Prayer

There have been times in my life I am not sure how to pray or even what to pray. As we have taken each step on this journey of adoption I have found this to be the case more often than not. In my personal devotions I revisited Psalm 91. Prior to this adoption I have always read this Psalm through a personal lens. My frame of reference has led me to conclude that the Lord can be my shelter. Although this is accurate, as I came across this passage in a more recent study I found myself praying through this Psalm for each of my children (both in my home and not). Read through this Psalm and the powerful words revealed to us:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you make the Most High your dwelling—

even the Lord, who is my refuge—

then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation.

As a father not sure how to pray for my children, particular the two who are being cared for by a person we have yet to meet, these words seemed to speak to the fears of my heart. "You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow... nor the pestilence, nor plague."  What allows this Psalmist to be so confident regardless of his circumstance? He reveals this truth in writing, "If you make the Most High your dwelling...then no harm will befall..." My prayer for my children has become that the Lord would become their dwelling place.That He would be their shelter! As a father we want nothing more than to protect our children, I believe this has been instilled in us by our Heavenly Father. There will be a day that my children in Ethiopia will find protection in my home, but for now I am confident they are able to find shelter in the Most High and rest in the shadow of the Almighty. What a comfort!