Prayer for Singles
Driving home tonight, I had starry-eyed images of getting home and plopping myself on the couch in front of the TV . This pleasant thought was abruptly interrupted by the Lord's prompting me to blog and pray instead! "But, I wanted to just veg tonight," I thought. It didn't matter. He began to download some scriptures and I knew that tonight I'd be skipping my date with the couch. So here goes....
Do you remember the scene in Gethsemane where Jesus was agonizing about the trial He was about to face? When He returned to the disciples three times, he found them sleeping, unable to "watch and pray so they would not fall into temptation." He asked them, "Could you not keep watch for one hour?"
When I visited Gethsemane in Jerusalem several years ago, I had what Oprah calls a "light bulb" moment. We Christians know it as the Holy Spirit. It suddenly occurred to me that Jesus' disciples may have been severely depressed after the last supper. Think about it. By then, the Lord had already hinted several times that things were about to change. They had given up everything - home, family, jobs, friends - to follow Jesus and now they sat with Him in His final moments.
I don't know about you, but when I'm depressed and disillusioned, I just want to sleep or withdraw. As single women who have never been married, we, like the disciples, have given up alot to follow Jesus. Many of us have had to face issues of purity, temptations to "settle," child-bearing issues or even ridicule for not having married yet. So, it's not uncommon to face disappointment and even depression. Our hopes become shattered dreams. It becomes difficult to hope or even find the faith to pray for our shattered dreams to come alive again.
Like Jesus said to the disciples in Gethsemane, we need to watch and pray so we don't fall into temptation, perhaps the very same temptations that up til now we have been able to overcome.
I'm not a theologian or ordained minister, just me with a prayer from the heart:
Jehovah, the self-existent One,
We praise and exalt You over our single hood
We know that you are the same God who said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"
And that You are the same yesterday, today and forever.
Because You do not change,
We thank you that we can count on You, the covenant-keeping God
to protect us from falling into temptation
as we walk through this path of single hood.
We speak Psalm 91 over our lives as single women.
Draw us into your shelter where we may find rest
and where no harm can come near us.
Send your angels, your ministers and Godly friends
to help us walk in your will.
Jesus, we love you
Do you remember the scene in Gethsemane where Jesus was agonizing about the trial He was about to face? When He returned to the disciples three times, he found them sleeping, unable to "watch and pray so they would not fall into temptation." He asked them, "Could you not keep watch for one hour?"
When I visited Gethsemane in Jerusalem several years ago, I had what Oprah calls a "light bulb" moment. We Christians know it as the Holy Spirit. It suddenly occurred to me that Jesus' disciples may have been severely depressed after the last supper. Think about it. By then, the Lord had already hinted several times that things were about to change. They had given up everything - home, family, jobs, friends - to follow Jesus and now they sat with Him in His final moments.
I don't know about you, but when I'm depressed and disillusioned, I just want to sleep or withdraw. As single women who have never been married, we, like the disciples, have given up alot to follow Jesus. Many of us have had to face issues of purity, temptations to "settle," child-bearing issues or even ridicule for not having married yet. So, it's not uncommon to face disappointment and even depression. Our hopes become shattered dreams. It becomes difficult to hope or even find the faith to pray for our shattered dreams to come alive again.
Like Jesus said to the disciples in Gethsemane, we need to watch and pray so we don't fall into temptation, perhaps the very same temptations that up til now we have been able to overcome.
I'm not a theologian or ordained minister, just me with a prayer from the heart:
Jehovah, the self-existent One,
We praise and exalt You over our single hood
We know that you are the same God who said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"
And that You are the same yesterday, today and forever.
Because You do not change,
We thank you that we can count on You, the covenant-keeping God
to protect us from falling into temptation
as we walk through this path of single hood.
We speak Psalm 91 over our lives as single women.
Draw us into your shelter where we may find rest
and where no harm can come near us.
Send your angels, your ministers and Godly friends
to help us walk in your will.
Jesus, we love you
1 Comments:
I think you make a good point here. We, like the disciples can become so focused on our own selfish wants and desires that we miss out on the blessing that God has planned for us. As you say, they were focused on their own problems and ignored Jesus. Jesus was pretty clear in his words to them that he was not pleased with their actions. I think many times we hold on to something with clenched fists with all of our strength, sometimes our hurts, sometimes our pride, sometimes our fear. However, imagine if we let go, opened our hands and lifted them to God. Then, with our open arms we would be open to receive the blessings and good things he promises for his children.
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