Long Prayer List

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121: 1-2

The last few days my list of prayers for others has become longer with each day: friends and neighbors job searching after many years with their employers; health concerns ranging from biopsies, surgery, cancer, two newborns struggling, and a colleague losing two relatives on the same day. When I started to feel overwhelmed by all of it, the verses above came to mind. I thanked God that He is in control of everything, he hears our prayers, and we are to pray constantly. With a thankful heart, prayers of gratitude accompanied my prayers for each one on my list.

  

Prayer: Dear Father, we are thankful that we do not walk alone through this gift of life. You are with us every step of the way. We lift up prayers of peace and provision for those on our hearts that you already know before we utter a word.  May they feel your presence in a mighty way. In your Son’s name we pray, Amen.

Cathy Schapmann

Take It One Day at a Time

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matthew 6:34 (MSG)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace–in peace because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 (NRSV)

  

I recently got the news that my beloved dog has cancer. As I face this, or any difficult situation, I search for peace of mind. I turn to God in prayer–at first, crying and complaining about how unfair this all is, and asking for help to cope. I walk around with a lump in my throat for a while, letting fearful and sad thoughts swim around in my head. Finally, though, I ask God to help me see the situation the way that He does. Slowly, but surely, I begin to hear His voice...through scriptures, friends, Christian music and in other ways.  

In Ecclesiastes 3:1, God reminds me: “There's a time for everything, a season for every activity under the heavens.”  So when the moment calls for it, that's the time to be sad and mourn (verse 4).  But...if I'm busy mourning something that might happen in the future, I'm missing whatever blessing might be found in the current moment.  This brings to mind the message found in Matthew 6:34 (above).  In his song, “Borrow (One Day at a Time)”, Josh Wilson describes this scripture cleverly: “Don't borrow, no trouble from tomorrow / You'll only double your sorrow / You'll only worry your mind /....You gotta take it / One day, one day at a time /.... I wanna learn to hold my life a little looser / Live in the moment instead of in the future  / Let tomorrow worry about itself / And be here right now, trust all is well.”

It's all about trust. Yes, at some point, bad things are going to happen...and it will hurt. But if I ask God ahead of time to help me through those difficult situations, I can let go of my worries and completely trust that He will. It's very hard to surrender like this to God-in fact, it's a frequent struggle–but when I do, that's when I find peace of mind. I'm hoping to more often find God's peace as I walk this difficult road...“taking it one day at a time”.

Prayer: Gracious Heavenly Father, forgive us for letting discouragement take hold when we're facing difficult situations. Help us learn to put our complete trust in you—and in the guidance, strength and comfort you will bring. And thank you for your wonderful peace...that “guards our hearts and minds as we live in Christ Jesus.” Amen.

Sharon Irvin

God’s Plan, Our Plan

“We all, like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  Isaiah 53:6

“Yet, O Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

“A camel and his driver each have their own plan.”  I recently read this African proverb in my African Wisdom for Life calendar. 

It reminded me of our childhood Shetland pony, Judy. My Dad purchased Judy as a surprise for my sisters and me. Judy came complete with everything needed plus a bonus buggy. For our birthday parties, my Mom gave buggy rides (powered by Judy, our Shetland pony) for each guest and the birthday girl.

I recall some surprises Judy gave us. One day when we left a gate open a crack, Judy slipped through and ran over a mile to Harbine, the nearest town. Another time when I was riding Judy, she headed for our wire clothesline planning to dump me off her back. I ducked and lifted the clothesline just in time. Yes, Judy, our Shetland pony had a mind of her own.

If we are honest, we sometimes have our own plans and ignore what God has planned for us. A gospel hymn reminds us to follow God’s plan. “Have Thine Own Way Lord” was first published in 1907.  Adelaide A. Pollard wrote the lyrics and George Stebbins composed the music.

“Have thy own way, Lord!

  Have thine own way!

 Thou art the Potter,

 I am the clay.

 Mold me and make me,

 After thy will.

While I am waiting,

 yielded and still.”

Prayer: God, you know that we often follow our own plan rather than yours. Remind us that your plan leads us in the right direction every time. Amen.

Lois Poppe

Above the Clouds

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. A man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

"Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." Matthew 7:20  (NLT)

When I flew recently, it was a stormy, cloudy day in Lincoln. Earthbound prior to boarding the plane, my mood matched the weather. However, as the plane soared to its travelling altitude, clouds gave way to sunshine. The clouds that from the earth appeared dark and foreboding looked like a pristine, snow-laden field from above. Needless to say, my mood improved!

Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. If I took the analogy I shared above literally, I guess I’m saying that the day was either beautiful and full of sun or dark and full of storm clouds depending on my perspective (in this case, my location). Looking at the two scripture passages above, we can let this analogy further our understanding of what God says is important. Each scripture focuses on something a bit different. In the first, God wants us to look deeper. That may be getting to know someone better and/or not judging someone based on one thing we may know about them.

In the second verse, we need to know that our actions speak louder than our words. It also makes me think of this passage: where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to remember to look deeper than superficial appearances, and help me to cultivate a heart for serving you and loving others, and to reveal that heart in my actions. Amen.

Donna Gustafson

Know God is in Control

Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Job 37:16

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. Deuteronomy 7:9

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Romans 8:9

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10

When we accept Christ into our lives, we can then make decisions with the guidance of the Spirit of God who lives in us. As we make decisions today, we must turn to Him more for guidance in order to keep his commandments.

Seeing the news today makes me sad. I wonder what else we are going to allow that will entice our people to destroy their bodies. We seem to fail to make decisions that keep our covenant with God. Yet, we approve so many items that will hopefully bring us more money.

Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for keeping your covenant with us. Thank you for giving us the Spirit which Christ promised us to live in us. Help us to follow your commandments and help our legislature representatives to know you and follow your commandments too. Help us not to become enticed by money which never satisfies. Thank you for being in control of all, even the clouds and the lightning. Help us to trust in you. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Colossians 2

I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn’t make any difference. Know that I’m on your side, right alongside you. You’re not in this alone. I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.” I’m a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I’m on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ.  My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything. Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. So don’t put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ. Colossians 2:1-17 The Message

Be Filled with the Spirit