Healing

"Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me."  Psalm 30:2

Week by week, day by day, hour by hour, our world continues to change around us.  As we continue to hear growing numbers of those that are sick, those that are suffering, it can put our minds into chaos.  I thought about what I was going to write this week, as my words don't seem to be enough.  Yet, God's words are enough.  I thought I would share HIS words and pray on those words.  I hope you will join me in these prayers and reflect back to them as needed.

Prayer for Healing:  Dearest Lord, there are so many in this world that are sick and suffering.  Over our entire world, people are suffering and dying from this virus.  We ask, God, that you reach out your healing hand and hold those that are sick close to you.  Give them the reassurance that you are the great healer and that you will guide them through this journey.  Generously pour out your hope and love to those afflicted.  Touch our hearts, Lord, so that we can help those in need.  Amen.

Along with those that are sick, there are those that are worried.  The uncertainty of the way we live our lives with this continues to change dramatically.  Many of us are spending more time in the confines of our homes than ever before.  Some of us could be spending more time with our families than we have in quite some time.  Our familiar routines have been replaced with unfamiliar ones and they are restricted in where we can go and what we can do.  This can completely cause anxiety and worry.  

Prayer for calming of hearts & minds:  Heavenly Father, at every turn we seem to be living a life we never expected.  Unfamiliar has replaced familiar and we continue to charter a new way of living.  Many times, the unknown can cause distress and worry, of our hearts and minds.  Our hearts yearn for our "yesterday" and our minds just want "rest".  You alone, dear Lord, have the power to take all my worries from me and to replace it with your blanket of peace.  Please do that for me and for all those that are anxious.  Although we may not know what our future holds, we do know that you are in it providing us hope.  Calm my mind, fill my heart with reassurance and bring new breath into us.  Amen

We may feel overwhelmed by all of this.  Yes, the rest of the world is dealing with lock downs, shelter in place, lack of food, sickness, worry, job loss, etc.  Yet, the rest of the world is not you and how each of us processes this is different.  Please know you are not alone!! God is there for us, each and every moment of the day.  I love the verse above as I can just picture my hand in God's hand, Him letting me know that He will help me.  Close your eyes for a moment and get that picture into your mind.  Fall back to that memory when you need it - whether it is chaos or loneliness, God is there with you, His hand in yours.

Prayer for Help:  Dearest Jesus, hold my hand in yours.  Walk with me and guide me through this journey.  Let me know you are with me at every step.  Provide me the help I need to navigate through this.  We are all living lives today that we haven't lived before.  I need your help in this walk, Jesus.  Hold my hand, don't let me go!  Help me to be who I need to be with those around me.  May I hold this vision of your hand in mine throughout my days and pull from it when I need it most - knowing I am not alone!!

I pray for all of you.  None of this has been easy.  None of it is comfortable.  Yet, as we know, God can bring beauty out of even the darkest days.  Yesterday, I saw a family walking, hand in hand and my heart reached out to them in love.  We have seen many examples of our true heroes in this world -  the doctors, nurses, emergency responders, health care providers - all working around the clock to help people in need.  Our priorities are changing and we find ourselves focusing on our families, our health, and time together more.  The little things mean more.  Helping our neighbors and extending a smile to those we pass seems to have replaced our "too busy to help" mindset.  Yes, we see visions of people fighting over toilet paper (still trying to figure that one out), but the positive outweighs the negative.  We will get to the other side of all of this - with God's help.  Know that He is there for all of us.  Just go to Him, His hand is waiting to guide you, His shoulders are waiting to take on your worries, and His heart is ready to heal you.  Amen!