October 25, 2015

Click here to worship with  Hillsong's Still.

Hide me now
Under Your wings
Cover me
Within Your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father you are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust
Abba Father,
The Father who made us
The One who loves us
The One who saves us, over and over and over
The One who changes us
The One who blesses us

We are so grateful we can turn to You.
And we understand Your love, just a little, when we think of our children.

Thank You for them Lord.
Thank You for smiles. For hugs. For laughter. For love pats. For questions from inquisitive minds.
Thank You for milestones. And memories.

We pray for them.
May they only be content in You.
May they grow in You as they grow in stature.
We pray for their future spouses.
We pray for their missions that You have prepared for them.

And Lord, please help them with today.
May they be at peace with You in the face of their failures.
May they find strength in You when they need to run the race.
May they find love in You when they are lonely.
May they find light in You when they feel lost.

We pray for those that are sick: for the baby with fever and rash, the teenager who overdosed, the rambunctious one who broke a bone.

We also pray for our hurting soldiers:
for reconstructed shoulders
for replaced neck disks
for ankle recoveries
for painful feet
for aching backs
for hurting heads
Lord we ask for Your healing. We pray for Your strength. We thank You for doctors. Please help these people rest in recovery.

We pray for our wounded at Walter Reed and other hospitals. We pray for courage to face the new reality. We pray for wisdom for the doctors. We pray for caring touches from the chaplains.

And more importantly, we pray for lost souls. We pray against suicide. We pray You will rescue and save and use us to help.

We pray for the helpers--the doctors, the nurses, the chaplains, the Chief of Chaplains' office...

Thank You Lord for caring, for gathering us, for singing over us. We love You.
Amen.

October 19, 2015

You are resplendent with light,
more majestic than mountains rich with game.
Valiant men lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep;
not one of the warriors can lift his hands.
At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both horse and chariot lie still.
You alone are to be feared.
Who can stand before you when you are angry?
From heaven you pronounced judgment,
and the land feared and was quiet--
when You, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Psalm 76:4-9

Lord God of the Heavenly Armies,
We wait for You for ultimate justice
We count on You to make all things right
We know You have all power
and all will bow before You

May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,
to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron,
to carry out the sentence written against them.
This is the glory of all His saints. Praise the Lord. Psalm 149:6-9

Lord, we pray for our soldiers:
--above all, may the praise of God be in their mouths. We pray for the salvation of all of our military.
--may they be on Your mission. We pray for wisdom for our leaders. Do not let us get into battles because of greed or pride. But may they be doing Your will, and rescuing the weak. We especially pray for the battles that can help our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters.
--may they have a double-edged sword in their hands. Lord it is both an awesome blessing and an awesome responsibility to be the best military in the world. We ask for Your continued blessing. We ask for Your wisdom, and courage.

And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. Psalm 78:72

Lord we pray for our leaders:
May they be following You.
May they be courageous enough to make the decisions they need to.
Comfort them when the job gets so hard.
May they have integrity of heart. From Washington D.C. (and the Chief of Chaplain's office) to those in basic.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. Psalm 91: 15-16

Lord we pray for our veterans:
--may they see Your salvation.
--use us all to help them in their trouble.
--don't let them hear the voices of despair. We pray against suicide.

We specifically pray for the safety of our people
--in Afghanistan
--in Iraq
--flying over Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan
--for our sailors everywhere
--on training in Korea, Germany, _____________

We pray for those at home who love them. Comfort their hearts.
Thank You for continued healing for Angela's mom. We pray for Denise's friend who is in critical condition--for true healing after this dark night of the soul.

We declare: You are our refuge and fortress, our God, in You I trust.
Amen

October 12, 2015

Click here to pray with: Chris Tomlin's Good Father

Oh, I've heard a thousand stories
Of what they think You're like
But I've heard the tender whisper
Of love in the dead of night
And You tell me that You're pleased
And that I'm never alone

You're a good good Father
It's who You are, it's who You are, it's who You are
And I'm loved by You
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

Oh, and I've seen many searching
For answers far and wide
But I know we're all searching
For answers only You provide
‘Cause You know just what we need
Before we say a word

Cause You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us

Oh, it's love so undeniable
I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
I, I can hardly think
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
Into love, love, love

Lord help us to know the depth of Your love today. 
And because we are loved, we bring these prayers to You:

Help us to accomplish the mission You have set before us today. 
May we be the encourager our husband needs.
May our children know they are loved.
Help us to rise above survival and be intentional.

We pray for our sisters who are facing a PCS.
We pray for our sisters who are dealing with long-term illnesses.
We pray for our sisters who have lost parents, children recently.
We pray for the friend who lost one son and has another in the hospital because of addiction.
We pray for Jessica's aunts and uncles who are in failing health, and who need You.
We pray for Kevin and his classmates at Ranger School.
We pray for the many challenges our children are encountering.

We pray for our military community--
for our neighbors,
for our husbands' work circle
for our deployed
for our leaders, including the Chief of Chaplains' office.

And we especially pray for our hurting veterans. Lord may they find You as a good, good Father.

We rest in Your love this week, Abba Daddy.

October 5, 2015

Some encouragement from http://www.plantingroots.net/blog/ : We are indeed placed in the presence of a holy God when we pray. Recently within the last year, I have started using my phone as a “prayer alarm.” I have it set for 2 pm and 6 pm as a daily reminder to pray. I have 3 specific prayers that I have written for some loved ones in my life and when I pray the prayer for them I text them the prayer just to let them know I am thinking of them and praying. The list ebbs and flows and the names shift on and off, but I am always praying . . . always.  This week let us examine our prayer life. Be mindful that we feel like we are in a fight because we are in a fight!

Father God, we need some time with our Abba Daddy here.

When the storm clouds come, You are the Master of the Storms.
When the bullets fly, You are our fortress.
When the nations rage, You are Lord of all.
When our children cry, You hold them close.
When our friends are sick, You are the Great Healer.
When our hearts despair, You are the Morning Star of Hope.
When our marriages crash, You are our grace.
When our tasks are big, You are the One who gives strength.
When our warriors go out, You are the God of the Heavenly Armies.

Thank You Abba that we can curl up in Your lap and talk to You.

For the people facing the storms, like the flooding in South Carolina--we pray for your help.
For the people who have lost loved ones in the shootings--we pray for Your comfort.
For the families who have lost soldiers--we pray for Your peace.
For the children who are struggling to find their place in this world--we pray for confidence in Your love.
For the unrest amongst the nations--we pray for Your intervention.
For our brothers and sisters in bondage for Your name--we pray for encouragement through a bit of joy.
For our friends who are sick--we ask for strength.
For our marriages and friendships that clash--we ask for peace through forgiveness.

We pray for our soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We pray for our airmen flying over Syria, Afghanistan.
We pray for our sailors in the big beautiful blue oceans.
We pray for our leaders, their meetings and thought processes and decisions (including the Chief of Chaplain's Office).

And for our warriors at home whose hearts are still in war. Lord, please give them a peaceful night's sleep. Please calm their hearts and clear their heads so they can come to You. Please save them from the suicidal demons.

Thank You Lord. Thank You we can come to You and find hope and peace. You are our All in All.

September 28, 2015

Praying with help from Jeremiah 29:4-14 today:

The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem:

Lord Almighty, God of the world
You hold all the nations in Your hand.
You know the hearts of the leaders, and You can turn it.
You rule the skies
and You rule the streets
You move the winds and the storms
and the powerful and the weak.
You see all, You know all, You control all.

Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens and eat the food you produce. Marry and have children.

Lord, we thank You for our food--
elaborate systems that bring us pineapples and grapes and shrimp and curry.
We thank You for our homes.
We thank You for our families--for our husbands, our children, our parents and siblings.
Thank You for this place where You have established us for Your glory.

And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive...

Thank You Lord for our country. Thank You for this wonderful land You have given us. Help us to share the blessing. Give our leaders wisdom on how to help others. We do ask for the continued peace and prosperity of this place for Your glory. We pray You will unleash the winds of Your Spirit and breathe revival amongst our neighborhoods.

The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you.

Lord, we ask for Your strength when You have us in Babylon--a place where we don't want to be. May we learn from our trials and grow...grow up. Don't take our troubles off our backs, but strengthen our backs to carry them.

We pray for our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who are being persecuted.

We pray for those facing a PCS. We pray for those wishing for a PCS.

We pray for our husbands: Lord, may they be spiritual leaders, alive in You.
We pray for us: may we be good helpmates in all senses of the word. Help us to see and value and fulfill the missions You have given us.
We pray for our children: Lord, may this generation know Your true joy. May it overflow into all the world.
We pray for our military families and all the extras we have to deal with. Teach us Lord. Through the difficulties, draw us closer to each other.
We pray for those in command; for those with struggling marriages; for those with difficult children; for those with illnesses (including Ansley and Hayden and Gracie and another little girl missing school); for those who are separated from loved ones.
We pray for those who have recently lost loved ones.

We pray for the Chief of Chaplains' office and our husbands' commanders.

Thank You Lord for being right here with us--no matter where 'here' is.
We love You... You first loved us. How marvelous! How wonderful!

September 21, 2015

More Love to Thee by Fernando Ortega

1. More love to thee, O Christ, more love to thee! Hear thou the prayer I make on bended knee. This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to thee; more love to thee, more love to thee! 2. Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest; now thee alone I seek, give what is best. This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ, to thee; more love to thee, more love to thee! 3. Let sorrow do its work, come grief and pain; sweet are thy messengers, sweet their refrain, when they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to thee; more love to thee, more love to thee! 4. Then shall my latest breath whisper thy praise; this be the parting cry my heart shall raise; this still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ, to thee; more love to thee, more love to thee!

September 14, 2015

Click here to worship with Hillsong's The Stand

You stood before creation
Eternity within Your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
Carried the Cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your Spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all

So I'll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours

Lord, we can't partly volunteer for the military. Our warriors give their whole body and mind. 

We pray for ranks and ranks of soldiers giving body, mind and heart to You. 

May we stand with heart abandoned to You.

This is our first prayer for our warriors: that they would know You.

We pray for the hurting soldier considering suicide. Lord, send Your angels.

Thwart the hurting's every bad plan. Bind the enemy's lies in their lives.

May they give up--surrender--only to You.

We pray for our warriors' spiritual lives: may they be growing in You.

With all the mire they have to wade through, please renew their minds and their hearts.

Help them find the balance to being in the world and not of it.

We pray for their relationships with others, may they sharpen iron.

We pray for their marriages. Lord, give courage and strength in extra measure for the extra hard times.

We pray for their times with their kids.

We pray for their emotions--help them to understand and work through it.

We pray for those who are preparing for new jobs in the winter rotation, and those retiring.

We pray for their bodies, O Great Physician, Great Creator.

Please keep them safe in deployment, in training, in traveling, in the work place.

Please give them the strength they need to do their jobs; the mental sharpness.

Please help the many who are injured. Thank You for doctors and medical improvements.

But mostly, they need Your touch.

We pray for others in our military family who are ill: for Amy and her baby, for Hayden, for _________

Lord, may the Chaplaincy be relevant and life-changing for You, from the Chief of Chaplain's office

on down.

We pray for Your soldiers around the world: the persecuted Christians, Pastor Saeed, the refugees.

We stand before You--awed--forgiven--amazed by joy as You have this all in Your hands.