A Prayer for Little Bo Peep's Sheep

As a youngster, I always enjoyed nursery rhymes and fairy tales.  One of my favorites was Little Bo Peep.  In case you don't remember the words, the first verse goes like this:

Little Bo Peep

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep,

And, can't tell where to find them;

Leave them alone, and they'll come home,

Wagging their tails behind them.

Have you ever been lost?  I can remember to this day getting lost from my mother at the age of two years.  It was terrifying!  I didn't know how to make it back to my mother!  I'm so glad she searched frantically for me, rather than leaving me alone.

The Bible says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."  Isaiah 53:6 

We were all lost in sin until Jesus, the Good Shepherd, found us.  Jesus didn't leave us alone.  He left the ninety-nine sheep in His fold to search for us and bring us home!  Luke 15:4 tells us, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?"

As I've grown older, I realize life with Christ is better than any nursery rhyme or fairy tale could ever be. 

Have you allowed Jesus Christ to be the Shepherd of your life?  Or, are you still running things your own way?  Bo Peep's way doesn't hold a candle to life with Christ.

If I were re-writing Little Bo Peep to show things God's way, it would go something like this:

 Little Bo Peep

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep,

And, can't tell where to find them;

She calls each by name, bearing their shame,

Rejoicing that she has found them.

Dear Father in Heaven,

Thank you for leaving the ninety-nine sheep who were safe just to find me.  I praise You for being my Good Shepherd.

Help me to point others to You.  May they experience the unfathomable love that only You can give.

Forgive us for our many sins, and thank you for providing abundantly more than we could ever ask or think.

In Your precious, holy name we pray.

AMEN.