This Little Light of Mine

 

"Women Kneeling in Prayer", George Henry Boughton

"We must talk to God about men before we talk to men about God." ~ Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ

Ahhh. Fall.  The smell of fallen leaves, crisp morning air, colorful mums between pumpkins, cinnamon.  Doesn't it feel like your soul just got hugged by an old friend?  It's easy to find joy in the little things in this season that give us a temporary lift.

And then we turn on the news.  

Joy zapped.  

Last blog we talked about how we can fight the battle of losing our joy by using our gifts God gave us to bring a little cheer to others.  I hope you thought about some ways you could incorporate that into your daily life.  Your gifts are yours, and others need you to use them. 

I have benefited this past week by gifts some of my friends & family have used - listening to me, challenging me to act on some intellectual pursuits, thinking of me with texts, encouraging me with nostalgia, just hanging in comfortable silence, making me laugh til I can't breathe.  

In my world, it seems like sermons and studies have been emphasizing how important it is to pray.  Psalm 1:1 paints a picture of a person who meditates on God as a firmly planted tree:

Why is prayer the one thing that no one else can control but we don't use that freedom as much as we can?  How come it sometimes is the last thing we do, or think of as a 'last resort'?

Current events can so easily throw us off course unless we literally battle with the spiritual armor God has given us that enables us to stand firm, live with hope & gratitude, and love others.

   

🍂 I can't stop the war in Ukraine, but I can pray for protection to fall over their land and for the people to turn to God for comfort, guidance & salvation.  (Ps 46:1)

🍂 I can't control the attacks in Israel, but I can pray that Satan would be stopped in his blinding of God's children so they come to know Jesus as their Lord, & peace would miraculously occur. (2 Thes 3:3)

🍂 I can't stop rising inflation but I can tell God that I trust in His Providence, thank Him for His faithfulness in the way He has watched over our financial provisions in the past. (Matt 7:11)

🍂 I don't know how to comfort my friends who are struggling with health issues but I can lay them at the feet of my Heavenly Father, trusting that though I may not understand what they are going through I believe in a powerful God who causes all things to work for good to those that love Him.   (Rom 8:28)

🍂 I don't know what's happening with some of our confused kids in our society that don't know how much Jesus loved them by dying for them, but I can pray for opportunities to mentor & boldness to share Jesus love. (Rom 1:16)

🍂 I have no influence in the political arena of our leaders, but I can ask God to raise up Christians in govt. leadership so they might embolden each other, and pray for a revival among our leaders. (Habakkuk 3:2)

🍂 I don't have solutions for the mental health & homeless crisis, but I can ask God to direct me in how to respond in compassion and not judgment.  (Phil 2:1-8)

🍂 I don't know about what's next for financial security, but I can ask God for wisdom and discernment over the resources He has given me to manage & to give me a generous heart. (Phil 4:19)

Here's what I am learning:                    

    Whether I stand with palms up, head bowed, on my knees, laying flat on the ground, or holding hands with another believer joined in prayer - it doesn't matter.  

    If I don't quite know what to say-it doesn't matter.

    If my words are bumbly and awkward - it doesn't matter.  

    If I write my prayers instead of saying them - it doesn't matter.

God knows our hearts and the Holy Spirit speaks on our behalf- "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words." Rom 8:26

Our study in Ephesians has showed us that Paul prayed for us- "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Eph 3:14-19.

 

Is there any nicer prayer we could pray for someone than to want them to be rooted and grounded in love and to know fully the love of Christ?  

Our world needs our little light to shine before God in prayer. 

(For a spirited rendition of "This Little Light of Mine" that you probably didn't hear in Sunday School click here)

✙ Lord, we are so grateful that we don't need anyone or anything to come straight to You.  You know our hearts, desire our friendship and devotion, and seek us out earnestly. You grieve when we grieve, and rejoice with us- we want to share our concerns, thoughts & lives with You, not just distantly as afterthoughts.  Thank You for the way You accept our prayers in whatever form they are given.  Cause us to think of others in prayer this week Lord.  Amen.