Teach Me To Pray #UNITE Linky

Teach me to pray, Oh God. In the quiet of the night, when the world stops moving, teach me to pray.

Teach me to pray, when my heart-songs are nestled, the noise of the day can’t be heard anymore.

Teach me to pray.

Teach me to pray, when my head is silenced, the clanging and rustling and bustling of those shouting in resistance, drowns itself to a rumble indistinguishable…

And voices become muted in the chaos and the novelty of it all…

Teach me to pray.

Teach me to pray, when I forget who to turn to. When friend’s become foes. Jealousies, and temperaments, and selfishness boils it’s nasty head…

Silence my soul. Set me a part. Take me away to where grace flows, and mercy dwells.

Rush me to your heart where only peace and forgiveness lay, in bounty. Make me like you. Take me to your throne-room of grace, where holiness and perfection waits….

Teach me to pray.

Teach me to pray when callings pierce deep, longings of the heart seem far reached, unattainable. When dreams are saved in the quiet residue of the heart, and no one knows the inner most thoughts. And hope seems far off…

Teach me to pray.

Teach me to pray, when the numbness of it all lures, and pulls, and draws us to drown out your voice with media and t.v…..with a million things promising some refuge other than you…Yet, they never give none.

Lord, we need to pray.

We need you, desperately, to sing over us. When clanging and banging symbols tell us to race after pleasures that don’t satisfy us. When politics and people, and opinions, and hate try to divide us maliciously….

We need your peace.

We need the character of who you are, running through us, like a river…Like a current, like a force so powerful, nothing can discourage us.

We need poetry of longing, like Lamentations, songs in our heart, like David. We need the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of Esther….

Teach us to pray.

Let us not be a people forgotten of your ways. That tiny mustard seed of faith, Oh God, please don’t let it die.

Remind us of the times, you’ve swooped in to save us, those times we have forgotten. Quicken our spirits, with hope, and courage, and faith, and redemption.

We cannot live apart from you. We need you.

Teach us to pray.

Take us to the still waters, restore our souls. Walk with us, talk with us, like the Good Shepherd who carries the broken.

Pick us up Lord, our steps are weary. The direction our flesh goes is a million miles from your purposes.

All your children must and WILL hear your voice, Scripture tells us. Let us hear from heaven…

Not just follow some rules or practice being “good Christians”. We need authentic faith. We need to hear from you.

It’s grace that separates us, relationship, not religion that divides us from those practicing plastic duty, externally. We need your righteousness, inwardly, your purity, internally.

White washed tombs won’t cut it anymore.

You are a God who sees through scams, clanging symbols, loud demonstrations of man’s desperate pleading for some remedy they can control….

When what you require of us is clean hands and a pure heart, embracing true faith that requires…surrendering to you.

And oh how we need to surrender all to you.

But, flesh wars, never dying easily. Flesh never easily drags itself to the cross comfortably….so, we hide, and run, and cover ourselves with loud mouthed convictions, proud demonstrations of our own power….

Instead of letting you be Lord over it all, trusting you are sovereign, clinging to the truth, believing, the earth is your footstool.

Forgive us Lord. We need you. We need, desperately to learn how to pray.

Teach us, Oh God. Teach us to pray. 

Show us, our lives aren’t about us, our will, our thoughts, our purposes….but about giving ourselves over to your way.

Help us to mirror you, Lord. Teach us what it means to care more for the oppressed, the suffering, the outcast…how to gather more souls in heaven, than follows on social media.

Take us to the cross of what it means, to live for your praises…and yours alone.

Teach us to pray.

And yet, you gave your life to us, out of love. Do we know how to love like that?

In our day, in this world, has this generation been molded by true saints and servants? Heard the stories, seen the faces of willing martyrs, dying out of the richness of their great love for you?

Have we soaked in the truth, the truth saints of old understood?…Above all, You are worth it.

They knew where their hope came from. They understood, to live is Christ and to die truly is gain. They knew how to pray.

Make me like them Lord… 

Someone who does more than lip service. Someone who doesn’t just do one tiny deed, then looks around for the praises of men.

Make my heart bow low, Lord, as I lift up my hands to serve you. Train my eyes to see your face, my will, bow it low Lord, until every second…

All I long for is just be with you.

Superficial substitutes of occasional service, just won’t do anymore. Give us full blown, wholehearted, single-minded abandonment to you…Like never before…

And I know that’s not possible, unless we first wait with you in the quiet, where nobody sees….Until we have bowed our knees, and you teach us…

How to pray.

Teach me pray, Oh God. Teach me to pray.

Take me to the quiet where your glory dwells, where honesty of heart meets the full acceptance of your majestic beauty…Where walls and vices, and defense mechanisms are useless.

You see through all we are…yet love us so magnificently.

Thank you that as we give our hearts to you, as we confess our imperfections, you take ours sins and throw them as far as, the east is to the west.

And then you look on us, as if I have never sinned. Cloth us in, not our own, but all of Your righteousness….

You then, come lead and use us, wrapped in arms of mercy, standing in your glory, equipped by grace for every good purpose…Our Call, our inheritance…Given to us from before the foundation of the earth.

Take me to that place where the weight of your glory dwells.

That place where I am home, safe, fully seen, and completely loved….Where sounds and time stop, and my mind is enraptured with you.

That place where angels harmonize, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the lamb. Who was and is and is to come.”

And nothing matters…but you.

Teach me to pray, Lord. Teach me, to pray.

UNITE LINK PARTY

WELCOME! It is time to join UNITE, weekly, ALL-INCLUSIVE, NO-RULES Blog hop!

Only request is…will you consider linking back, either on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter? That way, we can have more join us each and every week, making it more fun for everyone!

Also, there are some pretty humble, incredible writers here at UNITE each week!  You won’t regret stopping and taking a minute to read a few of them!

In a world of contention, hate, battles, and divisions….Isn’t it time we show them, here on the bloggersphere…what it looks like to UNITE?

Enjoy! And thanks for all your love and encouragement each week!