Hear My Plea Father; Refuse it Not

A Prayer For Our Nation's Military

For the Army, for the Marine Corps, for the Navy, for the Air Force, for the Coast Guard, for the National Guard, for our reservists, for our veterans…

For all who faithfully live by the oath they have pledged for this country, for all who will loyally die for the oath that they have pledged for this country, and for the remaining who will one day cradle the exact same responsibility… Hear my plea Father; refuse it not.

Our United States Armed Forces are in dire need of Your strength, Your leadership, Your guidance, Your hope, Your wisdom, Your perseverance, Your love, and Your favor. We cannot succeed without Your hand of approval and we cannot move forward without Your way of opportunity.

Provide for us as a nation, o Lord, your mighty direction. Let us never surrender to the path of destruction. Let us not yield to the way of easy, but sacrifice for both liberty and truth.

Your mercy and Your grace is how we are to prevail. I ask you Lord that you will not draw back your vast hand of protection, but that You will reinforce the values that our nation is built upon. That, you will resurrect the quality of our country’s warriors and that You will make honor, loyalty, duty, courage and justice a minimum requirement for all who serve.

Resurrect our fading faith Lord. Pardon our many failures. Teach us to trust in You. Grant us forgiveness and peace.

Please God, Bless America with life. Make us ready. Mold us all into bold knights for Your kingdom’s sake. In You, many of us still trust; Be patient with those of us who are without zeal.

Love the United States Father, for we are nothing without You. We are nothing without you!

In your Son Jesus’s most holy name,

Amen

Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 

1 Kings 8:28 (NIV)

Let it Snow

No one thought it would happen. “It is way to warm. Maybe next year”, they said. While attempting to squash my hopes for a snow filled Christmas, I looked out the window in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin and could clearly see my breath fog up the glass. While it wasn’t neon, it was just enough of a sign to keep my hopes alive.

You will rarely discover me siding with an APP over a human beings life experience, but this time I was confident AccuWeather was going to be right; I secretly hoped so anyway. I counted on only one hand the opportunities I’ve had to play in winter’s white glory and absolutely none of these times were during my Christmas holiday. I wanted to experience this wonderland so much that I even found myself praying for this seasonal delight.

After three days and much debating, I was shocked when my wish actually came true. Down fell the first few snow flurries of December for the area and I was so excited that I nearly knocked my sweet step daughter over bouncing with joy. Like a kid, I watched through the window as the snow fell and stuck to the ground. I waited patiently until enough powder accumulated for a decent sized snowball and picture.

Looking back, I had no clue at the time how much fun my YES from the Lord would be. What stands out most to me though is that I honestly didn’t believe that my prayers were enough to make a difference. I verbally spoke my confidence out loud and in pride declared that “of course it’s going to snow”, but in my heart, it was definitely never more than a fifty fifty chance. While being right was amusing, the comedy that soon followed proves that I really didn’t believe I had God’s attention on such a tiny matter.  

Trivial lesson? I don’t think so. If I don’t learn to trust God with the small stuff, how can I muster the courage to trust Him on matters of great significance? God’s snowy creation equaled extra joy during my vacation. Why should I devalue His blessing in my life.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 (ESV)