My Guide

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you, God, and bless you for being a force and presence in my life. You are a miracle to me, Lord. You are my Portion, my Glorious Inheritance and the Only One I desire or will ever need. You smile upon me in so many ways, Lord, and I am so very thankful. I can feel You placing in my heart day by day a love for You that surpasses all others, Lord. You are my Hope, my Faith, my Love, my Heart. You are my Friend, my Father, my Husband. You are my Family. I adore You, and I put no one before You.

You take my worries and turn them into lessons and blessings. You take my sins and convict me and forgive me. You take my heart and enlarge it. You give me peace and love and joy and patience and promises and faithfulness beyond measure. You provide food and shelter and plans and wealth in the form of a fullness of heart that cannot be explained or fully understood. You commit to a treasure in Heaven even beyond what You provide on Earth. I am in awe of the extent of Your generosity.

Lord, when I am still and quiet enough to hear Your voice, Your encouragement and wisdom reassure me. Your gentle hand reaches down to guide me, and Your face seeks mine as I seek yours.

Your warmth and loving advice is always available, just as it was for Tamar and for Rahab and later, for Priscilla. Lord, I confess and repent that I have not always taken Your advice, and know that You forgive me and see my heart.

I thank You for continuing to love me through my foolishness, for continuing to help me place one foot in front of the other back to Your path from my own, helping me every day to hear Your voice over the din of deceivers, and holding my hand while You lift me around or over the stumbling blocks, increasing exponentially my trust in You.

All I ask, Father God, is that You continue to place in my heart a growing love for You like no other, a desire to embody the fruit of the Spirit in thought, word and action, and a yearning to glorify You in everything I do and say.

Thank you for directing my path today, Lord, and allowing me to serve You.

Your loving daughter, 

Susan

His Gifts

"Let all who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them sing with joy forever. Protect them, and let those who love your name triumph in you." Psalm 5:11
 
Taking time to fast and pray today, the first thing that entered my head was to praise Him.

You are the Lord who sings praises to us, Lord on High, through the birds and the sun and the stars and the evening breezes. You share your everlasting love with us every day, Lord, yet we-in our busyness, our self-absorption, our pride, our petty hurts and annoyances-turn away from You.

My heart grieves for those who do not stop to savor the simple splendors of a child's belly laugh in response to the excited licks of a puppy, or a tear escaping the eye of a man's loving look at his wife of 50 years as he takes her hand in his, or a piece of music, literature or Scripture written by one who knows our heart deep down to its core and touches us, weaving words that forever tie us to the moment we hear it or read it.

You, Lord, create these moments for us, binding us to You in love, in courage and in faith. You reveal yourself to us in all You do, Father God. You encourage us, teach us, favor us, and above all, sacrificed Your Son for us. What kind of love and mercy is that? 

The kind that brings me to my knees. The kind that makes me weep without ceasing. The kind that creates in me a thirst for You in a parched and deserted land. The kind that causes me to stand courageously and lift my arms to heaven and proclaim, "I love You with all my heart!"

You told us that we are Your masterpiece, Lord, yet we have done nothing to deserve this magnificent title and honor. You are the potter and we are the clay; if You see us as such it is only due to the strength and power You bestow on us, the beauty You see in us through Your eyes, Lord.

I pray today to live up to what and who You have created me to be, Lord. I know that You are not yet finished with me, and I pray that, in the finishing, You create in me a desire to make Your will my own, to make Your path mine, and to make my love for You greater than any love I have ever known. I pray, Father God, to know You more deeply with every passing day, to walk in the fruit of the Holy Spirit and to be a living sacrifice and beacon of the Light of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.