A Prayer for You and a Psalm for Animals

I have had several conversations lately with folks who feel they lack faith. As I ponder this, I have been beginning to wonder if it is faith they lack – or trust?

How much faith do we need?  The bible tells us that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20).  There is definitely a relationship between belief, faith, and trust.  Yet, there are distinctions as well.

For example, I believe there is a God for many reasons, one being because I see the things he has made, they are truly marvelous, it seems impossible for me to not believe there is a higher intelligence that is powerful enough to have created all I see!  (Romans 1:20)

I have faith that Jesus Christ is who he said he is, the Son of God sent by the Father.  (Luke 22:70)  Faith says “he can…he is….he did come and live on the earth as the bible depicts and he did for us what he said he did; that he is my Saviour and he defeated Satan with his death upon the cross.” (1 John 3:8)

I trust in him, the person of Jesus, the one who walked upon this earth, because I trust in his character.  Trust has a more personal feel to it, reveals what is in the heart by putting that content, our belief and our faith, into action.  And it is not in some religion, denomination, theological perspective that I trust, it is in the person of Christ.  I trust he is doing and will do what he says no matter what the world looks like or what I see happening.  I trust that he loves me as not only does he say he does but that in dying for all of us, he reveals this love in a way that is difficult to deny.  This trust frees me not only to be the fallen person I am right now, but to allow him to transform me into the Christ-like person I can be.

No matter what happens or what doesn’t, today I place my trust IN him.  I submit to and ask him to make me into the person he wants me to be, to be as effective an agent of change in this world I can be so that I do my part in further manifesting his coming kingdom.  Today, I pledge to follow him, learn about him through his word, his Spirit, other people; and to do what all of that reveals to me.

My prayer for you is that you, too, will seek him with all your heart, trust in him such that you will believe in him, have faith in all he is and says he has, is and will do in this world for us and the animal kingdom.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.  Proverbs 3:5,6

Psalm for the Animals

O Lord you are my God, my ever present comforter, my help, my redeemer and my salvation!
You love your creation,
You see each and every creature and you know them all by name!
My Father and my God, mankind does not shepherd them the way you intend;
The animals on the land and every living thing that crawls upon the ground;
The fish in the sea, the birds of the air – all suffer because we fail you;
We have mistaken our dominion to mean power to do what we want with them,
Instead of to wield it as a gentle, merciful and good use to care for them;
In a spirit of servitude we were to do it.
Father, you placed us in the position in the Garden as that of protector and guardian;
In love you brought Adam before them to name each one!
O Lord our God and our Salvation, our Redeemer, our Friend, our Deliverer – we call on you;
Please deliver them from the tyrants hands, send rescue and send each and every one help;
Comfort them in their sorrows;
Because you love them protect them from evil;
Have mercy upon them.
Teach us O Lord your mercies that we may be merciful as you are merciful;
Open our eyes, open our hearts, that we see the beauty of you O Lord in each creature,
the marvelous works of your hands!
May we see the love that you our Redeemer made each one with;
My we see you Lord when we see them.
The creation groans, Lord, waiting for the sons and daughters to be revealed – reveal them O my God!
For your creations sake
May we serve you – and thus them – with all our hearts.

Thank you for reading and following our blog; we hope you are blessed by it and will share it with others.  Blessings to you and yours ~ Kathy