Lest I Forget

 

"Jesus is on the mainline,

Tell him what you want.

Jesus is on the mainline,

Tell Him what you want.

Jesus is on the mainline,

Tell Him what you want

Call Him up and

Tell Him what you want.

If you need more power,

Tell Him what you want.

If you need more power,

Tell Him what you want.

If you need more power,

Tell Him what you want.

Call Him up and 

tell Him what you want."

If you need the Holy Ghost,

Tell Him what you want.

If you need the Holy Ghost,

Tell Him what you want.

If you need the Holy Ghost,

Tell Him what you want

Call Him up and

Tell Him what you want."

I learned the lyrics to that song as a very young girl and paid as much attention to them as I did to most grown-up pronouncements.  Little or none. Fast forward years later to the morning Kai and I took our traditional morning Constitutional. My perspective has markedly changed, probably because now I am an adult, possessed with the propensity to listen and hear. What has happened? Life. 

Life happens.  Duck and dodge as I might.  Hem and haw as I'm wont to do. Execute acrobatics in my thought life and remain injury-free (or with just an occasional bruised ego), and leap tall buildings in a single bound.  Still. Life. Happens. This morning, this "little talk" arrived in my spirit, with the caveat that I am the daughter of a long-winded Deacon.

"Father God, I need You every hour, every day, most gracious Lord. I need Thee. I praise Your name and glorify in my relationship with You.  I thank You for loving me first (1 John 4:19).  I adore You, exalt You, and exult in You.  I want You to be first in my thoughts and actions.  I ask You to quell the fears, doubts, and diabolic attention with which the enemy routinely bombards me.  

Reflexively, I want to run to You before all the cares of my world try to enter through my mind, eye, heart, and ear gates. In Truth, Father, I want You to occupy my mind, every nook and cranny of it, even after You've done a thorough cleansing of my heart and soul. With You in residence, nothing and no one can claim squatter's rights, even though they try.  Stand guard, Sir, against a thought the size of a gnat that may try to infiltrate or populate my spirit. 

Like the Occupiers during World Wars or skirmishes throughout the world, I ask You to summarily demolish invaders and invasions.  Then, they can't stalk my thoughts, even one at a time.  I know how their monstrous growth because like Topsy, they spread if left unchecked! Years ago, when I asked You to "Teach me Your ways," You started immediately.  I remain engaged in the learning processes You direct.  Thank You.

Father, I believe and confess that You are God; there is no other God but You (Isaiah 45:5).  It's just that I have days when I feel like the father of the son in Mark (9:4) who asked Jesus to heal his son.  When Jesus asked the dad if he believed, he answered "Lord I believe," in one breath but cried out, "Help my unbelief!" in the next.

Father God, I'm asking You to be my mortgage holder, my banker, my counselor, my deliverer, my guide, a battle-axe in times of trouble, and my Best Friend.   I pledge not to interfere.  I've learned to cry out, "Help me, Lord" with each encounter that threatens. Thank You for teaching me, Lord, how to guard against the wiles of the devil who poses question upon question designed to shake my faith in You.  I've learned to trust each and every promise found in Your Word. 

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12 KJV).

I remember learning in Sunday School that there is no place where You are not.  I want You to know that I give every centimeter of myself to You, including all the places in my brain with names I cannot pronounce! Truly, You are teaching me to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), and for this, I give You praise!

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105, ESV). I love You, Lord!

"Call Him up and tell Him what you want."