Praying with Hannah and Mary

In today’s Daily Bible Reading from 1 Samuel 2:1-10, this poem of prayer and praise by Samuel’s mother, Hannah, most likely evoked Mary’s exquisite praise-poem, known as the Magnificat. You can find that in today’s Gospel reading in Luke 1:39-57, but here's my prayer-a-phrase of Hannah's prayer:

Praying, Hannah said

In the LORD, my heart rejoices.
In the LORD, my strength is strong!
Against my enemies I speak only
because I celebrate victory!

No one – no
One Holy but You LORD –
and You stand beside me!

No one – no
Rock like our God.

Never again will I speak proudly!
Never again will arrogance slip
from my mouth
for the LORD alone is The One Who Knows
and by God’s knowledge
are my words weighed.

Mighty bows may be broken,
but the lowly wear God’s strength.

Someday well-fed people might
hire themselves out for food, while
those who hungered are filled.

Someday people with many children
might feel as though they had none, while
childless ones bring forth –

for the LORD alone brings us to life –
brings us to the doors of death
and raises us up again.

The LORD alone brings highs and lows –
brings lack and plenty.

From the dust, God raises us.
From the ash heap, God sifts us –
and lifts us to a place of honor.

O, Pillars of the Earth, you are the LORD’s!
On you, God has set the world.

God guards the feet of the faithful
from a veil of darkness.

Not in our strength but in the strength
of the LORD we will prevail.

The Most High thunders from heaven,
shattering and scattering our adversaries.

The LORD sees what’s going on and alone
knows what to do.

The LORD views the ends of the earth,
giving strength and power to God’s anointed.


©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase from today’s Daily Bible Reading in1 Samuel 2:1-10

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Jesus tells us to ask, seek, find

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He had finished, one of His closest followers asked Him to teach them to pray as John the Baptist had taught His followers. And Jesus answered by saying, When you’re praying, say:

Father, keep Your name holy in us.
Into us, let Your kingdom come.

Each day give us what we can hold,
but let go of our sins as we console
others beholden to us, and oh,
do not give us too trying a time!

For a moment, Jesus paused then said to look at it like this.

Suppose you go to your friend at the very last hour to ask
for bread for an unexpected visitor who suddenly came
and caught you empty-handed. Feeling ashamed to have
nothing to give, you ask your friend to assist, but he resists
your request saying, “Go away, please! I have locked my door.
My kids are in bed, and if I get up, I’ll wake them for sure.”
I tell you, even though your friend won’t get out of bed to help
you as his friend, he will surely help you if you persist.

So what I’m saying is this:

Keep on asking,
and it will be given.
Keep on searching,
and you will find.
Keep on knocking,
and the door will open.

Believe
in the asking,
and you will
receive.

Think about it!
If your children ask you for fish,
would you wish on them snakes?
Or if your children ask for eggs,
would you give them the eggs of a spider?

You’re definitely not perfect, and yet you know
what’s good for your kids, so
don’t you think God knows
what good gifts to give?

Yes! And, oh, how much more will
our Father in Heaven
give the Holy Spirit to you who still
ask!

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase of Luke 11:1-13 from today’s Daily Bible Readings in the Gospels

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Jesus prays for us

Prayer-a-phrase of Jesus' last prayer on earth:

Father,
I Am coming to You now!

Until now,
I’ve been telling My followers many things
so they might have My joy.

I have given them Your word,
but the world detests them
because they do not belong
to anyone but You.

I’m not asking You
to take My followers out of this world,
but I pray for You to protect them from
the evil one.

My followers do not belong
to worldliness anymore than I do.

Oh, Father, make them holy
by Your truth!

As You have sent Me into the world,
I now send them.

Let My sacrifice count as theirs –
the ones made holy by Your truth,
sanctified by My prayers.


© 2013, Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrased of today’s Bible reading from John 17:13-19

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Name change and changing plans

One of my favorite quotes comes from the movie Sabrina where the title character says, “Sometimes more isn’t better. Sometimes it’s just more,” to which I add, “Amen!” But I still wound up with 7 blogs and 2 websites so also add, “Oops.”

Too many good ideas, good activities, and even good ministries can be too much of a good thing.

Therefore, I recently let one website go but couldn’t get a handle on how to regroup the blogs. Since I believe in the importance of each one, I’ve been praying about this longer than Lent. But finally, clarity came the first day of Holy Week.

Having written about writing for many years, I have numerous articles to draw from that could be helpful, I hope, for members of the Christian Poets and Writers group on Facebook. Many of those articles, which will gradually appear in the Christian Poets and Writers blog, have previously appeared here, but In a Christian Writer’s Life is no longer my primary focus for newly written articles. The Bible is.

If you have visited my blogs on Bible People, Bible Prayers, Christian Healing Arts, and What the Bible Says About Love, I pray you’ll follow the newly revised blog here, where, Lord willing, new posts will most likely arise in prayer-a-phrases from Daily Bible Readings.

In addition some of my poems previously published in books or secular journals will soon be on the Poetry Editor blog, Lord willing, which means that the only blog of mine that may stay as is for now are reviews of new translations, study editions, and children’s Bibles on the Bible Reviewer blog.

With two new reviews still waiting to be winged, others may depend on whether Bible publishers add me to their list of reviewers. And, oh, I pray they do because when it comes to the Bible less just doesn’t work for me! Sometimes more is better.

© 2013, Mary Harwell Sayler

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