Lord, thank you for the beauty that surrounds me each day

In all ranks of life the human heart yearns for the beautiful;

and the beautiful things that God makes are his gift to all alike. 

~~Harriet Beecher Stowe 

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.

What is beautiful to you? A baby’s smile?  The roar of a waterfall? The smell and taste of fresh blueberry pie?

We tend to think of nature as God-made, and everything else as man-made. But ultimately God is the Creator of everything—the new life that smiles up at you, the mountain chasm over which the waterfall pours, the blueberry that gives the delicious taste to the pie. And then he created human beings with gifts and abilities and senses to enjoy all of that beauty.

God could have created a black and white, two-dimensional world with no sounds or tastes or smells. Instead, he gave limitless colors to flowers in the forest and fish deep beneath the ocean’s surface. He gave us trees blowing in the wind, and yes even the smell of blueberry pie.

All for you. He loves it when you joy the beauty he created.

Prayer for Meditation

Lord, thank you for the beauty that surrounds me each day.

Scripture for Meditation

Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.  For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer. 1Timothy 4:4-5 

Music for Meditation 

All Things Bright and 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

Lord, help me listen so that I hear your best answers to my requests.

It is not enough to pray for answers
if we are too stubborn to listen to what the Lord is telling us.   

~~Allison Bottke 

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.

As a milestone event approaches, we shop for a new dress. We know exactly what we want or else we search until we find the perfect one. No sales clerk can change our minds. We know what we want.

How often do we petition God with the same determination? We know our needs and we know exactly how we want them to be met. We know what he should provide for us, when he should provide it, or how he should deal with that person who hurt us. We aren’t ready to hear another alternative. We may not recognize when God sends a friend or a Scripture to soften our hearts in order to hear him. If we’re too stubborn to listen to what God is saying, we miss his perfect answers.

Listen with an open heart. God’s answers may surprise you.  

Prayer for Meditation

Lord, help me listen so that I hear your best answers to my requests.  

Scripture for Meditation  

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 

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

Lord, I’m tired, give me strength to take the next step and follow you.

The last and foundational part of my perseverance is born out of my faith. When all those other things . . . run out or fall short, my faith is the thing that enables me to just show up and take one more step. 

~~Michelle Akers 

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.

It’s tough to keep going. When our strength is gone, when that next step takes such tremendous effort, when our body screams in protest and our brain has called in sick—what can motivate us to keep moving forward? What reason can trump our tired mind and limbs?

There’s only one: Jesus. Perseverance is born out of faith in him.

Everything else will run out. Our own determination. Desires, or dreams may not be enough to keep us going.

But faith in the One who calmed the raging sea, healed the sick, raised the dead, and gave sight to the blind—that will keep us showing up and taking one more step.

Whatever you’ve been called to do, know this: he will provide strength and energy for the work to do it. No matter how tired you are today, faith will help you persevere. Take that next step. Your faith will sustain you.

Prayer for Meditation

Lord, I’m tired, give me strength to take the next step and follow you.

Scripture for Meditation

Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:3-31

Music for Meditation 

I Need Thee Every Hour

 

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

Lord, I want to honor you today in everything I do.

How I need to order my life around one incredible thought:

 God is to be honored in all I do.

My heart’s desire is to be so overwhelmed with

 . . . God that my life cannot help but bring Him glory.  

~~Cynthia Heald 

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.

In those early morning moments when your eyes first open, what goes through your mind? What gets you up and out of bed?

Perhaps a fussy infant gets you moving, or a long list of responsibilities. Maybe it’s the smell of fresh-brewed coffee, or the song of sparrows. But have you ever considered that you and the sun share the same reason for rising?

God created you and the sun to display his glory. The sun displays the glory of his sustaining and creative power. You display the glory of the risen Christ who lives in you!

Imagine that. As the sun warms the earth, you radiate the warmth of God’s love. That’s why you’re here. And every single thing you do falls into the category of showcasing God’s glory and goodness. Order your life around the incredible thought—God is to be honored in all you do.  

Prayer for Meditation

Lord, I want to honor you today in everything I do.

Scripture for Meditation

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

Music for Meditation 

I Watch the Sunrise

 

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Lord, let my actions reveal my faith in your word as truth.

It is one thing to stand in truth, to believe it, and to embrace it, yet,

there’s more than this in girding our loins with truth; we are to walk in truth.  

~~Mother Teresa 

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 truth. We appreciate the people in our lives who tell us the truth. Truth means we can count on it. Even if it’s a difficult observation or statement, we at least have a foundation to work from to make a change.

As believers, we count on God’s Word as truth. We stand on it, we believe it, we embrace it. But we must do one more thing—we must walk in it. What we do, what we say, how we live, the example we set, the attitudes we show—all of these must line up with the truth to which we have committed our lives.

It isn’t always easy, but it’s vital. We have found the truth that changes the world, changes lives, changes hearts. Let that truth affect every step you take today and every day.

Prayer for Meditation

Lord, let my actions reveal my faith in your word as truth.

Scripture for Meditation

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. Psalm 86:11 

Music for Meditation 

Come to Jesus

 

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

When life gets too big for me, Lord, Please calm the winds and the waves.

Men say there are no atheists in foxholes.

 Women can testify that there are no atheists in delivery rooms

 . . . never is she so at the behest of forces beyond herself.   

~~Marjorie Holmes 

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.

People look to something bigger when they face forces beyond themselves. In the foxholes of wartime, most men want to know that a God watches over them, and that, should they die, their sacrifice will matter and their life will go on in a better place. In the delivery room, where women push life into being, they too know that something bigger than themselves is happening and they have no control over it. They know that a higher power and a higher purpose is involved.

What foxholes are in you right now? What part of your life is spinning out of control? That’s the time to look to the One who alone knows the reason and the outcome. When forces beyond you press in and threaten to undo you, look to God, your Creator and Sustainer.

He’s got it all in his hands. Nothing is too big for him. Even the winds and the waves obey him.

Prayer for Meditation

When life gets too big for me, Lord, Please calm the winds and the waves. 

Scripture for Meditation

Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”  

He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” Matthew 8:24-27 

Music for Meditation 

Jesus Calms the Storm

 

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

Lord, help me bring joy to those in my world today!

It’s not half so sensible to leave legacies when one dies as it is to use the money wisely while alive, and enjoy making one’s fellow creatures happy with it.  

~~Louise May Alcott 

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.

What legacy will you leave? What will those left behind say of you after you are gone?

“She really worked hard to get to the top.”

“Her house was spotless.”

“She always dressed so nice.”

“She left behind a lot of money.”

Sounds a little empty, doesn’t it? Especially when life is in front of us to be lived and enjoyed! The resources you have should be used to make your “fellow creatures happy,” As Louisa May Alcott said. So what if your home is not spotless? All of the neighborhood kids enjoy gathering there. So what if your clothes are a little ragged? You choose to put your money toward something more lasting.

What better legacy to leave than memories of the joy we gave to others? What if we lived knowing that all that makes us unique—our talents, love, passions, and resources—are to bless other? The possibilities are thrilling!

Prayer for Meditation

Lord, help me bring joy to those in my world today!

Scripture for Meditation

As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. 

Music for Meditation 

Loving God, Loving Each Other

 

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

Help me to look at my limitations as your limitless opportunities, Lord.

Consider your own limitations not as obstacles but as opportunities for God to show his limitless power and unlimited love.

~~Carol Cymbala 

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 all have limitations. Maybe we just can’t cook to save our lives, or we have difficulty staying organized, or we can’t seem to make any set of numbers add up the same way twice. Face it, not one of us is good at everything.

Where we have limitations, someone else excels. Where we are gifted, someone else needs our help. And through it all God put the pieces together, showing his limitless power and unlimited love.

Consider your limitation as an opportunity. Can’t cook? Check in with your elderly neighbor and spend some time learning a few of her special recipes. Need to be better organized? Call upon that friend who in turn is feeling bad about herself for not being able to add—and let her shine as she organizes your life.

See how it works? God can use even your limitations for his glory.

Prayer for Meditation

Help me to look at my limitations as your limitless opportunities, Lord.

Scripture for Meditation

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13 

Music for Meditation 

Give Thanks

 

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

Father, in all I do, let me reach for the stars!

A Christian has no business being satisfied with mediocrity. He’s supposed to reach for the stars. Why not? He’s not on his own any more. He has God’s help now. 

~~Catherine Marshall 

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.

“Look up,” Scripture tells us. Look to the stars and remember who made them. Look to the mountains and workshop their Creator.

Much of the activity of our lives requires daily, repetitive tasks that keep us focused on earth. We can easily get sucked in to mediocrity. But God has a higher calling. He wants us to do everything with our best effort—even beyond that, to reach for the stars. That means as we work and serve our Lord, we refuse to be satisfied with the mediocre. We refuse to just get by, to do just enough. We are so passionate about serving our Lord that we want to always do our best work.

Don’t worry, sister. This is not a new standard for you to attempt to reach. You have God’s help now. That’s what enables you to reach the stars in the first place!  

Prayer for Meditation

Father, in all I do, let me reach for the stars!

Scripture for Meditation

I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! Psalm 121:1-2 

Music for Meditation

All Things Bright and 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

Lord, help me to be faithful in the little things.

Always be faithful in little things, for in them our strength lives. 

~~Mother Teresa 

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.

Little things matter. Too often we focus on the big things of our faith and miss the little things. But as Mother Teresa explains, we need to first be faithful in the little thing. That gives us the strength for the “big” things.

It’s subtle, but we can find ourselves rationalizing some sins—“I deserve a break . . . No one will know . . .I’m not hurting anyone.” But those very choices eat away at our character, undermining the strength we need to handle the powerful temptations, the weighty responsibilities. If we can’t handle the small things, it follows that we cannot handle the big things either.

So focus on the small stuff. Quiet honesty. Hidden acts of kindness. Willingly turning away from temptation even when no one else will know.

Only faithfulness there lays the foundation for faithfulness in the big areas of life.

The little things really do add up.

Prayer for Meditation

Lord, help me to be faithful in the little things.

Scripture for Meditation

Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!  Song of Songs 2:15

Music for Meditation 

Change My Heart Oh God

 

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

Thank you for this precious gift of being able to pray to you.

How great is the good which God works in a soul when He gives it a disposition to pray in earnest. 

~~Teresa of Avila 

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.

Prayer is a magnificent gift. Prayer allows you, a mere human being, direct access to your heavenly Father.

Prayer before meals is nice, but think of how little time it takes to do that: fifteen second times three meals per day. If our prayer life consists of praying only before meals, then we are spending less than one minute per day engaged in one of the most precious blessings of the Christian life!

Don’t be afraid to pray—God isn’t expecting fancy words or high theology. He is expecting to hear your praises, concerns, and requests. Talk to him like you would a dear friend. The more time you spend in earnest prayer, the more time you will want to spend each and every day. You’ll find that your time with God in earnest prayer is the greatest gift you have ever received. And the good he works in your soul will change your life.

Prayer for Meditation

Thank you for this precious gift of being able to pray to you.

Scripture for Meditation

Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Colossians 4:2 

Music for Meditation 

Fly to Jesus

 

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

Father, I need to find rest in you. Help me to come boldly and sit.

We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness.

God is the friend of silence.  

~~Mother Teresa  

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.

Prayer can be confusing, intimidating, and misunderstood. But it wasn’t that way for Mother Teresa. For her, it was a matter of just sitting silently before her loving heavenly Father.

We too are invited to sit in an intimate place of stillness. God knows our fear and pain as he gazes on us. We know his power and love as we gaze back at him. Nothing has changed, yet everything has changed.

Most have never experienced prayer that way. We dash into God’s presence with a gigantic list of needs and wants. By spending that time being seen and known, we are able to lay down the stuff we carried in and leave knowing it is being handled. We may choose to pick it up later, but that will be our choice. Today, gaze at your Savior. Rest all of your cares with the One who gazes back at you.

Prayer for Meditation

Father, I need to find rest in you. Help me to come boldly and sit.

Scripture for Meditation

The one thing I ask of the LORD—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. Psalm 27:4 

Music for Meditation 

This Is My Desire

 

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

Lord, I don’t need to have all the answers because I know you’re in control.

The secret of God is upon our tabernacle; / into His mystery I dare not pry. Only this I know; / With Him is strength, with Him is wisdom, / and His wisdom hath set darkness in our paths.  

~~Helen Keller 

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.

Helen Keller, blind and deaf, knew about darkness. She understood, probably more than any of us, what it meant to be lonely, alone, left in the darkness and the silence. Did she ever question God: “Why did you choose to take those two senses from me? Why did you leave me dependent on others for the rest of my life?” In spite of that understandable frustration, this is what she writes: It is in God’s wisdom that we don’t understand. God knows what’s best for us. Sometimes what is best for us is to not have all the answers.

Are we content to learn what God wants to teach us, or are we constantly trying to pry into mysteries that he has chosen to keep hidden? Be content, sister, to let your Father teach you his lessons in his time.

His strength and his wisdom are enough.

Prayer for Meditation

 Lord, I don’t need to have all the answers because I know you’re in control.

Scripture for Meditation

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity: All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely .I Corinthians 13:12 

Music for Meditation 

It Is Well With My Soul

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

I want you to be Lord of all my life.

Until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ,

we have not begun to understand, let alone to accept, His Lordship.   

~~Elizabeth Elliot  

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.

As a group, women are adverse to the thought of anyone lording over us. We’ve been trained to believe that no one should stand in the way of our goals and dreams—that we have the right to do anything we want.

But as believers, we have a different view, for we must willingly submit ourselves to the lordship of Christ. We put him in charge. We turn our lives over to him. We ask him to guide us; we follow. It doesn’t mean we don’t make plans or pursue our passions; it just means we hold the plans and passions loosely, always seeking God’s will.

As Elizabeth Elliot says, we must bring both our will (what we want) and our affections (those passions that send us following our hearts) under Christ’s lordship.

Until he is Lord of all, he is not really Lord at all.

Prayer for Meditation

I want you to be Lord of all my life.

Scripture for Meditation

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 

Music for Meditation 

All the Way my Savior Leads Me

 

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