Tag: prayers

Trauma Unknowable; Living in and Passing through, Surviving, Grieving though the Devastation, Destruction, of the Raging Fires. Ceaseless Prayer. Psalm 91:14-16.

Psalm 91 Complete Jewish Bible

91 You who live in the shelter of ‘Elyon,
who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai,
2 who say to Adonai, “My refuge! My fortress!
My God, in whom I trust!” —
3 he will rescue you from the trap of the hunter
and from the plague of calamities;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his truth is a shield and protection.

5 You will not fear the terrors of night
or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the plague that roams in the dark,
or the scourge that wreaks havoc at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand;
but it won’t come near you.
8 Only keep your eyes open,
and you will see how the wicked are punished.

9 For you have made Adonai, the Most High,
who is my refuge, your dwelling-place.
10 No disaster will happen to you,
no calamity will come near your tent;
11 for he will order his angels to care for you
and guard you wherever you go.
12 They will carry you in their hands,
so that you won’t trip on a stone.
13 You will tread down lions and snakes,
young lions and serpents you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he loves me, I will rescue him;
because he knows my name, I will protect him.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble.
I will extricate him and bring him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with long life
and show him my salvation.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The news and images emerging from the fires in California are hard to believe.

Skies have turned red, filled with hug clouds of smoke over cities and counties as Santa Anna winds 80-100 mph is fueling multiple wildfires across the state.

As the governor declares a state of emergency, families are evacuating to escape the flames, knowing they may never see their homes again. 10000 ++ structures have already burned down Livelihoods, businesses are being lost as firefighters and first responders do everything in their power to stop the spread of the fires.

At least 12 individuals have been killed with more to be accounted for as Cadaver dogs are brought in to begin their gruesome work as a dark result of these fires, while 200,000 citizens are without power and 180,000 have evacuated the area.

Approximately 35,000 acres have burned thus far and several of these fires are barely considered even “10% contained – one is not contained. These numbers will doubtless go up as these 75000 brave first responders are actively working to contain the fires and prevent them from spreading to more neighborhoods. 

As you follow the news, we can do relatively little but continually lift up these in prayers for the state of California, for the first responders with their lives on the lines, for the recovery, for the victims experiencing such trauma, sudden loss.

Suffering after a disaster can seem isolating, lonely, traumatic seeing that many, even in our own communities, may not comprehend, understand what they are experiencing there. With this feeling can come a sense of hopelessness.

While feeling distraught, Psalm 34:8 reminds us where to find hope, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”

Gratefully, God is very present in our situations, riding out the storms with us and being there for us afterward.

As 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 describes, we have a God who understands and is compassionate towards us in our suffering:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

God understands our suffering beyond what we can comprehend.

He walks side by side with us through it with us and brings us out on the other side stronger. 

Psalm 23:4 Complete Jewish Bible

4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines,
I will fear no disaster; for you are with me;
your rod and staff reassure me.

Isaiah 43:1-2 Complete Jewish Bible

43 But now this is what Adonai says,
he who created you, Ya‘akov,
he who formed you, Isra’el:
“Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you;
I am calling you by your name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through water, I will be with you;
when you pass through rivers, they will not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched —
the flame will not burn you.

1 Peter 5:10 further explains,

“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

Even more so, He loves us through each and every distress, not letting anything come between us during these hardcore difficult, traumatic times. He does not leave us in our suffering, going through it alone or figuring it out on our own. 

As the Apostle Paul spells out clearly in Romans 8:39-40, 

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Likewise, afterward, even in the worst situations,

God assures us:

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

For those who are presently experiencing, who have experienced disasters, the recovery time afterward can be hardcore excruciating, yet God urges in Psalm 27:14 to “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

But waiting to see God’s goodness after a disaster can seem endless at times.

Still, He wants us to cling to the promise of His everlasting hope that He alone gives, looking for and expecting His goodness, His Shalom, again in our lives.

Isaiah 25:9 Complete Jewish Bible

9 On that day they will say,
“See! This is our God!
We waited for him to save us.
This is Adonai ; we put our hope in him.
We are full of joy, so glad he saved us!”

Although it may take us a while to tune in and hear those crickets and the birds singing and see the sun shining again, we can move ahead, even if it’s with the very tiniest of tiny baby steps, looking to see His goodness in the coming days.

After disasters, there is the hope and promise that God’s goodness will come again and follows us through this life.

As Psalm 23:6 assures, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

For many, there will be a time of looking back after walking through the tragic events which often brings a hard fought answer to your prayers for clarity, and pleas for the Shalom of Shalom’s where they are able to see more clearly God’s faithfulness and goodness, even though at those times they may have felt there was none to be found among the great mountains of ash and burned buildings.

In these moments of everyday revelation, there will certainly, and faithfully be a divine display, miraculous abundant revelations of His divinely orchestrated “aha” moments where Psalm 116:12 rings true for them: “What shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me?”

Psalm 116:12-14 Complete Jewish Bible

12 How can I repay Adonai
for all his generous dealings with me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of Adonai.
14 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, we come to You with heavy hearts as wildfires rage and devastation spreads. We know that You are sovereign over all things, and we trust in Your wisdom even in the midst of chaos. Lord, we pray for the leadership across affected areas to make the best possible decisions for the safety and welfare of communities. Guide their steps with wisdom and urgency as they navigate these challenging circumstances, and may they look to You for strength and clarity.

Father, we lift up the firefighters, first responders, and all those risking their lives to protect others. Cover them with Your protection, give them endurance, and guide their efforts. May their bravery and selflessness reflect Your love and care in the face of such terrifying destruction.

We pray for the communities impacted by these fires—families who have lost homes, businesses, and loved ones. Comfort them in their grief and provide for their immediate needs. Stir up a spirit of unity and compassion among neighbors, that they may support and uplift one another. Protect the most vulnerable and provide shelter, safety, and peace amidst the fear and uncertainty.

Lord, we ask for Your Spirit to pour out over the land, calming the winds and rains, and bringing relief to the fires. May You be recognized and trusted even in this time of tragedy. Remind us of Your goodness and faithfulness, even when it feels hard to see.

God, we pray for peace to overcome fear, and faith to rise above despair. May those nearest to the danger feel Your presence and guiding hand. Let the hope and strength that only come from Your Son, Jesus, through Your Holy Spirit, bring comfort and assurance in the face of devastation.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Psalm 46 New American Standard Bible

God, the Refuge of His People.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, [a]set to Alamoth. A Song.

46 God is our refuge and strength,
A [b]very ready help in [c]trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth shakes
And the mountains slip into the heart of the [d]sea;
3 Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make the city of God happy,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her [e]when morning dawns.
6 The [f]nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He [g]raised His voice, the earth quaked.
7 The Lord of armies is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
[h]Who has inflicted horrific events on the earth.
9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10 “[i]Stop striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the [j]nations, I will be exalted on the earth.”
11 The Lord of armies is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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A Man Born Blind: A Time of Prayer to Understand How Jesus Heals Us. John 9:1-12

John 9:1-12 New International Version

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

They Come Across A Man Born Blind

The disciples see a man who was born blind, and they assume that his blindness is someone’s fault.

This was a common way of thinking about suffering in those days. Sickness and disability were often believed to be a result of sin somewhere in the family line.

If we think about it, we can see how people could fall into that kind of thinking.

It has happened in many cultures.

If a person has a disability or a terrible disease, if they are mentally challenged or if they are down and out in some kind of hardship too, it can be convenient to point fingers, blame them or their family or even their friends or community.

It calms our fears if we can state a reason or a cause for something we don’t understand—or don’t want to, or gives us a sense of “I am glad I am not like that” or gives us the sense that we are better than others, we are the strongest.

In this story Jesus complicates things even more by implying that God allowed the man to be born blind so that through his healing by Jesus, could help people see the miraculous works of God being done, that God is indeed in their midst.

This is a very hard teaching to understand—there is no getting around that.

Human suffering is a lot more complicated than we would like to believe.

Sin has broken this world in ways that goes way far beyond our understanding.

But at the same time, this story offers comfort because we see that God can and will work to bring good out of challenges and suffering. God works for our good in all things (Romans 8:28)—and he has redeemed us in Christ (Isaiah 43:1-7).

When the works of God shine through all manner of conceivable adversity, he shows in a unique way that he is good and merciful and loves us without limit.

A Prayer to Help Us Understand How Jesus Heals Us

God’s ways and thoughts are not the same as ours (Isaiah 55:8-13).

We can can expend every available ounce of energy and money to try and ‘work’ life out all the time and we’ll run the danger of missing what’s really important.

Healing is a case example.

Prayer for the miraculous can be boxed in, and we may have an agenda for it.

Line up this way, kneel that way, read these words, worship with these tunes, come forward for prayer IF you have true faith, and hold your hands out, etc.

It almost sounds like a pharmacy prescription!

And if nothing supernatural happens, some believers think God has not lifted a finger or a thought to relieve that person’s ordeal. They may refuse medicines in their own lives, too, seeing hordes of tablets, pills, and injections as worldly.

Yet our passage in John 9:1-12 seriously challenges this view.

Let’s take some time here to contemplate what happened.

Jesus rubbed clay into a man’s eyes to heal him!

Why?

What an unusual thing to do.

Other blind men in the Bible were healed by the Lord instantly, without mud on the eyeballs (Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-42).

Jesus said this particular healing would bring glory to God by the works of the Holy Spirit in this man.

That was destiny.

But why did he use mud?

What was Jesus saying by doing this?

He always did things for a reason.

Is there an underlying message here?

I believe there is.

The same Lord God who formed the first man “from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7) used dust, dirt, of the ground to bring life to this blind man’s eyes.

Jesus is reminding us that he is the Creator.

The image of the invisible God with the authority to create and recreate.

He is the master sculptor who uses ordinary things like mud to regenerate.

And, of course, if  Christ used clay to heal – how can that be interpreted by the world of modern-day medicine?

If ethically developed, it means that medical treatment is approved by God for our welfare here and now.

Antibiotics, cancer drugs, insulin – all these things are like clay used by God to bring healing to our temporary earthly bodies.  

Medicine is essentially the stewardship of the fruits of all God’s creation from the earth reshaped for healing purposes.

That is why we can expend ceaseless amounts of our praise the Lord for non-supernatural, ordinary medicine, as well as miraculous healings from prayer.

So, if your doctor is suggesting a certain medicine today – respect his or her wisdom! Praise the Lord for using clay, the fruits of His creation to bring you healing! And if or as you are healed through prayer – praise Him for that too!

Lastly, whatever your health struggles, never forget the bird song.

Jesus once said (Matthew 10:29) that “not one [sparrow] will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” Trust Him.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Proverbs 3:5-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your [a]body
And refreshment to your bones.

Father God – dearest Creator,
Healing can seem like a subject too big for my understanding. Thank you for the truth that you look after us here and now through prayers and miraculous healings and via ordinary medicine. I marvel at the fact this body I wear cannot be compared to my future state when you return. 2 Corinthians 5:1 compares it to moving from a tent to a house! What a thought. Your grace is sufficient for me with any thorns in my flesh, here and now. I trust you for your goodness to me. Thank you for your ever-present lovingkindness. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

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“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.” Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28-30 New American Standard Bible 1995

28 “Come to Me, all [a]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is [b]easy and My burden is light.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Making and Taking An Opportunity to Learn

What does a parent ask their children after they come home from school?

Some will ask, “Did you learn anything today?”

But many more will say something like, “Did you have fun outside today?”

With regard to schooling, perhaps it does not matter much which question is asked and which priority is therefore being revealed.

But the same question is often asked about church: Did we have fun at church today? What did we enjoy church today? Did God bring us our happiness today?

Instead, we should be asking, “What are we learning of and from Jesus?”

Jesus gives us the great privilege of having the opportunity to learn from Him.

Throughout the Gospels, He speaks in a way that addresses life’s big questions:

Who am I?

Where did I come from?

Why am I here?

Where am I going?

Does life even matter?

Why does life even matter anymore?

Studying Jesus through the Word of God for His Children, Praying to God the Father, knowing Christ as personal Lord and Savior changes the way someone approaches and thinks about these big topics which rest on everyone’s mind.

It refreshes, transforms their perspective on time, on resources, on career, on that kind of person they want to marry or the kind of spouse they want to be.

It does this because to know Jesus truly is to invite Him to be the authority in your life, your family’s and friends. Everything changes as we learn from Him.

Ours or anyone else’s coming to Jesus begins with learning that Christ died for sins once and for all, the righteous (that’s Him) for the unrighteous (that’s us), to reconcile us to God (Romans 5:8-10, 1 Peter 3:18)—and responding to that.

Simply having a head knowledge of this is not sufficient nor equal to believing it, utterly trusting it, and being happily yoked to the one who offers us all this.

Surely, we all know people who are trying to unscramble the riddle of their lives, putting the pieces of the largest jigsaw puzzles in all history together as best they can, and we’ve all been in the same position looking at all our pieces.

But until we are willing to learn from God, the pieces will not fit.

But now we can truly know God, not because of our intellectual prowess but because God chooses to make Himself known through the truth of His word.

Are you and I fully willing to learn from Jesus in every area of our lives?

Do you see it as a privilege, and not a burden, to follow His teaching and place yourself under His authority?

Be sure to seize every opportunity to learn real gospel truth, and may it cut deep into your soul, satisfy your heart’s longings and transform your life day by day.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd,
I [a]shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside [b]quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the [c]paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no [e]evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [f]have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 [g]Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will [h]dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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