Sharing a Prayer Written by Denise French
Three weeks ago, I explained in my blog post that I love reading the outpouring of honest human emotion in the Book of Psalms, emotion put into writing thousands of years ago yet expresses the same joy, pain, happiness, heartache, sadness, and desires that penetrates our minds and souls today. This past week, I received an email from my dearest friend that contained a prayer she had written. As my eyes met her words, I thought of the Book of Psalms as her personal testimony leaped from my computer screen. This prayer conveys a transparent, raw view of the Christian life, a lamb in need of a shepherd, a constant battle with an enemy stirring up the past and tossing our failures before us, a cry out to God, a longing to please our Creator… a child running into the arms of the Father. I am so thankful that she has given me permission to share her prayer, her personal testament of faith, with you because, as I came closer to the Father through her words and her transparency in her Christian walk, I know this prayer will do the same for you.
“An Insufficient Offering to the King of the World” by Denise French
Oh Lord, Great & Mighty God -Maker of Heaven and Earth,
I humbly bow to YOUR feet.
I bring all my burdens and heartache and sadness and sorrows to YOU. Laying them down along with
anything I have done that has honored YOU.
Seems such an insufficient offering for The King of The World.
It’s like the little drummer boy. All I have to offer YOU is grumbling & stress & burdens. And yet I play my drum for YOU, pad-dump-pa-dum-dum.
And I feel I am living each moment of the day & night complaining, whining, groaning.
Am I grateful?
Have I lost my grateful heart?
Am I so deep in sadness & disappointment – I have nothing to bring to YOU?
Oh, Please Father God, what can I do? Please help me fully surrender my mind, my heart, my spirit, my thinking, my thoughts, … everything… All of me.
Please Merciful Father, to YOU I run.
As the prodigal that has been feeding in the pigs’ food trough… I crawl back to YOU.
Ashamed again.
Beaten down for now.
I live a good life. I live a great life. Everything that I have I owe ALL to YOU. YOU have allowed all the
good that is in my life. Every Blessing, every kindness, every good thing. I owe it all to YOU. YOU WHO
it all belongs to anyway.
I want to honor YOU with my life.
I want to honor YOU with my thoughts.
I want to honor YOU with all my praise.
Please GOD – I need to keep my focus on YOU at all times, in all places.
How did I get so discouraged?
How did I get this far down…again?
I have sinned against YOU.
Why am I so afraid of people?
Why can’t I speak to people?
Where did this all originate from anyway?
I can remember always being this way – since my early childhood & in school.
Funny too – Melinda (Mary Lou’s daughter) always said how quiet I was.
And yet, Kenneth said that me and Mom and Kim would talk so much, at the same time.
Please give me the words to speak, please give me the thoughts to think.
To YOU I run.
To YOU I try to sing.
To YOU I come.
All I have in these empty hands are my worries, my pains, my regrets, my sorrows.
Oh, what an insufficient offering to The King of The World.
I read Denise’s prayer. Oh when we hear someone else saying exactly what we personally feel or what we are secretly going through. It really hits home. I too have been really sick lately. But as it look around I see so many that are suffering far far more than me. Do I spend enough time praying for their needs? I try to pray for those that I am aware of but sometimes I fear that I am praying too much for my needs and I should be praying for them and their needs. All I know for sure is that God is so good to me. Everyday I try to make it my priority to thank Him for all His blessings. (Too many to name)!! But like Denise, I feel like I come up short in what I do for Him…