Wilderness Prayers

Sunshine on slips of green brought a smile to my face this morning. The weather has been frigid and dreary, but today a little warmth is breaking through. I steeped my tea and shook cinnamon on my toast before heading into my office/writing room/ sanctuary. 

Verses and prayers and writings draw my attention on papers I taped where my eyes would fall upon them, so I would remember. I read through a few, then turned my attention to my adoration verses. You can  find these over at Every Bitter Thing is Sweet .

I turned to Psalm 145 in the Passion Translation, reading aloud, looking for my scripture to land on and send a bit of praise heavenward. I found no landing place for each verse overwhelmed me with how incredibly loving and majestic God is! 

How much more there is to learn of this huge God I've been in relationship with for decades! 

As I pondered the Psalm, a few words from Isaiah 40 tugged at my heart so I reached for my tattered green NIV Bible and turned to a familiar passage. As I read the first 5 verses, the Spirit shone like the sunlight on my window planting. 

"Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God."

"A voice of one calling in the desert prepare the way for the Lord."

Two days ago I wrote here on this blog about a season of walking through the wilderness, depending on the Lord to show me his pathway. I wrote this was not a time to decree and declare my way out, but to journey through.

Today the Lord asked me, "What do you see?"

I closed my eyes and waited. 

"I see a pathway but its blocked with huge boulders and other obstacles."

"Pray this scripture over those obstacles."

I opened my eyes to look at the scripture although I knew it by heart. It goes on to say...

"Every valley shall be made high and every mountain and hill made low, the rough ground shall become level and the rugged places a plain."

As I quietly began my prayer, all the rough places, physical problems, disappointments, challenges of the past few months along with worries for our future toppled from my lips with the verses of scripture.

I prayed a very different prayer from what it would have been even a few days prior, before Holy Spirit had time to brood over my heart and mind.

I closed with the final phrase in the beginning of verse 5.

"And the glory of the Lord will be revealed." 

My thoughts turn to 2 Corinthians 4 where I've landed several times in the past couple weeks.

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all."

The verse above begins with "Therefore we do not lose heart."

Don't lose heart dear reader. He is the One who will never leave you no matter where your path takes you. And He is the One who knows how to move those mountains. I speak these words to myself, even as I pen them to you.