Dear Praying Friends:

We recently were reading through Psalm 35 when David was crying out to the Lord for help in the midst of heavy tribulation. In verse 3, his plea to the Lord stood out on the page, "Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation.'" We are accustomed to hearing David speak to his own soul frequently, like in Psalm 42:5 saying, "Why are you downcast, O my soul?"
But in this instance, he is asking God to speak directly to his soul—to give him a "Rhema" word. What a massive difference! It's like these golden sunlit fields in comparison to the beautiful but ordinary shades of green."Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation.'"

Two weeks ago we enjoyed our first international visitors since the lockdown began over two years ago, apart from our family visit back in November. It was a welcome indication that things are actually starting to open up again somewhat.
Ole and Bente are from Denmark, and we first met at the Bless Wales event in 2019. Then they were our "self-quarantined" neighbors last year in Cilgerran before attending the spring term at Bible College of Wales in Swansea. We had some precious days of fun, fellowship, and prayer together before they continued their exploratory prayer holiday through Wales, England, and Ireland.

Their stay with us was a special blessing and encouragement for another reason also. Back in January, I mentioned that both Gladys and I were going through some health issues. Each of us has seen some improvement in one area, but other things have made the last month extremely difficult, especially for Gladys.

We very sincerely appreciate your prayers for us both. We both have learned more than ever how completely dependent we are on the Lord and His grace. And we are exceedingly thankful the Lord sustains us and speaks to our souls with His salvation.

It is very hard to believe that the barbaric devastation in Ukraine is still going on today. That continues to weigh heavily on our hearts, and makes our personal situations seem trivial by comparison. We have found, however, that our growing dependency on God's covering gives us some insight into how to pray for the millions of bereaved, affected, and displaced people who were just going about their daily lives.

As we look to the Lord and His word regarding everything that is going on, we find strength and hope for every individual and their circumstances. Psalm 34 is one of the countless treasures in Scripture. Verses 15, 19, 22, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry... Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out. of them all... The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned."

We pray that all people everywhere in whatever circumstances they find themselves might all learn to cry out to the Savior like David did, "Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation.'" When God speaks to our souls, revival is born anew in our hearts as eternity's gates are opened wide through humble faith in the blood of Jesus.

Dick & Gladys