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A Prayer about Protection from Enemies

by | Jul 23, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Suffering

A Prayer about Protection from Enemies

God of Justice,

We join David in Psalm 17, 

asking you to hear our prayers against the enemy and any tools 

he may use on this earth in his plans of attack.

For those who have been betrayed, marginalized, treated unfairly, 

you have given us words to pray: 

“Wondrously show your steadfast love, 

O Savior of those who seek refuge 

from their adversaries at your right hand” (Psalm 17:7).

Even on the days when it seems like you don’t hear our prayers, 

remind us that you have heard them, 

that you have already begun 

to show us your steadfast love; 

you have already sent the refuge 

that will hide us in the “shadow of your wings,” 

Jesus, our compassionate protector.

Even on the days 

when it feels like “deadly enemies surround” us (Psalm 17:9), 

draw our eyes to look for the day 

when David’s words will come true for us, 

“As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; 

when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness” (Psalm 17:15).

In the name of the Savior who is our safe place.

Amen. 

A Prayer about Resisting the Enemy

by | Jul 22, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Suffering

A Prayer about Resisting the Enemy

Lord of Angel-Armies,

May we never forget or discount the spiritual battle 

that rages right here right now. 

The evil one prowls around like a lip-licking lion, 

drooling over our vulnerability and frailty. 

He is a liar, a tempter, an accuser, and an adversary. 

His minions serve him, 

seeking to deceive us into believing people we know we love are somehow unlovely, 

distract us from our mission to serve and glorify you, 

and degrade the dignity you have shaped into our image-bearing being. 

By the Holy Spirit, you have given us everything we need to defend ourselves 

against the accuser’s stratagems: 

the belt of truth, 

the breastplate of righteousness, 

the gospel slippers of peace, 

the shield of faith, 

the helmet of salvation, 

the sword of the Spirit. 

May we indeed arm ourselves 

against all the “cosmic powers over this present darkness” (Ephesians 6:12),

and resist the devil, that he may flee from us (James 4:7).

In Jesus’ peace-bringing name. Amen.

Read Ephesians 6:10-18.

Freedom from Addiction: A True Story

by | Jul 20, 2021 | Suffering, Weekly Gospel Meditation

Freedom from Addiction: A True Story

Today, as we continue our celebration of gospel freedom I am asking an important question:

Is there such a thing as freedom from addiction?

Since I work in jail ministry (note about jail ministry — prayers that we can go back in soon), I ask this addiction question of myself and others frequently, since nine out of ten women we see are in for addiction-related charges. It became particularly poignant recently, in a story I am calling:

“I DON’T KNOW.”

We were wrapping up our Bible study and saying good-byes to the ladies at the jail when she tapped me on the shoulder. She had short strawberry blond hair that looked like it might have been chopped at the neck with a pair of kids’ scissors. When she opened her mouth to speak, the trademark dentalgia of a meth addict showed itself. Most of her teeth had been stolen by the greedy burglar.

“Pray for me.” She hadn’t been at Bible study, but she must have heard me asking for prayer requests and decided to take me up on it. “I’m getting out on Friday, and I don’t want to go back to drugs. This is the first time I’ve gotten out of jail and didn’t want to go back to drugs. I asked God to help me get off drugs, and that afternoon, I ended up in here.”

I looked at her, feeling deep compassion for her struggle, having heard that beating meth addiction is at least as hard as a camel going through an eye of a needle and probably ranks right up there with moving mountains.

She began to weep silently as she repeated her desire, “I don’t want to go back on drugs.”

“I know,” I said.

“You don’t know,” she replied, not unkindly.

“I don’t know,” I said. “You’re right. I don’t know.”

She went on, explaining, “No. You don’t know—I was a prostitute, and I don’t want to do that no more. I want to get off the drugs and off the streets.”

Had she been sitting at a nearby table when Mary, my co-worker, taught about how Jesus loved the adulterous Samaritan woman? Had she heard me say that we need community because Satan loves to isolate us in our shame and make us think that our shame is worse than anyone else’s?

She was right—I don’t know. I don’t know her story. I don’t know what it’s like to sell my body to buy a drug that destroys it. I don’t know what it’s like to try to escape monstrous addiction that claws at you day and night.

I do know this. God knows. God knows her story, and he loves her (Psalm 139:1-6).

I do also know that God makes no distinctions between M. as we’ll call her and me (Romans 10:12). I do know that God is the Lord of meth addicts and Facebook addicts and pornography addicts and sports addicts and clothes addicts. I know that God is the Lord who pursues actual prostitutes as well as those like me who sometimes sell him out for the sweet high of approval or fleeting moment of bringing fame to myself (John 4).

And I know that same God is the God of profound grace who forgives those who cry out to him for salvation (2 Chronicles 7:14).

I don’t know what will happen to M. when she leaves the jail. I do know I will continue to cry out to the God who knows her and loves her and has saved her, the God who knows me and loves me and has saved me.

A Prayer about Addiction:

Lord, we all need your grace. Daily, moment by moment, we seek to be filled by gods who are not You. And we know that there are some struggling with addictions that will kill them and harm others. We lift them up to you, asking you to pour out your abundant grace on them. Help them and us keep coming back to you to be filled, moment by moment, day by day.  In Jesus’ saving name we pray, Amen.

Do you know someone who needs to hear this message? Please share using one of the tabs below.

From Recovery to Restoration cover

Get Hope for Troubling Times

Advance Review for From Recovery to Restoration

"When the storms of life crash into our lives, the devastation left behind is often overwhelming. Recovery and healing is slow and arduous. Elizabeth Turnage's devotional is for all those laboring toward recovery. From Recovery to Restoration is a hope-filled, gospel-laced, and Christ-exalting book which invites us into God's story of redemption and helps us see how he is at work to redeem and restore all things, even the aftermath of our personal losses, heartaches, and trials."

Christina Fox

Writer, Counselor, Speaker

author of A Heart Set Free: A Journey to Hope Through the Psalms of Lament.

Click Here

A Prayer about Expressing Our Grief Honestly

by | Jul 17, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Suffering

A Prayer about Expressing Our Grief Honestly

Lord, God,

So many people I know right now are grieving—

Grieving deep disappointments over lost hopes and dreams; 

grieving divisions in friends and families as well as in our nation; 

grieving the death of loved ones.

In such a season, 

we are grateful that you wrote into your Word 

an honest lament like Psalm 88, 

one of the least-cross-stitched, least memed, 

least quoted Psalms in the Bible. 

As we read the honest words of this Son of Korah:

“You have caused my companions to shun me; 

you have made me a horror to them. 

I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 

my eye grows dim with sorrow….” (Psalm 88:8-9a),

we may even wonder if there is any faith, 

any hope to be found in such a Psalm.

Indeed, Psalm 88 expresses strong faith, 

the faith to trust God with the dark emotions of grief 

and the questions that seem to have no answers. 

Psalm 88 also expresses powerful hope, 

the hope that God is listening, 

even if he has not yet answered. 

Thank you for welcoming our cries of normal grief 

and for standing ready to meet us in our confusion. 

Thank you for answering the Psalmist’s cry: 

in Jesus, you have worked wonders for the dead; 

in Jesus, the departed do rise up to praise you.

One day soon, Jesus will return, 

and we will rest in his loving presence.

In Jesus’ kind name. Amen. 

Read Psalm 88.

The Hopeful Freedom of Belonging to God

by | Jul 6, 2021 | Devotional, Suffering, Weekly Gospel Meditation

The Hopeful Freedom of Belonging to God

This month, we’re focusing on freedom, especially considering how to live in the freedom for which Christ sets us free (See Galatians 5:1). Many of us live in a world that prioritizes autonomy, the freedom of self-rule. The battle cry of the 21st century may be best summed up by a phrase I used to hear my children say often to one another when they were young: “You’re not the boss of me!”

The Bible offers an unlikely route to freedom, telling us that belonging to God brings the freedom we really long for. The catechisers of Heidelberg espoused that our only comfort, our greatest comfort in life and in death, is knowing that we belong to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ. Today, enjoy this excerpt from The Waiting Room: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace & Hope in a Health Crisis and consider the freedom of belonging to God.

For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:7-8, NLT

As I waited in a dimly-lit hospital hallway for our son to finish his first MRI—the one that followed the incidental discovery of a “something” on his brain, my mind turned to the first question from the Heidelberg Catechism: 

 “What is your only comfort in life and in death?”

I had pondered the answer just days before our son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. A slew of family members had suffered illness and loss: my mother, my father-in-law, and my uncle had all suffered significant health issues. As I prayed that the Lord would comfort my family members, I recalled the Heidelberg’s proclamation of hope, based on Romans 14:7-8:

 “My only comfort in life and in death is that I am not my own but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.”

How odd it seems at first that comfort comes from knowing that we don’t belong to ourselves. In the twenty-first century, much emphasis is placed on our autonomy. We are taught to value the idea of not being owned or directed by anyone. 

And yet, as the apostle Paul explains in Romans 14:7, the assurance that we belong to the Lord eases our fears about life and death. Written into our very being is the basic need to belong. The good news of the gospel is that we do belong to a faithful and loving Savior who suffered so that we might have new life and eternal life. In Christ, whether we live or die, we honor the Lord. This reality brings us peace and comfort as we live in the uncertainty of the waiting room. 

Prayer

Lord, you are a loving and good Father who has claimed us as your own. Thank you for giving us your comfort as we wait – the knowledge that we and our precious ones belong to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ. Help us to be confident that whether we live or die, we do so for your glory. May that knowledge bring surpassing peace. In the name of your Son who died for us we pray, Amen. 

Further Encouragement:

Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Job 12:10; Acts 17:27-28.

Read Heidelberg Catechism Question #1.

For Reflection: What brings you comfort as you endure a hard waiting season? 

A Good Read for Hard Times: The Waiting Room Devotional

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Links to The Waiting Room are affiliate links, which means I will be paid a handful of change if you order a book. Thanks!

Two Crucial Questions for Recovery and Restoration

by | Jun 29, 2021 | Suffering, Weekly Gospel Meditation

Two Crucial Questions for Recovery and Restoration

Hi Friends,

This week’s meditation, an excerpt from From Recovery to Restoration: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace & Hope in Crisis, reminds us that when we are running and hiding in the midst of difficulty, Jesus is always running after us. When he finds us, he asks us two key questions that are always important to consider. I hope this message offers hope to you or to someone you love today. 

Where have you come from, and where are you going? Genesis 16:8, ESV

When a massive wildfire has left us homeless, or an abusive boyfriend has left us loveless, when a co-worker’s betrayal has left us jobless, or a child’s unplanned pregnancy has left us speechless, we may feel like running away from our disastrous circumstances. If we run, we may end up in a wilderness, lonely and lost. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus himself meets us in that desolate place. 

Hagar knew the desperation of disastrous circumstances. Her mistress, Sarai, unable to conceive, decided to use a method common in her culture to produce an heir—she would give her maidservant to her husband. When Sarai’s plan worked and Hagar conceived, Hagar became proud and showed contempt to Sarai (Genesis 16:4). Sarai, in turn, “dealt harshly” with Hagar (Genesis 16:6), and Hagar fled—back to Egypt. During her flight, by a spring in the wilderness, Hagar was found by the angel of the Lord (Genesis 16:7).

Hagar’s story reminds us of how the angel of the Lord, or Jesus himself, meets us in our desperate flight from disastrous circumstances:

  • He finds us. He finds us because he hears our affliction, and he seeks us in our distress (Genesis 16:11, 13). He is the “God-who-sees,” the Jesus who is looking for us.
  • When he finds us, he treats us with grace and favor. The Lord may ask us two crucial questions which re-awaken our hearts to his kindness:
    • “Where have you come from?” (Genesis 16:8). This question re-orients us, asking us to remember how God has previously redeemed and rescued us.
    • “Where are you going” (Genesis 16:8)? Like Hagar, we often take off without considering where we are going, and we may end up in a land of sin and unbelief. The question “Where are you going?” draws us to hope, to imagine how God will restore in the midst of disaster.
  • The Lord calls us to return. Just as the angel of the Lord gave Hagar a hard command—to return home (where despite how we might see it, she would be provided for and even blessed), he calls us to come home to him and surrender to his plan and provision for our lives.
  • He makes a promise of fruitfulness. To Hagar, the angel of the Lord promises that he will multiply her offspring. To us, the Lord makes the same promise: as we return to him, he will continue to grow us, to mature us, and to multiply his kingdom through us. Indeed, through his work in us, he will restore others to himself.

 Dear friends, if you are fed up and feel like fleeing, pause for a moment and listen to the One who has already heard your cries. Return to him, and submit to him, and wait to see the story of restoration he will write through your disaster.

Prayer

Lord, Jesus,

Thank you for listening to our cries and for coming to find us. Help us to return to you and trust in you, even when we can’t see what you are doing.

In your preserving name, Amen.

Further Encouragement

Read Genesis 16.

Listen to “Who Is like Our God?” by Laura Story.

For Reflection

Spend fifteen minutes journaling about the two crucial questions, “Where have you come from” and “Where are you going?”

From Recovery to Restoration cover

Get Hope for Troubling Times

Advance Review for From Recovery to Restoration

"When the storms of life crash into our lives, the devastation left behind is often overwhelming. Recovery and healing is slow and arduous. Elizabeth Turnage's devotional is for all those laboring toward recovery. From Recovery to Restoration is a hope-filled, gospel-laced, and Christ-exalting book which invites us into God's story of redemption and helps us see how he is at work to redeem and restore all things, even the aftermath of our personal losses, heartaches, and trials."

Christina Fox

Writer, Counselor, Speaker

author of A Heart Set Free: A Journey to Hope Through the Psalms of Lament.

Click Here