The Power of Prayer and Praise

Apr 2016

Zoe

A bruised reed, Lord, that's all I am.
A smoking flax, Lord, do not put out.
I love you, Lord!

...

Apr 2016

Zoe

These hands hang down
and my heart droops within;
these feet are tired - my back sags
shouldering so much,
visible and invisible.
Oh Lord, sustain me,
I pray!
Lend me
strength to
continue,
lest I should
fall and not
be able
to get
up.

...

Apr 2016

Alyssa Underwood

From the Journal of Martyred Missionary Jim Elliot

What is this, Lord Jesus, that Thou shouldst make an end
Of all that I possess, and give Thyself to me?
So that there is nothing now to call my own
Save Thee; Thyself alone my treasure.
Taking all, Thou givest full measure of Thyself
With all things else eternal—
Things unlike the mouldly pelf by earth possessed.
But as to life and godliness, all things are mine
And in God's garments dressed I am;
With Thee, an heir to riches in the spheres divine.
Strange, I say, that suffering loss
I have so gained everything in getting
Me a friend who bore a cross.

~ Jim Elliot (1927-1956)

Apr 2016

Alyssa Underwood

Blessed Brokenness

Lord, let them see me as a fool
If only You’ll undo me
Take pride and self and rights away
But beckon me come to Thee

If failing is what humbles me
If falling is what breaks me
Then let me fall and fail and faint
Just come, possess and take me

You are the One my soul desires
There is none other for me
So bring the storms, the trials, the woes
For in those best I know Thee

You see the pain my heart requires
To mold and make me like Thee
So send the fires which please You most
I will not fear what strikes me

I trust Your goodness and Your grace
They shall not ever fail me
You hide my life safe in Your grasp
Though hell’s worst fiends assail me

You’ve chosen me as Your own child
A treasure ‘cause You found me
You’ve named me Your beloved bride
With glory You’ll soon crown me!

#trust #growth #storms #pain #chosen #blessed #broken #brokenness #intimacy #trials

Apr 2016

Alyssa Underwood

Comfort from a King

Thou hast seen my grieving heart
And hast not turned my soul away
But invited me, “Come closer.”
Ever near Thy heart to stay

Thou hast drawn me with Thy goodness
And encircled me with grace
Yea, bestowed such loving-kindness
And revealed to me Thy face

Apr 2016

Alyssa Underwood

The Prize

O Prize of heaven, Treasure of my heart
Let me suffer, if only I may seek Thee
Let me fail, if only I may find Thee
Let me give up all, if only I may gain Thee
For Thou and Thou alone art the Prize

"I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 3:10-14

#jesus #god #surrender #suffering #failure #loss #treasure #intimacy

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