God Be in My Head
(audio version)
GOD BE IN MY HEAD, AND IN MY UNDERSTANDING
This sentence is a prayer that invites God to take central place in our minds, and bring about spiritual discernment which corrects our misperceptions. As we come to a true understanding of our relationship with our Creator, our relationships with each other will change as well. God is never absent from his creations – an encouraging and comforting thought indeed!
GOD BE IN MINE EYES, AND IN MY LOOKING
If this be our prayer, it follows that we cannot see apart from God. His vision is one of perfect holiness and oneness. But humanity has chosen to see apart from God, giving rise to a world of separation and seemingly unending competing interests and, therefore, conflict. Spiritual vision (or “the eyes of Christ”) will reveal God’s purpose in all things we look upon. Without it, we will not know the true purpose of anything. Vision shows us the holiness that lights up the world, so let us look with open minds, love, and appreciation.
GOD BE IN MY MOUTH, AND IN MY SPEAKING
If this be our prayer also, our speaking will be informed by the same vision that we apply to our seeing. Here are a few applicable quotations from the Bible: “If I speak in the tongues of people, or even of angels, yet have not love, I have become mere echoing brass, or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1) “Let us speak the truth in love; so shall we fully grow up in Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15) “Never let any foul word pass your lips, but only such good words as the occasion demands, so that they may be a help to those who hear them.” (Ephesians 4:29)
GOD BE IN MY HEART, AND IN MY THINKING
Here are a few more Bible quotations to consider: “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) “May the Lord direct your hearts towards God’s love and the patience of Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5) “Let the peace of Christ settle in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ abide in you richly. Teach and counsel each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with grace singing in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:15-16)
GOD BE AT MINE END, AND AT MY DEPARTING
“Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end.” (Psalm 119:33) “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” (Psalm 23:6) “It is God himself who called you to share in the life of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; and God keeps faith.” (1 Corinthians 1:9) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s home are many dwellings. If it had not been so, I would have told you, for I am going to prepare a place for you … I will return and take you to be with me, so that you may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)
So who or what will guide our thinking and understanding and all that we do and say? Jesus has given us the answer: “I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth … you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you … he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14)
Peace and blessings,
Doug Dykstra
Prayer: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
(audio version)
“God be in my head, and in my understanding;This most remarkable text is taken from the “Book of Hours,” a Christian devotional book popular in the Middle Ages. These words can have profound significance for anyone committed to living a spirit-centered life. In John 4 we read: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” That God is spirit is not always easy for human understanding, living as we do in a physical world defined by limitations of space and time. God as spirit also stands in contrast to the sometimes anthropomorphic image of God, with consequent attribution of human qualities such as jealousy, taking offense, anger, a punishing intent. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we find this deeply expressive prayer: “For this reason, then, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in Heaven and on Earth is named, and pray in proportion to the wealth of his glory, he will strengthen you with his power by breathing his Spirit into your most inner self, so that Christ, through your faith, may make his home within your hearts in Love.” And in Acts 17 we read: “The Lord of Heaven and Earth does not live in shrines made by hands …. Indeed, he is not far from each one of us, for in him we live and move and exist.” Creator and created are forever joined, and appreciating this is a great gift.
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.”
GOD BE IN MY HEAD, AND IN MY UNDERSTANDING
This sentence is a prayer that invites God to take central place in our minds, and bring about spiritual discernment which corrects our misperceptions. As we come to a true understanding of our relationship with our Creator, our relationships with each other will change as well. God is never absent from his creations – an encouraging and comforting thought indeed!
GOD BE IN MINE EYES, AND IN MY LOOKING
If this be our prayer, it follows that we cannot see apart from God. His vision is one of perfect holiness and oneness. But humanity has chosen to see apart from God, giving rise to a world of separation and seemingly unending competing interests and, therefore, conflict. Spiritual vision (or “the eyes of Christ”) will reveal God’s purpose in all things we look upon. Without it, we will not know the true purpose of anything. Vision shows us the holiness that lights up the world, so let us look with open minds, love, and appreciation.
GOD BE IN MY MOUTH, AND IN MY SPEAKING
If this be our prayer also, our speaking will be informed by the same vision that we apply to our seeing. Here are a few applicable quotations from the Bible: “If I speak in the tongues of people, or even of angels, yet have not love, I have become mere echoing brass, or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1) “Let us speak the truth in love; so shall we fully grow up in Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15) “Never let any foul word pass your lips, but only such good words as the occasion demands, so that they may be a help to those who hear them.” (Ephesians 4:29)
GOD BE IN MY HEART, AND IN MY THINKING
Here are a few more Bible quotations to consider: “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) “May the Lord direct your hearts towards God’s love and the patience of Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5) “Let the peace of Christ settle in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ abide in you richly. Teach and counsel each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with grace singing in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:15-16)
GOD BE AT MINE END, AND AT MY DEPARTING
“Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end.” (Psalm 119:33) “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” (Psalm 23:6) “It is God himself who called you to share in the life of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; and God keeps faith.” (1 Corinthians 1:9) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s home are many dwellings. If it had not been so, I would have told you, for I am going to prepare a place for you … I will return and take you to be with me, so that you may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)
So who or what will guide our thinking and understanding and all that we do and say? Jesus has given us the answer: “I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth … you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you … he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14)
Peace and blessings,
Doug Dykstra
Prayer: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
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