Precious Heavenly Father, I stand in awe of Your power. The fact that one day brings ice and disaster and they next day brings the sunshine and warm weather. Oh God I’m reminded of this verse…
“Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.”
Psalm 35:4-5
Tonight as I sit in a lit house with running water and flushing toilets I am two things: extremely grateful and extremely burdened…
- Grateful that my kids have a warm bed and clean little bodies, thanks to the many man hours poured out by the Duke Power & Pike employees (sorry if I missed any other companies).
Burdened because even though I know this is their job, they are still willing to endure the long hours and the unnecessary persecution in order to serve an ungrateful people. Lord, as the year progresses and the threat of bad weather diminishes may we be thankful for every day these companies keep our power on and our lives uninterrupted, instead of remembering the few days we had to do without the luxury of electricity during a situation that was out of their control.
- Grateful that these past few days are not my norm. Clean bodies, clean teeth, clean clothes, a clean home, full fridge and freezer, running water, warm beds, these things are just a few of our norms… our blessings.
Burdened by this realization… Forgive me for thinking these things we owed to me… for thinking this was something I was entitled too. It has only been by the provision of Your gracious hands that we have running water and electricity at all. Lord, thank You for choosing to bless us in a way that definitely makes this life a whole lot easier. May we do our part to give of what You have so generously given to us.
- Grateful that You continue to show the power of Your mighty hands. Throughout the last few days, as I’ve watched the situation outside change from ice storm to a beautiful spring day, I was reminded that… this too shall pass…
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
Burdened for those still living in darkness… These few days without power have been a light affliction indeed, compared to the eternity one will spend without You. Lord, we as Christians have been given a huge honor and privilege, which is to reveal Your honor and glory to a lost, dark and dying world. We have been commissioned by Jesus Christ, Himself, to love the people of this world, friend and foe, as He loves us. We are to follow His example, which means to extend grace, to show mercy, to sacrifice self in such a way that You might be seen.
Forgive me for the times I’ve concealed Your glorious light within this sin-stained flesh. I pray that You would remind me how much Jesus was inconvenienced and how great He suffered so that I might live in the Light! Restore in me the places broken and damaged by sin, so that Your precious Holy Spirit, the source of Your power dwelling within me, may freely move… without fail… regardless of the storms that I am called to weather.
“The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
Romans 13:12
Father, open our eyes to see that each and every decision we make comes with a high price tag. We can either choose to reveal to the world that we most definitely serve a risen Savior by allowing Him to shine His glorious, redeeming Light in and through us in such a way His Living Water cannot be denied… or we can choose to shut Him out and live a life that seeks to preserve our self… thus quenching His fountains, filled with His precious blood that can provide a perfect, complete once-and-for-all cleansing for each and every sin of each and every single one of us.
For it’s in the precious name of Jesus and because of His righteousness that I can enter Your presence and ask these things of You, amen.
Categories: Prayers to My Father
A Place For EVERY Woman 