Dear Father Morning Prayer I

Dear Father, who lives in heavenly places that we can't yet see.
May we respect your name continuously.
May your inner glory fill us,
And your outer glory consume the world in due time.
We embrace your daily plans in our lives,
And all around us,
And throughout the world,
Just as your plans are carried out in the heavenly places.
Amen.

 

Poetry: The Paths You Give Me

Dear Lord, your mercy is wonderful,

So everlasting and true.

You fill me with soaring thankfulness

For all that you for me do.

I never want to desert you,

No matter how hard the way.

Your loving arms do surround me.

I seek you every day.

The paths of others do wander.

The paths of others do stray

Away from your loving kindness,

As they would seek their way.

But never again will I do it,

Consider that you don’t care.

I’ll hold to the paths you give me.

Your love will keep me there.

~ SJ Holland ~

Poetry: He Will Turn It Into Good

He Will Turn It Into Good

I heard a man on TV today,
Who spoke about suffering and trials to allay,
The feeling that struggles are really for nothing,
The often unfairness and our life's contorting.

He said if we could not determine a cause,
That we can be certain and give this applause,
That we will come out of it richer inside,
The strength that we get will show on the outside.

Some trials are too heavy, some burdens beyond,
What we think is fair, way too much put upon.
But, there is not anything God cannot use,
To make our lives better, to help us improve.

That does not support that our pain is ordained,
That God must make sorrow for blessings to rain.
He does not need trouble and horror and woe.
He needs not the evil from that pit below.

We live in a world that is set on a course.
The fault is not ours so we feel no remorse.
We know we can't change Satan's evil world reign.
The Blood of Our Savior we use as a bane.

Don't think about quitting or turning on God.
To God be the glory and give him a nod.
He will make it right, this old world has to go,
And all of the pain and the suffering and woe.

So what can't be changed will be taken for you,
And made as a blessing, to help others too.
Just keep holding on and don't dare you forget,
That you will come out of it richer and blessed.

 

~ SJ Holland~

"He Will Turn It Into Good" poem ©Holland Writing & Publishing
Image: Pixabay.com

I Prayed And It's Getting Worse! Why?

Often, when we are believing God for big changes, and praying and standing on his promises, the opposite will seem to happen. When we think things should be getting better, some things may seem to get worse. Some areas in our lives may need to collapse, so that God can build upon a stronger foundation that which we desire.

This is not pertaining to the foundation of the life of a Christian, for that main foundation is already built upon the Rock of Jesus Christ. The foundations that I'm speaking about are the areas of our lives that are a hinderance to obtaining what we want. They are superflous things, people and circumstances that need to go, that usually were not introduced by God into our lives to remain in the first place.

Some definitions of superflous include unnecessary; uncalled-for; wasteful. The best definition, though, is obsolete, which means no longer produced or used; out of date. They may have been useful at the time, according to God's plan, but are no longer so. We don't realize that many advancements, relationships and situations that we encounter are not meant to continue along the road with us.

God rarely reveals to us that what is a blessing at one time will become dispensible at his appointed time. These invited-turned-uninvited blessings must be wrenched from our lives in ways that we don't expect, because we don't understand that we must let them go. While God is permanent, the circumstances that he allows or places in our lives are not always so.

How do we handle these potentially upsetting and distressing developments? We continue to stand on the original promise of God. While doing so, we also do what is best at any given time, facing the challenges that God places before us. We determine to continue to have faith in him, while doing our part to fearlessly manage our daily lives, fearing no thing.

We go with the flow and recommit to God daily, loving and praising him with every fiber in our being. The course may veer off along the path at times, but if we are sure of what God is doing in our lives, then the path is the same. It is time to move upwards and onwards to what we asked God for.

Definitions: dictionary.com , Google 
Image: pixabay.com

Encouragement To Give Thanks!

In Everything Give Thanks!

Everything Is Not Good,

But

God Is!

In Everything,

Using Humble And Earnest Prayer,

Tell Him

What Is On Your Mind. 

I Thess. 5:18, Philippians 4:6-7

It's hard sometimes to give thanks in difficult situations, isn't it? What we are really supposed to do is give thanks for a good God, who is good always and forever. We don't have to cultivate a thankful spirit for bad things, horrific occurrences or evil outcomes. Even when being grateful for difficulties that can strengthen us, we are really being grateful for a God who will take those unfortunate circumstances and convert the results into something that will bless us richly in many ways. When we understand what to be thankful for, it's not so hard to give thanks in everything.

 

Poems Of Prayer & Praise Call For Christian Poetry

Submit your Christian poetry for reading by writer J. Todd Underhill at the SoundCloud podcast Poems of Prayer and Praise: poemsofprayerandpraise@gmail.com

Listen sometimes as he shares verse written by various writers, as well as his own poetry. You won't be disappointed, because he has a wonderful reading voice. He reads Christian poetry every Sunday morning and shares a scripture and statements of faith.