I am going to do a series of posts that are prayers of the saints. I hope you enjoy and find yourself drawing closer to our Lord.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
Never grow weary of seeking wisdom, and find some thoughts at Proverbial Thought!
Just for the record, I was a little busy and forgot to prepare one of my poems for last week. Oops!
You could say I was tired, and so it slipped my mind. There is something that it has become increasingly more difficult to forget: thinking about God. Even when I am so tired I can barely see straight or hold a coherent thought, I find my mind wandering to the Bible, God’s attributes, and simply talking with Him.
This has only come after years of deliberately – and very often with Heavenly reminders! – seeking our Lord and reading His Word.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you want to seek His face, to be filled with a passion for His Word, His presence, to the point of falling asleep while thinking of Him.
tired devotion
i am so devoted to You that even tired i will praise my last moment that i have the last moment i am awake i spend reaching out for You i fall asleep as i pray and i will continue so each and every day You deserve what i have and i will gladly pay You said to love You with all my heart and mind and soul and strength so i will do as You have asked even tired i will do as You say my praise You will receive whether at work or at play my tired devotion You will get even if i come to faint
The poem today is based on a couple passages of Scripture, Joel 2:12-13 and Acts 4:24-30:
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
Joel 2:12-13, ESV
And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
“‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants[f] to continue to speak your word with all boldness,30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Acts 4:24-30
Therefore, this poem is a prayer for God to help us learn to rend our hearts and to heal our land.
It is my prayer you find wisdom, and perhaps you can find some help at Proverbial Thought!
The poem today is a prayer that was originally inspired by Proverbs 30:7-14. There is a mix of, well, everything else from God’s Word that is good and leads us toward holiness. I think it is rather appropriate for Father’s Day, as all fathers (all parents) should pray this!
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
a simple prayer
O God
give me enough today
that i need not steal
O Lord
give me patience to stay
that i get through ordeals
O Savior
clean up my mouth and mind
that i not lie or lust
O Friend
clean out my heart and life
that i love and be just
O Father
hear my cry of despair
that my soul be made holy
O Daddy
hear my simple prayer
that my soul be filled with your peace
I know many people going through various things in life at the moment. The poem today I wrote almost seven years ago for a friend going through some trials.
Perhaps, if you are going through something, you will be blessed by it.
a prayer for my sister in Christ
Lord, i lift up my sister into Your hands!
Calm her spirit, clear her mind,
guide her steps, and lead her life!
Reveal your will and show your Face.
Cover my sister in your grace!
Thank You, our gracious Father,
for being our loving Savior!
Do not forget your daily dose of wisdom, which can be found at Proverbial Thought!
I have quite a few blogs that I follow. One that I follow yet do not regularly interact with (Sorry, James!) is Men of One Accord. James’s goal with his blog is to bring about unity between Christians in Christ Jesus, and I highly recommend checking out his poetry, prayers, and quotes. The spelling might not always be the greatest, but the content is always full of grace, love, and Jesus! I strongly suggest you follow his blog!
This past week, as I was hurrying from work to seminary or youth group, or trying to get in all of my reading and assignments (the downside to taking 12 credits at the graduate level and working full-time while involved in ministry!), this little gem appeared in my inbox. It strengthened me, encouraged my spirit, and reminded me of why I push myself: it is all for His glory!
As he said in the post, “I could not keep it all to myself, I had to share. May all be blessed and peace be with you. Amen”
I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Philemon 1:6, NIV
Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel . . .
Ephesians 6:19, NIV
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
Colossians 1:9-12, NIV
I post it today in hopes that any who read this will join me in praying for my education and for your own edification and growth in Christ!
Creator of all things,
true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding,
a retentive memory,
and the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent
of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
and help in the completion.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:9-13, NIV
Perhaps the reason we fail to see revival and change in our society is because we do not really pray for “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Sure, we say the words, but how often do we mean it?
A chapter earlier, Jesus says:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.“
Matthew 5:13-16, NIV
Perhaps we do not see revival and change in our society, because we have not really asked our Father to change us through His Holy Spirit to be His salt and light in our world. We have a tendency to think God will just change all of their hearts without our intervention.
I could go on and on, but I think the Rend Collective Experiment sang it out best in this prayer to song:
Build Your Kingdom Here
Come set Your rule and reign
In our hearts again
Increase in us we pray
Unveil why we’re made
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
Like wildfire in our very souls
Holy Spirit come invade us now
We are Your Church
We need Your power
In us
We seek Your kingdom first
We hunger and we thirst
Refuse to waste our lives
For You’re our joy and prize
To see the captive hearts released
The hurt; the sick; the poor at peace
We lay down our lives for Heaven’s cause
We are Your church
We pray revive
This earth
Build Your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show Your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set Your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build Your kingdom here
We pray
Unleash Your kingdom’s power
Reaching the near and far
No force of hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts
You made us for much more than this
Awake the kingdom seed in us
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ
We are Your church
We are the hope
On earth
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.[a]” [“by prayer and fasting”] Mark 9:25-29
But 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 6:6
lonely places
we often ask for more
we seek the power of Christ
but are we seeking from the floor
do we find lonely places
we want our God to be proud
we want to serve our King
but are we always somewhere loud
do we go to the lonely places
the disciples could not cast out
demons did not move at the name of Jesus
they asked what that was about
they did not often find lonely places
Jesus was close to the Father
He often went somewhere to pray
why did He always have the power
He often would go to lonely places
how can we have the power of Christ
and move in His Holy Spirit
we need to have a lot of prayer time
and go off to lonely places
Do we truly love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths? Maybe I can help with the mind part, at least! This is Daniel M. Klem, apparent poet, reluctant yet passionate Disciple (Peter?), and foolish man attempting to understand theology!
a simple man of God 