I noted early on that we as humans seem to have selective hearing – before we coined the term, we used to say, “hearing only what suited us.” The basic idea is focusing only on what is of interest to us; big trouble occurs when we apply this spiritually.

“Spiritual Selective Hearing”

Lord, how much do You desire to speak words of truth unto my heart
And yet so often I follow my own desires and from Your ways depart.
I put my fingers into my ears and block out the words of warning Your Spirit does speak;
Later, I rue my choice and wonder “Why is it I am so weak?”
It is because You are the strength of my life if I claim to follow after You.
If the desire of my heart is to be free from sin, then I must allow the Holy Spirit to my heart renew.
How I pray, Lord, that it would never come to pass, that, in my life, this would never be:
That my heart becomes deaf and blind to Your truth and be doomed to separation eternally.
May I ever desire to follow after You and be alive through the resurrection of Your Son.
I thank and praise You for the work of the cross, and for the work that in me has begun.
May my ears be open for Your Word, O Lord;
May Your heart and mine move with one accord.

In this poem, I examine the difference between life before Jesus enters in and afterward.

“From Death to Life”

Lord, how easy it is to fool myself with the thoughts running through my head.
Yet, Your truth shines through all the lies-without You in my life, I am dead.
I can try and attempt to live on my own, and fill my life with other things.
But nothing in the world can take the place of You and the peace that Your presence brings.
Light a fire in my heart again, Lord Jesus, that I may follow You.
It is my desire to get a fresh start and begin my Christian walk anew.
I no longer wish to rebel against You or fool myself into thinking I am right.
May I stand before You cleansed and made pure by Your holy and healing light.
May I follow You faithfully, living in the world but not weighed down by strife.
May I always remember how You paid the price so that I could pass from death into life.

Initially, this poem was inspired by words from the opening verse of Russ Taff’s song, “We Will Stand.” They tie in rather well with Luke 9:50; Jesus tells the disciples that anyone who is not against Him is for Him – meaning that, no matter where you are from, if you live for God and obey His word, you are accepted by Him – human details don’t figure into the equation.

“The Family of God”

Lord, all who follow and worship You in spirit and truth are members of Your family.
Brothers and sisters, daughters and sons, who together to You bow the knee.
We are more, however, than individual children; we are siblings not only of Christ but also in.
So we should act as caring siblings should, and lovingly confront each other when we fall into sin.
But of course, our mission on Earth goes far beyond encouraging the members of Christ to be pure and right.
Our calling is to carry the Good News of our Lord to those who stumble in darkness without spiritual sight.
As Your children, we should walk as You did, and read Your Word to more closely follow Your steps
As we walk in the world through which we are passing and strive against the urge to abandon Your precepts.
Lord, I can only stumble and fall in any attempt to walk this path without You.
Lord, in Your Word and in fellowship with my spiritual brethren, You show me the way that is right and true.
I pray in Your name, that is above all others, that Your Spirit would fall afresh upon me
And empower me to put aside fear, open my heart, and confess my true needs unto Thee.
May I always be open with my brothers and sisters in Christ as I walk through life every day,
And that my heart would desire to follow You forever, even unto death-all these things, do I pray.

“Packed and Ready”

Lord, the world says “Stay a while, rest yourself and enjoy
The pleasures all around, and have a good time, boy.”
Yet, although what it says sounds good, the truth its words do not condone.
Your promise in the Word reminds me that this world is not my own.
We are sojourners in a foreign land, on a journey to our King,
Who gave us spiritual life anew and is with us through everything.
So help me to continuously listening for Your voice, O Lord, ready to go whenever You say.
I pray that You would be my guiding light of my life, Lord, every day.

“Times of Weakness, Times of Strength”

Lord, so often do I find myself in situations where I am weak,
And in my pride, I turn aside from Your command to be humble and meek.
I try to fight back with my own mortal strength, but the truth is, I really have none.
So when I fail, and fall into sin, I look back with regret upon what I have done.
Then I remember what is written in Your Word, that You are the strength of those who follow
And obey Your commands-they are filled with Your power, unlike sinners, whose sin leaves them empty and hollow.
When I am closest to You is when I am strong; with You as my light and my guide
Whatever path I walk is never wrong,
Because in You does my strength abide.
This now is my prayer, O Lord my God: when I am weak, may I be in You strong.
May my life be filled with praise for You, in strength and weakness, lauding you in song.

In a way, this poem draws on similar thoughts to those spoken by Corrie Ten Boom: “Look around at the world, and you’ll become distressed; look down at yourself, and you’ll become depressed; but look up to God, and you’ll find rest.”

“What we are and are not”

Lord, how often do we judge the state of our hearts and thought
By looking at others and assuring ourselves by saying “That is what I am not.”
And yet, we miss a life-saving truth by not recognizing what we are.
We cannot see that we are lost in sin, and from You are so away far.
But if we open our eyes, and realize just how we naturally stand before You,
Once we see our sin, the cleansing can begin and our spirits You can renew.
Then we may stand complete and whole, made clean by the power of Your blood,
Ready for the purpose You created us for, to be sent out like water in a flood
To all those who are still enslaved in sin. We show by our actions how we have died
And been changed by Your precious blood, and that all who come to Him can be purified.
So open our eyes, Lord, that we may see You
And be transformed as our minds You renew.

In this poem, I compare God’s will to our own desires. Sometimes, the truth can seem like sour medicine, yet it is so much better for us than the sweet poison that sin offers.

“Sour Medicine and Sweet Poison”

Lord, how hard it is when we feel that with us You are being unfair.
When You tell us “no”, we are sometimes drawn into believing the lie that You don’t care.
You love us, Lord, as our Heavenly Father, which means that when You say “no,”
It is for a good reason-although we may not understand why, we can be assured that what is best, You know.
However, sometimes, instead of accepting this, we find it easier to Satan give in,
Allowing him to enter our lives and fill us up with sin.
It tastes good for a while, and seems to take away the pain.
But in the end, all the enjoyment is in vain,
Because sin robs us of that which only You can give-
Peace, forgiveness, and the chance to abundantly live.
So, although it is sour, help us to accept when You tell us something not to do,
and let us not fall into temptation, but instead keep our eyes on You.

Hey, folks! Back again 🙂

Here is another addition from my compilation of college poetry (trying saying that 5 times fast). When writing this, I thought back to Jesus’ parable of the four soils; in my life, if I am being unfruitful, I imagine myself reflecting the soil with weeds (too concerned with worldly affairs to bear fruit). As such, I then pray that God would weed me out, removing any influence from my heart that does not glorify Him and replacing it with His presence.

“Doing the Will of my Father”

Lord, what is it that holds me back from following You with my whole heart?
Is it selfish desires, that choke out the faith that first had such a glorious start?
Lord, I desire to walk strong in You and end life’s race standing tall;
Yet, without allowing You to do a work in my life, I will only short of the mark fall.
Lord, renew the fire in my heart; help me keep my eyes on You.
Pour out on me Your Holy Spirit afresh, so that I may speak and live what is true.
Lord Jesus, You are the source of all that is good in my life.
Help me to live according to Your will, enduring pain, persecution, and strife.
Shepherd of my soul, Jesus my Lord,
Be the hand that guides my spiritual sword.