Monsoon Us

Lord God,
you are an eternal, unfailing fountain;
the more
you pour forth and overflow,
the more
you continue to give.
You desire
nothing more seriously
from us
than that we ask you for much
and great things.
So I ask, God my Fountain.
Pour!
Overflow!
Monsoon us with your love and power,
in Jesus' name, amen.

(based on words of Martin Luther, by way of Ray Ortlund's blog; photo by Sukanto Debnath via everystockphoto.com)

A Prayer of Copernicus

I crave not the grace
bestowed on Paul,
Nor the remission
granted to Peter,
Only forgive me,
I fervently pray,
As thou forgave
the crucified thieves.

(from a note found in the pocket of Nicolas Copernicus at his death)

A Lenten Prayer

Lord, bring us close to your cross that we might know how you loved us and gave yourself for us.

We would keep Lent, Lord, in a way that is pleasing to you. As we follow you from the garden to Calvary, do not let us follow afar off, lest we deny you. Help us watch and pray with you that we may not fall into temptation.

Enlighten us that we may see by faith that you knelt in prayer for us, that you, the Holy One, were judged a criminal by unholy people for us, that you suffered the whiplashes of angry sinners as our sinless Savior, that you stumbled under the cross as our Suffering Servant, that you died as the Lamb of God in our stead and for our sake.

Lord Jesus, through it all help us hear in your prayer the single purpose for which you endured pain and death: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Amen

(from the Lutheran Book of Prayer)

Troubled Sphere

Lord, have mercy on this troubled sphere and its inhabitants, the work of your hands.

Thank you for the Syrian nuns who were released yesterday.
Deliver the thirty-three North Korean Christians who are scheduled for execution.
Have mercy on the loved ones of those who were on Flight 370, and please aid the search and rescue--please let any survivors be rescued.
Bring peace and healing to the people of Venezuela.
Bring peace and sanity to the people of Nigeria.
Bring peace and hope to the people of Ukraine.
Bring an end to Uganda's criminalization of homosexuality.
Bring release and return home to Pastor Saeed Abedini.
Bring fiscal sanity and responsibility to the governments of the world, including my own.
Restore respect for the Constitution and civil liberties to our nation's government.

All this I ask in the name of Jesus, Light of the World, amen.

A Prayer Before Preaching

O Creator of the universe, who has set the stars in the heavens and causes the sun to rise and set, shed the light of your wisdom into the darkness of my mind. Fill my thoughts with the loving knowledge of you, that I may bring your light to others. Just as you can make even babies speak your truth, instruct my tongue and guide my pen to convey the wonderful glory of the Gospel. Make my intellect sharp, my memory clear, and my words eloquent, so that I may faithfully interpret the mysteries which you have revealed. Amen.

(a prayer of Thomas Aquinas)

Journey Prayer

Bless to me, O God,The earth beneath my foot.
Bless to me, O God,
The path whereon I go;
Bless to me, O God,
The thing of my desire;
Thou Evermore of evermore,
Bless Thou to me my rest.

Bless to me the thing
Whereon is set my mind,
Bless to me the thing
Whereon is set my love;
Bless to me the thing
Whereon is set my hope;
O Thou King of kings,
Bless Thou to me mine eye!

As Thou wast before
At my life's beginning,
Be Thou so again
At my journey's end.
As Thou was besides
At my soul's shaping,
Father, be Thou too
At my journey's close.

Be with me at each time,
Lying down and arising,
Be with me in sleep,
Companioned by dear ones. Amen.

(an ancient Celtic prayer)

A Writer's Double Portion

Gracious God, who inspired faulty and feeble men in times past to write for the purpose of changing lives, please let some of that spirit--a double portion, even, as I am more faulty and feeble than they--rest on me as a writer.

Grant me the productivity of Moses, who though he lived in an age before paper or press is credited with "the books of Moses," revered as Torah by one generation after another.

Grant me David's lyricism and imagery evident in line after line of psalm after psalm, from "The Lord is my shepherd" to "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

Grant me Isaiah's facility with word and phrase, he who wrote "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace," and "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint."

Grant me Solomon's wisdom, Ezekiel's vision, Jeremiah's compulsion, and Daniel's spine.

Grant me Hosea's courage in telling my story, and in obeying and reflecting you in its every twist and turn.

Grant me the Gospel writers' recall. Luke's accuracy. Paul's intensity. James's practicality.

And grant, please, whenever my end approaches, whatever my final book or sentence may be, a finish like that of your servant John.

All this I am so bold to ask only through the merit of my Savior, Lord, and King, in whose name I ask it, amen.

Simple Prayer