Nourish Your Heart

Today I see the pretty blue sky above the green trees. It is beautiful Lord. I see the bright colors of flowers and they are beautiful. Thank you for making the world have beauty to please my eyes.

I see the wind blowing and feel it on my face. I see the butterflies flitting through the yard. I feel the sun warming the earth. And I feel the coolness of the clouds as they cover the sun. I hear the sounds of birds singing your praise and I remember to thank you Lord.

I look into my family’s faces. I see their individualism and how precious they are. I rejoice in the variety you give us Lord. I hear music and enjoy the playing of instruments. I especially enjoy the piano. The beauty of it sometimes moves me to tears.

Even small animals I share my house with and insects who frighten or annoy me bear the stamp of your intricate designs. Each has a place here on this earth.

I know there is sin and there is a downfall of man’s morals. People get hurt and they die. There is destruction. There are disasters. But there is another place. A place that you have made for us.

This new place is a home for us without the destruction of this earth. It is a place where we won’t have sickness or broken bodies. It is a place without tears or sorrows. It is a place we trust to come in the future. It is a place of rest and beauty where we will be with the God we trust in now.

I trust in you today God. I feel the peace you give me as I gaze on the beauty you provided here. And I trust in you for the place coming soon where the beauty is even greater.

2 Corinthians 5:7 It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going.

(My grandmother, Anna Daisy Siemens, wrote poetry and prose. This devotion was written and published for Devotions for the Deaf in 1994)

James 5:16 – Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

David writes, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.” (Psalm 34:15). God does hear the prayers of his children. He heard Israel when they banded together for prayer in spite of their many sins. God repeatedly proved his love to them through answered prayers. The Bible provides may examples of how God hears our prayers.

The Pharisees threatened Peter and John with arrest and they they released them, they met with the church for prayer. The building shook with Spirit-Power after their prayers. No wonder they were bold to speak God’s Word.

If we pray together, our building may not shake, but we can discover the moving experience of prayer fellowship. It’s like window-peeking into each others soul as we grow in spirit. Prayer changes things!

Prayer: Lord, help me to remember to pray with others. Make my requests be filled with prayer. Help me to turn to you on every occasion.

God will make me ready God is preparing me every day. God is making me strong. He makes me immovable. He makes me solid.

Jeremiah 1:18 “Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work. I’m making you as impregnable as a castle, Immovable as a steel post, solid as a concrete block wall.”

God is preparing me for my mission. I am starting today. He is making me strong. He gives me strength every day. Each day he shows me how to go on. He shows me my path, one step at a time. I lean on him for peace in my heart. My soul reaches for his joy. I bask in the love he showers on me. And I live each day for him.

Help me this day to reach out to you for every breath, every decision, every word I speak, each word I type. Help me to glorify you. Give me peace this day. Be the strength of my life.