You Reign

Lord,

As we look around our environment today, it is easy to observe many frightening things all around us. From natural disasters like hurricanes and devastating flooding to the uncertainty of Wall Street, our national & now global economies and the housing market, it is easy to feel mortal & helpless very quickly. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, powerless and scared. It is more important than ever that we continue to build our faith in these uncertain times.

We ask only one thing from You, Lord. And that one thing is not that You snap Your fingers and "fix" these desperate situations. That one thing is not that You would protect or insulate us and our families and friends from the hurt that others are experiencing. That one thing is not even that You would help us feel safe and secure.

The one thing we ask of You is that you would continue to allow us to learn to place our trust in You at all times. As a human being, it is very easy, and sometimes natural, to feel as though we have complete control of a situation. Help us to realize the reality of these assumptions, Lord. The reality that we do not have control of anything. We need to learn to trust that You are in control. Help us to place our trust IN You.

Also, help us to realize that it is not all about us.

We know that You use painful situations to change people - to change perspectives - to change priorities - to change thought patterns. We know you use scenarios to provide opportunities for us to think about others. We ask that You would open up our hearts and minds and switch the gears in our minds from a "Hope that doesn't happen to me" gear to a "How can I help someone out" gear. We need You more than ever, God. Please soften our hearts, clear our minds and allow us to hear Your voice and see Your guiding light in these troubled times.

Amen.