praying honestly

 Thursday, April 16, 2026 (5:48 a.m.)

Holy God,

I love You. I’m glad to be Yours. And I’m feeling out of sorts this morning.

How’s that for being honest?

(6:44 a.m.)

And just like that [snap!] You took me exactly where I needed to be. Straight into Your Word. Teaching me again that I am not alone.

You are good. You are faithful. You are just. You are righteous. You have so much for us.

Holy God, how I ask (Matthew 7:7) You to continue Your work in me. I want to learn to pray honestly with You. Telling You my hurts. And fears. Not only the joys and hope.

David knew to do this. “O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8).

Thank You for the reminder of this invitation Dear Lord. I tend to filter, then censor, my silent prayers to You.

Instead of praying honestly with You, I pray politely. As though I would ever be able to hide my heart of hearts from You. The Creator of all!

Father, You created each of us specifically to Your own design (Psalm 139:14, Ephesians 2:10). Use me exactly as You know is best.

Do all You must in, with, by, through and for me that I will come to freely voice my fears as well as my joys to You. I love, need, trust and want You Lord.

Thank You for all You’ve done. Praise You for all You are. I’m glad to be Yours. Amen.

(270 words ~ 7:10 a.m.)

our True North

 Wednesday, April 15, 2026 (5:49 a.m.)

Blessed God,

Thank You.

You allowed me to struggle with some pretty big feelings yesterday. Rather than brush them aside, I stayed with them instead.

A difference of opinion with a much loved one could quite easily have gone south. Given our lifelong history of raised voices with intent to get our own point across, staying calm took some doing. And a whole lot of prayer!

Father, thank You for teaching me a better way.

My very first thought was to cave in. Collapse. Give up. Go back to old habits and “eat my feelings.” Thank You for calling me to something far greater. Your Word. Your Truth. Your promises. Our True North.

(6:35 a.m.)

Father, thank You for this opportunity to sit and explore the multitude of emotions that hit us yesterday. Intense feelings, bordering on anger [which comes on quickly and easily] all the way to not so patient understanding.

It was in the middle of my own internal discord that You reminded me of the importance of respect. As much as I love the other, my respect was waning. Once I got out of my own way, I was able to state very clearly my opposition to the circumstance. Thank You God.

You are Truth. Your Word is Truth (John 17:17). Jesus is Truth (John 14:6). Thank You that we can stand firmly on and in It (Ephesians 6:11, 14). It does indeed set us free (John 8:36).

Use me exactly as You know is best, Reminding me often of the power of Your Word.

Without knowing it yesterday, Proverbs 11:2 is speaking loudly to me now. “Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Knowing and trusting You as our Truth North is a blessing beyond description. Do all You must in preparing me to serve You. I love, need, trust and want You. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(317 words ~ 7:00 a.m.)

learning to practice

 Tuesday, April 14, 2026 (6:06 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You for helping me learn new things. And the importance of practicing them.

Isaiah 43:19

2 Timothy 3:16

(6:43 a.m.)

Thank You for the grace You are teaching me in regards to mistake making.

I grew up with a very perfectionistic view on things. Mistakes were never encouraged. And rarely allowed.

Father, thank You working to free me from this mindset.

Take just now for example. Turning to the apostle Paul’s First letter to Timothy, rather than his Second.

Holy God, something as simple as this could easily cause me to doubt and even chide myself. Thank You that You have better for us.

Using this instance I searched the benefits of mistake making and am learning even more. Thank You!

One writer introduced me to another new to me phrase. Disillusioned perfectionism. Yes Father. Continue Your work in freeing me from self-sabotaging ideals and goals.

Thank You for the work You’ve been doing in, with, by, through and for me all these years. How I ask (Matthew 7:7) You to keep it up!

(7:10 a.m.)

With all I’m reading here right now, I even learned something new on the laptop. Just because I was curious.

Being curious reminded me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:2-6. Father, I want very much to “become like little children” in the ways You know are best.

Do all You must that I will continue learning to practice Your ways Dear Lord. I love, need, trust and want You. Use me as You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(273 words ~ 7:22 a.m.)

grateful being grateful

 Monday, April 13, 2026 (6:44 a.m.)

Good morning Blessed God,

After all my earlier grumbling and grousing I finally got around to the gratitude. Father, I am so very grateful to be grateful. Thank You!

And would You just look at this [of course You would!]… “gratefulness begets gratefulness!" How grateful I am to learn even more about the art and privilege of being grateful.

(7:24 a.m.)

In this present search, I was again reminded of the importance of worshiping You rather than whining.

(8:03 a.m.)

Thank You for the work You continue doing in rewiring my brain. Recognizing that being grateful really is a choice literally changed my tune this morning.

Waking up and realizing I was humming ♪Islands in the Stream♪ I wasn’t sure I really wanted to go in that direction. Intentionally I worked at remembering yesterday’s song.

Thank You for reminding me rather easily.

(8:47 a.m.)

♪I’m a child of the most-high God

And the most-high God’s for me♪

YES!

♪Who I Am in the eyes of the Father

Who I am His love set free

Who I was I left at the altar

I am Your Lord, I believe♪

Yes most Holy God. I DO believe. Your Word. Your Truth. Your promises. It's who I AM! NOT who I was.

You are who makes me brave. You who calls me to “Come.” You who teaches me to rejoice (Philippians 4:7).

There is so very much for me to learn Dear Lord. Let me begin by just being grateful for who and all You are.

Use me as You know is best. Taking one baby step toward You after another. Until I am strong enough to run all the way home to You.

I love you. I need You. I trust and want You as absolute Lord of my life. Do all You must that I will continue being grateful to be grateful. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(321 words ~ 8:57 a.m.)

who I am

 ♪I’m a child of the most-high God

And the most-high God’s for me♪

Sunday, April 12, 2026 (6:20 a.m.)

Thank You God,

I love when I wake up singing songs to You. Especially when You give me enough of the words to search [and find!] the lyrics and title.

♪… Who I Am in the eyes of the Father

Who I am His love set free

Who I was I left at the altar

I am Yours Lord, I believe♪ 

Thank You Father.

John 1:12

2 Corinthians 5:17

1 John 3:1

(8:49 a.m.)

Most Dear and Blessed God,

Thank You for Your Truth. That very Truth that sets us free (John 8:32).

♪Who I was I left at the altar

I am Yours Lord, I believe…

… In the water, take me under

Fill my lungs to speak Your wonder

You brought me out of the darkness

I was made for more♪

Do all You must Dearest God that I will come to live as You would have me live. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit. As Your much loved child.

I love, need trust and want You as my Father. The most-high God. Use me as You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(213 words ~ 9:05 a.m.)

exploring rest

 Saturday, April 11, 2026 (5:38 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You. I took an entire day to feel better from a “stomach bug” of some kind. Thank You for the privilege of resting.

(7:17 a.m.)

Thank You for this opportunity of exploring rest. With You.

(7:57 a.m.)

Through the joyful, celebratory, hopeful tears that are falling, I am smiling. Thank You Father God.

I get to explore rest. And find peace. In, with, by, through and for You. Your peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7). 

Just look at the verses that speak of what Your peace provides:

Psalm 23:3

Titus 3:5

John 14:27

Romans 15:13

2 Corinthians 13:11

Lord God, I can never thank You enough for all You provide. A truly invigorated spirit at this very moment leaves me practically speechless.

All the thoughts of thanks and praise get jumbled together. I am truly so excited and eager to tell [AGOG] that all I can do is sit and smile. Contentedly.

Father, I love, need, trust and want You as the cultivated tree You have grafted me into (Romans 11:24a). Let all of Your powerful nutrients flow into and out of my being exactly as You know is best.

Use me in representing You well. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(223 words ~ 8:23 a.m.)

 

glory of goodness

 Thursday, April 9, 2026 (5:43 a.m.)

♪Holy Spirit

You are welcome here

Come flood this place 

And fill the atmosphere

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your presence, Lord♪

Blessed God and Father,

Thank You for the way You turn my thoughts into songs. Which in turn often lead me back to Your Word. In this particular case, Exodus 33:18-19.

Looking to You. To Your glory. And Your goodness. I honestly don’t even know what it means. But a palpable peace comes over me. Yes. I am truly overcome by Your presence, Lord.

Thank You that it is Your love, Your mercy, Your grace that leads me to wanting to

♪… become more aware of Your presence

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness♪

Yes! Your presence, Lord.

There is a plan for the day. A social interaction with a loved one. Father, you well know the basis of this relationship. As with any other, I want it to be built on You.

Immediately cue the next song…

♪The Church’s One Foundation

Is Jesus Christ, her Lord

She is His new creation

By water and the Word♪

(1 Corinthians 3:11)

Suddenly a question poses itself. Can two people constitute a church?

One answer I find is “Yes, a church can be two people.” Instantly I realize I want to do church with those I encounter Lord.

The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth to encourage them to resolve their problems and honor You. I want to live this way Dear Lord. Do all You must in, with, by, through and for me that the day will truly come that I mirror his words.

“Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have - Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11).

It is “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14) that empowers us in building anything of value. I want that power!

♪Holy Spirit

You ARE welcome here

Come flood this place

And fill the atmosphere

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your presence, Lord…

… Let us become more aware of Your presence

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness♪

Yes! I love, need, trust and want Your presence Lord. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(435 words ~ 7:05 a.m.)