A Prayer for Our Nation

I walked into the voting area and the tension was so thick that it felt tangible. It was last week that I voted to avoid the crowds. The faces I saw were covered with distress and anxiety. Patience is running out for many people as they face the reality of what is happening in America.

Jesus is our only hope. I have complete faith in Christ to restore our nation to a strong, vibrant country. He restored my life beyond my highest expectations. I expect Him to do the same for the United States.

But before the Lord restored my life, He tested my faith. I believe we are headed for a season of testing. But in the end, we will come forth as pure gold.

A Prayer

Father,

We come to You and humbly ask that You keep Your hand on this nation. We are sorry for leaving You out of our decision making so many times. We realize that our country is in danger and we need You desperately to intervene. May we turn away from all that draws us away from Your love and return to You wholeheartedly. Let us rend our hearts and know that You are merciful, compassionate and abounding in love. It is Your desire to see this nation thrive and be restored. Let us rise up and be the nation that You always dreamed we would be. Raise us up into a mighty nation to be a light to a dark world. We ask You to let the man that is best suited to be our President be in office during the upcoming years. We trust You, Lord, to do great and mighty things in this nation. Let us live for You purposefully and passionately. We ask You to protect us from calamity. We love You and place our hope in You. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

  

Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. ~ Joel 2:13

 But He knows the way that I take when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

 ~ Job 23:10 

Live Abundantly!

Amy 

Love Songs

You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. ~ Song of Solomon 4:9

Read Song of Solomon Chapter 4
 

It was morning time. The sunbeams were softly touching my face while I was sitting outside. The birds were serenading me with beautiful love songs. I was slowly and intentionally breathing in the cool, spring air. There were drops of dew on the flowers and plants reminding me of the refreshment that comes in communing with Christ. The voice of the Lord beckoned me to draw close to Him. His voice enveloped my heart.

Arise, my love and come into My arms. You have stolen My heart, My bride. Let My love wash over you and let Me be the only desire of your soul. Let Me sweep you away into My embrace and carry you into heavenly places.

After a morning of stillness, I was refreshed once again by the love of Christ and ready for a new day of living in Him.

A Prayer

Beloved Jesus,

Thank You for refreshing our souls with Your love. Thank You for the beauty You have given us through song birds that sing and flowers that bloom. Help us to draw near to You every day. Let us carry this message of Your beautiful love to a broken world that so desperately needs You. We love You and are waiting for Your return. In Your Mighty Name. Amen.

A Thought to Ponder
 

There is no other love as perfect as the love of Christ.  

Live Abundantly!

Amy

This piece was written in March 2012 after a time of prayer on my patio.

Desperately Seeking God

I was organizing a closet and stumbled upon a prayer I had written to God when I was twenty years old. The words I had written expressed my desire to learn to depend on Christ like an infant with her mother. If I had known what was in store for my future, I don't know that I would have been brave enough to pray the words written in that prayer.

At that time in my life I didn't really know what it meant to be dependent on God. There was no reason to depend on Him. I was a young newlywed working for a Fortune 500 company, sailing through life. To top things off, I was head over heels in love with the man I had dreamed of as a little girl. I was "Cinderella" and my "Prince Charming" had recently swept me off of my feet. 

For a season, the sunshine in my life remained, but then the rain came, and eventually turned into violent thunderstorms. My marriage began to fail, the job I sought fulfillment from ended and I felt hopeless. Everything that made me feel safe and protected had been lost. In 1997, 12 years after I had prayed to have an infant like dependence on God I hit rock bottom.  I clearly remember wanting my life to be over.

In my desperation, God picked me up, put the pieces of my heart back together, and healed my marriage.

Shortly after God began restoring my marriage, I woke up from a deep sleep with these words replaying over and over in my head: "Wherever you go, I will go...wherever you go, I will follow..." 

During a telephone conversation, I shared the words with my mother, hoping she would have some insight. She told me that these words were from a scripture in the book of Ruth. Through tears, my mother read the words from Ruth 1:16, "Ruth said: 'Entreat me not to leave you, or turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.' "  My heart was touched, but I still wasn't sure what the relevance of this verse was for my life.

Several hours later, I felt a powerful sense of Christ's presence as I was praying, and suddenly I remembered something I had forgotten. My husband and I had chosen a verse to have engraved on our wedding bands before we were married. I couldn't get the ring off of my finger fast enough to see what scripture was inscribed on my wedding band. My heart fluttered when I saw that it was Ruth 1:16. As I sat there weeping, I rejoiced in knowing that God had known all along that we would make it through the severe storms we had faced in our marriage. 

Is there something you are relentlessly praying about, and desperately seeking God for?

* Don't give up praying (Luke 18: 1-8).

* Remain steadfast and don't lose heart (Hebrew 12:3).

* Keep a heart of gratitude (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Christ is the One who restores, heals, and performs miracles as we desperately and wholeheartedly seek after Him.

This article has been revised and was originally written in 2008 for Intercessory Prayer Network SE.

Live Abundantly!

Amy 

Quiet Moments

Psalm 37:7

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him..."

Do you ever just sit and listen for God's voice?

My day is not complete unless I sit quietly, waiting on God to reveal His love to me. I love to ask the Lord, "What would You like to say to me today?" Without fail, He speaks. It's the best thing in my life. Nothing satisfies the soul more than to hear the Maker of the Universe speak words into my heart.

Jesus,

I thank You for being the greatest joy of my life. Thank You for restoring my soul. Thank You for healing every hurt. Thank You for making me whole. Thank You for speaking words of love and guidance into my heart. You are the answer to all of life's problems. I pray for every person who has not found life in You. Jesus, bring revival to this world. Ignite a fire in the young people of my city and country. May all the people that are hurting or lacking anything turn to You and find all that their souls are longing for. I trust You to bring change to this broken world. I love You with all my heart. Amen.

Whispers from God:

Listen closely to Me everyday. I'm always waiting for you to listen so that I may whisper words of love to you. Don't let the responsibilities of life become more important than communing with Me. You'll never find what your soul longs for unless you take time to hear my voice.

A Thought to Ponder:

Quiet moments bring refreshment to the soul. ~ Amy