Build an Ark and Head for Open Water . . .

”This earthly life is a battle,” said Ma.

“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.

Through the Floods

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.

And You Know What? He Will.

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.

Be Thou My Vision

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.

I'm Free At Last

Whether things are good or bad, happy or sad, difficult or easy,

You’re in the middle of a God-ordained adventure that changes

day-by-day—sometimes second by second.

~~Thelma Wells

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.

Every day we venture into the unknown. Every day appears to us as a blank slate (although, of course, God has already painted it). We step out and begin the adventure. What awaits? Isn’t it wonderful to know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that everything that happens to us today has already passed through God’s hands? Nothing takes him by surprise. The joys and sorrows are part of the grand adventure of life.

And life changes moment by moment. The events of a split second can send us into joy or sorrow. It’s all part of the adventure.

We could face life with fear, anger, bitterness. We could choose to see each day as a sorry journey to nowhere. But why do that when God says, “Join me!” How much better to look at life as a vast uncharted territory to explore, looking to see what God ordained surprises await us!

Prayer for Meditation

Lord, let’s go! I’m ready for today’s adventure.

Scripture for Meditation

He will keep you strong right up to the end, and he will keep you free from all blame on the great day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will surely do this for you, for he always does just what he says, and he is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. I Corinthians 1:8-9

Music for Meditation

I’m Free

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.

Praise Is A Response To The Goodness of God

Praise is not a response to our circumstances, which constantly fluctuate.

Praise is a response to the goodness and love of a God who never changes.

~~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

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.

Flying a kite in an open field, on top of a mountain, or on the ocean shores is pure joy when the weather conditions are right. The kite whips through the air, dipping and dancing in the sky . . . until the wind stops. Then it falls helplessly to the ground.

When our praises are tied to changing circumstances, they are just like that kite. Soaring one minute, grounded the next. When our praises are tied instead to an unchanging God, we can respond to God’s goodness and love regardless of what’s going on in our lives.

No matter what you’re feeling today and no matter what the circumstances look like around you, God hasn’t changed. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He never changes. And that alone is a fact worth praising!

It’s always perfect kite-flying weather with God. Let your kit fly! Let your praises soar.

Prayer for Meditation

Dear God, help me to praise you, Lord, regardless of the weather.

Scripture for Meditation

O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name. Psalm 44:8

Music for Meditation

How Great is Our 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.

He Enjoys Being With You

When we focus primarily on knowing about God, we add to our to-do list.

Yet as we concentrate on enjoying God—being with Him,

In Him, in His presence—we begin to relax and appreciate Him.

~~Joan C. Webb

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 if our faith were just about facts? What if we had to do nothing more than memorize a list of the attributes of God, know the books of the bible in order, and recite a few verse? What if we just had to go to church to learn about God, but there was nothing more?

Now think about what our faith is—a relationship with the God of the universe. We walk every day with God our Friend. We cry on the shoulder of God our Comforter. We converse with God our Guide. We lean on the arm of God our Strength. We seek advice from God our Father.

Our relationship with our Lord is not a dutiful act to be checked off a daily list; instead, being with him is joy and refreshment.

Today, enjoy being with God, your best Friend. After all, he enjoys being with you.

Prayer for Meditation

I enjoy being with you, Lord. You are my best friend.

Scripture for Meditation

The Lord is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trust in him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. Psalm 28:7

Music for Meditation

My Soul Is Complete 

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.

Deep In Love With You

It’s not really important when I choose to meet God every day.

What really matters is that I show up regularly . . .

consistency, after all, doesn’t mean perfection; it simply means refusing to give up.

~~Anne Graham Lotz

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 Christian women, we know that our daily time with God is important. We might have tried different scenarios—early morning, late at night, on the train to work, over lunch. As life changes for us, so do our schedules. Yet one thing must be on our calendar daily—a quiet time with God.

It doesn’t matter when we choose to meet with him. It doesn’t matter that while we used to be able to get up at five o’clock in the morning, the sleepless nights with a new baby have precluded that. Change the time to fit your phase of life, but then stick with it as best you can. If you miss a day, meet him the next. Consistency doesn’t mean perfection; it just means refusing to give up.

Your time with him is precious. You feel loved, you gain joy, you come away refreshed and reinvigorated. And who doesn’t need that?

Prayer for Meditation

Father, thank you that you allow me—and call me—to meet with you.

Scripture for Meditation

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her house. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it—and I won’t take it away from her.” Mark 10:38-42

Music for Meditation

Deep In Love With 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.

Tis So Sweet

God can make you anything you want to be, but you have to put everything in his hands.

~~Mahalia Jackson

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.

A trust exercise is where you fall backward into someone’s arms. The trust part, of course, is in being willing to believe that the person behind you is going to catch you. It isn’t easy. You look back to make sure the person is actually ready. And even then, you have to turn around, close your eyes, and fall.

God desires that his people make the trust exercise a lifelong discipline. He wants us to throw everything into his hands and trust that he’ll do what’s best. Sometimes we glance back in fear, wondering if he’ll catch us. But instead of giving God a doubtful glance, we can remind ourselves of the ways that he has proven himself trustworthy.

God can do anything with you . . . amazing things that you cannot today imagine. You just need to trust him enough to put everything in his hands.

Prayer for Meditation

Father, I want to put everything in your hands. I trust you.

Scripture for Meditation

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

Music for Meditation

Tis So Sweet to Trust in 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.

I'm Amazed That You Love Me

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.

Incredible, isn’t it?

To imagine God’s love reaching across the boundaries of time,

encircling us in his ceaseless embrace.

Do you yearn to feel his heavenly arms around you?

Holding you, comforting you, cherishing you?

~~Liz Curtis Higgs

It is truly beyond our comprehension. A God who loves us. A God not of stone or marble but a living being. A God who existed before time itself.

This God reaches across time and space to encircle us in a ceaseless embrace. This is beyond our imagination, so he shows it in thousands of ways he knows we can process. Sense his beaming face when you help a neighbor. Feel his comfort in a friend’s kind words. His love is conveyed through the hug of a child, the smile of a stranger, the hand-squeeze of an elderly acquaintance. His love warms us with the sunshine and refreshes us with the rain.

When you need a reminder of God’s incomprehensible love, you need only look around to witness the many wonderful ways he lavishes it on you.

Feel his comforting, cherishing embrace. His love will not let you go.

Prayer for Meditation

Dear God, even though I can’t understand your infinite love, I see it all around. Thank you.

Scripture for Meditation

For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth. Psalm 108:4-5

Music for Meditation

I'm Amazed

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.

Faith Ever Speaks

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.

Scripture for Meditation

Now that my servant Moses is dead, you must lead my people across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses, ‘Everywhere you go, you will be on land I have given you. Joshua 1:2-3

No one will be able to stand their ground against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. Joshua 1:5

Message for Meditation

God here speaks in the immediate present. It is not something He is going to do, but something He does do, this moment. So faith ever speaks. So God ever gives. So He is meeting you today, in the present moment. This is the test of faith. So long as you are waiting for a thing, hoping for it, looking for it, you are not believing. It may be hope, it may be earnest desire, but it is not faith; for “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The command in regard to believing prayer is the present tense. “When ye pray, believe that ye receive the things that ye desire, and ye shall have them.” Have we come to that moment? Have we met God in His everlasting NOW? (From Joshua, by Simpson)

True faith counts on God, and believes before it sees. Naturally, we want some evidence that our petition is granted before we believe; but when we walk by faith we need no other evidence than God’s Word. He has spoken, and according to our faith, it shall be done unto us. We shall see because we have believed, and this faith sustains us in the most trying places, when everything around us seems to contradict God’s Word.

The psalmist says, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). He did not see as yet the Lord’s answer to his prayers, but he believed to see; and this kept him from fainting.

If we have the faith that believes to see, it will keep us from growing discouraged. We shall “laugh at impossibilities,” we shall watch with delight to see how God is going to open up a path through the Red Sea when there is no human way out of our difficulty. It is just in such places of severe testing that our faith grows and strengthens.

Have you been waiting upon God, dear troubled one, during long nights and weary days, and have feared that you were forgotten? Nay, lift up your head, and begin to praise Him even now for the deliverance which is on its way to you. (From Life of Praise) 

Music for Meditation

 I Believe, Help Thou My Unbelief

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.