This blog entry is part of an on-going series of prayer in response a study of the Song of Solomon. If you’d like to read more, just look for blog titles that start with SOS. You can also read devotionals on this topic by visiting my “Bride” archives at Soulscents.

Prayer Response to SOS 1:8-11

“If you can’t find me, loveliest of all women, it’s all right. Stay with your flocks. Lead your lambs to good pasture. Stay with your shepherd neighbors. You remind me of Pharaoh’s well-groomed and satiny mares. Pendant earrings line the elegance of your cheeks; strands of jewels illumine the curve of your throat. I’m making jewelry for you, gold and silver jewelry that will mark and accent your beauty.” SOS 1:8-11 (The Message)

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for speaking to my heart before You speak to my mind. You reassure me. You tell me I am beautiful—loveliest of women. This gives me courage to pursue You. So many times I see my dismal failures, the way I disappoint those I love and myself. Sometimes I feel rejected by others—lonely and unseen. But You always see me. You call me beautiful, no matter my own sense of self—whether I love me or despise me, You patiently whisper, “You’re beautiful. You’re my beloved. Stay on the path to Me, my darling.”

What glory! What rejoicing! My heart dances, twirling in the freedom and joy of knowing You think I’m beautiful. When others reject me, You still want me! When I reject myself, You whisper of the great worth I am to You.

You encourage me to fellowship with other believers in your flock. You tell me to overcome the temptation of isolation and bitterness, to be patient with other believers and their failings as You have been with me and my faults. You remind me to seek you first, that You are the only One who truly sees my heart. As I discover the needs YOU have called me to, You say that my service to others will help me overcome isolationism and fear.

And as you admonish me, You call me “My love” and “My darling.” This makes me feel safe and I long to curl up in Your arms and soak in Your love. I’m secure enough to whisper my secrets—admitting my fears, faults, dreams, and joys. I long for intimate moments. I want to dance before you again, to lay down my unworthiness and receive this love You offer me. To rejoice instead of strive.

Sometimes I feel so weak, yet You say I am like a beautiful mare—a symbol of strength and power. You remind me that You have equipped me for all You call me to do. I’ve been called to carry You, Your Truth, Your love into the world. You have made me more powerful than I see or feel or understand. Help me to believe in the strength You have given me, for so often I feel frail, vulnerable, and afraid.

Thank you that you care about my emotions. That my cheeks, which portray both smiles and frowns are touched by Your tender hand and lined with pendant earrings which dangle against them, reminding me that You think me beautiful whether I laugh or cry. You remind me that my heart still whispers “yes” to You, no matter my up and down attitudes—and that this emotion of love delights You.

I proudly wear the necklace You give me. I wear it as a reminder to submit my stiff-necked will to Your purposes. I wear it as a reminder that I belong to You.

I long to surrender more fully to You. I crave a character of godliness that doesn’t disappoint my longing to be good. You promise that You are giving me golden character—one that’s divine and will someday worship in the purity of gold.

I am bought with a price and like refined silver You will burn away the dross in me. You will rub away the tarnish. Someday I will sparkle in the glory of the jewelry You’ve designed for me. I choose to believe that I will grow in beauty and grace and sparkle for You, not because I know how or am able to make myself righteous, but because You are so committed to changing me!

A lump grows in my throat. How I long for the day I will truly sparkle like this! I am awed by Your gifts, Your attention to making me truly beautiful. I am amazed that I can come to You in all my flaws and that You respond by whispering terms of endearment and giving me such gifts of cleansing and shaping by Your Holy Spirit.

You promise to complete the work You’ve begun in me. You tell me that I am beautiful to You even as I am being re-made. I reach up and touch your face.

You smile in tender recognition of my gesture.

I raise my eyes to Yours.

In them I see complete acceptance and a delight I find difficult to process.

As You love me, I find the courage to accept myself.

As You delight in our relationship, I fling myself into Your arms, breathing in the aroma of Your scent, surrounded by a sweetness I’ve never known.

Written in response to a study on the Song of Songs by Mike Bickle.