This is my deep desire – to go all the way, like Matthew West asks in his chorus.
How do we take the step? How do we jump without letting worry getting in our way?
I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if i had given everything
Instead of going through the motions
God – Develop in me a faith and trust so deep that I take the leap. I can’t do it on my own – I need you.
Psalm 119:32
I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
Oh Lord – the ocean swirls around me – the wind blows hard against my body – the pressures crush me – the world is in disarray – and You are the same – FOREVER. Lord – would you lift me from the waters and shelter me from the wind and lift the weight from above? Take it all Lord – for I am incapable. Amen
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Psalm 81:6-7He says, “I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket. In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
Beth Moore posted a prayer for her readers last night on her blog. It is a lovely prayer and it touched my heart and spoke to just how I feel. Beth, although I have never met her, is among many of my Bible teachers. So to all the people, there are so many, who have taught me along the way – I pass this prayer on.
I want to stop and pray for you right now, too.
My faithful Father, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Ruler of Land and Sea, I lift Your elect to You. I pray this week for You to grant them clarity in a very specific area where they are confused and not sure what to do next. As You said through Your prophet Ezekiel, You have put Your Spirit in them and You will MOVE them to follow Your will. Remind them that they are not stuck. Not without choices. Not without leadership. Whisper in each ear, “this is the way, walk ye in it.” Cause them – and me – to cease beating on doors that are closed and walk through the one that You Yourself left open even if it’s not our personal favorite Door #1. Bring confessions to their lips – and mine – of Your gracious providence and Your worthiness to be trusted and praised. Tend to their hearts. Where they feel battered and bruised but too busy to stop long enough to be healed, hem them in Your faithful hands, hold them still, and rejoice over them with singing. Tell them again how You love them. How You’ve called them. How You don’t make mistakes. Grant them – and me – spirits of wisdom and revelation that we may know You better and recognize You when we bump smack into Your Presence. And more than anything else, circumcise our hearts to love You and to love that frustrating person in our lives as we love ourselves. Teach us what the Apostle Paul meant when he told the Galatians that all that matters is faith expressing itself in love. We want to be Godly women, Lord. We cry out to You for help. We cry out to You for You.
In the saving, delivering, empowering Name of Jesus,
Amen
Lord – I want to know what the next steps are. Do I stay where I am at or do I move on to that which I think You are calling me? How do I know that it is You and not me? Will I be able to handle the pressures – the stress? Do you want to use me? God – I don’t question You – I question me. Am I stepping forward in Your desires or my own – or am I doing something worse – not even stepping forward? I want the job I do to glorify You, God, because You deserve it. I want to walk boldly in faith – have God spoken discernment. Lord – would you use the community around me – the people around – Your Living Word – and Your precious Holy Spirit to speak the truth to me – so that I can walk confidently that I am moving in the tide of the ocean that is You? Propel me Lord. Bring me to Action. And in the moment of rest Lord, even still, God – I praise you for keeping me thus far – for the fact that You alone are God – there is none above You – For You are RULER of ALL! Amen
This old song was written in 1882 by Louisa Stead and William Kirkpatrick. It has been said that Stead wrote the lyrics after her husband drown. Out of grief and sorrow came lyrics that inspire. As I prepare for this week’s service on God’s will for our lives – I have learned that God calls us to know Him and then to obey Him. God knows that it is quintessential that we trust Him in order to do His will. This perhaps is why he doesn’t “lay the plan out” or “put in writing” the exact steps of our lives. If we knew all of the plans He had for us – we wouldn’t have to exercise trust. Rather, He wants us to trust Him so that we can know Him and obey Him. As the first verse says; it is so wonderful to rest upon His promise.
On a side note, Stead also included another key component of doing God’s will and that is to remove sin and self. When we actively pursue this removal we have less that separates us from God. Consequently, we are closer to Him and our relationship with Jesus grows deeper.
So I pray this song as a hope: O Lord – I cry out to You – Please pour down Your grace so that I can trust you more. For I long to know You – I long to rest in Your promise and do Your will. Amen
Verse 1
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know “Thus saith the Lord!”Refrain
Jesus, Jesus How I trust Thee
How I proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus
O for grace to trust Him moreVerse 2
O how sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to trust His cleansing blood
Just in simple faith to plunge me
‘neath the healing, cleansing floodVerse 3
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus
Just from self and sin to cease
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peaceVerse 4
I’m so glad I learned to trust Him
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend
And I know that Thou art with me
Wilt be with me to the end.
Lord, I want to be like Abraham - willing to let it all go. I want to trust so deeply that I am willing to take the risk. I want to move from fear to FAITH – but it is so hard to get my feet out of this boat where it is dry and safe. And so I ask, Lord, will You lift me up over the side of the boat? Will You hold my hand? Will you show me where to put my foot next? If you lead – I will follow Lord. It is my desire to walk in Your ways and do Your Will. Amen
How can I Praise My God?
I can tell Him how wonderful He is in my prayers.
I can lift my hands and voice to Him.
I can serve others in the name of Jesus without selfish gain.
I can go to bed on time so that I am refreshed each day and reflect His image to others.
I can meditate on Him, write about Him, and make creative expressions for Him.
I can love Him with all my heart and soul and mind.
Lord – help me to think less often of myself and more of others. Place my focus on Jesus. Do not let me boast or drown in self pity. Take away my pride. Develop in me only “God Confidence” and not “self confidence”. Help me to be humble – and to do this naturally – without thinking. Lord, make this my mindset – so that it is not contrived or false – but authentic and natural. Amen
There is an urgent feeling in my community to be God’s Kingdom. To be active participants in His plan. It calls for a sensitive ear to hear God and a willing heart and spirit to obey him. We often pray as He instructed us “Thy Kingdom Come”. Now we are realizing that we can play active roles in this.
The most challenging aspect of this for me is discerning exactly what God wants me to do. I know that He could be calling me into big life changes – but how that happens – I have not yet been able to weed through. My prayers right now are that God would bring me clarity – a clearness of purpose – a path to follow so that I can say “Yes Father – Here I am – Choose me”.
