Taking In and Taking Hold
'We are all messed up like a person compromised with impurity; even all
our right efforts are like soiled rags. We’re drying up like a leaf in
autumn and are blown away by wrongdoing. And it’s so sad because no one
calls out to You or even bothers to approach You anymore. You’ve been
absent from us too long; You left us to dissolve away in the acrid power
of our sins.
Still, Eternal One, You are our Father. We are just clay, and You are the potter. We are the product of Your creative action, shaped and formed into something of worth. Don’t be so angry anymore, O Eternal; don’t always remember our wrongs.
Please, look around and see that we are all Your people. The places that You sanctified are reduced to nothing. Zion is a wasteland; Jerusalem sits in eerie desolation. Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors worshiped You, has been burned to the ground; everything we loved is ruined by our enemies, a smoking pile of ash and debris. Now with all this, Eternal, will You just stand by and watch? Will You keep silent and let us continue to suffer?' Isaiah 64:6-12 (VOICE)
In our afflictions we remember You, oh God. We admit our many failures to You and we repent of our sins. We repent that in our busy lives we have failed to give You the time of day and the devotion that You require. We have messed up. We are undone and we are being carried away by the winds of our own undoing. Dried up and ruined, You left us to dissolve away in the acid of our sin. It is so sad that no one calls out to You anymore. Still, there is hope. We are taking it all in.
This week, hope came down to us in the form of snow! Covering us in a blanket of purity and white. Perfectly timed. We saw You in it. We heard Your voice. Just as the deer pants for streams of water, so Your love for us covers us with mercy and grace. Just as iron sharpens iron, so Your Word to us covers us with truth. Just as the pure white snow covers the earth, the Son covers us with His righteousness. Just as the fear of the Lord is the beginning, so Your Holy Spirit covers us with wisdom. If God is for us, who could be against us? We see You in it. We are beginning to rise up. Remember, that You created us and that You placed something of great value in us. Remember us. Forgive us. Look around at all Your people. We are beginning to take hold!
We are beginning to take hold. Your army of prayer warriors are forming. One in purpose, united, with the vision to pray for the returning to that which was lost. Praying for a restoration of everything that we loved that was stolen. Praying for a restoration of that which was ruined by our enemies, and is still smoking in the pile of ash and debris. We pray and we believe that through repentance and prayer that You will return to us. We pray and believe that You will not remain silent any longer. We pray and approach You with a boldness that is returning. To pray is to take hold of Your promises. To pray is to take hold of You and to beg that You will never leave us again. We have neglected You in our time and devotions long enough. Through You we find our joy. No more sorrow. No more pain. No more suffering. No more excuses.
Still, Eternal One, You are our Father. We are just clay, and You are the potter. We are the product of Your creative action, shaped and formed into something of worth. Don’t be so angry anymore, O Eternal; don’t always remember our wrongs.
Please, look around and see that we are all Your people. The places that You sanctified are reduced to nothing. Zion is a wasteland; Jerusalem sits in eerie desolation. Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors worshiped You, has been burned to the ground; everything we loved is ruined by our enemies, a smoking pile of ash and debris. Now with all this, Eternal, will You just stand by and watch? Will You keep silent and let us continue to suffer?' Isaiah 64:6-12 (VOICE)
In our afflictions we remember You, oh God. We admit our many failures to You and we repent of our sins. We repent that in our busy lives we have failed to give You the time of day and the devotion that You require. We have messed up. We are undone and we are being carried away by the winds of our own undoing. Dried up and ruined, You left us to dissolve away in the acid of our sin. It is so sad that no one calls out to You anymore. Still, there is hope. We are taking it all in.
This week, hope came down to us in the form of snow! Covering us in a blanket of purity and white. Perfectly timed. We saw You in it. We heard Your voice. Just as the deer pants for streams of water, so Your love for us covers us with mercy and grace. Just as iron sharpens iron, so Your Word to us covers us with truth. Just as the pure white snow covers the earth, the Son covers us with His righteousness. Just as the fear of the Lord is the beginning, so Your Holy Spirit covers us with wisdom. If God is for us, who could be against us? We see You in it. We are beginning to rise up. Remember, that You created us and that You placed something of great value in us. Remember us. Forgive us. Look around at all Your people. We are beginning to take hold!
We are beginning to take hold. Your army of prayer warriors are forming. One in purpose, united, with the vision to pray for the returning to that which was lost. Praying for a restoration of everything that we loved that was stolen. Praying for a restoration of that which was ruined by our enemies, and is still smoking in the pile of ash and debris. We pray and we believe that through repentance and prayer that You will return to us. We pray and believe that You will not remain silent any longer. We pray and approach You with a boldness that is returning. To pray is to take hold of Your promises. To pray is to take hold of You and to beg that You will never leave us again. We have neglected You in our time and devotions long enough. Through You we find our joy. No more sorrow. No more pain. No more suffering. No more excuses.
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