bible – Claire's Prayer

God’s Lovingkindness

November 4, 2025 Claire's Prayer

In 2006, Baylor University conducted a study on the way Americans view God. 31% of the population believe in an 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 16% believe in a 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 23% believe in a 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱. Only 25% believe in a 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

An interesting fact is that the majority of Christians who live in the South believe in an angry, authoritarian God; if you want to believe in a benevolent God, you have to live in the Midwest! Studies show that if you believe in an angry God, chances are that you will struggle with anxiety, paranoia, obsessional thinking, and compulsions! The ramifications of a belief in an angry God will begin to show in your health, from anxiety to ulcers and insomnia.

The Word of God paints a very different picture of God’s character. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱’𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝟮𝟰𝟴 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲! Biblical scholars complained that there was no word in English that could adequately convey the Hebrew word ‘Chesed’ or ‘Hesed’ and so have used lovingkindness, steadfast love, loyalty, kindness, and mercy. None of these words can sufficiently convey God’s steadfast and persistent love for his people. God’s lovingkindness is that sure love that will never let you go.

‘Chesed’ means the ability to get right inside the other person’s skin, until we can see with his eyes and feel what he feels. Persistent and unconditional tenderness. God will always be kind to you because that is His nature. God is kind – just as we say God is good (all the time), so God is kind, all the time. The very moral core of the covenant was described using the word ‘chesed,’ God declared that he would show his lovingkindness “𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔”. Exodus 20:6. God has covenanted with you to show you kindness.

Psalm 26:3 says, “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔, 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉.” God’s lovingkindness is something we are to declare, we are to talk about, we are to tell our children about, to always have before our eyes! If His ‘chesed’ is before our eyes, our focus will not be on his anger but on his steadfast lovingkindness.

So, where does that leave us – as God’s people, should we be kind? Or when someone does something that isn’t in line with what we believe, should we ask that the LORD’s judgment be visited upon them? Kindness for me, but judgment for them? Instead, we should pray that the LORD is kind to them, that he showers them with his ‘chesed’ – for “𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.” We need to pray, as Paul did, that the Father would grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we would know Him more, that He would crown us with His lovingkindness. That His kindness would always be before us, that we would pray, ‘𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲.’

Broken or Crushed?

April 15, 2025 Claire's Prayer

‘𝑨𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔; 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅.’ Matthew 21:44

Which would you choose? The breaking or the crushing? Honestly speaking I’m not sure that I would want either, but this is the choice given by Jesus to the chief priests and Pharisees.

I remember a time in my life when I was broken. So broken. Into little pieces. Not my bones, but my heart. Dashed upon the rock. Truly rock bottom, my life shattered into little pieces around me. Sounds awful doesn’t it. But I remember what happened next. Jesus picked me up, took my broken heart and mended it, took the shattered pieces of my life, and put them back together until they were beautiful. Psalm 40:2 became my song, “𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒊𝒕, 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒂 𝒉𝒚𝒎𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅. 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” From that broken place my Abba Father put joy in my heart and for that I am eternally grateful.

You see, Jesus is that stone, our precious cornerstone, the one that we can fall upon, the one that we can go to in humbleness of heart and say, “𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵, 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦.” When our hearts are shattered into a million tiny pieces, we can fall upon The Rock.

If we head to the concordance, we can see that the word ‘broken’ in Greek means broken! Or even shattered. But dig a little deeper, the root word of that broken denotes ‘𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀!’ It speaks of relationship, relationship with the very God we have fallen upon. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴! Perhaps choosing the breaking is not so bad after all.

What about the crushing then? Being crushed by the rock? In comparison crushed means ‘𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱.’ Dissolved into dust and disintegrated to nothingness. Truly a point of no return. The crushing fury of God’s judgement coming down with full force, crushing into nothing. “𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐’𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.”

We can choose to either fall on the rock and be broken, let Him fill every area of our lives, give our lives to Him, and let Him take those broken pieces and refashion them, remake them into something wonderful. Something that reflects Christ. Or we can choose to let the rock fall upon us, the rock of God’s fury, obliterating us to dust. We can choose life or death. Following Jesus or not following Him. Not wanting to preach gloom and doom or even hellfire and damnation, but not choosing is also making a choice.

Now today, when I think about Jesus, I wonder if as He said these words, he was thinking about the choice He too had to make? Did his thoughts stray to the fact that He would be crushed by the rock? Crushed instead of us, for us! Taking the punishment, we deserved upon Himself, drinking the cup of God’s wrath. Today, as I think about Jesus, I know what my choice will be just as I know what His choice was. Do you know yours? Today, I am thankful that because of Jesus, I can throw myself upon the rock, my Saviour and Redeemer.

“𝒀𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅’𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒏, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅.” Isaiah 53:10 – 11.

Help Us To Forgive

April 9, 2025 Claire's Prayer

“𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔.” Matthew 6:12

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. This is one where you have to trust in the LORD and His plan for your life. You have to trust that He knows best, that His ways are higher. It’s not easy abut it is necessary. This daily cry to the LORD to forgive us is a critical search of your heart. Were there words spoken too harshly, unkindness in my heart, unnecessary anger? “𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯.”

1 John 1:9 tells us, “𝑰𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒔, 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.” Our Abba Father is faithful, and he will forgive us but there is an If at the beginning of that sentence. If we confess, we will be forgiven. One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 103:12; “𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒖𝒔.” When we ask our Father for forgiveness He separates us from our sin, miles and miles and miles away he takes our sin from us! “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳!”

Then comes the “𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔,” part! A quote I have never forgotten is, “𝗨𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗲.” When we hold unforgiveness in our hearts it rapidly turns to bitterness and resentment. Your beautiful Father knows that when you forgive someone who has hurt you, you will be set free.

There have been times in my life when I definitely don’t want to forgive the one who has hurt me, broken my heart and crushed my soul. When feelings of anger and a bitter taste are still on my tongue, that the LORD has asked me to forgive. And I have. Emotionally I haven’t ‘𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁’ like forgiving, but I have gone through the motions, I have spoken the words, in faith I have forgiven. Within days a new sense of freedom would permeate my soul, there would be a spring in my step and the realization that I had indeed forgiven.

Today, as you pray, take a moment to search your heart, know that God will take your sin from you and forgive you in seconds. As you talk to Him ask your Abba Father to help you forgive those you are struggling to forgive, even if you don’t ‘𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁,’ do it by faith and let Holy Spirit minister to your soul and bring you to a place of freedom.

Our Daily Bread

April 7, 2025 Claire's Prayer

“𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅.” Matthew 6:11

This part of the prayer seems so simple, and really it is! But it is in the acknowledgement of our daily needs that we will realise our absolute dependance on Him. It’s a cry for provision in every area of our lives, for all our needs. It’s also a reminder from the LORD that we are not to worry about tomorrow, or next week, or next year. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

My husband will often say to me “𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎,” when I’m voicing some of my worries and fears and he is absolutely right. I often do that, worrying about things that I can’t do anything about, except of course take it to the LORD in prayer. In the very same chapter of the LORD’s prayer, Jesus tells us; “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝑬𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏.” (Matthew 6:34) And so, as we ask the Father for our 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 bread it becomes a reminder to leave those troubles at His feet, not worrying about tomorrow.

Something the LORD’s prayer tells me is that God’s provision for my life is not dependent on me. He doesn’t provide for me because I’m all prayed up, have done good deeds, or have done anything at all. His provision is not contingent on me doing the right thing, because I am a sinner saved by grace! It is the righteousness of Christ that God sees, not my righteousness. He provides for me because he loves me.

Our Abba Father has an open-door policy. Whenever you want to go to Him whether for comfort, for guidance, for your daily bread, or simply for a chat, He is there waiting. There are no rituals needing to be done before He will hear or before He will give. It is all done by the blood of Jesus, our perfect Savior and Redeemer.

Today, as you pray, remember that your Abba Father is waiting for you, longs to spend time with you, and will indeed give you your daily bread, providing for everything that you have need of.

The LORD’s Prayer

April 3, 2025 Claire's Prayer

Today’s a good day for an honest truth, sometimes I find prayer difficult! There are days the words don’t seem to flow, or all the words are about me and what I think I need, or even days when I skip praying all together because of my inability to say no to people or the busyness of the day. There is never a time when the LORD is not in my thoughts and short prayers are peppered throughout my day. The prayer I’m talking about is time spent before the Father, waiting on Him, intentional, focused prayer. Can anyone else relate?

Something often forgotten is that Jesus himself taught us how to pray, He gave us an example, telling us to pray in this way. We call this The LORD’s Prayer, and I like so many others learned to recite this prayer when I was just ‘knee-high to a grasshopper!’ Or really little! You can find this way of praying in Matthew 6:9-13.

“𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚:

𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆.

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑶𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.

𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕𝒔, 𝑨𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒆.

𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒏.”

Studying this sacred prayer, this roadmap to a fulfilling and fervent prayer life has helped me in so many ways, especially on the days I find difficult. It is a prayer that is breathtaking in its beauty, resplendent in revelation, and packed with power. If you take the time to focus on the words, consider what you are saying and not merely repeat it by routine you will rediscover the precious words of Jesus that will breathe new life into your rhythm of prayer. Interesting to note that just a few verses earlier Jesus said, “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚, 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐.” (vs 7) Mindlessly repeating the LORD’s prayer without thought will not achieve anything.

Tomorrow we’ll dive a little deeper into this prayer and see what God unfolds, but today, I invite you to take a moment and say the LORD’s Prayer with me and as we do really think about the words we are saying. Say it out loud so that it echoes through your soul – “𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓…”

I Am Prayer

March 26, 2025 Claire's Prayer

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁. Especially words spoken against you by a friend. They cut deep and can become a festering wound. When I was young, if someone was being mean we used to chant the phrase; “𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘦!” But the fact of the matter is – that simply isn’t true. Words that are spoken have great power, the bible tells us the power of life or death! (Prov 18:21)

Powerful King David, the man after God’s own heart, wasn’t immune to the wounding of words from those he considered friends. Psalm 109:4-5 tells us this, “𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆; 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆. 𝑰𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.” David felt surrounded by words of hatred, attacked for no apparent reason, accused, maligned, and criticized. Sound familiar? He was hurt and his soul was downcast. No-one would have blamed him if he had risen up and retaliated in kind. I am amazed at David’s response – “𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.”

“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓!” David took it to the LORD in prayer. Even when they attack me and accuse me, I will pray. Even when they shout words of hatred at me, talk about me behind my back, I will pray. Even when they lie about me, slander my name, or smear my name, I will pray. I am a man of prayer. I for one can certainly learn something from David as so often I react immediately instead of taking the time to pray and asking the LORD what my response should be.

The Hebrew meaning behind David’s phrase, “𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓,” is interesting. Translated it becomes, ‘𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.” David’s whole life was characterized by prayer, it was that important to him. Charles Spurgeon puts it this way, “𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦.” David became prayer as they became hatred, he became prayer as they became discontent.

And so, the question becomes, which do we want to be? We have to choose. We can choose to become people of prayer or people that are marked by the unkind words we say, by the gossip that we speak. In my heart of hearts, I want to be prayer but today is a good day to take stock of the things I say, to consider my actions and reactions, and to remember to take everything to God in prayer.

Giants in Prayer

March 24, 2025 Claire's Prayer

Have you ever heard of David Livingstone? As a child I loved the story of how this incredible Scottish missionary discovered Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, he thought the falls were so beautiful that he stated, “𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵”. After many years of not hearing from Livingstone a reporter was sent out to Africa to find him, upon locating him he declared the famous quote, “𝘋𝘳. 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦?!” As young preteens we just loved this phrase and would repeat it to each other in the best British accent we could muster and then collapse in fits of giggles! However, this is not the story that I want you to remember.

David Livingstone was sent a note by one of the chiefs in the surrounding area where he was working. The message said that they would lose their lives that very night as he was coming with his warriors to slaughter them all. As you can imagine Dr. Livingstone was very afraid and cried out to the LORD for protection. That night, nothing happened! Some months later the same chief gave his life to the LORD and Livingstone asked him why he hadn’t killed them as they had said they would. The chief looked at him and told him, “𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 39 𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱!”

Many years later, David Livingstone returned to Scotland, to the small rural church that had sent him to Africa, and he told them the story. After the meeting the church secretary approached him and asked, “𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶?” Livingstone did and gave it to her. Looking through the church records she came to that very day and showed him the entry. 𝗢𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟵 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲! Coincidence? I think not.

Sometimes we don’t realize what the scripture, “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉,” really means! (James 5:16) What is the much? I would think much more than we could ever even begin to imagine. I do know that our prayers don’t have to be fancy ones, they don’t have to be long ones, or even ones with flowery words, but they have to be effective and fervent. Led by the Holy Spirit.

The far-reaching effects of our prayers we may never fully know, but we do know that great things are achieved by prayer, there is power in our prayer, and God hears and acts on every effective, fervent prayer!

He Restores My Soul

January 20, 2025 Claire's Prayer

There are times in my life where I feel worn down, burned out. I can feel more easily irritated with people and oh so frustrated! Is that you today? Do you feel as though your soul is downcast, a touch of depression has slipped in, and those tears are being only just held back? Almost as though your life is quite simply upside down. These are time to cry out to the LORD, “𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹!”

God is indeed our Good Shepherd, and I am certainly a sheep. I go astray, I wonder off, I like to do things on my own, in my own haphazard way. How thankful I am that our wonderful Father is that shepherd who will always come after me, showing His patience in so many ways.

Here’s something interesting I didn’t know before. Have you ever heard of a ‘cast sheep?’ Many sheep have a tendancy to roll onto their backs and as their feet loose contact with the ground they find themselves unable to turn back over. Sometimes it’s because their wooly coat is overgrown, or they are out of shape and overweight. But try as they might, they cannot right themselves or turn themselves over. They are upside down. They have to wait for the Shepherd to come and turn them over again, to set them on their feet once again.

How like me in my own life – the stress and weight of the world causing me to feel as though everything is mixed up, upside down, difficult, tiring. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲. 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 ‘𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘀.”

The Hebrew word for restore means ‘𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯.’ God will return us to a place where there is life, energy, vision for the future, but we cannot do that ourselves. Only God can restore our soul. Only our loving Father can make things right again. We cannot do this on our own and cannot carry on in life as though we are the Energizer Bunny! Even he runs out of power eventually.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘀? Through His Word, His Word that brings life, renews our mind, gives us the strength to run and not grow weary. Psalm 19:7 tells us: “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡; 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚.” My desire is to be restored, wise, full of vision, energized, right side up!

Today if you feel spiritually beaten down, exhausted, if you’re weighed down by the burdens of the world. Perhaps on the receiving end of something unfair, so weary that you feel that you cannot overcome. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘀𝗼𝗮𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹.

An Abundance of Gifts

December 4, 2024 Claire's Prayer

There is only one thing that will always remain the same, one thing that will never change, is constant, and ageless. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫, 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭. He is the gift given to us that we celebrate every year. And, oh, what a gift! The gift to top all other gifts!

I confess, I love gifts. I love giving them, and I love receiving them. Our Father in heaven loves to shower His children with gifts, too. Ephesians 1:3 says, “𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨.” We are blessed beyond measure. Blessed with abundance. Nothing in the heavenly realms is held back by your Abba Father, who did not spare His own son’s life because of His great, unfathomable love for you. We can say with absolute assurance that our Heavenly Father has blessed us.

After the tragedy of 9/11 warehouses were stocked to the roof with donations, 18 wheelers came from as far as Alaska filled to the brim with everything a New Yorker could need, from teddy bears to toothpaste, from dog food to diapers. In fact, more than 2 million square feet of gifts flooded the capital, an estimated $75 million dollars’ worth! How incredible. What a spectacular show of generosity! If you can imagine those warehouses stocked full then you can imagine the abundance of spiritual gifts your Abba Father has for you! Unending. Lavish. Bountiful. The LORD is not slow to give or miserly.

Of course, every gift He gives is perfect. “𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚…,” says James 1:17. These gifts are enduring, don’t need to be taken back to the store, never wear out, and don’t need to be replaced. Gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, God’s Word revealed, His holy presence and eternal life through His Son. I could go on and on, but I know you get the picture!

This year, I pray that our Abba Father would give you the gift of prayer, the gift of time, and the gift of hearing His majestic voice. I pray, too, for you and your family, that you would receive the gift of joy! Unspeakable joy as you celebrate the birth of our beautiful, generous, and giving Savior, Jesus Christ!

Who Do You See When You Pray?

November 12, 2024 Claire's Prayer

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟳𝟬𝟬 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲?! From Father to Friend, The Word to The Way, Jesus, True God, Son of God, Strong Tower, My Shepherd, My Shelter, King of Kings and LORD of Lords, Bright and Morning Star, Jehovah Elohim – The LORD God, El Hayyay – The God of My Life. What about the Alpha and the Omega, Alpha being the first letter of the Greek Alphabet and Omega being the last. Essentially saying, God you are everything from A to Z and somewhere between Alpha and Omega there are 700 names of God, 700 different aspects of His personality, 700 different character traits that make up your God.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱? Is it the one hanging on all those old ancient walls, the one that shows Jesus as a shepherd with a lamb around His neck? Or perhaps it is the one of Our Savior hanging upon a cross. Does He have His hand outstretched across the stormy sea? Do you visualize Him as friend, constant companion? When you close your eyes and begin to pray what do you see? Do you see the man, or do you see Almighty God?

Revelation 1:12-17 describes Jesus, the Son of God, this way – “𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏, 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒍, 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒛𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑰𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑, 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆-𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅.” What a description of power, of might, of majesty. Jesus portrayed with eyes of fire, those same eyes that had filled with tears at Lazarus’ tomb now flaming with the fire of a righteous Judge before whom nothing is hidden. A voice resounding and roaring with power and authority. His face shining like the sun, glory blinding, light dazzling, that same glory that struck Paul blind on his way to Damascus.

I think that what you see when you pray makes a difference, the revelation of Jesus caused John to fall down as though dead. He knew this was Almighty God, the God of All Power, the God who crushes the enemy, the God who can blind you with one brief glance at His glory. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆? All powerful, for whom nothing is impossible. Today when you close your eyes, I pray that you would see Jesus in all of His brilliance, in all of His power and that as you do faith would arise and revelation would be yours just as it was John’s. Almighty God, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, your everything from A to Z.

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