A Heartfelt Prayer

"O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer if your servants who delight to fear your name..." Nehemiah 1:11

Many things are incorporated into fearing the Lord...It umbrellas accepting his power and his ability to do all things, make all things, his ability to judge righteously and yet love unconditionally, his ability to jump in and out of time, in and out of realms. The beautiful thing is that this fear does not drive the believer further away from God, but emits a constants pull through wounder...this fear pushes the believer to pray with their whole heart, to worship with their whole being... Delighting in fearing the name of the Lord is a great thing, a beautiful thing.

Nehemiah's heartfelt prayer in a time of distress (when he heard that the great wall of Jerusalem had been broken down and its gates consumed by fire [Neh. 1:3]) is inspiring to me. In the midst of his brokenness, he lays his heart before the Lord, yearning out to his father...O Lord, hear me, be aware of me in my pain, in my suffering. I am your servant, I acknowledge my place; I understand your greatness and fear you, serve you. Help me in this time.

"O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant and I now pray before you day and night..."

Nehemiah 1:5-6

the BLACK

The night had already fallen onto the earth when I made my observation. As my eyes skimmed the perfectly flat, black road, I was filled will remorse as the thought struck me that... this black blanket of death laid over the soil of the whole of the Earth was born from man, and even worse, the realization that man has become accustomed to it; it has somehow slipped into our thought of normality. I imagine a world with no pavement....I imagine walking in the night, my toes sinking into the soil, still slightly damp from the rain earlier in the day....I imagine looking out at a "city" and not seeing black, but seeing hundreds of shades of green and brown mix together like a painting. This is the world promised to us through Christ, this is the world I await!

" ¹ Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. ² Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

ReVeLaTiOn 21:1-5

God is my Shepherd

God is my shepherd, I won't be wanting/I won't be wanting

He makes me rest / In fields of green / With quite streams

Even though I walk / Through the valley / Of death and dying

I will not fear / 'Cause you are with me / You are with me

Your shepherd staff / Comforts me / You are my feast

In the presence of enemy / Surely goodness / Follow me

Follow me / In the house of God, forever

God is my shepherd / I won't be wanting / I won't be wanting

He makes me rest / In fields of green / Like quiet streams

Even while I'm walking / Through the valley / Of death and dying / I will not fear
'Cause you are with me / You're always with me

Your shepherd staff / Comforts me / You are my feast / In the presence of enemy / Surely goodness / Follow me
Follow me / In the house of God, forever / In the house of God, forever
In the house of God, forever

~House of God Forever by Jon Foreman

On the Outside

I never suspected my bible would look as it does now. Today as I look it over, I notice the stain from where my pen had harshly stroked the light blue leather and I had tried to mend the damage by using nail polish remover (which proved only to worsen the problem). I notice the light white circles that cover parts of the sparkling silver page tips from when it had been attacked by my exploding lunch (I believe that day yogurt had been on the menu). I notice the bent pages in Genesis from when I had fallen asleep with it in my hands.

I am relieved to remember that the outside of a book is the least important part of the object and the meaning which lies within the pages, regardless of their appearance, is the truly worth while part. But, is it not common in this day to only look at the cover, the skin, the appearance, and so easily over look the deep beauty of what is found within? Unfortunately, this has become the norm in our society and we are worse off for it.

"But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.'"

1 Samuel 16:7