Pray Now

As God plants seeds, so does the devil
Planting seeds of many kinds of evil

Resist and he
Will surely flee

Just as we have many defenses in place
He has many weapons in his storage space

Doubt is poison
Depression is prison

How do I praise My Lord no matter how I feel?
Isn’t it better to wait until the sadness I heal?

No, pray now
He will show how

When we know not what to pray for as we ought
The Spirit guides and puts it inside our heart.

How to pray
Throughout the day

Without ceasing, as the Word demands it.
Rejoice at all times; how, when my spirit

Is downcast?
Will it last?

No, have hope, have hope inside
Then go to His throne and abide

If only I believe
He will relieve

The sadness inside my soul
Before it swallows me whole.

Into Him I press
His name I bless

The Lord gives and He takes away, by and by;
Blessed be the name of the Lord on High!

 

Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (Romans 8:26)

Pray without ceasing. (First Thessalonians 5:17)

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of Thy countenance. In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in Thy righteousness, shall they be exalted. For Thou art the glory of their strength… (Psalm 89:15-17)

“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!” (Job 1:21)

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From Prayers To Prose

From Prayers To Prose

From prayers to prose
Like a scent from a rose

Rising to heaven, sacrifices
As the sun over the horizon, rises
The forests comes to life

Enveloped in the Light
Bringing such delight
It’s a welcoming sight
After the darkness of the night

Image debuted in “Mother’s Day Roses.”

From praise to poetry
Like a sapling grows into a tree

Growing heavenward
Branches reaching upward
Creator gives words to the bard

To showcase His creation
His fantastic imagination
To give others elation
In each and every nation

Image debuted in “Looking Up Into The Golden-Leafed Trees.”

From worship to song
The notes float along

On the lofty breeze
Even the majestic trees
Dance with ease

Make a jubilant sound
Unto the Lord; let joy abound,
Let our voice be heard all around,
Let those who are lost be found!

Image debuted in “Feel No Shame.”

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I thought that it might be fun to experiment with rhyming patterns and try something new. 🙂 This one was originally a part of Eclipse; the plan was to start with the early morning and lead up to the Eclipse,  but it just didn’t work out. (The third stanza about the Light was originally about the sun returning after being covered by the moon.) So it ended up becoming its own poem with a different rhyming pattern instead. 🙂

Prayers Ascend

Prayers ascend; incense on the breeze
As the strong storms of life blow;
At times braving them won’t come with ease,
But the important thing is to never let go.

You are my Savior, Lord;
You are the Living Word;
Your life, You graciously gave;
My life, You continually save.

You brought me out of the lowest pit,
And put me on a straight path,
Now comes the hard part: staying on it.
But because of You, nothing hath

The authority,
The audacity,
To hassle me,
Or wrestle me.

My Love, my God, You are sufficient,
You rescued me from the darkest place.
The cross with Your Son that you sent:
Instead of loathe, You brought Your grace.

I don’t know how You
Love me, but I praise You
I bow to You
I pray to You.

No enemy can push me to the edge
For You are Supreme, they must flee
Your love for me surpasses all knowledge
I love You now, and I will for all eternity.

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Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. (Psalm 141:2 – thank you to Unashamed of Jesus for posting this Scripture yesterday; it was exactly what I needed to finish this poem! ❤)

And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. (Revelation 8:3+4)

Kneel Before God

Photo Challenge: Animals

DuthGoesThePhoto.net is hosting a photo challenge this week with the subject matter being animals. Here are my photos. 🙂

This is an armadillo. They are really cute but a bit shy. They are always putting their heads in the dirt to avoid the camera. (The little guy was actually looking for bugs to eat, and could care less about the camera… I was thoroughly ignored as long as I didn’t make any loud noises such as stepping on a stick. 😂)

This is an opossum. They are really interesting creatures. This one hangs around waiting for leftover cat food, but I offer him // her berries, peanut butter crackers and other things because they are naturally omnivores and aren’t supposed to eat a lot of meat like cats and dogs. I call her Prim. (Though it is possible it is a boy, in which case, Phillip. 😂) They love fruit, so on this day I fed her // him some berries as a bribe so I could take photos. In the last shot, he // she was washing his // her face, and I caught the action at just the right moment for it to look like he // she is praying. 🙂

My Lifeguard

This one is heavily inspired by Sophie’s blog post called “They Kept Asking How Depression Felt” and Miriam’s “Life’s Currents.” I love how water is used in both poems to paint with such vivid color how life can pull one down; and how depression feels in Sophie’s poem, and how Jesus can lift us back up in Miriam’s. 🙂 They inspired me to write about my experience with Him being the Lifeguard. Am I saying that I’m no longer depressed? No. Am I saying that life doesn’t get me down anymore? No. But when it gets really bad, I know that He will never leave me to drown. 🙂

I’m afraid to cross the deep stormy sea
But I climb into the boat anyway
Slowly untie and let the sails free
Say a prayer and from the dock, sail away

It is not always smooth sailing
Life likes to throw storms at us
And make us beached fish, flailing
When all we need is our Jesus

A fierce storm comes and rocks the boats
The waves come over the sides to flood
The ocean laughs and threatens and gloats
That it will be the end of me for good

Try to bail out the boat but it sinks like a stone
I do not want to jump out but I cannot stay here
Never in my life have I felt more alone
Is it possible to drown in my own tears?

I am forced to abandon ship and try to not drown
I pray to God to help me reach the far away shore
I weaken and take on water, starting to sink down
I see Him standing above, and I do not fear anymore

When I fall into the depressive waves
He is the Lifesaver Who walks on the water
Reaches in His loving hand and saves
He is the Son, sent from our Heavenly Father

I hold the faith that He knows best, for He is my Parent
He sometimes keeps me at the surface so I’ll swim
He lets me struggle and thrash about in the current
So that I may become stronger in this life and in Him

Someday I will walk beside Him on the water, if only I believe
But first I have to be strong enough to not sink to my knees
There is no room for doubt; this with crystal clarity I perceive
I know my Lord will always be there for me on the stormy seas