Waiting for God

August 23, 2024August 23, 2024 / Greg Asimakoupoulos

We say a prayer and then we wait
for how God will respond
convinced that He will answer in due time.
The waiting is the hardest part
when those we love need help,
when complex reasons mean their lives don’t rhyme.

Sometimes the Good Lord gives “thumbs up.”
Sometimes He answers “no!”
But often we must just anticipate
how He will choose to bring about
the outcome He deems best.
And in the meantime, we are called to wait.

Yes, prayer requires having faith.
It’s not a rabbit’s foot.
When we call out to God, we trust His plan.
We’re confident that He’ll respond
(not knowing when or how).
And so, we hold His strong (yet tender) hand.

In addition to each week’s post on this website, Greg Asimakoupoulos offers daily video devotionals on his YouTube channel. Here is a sample video. If you are interested in receiving these devotionals Monday through Friday, you can subscribe on Greg’s channel.

Praying for Peace

June 28, 2024June 24, 2024 / Greg Asimakoupoulos

The city is peace
is an oxymoron.
Christians, Moslems and Jews
trace their history there
amid cobblestone streets stained with blood.

The sons of Abraham
have fought like brothers
(for centuries)
jealously killing one another
without regard for
innocent lives
or the destiny to which they were called:

To love the LORD your God
with all your heart,
soul, mind and strength
and to love your neighbor as yourself.

May we continue to pray
for the peace of Jerusalem
and Gaza
and the West Bank.

O God of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus,
breathe your breath of shalom
over the graveyard of peace
that dry lifeless bones may live. Amen.

My Gazing Place

April 26, 2024April 26, 2024 / Greg Asimakoupoulos

**A view from Luzern, Switzerland from a watchtower on a medieval wall**

There is a place I like to climb
where beauty gives me pause to rhyme
as I look down on old Luzern
and play with words I love.

It is a place from which I gaze
at sights that prompt my heart to praise
the One who’s left His fingerprints
for those who dust to find.

This is a place in my Luzern
where I reflect on what I’ve learned
from times like these when I take time
to still my mind and see.

When God Speaks

March 31, 2023March 14, 2023 / Greg Asimakoupoulos

**This painting of Aslan is by world-renown wildlife artist Gregory Beecham**

When God speaks,
I want to hear
against the backdrop
of constant distractions.

Amid the din of doing life
in the midst of mounting pressures
and maintaining routines
(all the while pursuing dreams),
I want to sense His presence
and hear the essence of His heart.

When God speaks
I want to know what He is saying.
And even if it means a moratorium from praying
(because my words can often get in the way),
I am willing to be still
to know that He is God.

A Prayer for All Saints Sunday

November 4, 2022November 2, 2022 / Greg Asimakoupoulos

**This week we remember those who passed away this past year**

They left us this year
by the doorway of death.
And we miss them, dear God, how we do.
The memories they leave us
help smooth grief’s long road.
How I wish that this journey was through.

But mem’ries alone
cannot silence or quell
the deep ache in our hearts that we feel.
A loss is a loss
even though time has passed.
But admitting our pain helps us heal.

O God, on this day
when we ponder our friends
who have dented our lives with their love,
please comfort our sorrow
as only You can
with the hope of reunions above.