Prayer When We Can't See And Understand What Is Around Us And Ahead Of Us

PRAYER WHEN WE CAN'T SEE AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IS AROUND US AND AHEAD OF US

I am one of those people who is blessed to have a truly wonderful view out my living room window.  I live on the 19th floor of an apartment building here in Updown, New Westminster - the part of the city at the top of the hill. So  most days I can see for miles up and down the Fraser River.  

I really had to smile when I moved here a few years ago because other residents in this building were complaining that because of the new high rise building across the street they could not longer see the famous Mount Baker.  And that's true.  Right in the middle of my view is this building.  But, with a tiny adjustment in the chair to look left or right the most amazing beauty is available to me every day of the year.  I often get it in two pictures - one weather system to the west of the apartment building and another to the right.  I watch storm clouds go up the river or fog roll in.  I can see dark clouds over Port Coquitlam where my friends John and Julie live and yet when I look right, there's blue sky and sunshine over Birch Bay where my mom lived for a number of years.  All at the same time. 

Recently however, due to smoke from the wild fires in United States and wind patterns and then the fog that comes in autumn here, it's been quite amazing to see for miles and then literally seeing only what's on the street - not even to the other side of it.  That's what I'm looking at today when I prepare this video - just the fog.  You can see what I see in the bottom portion of the picture. 

This seems to me to be a bit of a metaphor for the times that we live in.  We go through fairly long and stable periods where things seem quite good and what we need to do seems fairly clear.  We get up in the mornings and get about our lives - appreciating lots of things and feeling relatively safe as we make our way through the day.

Then there are days when trouble seems to lurk - it's not yet really obstructing our activities but we can see it and sense it in the distance.  We continue on, a bit more carefully but fairly easily, for the most part.

And then the fog and the smoke come in with a vengeance and our perspective disappears.  We can't see. Things we thought were there seem to disappear.  It's dangerous to go out and do things like drive in it, actually, particularly at night  and pedestrians are at risk.  A wee child was killed in just such a tragic traffic accident here the other day. Speed and alcohol were not a factor in that accident but visibility was.

I had to giggle the other morning when the view out my window was socked in.  Normally I can see mountains in the distance on several sides.  That morning, not much.  Then one of the Psalms in my cycle of readings said this,

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2

You can imagine my amusement with the blanket of smoke and fog that I was seeing out my window.  But here's the good news, regardless of what we can see or not see, God makes wonderful promises to You.  Let's read on in the Psalm:

He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121:3-8

Wonderful words of hope and blessing, for sure.  When we do have trouble in life does this mean that these words are not true?  Thankfully, not.  Our short sight only sees the time we are living in and the troubles that surround us.  The God who loves us, who is on our side, who is working for good in our lives, sees what is on the other side of where we are right now and if we will surrender our lives into His care, even though our world is broken and we suffer some of those effects, God will get us safely through.  We don't fully understand why suffering and sickness come our way but the assurance we have from our Heavenly Father is that He will care for us and steady us through it all and get us safely home. 

Thank You Lord that there is more to life than what we can see today.  Many kinds of sickness, sorrow, and trouble seem to fill our view with fog and haze that makes it challenging to see. But, we know that You are with us, You who created the mountains, You who promise to care for us day and night for our entire life.

Help us to hear Your voice today and to surrender to Your direction.  We think we know so much and then we bump into something we didn't see and it's painful.  Help us to give our attention to Your guidance each step of the way today.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.  Isaiah 30:21

We don't have to be scholars to understand Your Words and so we pray today to give ourselves to reading and thinking about what You are teaching us.  You are the light.  You have the words of life that are everything we need and you promise that even the simple can understand them.

The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.  Psalm 119:130

So God, during these turbulent and stressful days where we can't see ahead or even understand all that's going on around us, help us to be inspired by Your truth. Help us to be good learners of what is true and how it applies to our lives.  Give us grace to make any necessary corrections in how we are thinking and behaving and keep going until we get it right.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  2 Timothy 3:16