Borrowing Prayer

Sometimes when I don't know how to express my own heart to God, 

I "borrow" the prayers of others - like THIS one this morning.
Line by line.  Sentence by sentence.
Pausing between them.

By the time I'm done, it's my own.  

Often, with the reading of the prayer, 

the "pump is primed" and I continue on with additional personal words.   

Frequently I return to the ending of the printed prayer

and end with a sincere & hearty "Amen".

Other times, the prayer is open-ended...

Suffer us not to live selfish or useless lives.

Generativity

...this was "yesterday"

"When God says 'today', he does not mean 'tomorrow'.

The words seemed to jump off the page as I read them aloud this morning from the page of Streams in the Desert, Volume 2.  Just a few lines down:

"Action ever follows vision."

A facebook friend posted yesterday after a full day consisting of a full-time job followed by a part-time one: "Still choosing generativity against stagnation."

I don't know if it's a word or not, but I choose generativity today.  There was sure a lot of it going on while our grandchildren were here.  Now it's up to me!

September 1st

It is not His cross that is heavy;
It is those that our hands have made
That hinder us on our journey,
On our aching shoulders laid;
There is strength for the load He gives us
And balm for the thorn He sends,
But none for the needless burdens,
And none for our selfish ends.


For His yoke is easy to carry
And His burden is light in weight;
He will do His share of the labor,
For He is a true yoke-mate.
Are weary and heavy-laden?
Are we anxious and full of care?
That is not the cross of His giving
But the one we make and bear.
(Author unknown)

This poem followed the September 1st entry in this old devotional book.  Each morning, my husband and I  drink a cup of coffee as we read the selection from THIS book and then another more contemporary devotional book.  Many times we are surprised how the two mesh and God reinforces a word of instruction or encouragement to us!

The poem THIS day reminds us not to load or unload ourselves, not to cut our cross to our own liking, and to keep our backs as straight as we. can and not think about what is upon them or boast of the load that we carry. 

I KNOW that  many loads I bear are those that I've loaded myself with!  Today I choose to let Jesus "load" me and release those I carry needlessly!  I hope you'll  join me in that decision.

In Our Devotional "Toolbox"...

Most mornings, my husband and I read from a devotional book and pray together while we enjoy a mug of coffee.  We are almost finished with Dr. Hayford's book, The Heart of Praise.  It has been a very encouraging and challenging book to read.  

I frequently pick up books in thrift stores that we plan to read together.  There are several waiting to be used.  I think we will move to Mrs. Charles Cowman's Streams in the Desert, Volume Two next.  We've read the first volume several times, but we can't recall using this one. 

Mrs. Cowman's are "classics",  much like My Utmost For His Highest, which we've also read a few times.

We read with our Bibles nearby, ready to look up Scripture verses that are mentioned.  

I'd enjoy hearing what devotional aids you have enjoyed!