Ending the day with this simple thought:

Rejection is merely a redirection. 

A penny for your thoughts. 

“Emptiness, yieldedness, brokenness—these are the conditions of the Spirit’s outflow. 
Such was the path taken by the Prince of Life to set free the flood-tide of Pentecost.

Oh, the pains that God has to take to bring us to this “abandon”—equally ready for silence or for saying, for stillness or for doing unhesitatingly the next thing He calls for, unfettered by surroundings or consequences. How much reserve and self-consciousness have to give way with some of
us before the absolute control passes into His hands
and the responsibility with it.”
-Lilias Trotter

http://www.kingsleypress.com/lilias-trotter-books.php

Little did I know, two weeks ago, when I began this post, how very timely it would be in my life. This past Wednesday evening, my literary agent emailed me. Before opening it I took a long, bated breath, because I knew it would contain either good news (acceptance of a manuscript) or bad news (rejection of a manuscript). I have been waiting for this email for a long time. Upon skimming the first two sentences, I saw the news: rejection. Immediately, my soul sank. Already down for the count with an upper respiratory infection, this news made me feel even worse, as you can imagine. In many ways, I feel as though I have miscarried. Having miscarried in 1987, my second pregnancy, the emotions felt strangely similar.

It wasn’t the news I was expecting. I felt so sure that this book project was the next step in my life. It has consumed the last 9.5 months of my life. First, researching the subject and digging into my heart of hearts to write the content of the book proposal. Then, rewriting and rewriting and rewriting the book proposal, until my literary agent and I were 100% sure it was my voice, my best work and ready to be submitted to the editor, who had requested it.

But, God said no. Discouragement tried very hard to take me to a dark place last Wednesday night. As I placed my head on my pillow, I remembered the words of the seminar I had taught, “When the Lights Go Out.” I remembered Hannah. Her pleas before God. Her agonizing years of pain and waiting.

And then, I remembered Corrie Ten Boom. Amy Carmichael. And, Lilias Trotter. All of these women, these dangerous godly women, who I have been studying for years. The pages of their biographies are underlined, highlighted and tear-stained. I don’t even pretend to be in their “spiritual” class, but I know that their lives serve as a grand model of true godliness and spiritual fervor.

Lilias Trotter, who I am sharing about today, lived in the late 19th Century. Take a few moments to read a condensed version of her biography at http://www.kingsleypress.com/previews/lilias_trotter.php. Influenced at a young age by Hannah Whitall Smith (”The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life) and D. L. Moody, Lilias, a gifted artist, surrendered the opportunity to become a world reknown artist to serve the Lord, for over forty years, as a missionary to the Moslems in North Africa. Her thoughts and writings during a very difficult period of opposition, overwhelmed me today, as I read them again, hoping to find one little ray of hope for my sullen soul. Listen to her wise words:

“I am full of hope that when God delays in fulfilling our little thoughts,
it is to leave Himself room to work out His great ones. And, more and more
as time goes on, I feel that the longer He waits the more we can expect, for
the deeper and wider will be the undermining, and the greater will be the band
of those who will come forth free from their prison walls. When one gets hold
of that vision, one can throw back in the devil’s face his taunts over the
seemingly wasted years that lie behind us.”

 Five very important lessons here:

1. God delays for a reason.
2. He is making room for his perfect plan.
3. The longer He waits, the more we can expect.
4. People will be set free from their prison walls.
5. In a consecrated life, not one second is wasted.

When I get to heaven, I want to thank Lilias for this word. I am clinging to it. Satan wants me to dwell in the land of discouragement and despair. Especially right now. So much for those 9.5 months you spent in front of your computer writing. Look what good it did. REJECTED! Ha! Never good enough, are you? Good, but not good enough. Think of what you could have done with that time. What are you going to do now? So much for your plan!

And, to top it all off, all three children are launching in 2,3,4 weeks, consecutively. I, and I underscore I, thought I’d be writing my second book. I had a plan. But, instead, I will be on my face before God, seeking HIS plan. HIS will. His next step. All the while knowing that not one word that was penned during those 9.5 months is going to be wasted. God has a plan and I trust HIS plan way more than mine. In the meantime, I’ll keep writing. Keep moving forward.

Have you ever experienced a “miscarriage” of your plans? If so, how did you press forward? I’d love to know! Until next time, be wrapped in the blanket of God’s tender love toward you. Know that HE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH. HE IS ALL YOU NEED.

Ladies!

If you know any young ladies, ages 16-21, please tell them

about my new blog, www.twomirrors.wordpress.com.

For the past 8 months, I have been busy working on a new book, “Snow White’s Amazing Little Secret: A Young Woman’s Guide to Understanding Her God-Created Identity.” This blog is dedicated to conversing with young women about the issues that “look them in the face” every day. In a media-driven society, young women are bombarded on a daily basis withvisual images. They find themselves swimming in the raging sea of a self-absorbed society.This book project and blog will hopefully be a great tool to help them look into the mirror of God’s Word and see their glorious God-created identity!

Yesterday, a man shared his story with me. In 2005, in the midst of a major heart attack, he said he knew he was going to die. During the attack, all he could think of was his mother, who he knew was in heaven. I wanted to see my mother. All I could think of was my mother. But, I wasn’t sure where I would go when I died. And I knew I was going to die. So, I asked God to give me more time, so I could be sure. He did. I didn’t die that day.

I asked him how that day changed him. He simply said, “I know Jesus is my Redeemer, now. I had asked the Lord into my life at age fifteen, but hadn’t walked with him. I walk with him now. I know I am going to heaven when I die.”

Prayer takes many forms. Quick, last-minute, help-me-God prayers. Long, sustained hours of perserverance and patience prayers. Desperate, life-saving, I-won’t-make-it-if-you-don’t intervene prayers. Peter, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, saw Jesus feed the five thousand. Saw Jesus walk on water. Saw Jesus do miracles. Heal the sick. AND, watched followers turn away from Jesus, because his teaching was too hard. Too difficult to follow. John 6: 60-69 says, “On hearing it [Jesus' teaching], many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’

Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, ‘Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spiritand they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.’ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’  Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’”

Peter’s question is the key. Peter’s answer to his own question unlocks the door to our faith. He says, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” F. B. Meyer writes, “Peter knew that the soul of man must go somewhere. It must go outside itself for living water and satisfying bread. There had awoke in his soul cravings for the eternal, the infinite, and the divine. He had known nothing of these in earlier days, which seemed so far away, before the voice of the Baptist had rung out its clarion appeal and startled his slumbering soul. But since he has awoke to the realities of the spiritual world, all former sources of inspiration and instruction had failed to satisfy. To whom shall we go at this time of world-weariness? To whom shall we go when our souls have suddenly awoke to the majesty of the Eternal Presences, which as hidden by the glare of pleasure, but emerge in hours of lonliness, change, sorrow, and loss? To whom shall we go when one by one the lights which we have trusted die out in the sky, and neither sun nor stars shine for many days, and no small tempest lies upon the distraught soul?” (Peter, by F. B. Meyer)

I awoke today with a craving in my soul for the divine, the infinite, the eternal. Several emails this week have pierced my soul and brought me to God on their behalf. I only know one place to go—to God. He holds the eternal words of life. Go to God today. Cry out to him. He is listening. He will capture your tears in his bottle and tranform them into joy. He will transform you from worrier to warrior. He will lift your burden and lighten your load. Take a moment to let these two visual prayer aids wash over you. I did. My computer became an altar. Close your eyes. Let the words and worship be your prayer tool today. Isaiah 43 is my absolute favorite word from God. May it minister to you. May you be blessed and encouraged in the WORD of GOD.

We’ve been talking about dangerous women. . . and I can’t think of one more dangerous. . . one more full of risk. . . one more damaging to the kingdom of darkness. . . than Corrie Ten Boom. If you haven’t read her story, I found a brief synopsis on http://chi.gospelcom.net/DAILYF/2001/02/daily-02-28-2001.shtml or read her story recorded in “The Hiding Place.”

And, I found an amazing up-close-and-personal video of her hiding place. Take a moment and listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLnfRt03rkU&feature=related

Corrie’s story is one I have read over and over again, yet each time I glean even more truth. More courage. More strength for the journey. How did she endure the severity of the concentration camps?
How in the world did she keep going? I remind myself that I wince at the least bit of discomfort,
which in thiscountry is mild. I need her story. I need her words to keep me going.
That is why I value the power of biography so highly.

And then I found a short clip of Ballet Magnificat performing “The Hiding Place.”  
Lord, have mercy. Seeing their interpretation of her story, using the powerful force of movement,
reminded me of my great love of dance. Aching with the desire to jump into the video and
take part in their presentation, I soaked in the beauty of each step. I pray you feel it as well.

As I shut this down and turn in for the night, I pray that we all remember this dangerous woman, Corrie Ten Boom, who endured more than I can even fathom. In Tramp for the Lord, she writes, “Faith is like radar that sees through the fog—the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see.” Wow. May God help us have that kind of faith. Faith that sees through the fog. Faith that sees what the human eye cannot see. I need that. Let’s pray:

Lord, thank you for the life of Corrie Ten Boom.
When I consider her situation, I am humbled.
I am filled with hope, because I know that
you are same God to me. Corrie read that same Bible
that I read every day. Every morning, at 8:15 a.m., she
listened to her Daddy read from the big family Bible.
I can’t help but imagine that the words she heard, day after day,
were the words that served as her anchor. Her lifeline. Her daily bread.
You, O Lord, are our Daily Bread. May we hunger after You.
Amen.

A dear friend sent this astounding video to me. I know I am a visual learner and that this type of visual sermon really gets me fired up. But, I think you will be touched as well. If you HAVEN’T seen it, it is worth a few minutes of your time. It challenged me. What would my cardboard testimony be? Brilliant thought by this young pastor. Being a writer, I would LOVE to know how and where he got this idea. It struck home.

In April, we were in Chicago for the International Kitchen and Bath Show, when I saw a homeless man in his early thirties, sitting on the side of the road. Resting on the side of a box, was a sign, which read, “I am not hopeless. I just made some bad decisions.” I found it very hard to walk by this young man. In hindsight, I wish I had taken a deep breath and confronted him, imploring him to make a good decision, TODAY. Okay, you’ve made bad decisions. But, why not start fresh today? Why not get up, take a shower, and try to get a job somewhere. Doing something other than sitting on the side of the road begging for pennies? Aren’t we all one good decision away from becoming who Christ created us to be? I’m sure there is a great deal more to his story. I’m sure there is a great deal of pain underneath the surface. I did offer up prayer on his behalf. Prayer that he will have the courage to make a good decision.

This video inspires me to be on my face before God for fresh messages. Fresh words from God’s heart to mine. My prayer today is simple: Speak, Lord. Please speak. I’ll let you know what I write on my cardboard. Will you share your?

Happy Independence Day! 

Take a moment to watch this incredible tribute to the spirit of America!

http://www.forbetterlife.org/be-inspired/tv.asp?id=1106

“Lord, as our country celebrates its independence today,
may we never forget our great dependence on YOU,
for it is in YOU that we find true freedom.
Amen.”

dangerous (a), full of risk
[Webster's 1828]

“Nothing is more dangerous to the work of Satan than a prayer warrior.”
-Janell Rardon

For some reason, the past few days, God keeps putting articles, teachings, etc. in my path concerning being a “dangerous woman.” While searching the net for information for an upcoming book, I ran across Lynne Hybel’s website, http://www.lynnehybels.com/, and saw her book, “Nice Girls Don’t Change the World.” I thought it was so interesting and decided to read an excerpt on www.christianbook.com. Then, I found her “A Creed for Dangerous Women” at http://www.lynnehybels.com/documents/Dangerous_Women_Creed.pdf, read it. Thought about it. Printed it off. Pasted it in my journal. And, took a deep breath and prayed it.

Then, yesterday, after taking my car to be maintenanced AND getting a SPEEDING TICKET (and I wasn’t even speeding on purpose. . . honest! UGH!), I took a very long summer afternoon walk—with IPOD loaded—to talk to God. It had been a long morning. Anxious to hear Rev. Dr. Rick Warren’s Commencement Address to the 2008 Graduates of Gordon College (Wenham, MA), my son’s soon-to-be-home-away-from-home, I hit the pavement. With each step and every word of his powerful message (which you can download from http://www.gordon.edu/, click on PODCASTS), my spirit was becoming more and more passionate. Then, on top of his challenge, I listened to an interview with his wife, Kay Warren, hosted by Gordon’s First Lady, Jan Carlberg, concerning Kay’s recently published book, Dangerous Surrender, http://www.kaywarren.com/dangeroussurrender.html.

Towards the end of the interview, Jan asked Kay a very interesting question concerning the effect of Kay’s dangerous surrender on her family. Having been a fulltime pastor’s wife and mother forever, her decision to champion the cause of HIV/AIDS Awareness (read her book or excerpt for more information about this) greatly effected everyone around her. Her reply stopped me dead in my tracks. She said:

“My family was used to relating to me as a stay-at-home mom, even while Dad was
circling the planet, I was at least the stationery hub that the family kind of circled
around. When God changed my life and opened doors for me that now I’m traveling,
working full-time, that changed the dynamic of our family.
My daughter, a brand new mom herself, had a mental picture of how things would be.
Me, the Grandma, always there.
But in all this, she taught me a great lesson. She said,

‘Sometimes the most dangerous surrender we can make is to say
yes to the dangerous surrender in someone else’s life.’”

As a mother, I totally get that. This week, I am saying ‘yes’ to the dangerous surrender in Brooke’s life. She is on an inner city missions trip to Philadelphia. A week of five minute showers, no cell phones, no text messaging. Total “un”connection to the outside world. Total connection to God and HIS concern for the lost. She is living, serving, and learning to love the unlovely. The outcasts. The hurting. The homeless. Right here in our backyard. When she calls, she sounds so young, yet so amazingly mature. I savor every word she shares with me. But, her dangerous surrender to God has forced me to fall to my knees in prayer for her. Calling out to God to enlarge her heart. Speak to her. Open her eyes. It has caused me to let go and let God work in her life. I sense it is only the beginning of God’s call on her life.

One hundred and forty one years ago, Catherine Carmichael, mother of famed missionary, Amy Carmichael ( http://www.traveltheroad.com/missions/missionaries/carmichael.php), gave birth to a child who would teach her valiant lessons about dangerous surrender to God. I’ve posted an excerpt about Amy that will hopefully inspire you today! Take a moment to drink it in deeply.

Praying for Blue Eyes
One of the first incidents occurred when she was a child. Mother had said that if Amy prayed, the Lord would answer. Amy had brown eyes. She prayed for blue. In the morning she jumped out of bed and ran to the mirror. Mrs. Carmichael heard her wail in disappointment. It took Mrs. Carmichael several minutes of careful explanation before Amy understood that “no” was an answer too. God meant Amy to have brown eyes for a reason, explained Mrs. Carmichael. Just what the reason was, she might never know. But meanwhile, brown eyes were perfectly lovely. Amy wasn’t so sure. Smiling Irish blue would always be her favorite color, even if God said “No.”

Youthful Escapades
There was a bit of rebel in Amy. If trouble developed at the Carmichael house, she was almost sure to be a ringleader in it. There was the time squeaks interrupted family devotions. Amy feigned ignorance, but the truth came out. The frozen mouse in her pocket had revived.

Another time she led her brothers and sisters in a challenge to see how many poisonous laburnum pods they could eat before they died. Fortunately they emerged with little more than upset stomachs. There was another time when she led them through a skylight onto the dangerous roof.

Critical Life Changes
As a youth Amy thought she was a Christian, but an evangelist showed her she needed a personal commitment. She gave her heart to Christ. Service to him became the center and passion of her life.

After three years of boarding school, Amy returned home because her parents no longer had the money to support her education. Mrs. Carmichael took sixteen year old Amy out to buy a dress. Amy found a beautiful one — royal blue — but turned away from it. Her mother was surprised, but Amy explained that clothes were no longer as important to her as they once were now that Christ had given her new purpose in life. She would wait a year until her parents were better able to afford new clothes for her. She never got that dress, because the next year, Mr. Carmichael died unexpectedly.

Seeking and Saving the “Shawlies”
That was the year that Amy started classes and prayer groups for Belfast ragamuffins. She also began a Sunday work with the “shawlies.” These were factory girls so poor that they could not afford hats to wear to church and wore shawls instead. Respectable people didn’t want anything to do with them. Amy saw that they needed Christ just the same as their supposed “betters.” Eventually so many shawlies attended Amy’s classes that she had to find a building large enough to hold three hundred and more.

The Carmichaels lost all their money through financial reverses and a change became necessary. Mrs. Carmichael decided to move to England and work for Uncle Jacob. Amy and another sister joined her. Uncle Jacob asked Amy to teach his mill workers about Christ. Amy threw herself into the work, living near the mill in an apartment infested with cockroaches and bed bugs. However, she was constantly sick with neuralgia and had to lie in bed for days at a time. It was clear she must give up the work.

Go, Girl, Go
For years, Amy wanted to be a missionary. Now this desire grew so strong it hurt. She prayed about it and wrote down the reasons she thought it couldn’t possibly be God’s intention. One of the first things on the list was her sickness. But in her prayers she seemed to hear the Lord speak as if He were standing in her room, saying “Go.”

“Surely, Lord, you don’t mean it,” she said. Again the voice said, “Go.”

OK. Now What?
She agreed. But where should she go? And what about her widowed mother? She wrote to her mom. Mrs. Carmichael replied that the Lord had already spoken to her about it, and told her she must let Amy go. So for over a year Amy tried to find a place to go, but no one wanted her.

Nevertheless she set off for Japan in the company of three missionary ladies, a letter having been sent ahead offering her assistance to missionaries there. Tears scalded her as she sailed on March 3, 1893.

Amy had a constant passion to witness for Christ. On board the ship even the captain was converted to Christian faith after observing how cheerfully Amy faced the dirt and insects onboard.

Adjustments in Japan
Once in Japan, even before she learned the language, Amy went out to witness. Her interpreter, Misaki San, suggested Amy wear a kimono, but Amy was cold and her neuralgia was bothering her. She preferred her western dress and kept it on. The two visited a sick old woman who seemed interested in the Gospel. Just as Amy was about to ask her if she would repent, the woman caught sight of her fur-lined gloves and asked what they were.

Driving home, Amy wept bitter tears. Never again would she risk so much for so little, she promised. From then on she wore Japanese clothes while witnessing.

Praying for Lost Souls
On another occasion, Amy and Misaki San were asked to send the spirit of the fox out of a violent and murderous man. Village priests had tried their formulas and tortures without success. Trusting that the Lord could drive demons away, the two girls prayed and went boldly into the man’s room. As soon as they mentioned the name of Jesus, the man went into an uncontrollable rage. If he had not been tied, he would have leaped upon them. The two girls were thrust from the room. Perplexed, they soon recovered their confidence. They assured the man’s wife that they would pray until the spirit left and asked her to send a message when it was gone. Within an hour they had word. The next day, the man himself summoned them, and over the next few days they explained the way of Christ to him and he became a Christian.

Once when she was about to visit the Buddhist village of Hirose, Amy asked the Lord what she should ask of Him before she went. She felt impressed to pray for one soul. A young silk-weaver heard their message and became a Christian. Amy’s neuralgia kept her in bed for a month after that. But the next time she went out, she again felt she must pray, and the Lord told her to ask for two souls. The silk-weaver brought two friends, and they gave themselves to Jesus. Two weeks later, Amy felt impressed to ask for four souls. This was more souls than many missionaries see won to Christ in a year.

The visit went badly. Amy wondered if she hadn’t mistaken an arithmetical progression for the leading of the Lord. No one seemed interested in the gospel. Misaki San reminded Amy that the evening service still lay ahead. Not many came to the evening service. Those few seemed distracted. Amy was almost in tears. She wanted to run out, bury herself in the snow. Suddenly the spirit changed. A woman spoke up and asked the way to Christ, and then her son came in and committed himself to the new religion also. At the home of some Christians that evening another woman accepted Christ and the next morning a fourth.

Again Amy was ill, this time for a month and a half. For two weeks the Lord impressed Amy that she should ask for eight souls. The other missionaries chided her. “It is not faith,” they said, “but presumption.” With astonishment, Amy heard them advise her just to pray for a blessing. “Then you won’t be disappointed.” Amy insisted that the Lord himself had wrestled with her. She was terrified, she said, and would never ask this in her own strength. An older missionary agreed with her. He read God’s promise from Jeremiah that nothing is too hard for the Lord. “Let us pray for her,” he said.

Needless to say, eight souls took the Christian way on that visit. Amy did not receive any more impressions for numbers of souls. In fact, her neuralgia became so bad that the doctor told her she must leave Japan for a more suitable climate.

So On To India
After some struggle and confusion Amy accepted that she would be better off in India. Once there she learned about the temple girls. Even Christians were against Amy when she stepped into the struggle to end the wicked service required of the little girls. They thought she exaggerated the situation. Indeed, the truth of what went on behind the scenes was so hard to get at, that Amy found she must pretend to be an Indian and visit the temples herself. Dressed in a sari with her skin stained, she could pass as a Hindu. Now she understood why God had given her brown eyes. Blue eyes would have been a dead giveaway!

Amy’s experiences were proof that the Lord truly is in charge of our lives. Even when she became permanently bedridden, God had plans for her. She wrote books that became a deep spiritual witness.

Amy did not go to prison. A telegram arrived on February 7, 1914, saying, “Criminal case dismissed.” No explanation was ever forthcoming, but those who know Amy’s Lord suspect He had a hand in the decision.

Resources:

1. “Carmichael, Amy.” Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals. Timothy Larsen, editor. Downers-Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 2003.
2. Davis, Rebecca Henry: With Daring Faith. Greenville, South Carolina: Bob Jones University, 1987.
3. Houghton. Amy Carmichael. London: Hodder and Stoughton. 

Read more challenging stories of courageous women of God at http://chi.gospelcom.net/index.php. Christian History is a phenomenal magazine that will deeply move you to passionate service for Christ.

Well, I could go on for hours. BUT, this is a post, not a book. (Smile) Can you tell I’m excited about this subject? About all the possibilities that lay ahead for you and me? Sometimes our dangerous surrender will be to stay home, homeschool, pour our lives into our children, and prepare for the time when they will launch into their personal God-led missions. That would be my story. What is your story? Has God called you to that place of dangerous—toes-on-the-edge-of-the-precipice-surrender? If so, I would LOVE to hear about it. My precious friend and neighbor, Rebekah, shared hers with me this morning, right on her driveway. Boy, did it infuse courage into my heart. Hopefully, you will share yours with us. One story can change a life.

Until then, have a blessed 4th of July!

“Your self-image may be accurate or inaccurate. It may be inflated, leading you to believe that you’re more than you are; or it may be deflated, leading you to believe that you’re less than you are. Your image might be damaged because of hurtful things others have said to you. Your self-image can be a reflection of society’s values and standards to which you compare yourself. Your self-image may be stained by memories of past failures and regrets because of missed opportunities. Or it can be real—a reflection of the truth about who you really are—transparent and honest.”

On Monday, July 21, from 7-9 p.m., I will be hosting a focus group for young girls, ages 16-21, to discuss the content of my newest book project, “Snow White’s Amazing Little Secret: A Young Woman’s Guide to Understanding Her True Identity.”

Do you know any young women, ages 16-21, who might be interested in being part of this discussion? If so, please let them know. They can read more about it at my new blog, www.twomirrors.wordpress.com. I am so excited about this! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me, janellrardon@hotmail.com.

We will be meeting in my home: 5314 Marsh Landing Lane, Suffolk (Riverfront). Directions available through http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Suffolk&state=VA&address=5314+Marsh+Landing+Lane&zipcode=23435.

Please pray for this meeting! I am expecting God to move!

I found this wonderful couple while searching for worship music this morning. I hope you can open this music file - you will find yourself drawn close to God. Breathe. Soak. Enjoy HIS presence.

http://www.gettymusic.com/

Speak, O Lord by Keith and Krysten Getty

“Speak, O Lord”
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow’r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.