As it appears on PC’s Spirituality Forum - A da nv do–Great Spirit
A da nv do, shine upon me
As I wake in the morning
You are there.
When I lay down my head,
You are there.
To show me direction
To show me the way
When I am down in the valley
You are there.
standing upon the mountian still
You are there.
O Great Spirit,
Shine upon me with grace.
This is my favorite prayer it was written by a Native American named Paul Conley Aniwodi in 1996.
Compare it to this part of Psalm 139
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Tomi, thanks for this. I like both quotes. It shows that we are all more alike than different. Sometimes it just takes more than one teacher, or more than one form, for God to reach all of His children with His message.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Sometimes I have difficulty accepting words that sound similar to God’s Word but not His. I’m working at it, though.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I know Tomi, when I was reading it, it sounded exactly like the words I had just read while studying the Psalms of Assent (psalm 120-134)….while studying those, several others are refferenced & 139 just those passages from it I had read this past week…..no wonder they sounded so familiar.
I agree that words sound similar to God’s Word in many different places……even the devil says words that sound exactly like those of God just to confuse…….so it’s important not to just be accepting of any words that sound the same as those from the triune God.
I am not saying that it isn’t ok to accept words as being beautiful & inspiring no matter where they come from……but it is important not to accept them as God’s words…..because they aren’t. Those are words that can have different meanings to different people who read them. God’s words aren’t that way……they say & mean only one thing.
Words of thought by eskielover,
Debbie
June 28th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Thanks, Debbie. There’s no need for me to be surprised that you feel the same way that I do.
King David was a man of God picked by His own hand. The person that wrote the Indian prayer had the same revelation but it didn’t come from God as King David’s did.
The Indian prayer is just as true, but it makes me wonder if this Native hadn’t heard the 139 Psalm before… from missionaries?
An aside here; some are content with calling God “Great Spirit”. I’m not. It’s confusing to many, I’m sure. I’ve said this before but can’t recall where “I prefer to call my God and Savior by His name; God and His Son Jesus Christ.” There is no other Spirit that I listen to except the Holy Spirit that comes from Jesus Christ.
There are too many other spirits out there for me to not define my Counselor, my Intersessor, my Holy Spiritual Guide by His holy name.
I don’t like to mix terms when I speak of Almighty God; not for myself and not for anyone reading my words or listening to me speak of Him, the Author of my faith.