Tuesday, January 31, 2006
True Father –
You have created so many people, and yet You know me by name, and You are intensely interested in me and my well-being.
You’re never too busy or too tired to listen … to help … to run to my cry.
You are God. You are immense. You are everywhere, and everywhere that I can be, Your power is there.
Thank You for making everyone. Thank You for making me. Teach me to serve You and to always make time for You.
I lift this prayer only through the reconciling, saving Jesus. Amen.
~s
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Father of love –
I get it. I finally get it. Just like an earthly father loves his children, You love me … only much more than any human father could ever love.
I’m not just another person to You. I am special in Your eyes. I am a joy to Your heart. You love me deeply because I came from You.
Even in my mistakes and my failures and my sin … You love me!
I am amazed at Your continual … unconditional … steadfast love. Your love continues forever. Nothing can separate me from Your love. There is no distance too far for You to come after me when I am lost.
You love me. You hear my cry. You run to me. You draw near to me when I draw near to You. I am drawing near to You, Lord.
Kum ba yah! Come by here!
Many times I have withdrawn and resisted You. You have never done that to me. Thank You!
Please make me new. Make me like You. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.
~s
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
My Father –
I want to learn about love. I want to learn to give love and to receive love in every way that honors You.
I want to love You with my whole heart. I want to love my neighbor. I want to love myself. Sometimes, particularly in the past, I have had a hard time loving … especially myself. That has had a negative effect on my love for my neighbor and my love for You, but I want to learn.
I’m not afraid to learn from You. You are the Good Teacher … the Wonderful Counselor … the Perfect Guide. I am Your student. I am Your servant. I am Your child.
I know that You are perfect love, and I know that You love me. You truly love me.
Teach me … counsel me … forgive me … guide me … lead me … love me … never let me go.
All of my needs are filled in You, and from Your presence, I don’t want to move. I am praying to You, my Father, through Jesus’ holy name. Amen.
~s
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
Father of divine transformations –
I’m waving the white flag, and I’m laying down my arms. I’m disabling my defense systems, and I’m letting down the drawbridge of my defeated heart. I surrender, Father.
I’m weary of holding up the facades … hiding behind the masks … and pretending that I am strong in hopes of deflecting the attention of others away from my wounded, insecure heart.
I’m collapsing at Your feet, Lord … not as one bearing expensive gifts and multiplied talents … but as a defeated soldier … a fallen star … a hunter caught in his own net.
I am naked … bare … and devastated. My kingdoms are destroyed … my high places are leveled. I come simply bringing a broken heart with a gaping hole … my perennial weakness. I am bankrupt of confidence … and ravaged by the lusts that vainly promise to fill the cavity and hide its ugliness … only to further the damage and intensify the pain.
Save me from the destruction of my soul and from the debilitating sin that controls me when I resist Your call and Your companionship. Forgive me, Father, and heal me. I need Your mercy. I need Your grace. I need Your Son to fill the Christ-shaped canyon in my heart. Complete me, Father, in Jesus.
Teach me to embrace my crumbled confidence so that in my weakness Your power may be perfected. Give me grace to resist the enticement of false confidence, and fill me with true confidence that flows only from You. As You convert me … as You make me new … create in me the attitude … the actions … and the words that will give courage to the wounded hearts I encounter each day. Through my weakness, please bless them with strength.
Father, please make my deepest weakness the source of my greatest ministry. I trust You with my complete transformation. I lift this prayer to You through Jesus. Please let these things be so. Amen.
~s
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
May you always call to our Father … in joy and in sadness … in strength and in weakness … in health and in pain … in daylight and in darkness … when everything is going your way and when everything is giving way all around you … when you are filled with words and when you don’t know what to pray.
May He always hear your voice and respond without delay.
~s
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
I learned the value of mission statements in 1997. Now that my values and goals are written down and easily accessible, I find it easier to make wise decisions about how to conduct myself in life. Even my unwise decisions are easier to correct when I read my own mission statement because I am reminded of what is truly important to me in this life and in the life to come. If you choose to write one, just be honest about who you are and who you want to be.
Steve’s Mission Statement written in 1997 ยป
“I am Steve … perfectly created by the Holy, Living God. He is my Father, and I am His son. He speaks to me through His Word, and I speak to Him through prayer. I am a sinner, washed clean through baptism by the blood of Jesus Christ and filled with His Holy Spirit. My relationship with Jesus is the most important thing in my life, and my purpose, my esteem, my value, my sense of worth and my inspiration come solely from Him.
I live in a way that honors my Creator. I humbly accept my successes and gracefully accept responsibility for my failures. I compare myself to no one. I am a good steward of the spiritual, mental, social, emotional and physical blessings that flow to me from my Father, and I live each day of my life as a gift to Him. I approve and champion behavior that honors Jesus, yet I treat all men with dignity and respect.
I am content with the simple things in life, and I have my hope set on eternal life with my Lord. I am sincerely thankful. I pray fervently. I smile joyfully. I laugh heartily. I sing with my whole heart. I listen intently. I learn enthusiastically. I grow continually. I love God. I love others. I love myself.
I pursue qualities that are befitting of a respectful son, a loving husband, a nurturing father and a faithful friend. I am Steve, and through me, Jesus impacts the world to His glory. This is who I am. This is who I am becoming. This is who I want to be. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for leading the way!”
~s
All content © Steve Dye
Design by Van Moore
Developed by pondertheweb