Day 3 of the Week of Accompanied Prayer

Give God a Chance.

My half hour with my prayer companion on day 3 was really difficult to prepare for. All my early good intentions seem to have evaporated. The trouble was that  I was jolly tired after spending much of the previous day at the Christian Resources Exhibition. I always find these events exhausting. They're hard on the feet, and after a while I get information overload and don't feel I want to be given any more freebies or sales pitches! And then there are never enough seats - even the snack bars only had a few of those dreadful small circular tables that you have to stand at, and they were always full up. Next time I go I shall do what those in the know were doing - take a picnic and eat it outside.

So anyway I was so tired by the time I arrived home that I found it hard to even find energy to feed myself and post a blog, let alone find a quiet time for prayer and meditation.

But I did manage to gather a few thoughts together as a basis for some prayer. This was set around some texts on the image of God, ranking these images according to my own favourites. I was then required to pray around those at the top of the list and those at the bottom. This is what I found:

Top of my list came God as Healer, Consoler, Comforter, being images that I relate to, draw support from. Texts such as "Peace I give to you," "Let not you heart be troubled,""The peace of God that passes all understanding," all come from the same mould, set the same pattern. I guess this reflects where I am right now, fighting low self esteem, anxieties, lack of confidence..... Bottom of the list I put God as liberator from fear - seen in Isaiah 43, vv. 1-3. I had not thought along these lines before, but actually reading the text; "I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you..." this actually did help me, especially as I read that 'waters' in the Old Testament is not necessarily to be taken literally, and can be used as a metaphor for the raging heathen, (!), the chaotic stormy seas at creation, and vast nations, or seas of people, and doubtless for other meanings also.The word mayim (waters) also speaks of life, sustenance, refreshing, and other positive life supports.
I then thought of the hymn I learnt many years ago as a child at church: "Through all the changing scenes of life, In trouble and in joy, The praises of my God shall still my heart and tongue employ..........when in distress to him I called, He to my rescue came........"
This all gave me plenty of inspiration for prayer!
I could write much more on this, and days 3 and 4 are still to write about, but time is overtaking me and I shall return to these later, hopefully.

Just for now I leave you with a few more images of the beauty in God's Creation: