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A Prayer about Living and Dying in Faith

by | Jan 26, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Death and Resurrection, kingdom living, Numbering Our Days

A Prayer about Living and Dying in Faith

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. Hebrews 11:13

Heavenly Father,

Whatever our age,

Make us ready always 

to “die in faith.” 

Dying in faith is the natural conclusion 

to living in faith. 

Dying in faith is to look to the redemption 

you have already accomplished in this world

and in our lives through Jesus Christ, 

to be convicted of things we haven’t seen yet: 

our heavenly homeland, 

the new heavens and new earth life 

that will truly fulfill our every hope (Hebrews 11:1). 

To live and die in faith 

is to let go of the things of this earth 

to which we sometimes cling too tightly, 

knowing we are “strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). 

To live and die in faith 

is to trust your perfect timing 

in numbering our days 

and your perfect patience 

in sending Jesus back 

to take us home. 

To live and die in faith 

is to wait eagerly 

for the restoration of all broken things 

even as we groan inwardly 

when life hurts (Romans 8:19). 

Father, give us the eyes of faith 

to endure until the day comes 

when we are reunited with you.

In Jesus’ living and dying name. Amen.

Read Hebrews 11:1-16; Romans 8: 19. 

A Prayer about Eternal Glory

by | Oct 29, 2022 | aging, dying, and death, Daily Prayer, Death and Resurrection, Gospel living, kingdom living, Numbering Our Days, Suffering

A Prayer about Eternal Glory

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

Heavenly Father,

Enlarge our imaginations that we might see what glory awaits us in Christ!

In this fallen world, we suffer, 

but “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing 

with the glory that is to be revealed to us” and in us (Romans 8:18).

Because we are in Christ, we have a glorious inheritance 

which we will receive when he returns:

We will be…

Confirmed: 

You, our Father, will welcome us, saying, 

“Yes, this is my beloved child!” 

Restored: 

like the ultimate fixer-upper, 

healed of the wounds of sin, 

healed of the brokenness of our bodies, 

made like Christ, 

fully shining with the glory of Christ!

Strengthened: 

strong in Christ’s strength, 

no longer able to sin.

Established: 

Established on thrones 

as those who reign with Christ 

over the new heavens and new earth, 

and we will “reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). 

(Just call me Queen Elizabeth!)

Oh, Father, the glories that await us in heaven 

do seem too good to be true! 

How we long for the day 

we will see you face to face, 

the day your glory 

will become fully and finally our glory.  

In Jesus’ glorious name. Amen.

Read Romans 8:18-30; 1 Peter 5:10; 2 Timothy 2:10.

 

A Prayer about the Brevity and Eternity of Our Lives

by | Sep 30, 2022 | aging, dying, and death, body, Daily Prayer, kingdom living, Numbering Our Days

A Prayer about the Brevity and Eternity of Our Lives

As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. Psalm 103:15-16

Everlasting Father,

As we continue praying through this magnificent Psalm 

about your benefits, 

about how you work righteousness and justice in us, 

and about the eternal kingdom 

that has already begun for those in Christ, 

we thank you and praise you. 

First, thank you for this reminder about the length of our lives.

Sometimes, we confess, 

we get caught up in what we can see right before our eyes, 

we notice the supermarket mags pushing a superfood salad 

that prevents aging, 

we pay attention to pundits 

promising advancements in medicine 

that will extend our lives indefinitely. 

And while we are grateful for medical advancements

and discoveries about how to live a longer, healthy life, 

we also realize that the mortality rate is still 100 percent. 

Some of us are even more keenly aware 

of the fleeting nature of life 

as we’ve lost so many loved ones in the past year to Covid. 

And yet…David, the Psalmist, gives us hope:

“The steadfast love of the Lord 

is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him…” (Psalm 103:17);

“The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, 

and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19).

Open our eyes, Lord, to see your everlasting kingdom, 

a kingdom of righteousness and justice and liberty and flourishing, 

a kingdom where no child ever dies of preventable disease, 

a kingdom where every person of every race, tribe, and nation 

will know honor and delight, 

a kingdom where all injustice will be eradicated 

and no mourning clothes will be needed. 

Today, and every day, Lord, 

may your kingdom come 

through your work in us. 

In Jesus’ ruling name. Amen. 

Read Psalm 103:15-22; Revelation 21:22-22:5.

A Prayer about Running the Race with Endurance

by | Sep 27, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, kingdom living, Numbering Our Days

A Prayer about Running the Race with Endurance

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Lord Jesus,

As the author of my faith and the author of my story, 

you know that I always remember this verse 

in the NASB version in which I first memorized it. 

I had been a camper for two life-changing weeks 

at Young Life’s Pioneer Plunge, a wilderness camp, 

and the culmination of our time was a three mile run 

down the mountain (three miles was a long way for 

this out-of-shape fifteen-year-old). 

We were encouraged to memorize these verses 

and to see ourselves running the life of faith with endurance. 

Even before we began, we were encouraged 

to “lay aside every encumbrance 

and the sin which so easily entangles us”

by confessing it to you and possibly to one other. 

When we felt weary or like we couldn’t go on, 

we were to fix our eyes on you, 

“the author and perfecter of our faith,” 

who endured the cross 

because of the joy set before you — 

the joy of knowing 

you were winning your Father’s children back to him. 

We were also to imagine the “great cloud of witnesses,” 

those who had run the race before us, 

Abraham and Sarah and Rahab and Moses

and the “women who received back their dead by resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35). 

(Now I know more and realize these characters

weren’t necessarily heroes of faith 

running like antelope 

but more recipients of your grace, 

stumbling along the way.)

Even if we had to quit running 

and walk part or all of the way, 

we were to remember that you “despised the shame” of the cross, 

so that we might never experience the shame of sin again. 

And if we encountered obstacles along the way, 

we were to ask for help, 

because you sit at the right hand of the throne of God, 

interceding for us.

I pray for my friends and me today, 

that we would continue running this same race with endurance, 

fixing our eyes on you, 

that we might see you 

writing and perfecting your story of faith in our lives.

In your perfect name. Amen.

Read Hebrews 11:1-12:2.

6 Opportunities of Aging

by | Jan 4, 2022 | aging, dying, and death, Numbering Our Days

6 Opportunities of Aging

Dear Friends,

How do you feel about aging? What’s your least favorite or most favorite thing about aging? Please share in the comments, or hit reply to this email. Your answers help me know how to serve you better.

Leave a comment

This month, I want to share six opportunities of aging. Read on, and let me know the ones you’re discovering or others I left out. 

Disappearing Eyebrows

“Who are you?! Where is Elizabeth, and what you do with her eyebrows?” So goes a morning conversation I frequently have with my mirror. My fading eyebrows are just one of many daily signs that my body is succumbing to the erosion of aging.

Indeed, aging changes us, and not always for the better. Hair turns gray, hair disappears, hair grows out of our ears. We face new limitations: we can no longer drive at night, live at home alone, or stay up late. We experience startling weakness: we forget our neighbor’s name, we need help carrying a bag of groceries into the house. We endure new levels of loneliness: our loved ones die, our children live far away, we can’t get to church. And perhaps worst of all, our own death hurtles toward us at a frightening pace. When you consider the many losses of aging, it’s little wonder we fend it off fiercely or simply pretend it won’t happen to us.

Read the 6 Opportunities of Aging

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Numbering Our Days: Gospel Comfort for Caregivers

by | Sep 29, 2021 | Numbering Our Days, Suffering, Weekly Gospel Meditation

Numbering Our Days: Gospel Comfort for Caregivers

Dear Friends,

This month’s Numbering Our Days post is for all of you caregivers and all of the caregivers you love. Don’t forget to sign up if you want to receive the monthly column, Numbering Our Days: A Gospel Perspective on Aging, Caregiving, and End of Life in your inbox. You’ll also get the free Caregiver’s Checkup.

Did you know that caregiving can be hazardous to your health? It’s true. Studies have shown that the chronic stress of caregiving can be likened to the stress of war. And sadly, caregivers tend to prioritize their loved one’s health to the detriment of their own. In today’s linked post with the enCourage blog, learn how and why self-care for the caregiver is essential.

And as always with this series, please send me your thoughts and questions and struggles. I am praying for us all as we become intentional about numbering our days.

My father was dying of cancer, and I was caring for our twenty-two-year-old son who had already had three surgeries for a brain tumor and now required IV antibiotics four times daily. I skipped my yearly physical and my yearly mammogram. I ate more sugar and exercised less. I slept poorly. Strands of hair came out in my hands as I washed it. Dark half-moons carved themselves into the skin under my eyes, and fatigue fell over me like a persistent fog. During my most intense season of caregiving, my self-care deteriorated rapidly, and my body paid the price.

According to the 2020 AARP Study on Caregiving, I was not alone. Of the approximately 53 million people who are now providing unpaid care for an adult with “health or functional needs,” at least 23 percent say caregiving has worsened their physical health.[i] Kelly Markham, LCSW and palliative care expert, explains the lethal cycle: The caregiver believes that she alone can tend to the loved one properly; the loved one often reinforces that belief. Under the chronic stress of caregiving, the caregiver’s health suffers. Committed to caring for her loved one, the caregiver neglects her own care. Such neglect of self-care has been shown to lead to an earlier and higher mortality rate for caregivers as compared to non-caregivers.

Continue reading on the enCourage blog…

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