This practice of listening to God has increased my intimacy
with Him more than any other spiritual discipline.
~~Sarah Young
This morning’s prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing comes from Take Heart, Oh God: Riches from the Greatest Christian Women Writers of All Time.
Sit for a minute and just listen. What do you hear? The gurgle of the coffee maker. The sizzle of food simmering on the stove. Snatches of your daughter’s phone conversation down the hall. The deep pulse of the bass from a cranked-up stereo in a passing car.
Our world is filled with sounds, both pleasant and unpleasant. It is not an easy task to hear God’s voice amidst all the other noises. As Sarah Young says, it takes practice and discipline. That means it’s going to take a little work on our part. It may mean finding that quiet place with few distractions. It means opening the Bible and reading God’s Word. It means intentionally listening for God’s voice.
Such intimacy with God! How wonderful that God would choose to speak to us if we would only hear. Close your eyes and listen. What is God saying to your today?
Prayer for Meditation
Lord, help me to talk less and listen more. I want to know you better.
Scripture for Meditation
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make, Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the Lord you God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life. Then you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Music for Meditation
Word of God Speak
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
It was kind of like a cave-in—this great big peace just kind of dumped in on me, washed in on me like a wave . . .
“It’s God,” I said.
~~Jan Caron
This morning’s prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing comes from Take Heart, Oh God: Riches from the Greatest Christian Women Writers of All Time.
We long for peace. A few moments of quiet when the world doesn’t intrude in our thoughts. A respite from battles with folks who hurt us or disagree with us. We’d even like to see world peace. We want something that goes deep, that lasts, that penetrates into our very souls.
Jesus brings that kind of peace. When we find Jesus, we find peace that passes understanding, peace that does not go away, peace that gives rest to our fears and our troubled hearts. Jesus’ kind of peace dumps on us like a cave-in, washes over us like a wave—Inescapable, strong, overwhelming. His peace doesn’t change or disappear.
What are you facing today? Is your world less than peaceful? Jesus promises peace, a gift freely given to you. Let it dump on you, overwhelm you, and wash over you. Today, walk in peace.
Prayer for Meditation
Father, I thank you for the presence and guidance of your Holy Spirit.
Scripture for Meditation
But when the Father sends the Counselor as my representative—and by the Counselor I mean the Holy spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you.
I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives, So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:26-27
Music for Meditation
A Clare Benediction
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
It’s all very well to read about sorrows and imagine yourself living through them heroically,
but it’s not so nice when you really come to have them, is it?
~~ Lucy Maud Montgomery
This morning’s prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing comes from Take Heart, Oh God: Riches from the Greatest Christian Women Writers of All Time.
There comes a time for each of us when life calls our bluff. We can easily parrot the promises we know from Scripture—that God won’t give us something we can’t handle, that he will work all things together for good, that our faith grows best in the times of testing. Then suddenly we are bowled over by a betrayal that we never saw coming, a tragedy that takes our breath away, a sorrow that won’t let go. All that we have imagined of our strong and heroic faith under fire evaporates. We find that trust is hard work indeed.
Sadly, we often fail to live up to our own ideals, which is why we need someone else who can bridge the gap between who we are and who we long to be. Someone to live his life through us.
That someone is Jesus. He will live heroically through you.
Prayer for Meditation
Live through me in this difficult time, Lord. You are my hero.
Scripture for Meditation
I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
Music for Meditation
I’ll Live For You
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
For we have this moment to hold in our hands and to touch
as it slips through our fingers like sand;
yesterday’s gone, and tomorrow may never cone,
but we have this moment—today!
~~Gloria Gaither
This morning’s prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing comes from Take Heart, Oh God: Riches from the Greatest Christian Women Writers of All Time.
You are holding a moment in your hands. What does it feel like? Is it a soft, silky rose—a moment to be cherished and enjoyed? Or is it a scruffy, scratchy shrub—a moment that is uncomfortable, a moment you’d like to forget? No matter how it feels, it will soon be gone like sand through your fingers. Time moves on. Time slips by.
Yesterday you cannot change.
The future you cannot guarantee.
Today you have.
Embrace it.
Cup your hands around it.
Look for the blessing in it, the hope in it, the joy in it.
Focus on God and serve others even as the grains of time run through your fingers to be scattered in the wind. He longs for you to offer this moment back to him, even as it slips away.
Today is yours. What will you do with this moment in your hands?
Prayer for Meditation
In today’s hours and minutes, Lord, help me look to you and cherish the moment.
Scripture for Meditation
Look here, you people who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that. Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James 4:13-17
Music for Meditation
Lord I Offer You My Life
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
Like waifs clustered around a blazing fire, we gathered around it [the Bible],
Holding out our hearts to its warmth and light,
The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer . . .
burned the word of God.
~~Corrie Ten Boom
This morning’s prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing comes from Take Heart, Oh God: Riches from the Greatest Christian Women Writers of All Time.
Corrie Ten Boom gives witness to the power of the Word inside a Nazi concentration camp. In the midst of overwhelming horror, she read aloud from a smuggled Bible to the other women huddled in the barrack—their only home. They clustered around her to hear the reassuring words of hope in a place that teemed with hopelessness. And the Word stirred up a blazing hope and the fire of God’s certain presence.
At this very moment, God is waiting to speak to you too. He reveals his great love for you in the Bible. Whenever life’s circumstances seem black, do not despair. In the pages of the Holy Book, God holds out light and warmth like a blazing fire. Let the Word of God warm you, guide you, and bring you light in the darkness.
Prayer for Meditation
Let your precious word bring me light and warmth today, Lord.
Scripture for Meditation
I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will make the darkness bright before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 43:16
Music for Meditation
I Will Not Leave You
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
Sometimes in life we face incredibly complex situation—
some created by our foolishness; some by our lack of wisdom.
All are allowed by God for a greater purpose in our lives.
~~Jan Silvious
This morning’s prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing comes from Take Heart, Oh God: Riches from the Greatest Christian Women Writers of All Time.
God is green. He lets no event go to waste in our lives. Whether it was a bad decision, a foolish action, or someone else’s bad choice, at times incredibly complex situations arise and leave us wondering how we can ever recover. But in God’s economy, nothing is ever wasted—not even the bad stuff. If we got ourselves into the mess, God’s grace prevails. As we live with the consequences of choices made, God watches over us, willingly transforming the situation for a greater purpose in our lives.
So take heart, dear sister. Whatever complex situation is making your life difficult, be encouraged. God has not given up on you; don’t give up on yourself. He has a greater purpose in and through this situation. You may not be able to see it, but trust the promise. God won’t waste the pain.
Prayer for Meditation
Lord, I trust that you will turn this situation around for your glory.
Scripture for Meditation
His anger lasts for a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may go on all night,
but joy comes with the morning.
When I was prosperous, I said,
“Nothing can stop me now!”
Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain.
Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.
I cried out to you, O LORD.
I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,
“What will you gain if I die,
if I sink down in the grave?
Can my dust praise you from the grave?
Can it tell the world of your faithfulness?
Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me.
Help me, O LORD.”
You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing,
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever! Psalm 30:5-12
Music for Meditation
Broken into Beautiful
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
“If it isn’t one thing to contend with, it’s another . . .
The sooner you make up your mind to that, the better off you are,
and the more thankful for your pleasures.
~~Laura Ingalls Wilder
This morning’s prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing comes from Take Heart, Oh God: Riches from the Greatest Christian Women Writers of All Time.
God has given us many good things to enjoy, and yet this world is cursed by the results of sin. Both parts of that equation remain true for our entire lives. If we expect “happily ever after” in this world, we’ll be disappointed. On the other hand, if we look only at the bad things of life, our joy and gratitude can be stifled.
Life is full of suffering, sorrow, betrayals, financial hardships, and everyday trials. Even the best moments carry hints of imperfection, and they end all too soon. But God truly does bring good out of bad. He used suffering to teach us his sustaining power; he uses storms to bring rainbows. We can take Ma’s advice and refuse to be surprised when we contend with difficulty. Once we make up our minds to do that, we’ll be so much more thankful for the pleasures God has given.
Prayer for Meditation
Father, thank you that you are good even when circumstances aren’t.
Scripture for Meditation
All honor to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again. Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay And God, in his mighty power will protect you until you receive this salvation, because you are trusting him. It will be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while.
These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:3-7
Music for Meditation
Build An Ark
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
This morning’s meditation for Sally’s healing comes from Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman. This book of devotions was written in 1925.
He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the flood on foot;
there did we rejoice in him. Psalm 66:6
It is a striking assertion, “though the floods” (the place where we might have expected nothing but trembling and terror, anguish and dismay), “there,” says the psalmist, “did we rejoice in him!”
How many there are who can endorse this as their experience: that “there,” in their very seasons of distress and sadness, they have been enabled, as they never did before, to triumph and rejoice.
How near their God in covenant is brought! How brightly shine His promises! In the day of our prosperity, we cannot see the brilliancy of these. Like the sun at noon, hiding out the stars from sight, they are indiscernible; but when night overtakes, the deep, dark night of sorrow, out come these clustering stars—blessed constellations of Bible hope and promise of consolation.
Like Jacob at Jabbok, it is when our earthy sun goes down that the Divine Angel comes forth, and we wrestle with Him and prevail.
It was a night, “in the evening,” Aaron lit the sanctuary lamps. It is in the night of trouble the brightest lamps of the believer are often kindled.
It was in this loneliness and exile John had the glorious vision of his Redeemer. There is many a Patmos still in the world, whose brightest remembrances are those of God’s presence and upholding grace and love in solitude and sadness.
How many pilgrims, still passing through these Red Seas and Jordans of earthly affliction, will be enabled in the retrospect of eternity to say—full of the memories of God’s great goodness—“We went through the flood on foot, there—there, in these dark experiences with the surging waves on every side, deep calling to deep, Jordan, as when Israel crossed it, in “the time of the overflowing’ (flood), yet, ‘there did we rejoice in Him!’” Dr. MacDuff
And I will give her her vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall sing THERE. Hosea 2:15
Music for Meditation
No More Night
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
We bear the consequences of what we have done to ourselves,
and for the sin that rules this world.
Jesus forgave the thief, but he didn’t take him down off the cross.
~~Francine Rivers
This morning’s prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing comes from Take Heart, Oh God: Riches from the Greatest Christian Women Writers of All Time.
Sin has consequences. We may try to look the other way, to rationalize, to pretend it isn’t so, but the fact is that if we put our hand on the hot burner of the stove, we will get burned.
And when faced with such consequences, how many folks turn around and get mad at God? They see their difficult situation and wonder why God allowed it to happen—when, in reality, they put the consequences in motion by their own bad choices.
Even then, Jesus brings forgiveness. Those problems we bring on ourselves are not somehow exempt; we can bring them to Jesus and know that he will forgive. Even the thief on the cross was promised Paradise. The consequences however? Those may continue to play out and we must ask God to help redeem those as well.
And you know what? He will.
Prayer for Meditation
Forgive me, Lord, for my sins. Redeem the consequences for your glory.
Scripture for Meditation – Luke 15:11-32
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Music for Meditation
When God Ran
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
Our prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing this morning comes from an essay written by a young student for a philosophy class assignment. The full text can be found here Be Thou My Vision Essay
Prayer for Meditation
Be Thou My Vision
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Message for Meditation
The main focus of the hymn is that the author wants to maintain God as his "vision" in life. This is something that many Christians rightfully pray for. To have God as one's vision in life is to center one's life around seeking Him and doing His will. Something easier said than done. John Irving once said, "If you're lucky enough to find the life you love, you have to find the courage to live it." Perhaps the author is praying for the courage, stamina, dedication, and faith that it takes to actually center one's life around God. The author goes on to pray for the many ways he needs help for this, ways God can be his Vision.
"Thou my best Thought, by day or by night", I think, can apply to more than just day and night. Some easy symbolism to draw from that line is relating Day to the good times and Night to hardship and adversity. It's easy for one to Praise God when life is looking up, but to see Him as the ultimate answer in times of depression and temptation is hard to do. Or perhaps, for others, it's easy to ask God for help, but tough to remember him when he provides it. Whatever the case may be, God should still be my vision, by Day and by Night.
"I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord" is a phrase that almost all dedicated Christians pray. It's been my most passionate prayer for these past weeks, and the simplest one. It's what comes up time and time again in our walks through this journey called life. It's so simple I feel I barely need to elaborate: I want to live my life with God.
"Thy presence my light" is a cool little phrase. It requires some abstract thinking, but what if I could light up everything I see with the light of God? How cool would it be, to see things through a Godly perspective? What if God could serve as our flashlight, in times of darkness? To walk with God and be in his presence constantly can bring meaning to areas of our life that previously seemed boring or even resided in darkness.
I could go on and describe how each line has a direct baring on my life, but that would get repetitive rather quickly, because they're all about the same thing: maintaining God as my Vision in every way possible. Perhaps the way I view each line is different from the way they were once intended, and my anecdotes about each train of thought would differ from the author's, but we're after the same Holy thing, a life with God.
The last line of the hymn starts with "Still be my vision", which Jars of Clay decides to repeat over and over till the song fades out. Doing so provoked quite the experience when I was listening to it for the first time. Each time the line was sung, I imagined a different stage of my life where God would still be my vision. Perhaps later tonight, when doing Calculus homework, God would Still be my Vision. Tomorrow, when having a bad day, He would Still be my Vision. Next week, during a drive home, He would Still be my Vision. Next year, in a dorm room working late into the night, He would Still be my Vision. Later that year, during spring break, He would Still be my Vision. A decade from now, walking into a job interview, He would Still be my Vision. Years from then, at my marriage, He would Still be my Vision. Years later, in a conflict with co-workers, He would Still be my Vision. Still years later, raising my children, He would Still be my Vision.
I just Praise God for His love and His faithfulness, and pray that I can have the same for Him, that He would Still be my Vision for years to come.
Music for Meditation
Be Thou My Vision
If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.
Sit for a minute and just listen. What do you hear? The gurgle of the coffee maker. The sizzle of food simmering on the stove. Snatches of your daughter’s phone conversation down the hall. The deep pulse of the bass from a cranked-up stereo in a passing car.
