You are God

            we are not.

Thank You that we can trust You.

Help us to go forth into this day,

trusting You, relying on You,

allowing ourselves

            to be led,

being strengthened on the ascents,

and astonished by Your scenery

        along the way.

Please make our trust in You

      be infectious in others.

It is not that we

        lay our day before You,

but You lay Your incredible day

            before us.

May we walk with You

    hand in hand into it.

Not Just A Bow On Top

 

...as a gift to the LORD.

            Leviticus 7. 14

(This awkward, difficult situation

   looks nothing like a gift.

It is not just doing what

the LORD has placed before us,

but going above the needful

and turning it into a present,

             given willingly.

A gift is not that I have to do this,

       but I really want to.

Because any gift always has love attached

   and price tags removed.

How can we transform

     what we are doing today

--fixing the toilet,

   discovering a cure,

   accommodating interruptions,

   starting a difficult chore--

        into a gift to the LORD?

Intentional effort,

a willing heart,

and seeing it differently.

Not a task or obligation,

    but opportunity,

to love Him more.)

O LORD,

You offer to us

the wonders of this new day,

even its difficulties,

     storms and potholes.

Grant to us the strength

and creativity to turn it

   into blessing You.

Not just putting a bow on top,

but allowing ourselves

           to be led into it

with hearts that see

      something new and different,

even in the same ol' details.

Renew our energies

  not just to do,

  but to be Yours in this.

We offer to You our time,

our endeavors, our hearts,

   as a gift to You,

and watch how You

 multiply it amazingly

in the lives of others.