Praying for God to get speedy

O God! Please hurry!
O LORD, please hurry to my help.

People make so many demands
on me and my time,
they ought to be ashamed!

If they intend to bring me any hurt, let
their words become mumble-jumble.

Let them stop such behavior!
Let them stop saying “Ah” and Aha!”
or else be disgraced and ashamed
of their own words.

As for those who seek You and know
their need for You, LORD,
let them rejoice in You and be glad.
Let them say, again and again,
“How great is our God!”

But, as for me, O God, I’m feeling
pitiful and needy today,
so I speedily need Your help.

You are The One I count on
to release me from all harm,
so please hurry! Please!
O God, don’t linger too long.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrased poem of Psalm 70 from today’s Daily Bible Reading

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Waiting for God

This prayer-a-phrased poem from today's Daily Bible Reading in the Psalms gives a glimpse of the Psalmist's prayer stance as he awaited a response from God:

Psalm 62:1-2

For God alone
in silence waits
my soul.
From Him alone
in strength waits
my salvation.
My Rock! My Fortress!
I shall not be moved.
In God alone
my soul shall not be shaken.

© 1998, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. The poem first appeared in 1998 in UpSouth and the Saints Alive chapbook then the Letters to a Priest anthology in 2010.


©2013, Mary Sayler

Chatting with Paul about the church

Me: Paul, recently I heard you say there’s only one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, and yet we children of God don’t always act like that’s true. How can this change? What do we do?

The Apostle Paul: Each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Me: Yes, we’re different and have different ways of doing things, but sometimes that seems to make misunderstandings and ill feelings get in our way.

Paul: That’s why the Bible says Jesus ascended into heaven and captured captivity.

Me: Wow! Jesus imprisoned prisons. He bound up whatever binds us. He confined whatever confines us. He….

Paul: He gave gifts to His people. So some of us are apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.

Me: It’s wonderful how God gives each of us exactly what we need to do the work God gave us to do! Now, if we’d just respect those differences and appreciate one another more.

Paul, nodding: Each gift equips each saint for a unique work of ministry to build up the Body of Christ (the Church) so we can all be united in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God as we grow and mature into the full standing of Christ.

Me: Hmm. Sounds like God wants us to grow up! And grow into the Spirit of Christ.

Paul, nodding his head again: We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro or blown about by every wind of doctrine or by people's trickery or by craftiness and deceitful schemes.

Me: But, oh, sometimes it’s hard to know what's what! So I pray for God to help us become more discerning and loving too.

Paul: As we speak the truth in love, we grow up in every way into Christ, Who is the head of the whole body, joined and knitted together by each ligament, so each part is equipped to work properly, promote body growth, and build up the whole Church Body of Christ in love.

Me: Amen! And may God keep on reminding us to keep on praying for spiritual growth, discernment, love, and unity in the Body of Christ in Jesus’ Name.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrased conversation with the Apostle Paul drawn from today’s Bible reading in Ephesians 4:7-8, 4:11-16

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Being a child of God and acting like one!

And Jesus said His followers:

Are you listening?
Love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who abuse you.

If someone slaps your face,
don’t return the insult
but instead turn your cheek.
If anyone grabs your coat,
don’t hang onto your shirt.

Give to the one who begs,
and if anyone needs to borrow,
don’t bother to ask
to get your own stuff back.

Treat every person the way
you want each one to treat you.

Then, if you act like a child
of the Most High God,
your reward will be greater
than great!

Remember: God is kind
even to those ungrateful,
annoying, awful people in your path!
So show them the mercy of God.

Do not judge or condemn anyone,
for God does not judge you
nor enclose you in condemnation.

Forgive and remember:
You are forgiven.

Give and remember:
You will receive
a good measure –
pressed down, packed tight
and running over and over all
you can hold before spilling
God’s goodness
onto your lap!

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrased Bible promises from today’s Daily Bible Reading in Luke 6:27-30 and 35-38.

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Paul prays for our discernment

Background: Paul, who became an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God after the Resurrection rather than during Jesus’ earthly ministry, wrote this letter (epistle) to his young friend and fellow Christian Timothy and to the faithful followers of Christ who formed the church in Colossae, but also to all people made saintly by belief in Christ.


Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

In our prayers for you we always
thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for we have heard of your faith
in Christ Jesus and of the love you have
for all the saints because of your hope in heaven.

You heard of this hope in the word of the truth,
the gospel that came to you, growing your faith
and bearing fruit to nurture the whole world.

From the first day you heard of the grace of God,
the Gospel began bearing fruit among you,
thanks to Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who
faithfully ministers to you in Christ and who
made known to us your love in the Spirit.

And from the first day we heard this,
we have not ceased praying for you
and asking for you to be filled
with the knowledge of God's will
in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
so you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully
pleasing to God as you bear fruit in every good
work and grow in the knowledge of God.

May you be made strong with the strength
that comes from Christ’s glorious power,
and may you be prepared to endure everything
with patience while joyfully giving thanks
to the Father, Who enabled you to share
in the inheritance of the saints in the light
of the Lord Who rescued us from the power of darkness
and transferred us into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son
in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, Bible prayer from Colossians 1:1-14, today’s reading in the Epistles

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Jesus touches the untouchable

Background: In Jesus’ earth era, leprosy had become a common skin condition, which included everything from a flesh-eating illness to a bad case of zits. To avoid spreading serious disease, the affected person had to remain outside the city in a most solitary place, isolated from family and the rest of the community. If skin eventually began to clear, the person still could not rejoin the community without first showing evidence to the priest, who also served as physician. Until the priest gave an “all clear,” the person could not come near anyone without loudly crying, “Unclean! Unclean!”

In a town
[yes, in town where lepers were not allowed]
a man filled with leprosy came to Jesus
and fell down onto the ground
on his face –
[his pitiful face, which, maybe, had only a little left
of a nose, a lip, a chin.]
And when he’d fallen face-down before the LORD,
he implored, “If You will,
You can heal my skin and make me clean again.”

“I will!” Jesus said. “Be healed!”
and He reached out His immaculate hand
to touch the untouchable man,
and immediately the leprosy left.

Jesus charged him to tell no one
he might meet, but go
to the priest and make an offering
as Moses commanded and show
skin proof
evidence of healing.

Still, the news spread,
and more and more people came to Jesus
to hear Him and be healed of all that ailed
them each day until He withdrew His
own face into a most solitary place
to pray.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrased lines drawn from today’s Daily Bible Reading in Luke 5:12-16.

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Praying boldly

I’m writing to you who already believe
in the Name of Jesus, the Son of God,
so you may know you have received
the life unceasing.

In Christ you can be bold!
In Christ you can hold up anything
in prayer,
according to His will, and He will
hear.

When we know God hears us
and what we ask, we know we have
what’s been requested.

So if you see a brother or sister in Christ
doing something wrong, ask God on behalf
of the person’s life,
and God will give it
to all who haven’t killed the spirit.

About that, I do not say to pray
for some sins kill the soul, but know
that those born of God do not do this
for God protects those who belong to Christ
from even a touch of the evil one.

Know this! We’re God’s own children!
The whole world has fallen under
the power of the evil one,
but we know the Son of God has come
and given you
and me an understanding of Who
is True.

And through His Son, Christ Jesus,
we are in God, Who is True,
Who is life everlasting!

O Child of God, keep yourself
from believing any untrue word
or idolizing anyone but our Lord.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase of 1 John 5:13-21

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