Oct. 27, 2014

Your love is like radiant diamonds bursting inside us
We cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us like blazing wild fire 
Singing your name 

God of mercy, sweet love of mine 
I have surrendered to your design 
May this offering stretch across the skies
These Hallelujahs be multiplied
--Need to Breathe's "These Hallelujahs Be Multiplied"

Oh Lord thank You for Your love for us--a love that saves us from our self. Self-absorption. Self-preservation. From hopelessness.

We cannot contain this love! It is too much. May all of us cracked vessels be spilling out Your light and hope amongst our military, and our world. Make us radiant. And as we, and our soldiers, give our lives for God and country, may our offerings be known for Your further glory. Help us to surrender to Your design. Over and over again. Forgive us for our stubborn selfishness that thinks it knows what it needs to be radiant.

Multiply these hallelujahs, Lord! May they spread through the 'hooahs' of thousands of soldiers. Lord, we pray for their safety. We pray for their success. But ultimately, we pray for their salvation. Spread like wildfire through our posts. May the military lead the way to revival for the whole nation.

From a wood shack in desert sands to the old stone chapel with a spire to the modern building in the middle of post to the insulated tent in the snowy field, Lord be in our chapels. May they be cities on hills. Filled with Your Spirit. Overflowing rays of hope. Pointing to You. May we be unified as Your people Lord. Focused on this mission and not our own agendas. Help us to see You in each other.

Because the stakes are desperate. Soldiers are dying without You and without hope. Fan our fire, Lord.

We pray for our chaplains. Give them strength. Courage. Give them wisdom in how to deal with this dual-culture. Thank You for putting them on the front lines in this spiritual battle. Use them mightily in many lives. 

And we pray the same for our Christian soldiers. Give them the weapons they need to fight this fight.

We pray for the rest of the soldiers in Afghanistan making their way home. Keep them safe in this critical, difficult time. Keep them patient. May their families be strengthened through the separation. May the trials be opportunities to come to You.

Give wisdom, clarity, purpose to any future missions, Lord. Protect our troops until they can all come home. We long for the day when we can come home to You.

Thank You for the hallelujahs rising across this great nation, and around the world. May we join in this song today!
Amen!

Oct 20, 2014

The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give!

For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.

Be exalted in your strength, Lord; we will sing and praise your might.
-Psalm 21: 1, 7, 13

Thank You Lord for your victory. For Your strength that makes all things possible. With a flick of the wrist, You send the stars in orbit. From the dust You fashion bone, sinew, muscle--an elephant can pull a load, a horse can lunge up a hill, a man can carry his brother.

All victory comes from You and ultimately You will be victorious over all. Oh we look forward to that day, when You conquer all evil. So many things can take life, but only You have the strength to give life. It is easy to hate, but You have the strength to love.

Thank You for our many returning victorious troops. Thank You for timely sand storms, and timely clear weather. Thank You for insightful strategies, and for bubbles of protection that have no earthly explanation. Thank You for truth revealed and small steps of winning hearts and minds. We pray for those seeds to germinate in the children of the Middle East's next generation. Thank You for our warrior's safety.

Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
--Psalm 20:6-7

And Lord we pray for our soldiers:
--for the safe return of more of our troops
--for the safe transport of those continuing to travel--for those deploying on new missions
--for wisdom for our leaders on how to continue

Lord You understand the warrior's heart. We pray You will guard it. As our people come home, help them to adjust. May they not feel forgotten or dishonored. May they find their place again. Give them a new sense of purpose.

Calm their hearts Lord. Calm their hearts.

Do not let the spirit of depression and suicide get to them Lord. Draw them to You day by day. May they sense Your chasing them down. Forgive their sins, and help them forgive themselves.

And use us in this mission Lord. Show us how to be Your light amongst our Army.

Amen.

Oct. 13, 2014

Lord, help us love You.

Remind us Lord, remind us of how much You love us.

Open our eyes to see Your gifts all around us.

Pursue us--don't give up on us--till we live as daughters of the King. The way You made us.

Thank You for loving us when we are ugly, hateful, selfish. Thank You for loving us when we are far from perfect, utterly helpless to make ourselves good. Thank You for loving us when we are totally useless.

Increase our love Lord, as we can only reciprocate what You have already given.

Thank You for surrounding us with beauty to remember You by. To see You in the mystery of the aurora. To receive a bouquet of wildflowers from You. To feel Your comfort through a loved one's hug. To have a book of love letters from You in the Scriptures.  To see Your paintings in the sunrises for our joy. To have a glimpse of Your unconditional love through our pets. To feel You swell our hearts with a beautiful melody.

The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you, in His love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing. --Zephaniah 3:17

You love us like a perfect Father to His daughter.
Like a groom enchanted with his bride.

Lord remind us. May we throw away all the guilt, all the doubt that make us feel separated from You.

Thank You for answering our prayers. Thank You for surrounding us with blessings. Thank You for filling us with peace. Thank You for life. For all the ups and downs and messiness and busy-ness and craziness. Thank You for being with us through it all.

And thank You for forgiving us. For Jesus. For giving Your precious Son to die a horrible death for a bunch of rebellious, weak creatures. And setting us free.

http://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/songdetail.aspx?iid=559022

Yes, we are so weak, and we so desperately, completely need You.

Lord, we pray for each other.
--For the friend whose strange illness is incapacitating her. Give her strength for the difficult therapy, and may she be healed by You.
--For the woman in a coma after brain surgery. We ask for healing Lord.
--For the one whose family member has hurt them terribly.
--For the babies who are coming soon.
--For all of us who let life toss us around and harass us--leaving us over worked, over stressed, overwhelmed. But we are daughters of the King. You have no limits to Your resources. Make us live that way Lord! May it overflow into our marriages, our children, our neighborhoods.

We pray for the safe return of our soldiers.
And may they know, deep down, Your love. May the spirit of depression and suicide not be able to take hold. May our military lead the way in knowing Your love!

Thank You Father God. We trust in You and how You will answer these prayers.
Amen.

Oct. 6, 2014

God of time,
God of creation,
God of life,

You unfurl the leaf and cause it to stretch to the sky.
You expand the tiny chickadee brain, so it can remember where it stashed its seeds.
You teach the whale to sing.
You fill the horse's lungs as it races across the prairie.
You cause our little one's eyes to flutter open.

And You reach down and hold our hands. You let us curl up on Your lap. You wrap Your arms around us.

Thank You Lord, for being our perfect Father/Mother. Thank You for love unending... unconditional. Thank You for grace that picks us up and puts us on our feet again.

Thank You for the beauty and diversity of creation, made for our pleasure. We see Your care for it, and we love it too.

And thank You for our children, Lord. For giggles, and helping hands, and skipping, and snuggles, and funny sayings, and yes even for scraped knees and tears as they show life. Thank You for growth--for new heights and new sizes and awkward moments and deeper thoughts and bigger challenges.

Lord, we pray for our beloved ones. We pray for their direction of life. No matter what they do, may they honor You. Give them vision and mission. May they find what is worth living for. Give them Jesus.

Our posts are filled with these children Lord. We ask You to keep them safe. Help them to find good friends. Help them to be good friends. May their lives be filled with good adults who help them along. May they grow in integrity. But mostly:
Give them Jesus.

Yes Lord, we want them to be safe. We want them to be comfortable. We want them to be happy. But more than anything:
Give them Jesus.

Help them through their challenges right now, Lord. The schooling. The peers. The tasks it seems they will never master. The attitudes. May we be the parents they need. May their future spouses be protected and blessed. But mostly, may they grow in You. Nothing will bless our hearts more than to see them walking in You; and nothing will break our hearts more than to see them stray.

Which You understand more than we ever could.

So Lord, give them Jesus.

We pray for our young soldiers--somebody's baby. Keep them safe so they can grow closer to You. Thank You for bringing many home. Please be with those still in transit.
And we pray for all our soldiers. May they know deep down that they are loved. May they know it enough to be saved from the severe depression that lies to them.

We ask these things, knowing that You love them and love us with the love of a perfect Father.
And we just want more of You.
Amen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu2E2FUcIiE

Sep. 28, 2014

We take up our weapon in this war: we pray.

God of the Heavenly Armies,
We stand in front of our enemy, and it seems too big. We get surrounded, and there seems to be no hope.
Until we look up. Up past any star wars that man wages. Up to the highest heavens. Up to You.
What an awesome thing it would be to hear Your army rushing past in the top of the trees. Or to look out past the enemy's camp and see Your army rushing in on the clouds. What an awesome thing it is to spend the night afraid for our lives, only to walk out in the morning and find the enemy dead. Scattered. Gone.
Lord, open our eyes to see.

To see You: the ever-powerful One. You never get tired. You never get out-witted. You have no vulnerabilities. You don't trip. You don't make a mistake. You don't make wrong decisions. You don't arrive too late, without the weapons.

And You are the giver of all strength. All wisdom. All mercy.

For our generals who are standing in front of maps that are growing increasingly black and spotted with red, we pray. Lord give them wisdom. Morality. Fortitude.

For the private, dodging bullets far from home. Lord give him/her skill in their duties. Please be the shield around them.

And for all our soldiers in the middle, Lord we pray. May their trials bring them closer to You. May they be in the right. May You be their might. Help them to protect Your children. Courage, Lord. They need Your courage.

And Lord guard their hearts. Only You can help them deal with the things they have to do. Only You can heal this broken world. Please protect them from the spirit of depression and suicide.

"Hear me, Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer-- it does not rise from deceitful lips.
Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right...

My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled.
I call on You, my God, for You will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Show me the wonders of your great love, You who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in You from their foes.
Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.

They close up their callous hearts, and their mouth speak with arrogance. They have tracked me down, they now surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground. They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a fierce lion crouching in cover.

Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down; with your sword rescue me from the wicked. By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life....

As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness." --from Psalm 17

Lord our soldiers need You more than ever. Our nation needs You. Your church needs Your protection.

Thank You for all the safe travel of thousands of troops, and we pray for continued as more come home this week.

Please show our leaders the way to go.

Our only hope is in You. Thank You that You hear our prayers. Thank You that the battle is won. We wait for You.
Amen!

Sept. 21, 2014

...It is better to groan 
With my old, old load
Than to search within,
And find nothing there
But folly and sin....
--from "The Empty Cup" by Thomas Edward Brown

Oh Father God,
No suffering. No pain. You created us that way, and that is what we long for, and that is what we wait for in eternity.
But for now, we suffer. And we look to You. We ask for healing. But if not the healing, Lord make us better through the refinement, make us stronger with the pain.

Help us Lord, to pray with Paul:
"Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance."

God we pray for deliverance. For the little girl struggling to breathe. For the mother with an unknown malady causing her dizziness. For those recovering from surgery. For our soldiers who beat their bodies into all kinds of aches. For our parents who deal with the effects of age. We know You can heal all. You know the causes, and the remedies.

You've given us a small glimpse into the knowledge of medicine. Thank You for our doctors and researchers and medicines.  Thank You for the many remedies You give us through our world around us. We pray for continued progress, and may the people see You in all the discoveries.

Thank You for people to pray. Thank You for people who help. May we be available to those in need. Thank You for deepened relationships through walking this road together. And Thank You most of all for Your Spirit that carries us through. You are the source of all courage, strength, endurance.

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death."

Lord when we are hurting, it is so hard to be good. But with You we can. We can reach out to the nurses and ask about their day. We can be patient with our child's new boo-boo. We can encourage our spouses. Help us Lord. Live through us as we die with Christ.

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me..."

Lord whatever Your answer to our prayers, we trust in You. We live for You and give You full rein over our days. We have nowhere else to go, You are the giver of life. You are the one who breathes the stars. You are the one that makes the baby's chest heave and gasp their first breath. You are the one who sees every sparrow. You are the one who grows the beautiful pile of carrots, who swells the apples till they drop, who turns the pumpkins orange and adds the smell to cinnamon. All this to give us life, and life abundantly. You are the one who can rock us in Your arms and give us peace. Unbelievable, unshakable peace.

So in sickness and in health, we face this week with You Lord.

"We pray that you will be STRENGTHENED with His glorious POWER so that you will have all the PATIENCE and ENDURANCE you need. May you be filled with JOY, always thanking the Father." --Colossians 1:11

all other verses from Phil. 1: 19-22

Sept. 15, 2014

Wow! Let's get back to praying together! I need it. And so many fronts on this spiritual battle need our attention...at a time when attention is perhaps one of our most priceless, treasured commodities...

Thanks for joining with me, Sisters.

Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God My Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassion they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Oh Father God,
Everything around us is changing--everything we know changes. Border lines. People's minds. Our own bodies resisting efforts to remain timeless. Yet somehow, beyond the beyond, You are constant. You are everlasting. You are faithful.

Faithful. How we need that. And how we can't even give it back. On our own, we are so adrift. Please anchor us Lord. Hold our thoughts when the grocery list, the beheadings, the lost school books distract us. Lord we lay down our lives, we lay down our attention before You.
Thank You for Your faithfulness. Make us faithful. Thank You for new mercies, morning after morning after morning.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Lord thank You for a beautiful fall! Thank You for leaves turning aflame! Thank You for harvests--wheat fields turned golden, full corn ears, ruby red tomatoes, perfect chunky pumpkins. Thank You for overflowing abundance.

Lord forgive us for being carried away by anxiety. And our wants. And just plain old self-centeredness.

So many things, Father God, that we need You to help us with.

We pray, pray, pray, pray for the persecuted church. May they see You even in their last breath. Strengthen and comfort them. May they be found faithful.

And may their chains cause our boldness. Even as young people are attracted to the passion of the extremists, may more be attracted to the commitment of the Christ followers. May we be heard today--at the commissary, the soccer field, the mail boxes. Lord may we overwhelm our post--the place where You assigned us--with the gospel.

Lord, please bring Pastor Saeed home.

Lord be with our deployed soldiers. Give them wisdom and strength. May they be in the right.

Lord please protect our soldiers and families from the depression and suicide. Open our eyes to the hurting. Use us, we pray. We want to be the light in the darkness.

Lord help us to carry out our little lives today as You would have us. We have to pay bills. We have to run car pools. We have to cook dinner. But we can do this all Your way.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness
Lord unto me!