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Today has been especially hard for me, for no particular reason except that I'm grieving, and today I'm grumpy and unsettled about it.

I am not a perky Christian right now. I feel dried up. Parched like a wind-swept desert, I am unable to quench the emptiness of my heart. My faith is strong enough not to rage at God or question His sovereignty; I'm just unhappy, lost even. How selfish that sounds! After a sad, scrolling-through of social media posts, I ran across my friend Bob Hostetler's blog on Guideposts, dated yesterday, Sept. 20, 2016. I appreciate his perspective on praying through hard times. Here is an excerpt from his blog "Pray for Blessings from Disappointments"--

"Most of us, when misfortune occurs, pray for relief or deliverance. That is natural, and it’s a good way to pray. After all, the psalmist David prayed, “Please, God, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, and help me” (Psalm 70:1, NLT). And “Please, Lord, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, an…

Confessing someone else's sins

September 14, 2017

Lord God, the Holy One--

You are gracious and full of awesome power and purity.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

I come today on behalf of someone else.
I want to pray for ________'s repentance,
so first I must ask you to forgive me of my wrong-doing and selfishness.
Convict and remove all the little pet sins I shelter in my life,
the things I say aren't a big deal.
Root them out.
I'll brace myself.
I know it will hurt a little to be honest with myself and change my will and behavior.
But when I do, I will have peace.

Forgive me, please.

So now I ask you to forgive __________. I confess on his/her behalf.
Forgive him/her for rebellion, selfishness, pride, and ignorance of Your laws and Your expectations.
Moses confessed for Israel, and even though they rarely repented,
You had compassion on them,
for Moses' sake.
You showed grace and mercy and lovingkindness.
Because someone cared enough to ask You for it.

Show Your lovingkindness to __________.
Put a wall of…

A prayer against betrayal

March 29, 2018

Dear Lord Jesus,

Tonight is the night you were betrayed. You had your last dinner with your close friends, and Peter said he'd die for you, and Judas Iscariot slipped out to meet the Pharisees and collect his 30 pieces of silver. Then you took the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with you and for you; you were headed into the greatest struggle in all of history.

Judas kissed you. Oh, the nerve of him!

Then the soldiers took you away for an illegal trial, built on lies and false accusations, while John watched and Peter cursed out the servants for suggesting that he knew you.

How could they could betray you, they who knew you so well and who served with you for three years. If they could betray you, what hope is there for me?

I am unfaithful, fearful, weak, ungrateful, even doubting. I am so unworthy of your unfailing faithfulness and grace. How can I become more resolute?

Lord Jesus, fill me with the Holy Spirit. May I go into garden and pray to you for strength and co…