Hard Work and Small Rewards
I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that could make life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it comes. Or if, as sometimes it falleth out to Thy servants, I should have grateful gifts pressed upon me by Thy kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And if in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour that I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.
And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven.
Amen.
(a prayer of A. W. Tozer; photo by jzoerb via unsplash.com)
True Home
God for us and God for your own self,
Maker of heaven and earth,
creator of sea and sky,
governor of day and night.
We give thanks for your ordered gift of life to us,
for the rhythms that reassure,
for the equilibriums that sustain,
for the reliabilities that curb our anxieties.
We treasure from you,
days to work and nights to rest.
We cherish from you,
days to control and nights to yield.
We savor from you,
days to plan and nights to dream.
Be our day and our night,
our heaven and our earth,
our sea and our sky,
and in the end our true home. Amen.
(from Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: The Prayers of Walter Brueggemann)
Temper My Dysfunctions
please temper my dysfunctions,
align my disjunctions,
cleanse me from sin,
repair me within,
and grant the remission
of all unsubmission
to you, in Jesus' name, amen.
Overflow
You Know the Way for Me
O God, early in the morning I cry to you.Help me to prayAnd to concentrate my thoughts on you:I cannot do this alone.In me there is darkness,But with you there is light;I am lonely, but you do not leave me;I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;I am restless, but with you there is peace.In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;I do not understand your ways,But you know the way for me…Restore me to liberty,And enable me to live nowThat I may answer before you and before me.Lord, whatever this day may bring,Your name be praised.
(a prayer of Deitrich Bonhoeffer)
Small Ways
We bless you in your wonders of creation.
We magnify you for your miracles of deliverance.
We relish the news of your gift of newness give us in Jesus of Nazareth.
We make our doxology as large as we can,
in order to match your
massive presence in the world.
But then, in slow times and in lesser venues,
we know you to be the God of small things:
one widow and one orphan,
one touch of healing,
one lunch turned to much food,
one small temple for a small people in a small city,
one small scroll to power the small city.
On good days we are among those,
who do not occupy ourselves
with things too great and too marvelous.
It is enough that short of glory and magnificence,
you hang in to make small places your venue for governance.
We are grateful for your "tidbits"
that bespeak life among us.
(a prayer by Walter Brueggemann, from his book, Prayers for a Privileged People, p. 101)
To Be Clothed with Compassion
My prayer today for my kids and my grandkids, from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad:
Fresh Flowers
Come, O Lord my God;my soul invites you earnestly,
and waits for you eagerly.
Come to me, O Jesus, my well beloved,
and plant fresh flowers in my garden,
such as I see blooming
in such perfection
in your matchless character!
Come, O my Father,
who is the Husbandman,
and deal with me in your tenderness and prudence!
Come, O Holy Spirit,
and bedew my whole nature,
as the herbs are now moistened with the evening dews.
Oh, that you would speak to me!
Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.
Oh, that you would walk with me;
I am ready to give up my whole heart and mind to you.
I am only asking what you delight to give.
(a prayer of Charles H. Spurgeon, slightly revised)
Hide
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past.
(from "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," a hymn by Charles Wesley)
Wanderer's Prayer
Lord God, Lover of my soul, you have done so much for me. You have made known to me the path of life and filled me with joy in your presence (Psalm 16:11). Yet, I confess that I am prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love. Please have mercy on my feeble and fickle heart, and help me to be properly warned by your Word. Help me not to tolerate even the slightest distance from you and, if I do wander, to turn quickly back to you, the source of all my blessing and joy. Make me and keep me wholly and always devoted to you. In Jesus’ name, amen. (from Falling in Love with God)
Taxed
some of us owe,
some of us await a refund,
some of us have no income to tax.
But all of us are taxed,
by war,
by violence,
by anxiety,
by deathliness.
And Caesar never gives any deep tax relief.
We render to Caesar . . .
to some it feels like a grab,
to some it is clearly a war tax,
to some – some few –
it is a way to contribute to the common good.
In any case we are haunted
by what we render to Caesar,
by what we might render to you,
by the way we invest our wealth and our lives,
when what you ask is an “easy yoke”:
to do justice
to love mercy
to walk humbly with you.
Give us courage for your easy burden, so to live untaxed lives. Amen.
(a prayer by Walter Brueggemann, from his book, Prayers for a Privileged People; photo by Shutterbug75 via pixabay.com)
Disturb Us
Disturb us, Lord,when we are too well pleased with ourselves,when our dreams have come truebecause we have dreamed too little,when we arrived safelybecause we sailed too close to the shore.Disturb us, Lord,when with the abundance of things we possesswe have lost our thirst for the waters of life;having fallen in love with life,we have ceased to dream of eternity,and in our efforts to build a new earth,we have allowed our visionof the new Heaven to dim.Disturb us, Lord,to dare more boldly,to venture on wider seaswhere storms will show your mastery;where losing sight of land,we shall find the stars.We ask You to push backthe horizons of our hopes;and to push into the futurein strength, courage, hope, and love.(attributed to Sir Francis Drake; photo by ross_savchyn via unsplash.com)
Kill
kill in me
the need to control
and manage
and manipulate.
Kill my tendency
to think I am in control
(when I never am)
and that you are not in control
(when you always are).
Kill my unbelief,
my ignorance
and waywardness,
my prayerlessness
and haste,
in Jesus' name,
amen.
(photo illustration by marcuslofvenberg via unsplash.com)
Resurrection Deliverance
Risen Christ,
your resurrection saves me from the fear of dying.
Let it also free me from the fear of living,
Amen.
(photo by Fuu J via unsplash.com)
One Into a Thousand
In every age the same;
Now, Lord, in mine exert
The virtue of your name,
And daily, through your Word, increase
Your blood-besprinkled witnesses.
Your people, saved below
From every sinful stain,
Let multiply and grow
If you, Lord, but ordain,
And one into a thousand rise
And spread your praise through earth and skies.
In every soul--and mine--
You have displayed your power;
Now to your people join
Ten thousand thousand more,
Saved from the guilt and strength of sin
In life and heart entirely clean.
Amen.
(a prayer of Charles Wesley, slightly updated; photo by aaronburden via unsplash.com)
On My Birthday
Long have I loved you,
But not nearly as long or as much
As your great love deserves.
Each day I have left
Let me love and serve you
With more passion and zeal
Than the 24,106 (or so)
that have gone before.
Amen.
Lives of Love
From a Thief's Prayer
Lord, remember me.
Remember me when you feel like blessing someone.
Remember me when you're handing out strength for the day,
rest for the night,
hope for tomorrow.
Remember me when I forget you are near.
Remember me when the crowd presses in on me.
Remember me when others find fault,
and demand what I cannot give.
Remember when I'm stricken with fear,
and peace eludes me,
and I forget that you are in control.
Remember me, too, when cloudy skies clear,
and all seems well with the world.
Remember me, Lord.
Remember me, in Jesus' name, amen.
Be Merciful to Me, a Fool
O Lord,Be merciful to me, a fool!
No pity, Lord,
could change the heart
From red with wrong
to white as wool;
The rod must heal
the sin: but Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
'Tis not by guilt the onward sweep
Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay;
‘Tis by our follies that so long
We hold the earth from heaven away.
These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
Go crushing blossoms without end;
These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
Among the heart-strings of a friend.
The ill-timed truth we might have kept–
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
The word we had not sense to say–
Who knows how grandly it had rung!
Our faults no tenderness should ask.
The chastening stripes must cleanse them all;
But for our blunders — oh, in shame
Before the eyes of heaven we fall.
Earth bears no balsam for mistakes;
Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
That did his will; but Thou, O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
(from a poem by Edward Rowland Sill)