February 27, 2017

I hear the tumult of the raging seas as Your waves and surging tides sweep over me.

Through each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me,

and through each night I sing His songs,

praying to God who gives me life. --Psalm 42:7-8

God who holds the storehouses of the snow

Who swirls the winds in His hands

Who leads the sparrow to a tiny seed

Who rolls the mountains with earthquakes

Who shouts His glory in the stars without even a whisper

Give us a glimpse of Your throne room.

And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it! The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones--jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. And from the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder...

Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty-- the One who always was, who is, and who is still to come. --Rev. 4:2-5, 8

And still, You turn Your attention to us. We see offered before You the finest artists--presentations of beautiful fabrics, dancers of the most graceful movements, singers and musicians with music that immerses the deepest senses, acrobats of incredible skill, painters using colors of the emerald islands.

Then we find out You want our offering. How glorious to watch our meager little gifts--our kindergarten skill, our rags--transformed with Your touch. You make a place for us. You sing over us, with us. 

You. delight. in. me. 

Lord, help us live in this tension:

--resting in Your grace, yet understanding there's so much more to do.

--in the battle, yet under Your light yoke.

--willing to undergo the trials, yet knowing You've already won.

--not shamed about the having, but willing to give more.

Make us joyful, peaceful warriors.

We pray for our sisters:

--in our financial struggles, may we delight in waiting to see how You provide.

--even in our weariness, may we show our children how to turn to You.

--in our sickness, may we be Your witnesses to doctors and nurses and pharmacy technicians.

--that we would take our eyes off our selves--both our triumphs and our failures.

Help us to accept the same grace from You that we would hope heathens would.

Help us to breathe, every hour, 'Abba, I belong to You.'

Overflow us military wives, so we can bless our men, our children, our communities.

Lord, please bring our soldiers home safe:

--from NTC

--from Korea

--from Iraq

--from Afghanistan

--from training

Lord, please, please, please, break our warriors free:

--from the strangling hold of severe depression and the epidemic of suicide.

--from addiction to porn

--from addiction to alcohol

--from the endless anger

--from the constant need to prove their worth

Help us all to come as we are, and be overwhelmed by You.

February 20, 2017

Lord, when our warriors are by our sides, we will trust You.

And when we don’t know where our warriors are, we will trust You.

We will praise You when they walk in the door, and we will praise You when they have to walk away. And we thank You for helping us in both. Through it all, our eyes will be on You.

We thank You for giving them courage and strength. We thank You for putting Your fortress around them. 

We thank You for giving us peace that doesn’t make sense to any of the circumstances.

And so, God of the desert, God of the mountain crevasse, God of the blue heavens and the  deeper blue seas, we entrust our deployed to You. You are already where they are going, You are coming behind them, and You have Your hand on their heads.

We pray for the soldier walking through the streets of faraway villages. Please keep them alert, be their sixth sense.

We pray for the pilots flying over hostile territory. God, give them the skills they need and hide them in the cover of Your wings.

We pray for the sailors patrolling foreign waters. May their presence be a calming force, creating peace.

Lord we ask for good sleep for our deployed. We ask that they would be healthy. Please help them be wise and diligent in their work. We ask for the supply lines to be running smoothly. May machinery be working. Lord, don’t let them say they are lucky, but trigger their conscience to know it is You keeping them safe. Don’t let them grow proud, but rather grateful. Please keep them from depression, but give them determination.

For the ones who have just left, we pray for courage in the face of a new reality. For those who have been gone for awhile, we pray for endurance. And for those who are about to come home, we pray long-suffering and focus until the end.

Lord we pray for those who are facing a deployment. Help them through the cloud of impending doom. Help them to grieve well. Help them not to close hearts and push away.

Please help the families of the recently deployed to find their hope in You. May they establish new routines and activities and circles that lead them to You. May their communications be uplifting. Help them through the refining. Help the children not grow callous. 

For those who are awaiting the return, Lord please calm their nerves but not their butterflies. May the joy of the return remind them of Your coming.

And Father God please be with those still fighting wars in their minds. We ask for rest. We ask for good doctors and wise medicine. We ask that You would hold them close.

We pray for the shepherds of our warriors, may they be effective in serving You—from the Chief of Chaplains’ office on down.

And through it all Lord, we trust You. It is so sweet to know the One who has all power also has all love. 

Click here to sing Through It All It IS Well

Verse 1
Grander earth has quaked before
Moved by the sound of His voice
Seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard

Chorus
And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And through it all, through it all
It is well

And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
It is well with me

Verse 2
Far be it from me to not believe
Even when my eyes can't see

And this mountain that's in front of me
Will be thrown into the midst of the sea

Bridge x3
So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name 

Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well with me.

Read more:  Bethel Music - It Is Well Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

February 13, 2017

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!

Never abandoned...

Never alone...

Never given up on...

Never screwed up too much...

Never rejected...

Your love is so hard for us in this world to understand. Never earned. Never manipulated. Never reached the end.

A love that could cover all sins--even the basic sin of just being human. Thank You Lord.

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!

Lord we cannot survive without Your love. Our every breath depends on it. Every day is Your grace. 

And we need this love to try to love each other in this world. Thank You for your example. Draw us closer to You, and then we will be closer in our marriages. 

Lord we pray for unity--in decisions, deployments, in the daily raising of children.

Lord we pray for joy--in spite of the familiarity, the struggles.

Lord we pray for true forgiveness--break our old ways of responding. Give us spiritual amnesia of the past hurts. May we see our own failures in order to extend grace to each other. Melt the bitterness of today Lord. May we turn to You for what our spouses can't give us. May we keep trying.

And Lord Jesus please redeem the broken marriages! Turn the hearts to You! Hold closely those whose spouses are failing. Guard the hearts of the little ones in the homes. 

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!

Lord may our homes be havens, peaceful sanctuaries, where our children and our visitors can learn about You. We look for miraculous healing. We ask for hope in spite of hard hearts. We ask that You will help women respect their men, and men be the servant-leaders in their families. 

Please give the spouses of the veterans steadfastness. Use them as a life line. May they come together in You.

We pray for the marriages of our military leaders, the Chief of Chaplains' office, our deployed. May there be trust, fidelity, a solid foundation from which our warriors can operate. Help us deal with the separations, the stress of the high risk jobs, the careers that so infiltrate every aspect of life. 

In a throw-away, give-up culture, Lord, may we be shining lights. May our marriages be unbelievable--only possible because of You.

Thank You Lord, that if it all falls apart, we can still be awash in Your love. Thank You that marriage can be its complete glory because of You.

Click here to sing O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus!

February 6, 2017

Oh Lord,

God of joy

soul-flying, heart bursting joy

We pray for an outpouring of Your Spirit on this next generation.

May they be joyful warriors for Your Kingdom

May they give You their heart and their song and may they sing it with all their might

Give me your heart give me your song
Sing it with all your might
Come to the fountain and
You can be satisfied
There is a peace, there is a love
You can get lost inside
Come to the fountain and
Let me hear you testify

Into the wild
Canyons of youth
Oh, there's a world to fall into
Weightless we'll dance
Like kids on the moon
Oh, I will give myself to you
As soon as you start to let go

Lord You have uniquely blessed the military child with amazing adventures, different perspectives, unusual experiences. We pray You will use these in their lives to help them continue to follow You in changing the cultures You plant them in. May they love diversity. May they be problem solvers. May they be quick to defend the helpless and brave in facing the battle.

We pray for the future artists--may they change mindsets.

We pray for the future engineers and architects--may they improve lives.

We pray for the teachers and the preachers and the missionaries and the youth workers

We pray for the future policemen and firemen and soldiers and sailors and pilots.

We pray for the farmers who will feed the world and the mayors who will run the cities and the carpenters who will build the homes and the hands--the hands that will rock the cradles

Lord may there be a revival like this world has never seen before

We pray for the military child who is missing friends who have moved away

We pray for the little guy who isn't getting the help he needs in school

for the young lady trying to make friends

for the young man with chronic illness

for the kiddos with deployed parents

for the adopted little one who falls apart without mommy

for the adopted little ones waiting to go home

We pray for the babies who are coming

for the teenagers trying to find their way

We pray for the children of our veterans. Lord give them wisdom beyond their years. And please draw our veterans to You.

Wave after wave
As deep calls to deep
Oh, I'll reveal my mystery
As soon as you start to let go

Mist on the mountain
Rising from the ground
There's no denying beauty makes a sound
We can't escape it
There's no way to doubt
Mist on the mountain rising all around

And Lord use us to raise up this generation. Thank You for the hope of the young ones. Thank You for the joy of Your salvation. May we sing Your song with all our might this week.

You can get lost, you can get lost inside
Let me hear you testify

Click here to sing with Need to Breathe's Testify
Read more:  Needtobreathe - Testify Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

January 30, 2017

Praying with excerpts from Psalm 18 today:

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.

Without You, we can do nothing Lord. Our warriors have truly done so much through You. We thank You for saving so many. We thank You for giving victory to many missions. We thank You that You heard their voices and rescued them from certain death.

For You alone can part the heavens and come down with dark clouds under your feet. The earth trembles, the mountains shake when You are angry. You soar on the wings of the wind. You can hide behind darkness and advance the clouds in battle. Our enemies scatter because of You.

To the faithful You show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

Please forgive us, Lord, for our terrible pride. Forgive us for thinking we can do this on our own. Please forgive us for our lack of faith, our lack of purity. We have sinned greatly, and boldly. Please help repentance to sweep across this nation, and through our military.

As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord's word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.

Lord we pray for the refugee. Please be their shelter. Give us wisdom, courage, strength to help them. You have given us an incredible responsibility with our strength in the world--help us to rightly use it.

You Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall...
It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He causes me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You make your saving help my shield and your right hand sustains me;
Your help has made me great.

Lord, we pray for our warriors:
*please give the young recruit courage to face the day
*please help the units work together and give the leaders selfless wisdom
*please surround the outposts with your angels
*please give the mechanics a keen eye and great skill to keep the machines moving
*may the many people do their part, and above and beyond their jobs. Please give them the skills they need.
*please use the chaplains. May they be about Your business, from the Chief of Chaplains office to those in basic.
*please guard the hearts of our warriors. May their suffering bring them to You.
*please meet the lonely--in the training field, those who are deployed, the veterans in the hospitals and homes across the US. Lord, please be very real to them.
*please strengthen their marriages through the refining. Give the vets' spouses insight and endurance.
*please strengthen the bodies of our warriors. Help our wounded through their recovery. Please give the doctors the knowledge, give the nurses the patience.

For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure...
The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!

January 23, 2017

Immortal, invisible, God only wise, 

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes, 

Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, 

Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise. 

Ah Lord,

All of our pomp and circumstance; all of our mental gymnastics to try to figure things out, all of our straining to show might--

all of this is nothing compared to You. 

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light, 

Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might; 

Thy justice like mountains high soaring above 

Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

Lord, when we see our failures--our inability to bring peace, to do justice, to work hard enough, to protect even our most innocent--we realize our overwhelming need for You. 

We need Your wisdom. We need Your protection. We need Your victory.

And we certainly need Your forgiveness.

We pray for our leaders. Lord, please guide them. Give them wisdom. May they do justly. May their missions be right, and may they be successful. We pray for:

our commanders

our Chaplains, and other spiritual leaders

the office of the Chief of Chaplains

General Mattis

President Trump

We pray for the safety of our deployed, and we pray for their salvation. We pray for our wounded warriors, our tired fighters, our hurting veterans. May they be overwhelmed by Your greatness. 

To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small; 

In all life Thou livest, the true life of all; 

We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree, 

And wither and perish, but naught changeth Thee. 

Lord, please forgive us for the lives we have taken. Forgive us, as a nation, for creating a culture of unwanted children, for abandoning mothers, for writing You out of the story. Help us to change. Help us to be about Your business of saving, creating, loving.

It is only because of Your greatness, and Your love for us, that we have any hope.
Thou reignest in glory; Thou dwellest in light; 

Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight; 

All laud we would render: O help us to see 

'Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.

Click here to enjoy Steve Green singing Immortal, Invisible

January 16, 2017

From the first slap and gasp of breath to our last faltering whisper
In the deep filling
and the choking breathlessness
You are there.
And it's the same air in this bubble You have made that You came to breathe also

Lord, forgive us when we misuse this gift
Please forgive when we use this mouth to curse and scream and complain

Help us to praise
and use our anonymous praise to Your glory and for Your purpose
as we encourage our husbands
as we raise our children
as we speak truth into our communities
as we comfort our friends
as we work in the ministry You have placed us
May we praise You!

Lord we pray that Your praises will reach all the corners of the earth
the outposts where our soldiers are
the bellies of the ships
in the skies with the planes
from boot camp to the Pentagon
from the medal ceremonies
to the quiet hospital room or single apartments of our veterans
Great are You Lord and only You can bring peace to all

Let it begin with us Lord. In our insignificance, may You work. Be with us in those tough days when it's hard to breathe at all.
We pray for those PCSing
We pray for those with sick kids
We pray for the mommas who need healing
We pray for peace and wisdom in guiding our kiddos
We pray for our marriages
We pray for our spheres of influence--from Sunday School to neighbor to business woman--
May we give You praise in all this week!

Click here to sing Great Are You Lord with Casting Crowns

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore
Every heart that is broken

Great are You, Lord

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You only

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore
Every heart that is broken

Great are You, Lord

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You only
[x2]

All the earth will shout
Your praise
Our hearts will cry
These bones will sing
Great are You, Lord
[x3]