Skip to main content

Father to the Fatherless




But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless…. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. Psalm 10:14, 17-18



Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds—his name is the LORD—and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless, defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing;... Psalms 68:4-6a




Go to God

Father God,
You are my heavenly Father, my true Father…that has been one of the huge things I have come to realize over these past five years. You are so great and powerful, yet You are a Father to Your children, defender of the widow, setting the lonely in families, and leading prisoners with song. You are so righteous, great, and almighty—no one and nothing can stand against You, but to Your children, You are caring, tender, and loving. I really didn’t have an earthly dad…he was too messed up to be a parent, but You are all the Father I ever need. You have been so very gracious and merciful to me. Thank You for how You have blessed me, taken me for You own, and gave me a life and relationship with You that is so much more than anything this world could offer.


adapted from Jan Merkel's prayer journal



Because I am Your child, I will …

Labels:

Comments

  1. Unknown17/2/09 9:55 AM

    Because I am your child, I will do all things with you in mind. Always striving to please you and feeling regret and shame when I don't. Then feeling so deeply loved knowing that you forgive me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tasha Simons19/2/09 6:51 PM

    Because I am your child, I will make an effort to be open to seeing you as my father though it's not always easy to see you this way. I guess it's easier to see you as God.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shaking the System

Here at Grace Community Church we just finished a four week series entitled Shaking the System. If you missed any of these -- you can listen online at www.gracecc.org/sermons.html How did this weekend series stir you? What questions or concerns did it raise in your heart and mind? This past week Dave Rod gave us some ideas for personal engagement -- have you or are you planning to take any steps to personally get engaged in social justice issues?
18 comments
Read more

Praying as We Breathe In & Out

By offering a simple prayer with every breath, we can be reminded "for in him we live and move and exist" (Acts 17:28). Although rather simple, this practice requires a connection between the unconscious act of breathing and a conscious expression to God. A Bit of History The church has practiced breath prayer or "prayer of the heart" for millennia . The Eastern Orthodox Church, in particular, has seen breath prayer as a way of living out Paul's instruction to "pray without ceasing."         Examples Jesus Prayer Take a moment to become aware of your breathing. It might help to find a quiet place -- close your eyes and notice your breathing. As you breath in -- bring your thoughts to Jesus. As you breath out -- express a word of gratitude or need. For example, breath in -- saying "Lord, Jesus Christ" -- breath out saying "have mercy on me." Throughout your day -- as you notice your breathing -- take note an...
11 comments
Read more

The Shack and Room of Marvels

I love to read. I enjoy hearing what others are thinking and processing. I go through spurts of reading fiction and honestly I don't read very much christian fiction. BUT, a few years ago I read a book called Room of Marvels and just recently picked up a copy of the book, The Shack . Both books are fiction. Both books press in on really hard subjects of pain and loss. Both books profoundly impacted my view of God, our world, and eternity. Any readers out there? Have you read either of these books? Would love to hear your thoughts?
9 comments
Read more