Show me, Lord
Teach me. Guide me.
Are you overwhelmed, weary, discouraged, or unsure of how to live this life you’ve been given? There are three words you can always pray: “Show me, Lord.”
Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
(Psalm 25:4-5)
SHOW ME, LORD • A PRAYER
It was all she could utter in her grief and despair. “Show me, Lord,” she prayed. Three words. Ten letters – and Jesus met her there.
How often do we pray not seeking God’s guidance but His sanctification of our plans? Yet it is often at the point of surrender that we finally begin to hear God speak.
My friend knew she was unable to meet the demands of her suddenly unexpected life. She felt utterly alone and at the end of herself. As she cradled her newborn son in her arms, she cried out the only words she could speak, “Show me, Lord.”
Are you overwhelmed, weary, discouraged, and unsure of how to live this life you’ve been given? After being thrust into unexpected grief, Elizabeth Elliott learned to “Do the next thing“, words she had read in an Old Saxon poem:
DO THE NEXT THING
Do it immediately;
Do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly,
Casting all care;
Do it with reverence,
Tracing His Hand,
Who placed it before thee with
Earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence,
Safe ‘neath His wing,
Leave all resultings,
Do the next thing.
Daily, we do dozens of next things: make a bed, brush our teeth, zip a jacket, send a text, feed the dog, answer the phone, run an errand, open a door, eat a meal, wash the clothes, open the mail, empty the trash, read the Bible, drift off to sleep.
These routine next things make up the substance of our days, and they matter, even when they seem boring, trite, unimportant, or mundane, even when we’re so exhausted, we can’t see beyond the gray.
If that’s where you are today, take a moment, pause wherever you are, and pray, “Show me, Lord.”
God is waiting compassionately, gently, tenderly for you. Turn to Him right where you are, exactly as you are, however you are able.
HOW TO ASK THE LORD, “SHOW ME”
When:
- you are anxious, sad, or stressed, pray “Show me, Lord.”
- you are hungry or angry or lonely or tired, pray “Show me, Lord.”
- the pain is unrelenting and you don’t know what to do, pray “Show me, Lord.”
- you are overwhelmed by one more loss in an avalanche of sorrow, pray “Show me, Lord.”
- the bills are mounting and you don’t know how to make ends meet, pray “Show me, Lord.”
- you don’t know how you’ll make it through one more day, pray “Show me, Lord.”
- you don’t know how to love or you feel as if you can’t forgive, pray “Show me, Lord.”
- there simply are no words, pray “Show me, Lord.”
SHOW ME, LORD
My friend shared these words with me at a time when my own little tribe of five were 8, 6, 4, 3, and 9 months. I was exhausted, sleep-deprived, and sick. We had spent weeks at Children’s Hospital because the doctors couldn’t stabilize our four-year-old daughter’s breathing and her body had stopped absorbing medications. Her little veins weren’t holding and central access was struggling to place a sustainable central line.
As I sat with my friend, quietly crying, admitting I had no words left to pray, she shared the words that had become her lifeline: “Show me, Lord.”
Three words.
I could pray three words.
Dozens of years later, I’m still praying those three, simple, precious words — and so is my friend. For almost 40 years, she’s been praying those three treasured words: “Show me, Lord.”
Today, as you move through your day, pray, “Show me, Lord.”
Breath Prayers
Every breath is an extraordinary and sacred gift. Without it, we die. That’s what makes breath prayers so powerful. They connect us to God with every breath.
Praying the Psalms
The Psalms are filled with raw honesty, calm reflection, and deep wisdom – words we can pray to God when we cannot find our own.
Prayer of Examen
The Examen is an ancient prayer of reflection, beautiful in its simplicity, which helps us to recognize God in every moment of our lives.
A Prayer Journal
Flannery O'Connor and W. A. Sessions
A Prayer Journal is a recently discovered work, penned while Flannery attended a writers’ workshop. Although extremely brief, this series of heartfelt prayers and musings, offered up by one of the most gifted writers of her generation, provides a uniquely intimate glimpse into the heart, soul, and mind of a deeply religious genius.
Acceptable Words: Prayers for the Writer
Gary D. Schmidt and Elizabeth Stickney
Acceptable Words offers prayers that correspond with each stage of the writer's work — from finding inspiration to penning the first words to "offering it to God" at completion. These experienced writers introduce each chapter of prayers with pithy reflections that will encourage writers. This book includes both ancient and contemporary poems and prayers, some of which were written especially for this volume.
Word by Word: A Daily Spiritual Practice
Marilyn McEntyre
Word by Word is a beautifully written book of meditations on fifteen well-chosen words. Readers are invited to dwell intentionally with single words: remembering their biblical and literary contexts, considering the personal associations they bring up, and allowing them to become a focus for prayer and meditation.
A Praying Life: Connecting With God In A Distracting World
Paul E. Miller
Prayer is so hard that unless circumstances demand it (an illness, or saying grace at a meal) most of us simply do not pray. We prize accomplishments and productivity more than time in prayer. Even Christians experience this prayerlessness as a kind of practical unbelief that leaves us marked by fear, anxiety, joylessness, and spiritual lethargy. Prayer is all about relationship.
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Show me the wonder of your great love
“Show me the wonder of your great love.” (Psalm 17:7a)
Show me Lord
When you are anxious, sad, or stressed, pray “Show me, Lord.” When you are hungry or angry or lonely or tired, pray “Show me, Lord.” When the pain is unrelenting and you don’t know what to do, pray “Show me, Lord.” When you are overwhelmed by one more loss in an avalanche of sorrow pray, “Show me, Lord.” When the bills are mounting and you don’t know how to make ends meet, pray “Show me, Lord.” When you don’t know how you’ll make it through one more day, pray “Show me, Lord.” When you don’t know how to love or you feel as if you can’t forgive, pray “Show me, Lord.” When there simply are no words, pray “Show me, Lord.”
Show me the way I should go…
“Show me the way I should go… Teach me to do your will… lead me on level ground.” (Psalm 143:8, 10)
Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths
“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.” (Psalm 25:4-5)