#prayer | itsawonderfilledlife

Posts Tagged ‘#prayer’

The Movie of our Lives

Posted in community, tagged #intercession, #loveoneanother, #prayer, #prayerchangesme, #themovieofourlives on February 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

It is a fantastic start to a movie. A simple sign indicating the town name, videos segments of various locations in the town, with individuals offering up prayers for one man. They are the prayers of those who know God intimately as well as those who do not. Who they all do know is George Bailey, the man who is in trouble, who needs an intervention by God himself.

This scene, this opening scene of the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, is actually just a Hollywood depiction of a normal, everyday event. It might seem unique, unreal, but every day, all over the world, people raise up others to God in prayer.

Why do we do this? Does it make a difference? Would God answer the prayers of those who do not know Him?

The why is easy … it is modelled by Jesus and the direction we are given in the Bible,

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2

Does it make a difference? Well, consider these words,

“Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future.” 1 Timothy 4:8

Then there is the question of whether or not God would answer the prayers of those who do not know him, personally. Well, if what is being asked is within the will of God, whoever we are, it would seem that God hears the prayers of his will,

“And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” 1 John 5:14

Not only that, but these words, speak to the heart of anyone who is praying.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

So, prayer for others. Let the movie of our lives open and close with everyone in town praying for another, in need of intercession.

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Prayer for a New Day

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #afreshstart, #anewday, #breathofgod, #iamalive, #praisegod, #prayer, #prayerforanewday on April 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Dear God,

Thank-you for breath today.

No matter what the day brings, if we have breath in our lungs, it is a reminder that you have purpose for us in this very day. Let us be mindful of each breath … inhale, long and slow then exhale the same … feel that breath move in and our of lungs … whisper, to remind oneself,

alive

No matter how yesterday ended … exhaustion, joy, mind-swirling, excited, sorrow-filled, joyful, meh … today is truly a brand new day. Though today is linked to yesterday, you give us the daily gift of new. The left-overs of yesterday’s blunders can be tempered by the freshness of a new day … with no mistakes in it yet (Anne of Green Gables). Today is the gift of a blank slate, a fresh start, an opportunity to change course.

God, remind us of your presence today.

We get so distracted by everything around us. Though we know that all that we have is from you, we forget you in our days. We think about what to eat, where to go … hum, I am reminded of the words of Matthew (6:25)

“… do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”

His words say it. God, remind us as we walk through this day that our life is about more than just surviving. Remind us to give our needs to you. To look to you for our needs … for all of our needs.

Lord, we know that our days of life and breath are numbered, that no one escapes our mortality. May we truly live each day, blessed by your breath in our lungs, your Spirit in our souls. May we not come to the end of our day (our days) without praising you.

Amen

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.”
Psalm 39:4-5

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A Prayer of Trust

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #aprayeroftrust, #giveittogod, #prayer, #prayerisintimacy, #trustgod on March 2, 2021| 5 Comments »

Prayer is the ultimate intimacy.

Best done, most intimately done in private. Just between us and our Creator.

“ … when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:5-6

Yet, it is also best done for others.

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” James 5:16

In so many of his letters to the churches, Paul would pray for them. He knew them and knew much of what they needed. So, he prayed with knowledge and direction.

We do not always know what others need, yet sometimes the call to pray for others is so strong. We can be left with the urge, but no words. I like it when that is the case, for then my prayers are offered to God, not with my own knowledge, but with trust …

and having to trust God is a most holy ground place to be.

So, today, rather than my musings of what I am experiencing in my wonder-filled walk with God through my days, I would like to offer up a prayer of trust to God. For you, the reader.

God, you are our God.

The one who created the sun, still below the horizon, yet brightening the sky every minute.

The one who created every living thing, from the coyotes who all out at night, to the tiny bugs who exist all around us, to ourselves who muddle through life trying to figure our our purpose (and, hopefully, fulfilling that purpose in the meantime).

Today God, I pray in trust (I pray I always do so).

For the one who is unsure. Unsure of what today will hold. Unsure of what to do, what is safe. For that one who is filled with fear, anxiety, worry. For that one who wrings their hands, tosses and turns at night, jumps at the slightest noise. Loved wrap your arms of comfort and security around them. Remind them that they are safe in you. Give them peace.

For the one who is self medicating to dull the physical or emotional pain. Who is looking to medication, or food, or alcohol, or drugs, or exercise, or work, or exercise, or … Netflix to dull the pain in their life. To take away the memories, the pressure, to fill the empty places in their life, their heart. Lord, may they turn to you, who can fill all the cracks and crevices of the broken heart and spirit.

For the one who is tired, discouraged, defeated. This is such a large group of souls. They have been beaten down … Lord bring reminders into their day that they are not destroyed, that you have a good plan, that the shards that they see as their life are pieces of a beautiful whole. That they are not alone in their fatigue but that you are right there, holding them up.

For the grieving. Those who are in the midst of sorrow for the earthly loss of one they loved, one they still love. For the memories that both comfort and haunt them. God, sustain them with your love. Provide a hedge of protection around them as they process their great loss. Wipe their tears.

For the lonely. There are so many in their group of people today. As this pandemic continues to separate us mere mortals (despite so many devices for connection) the numbers of lonely increase. Some are physically lonely, separated from their families and friends. Some are still brushing shoulders (at a distance) with many others each day. Both feel the loneliness of missing others in their daily lives. Both feel alone in their days. Both are longing for others. Lord, bring the connection that they so need. Bring an end to this pandemic, Lord please.

And God, for all others. For those who are in a good place in their life. Who do not struggle with their studies, or fear, or loneliness or grief …. sustain them. May they not forget you in their blessings. May they seek you in their joy, in their successes, in their ease. May they not forget the God who saves them.

At your feet, into your hands we lay our every request. Not picking them back up to try to fix in our human ways.

For you are the God of Creation, the one who formed us. You are worthy of all praise and honor and worship. Into your hands we commit our day.

Amen

“Turn your ear to me,
    come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
    a strong fortress to save me.
Since you are my rock and my fortress,
    for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
    for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commit my spirit;
    deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.”
Psalm 31:2-5

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How You Should Pray

Posted in Faith, Walking with God, tagged #aprayerofprayers, #howyoushouldpray, #ourfather, #prayer, #thelordsprayer on November 2, 2020| 4 Comments »

As Jesus stood on a mount, delivering his sermon to the crowd, he taught them about how to live. Primarily what he taught was that our hearts should be pure, that we do good especially when no one is looking, that God is God.

In the midst of this Sermon on the Mount is a profoundly simple yet … profound instruction on how to pray.

The Lord’s Prayer has been called “a prayer of prayers”. When we prayer, whatever we pray, we are praying the Lord’s prayer.

I have heard of elderly people, immersed in their own world of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, who sit, lifeless, in a chair much of the day. Then, when they hear the familiar words of the Lord’s prayer they come alive again, reciting what they learned generations ago (this is also a good reminder to ‘hide’ God’s word in the hearts of our children and of ourselves).

“The function of prayer is not to change God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
Soren Kierkegaard

It changes me … prayer changes me. If I am ‘real’ and honest when I pray (and how can I not? for God is not hearing my words so much as my heart) transformation of my mind and heart take place, drawing me closer to the heart of God himself.

When we are low on words. When our human aching cannot muster a whisper. When there is nothing left but the groaning of my heart … I pray, as Jesus taught:

This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is
the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.

Matthew 6:9-13

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Back to School … in a Pandemic

Posted in Faith, WONDER, tagged #backtoschool, #backtoschool2020, #backtoschoolinapandemic, #covid19, #flexibility, #godwillnotleaveus, #prayer, #prayerfortheschoolyear on September 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Back to school is always a paradox of excitement and anxiety. This year, this 2020 September … in the midst of a pandemic … there might just be more anxiety than excitement.

Returning to work in a secondary school, last week, I found myself less anxious as I leaned into the F-word that needs to be the focus of the school year … flexibility. I also gained strength by praying … for the administration, for colleagues, for the students and their parents.

Prayer is our best back to school tool. It reminds us that we are not in control, but we know who is and that he doesn’t leave us in our time of need, our time of anxiety.

Prayer gives us a place to speak our fears, to name them, to be real.

Prayer gives us an amen … meaning ‘so be it’ or ‘truth’. It is the release of our burden … not just the giving of our worry and concern to God, but trusting him with our prayer (ie. not taking it back).

So … let’s pray for this school year:

God,

We come to you, acknowledging that you are God … we are not, Coronavirus is not … only you are God and you are God over everything.

God our kids (we) are starting a new school year and we confess that we might be allowing worry to control us. We confess that we have given far too much attention and time to social media and it has left us anxious, even hopeless. We confess that we often look first to those in government, in education to calm our fears. Lord we give the things that cause us to be anxious to you. We seek you first for confidence, for protection, for comfort.

We also seek your leading, for some are unsure about their return to school. There are staff, students, or family members at home with compromised immune systems, or pre-existing conditions that make us unsure about the wisdom of returning to school. Please, Lord, guide and lead those who are unsure. Lead them to their physicians who can help them make the best decision for themselves, their children and those they love. And Lord, if they choose to not return, help the rest of us to embrace them in their personal decision.

There is such anxiety about the start of this school year, Lord. There are those who may be frozen with fear. Bring them reminders of peace and comfort. Bring your people to them, to embrace and encourage them where they are, but also who will walk them through the fear to a place of ease.

May we, who follow you, hold tightly to you, so that we can be beacons of your love to those around us.

Thank-you that you give to us a spirit of power, and love, and a sound mind … those are your gifts to us (the evil one brings fear). With our sound minds we can make the decisions that are best for those we love. With the power from you, we can be confident in our decisions. With love we can make decisions based on what is best for not just we and those we love but for those around us … and in doing so, we are your hands and feet.

May we encourage those who are returning (or have already returned) to work in classrooms. May we hold up in prayer to you those who will be cleaning, teaching, administrating, assisting students in our schools. May we be like Aaron and Hur for Moses, holding his hands high in the midst of Joshua’s battle … holding school staff up to God as they battle for educating in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.

God, we give this school year to you. We give the families represented, the school staff, those who sit in tall buildings making decisions about education and safety … to you. And we walk in faith that you will not leave us alone in the path ahead of us.

Amen … and amen.

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Lord Hear Our Prayer

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #lordhearourprayer, #pententialprayers, #prayer, #prayersofthepeople on August 16, 2020| Leave a Comment »

One of the things that drew me to the church we now call home is the time in the service when a person emerges before the congregation and offer up the prayers of the people.

Prayers are offered for our immediate church family as well as the church worldwide, the community in which we live as well as the global community. For ministries in our church, the people who perform the ministries as well as those who benefit from them. Thanks for who God is, for the life we have been given, for the opportunities to be his hands and feet are spoken. Acknowledgement of our need of him, his wisdom, his eyes, his grace.

I am so thankful for the importance placed on corporate prayer that covers people, places and happenings both near and far.

The other day I felt like I had lived a day of prayers of the people.

There was beauty and appreciation for the life I have been so fortunate to live. The people who have added to my life, the activities, the work, the world in which I live.

Then there were the joys of others, prayers answered in the most spectacular of ways. Events that enfolded in a such a way that one could not help but acknowledge that God had his hand in the the details.

There were tears too, for hurts and struggles and disappointments in the lives of others. People who were experiencing fear, loneliness, heartache … pain. People who I could only help by laying their burdens at the feet of the only wise God.

Lord, hear my prayer …

These words are often prayed in corporate prayer and I have begun to use them as I pray.

We see these words at the start of Psalm 143, one of the penitential psalms.

It is not a demand, but a question, a request.

These four words remind us that it is we who are the ones asking to be heard, asking for help, for mercy.

The Matthew Henry Commentary, for this verse says,

“We have no righteousness of our own to plead, therefore must plead God’s righteousness, and the word of promise which he has freely given us, and caused us to hope in.”

We are never enough on our own, but through the blood of Jesus we can speak to the God of the universe, making our supplications to Him. It is an act that is an honor and a responsibility.

When we lift up our prayers to God nothing is news to him, for he is all knowing. Yet we lift them up as an offering, as an act of complete trust … trust that he can and will oversee the cries of our heart, trust in the process that he chooses.

Lord, hear our prayer.

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