Today’s TEA CUPP:
PETITION: LORD, You are the God who saves me;
day and night I cry out to You.
May my prayer come before You;
turn Your ear to my cry. Psalm 88:1-2 (NIV)
Today’s TEA CUPP:
PROMISES: Surely God is my help;
the Lord is the One who sustains me. Psalm 54:4 (NIV)
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8 (NKJV)
The TEA CUPP just isn’t big enough any more.
My friend Claire works in a big city with girls going in and out of prison. They deal with gangs, drugs, abuse and family members who keep them in this cycle. The TEA CUPP just isn’t big enough to hold all the prayers needed for these girls…for our friends with cancer…for all our friends out of work…for college students struggling to find their way…for children serving in the military…for churches falling away from God’s Word…for countries leaving their Christian foundations…for families splitting apart…for souls searching for salvation that only can be found in Jesus…
And so Claire suggests we bump up My TEA CUPP Prayers to GALLON WATER JUG Prayers. We need more and bigger prayers to keep the enemy at bay. My son began swim lessons this week and as I looked at the pool I thought, “We need SWIMMING POOL Prayers.” Yet, that also may not be big enough. Perhaps we need OCEAN Prayers to cover all the hurts and hopes in this world.
This is why all of our prayers are so important. When a church sends out a prayer request, together our little TEA CUPP Prayers can make a GALLON WATER JUG Prayer, or a SWIMMING POOL Prayer, or even an OCEAN Prayer. Together we can shake the heavens with our prayers!
But truly it isn’t the size of our prayers that matters, it’s the size of our God. And He is the greatest in the universe! God promises in His Word, that He will hear and answer our prayers…
By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas. Psalm 65:5 (NKJV)
God also promises that if I have faith as small as a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for me. He will hear and answer my TEA CUPP Prayers. But on the tough days, I’ll be praying Claire’s GALLON WATER JUG, too.
Today’s TEA CUPP: What about you? Are you overwhelmed by the prayer needs in your world? Meet with Jesus each day for TEA and share your heart with Him. Trust Him to be big enough to take care of your prayers, even when your faith is as small as a mustard seed.
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 (NIV)
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28 (NKJV)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica
Today’s TEA CUPP:
Understand: For You have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life. Psalm 56:13 (NIV)
New International Version (NIV)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica
Today’s TEA CUPP:
PETITION: Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.
In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me. Psalm 86:6-7 (NKJV)
Today’s TEA CUPP:
PROMISE: Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. Psalm 50:15 (NKJV)
Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known. Psalm 77:19 (NKJV)
I was unpacking a few more boxes the other day. This sea of moving boxes in our house is overwhelming, but if I take one box at at a time, I can do it.
I decided to tackle the bathroom. We have an ocean theme with a fish shower curtain, lighthouse wall-hanging, etc. On the counter I placed the decorations from our old home, a jar of shells from the ocean and the Footprints Poem given to me by my college roommate.
The poem tells the story of a person walking along the beach and looking back at the footprints. He notices that at the hardest times in his life, there is only one set of footprints and he asks the Lord, “Why?”
Often I just look at the poem and smile, not really reading it. But two years ago today, July 25, 2009, we lost a baby and almost lost me. After giving up too much blood and moving towards unconsciousness, the ambulance came and carried me away from our mountain camp. What followed was heartbreak and loss of strength for me.
Then one day when back home, I was in our ocean bathroom and read the Footprints Poem again. When I came to “It was then that I carried you” I finally understood. God carried me through that first miscarriage and two more miscarriages with the prayers and love of friends and family, and by His own grace and mercy.
Now, two years later, we are expecting again. This dear baby is six months along and by God’s grace he will make it to his due date! But the Lord in His great sense of humor, decided we needed a little more action in this https://zolpidemsleep.com pregnancy, calling us to a new job and home.
Once again, I feel overwhelmed by changes and a sea of boxes and baby hormones…but I read the Footprints Poem and God’s Word, and I am reminded — Jesus is carrying me!
Today’s TEA CUPP: Are waves of trouble pounding against the beach of your life? Or, do you have a friend whose sand castles are collapsing? Write out the Footprints Poem and claim God’s Promises. He will carry you all the way home!
The eternal God is your refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27 (NKJV)
Footprints
Also Known As “I Had a Dream”
One night I dreamed a dream.
I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.
When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.
“Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way. But I’m aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don’t understand why, when I need You most, You leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.”
Margaret Fishback Powers, 1964
New King James Version (NKJV)Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Today’s TEA CUPP:
Petition: Have mercy on me, Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
for I put my trust in you. Psalm 86:3-4 (NIV)
Today’s TEA CUPP:
Promise: But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,
For He shall receive me. Psalm 49:15 (NKJV)
Did you ever have a cup of “Foot-in-Mouth” tea? That bitter taste of shoe-leather just stays with you all day, even all week. It’s the kind of tea you drink again and again, wishing you had never had it the first time. Oh, this happens to me sometimes. The wrong words come tumbling out, and then over and over again I replay those words in my mind, trying to erase them from my memory. What can we do at a time like this? Come to Jesus.
It’s time to sit down with Jesus for TEA CUPP prayers and focus on the “A” today. Let’s ADMIT our sins to Jesus, who already knows them anyway. Give Him all the wrong words and let Him wash away the hurts with His special “Foot-in-Mouth” anecdote…God’s Word…
First, He convicts us with His Word…
The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18 (NIV)
But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. Matthew 12:36 (NIV)
But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. Matthew 15:18 (NIV)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. James 3:8-10 (NIV)
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV)
Then, I ask for His forgiveness…
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know….
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:3, 6 (NIV)
My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, LORD, how long?
Turn, LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of Your unfailing love. Psalm 6:3-4 (NIV)
Jesus promises me my sins are forgiven…
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Luke 7:48 (NIV)
“I, even I, am He who blots out
your transgressions, for My own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.” Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 (NIV)
Finally, I pray that I won’t drink “Foot-in-Mouth” TEA again…
I said, “I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin. Psalm 39:1 (NIV)
“Teach me, and I will hold my tongue;
Cause me to understand wherein I have erred. Job 6:24 (NKJV)
Set a guard over my mouth, LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3 (NIV)
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in Your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 (NIV)
No more shoe-leather…a fresh new day…God bless you, my friends!