-A Prayer in Prosperity
"In the day of prosperity be joyful. But in the day of adversity consider. Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other." ~Ecclesiastes 7:14
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To provide for my every need
God does not owe
Yet He does not ignore but sees
And gives not a stone
In faith, I thought I prayed
But it was in pride, demand
His promise will not delay
For perfectly He understands
No longer will I presume to claim
What He, in mercy, swore by His Name
Though He has promised, I will still ask
And knock before His wicket gate I pass
Though His answers come not for many seasons
Yet I will be faithful to walk in His hidden reason
His ways are higher for my prayers to rescind
Though He should slay me, yet will I trust in Him
We need not doubt if His comings are prolonged
For our sickness is not unto death but the glory of God
He who names the stars and measures heaven in a span
Cannot be ignorant of the sparrow or overlook the needs of man
Why does He wait and not hasten the Day?
To draw out our love for Him when we pray
What of the torturer's blade or fiery furnace we face?
We will be passionate lovers; steadfast in our place
Is it because He has been hard in the past
That we choose to blindly hold fast?
No, because we have seen in the testimonies of the years
He is Faithful & True; Jehovah Shammah, the God who is near
In the here and now, I testify & praise
Confess my Creator before the difficult days
While there is yet peace; I shall not fear for tomorrow
I accept it while it lasts though aware of coming sorrows
It is easy while there is yet peace
To forget my Maker at His feast
Just as in winter the summer will test
If I will love my neighbor or my Flesh
Selah
O in vain does man resist
Your grace and will to persist
Such will judge on that Final Day
Whether we followed You or our own ways
While there is rest I must reflect
And not boast in what God has blessed
To twist His peace into my pride
To shun faith by what I find
My Father and my King, have mercy on me
Lest I deny You who gave this time of prosperity
Teach me out of Your law (for Your glory and my humility)
That You may give me rest from the days of adversity
Please instruct me in the way I should go
And guide me with Your eye
And when unclear and uncertain is the road
Make me rest in Your revealed design
As long as I look to You in summer
I need not fear to face the winter
In prosperity, You are still my need
And I commit to You what You alone foresee
Rejoicing in humble meditation
You are gracious (and faithful) to redeem
All my times Your hand holds
"To everything there is a season" it is true
"Return to your rest, O my soul
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you"
