"I seek the gift, find instead the Giver, and eventually come away with the gift I no longer seek.
My own emphasis in prayer has moved from petition to companionship, and I no longer agonize over the issue of unanswered prayer as I once did."-- Philip Yancey in "Prayer"
And so Lord, we seek You. We want to be changed by knowing You. We want to heal our land, beginning with ourselves.
We come to You:
the star-breather
the One who spoke the world into being
the One who wraps himself in light
the source of all love
the power behind all energy
the One who calls forth songs of joy
the One who knows every bird in the mountains
the One who forgives
and forgives
and forgives
To You we come boldly, knowing You will patiently hear our laments, lovingly listen to our worries.
We pray for our country. How You have blessed us Lord, with such an incredible land. From the wintery mountains of New York, to the strawberry fields of California; from the blue-green seas of the Florida Keys, to the massive caribou herds of Alaska. We see Your creativity, Your gifts, everywhere You take us.
But we also see endless problems. The people seem to turn away from You more every day. Forgive us for our ignorance. Forgive us for our indifference. Forgive us for our rebellion. Help us to turn the tide back to You. We so need revival.
We pray for our leaders. May they seek Your will. Please give them Your wisdom.
We pray for the American church. May she once again rise to shine as a city on a hill. All the good that we have done, comes from You. Thank You for money given, for missionaries sent, for the Word proclaimed. Help us to do so much more.
We pray for our military. Thank You for the strength, courage, knowledge. May we always use it for Your purposes and to Your glory.
We pray for our men and women overseas. God of the Heavenly Armies, please surround them with Your fortress. Lord we beg You to bind the spirit of depression and suicide. Hold them in Your arms, and may they know true hope.
We pray for our families. Thank You for this building block, this safe haven. Help us to not take our husbands for granted, and turn our hearts to each other. We thank You for the precious time with the children You have given us. Lord help us be the parents they need to grow in You. Show us how to teach them to love You, above all.
And we pray for each other: for lonely, hurting hearts; for exhausting days; for health issues; for outreach opportunities; for missions You have given us; for children to teach; for anxious hearts with moves looming. Be with us Lord.
Thank You for giving us each other too. We see Your love in the faces around us as we gather to pray. And we love You. Amen
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
April 21, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hzYKovRsJ8#aid=P9pV3g34ZYI
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
’Tis an ocean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!
’Tis an ocean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!
"Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." Psalm 42:7
Yes, Lord, yes! Like the mighty flooding of the Black River, sweep us away in Your love. It's already there--always has been--but we haven't always let go. And on a new Monday, we need it ever so much.
Yet Your love can't completely surround us until we are home with You. Forgive us for trying so hard to find rest and comfort in this world. Forgive us for not longing for You.
Forgive us too for keeping it to ourselves. Help us to spread Your praises from shore to shore, from fence post to fence post on Fort Drum. Lord, surround our soldiers with Your love. May they be unable to resist. Carry their spirits higher, away from depression and suicide. Protect our deployed and encourage them in their tasks. May they see Your hand at work.
Thank You for Jesus' love. Love enough to make us Your daughters, and continuing to watch over us, work for us. Help us to live like one of Your beloved today. Give us grace overflowing for our children. Help us with enduring love for our husbands. May we handle the days' work as You would have us.
All we can give You is our feeble attempts at love. And we do love you. Amen.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
April 14, 2014
To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of it's suffering I do drink
Of it's work I do sing
For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just
Lord make us stop! Stop all the craziness and focus on You in this time when we especially remember what You have done for us. Change us with that knowledge Lord. We bow before a God that is love and justice, in perfect balance. Don't let us skip over the suffering and remember only the resurrection, for that is where we find gratitude.
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
Lord, thank You for never crushing us. All Your correction makes us stronger, closer to You.
Thank You for continually drawing us. Help us find our first love, our awe of who You are and what You did for us.
What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified
Forgive us, forgive us, forgive us for our apathy, our indifference, our inattention in the face of such a gift.
You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled
like the daffodils peaking out from their winter grave...
In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness
And Lord help us to confess it loudly! Amongst our communities this week. And 'only using words when necessary.' But as we gush about the beautiful new life around us, may we gush about the beautiful new life within us.
Help us to teach our children this week, God Almighty, to love the Lord with all their heart and all their minds and all their souls. And teach us too. Please grant them safety and fun in this spring vacation week.
And Father, please reveal Yourself to the soldiers who so understand sacrifice and justice, but maybe not love. May the chaplains' messages ring loud and clear this week. We thank You for these days of relative peace in Afghanistan. We pray all our warriors can come home soon, and we pray for Your continued protection until then.
We pray for our chapel's coming Easter services. May people come! May they be drawn to You, see You in the service and in us, and continue to come.
Lord help us fall deeply in love with You again.
Amen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5_Z3ZZYLDc&feature=kp
Of it's suffering I do drink
Of it's work I do sing
For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just
Lord make us stop! Stop all the craziness and focus on You in this time when we especially remember what You have done for us. Change us with that knowledge Lord. We bow before a God that is love and justice, in perfect balance. Don't let us skip over the suffering and remember only the resurrection, for that is where we find gratitude.
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
Lord, thank You for never crushing us. All Your correction makes us stronger, closer to You.
Thank You for continually drawing us. Help us find our first love, our awe of who You are and what You did for us.
What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified
Forgive us, forgive us, forgive us for our apathy, our indifference, our inattention in the face of such a gift.
You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled
like the daffodils peaking out from their winter grave...
In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness
And Lord help us to confess it loudly! Amongst our communities this week. And 'only using words when necessary.' But as we gush about the beautiful new life around us, may we gush about the beautiful new life within us.
Help us to teach our children this week, God Almighty, to love the Lord with all their heart and all their minds and all their souls. And teach us too. Please grant them safety and fun in this spring vacation week.
And Father, please reveal Yourself to the soldiers who so understand sacrifice and justice, but maybe not love. May the chaplains' messages ring loud and clear this week. We thank You for these days of relative peace in Afghanistan. We pray all our warriors can come home soon, and we pray for Your continued protection until then.
We pray for our chapel's coming Easter services. May people come! May they be drawn to You, see You in the service and in us, and continue to come.
Lord help us fall deeply in love with You again.
Amen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5_Z3ZZYLDc&feature=kp
Sunday, April 6, 2014
April 7, 2014
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
How great Thou art! Sing, my soul, sing!
Lord, may my mouth join the chirping of the robin in praising you today.
With all my inmost being, I thank You for an endless list of blessings: for healing, for exciting opportunities, for tips of daffodils peaking up, for sunshine, for millions of migratory birds filling our skies with your praises. For chapels filled with smiling faces and PWOC filled with friends. For warm slippers and bouncy puppies. For sap dripping into buckets and snow dripping into the earth. For baby calves and fawns and lambs and the happy giggles of baby people. Yes Lord, You satisfy us with good things and it makes us feel young and alive.
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
The smarter our communication technology gets, Lord, the more we know of the oppressed, and yet the more helpless we feel to fix it all. We trust in You for ultimate justice. We pray for the oppressed of the world; especially the little girls caught in the sex slave industry. Lord, move the workers to go to the field.
...The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Lord we can't enjoy anything when we are under the cloud of 'unforgiven.' And we can't do anything on our own to get away from that cloud. How utterly amazing! How truly wonderful that You would throw those sins so far away that they can never be found again. How much You must love us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
In an instant, it can all be over for us. Teach us to number our days. Lord, surround the families of the Ft. Hood fallen. Heal the wounded. Heal the frightened hearts. Thank You for the heroes You sent in. Thank You for the chaplains and the priesthood of believers who are serving You right there, right now. Thank You for the good doctors. Please give our leaders wisdom in how to confront these problems.
But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children--with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
And that is what we trust in. That is the only truth we can stand on. Our only hope. Your love and Your sovereignty.
Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
Oh how awesome it will be to hear the angels! For now, we will be content with hearing your little ones sing, with seeing the stars glitter for You, with joining the songbirds in Your praise.
Lord we pray for the children of Fort Drum this week. Every day is a new exciting opportunity to them; protect their joy and optimism. May they see the God who wraps Himself in light. And may they love Him.
Thank You God for good elections in Afghanistan! You do work wonders in the heart of nations. We pray for their continued success, for our warriors' safety, and for their quick return home.
Again and again we are reminded of the wars a soldier's heart must battle. Please help them find their refuge in You. God please restrain the demon of suicide.
In this season of remembering resurrection, may we Your people show the way to the lost around us! Lord, flood Fort Drum with hope in You! Help us to live beyond our little to-do lists today; starting with praise for You.
Praise the Lord, my soul! Amen and amen!
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
How great Thou art! Sing, my soul, sing!
Lord, may my mouth join the chirping of the robin in praising you today.
With all my inmost being, I thank You for an endless list of blessings: for healing, for exciting opportunities, for tips of daffodils peaking up, for sunshine, for millions of migratory birds filling our skies with your praises. For chapels filled with smiling faces and PWOC filled with friends. For warm slippers and bouncy puppies. For sap dripping into buckets and snow dripping into the earth. For baby calves and fawns and lambs and the happy giggles of baby people. Yes Lord, You satisfy us with good things and it makes us feel young and alive.
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
The smarter our communication technology gets, Lord, the more we know of the oppressed, and yet the more helpless we feel to fix it all. We trust in You for ultimate justice. We pray for the oppressed of the world; especially the little girls caught in the sex slave industry. Lord, move the workers to go to the field.
...The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Lord we can't enjoy anything when we are under the cloud of 'unforgiven.' And we can't do anything on our own to get away from that cloud. How utterly amazing! How truly wonderful that You would throw those sins so far away that they can never be found again. How much You must love us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
In an instant, it can all be over for us. Teach us to number our days. Lord, surround the families of the Ft. Hood fallen. Heal the wounded. Heal the frightened hearts. Thank You for the heroes You sent in. Thank You for the chaplains and the priesthood of believers who are serving You right there, right now. Thank You for the good doctors. Please give our leaders wisdom in how to confront these problems.
But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children--with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
And that is what we trust in. That is the only truth we can stand on. Our only hope. Your love and Your sovereignty.
Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
Oh how awesome it will be to hear the angels! For now, we will be content with hearing your little ones sing, with seeing the stars glitter for You, with joining the songbirds in Your praise.
Lord we pray for the children of Fort Drum this week. Every day is a new exciting opportunity to them; protect their joy and optimism. May they see the God who wraps Himself in light. And may they love Him.
Thank You God for good elections in Afghanistan! You do work wonders in the heart of nations. We pray for their continued success, for our warriors' safety, and for their quick return home.
Again and again we are reminded of the wars a soldier's heart must battle. Please help them find their refuge in You. God please restrain the demon of suicide.
In this season of remembering resurrection, may we Your people show the way to the lost around us! Lord, flood Fort Drum with hope in You! Help us to live beyond our little to-do lists today; starting with praise for You.
Praise the Lord, my soul! Amen and amen!
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