Prayer That Nourishes Our Soul

NOURISHING WORDS FOR OUR SOUL

Today I invite us to consider those words from God‘s word that nourish us for the long-haul.

This pandemic is certainly becoming the long-haul and we need those practices and those encouragement that can sustain us through the restrictions and difficulties that we not only experience ourselves, but which we see painfully lived out in the lives of those we care for.

I don’t know what words of God‘s heart touch your heart and sustain you over the long haul but today I’ll share some of mine and will pray with those, partly because they are wonderful truths for all of us, and partly because I pray that we will each be in touch with God’s heart in a way that allows those words of love and care and encouragement He’s given us personally to nourish us once again.

Lord we begin today in your presence with a desire to live in peaceful trust. With the writer of Psalm 131 we say:

Lord, my heart is meek before you. I don’t consider myself better than others. I’m content to not pursue matters that are over my head, such as your complex mysteries and wonders, but I’m not yet ready to understand. I am humbled and quieted in your presence. Like a contented child who sits on its mothers lap, I am your resting child and my heart is content in you. O people of God, (and that’s us Lord), your time has come to quietly trust, waiting upon the Lord now and forever.  Psalm 131

But we don’t know what will face today and many of the things that we do face particularly during this time of the pandemic seem overwhelming. Today, leaning on your faithful words, we say:

God is able to make all grace abound to us so that in all things, at all times, having everything we need, we can abounding in good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

How you manage to do that, particularly during these up-and-down times, we don’t understand but we trust you. We trust what you are doing whether it is obvious to us or whether it is being done below the surface. We want to receive the grace and help that you are making available to us in great measure today.

And then Lord we want to lift our lift our heads from looking down at the troubles that are with us are looking inside at the deficiencies we see there. We want to look to you, to who you say we are, to all that you have in mind for us to be and do today. And so we proclaim, once again only because your word tells us:

We are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good work, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

We make ourselves available to you for all the good work you have in mind for us to do that will help fulfill the prayer model Jesus gave us when He asked that: Your kingdom come, your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

We end today with the lovely words from Psalm 23 that I return to over and over again because they touch all the bases.  We allow them to still and refresh our hearts today as we say:

The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where he restores and revives my life.

He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name. Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way.

Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for you are near. You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit; you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows.

So why would I fear the future? For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!

Take a few moments to reflect on what words nourish you and fill you up.  God is a very personal God who will speak personally to us if we ask Him to do so.