Posted August 11, 2016 under Blog

"C" is for Clarity

Have you ever struggled on how to pray?
Let me share with you a simple way that has helped me pray, be it in the morning, or as you go about your day.
It involves four words I formed into the acronym C.O.R.E.

----------------------------------------

"You have German Measles."

What??? Why couldn't I just have French fries?!?

Being diagnosed with German measles or rubella, was not a joke.
Not when I was just 24 years old, and pregnant with my first child.

If Google existed back then, my initial response would have been to rush to the internet and consult Dr. Google.

This would have been his reply:

"Rubella is most dangerous to your baby if you catch it during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. It can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects in unborn babies...There is no known treatment for congenital rubella..."

Miscarriage. Stillbirth. Birth Defects. No known treatment...
Oh the fear and worry that can grip you, when you are facing the unknown.
The more information I read, the more people I consulted, the more my worries grew.

"What would happen to my baby? How would he or she turn out?"
It was too soon to know the gender of my baby, and now I had to wrestle with these other thoughts.

With my thin arms, I hugged my little belly protectively, brushed away a few tears from my cheeks, and tried to smiled bravely. I said a silent prayer for my unborn child.

To think that only a few months back, Joey and I were newlyweds, our little family was just about to start, and already the world seemed dark and uncertain.

"In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty,
Darkness was over the surface of the earth."

It's comforting to know, that once upon a time, the world appeared formless and empty and dark. Just like how many of us feel from time to time.

"...and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, "Let there be light,"
And there was light."

I like that verse in Genesis 1 "...and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

In a formless, dark and empty situation, God's Spirit was "hovering."
He was not absent in the darkness. He was fully-present and fully-aware.

And by His Power, God commanded "Let there be Light."

Before anything else, God created light. And that's how I begin my day.
Let there be light. Lord, give me CLARITY today .
God knew how important LIGHT is for you and me.

Are you facing a challenging situation? Clueless just as I was, on what would happen to my child?

Light makes things clear. It gives you a better perspective of every situation.
Light was God's first command in Genesis, in creating the world.

It was also God's intent to give us LIGHT not just for our physical lives, but also for our inner life.

"The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine." Isaiah 9:2

He repeats it in Matthew 4:16
"...the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined."

Entering a dark room, what's the first thing you look for? The light switch.

We all yearn for CLARITY.
CLARITY illuminates while darkness keeps us stumbling around, stubbing our toes and groping for answers.

It answers questions like "What in the world is happening?" "What should I do?"
"Where should I go?" "How should I decide?"

Bookstores are filled with self-help books instructing you on how to navigate your world. The Bible does more than that. It doesn't toss you a few rules and tells you, "you're on your own!"

The word of God give you principles, but most importantly, it gives you a Person.
It reminds you, "You are not alone in what you are facing. God is with you."
It is this Person that will bring CLARITY to your world.

So in my simple C.O.R.E. Prayer method, the first thing I pray for is
C- Clarity

If you are a Christian, praying for Clarity is remembering:

1. You are not alone. Jesus is your light. He will lead you from darkness to light.

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

2. You don't have to be afraid.

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

3. He will give you CLARITY, power and perspective for a situation.

"But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, growing brighter and brighter until full day." Proverbs 4: 18 Net Bible

"And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

Do you need CLARITY today? Are there decisions you need to make? Feeling clueless and in the dark?

A simple Prayer:

Jesus, while my day seems formless and empty, thank you for the reminder that CLARITY comes from a Person. You, Lord are my source of light. No one is smarter, wiser or brighter than You. You know the best way I should go.

Create my life/my day/my family, the way You desire it to be. Help us make decisions today, that are guided by your word; not simply, by our feelings or outside pressures.

Thank you for the reminder that I am not alone. That the same powerful God that illuminates the sun, and brings light to this physical world is also the same God that can bring light, strength and power to any situation we are facing.

Thank you for your promise in Isaiah 42:16
"And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them."

In Jesus name, so be it!

See you next Thursday for the continuation of Marie's C.O.R.E way of praying :>

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