I really focused on the Lord's Prayer and how it teaches us to pray. I think the Lord's pray is beautiful all on it's own, but breaking it down and and using the concepts of how He teaches us to pray with my own words, praises, desires was powerful.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give
us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen.
Our Father who art in heave, hallowed be thy name. It's just the perfect start to any prayer! Recognize Him in ALL His Glory! Praise Him! Tell Him you know He is Holy! I spend so many minutes as I wake just repeating His Holy Name and praising Him for just who He is! As soon as I am stirred in the morning, "Lord, Lord, Lord, I love You, I praise You" are most always my first thoughts. I need Him and He loves hearing me acknowledge Him in all ways. Just a baby cries out for momma and daddy in the wee dark hours of the morning, I find so much comfort in calling out to my Father in Heaven. He is always there, always ready to hear my call, cries and praises.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Until recently this part of the prayer seemed so large, yet so all or nothing in my mind. What do I mean by that you may ask? God's kingdom coming to earth only seemed possible if every single thing in our fallen world lined up. What God has showed me is kingdom and heaven are two very different things. Christians all around the world are building His kingdom one heart/soul at a time. Every moment His Kingdom is grown on this earth and unfortunately free will causes some of it to be chipped away at moments as well. Our earth doesn't have to be heaven where everything is perfect and there is no more sadness or illness for His Kingdom to come! We, His warriors, can build the kingdom while we wait for His return! Ok, this is where it gets good. I am not a perfect person by any stretch of the imagination. My mistakes are vast and ugly, my sins are just that....SINS! But God! One morning as I was praying and thanking God for His forgiveness of my sins, I heard Him so clearly say "Child, ask Me. Jus ask me." All my life I have been taught that the moment you repent and ask God to forgive you, He does. It's instant and it is everlasting. You don't have to keep begging and begging and begging. You just ask and He so graciously forgives. The morning I heard Him telling me to ask, I thought there is no way, but then I remembered our God can do anything. He is God after all. If He tells you to do it, just do it. He is trustworthy. So, I asked, "Dear God, please wash away my sins and make me white as snow not just in heaven but on earth." On earth as it is in heaven took on a whole new meaning that morning. I had a visual of me standing there covered in the ugliness, the smut, the grossness of sin. Then literally God poured the blood of Jesus over me. I was dripping from head to toe in wet, warm, dark red, sticky blood. Then God took a cloth that was so clean, brand new without any marks of use and wiped every inch of me and as He wiped, I was radiant and pure and clean and free and new. I glistened just like a new born baby glistens after all the muck of birth is wiped away. I felt the gentleness of His actions. I could literally see the blood spilled from Jesus as He hung on the cross dripping off of me and as God meticulously cleaned me all stains were gone. I wish I were an artist so I could give you a visual. Blood seems as though it would make more stains, but Jesus' blood has cleansing powers. His grace is more than sufficient. His blood is cleansing and it's not just in heaven. Christ didn't suffer on that cross for nothing, He suffered for me and for you.
Give us this day our daily bread. Bread, manna. The miraculous bread of heaven. This isn't just about full bellies. Pray for what you need, what you want, what you hope for. Our daily bread is anything we need to sustain us for today. God already knows what we need, but He loves for us to ask. It's conversation, it's validating we need Him, it's vulnerable on our part and generous on His. Our very basic needs are so important to Him.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. All of us desire to be forgiven of our trespasses, sins, debts and so on, but why is it so hard to forgive others? Human nature is probably the best answer. How do we decide who to forgive and who to punish? My heart has pondered this one so much over the last few years. I try so hard to forgive everyone, but it is not easy and it is not always instant. It seems so hypocritical to ask God to forgive me when I am holding onto a grudge, when I am trying to win, when I want punishment for those that wrong me, when people just piss me off. Mercy is a part of my DNA. I have been hurt, wronged, trespassed on, mistreated, beat by the hands of a man I loved, cheated on, lied to, slandered against and so on. I do my very best to forgive and I pray daily; not just as a part of a ceremonial prayer, but truly from my heart that I can forgive and in return I will receive forgiveness for my mistakes, the way I hurt people, the horrible things I have done. It's part of God's plan for us to forgive. It mirrors Him. It is 100% of the time an act of love. Love like Jesus! Forgive people!
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Cover those you love in a hedge of protection! Temptation is everywhere and we have all been enslaved by some sort of temptation. I cover my family and all those I love in a hedge of protection every morning and praise God every night for keeping us from evil. I pray 10,000 angels surround us and fight our battles before anything can prosper against us. I ask the Holy Spirit to walk with us and help us (after all, God sent the Holy Spirit as our helper after Jesus left the earth), to keep us on the right path. I pray the Holy Spirit speaks to us louder than the enemy. I ask that a hedge full of thistles, thorns, snares and traps to keep the enemy at bay is wrapped all the way around us. I rebuke every single thing thought, spoken or written against or about us -in truth or fiction- falls to the dry dead places.
2020 has been tough mentally, physically, financially, spiritually. Without these hours I've spent with God, I don't know how I could have survived. Anyone that has followed my blog knows that suicide has been a very real and scary thing I have had to battle. If you had asked me 10 years ago if suicide was something I would personally deal with, I would have thought you were crazy. Now, I want to talk to you about life this side of the semicolon and my truths regarding suicide.
I have heard it over and over that people are angry at loved ones that ended their lives. I have heard others say that they don't understand how things can be so bad that suicide is a choice. People say it is a cowards way out. Unless you have been filled with so much anxiety and the voice of the enemy screaming at you that life with Jesus is better than dealing with whatever earthly monster you are battling, you don't know. Let me first speak comfort and sincere condolence to anyone that has had a loved one take their own life. You need to know that it was not about you, they were not a coward, they didn't just leave you. A very big and very real enemy was attacking them. It doesn't matter whether it be choices they made that put them in a position they never wanted to be in and it was too late to go back and change it or choices others made that hurt them to the core and left the door wide open for the enemy, you need to forgive them. I can't even put into words how logical the enemy can make that choice seem. I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm so sorry for the whole left in your heart. I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry.
For those of you have battled this demon, I pray for you. I may not know you, but I know your struggle, and I pray for you. Pray for yourself. Pray for others. I'm sorry. I can promise you that you are worthy of living. You are needed. You are important. You are loved. Believe the truths and rebuke the lies.
I recently lost a very good friend. Someone I loved with all of my heart. A precious woman of God that left her mark on me and everyone that met her. Someone that left behind a husband, children and grandchildren. She didn't take her life. It was just her time to go home to be with Jesus. I have seen from a distance the heartbreak her family and friends have felt. I feel it too. My heart has ached everyday for all those that loved her. I know she is in a wonderful place! She is with Jesus. We don't need to be sad for her, but I am sad for those who love her that still have life to live without her. Y'all, I couldn't bring myself to go to her funeral. I feel just awful that I couldn't do it. Honestly, I just couldn't face her children, her grandchildren, her friends that loved her, her husband. I couldn't face them, because I had so much guilt that I thought about and had a plan to end my own life just a short time ago. I felt so guilty that I almost caused that kind of pain and loss for my own family and friends. I felt guilty that God still has plans for me and I almost left the earth before He finished writing my story. I sent my love to all who loved her via other means. I pray they know that I loved her and that her loss is heavy on my heart.
Friends, I love the semicolon project that reminds us all that our story isn't over yet. I love that brave survivors and courageous supporters proudly display tattoos of a simple ; There is so much we have all lived out this side of the semicolon and I pray anyone reading this knows there is so much more to the story.
I urge you to spend time with Jesus daily. Praise His Holy name! Build the Kingdom of God! Ask for the things you need and know God hears you. Forgive people, even when it isn't fair and it's hard. Remember, God brings our restoration! It does not come from grudges, hate, telling the world how you were right or how wrong and horrible someone else was. Restoration is a beautiful thing that is given to you freely when you forgive people. Forgive people for making human mistakes, just love them like Jesus. Try to be the best you everyday. When you make a mistake, repent and do better next time. If you fall again, dust yourself off, repent and do better. Cover your loved ones in prayer and the blood of Jesus. Stand in the gap for people.....even people you don't like.
For His is the Kingdom, the power and the glory FOREVER and EVER! Amen
Love you all.
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