What is Your Daily Prayer?
On my desk are three items that I treasure. One is a scripture card, (one of Emily Lex’s lovely painted scripture art cards) with the words of Romans 15:13 with a watercolor buttercup. One is a framed picture I received as a gift after my first spring on staff at Collide that says, “make it count.” And one is a sweet note from my son with a football coffee stopper sticker that says “for mom, from miles, for coffe” (I secretly love the misspelling of his youth). These seemingly random items are each significant to me.
Every time I look at that scripture card I’m transported back to my flat in Glasgow, Scotland, where I had it printed out and framed on a dresser near the bathroom, so we all passed it daily. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.” (Romans 15:13) It feels like a lifetime ago that our family lived there, but the things I learned and the way I experienced God there are with me every day. That verse holds a lot for me, it carried me through one of the lowest points in my life. It reminds me that God uses unlikely people to encourage you. It reminds me to listen when I feel I have something someone else needs to hear. It reminds me that God knew what was coming before I did and He had the right people in place. Mostly it points to the messy, beautiful relationship between hope, joy, peace, and trust. The hope I need in order to feel joy, the peace that comes when I trust, and ultimately the source of all of those things is in my God.
The reminder to ‘make it count’ is my ‘why.’ On days when it feels like I spend more time in my office than at home, I’m reminded that I have committed to making my one precious life count. Like the poet Mary Oliver wrote, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” I’ve committed my life to pointing others to Jesus. It can (and does!) look different every day. Some days it’s spreadsheets, other days it’s listening to someone’s story, and still other days it’s creating something beautiful to remind a woman that she is a delight to God! But when I’m tired, or a little crabby and frustrated, this reminder is just what I need.
The final little note from my youngest son reminds me of the privilege of parenting and how those we are caring for can bless us in return. This small gift from him brings me such joy and reminds me of the value of noticing people. He knew I loved my coffee and football, and his simple note was the perfect touch.
Why do I keep these random things on my desk? They are my shema, my daily prayer, to keep listening to God and loving Him with my all. Like in Deuteronomy 6, after Moses shares the declaration of the most important commandment, the Israelites are instructed to put this reminder in a visible spot, to remind them.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Friends, what is your daily prayer? What reminders do you need to keep listening to the truth God says about you and to love Him in return? Perhaps you need to hear that you are LOVED, or that you are a precious daughter, or that the slate is clean and your past doesn’t define you. Whatever it is, I encourage you to declare it. Claim that truth as yours, and put it in a spot where you will see it daily. Because as we declare truths we will be defined by them and live by them.
