Yesterday, as I was typing my entry about God’s thank you to us for our love, grace, and honor despite all of the reasons that remain for us to withhold any offerings of gratitude to God, the following video (below) was playing on public television. I noticed that in yesterday’s passage were the words “…and dreams blow away, dust in the wind.”

Peter, Paul, and Mary guest starred on The Jack Benny show. I have a great affinity for the Magic Dragon, Lemon Tree trio. They are one grouping of only a handful of artists to have inspired me to live in Greenwhich Village. Their music was a muse for several of my own folk songs, which I wrote and performed in New York City. I bid tribute to Peter, Paul, and Mary for their brilliant brush stokes in the painting of my bohemian, frolic in the autumn mist adventures in my twenties.

Peter Yarrow married a woman with whom my mother graduated high school. I remember traveling to my hometown for Christmas one year and showing up for a dentist appointment on December 23rd. There, in the waiting room, sat Peter’s grown children. That’s a fun little story I’ve only told about three people until now. Someone who inspired me to move from a tiny town in Minnesota all the way to the Big Apple now celebrates his Christmas season in that tiny hometown. This, one of those 500 Miles moments in life.

Today’s Prayer to Passage centers around this kind of magic. It comes from the book ‘The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?’ by Rick Warren.

I pray, “Dear God, Can my intercessory prayer on the behalf of others be a confirmed experience? I have recently been experiencing ‘Your Wish is My Command’ euphoria with this life purpose, for which I have waited so long. Well, it’s more of a contentedness than a euphoria. And it feels secure. I feel appointed and confident in my own discernment. Are these flowing feelings of security Your confirmations to me? All my love, Amen.”

Following my prayer, I attuned my meditation toward today’s book and was brought to this passage:

“Living the rest of your life for the glory of God will require a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, and everything else.”
—RICK WARREN

When I first read this passage, I didn’t quite understand how it fit my prayer. I sat with it for several minutes. And I realized that last night was the first night that I did not sleep because I felt so called to intercession. I stayed up all night praying. I will not be making a habit of this; God needs us to be well rested to carry out other purposes during our waking hours. And much of my prayer involves meditation, so to say that I was up all night praying is a collaboration of insights, discernments, and prophetic arrivals in addition to communication with God.

The truth is, all of this energizes me. I feel like a child on Christmas Eve; can’t sleep, can’t wait to greet the morning with a giving and receiving of gifts. It is the best change in priorities one could hope for in life. I feel like Superwoman. It’s tacky to compare my life purpose to Christmas Eve and Superwoman in one statement, yet that is an authentic illustration I will not retract. The truth is, I am a “prayer warrior” in the most peaceful sense of the term; it is a purpose worth staying up for, worth changing priorities for, and worth living my very best life for.

Amen.