Claire's Prayer

“𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆.”  Matthew 6:9

Oh, the very beginning of this prayer!  Our Father!  Our Father.  Not just anyone’s Father, not just Jesus’ Father, but our Father!  The very fact that He is my Father threatens to overwhelm.  The level of intimacy that this speaks of is deeply personal, and not just any Father but a perfect Father.  A Father that never disappoints, hurts or frustrates, a Father that is ever present and always near, not distant or detached.

As Jesus introduced this way of praying to His disciples they would have been surprised.  Surprised at being ushered into the family, surprised at the thought of addressing the Great I Am as Abba Father.  Dearest Father.  Daddy.  It’s a little surprising to me too, this wonderful invitation to be a part of the family of God.  A family which takes me as I am, encircles me, beckons me to sit at the feet of our Abba Father.  I love how this prayer reminds us that this is no earthly Father, but a Father who is in heaven.  A heavenly Father, one that is omnipresent.

Like two beautiful bookends, the beginning of this prayer and the end start with Praise.  An absolutely appropriate way to begin any time of prayer.  “𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆!”  May your name, Abba Father, always be glorified.  The word “𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱” means treated as holy, dedicated, consecrated, set apart, sanctified.  We praise You, Father, as you are a holy God. When we think of praising His name, we are giving praise to the nature and very character of God, His reputation, His goodness, His love.  That right there is the very essence of glorifying God’s name.  He is set apart, different to us and as such His name needs to be treated with reverence, never leaving our lips in any other way, respected.

Psalm 9:10 says, “𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”  Those who know your name, who know your character, who know your goodness, who deep down inside have experience your love, they trust you.  We can know someone’s name and not ‘know’ them.  But we know the living God and so we trust Him.

As you begin your day, your time of prayer, as you sit at the feet of your Father today, start with Praise, glorify His name, worship your Abba Father – He is worthy of it all!

In John 7:37-38 Jesus said;“𝑰𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓.” Jesus promised not only to fill those who are thirsty, but promised that rivers of life would flow out from their innermost being. 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻, 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁.

In Israel, there are two seas that are fed from the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee, teaming with life, home to a myriad of fish, the soil is so fertile that almost any plant will flourish. The rabbis wrote, “𝙰𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜, 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝙷𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.”

The other sea fed by the Jordan is the Dead Sea. During the Crusades, this sea was sometimes referred to as the “𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹’𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗮!” Sitting at 1,300 feet below sea level, this lake is the lowest place on earth. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. Nothing.

These two seas are in the same area of Israel, fed by the same river but one of them is full of life and the other quite dead! The difference is that the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out again, but the Jordan only flows into the Dead Sea, there is no outlet. The Dead Sea takes the river in and keeps it to itself. The result–no life at all!

If we become like the Dead Sea, wanting only to be poured into, the results will be catastrophic. We need to be like the Sea of Galilee, thirsty, drinking of the Living Water but letting that river flow from us. 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺. It’s only when we do this that we will begin to see abundant, rich fruit in our lives.

Have you ever had news that seems simply too good to be true?  In fact, the news is so good that joy explodes inside you, and you can hardly comprehend it!  I remember when my husband and I were trying to have a baby, time after time we were disappointed.  And then that day came, I’ll never forget it, when the nurse told me I was pregnant!  I wanted to jump over the counter and kiss her, I couldn’t believe it.  I walked home floating on a cloud, so incredibly overjoyed.  𝗜𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲.

In 1965, Navy Commander Porter Halyburton was shot down over Vietnam along with his co-pilot.  His wife Marty Halyburton was informed of his death and the news was absolutely devastating.  A young widow at 24 with a newborn baby to raise by herself.  Coming to grips with her husband’s death was truly hard and I cannot imagine the river of tears she must have shed.  18 months later it was discovered that Porter was a Prisoner of War in the Hanoi Hilton and not dead at all!  Military representatives came to Marty’s home with the dramatic news that her husband was alive – what a roller coaster.  She was then told not to tell anyone at this point.  How do you hide a new spring in your step, a smile that radiates from your lips, and eyes that brim with excitement?  As soon as Marty was permitted, she called everyone she could think of with the news; “𝗛𝗲’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲!”

After Jesus rose again He appeared to the eleven disciples, at first, they were frightened thinking that they were seeing a ghost and then Jesus showed them the brutal scars in His hands, the nail marks in His feet.  In Luke 24:41 it says this; “𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, “𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙩?”  They were so amazed, and joy bubbled up within them, they almost couldn’t believe it.  Jesus was alive!!  They bought Him some fish and he ate, definitely not a ghost.  Can you just imagine their excitement?!

Joy and Amazement, Delight and Wonder.  Elation that Jesus was alive, that He rose again, defeated Satan, sin and death on our behalf!  Good news indeed.  Very good news.  Should this not be our reaction every time we sit with Him, each morning when we breath the name “Jesus,” at the beginning of our prayers.  Joy and Amazement that we are meeting with the One who made the stars to shine, took on the enemy and won, knows every hair on our heads.  Delight and Wonder that the Savior of the World sits down and communes with us! Oh, Precious Jesus, how wonderful. 

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗷𝗼𝘆, 𝗷𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗱.

Imagine watching the Creator create right at the beginning of time! A streak of liquid gold rips across the sky and thunder and lightning are spoken into existence. Tiny tree frogs of every hue appear out of nothing. An ostrich with its long, scrawny neck and incredibly lengthy eyelashes, a chameleon changing from one color to the next, soft baby lambs and mighty lions with enormous feet shaking their golden manes, all summoned at the word of God! Creativity at its finest!

In Exodus 31:3-5 we discover a man named Bezalel. Bezalel was the first man to ever be 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 with the Spirit of God. “𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙙𝙤𝙢, 𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙞𝙣 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥, 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨, 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙, 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙯𝙚, 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥.” Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God so that he could create! The gift of creativity from the Creator!

Here we stand, right on the edge of a brand-new year. A fresh year full of opportunity. Let’s pray that the Creator would fill us with His Holy Spirit enabling us to be full to the very top with creativity. That the Spirit would give us wisdom, understanding, new ideas and fresh insight into all that we do. That everything we put our hands to will prosper (Deut 28:8) and that the LORD would give us every place we set our feet! (Josh 1:3)

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗷𝗮𝗺-𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆!

A New Year. New challenges. New adventures. From what we have learned from the years gone by, there will be excitement, breathtaking miracles, trials, and tests, and the presence of the LORD with us through every single moment. Could 2025 be the year we choose to live in faith and obedience like those great heroes of the faith? A great army marching side by side, conquering the great unknown for the King and His Kingdom?

As I contemplated one of those great heroes, Elijah, I concluded that so many of those quests and commands from the Great I Am are often not the way I would plan them, but Elijah was obedient every step of the way. Do you remember the widow whose oil and flour never ran out? The story in 1 Kings 17 is worth a read. “𝙂𝙤 𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙕𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙.” Go to a region of the Gentiles, Sidon, the one where Jezebel reigns? Surely there were widows in Israel. A widow would supply Elijah with food! Were they not the ones who lived in poverty? An unlikely quest, but one that Elijah obeyed without question when I have so many.

As Elijah met with the young widow and asked her to feed him, he certainly challenged the status quo. She told him she was gathering sticks to cook a last meal for herself and her son and then they would die! His response was contrary to anything that could be seen, when all the widow could see was scarcity, he talked of plenty, Elijah recognized God’s provision when the widow could only see deprivation. Elijah brought an encouraging word, one of faith into a situation of fear and resignation, his words to her; “𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙.”

Elijah trusted in the promise before He saw it, he knew God would deliver. He acted in obedience. Death and disaster were silenced by hope and a breathtaking miracle broke through. God provided, for both Elijah and the Gentile widow and her son.

As we go into 2025 let’s be like Elijah, trusting in the promises of God even when we don’t see them, obedient to those instructions that seem out of the ordinary, a willing participant in God’s breathtaking miracles!

There is something absolutely magical about a New Year—that clean slate, the opportunity to do things better or differently to the way they were done last year. There is something wonderful about putting up a crisp, clean calendar and carefully writing in those first new appointments. It is a time when we reflect back on the year before and vow to pray more, read more, give more, spend more time with the children, with your loved ones, with the LORD.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says that “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨; 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙙; 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜; 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨.” Our LORD doesn’t just give you a clean slate at the beginning of a New Year, but every single day of the week! His love for you is new every day. It never, ever ceases. There is no end to His mercies!

As you sit back and reflect on what this New Year will bring, allow God to take His pen and begin to write your story on your clean slate. Remember that He will give you a new one whenever you ask for it! His mercy is new every morning and He is faithful—so very faithful!