Today's prayer from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad...and my prayer today for my kids and my grandkids.
Overflowing with Thankfulness
Today's prayer from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad...and my prayer today for my kids and my grandkids.
On Re-reading Jonah
Lord God Adonai,incline my heart
to run to your will
and not from it...
when it pleases me,
and when it doesn't...
when I am at peace,
and when I am in turmoil...
when you call me to ease
and when you call me to sorrow,
for in your will
is your wisdom,
and in obedience
is my peace. Amen.
Saturday Psalm #76
your name is great in Israel.
Pitch your tent in my heart,
as gloriously as your dwelling place in Zion,
where you broke the flashing arrows,
the shields and the swords, the weapons of war
of all your enemies.
Show your resplendence,
more majestic than mountains teeming with game.
Plunder the high and mighty,
lay low those who sneer at you and your people.
At a single word from you, O God of Jacob,
both horse and chariot lie still.
You alone are to be feared.
Who can stand before your righteous anger?
From heaven you pronounce judgment,
and the land feared and was quiet-
when you, O God, rose up to judge,
to save all the afflicted of the land.
Rise up again, Lord God,
and save!
Hear the vows I have made,
help me to fulfill them all,
bringing my worshipful devotion to the One
who alone is to be feared.
You break the unbreakable,
you are king of all the kings of the earth.
Amen.
(photo via everystockphoto.com)
My Little Vessel is Full
O My God,Thou fairest, greatest, first
of all objects,
my heart admires,
adores,
loves thee,
for my little vessel
is as full as it can be,
and I would pour out
all that fullness before thee
in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with thee
ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless thee for the soul thou hast created,
for adorning it, for sanctifying it,
though it is fixed in barren soil;
for the body thou hast given me,
for preserving its strength and vigour,
for providing senses to enjoy delights,
for the ease and freedom of my limbs,
for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;
for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,
for a full table and overflowing cup,
for appetite, taste, sweetness,
for social joys of relatives and friends,
for ability to serve others,
for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
for a mind to care for my fellow-men,
for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
for loved ones in the joys of heaven,
for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.
I love thee above the powers of language to express,
for what thou art to thy creatures.
Increase my love, O my God,
through time and eternity.
(from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers, edited by Arthur Bennett)
As If Thy Blessings Had Spare Days
Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more–-a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
(a prayer by George Herbert)
That Others May Be Fed
For you, who fed the hungry,
May we so break our bread
In constant, costly giving
That others may be fed.
Amen.
(by Lillian Cox)
For Wisdom and Guidance
grant me and the lovely Robin
an abundance of wisdom
as we try to discern
and chart a path
that takes us and keeps us
closer to our loved ones,
in Jesus' name, amen.
(photo via pixabay.com)
I Claim an Entrance
Is found of those in prayer,
By all the promises of grace
I claim an entrance there.
Give me a self-denying soul,
Enlarged and unconfined;
Abide within me, and control
The wanderings of the mind.
Give me the strength of faith that dares
To die to self each day,
That bravely takes the cross, nor cares
To find an easier way.
Help me to make more sacrifice,
To walk where Christ would lead,
That in my life He may arise
To hallow every deed.
Amen.
(a prayer of General Albert Orsborn)
For Our Travel Today
Father God,
please grant me and the lovely Robin
safe and successful travel today.
Make smooth paths
(and flight schedules) for our feet.
Grant safe and timely travel to the airport.
Help us to make our flights
safely reach our destination.
Protect us from coach cabin infections.
Guide our steps,
guard our thoughts,
and give us sweet communion with you
pleasant interactions with others,
and a joyful reunion with our kids and grandkids.
Make us alert to any opportunity to be the means of blessing
to our fellow travelers,
or those who serve them,
in Jesus' name, amen.
My Only Happiness
Of my inmost soul today,
I want my thoughts and actions
With unbroken voice to say:
"The love Thy servant bears Thee
Will endure the hardest test,
And only be happy
In giving the best."
(a prayer by General Albert Orsborn)
Come, Living Water.
Come into my weary soul.
Come in like a flood.
Come, shock my system.
Come, fill my empty places.
Come, deluge my dry places.
Come, Living Water.
Come and revive me.
Come refresh me.
Come renew me.
Come recreate me.
Come, Living Water.
Come, Living Water.
Come.
RSVP
I'm sorry that I have so often
approached your Word
and combed your Word
and misused your Word
as a repository of rules and formulas
for me--and others, especially others--to obey,
rather than as a means of relationship,
a love note,
a sometimes whispered,
sometimes shouted,
always gracious
invitation to enter into communion with you.
Amen.
On Veteran's Day
God of peace,we pray for those
who have served our nation
and who laid down their lives
to protect and defend our freedom.
We pray for those who have fought,
whose spirits and bodies
are scarred by war,
whose nights are haunted by memories
too painful for the light of day.
We pray for those who serve us now,
especially for those in harm's way:
shield them from danger
and bring them home.
Turn the hearts and minds
of our leaders and our enemies
to the work of justice and a harvest of peace.
Spare the poor, Lord, spare the poor!
May the peace you left us,
the peace you gave us,
be the peace that sustains,
the peace that saves us.
Christ Jesus, hear us!
Lord Jesus, hear our prayer!
Amen.
(from A Concord Pastor Comments blog)
Saturday Psalm #75
I give thanks, for your Name is near;
your wonderful deeds surround me.
You choose the appointed time;
you judge uprightly.
When the ground beneath me moves,
you hold the earth's pillars nonetheless.
Shut up the arrogant and their boasts;
tell the wicked, "Put down your weapons!
Abandon your plans!
Be still!"
No one, no matter how powerful,
can exalt a mere human.
You alone are Judge:
you bring one down, you exalt another.
A cup is in your hand.
It overflows with spiked wine.
You pour it out,
and all the wicked of the earth
lap it up.
As for me, I will declare this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
I will resist the wicked,
and let you take care of the results.
(photo via pixabay.com)
With You I Can Live Without Other Things
With you
I can live
without other things,
for you
are God all-sufficient,
and the glory,
peace,
rest,
joy of the world
is a creaturely,
perishing thing
in comparison
with you.
(from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers; photo via pixabay.com)
Oh, the Places I've Gone
(with apologies to Dr. Seuss)
Oh, the places I've gone!
The places I've seen!
I thank you for all
The Great Places I've been!
The Grand Canyon,
the Golden Gate,
Niagara Falls,
the painted desert
and petrified forest,
the New England coast,
the Grand Cayman coral,
Mayan ruins
and Incan heights,
English hedgerows,
German castles,
French cafes,
Egyptian monuments,
Jordanian antiquities,
Southwestern deserts,
Northwestern cascades,
Smoky Mountain trails,
Manhattan streets,
Carolina beaches,
and Bahamian breezes.
And oh, the Galilean sunsets,
the Jerusalem moments,
Mediterranean winds,
and cathedral songs.
Oh, the places I've gone!
The places I've seen!
I thank you for all
The Great Places I've been!
For Them to Love Your Word
(today's prayer from the iPhone/iPad app, "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids," available in the iTunes app store, here)
A Voter's Serenity Prayer
to listen to your voice amid the din of all other voices,
the courage
to see and seize my privilege and responsibility as a citizen,
and the wisdom
to see clearly,
decide rightly,
and vote responsibly.
Amen.
(photo via pixabay.com)
Saturday Psalm #74
though at times it seems your anger does smolder
against the sheep of your pasture.
Remember the people you purchased years ago,
the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—
your flock, your dwelling.
Turn your steps toward our winding way,
and save us from wandering.
Our enemy prowls about like a roaring lion,
so adept at picking us off one by one and two by two,
setting us against each other
and pointing our attention at everything but you!
We can be so good at messing things up,
so destructive when we get suspicious
and seek our own way
and step across healthy boundaries.
Yet you have done miracles;
you have spoken through your prophets,
you have shown yourself to your people.
How long will the enemy mock you, O God?
Will the foe revile your name forever?
Do not hold back your hand, your right hand;
Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy the works of the Enemy!
You, O God, are my king from of old;
you bring salvation upon the earth.
You cleaved the oceans by your great power;
you broke the heads of the sea-monsters.
You crushed Leviathan
and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert.
You opened up springs and streams;
you dried up the thundering rivers.
The day belongs to you, and yours also is the night;
you established the sun and moon.
You set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.
Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O LORD,
how foolish people have reviled your name.
Do not hand over your flock to wild beasts;
do not forget your faithful servants.
Have regard for your great plans for our future,
and save us from foes within and foes without.
Let us not retreat in disgrace;
but save the poorest and neediest among us,
and bring about praise for your name.
Rise up, O God, and defend your cause,
we who bear your name.
Silence the clamor of your adversaries,
hush the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.
Amen.
(photo via everystockphoto.com)
On All Saints' Day
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
you have knit together your elect
in one communion and fellowship
in the mystical body
of Your Son, Christ our Lord,
and kindled the flame of your love
in the hearts of the saints.
I praise you for the holy men and women
you have raised up
in every time and place.
Give me grace so to follow their example
in devotion and godliness
that I may come
to those ineffable joys
that you have prepared for those
who unfeignedly love you,
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
(updated and modernized from the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, the Gothic Missal, and The Book of Common Prayer, 1979)