“Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Lord God, thank You for stirring our hearts to lift up the grieving ones. How they put on a strong face for the rest. I want to especially praying for the J’s and for the pain that has lingered in their hearts after these many months, even years of losing their son and brother. Lord God, to this day we still don’t quite know why You would allow him to be taken away from this earth so young, but we acknowledge that You are God and we are not. Your purposes can not be thwarted and Your enemy does not do whatever he wants unless You permit. So You know their pain because You have been enduring it with them. No tears have been shed without Your collecting them in Your bottle. So we do want to thank You for the many bright spots You have brought into their lives during these days of mourning but I ask that You would completely dispel the dark cloud that has been hanging over them. You are the light of the world. Nothing is hidden from You. May the healing in Your wings cover their hearts and renew their faith. Bring them all out of the shadows to truly live again. Because You are God.

In Jesus’ healing name. 

“so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭25‬ ‭

Lord God, we confess how easy it is for us to take offense with one another in the Body. But You are the reconciling One, the Master Builder, our glorious Head, and the Chief Cornerstone. May the Anointing oil on Your head run down to the hem of Your priestly garment. May we love one another with Your love. May we forgive one another as You forgive. May we keep ourselves in the Oneness we have in You. This is the truth, You have made us One. So Lord, may none of Your children bring in division. Let’s maintain this care for one another that Christ has for each member, indispensable member of His Body.

In Jesus’ mighty name. 

“For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬ ‭

Lord God, thank You for fellowship within Your Body. We want to rejoice that we are not on this faith journey alone. We have Your life and the Indwelling Spirit and the many members of Your Body with all the spiritual gifting. Lord God, You want us to be established in You, immovable, steadfast. And so we give ourselves to You, for building up. Help us to see our mutual need for all the members to function to give You the glory and to execute Your will and purpose here on earth. Christ is our glorious head and we are His body here on earth. Send Your Paul’s our way, and impart spiritual gifts so You may be satisfied.

In Jesus’ glorious name. 

“that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death,”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Lord God, we confess that we are not fond of suffering, and You have told us that in the New Jerusalem, there will not be tears any more, no crying, no pain. So, all suffering is temporary. Praise God. And Lord God, for us to know resurrection for ourselves, we have to experience dying to ourselves. And even though it’s hard, we confess that our limited experiences of resurrection life in Christ has outweighed our dying to self in the balance. Thank You Lord. And Lord Jesus, You didn’t need to suffer at all, You are perfect, but You willingly suffered for us, so You could be forever the perfect Great High Priest able to sympathize with our weaknesses and yet without sin. Thank You Lord. And so Lord, according to Your work of transformation upon all our lives, we bow in submission and say, “Amen.” You willingly suffered for us, in love, because we sinned. In love, we are also willing to deny ourselves, take up our cross today, and follow You. You will not cause a single needless tear to be shed. May all the disciplining produce Christ expressed and holiness unto You, Lord God, because we are sons! We want to be like You! Where You are taking us, we want to follow! We don’t want to be anywhere that You are not! You are our glorious hope! In Jesus’ name. 

Shout out to all the Mom’s, biological and spiritual! May we all be found doing the will of God!

“Jesus answered, ‘Neither did this one sin nor his parents, but that the works of God may be manifested in him;”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬ ‭YLT98‬‬

Dear Lord God, thank You for this grace. What we and the world has judged to be a curse, as this man was born blind, is the canvas to display Your creative powers. You speak into being all that we can see and all we cannot see. You don’t need raw materials though You often took the little we have and multiply it as You break it. You spoke and the centurion’s slave was made well. You called Lazarus out of the tomb and a four-day dead corpse bounded freshly alive in obedience. So Lord, we come to You in our deadness, our blindness, our barrenness, and we cry, here we are, Lord God, manifest Your good works in us! Let the world know You are Resurrection and the Life today. Until You are satisfied!

In Jesus’ mighty name. 

“My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭148‬

Lord God, You woke me up today at 12:04 early morning. I sense that You wanted to prepare me for this day. I pray that Your Word each day would take root in my heart so even during the night, my semi-conscious thoughts would stay on You. Lord, help me to see these interruptions as invitations for fellowship. I ask for discernment and sensitivity to Your speaking and Your promptings. You did not save us only to leave us to our own devices. You intend to dwell in us. You created us in Your own image for the sake of expression and reflection. We were always meant to live by the bread of life and drink the living water. So as You have generously given us Jesus and the Spirit, we want Your desire for fellowship to be fulfilled. Please speak as we meditate. Please illuminate as we ruminate. We want to be able to receive Truth and Life until You are satisfied and You are glorified in earthen vessels. 

In Jesus’ name.   

Sometime when we hear a song or read a psalm, something within us enters into the same yearning as the song writer. The same Spirit that inspired the writer’s yearning is still inspiring us today.

Let’s look onto Jesus, He is writing our faith journey today.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=NJpJAsC-Frg&si=MD52hx-ls2F50sHP

“May his name endure forever; May his name increase as long as the sun shines; And let men bless themselves by him; Let all nations call him blessed.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭72‬:‭17‬ ‭

Amen. Lord God, this might have been David’s prayer for his son Solomon but fulfilled in the True and Better Solomon, Christ Jesus. Praise God for You gave Him the name which is above every name. And at Jesus’ name, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the praise of Your glory! And how blessed we are because of Christ Jesus and because You gave His name to us! And He is blessed forever as our Lord and Savior. To Christ be all the blessing and honor and worship and praise forever and ever, Amen! 

“May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord God of hosts; May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭69‬:‭6‬ 

Lord God, You know my hidden faults and all my weaknesses. And I pray that I would not allow those that wait for You be disappointed because of me. You are also my hope. And Lord, help me not to be a hindrance to those that seek after You. Purge me through and through. Remove all the impurities that take away the transparency. I ask Lord that You would shine through my being so that people can be drawn to You and that their faith in Christ would rise because Your are the author of our faith. Help them behold You overflowing out of me. I let go and let You shine. For Your glory. 

In Jesus’ name. 

“But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭5‬:‭11

We love Your name, Lord Jesus! We love to call upon Your name! For when we call Your name, You remind us that Your Spirit indwells us and You are with us. We are a heart-turn away from beholding You. We breathe Your name and You are already here. We hide ourselves in You. And You protect us, and shelter us in the midst of the storms. We survive the storm because You hide us under Your wings. We can feel Your warmth and rest to the beat of Your heart. You long to gather us under Your wings and we sing for joy to be so gathered. You are our shield and defender. We rest in You. 

In Your mighty name we pray.