Prayer - 09-24-13

Dear Lord,
...
As we come before you today, we praise you for all the things that you
are. You are compassionate, loving and long-suffering… but you are so
much more.
Some may underestimate you, because of depictions of you holding
children and holding a Shepherd’s staff watching over sheep. Yes, you
are, our loving Abba Father…no one loves us as unconditionally as you
do…and you are our concerned and compassionate Shepherd, watching over
us and caring for us… but you are so powerful and everything fades from
view and diminishes in size, when compared to you. In our humanness, we
often let our worries and fears, troubles and grief over take us… in our
minds we let these things become so large and overpowering that they
over-shadow even your power and strength. We forget all that you are
known for…including vanquishing death.

In the Psalms, it says you ride upon the heavens…one version calls you a
cloud rider. The earth trembles before you. We are told you are a father
to orphans, a champion to widows, you make homes for the homeless, you
provide for the poor and those in need and you lead prisoners to
freedom. You call down rain, to turn desolated lands into an oasis for
your people to enjoy.

Day after day you carry us along. You are our Savior and our God. You
are the God who is for us and the God who saves us. You alone have
conquered death and defeated it and you are our salvation! All of these
things about you are in just one Psalm…there is so much to know and
learn about you and so many things to be grateful for. How blessed we
are that you are our God.

Lord, we want to know you more…we want to be strong in our faith and our
knowledge of you. We want trust and faith to be our first response,
instead of fear. We want to see things filtered through your Word and
your eyes. How many hours of our lives have we wasted on worry and
anxious thoughts for things that never came to pass? How many people and
situations have we given so much power to, that we let them destroy our
peace and sense of security? How many times have we let people’s hurtful
words and judgments define us, instead of remembering how you view us?
How many times have we focused on our problems instead of your promises?
Our biggest obstacles and trials, are no match for you.

Thank you Lord for all that you are and all that you do. Thank you for
going before us and always making a way where there seems to be no way
and for never leaving our side. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

May God’s peace consume you today!