Each Friday my writing stems from a word prompt. Five minutes, one word prompt. The prompt this week is … Thirteen.

The number that holds a bad reputation. Some buildings do not have a thirteenth floor, their elevator buttons jump from twelve to fourteen. Friday the 13th often made people have a worrisome day.

And so upon seeing the word prompt, my desire is to redeem the number thirteen. May I present to you thirteen verses I have been looking at in recent days:

1. “Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful greatness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness” (Psalm 145:6-7, NLT).
2. “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” (Isaiah 65:24, NLT).
3. “For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity” (Proverbs 2:6-7, NLT).
4. “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23, NLT).
5. “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (Isaiah 55:11, NLT).
6. “The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born” (Psalm 33:6, NLT).
7. “He [Christ] gave up his life for her [the Church] to make holy and clean, washed her by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault” (Ephesians 5:26-27, NLT).
8. “Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2, NLT).
9. “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is dully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2-4, NLT).
10. “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11, NLT).
11. “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble”
    (Proverbs 13:20, NLT).
12. “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you” (Matthew 7:6, NLT).
13. “For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does” (Psalm 145:13, NLT).

There you have it – an odd collection of verses because
the number thirteen is an odd number.
All thirteen a blessing!