St Peters RC Church Hamilton

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over
you.” Psalm 32 v 8

This is so reassuring and comforting, Lord, thank You!
I know it is true for it has been often my experience.
What would I say if today someone asked
‘But how do you know when God is speaking or leading?’
I have come to recognise several stages in my walk of faith.
First of all I had to learn to talk to You honestly,
from the very depths of my heart, revealing all my feelings,
even – or especially – the ugly, bitter ones I would rather not face.
Then I had to ask You to intervene in my situation
to let Your Holy Spirit bring to task His working power.
Our relationship as a result, became and is still becoming,
closer, more open, more honest, more real and therefore more satisfying to
me.

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37 v 4

I came to discover, Lord, You used circumstances –
including – or perhaps especially – the adverse events of my life
where strife seemed to take over, to reach me and teach me.
I realised I never, ever felt alone, or in a mess, in my distress.
I had You to refer to regarding the duress I was under.
I could ask You for answers and had much to learn here.
Your reply was not available upon demand; You required,
aspired to teach me patience, perseverance and endurance.
Sometimes answers came but slowly and in unexpected ways
where not being one hundred percent sure I had heard You correctly,
I had to step out in faith, on trust, and ensure,
make doubly sure, I kept referring to You en route.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the (wo)man who trusts in Him.” Psalm 34 v 8

After all, You could clearly see the end from the beginning.
I could only see – and sometimes dimly at that – the next step ahead.
You showed me how to live fully in the present moment
and not to project too far ahead, learning to see
I must be in that place where You deal out grace
for one day at a time only, but abundantly and generously.
Prayer became – still becomes – ever more important.
How else could we be in touch other than this God given route?
By prayer You instruct and guide as You route Your Spirit to reach out to
quicken my spirit.

I feel tugs on my conscience and heartstrings to bring me
to see what You are revealing and saying.

“He loves righteousness and justice.” Psalm 33 v 5

When I’m not sure what to do, I ask You to
very definitely increase or decrease my intention towards a certain
action.
Then by standing back and reflecting upon how I feel,
I know I can trust You to take me forward safely.
Prayer is the centre by which I enter Your thoughts and desires, Lord Jesus.
Prayer is where You connect me to my heavenly Father of love
by the working power of Your inspiring Holy Spirit, firing me up.
Prayer is my share in the activity of a holy community of love.
By prayer, and prayer only, I enter the amazing presence
of the Trinity of all love and all life in sought after sanctity.
Prayer is my counselling session, my escape route, my safe haven,
my comforting reassurance, my excitement of worship, my delight to give
thanks and praise.

“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us.”
Psalm 62 v 8

In prayer, with prayer, through prayer, I learn to live fully.
The more I come to trust You, dear Lord, I realise
the more You come to trust me and then the more You ask of me.
Although I still make mistakes – all too often – You so lovingly,
patiently pick me up, dust me down and start me all over again.
It is when I am most at need, Your Spirit does intercede for me.
“And God is faithful; He will not let me be tempted
beyond that which I can bear.” * 1i He shares my pain.
“When I am tempted,” * 1ii to give up hope or not to persevere in prayer,
God does not despair of me, He treats me gently, reverently even,
like a loving, forgiving Father, gentle, kind and merciful.
And wonderfully “He will also provide a way out
so that I can stand up under” * 1iii the temptation to doubt or fear.

“Trust in the Lord and do good; .. feed on His faithfulness.” Psalm 37 v 3

God is faithful to my cause, my desire to serve Him.
He asks for no more from me than loving obedience and
complete dependency on You, Lord Jesus, the way of truth
leading into an absolutely overflowing fullness of life in God’s joy.
You are my tried and tested escape route, my only solution
whatever the problem, and my resolution for the future.
“Whoever gives heed to (Your) instruction prospers,

and blessed is the person who trusts in You, Lord.” * 2
The Father’s will – as You so clearly showed us Lord, -
should be, must be the blueprint for our life, the life He designed,
planned, purposed, protects and puts into place for us.

“How precious is Your loving kindness, O God!” Psalm 36 v 7

God does not – and oh how I thank Him for this –
ask perfection of me, for He can see that is impossible to achieve.
It is in fact counter-productive, marring my best if I keep striving
in my own strength, under my own steam, to achieve the impossible.
God simply asks that I hand over to His teaching,
becoming increasingly receptive to Him, trusting His guidance
even when life is far from perfect or comfortable.
He knows what He is doing and it is my job to recognise this.
“For the eye of the Lord ranges throughout the earth
to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” * 3
This commitment is the call to me to see how to be,
or rather to slowly, gradually, become more like You, Lord Jesus.

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.”
Psalm 73 v 25

For the more I become like You, Lord, the closer I enter into the centre
of God’s will for my life, my hope, my joy and
most importantly, essentially of all, the sharing of my love.
God will lift me in You, Lord, above the everyday circumstances,
the way of action and reaction in the world and its people,
to be strongly committed to a better, stronger, higher, holier way.
Yes it may – probably will – take me a life time to learn this,
but my experience most definitely bears out God’s promise
where He clearly says “In those days when you pray,
I will listen. If you look for Me in earnest,
you will find Me when you seek Me.” * 4

“My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will
look up.” Psalm 5 v 3

God does not hide away in mystery, the more I have read
His living word of the Bible, the more I have come to know,
understand, love, respect, and trust His nature and His character.
I can see, because this has been my experience, how great
how very great, is God’s desire to get to know me, through You, Lord.
I used to think that I sought God, but now I know differently.
Amazingly, wondrously, it is God who seeks to speak to me!
I simply need to honour Him, by giving Him the space,
the quality time and the opportunity for us to be consciously together.

Whatever then happens, is God’s answer to my prayer.
He will, He does, share His thoughts, desires, His will with me.
In You, Lord, He will, He does, show me which way to go.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.”
Psalm 32 v 8

By the Holy Spirit, God will give me the words to speak
in His truth to reveal how to place another piece into the jigsaw of life.
God works by providing for me, protecting me, blessing me constantly.
He expects me to recognise all of this and duly thank Him.
Gratitude develops an attitude where I’m ready to receive more
and yet more of the grace God so longs to lovingly give me.
Respectfully He waits until I’m ready to receive
and considerately, He allows me to do my part in the preparation.
Reparation for my sins and shortcomings is part of the process.
You reprove those You train in real earnest, for You want
and commit to nothing but the every and very best for us.
Reconciliation with You, Lord, is the warm embrace of Your love.

“For with You is the fountain of life.” Psalm 36 v 9

Your tenderhearted, mercifully understanding, kindly love,
is where I really abide, by the bidding to
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” * 5
The call to repentance, is a soft call of love,
Saying ‘Come back to me with all your heart,
don’t let fear keep us apart,’ * 6 for You cannot bear that.
Your loving forgiveness opens up a treasure house of God’s wisdom
letting us taste a life that we discover is delicious beyond our wildest
dreams.
It seems Lord, we are only truly, really happy at heart
when we are at one with our heavenly Father, with You,
by the wonderful workings of Your protective Holy Spirit.

“He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.” Psalm 33 v 15

Because we were designed by God for a reason,
we discover peace only as and when we answer His heart of love
set in You, Lord Jesus, here alive and working amongst us.
Your †stands empty because of Your victory over the death of man’s
shortsightedness, stubbornness, sloth, self-centredness and shortcomings.
When You rose to a new life of hope, Lord, for in loving obedience
You had served and completed the Father’s will,

You offered us a wonderful share in that resurrected life.
What You say to us now is : “Don’t be impatient
for the Lord to act! Travel steadily along His path!” * 7
“ ‘For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord,
‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you a hope and a future’.” * 8

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” Psalm 90 v 1

Once the sin of our self centredness has been moved out of the way
by our deep sorrow and genuine repentance, You are set free to act,
because the stumbling blocks have been cleared away, which had
prevented
the human will and the divine will moving into one force for good.
God’s perspective is always an eternal one, so He calls out to us
to move in that direction under His almighty power and influence.
God moves everything and everyone – by our agreement not be coercion –
into the proper place at the best time, for God’s timing is perfect.
“The Lord will fulfil His purpose for me;
Your love, O Lord, endures forever,” * 9 as You patiently work
with me to fulfil in love, out of love, for love, Your purpose for me.

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 18 v 2

Lord, You are the Lord of an unlimited perspective.
Your plan is corrective as You show me the way to go.
Walk with me, through to the end, walk around every twist, turn,
and bend in the journey for only God’s will shown, known in You,
will set me free to be as You long for me to be.
“Many are the plans in a (wo)man’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” * 10
Your way Lord, is not only the best way, it’s the only way.
I commit my life to You and I admit I’m entirely dependent upon You.
All thanks be to God for Your loving commitment to me.
You it is Lord, who sets me free to be the person You call me to be.
I will with Your Spirit’s support and welcomed guidance,
“Commit to You Lord, whatever I do,” * 11i
knowing for sure when my plans are Your plans, they “will succeed.” * 11ii

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you
in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5 v 15-18

I thank You Father for Your commitment to me and I would like to honour You fully in
return. Father of love You are shaping me, moulding me into Christ’s image and likeness
through every circumstance. For this I am joyful and thankful for I know for sure You are
in control and “That in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have

been called according to His purpose and He turns everything to their good.” * 12 I ask that
you build the maturity of my character in Christ’s likeness, that I may serve You in full
loving obedience of holiness always. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

* 1i,ii,iii 1 Corinthians 10 v 13 * 2 Proverbs 16 v 20 * 3 2 Chronicles 16 v 9
*4 Jeremiah 29 v 12, 13 * 5 Proverbs 3 v 5, 6 * 6 From a popular modern
*7 Psalm 37 v 34 * 8 Jeremiah 29 v 11 hymn, source not
*9 Psalm 138 v 8 * 10 Proverbs 19 v 21 known
* 11i,ii Proverbs 16 v 3 * 12 Romans 8 v 28

05.03.05