Praying for You to be Known Today

In the way we communicate Truth. In the way we speak to strangers. In the way we live out love. In the way we talk about people. In the way we give of our resources. In the way we disagree. In the way we show hope. In the way we raise our children. In the way we remain faithful to our covenants. In the way we approach brokenness. In the way we seek and offer forgiveness. In the way we enter into injustice. In the way we respect the other. In the way we live and relate, I pray your people make you known among this world. This is really all you’ve wanted from us, isn’t it? Because knowing you is the only way to loving you. And to this big wide world who does not love because they do not know…we are the revelation their eyes witness and their hearts hear. We are your living and active word on this Earth, for we’ve been clothed with Christ. Suddenly the chandelier I bought this week for my dining room seems silly. And my desire for long silky wavy hair makes me feel a little embarrassed. And the irritating unfinished details in my home appear unimportant. And the time I spend making my life more comfortable causes me to pause. Lord, I know these aren’t wrong. In fact, I wonder if you hear my heart speak those words and grin a little…..like I do to my children when their genuine love comes out a little naive.  I know this time on Earth includes the meaningless. I know not every word of my lips, nor all the works of my hands will be fruitful and of consequence. But my lament in this moment births from the knowledge that I don’t live convinced that my time on Earth is not my own. I know this because I choose what’s best for me…and my family. I’m slow to say yes to you but quick to agree to so many other things. And I live like I want people to like me more than I want them to like you…when that’s not how I really feel. And I know because I desire safety and security, comfort and success more than the risky life found in Love. These moments on Earth are yours, Lord. I know it in my Spirit and I want to live more like it in the flesh. I want to reject the promises of this world and hold fast to the hope you offer. I want to be willing to deny myself earthly pleasures in order to discover eternal joy. I want to say yes! to what you’ve already called me to in your word. I want to take risks in love and grace. I want to walk into the unknown believing you are with me. I want to be available to the hurting and lonely. I want my life to reflect who you are and what you want to accomplish on this earth. And I want all of this to be for the sake of others. That they will come to know what I already know is true. I want them to know that you made them good. I want them to know how you heal wounds. I want them to know the depths of your love. I want them to feel how comforting your presence is. I want them to discover the hope you offer. I want them to know that they are worth the sacrifice you’ve offered on their behalf. I want them to know they can trust you. I want them to know you are faithful. And eternal….when everything else around them is fleeting. I want them to know you’re the best thing to cling to in this broken hurting world. I want them to know they’re deserving of love, of family, of hope, of you. Show us how to make you known. Show us how to wear love as a garment and truth as a covering. Indwell us with your Spirit that we may be hosts of the living God in a world that desperately needs you. That we may live as environments of grace among a people held captive by judgment. Inspire us, Lord to receive the calling you have on our life. To boldly proclaim that our time is not our own. To cling to the promise that this way of living births the best life of all.