A Prayer from Hosea 7

Beautiful Lord God, you have always wanted only to love and heal me, but my waywardness has often prevented you, I know. Oh, Lord, save me from being like an oven that never cools, even when empty; deliver me from habits and patterns that would stoke the fires of unfaithfulness in my heart. Save me from being half baked and halfhearted; help me to renew and fulfill a wholehearted covenant with you. Save me from being like a silly bird, flitting here and there, looking for satis- faction from things that will never satisfy; help me to seek and find my soul’s satisfaction in you, and only you. Save me from being like a warped bow; straighten my heart and mind and life until it is all plumb and pointed ever and always to you. Turn me away from everything that would turn me away from you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(from Falling in Love with God, by Bob Hostetler, p. 112)

A Thirty-Sixth Anniversary Prayer

O God, what thanks can I possibly render to you
for my bride,
my wife,
my thirty-six years of marriage,
and thirty-nine years
with the lovely Robin in my life?

Thank you for yet another year of life together.
Thank you for her faithful,
giving,
loving,
kind,
passionate,
sweet,
constant heart.

Thank you for the happiness we have known together;
the sorrows we have faced together;
the children we have raised
and the grandchildren we have been given.

Thank you for our home,
our health,
our laughter,
our hopes and dreams,
our unfinished plans,
and our small accomplishments.

Thank you that she still laughs at (some of) my jokes.
Thank you that she grows more beautiful every day.
Thank you for all her perfections,
and all my improvements.

Spare us another year to walk together,
and grant that for us it may be true
that the best is yet to be,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

To Suck Out All the Marrow of Life

Lord God,
grant that I may live deliberately,
confront the essential facts of life,
learn all it has to teach, and not,
when I come to die, discover that I had not lived.

Help me to live deep
and suck out all the marrow of life,
to put to rout all that is not life,
to cut a broad swath and shave close,
to drive life into a corner,
and know it by experience,
and show by my life that I did not hastily conclude
that it is the chief end of man here
to "glorify God and enjoy him forever."

Amen.

(based on lines from Walden, chapter two, by Henry David Thoreau)

A Prayer of David Brainerd

Oh, that I might be a flaming fire in the service of the Lord. Here I am, Lord, send me; send me to the ends of the earth!

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As You Wish

O Lord, you know what's good and bad,
what's better and worse,
what's best and worst.

May my prayer be as you wish it to be.

(a prayer of Thomas a Kempis)

Everywhere and Always Is In You

Abba, my language
isn't sufficient for you.
I can't express your beauty,
your majesty,
not even your presence.
I know that no matter where I go,
you are there.
You do not arrive after me,
you do not even arrive before me.
You are not even, to be accurate, already "there,"
for the "there" itself is not
a place you occupy,
any more than a moment is a moment to you...
the "there" itself--like the "now" or the "then"--
is found in you, not you in it, for everywhere and always is in you.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
but I praise you in my ignorance and littleness.

Smile

Smile on me today, Lord,
and speak to me.
Amen.

(a very free paraphrase of Psalm 119:135)

A Prayer from Dan Fogelberg

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The Better to Know

Lord,
you stab me
with the beauties
of your world.

Yesterday it happened again.
I listened to birdcalls
in treetops, bushes, and bending grass,
walked barefoot in the morning dew,
eavesdropped on concerts and conversations
of the summer woodland.

Lord, prick me
with rose petal, sunset, and dawn;
assail me with sight and smell and sound;
torment me with shape and texture and taste.
Lord, make me bleed,
the better to know,
the greater to be,
the more to find myself in You.

(a prayer of Gerhard E. Frost, from his book, Blessed is the Ordinary, p. 65)

On Memorial Day

In the quiet sanctuaries of our own hearts,
let each of us name and call on
the One whose power over us
is great and gentle,
firm and forgiving,
holy and healing…

You who created us,
who sustain us,
who call us to live in peace,
hear our prayer this day.

Hear our prayer for all who have died,
whose hearts and hopes are known to you alone…

Hear our prayer for those who put the welfare of others
ahead of their own
and give us hearts as generous as theirs…

Hear our prayer for those who gave their lives
in the service of others,
and accept the gift of their sacrifice…

Help us to shape and make a world
where we will lay down the arms of war
and turn our swords into ploughshares
for a harvest of justice and peace…

Comfort those who grieve the loss of their loved ones
and let your healing be the hope in our hearts...

Hear our prayer this day
and in your mercy answer us
in the name of all that is holy.

Amen.

(from the Concord Pastor blog)

Not to Be Taken for Granted

A Prayer About Creativity

Heavenly Father, Maker of heaven and earth, nature displays beauty that surpasses the finest music, poetry, or creative genius of all human artists put together. You are the Creator. You are a God of design, color, plan, organization, beauty, magnificence, and order. The great art of the world only copies your splendid creation. The finest model of craftsmanship and artistic skill is found in the creation of the universe. Any creativity I possess is the overflow of a mind filled with the good things you have made, O God. When I'm looking for inspiration, I will fill my heart with your creative wonders. Let my creative expression be glorifying to you, my God and my Maker.

(an excerpt from the book, 365 Pocket Prayers, by Ron Beers; the photo is of a Chrysolina cerealis beetle)

Draw Nigh

Of Making Many Books

Lord God, I have no desire to add to the endless supply of books (Ecclesiastes 12:12). There are so many great books that I--and others--have yet to read. I don't want to write anything that would be a mere distraction from such gems.

But if there is something you want to say, in a new way, maybe, I would love to be a part of that. If you would reveal to me what (if anything) you want me to contribute by way of the written word, then I am listening, Lord. I am all ears. I am alert and, by your grace, I am ready. Amen.

Schedule

Lord, help me to schedule my writing well
and so defend against chaos and whim.*

Help me to plan my writing well
that I might have ample time for reflection,
research, and
revision.

Help me to keep to a healthy writing routine
so that my senses and skills
will be sharpened and honed.

Make my writing calendar
"a net for catching days,"*
and inspiration
and revelation,
in Jesus' name, amen.

(*these phrases borrowed from Annie Dillard, The Writing Life, p. 32)

I Wanna Be Moved

For OKC

Lord, have mercy on the people of Oklahoma City and Moore, Oklahoma.

Please send help to those in danger.
Send comfort and strength to those who've suffered loss.
Send wisdom and stamina to first responders and rescue workers.
Send protection and deliverance to those who are still in harm's way.

Amen.


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Long Have I Loved You

Long have I loved you,
O Beauty so ancient,
and so new.

Long have I loved you!
You have been with me when I little knew
how sweetly you sought me!

Time after time, you called, you shouted, you shattered my deafness.
Time after time, you flashed, you shone, you dispelled my blindness.
Time after time, you have breathed your fragrance on me;
I have breathed you in and breathed you out.
I have tasted you and hungered for you.
I have felt your touch and craved your caress.

(based on "Late Have I Loved You," a prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo)

Beautiful Things

Deliver Me Please

Lord God, deliver me please
from the evil of the unexamined life...
the unworshipful life...
the self-centered life...
the self-absorbed life...
the self-satisfied life...
the frantic life...
the marginal life...
the care-filled life...
the accidental life...
the self-reliant life...
the arrogant life...
the inconsequential life...
the shallow life...
the appetite-driven life...
the reactive life...
the fruitless life...
the material life...
the thoughtless life...
the prayerless life...
the small life...
in Jesus' name, amen.

Plant Fresh Flowers in My Garden

Come, O Lord my God;
my soul invites thee earnestly,
and waits for thee 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 thy matchless character!

Come, O my Father,
who art the Husbandman,
and deal with me in thy 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 thy servant heareth.
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)

To The Lord God of Movement

"Let me bash out praises
to the Lord God of movement":*

Praise for muscular winds,
whipping tree branches,
and flapping birds' wings.

Praise for pitchers' windups
and batters' swings.

Praise for running grandchild feet
and wagging dog's tail.

Praise for spinning car tires
and straining dinghy's sail.

Praise for creaky old legs
and tumbling dryer tubs,
for blinking airplane lights
and the month of May's "darling buds."

Praise for blood in my veins
and still-flowing drains.
Praise for lawn mower blades
and Canada goose parades.

Amen.

(*from "The Way We Live" by Kathleen Jamie)

Daily Bread

Day by day the manna fell;
O to learn this lesson well!
Still by constant mercy fed,
Give me, Lord, my daily bread.

Lord, my times are in your hand;
All my sanguine hopes have planned
To your wisdom I resign,
And would make your purpose mine.

Let me live exempt from care
By the energy of prayer;
Strong in faith, with mind subdued,
Yet elate with gratitude,
in Jesus' name, amen.

(a prayer of hymnwriter Josiah Conder)

Let It Sing

Lord, let my life sing.
Let it sing loud and long.
Let it sing "How Great Thou Art."
Let it sing "Great is Thy Faithfulness."
Let it sing "My Chains Are Gone."
Let it sing "On Christ, the Solid Rock, I Stand,
all other ground is sinking sand."
Let it sing "Oh How He Loves."
Let it sing "Your Love Never Fails,"
"I Will Hold On,"
"My Hope Is In You,"
and let it sing, and go on saying, to any and all,
"There is pleasure in his service, more than all,
more than all."

A Place Called Enough

Lord, let me live in a place called Enough.
Content.
Uncluttered.
At peace and unfettered.

Blessèd Lord, In You Is Refuge

Blessèd Lord, in you is refuge,
Safety for my trembling soul;
Pow’r to lift my head when drooping
’Midst the angry billows’ roll.
I will trust you;
All my life you shall control.

In the past too unbelieving
’Midst the tempest I have been,
And my heart has slowly trusted
What my eyes have never seen.
Blessèd Jesus,
Teach me on your arm to lean.

Give me trust that brings the triumph
When defeat seems strangely near;
Grant me faith that changes fighting
Into vict’ry’s ringing cheer!
Faith triumphant,
Knowing not defeat nor fear,
amen.

(a prayer of Herbert Booth, slightly revised)

Joyful Praise

I praise you, God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ! In your great mercy, you have given me new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. Through faith I am shielded, by your power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this, I greatly rejoice, though for now I suffer grief in all kinds of trials. But I rejoice in that, too, for I know that these have come so that the genuineness of my faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is finally and fully revealed—him whom I love, though I have not seen him, and him whom I believe in, and thus am filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for I am receiving the end result of my faith, the salvation of my soul. Amen! (based on 1 Peter 1:3-9).

(from the 30-Day Church Challenge Daily Guidebook, p. 62)

Open My Hands

Heavenly Father, every breath is a gift from your hand. Even so, I confess that sometimes my own hand remains tightly closed when I encounter the needs of others. Please open both my hand and my heart that I might learn to open my door to others. As you help me open my heart and hand, O Lord, I ask that you also prompt me to open my life to those who need a taste of your love and bounty. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

(from Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado, p. 61)

I Need You Once Again

Finish What You Started

G' Morning, God!

Like David I pray,
"Finish what you started in me, God.
Your love is eternal--
don't quit on me now"
(Psalm 138:8, The Message).


(a prayer of author and speaker Joan C. Webb)

Rule My Errant Will

O Thou to whom I owe the gift of this day's grace, give to me also, I beseech Thee, the spirit to use it as I ought. Forbid that I should stain the brightness of the morning with any evil thought or darken the noontide with any shameful deed. Let Thy Holy Spirit breathe into my heart to-day all pure and heavenly desires. Let Thy truth inform my mind. Let Thy justice and righteousness make a throne within me and rule my errant will. Let Christ be formed in me, and let me learn of Him all lowliness of heart, all gentleness of bearing, all modesty of speech, all helpfulness of action, and promptness in the doing of my Father's will.

Amen.

(a prayer of John Baillie in A Diary of Private Prayer)

Keeper of the Garden of My Heart

Jesus, tender Lover of my soul,
Pardoner of my sins and friend indeed,
Keeper of the garden of my heart,
Jesus, Thou art everything to me.

Jesus, Thou art everything to me.
Jesus, Thou art everything to me.
All my lasting joys are found in Thee,
Jesus, Thou art everything to me.

Dandelion Prayer

You made dandelions.
So make me
more like them.
Sturdy.
Prolific.
Quick to bounce back.
Indefatigable.
Always abounding
in what you made me to be and to do.
Amen.

31 Prayers of Thanks for My Children

Abba, Father, you have been good. You have been kind. You have answered so many of my prayers, and especially those I have prayed for my children.

I asked you to let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, and you answered.

I prayed that they may ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,' and you answered.

I prayed that my children may learn to ‘live a life of love,’ through the Spirit who dwells in them, and you answered.

I asked for integrity and honesty to be their virtue and their protection, and you answered.

I asked you to help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be ‘alert and self-controlled’ in all they do, and you answered.

I asked you to let my children grow to find your Word ‘more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb,' and you answered.

I asked you to help my children to love justice as you do and to ‘act justly’ in all they do," and you answered.

I asked that my children always ‘be merciful, as [their] Father is merciful,' and you answered.

I asked that my children may ‘show proper respect to everyone,’ as your Word commands, and you answered.

I asked you to help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are ‘God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus,' and you answered.

I asked you to 'let love and faithfulness never leave [my children],’ but to bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts, and you answered.

I asked that my children always ‘Be strong and courageous’ in their character and in their actions, and you answered.

I asked you to ‘Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,’ and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions, and you answered.

I asked that may my children ‘always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else,' and you answered.

I asked that my children may ‘be generous and willing to share [and so] lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age,' and you answered.

I said, "let my children ‘make every effort to do what leads to peace’” and you answered.

I asked for my children to be filled ‘with the joy given by the Holy Spirit,' and you answered.

I asked you to teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to ‘run with perseverance the race marked out for [them],' and you answered.

I asked you to cultivate in my children the ability to ‘show true humility toward all,' and you answered.

I asked you to clothe my children with the virtue of compassion, and you answered.

I asked that my children may learn responsibility, and you answered.

I asked you to teach my children ‘the secret of being content in any and every situation. . . . through him who gives [them] strength,' and you answered.

I prayed that faith would find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them, and you answered.

I asked you to help my children develop servant hearts, and you answered.

I asked that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit, and you answered.

I asked you to teach my children to value work and to work hard at everything they do, and you answered.

I asked you to instill in my children a soul that “followeth hard after thee,” a heart that clings passionately to you, and you answered.

I prayed that my children may develop self-discipline, and you answered.

I asked that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, and you answered.

I asked that my children would live lives that are always ‘overflowing with thankfulness, and you answered.

I asked you to give my children a heart for missions, and you answered.

I asked, and you answered. You honored my hopes and dreams for them, and have even excelled what I had faith enough to ask. Thank you, in Jesus' name, amen.

My Cana Prayer

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For the Beauty

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Father, unto Thee I raise,
This my hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light,
Father, unto Thee I raise,
This my hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony
Linking sense to sound and sight,
Father, unto Thee I raise,
This my hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild,
Father, unto Thee I raise,
This my hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy Church, that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love,
Father, unto Thee I raise,
This my hymn of grateful praise.

For the martyrs’ crown of light,
For Thy prophets’ eagle eye,
For Thy bold confessors’ might,
For the lips of infancy,
Father, unto Thee I raise,
This my hymn of grateful praise.

For each perfect gift of Thine,
To the human race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of Heaven,
Father, unto Thee I raise,
This my hymn of grateful praise.

(a prayer by Folliot S. Pierpoint)

A Prayer of Thomas Aquinas for My Children

Grant to my children your grace, most merciful Jesus, that it may be with them and in them now and to the end of their lives. Grant that they may always desire and will those things that are most acceptable and most dear to you. Let your will be theirs, and let their will ever follow yours and agree perfectly with it. Let their willing and not-willing be in complete unison with your will, and let them not be able to will anything but what you will, nor will not what you will not, in Jesus’ name, amen.

(Based on a prayer by Thomas Aquinas)

A Prayer of Brother Lawrence

O my God, since Thou art with me,
and I must now,
in obedience to Thy commands,
apply my mind to these outward things,
I beseech Thee to grant me
the grace to continue in Thy Presence;
and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance,
receive all my works,
and possess all my affections.

(a prayer of Brother Lawrence, c. 1610-1691)

A Simple Prayer

Let mine
be a voice
for peace.

(a prayer of Dan Fogelberg, from his song, "A Voice for Peace")

For Bestowing Life

Praise to you, Most Holy, Most High; praise and glory to your name.

I praise you for bestowing life on your Creation; for granting reason to humankind, for making us a little lower than you, higher than the animals, for bestowing on us your likeness.

Thank you and praise to you for creating us as volitional creatures, though by that volition we fell.

Thank you for creating us as sensate beings, though in our sinfulness we serve our senses and sensation more than you.

I praise you for making us rational creatures, though our thoughts and imaginings are clouded by sin.

I praise you that you made us feeling, emotional beings, though we do not love you as we ought.

In all your works you are good and great, most excellent and most worthy of praise, which I offer you imperfectly, incompletely, but sincerely, in Jesus' name, amen.

Flee Forward

My Father and my God,
I see that my life
will be made or broken at the place
where I meet and deal with my obstacles.
Help me not to run away from them,
but to run toward them,
to tackle and overcome them.
Help me to take the impulse to flee
and compel it to make me flee forward.
In His name.
Amen.

(a prayer of E. Stanley Jones, from Abundant Living, p. 117)

A Prayer for Pops

Loving Lord God,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God;
from one year to the next, you are there.

You were there
in Hutchinson, Kansas,
when a boy was born
to David and Bessie Hostetler,
and named Charles Vernon.

And today, he turns ninety-three.
Wow, Lord. Just wow.

Thank you for his long life,
and continued health,
and the three sons he raised
with his wife, my mother.
Thank you for the heritage of faith
he received
and passed on.
Thank you for his daily comforts,
his affable spirit,
and for the good care he receives at Westover Retirement Community.
Thank you that he still knows me (most of the time)
and his other sons (most of the time).
Thank you that he still enjoys his life and his days.

On this day
and every day hence,
please bless him mightily
and grant him yet more health,
love,
comfort,
security,
happiness,
peace,
and chocolate ice cream,
in Jesus' name, amen.

Lavish

Lord God....Lavish your love on me. Come to me like the dew on the grass. Make me your garden. Let me send down roots like the trees of Lebanon. Let me grow like aspens on the hillside. Cause me to thrive like a beautiful olive tree and spread my fragrance like a grove of cedars, that many will be blessed by me and that my fruit and influence may spread far and wide.

You, Lord, are my one and only. You are the one who fulfills my desires. I want for nothing. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(from Falling in Love with God, by Bob Hostetler, p. 172)

Colors

Gracious God,
thank you for the colors of my life:
for the red of Ryder's hair,
the blue of Calleigh's eyes,
the blazing whiteness of Miles's smile
and the pink of Mia's constantly moving mouth.

Thank you for the green of fresh-cut grass,
the sandy shade of a baseball infield,
azure Spring skies,
and April's "pink moon."

Thank you for forsythia blooms
and crabapple blossoms,
crocuses and daffodils.

Thank you for black coffee, blue jeans, brown mulch, "Cincinnati Reds" jerseys, and red-breasted robins, in Jesus' name, amen.

A Prayer on Shakespeare's Birthday

Release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands:
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails.

(lines from The Tempest, Act 5, Epilogue, by William Shakespeare)

As You Have Never Drawn Me Before

Lord God, Adonai, how tender and patient you are with me. And how insensitive I have been to the many ways in which I continue to fail to love you and serve you as you deserve. I want to be your constant, attentive, submissive, appreciative, grateful, receptive, and faithful child. How often have you warned me and sweetly invited me to respond to you? How slow have I been to recognize the hardness of my heart and obstinacy of my ways? How many times have I grieved you? Oh, Lord God, turn my heart to you. Draw me as you have never drawn me before. And give me the grace to respond more sweetly and completely than ever before, that I may find in you all my heart’s desires. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(from Falling in Love with God, by Bob Hostetler, p. 133)

A Prayer Before Worship

Good morning, Abba!

Thank you for another day,
another Sunday,
another resurrection morning,
another day of worship,
another opportunity to assemble
with your people in worship.

Please, make this a sacred day,
a day in which your Name is magnified,
your praise multiplied,
your glory manifested,
your heart made glad.

Meet your gathering servants.
Condescend to every waiting heart.
Make our hearts beat with devotion
that we may worship You in spirit and in truth.

Unite your people in heart and soul.
Be with us so we may receive the blessing
promised to all who sincerely pray to You and faithfully hear Your Word,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

Prayer Based on Lines from an Upcoming Book

Lord, give me love. Give me faith. Give me hope. Give me passion, purpose, and determination. Give me utter devotion. Give me a divine discontent with formality, ceremonialism, lukewarmness, indifference, sham and noise, parade and spiritual death. Give me singleness of eye and a consecration unto death. Give me that which emboldened David to run out to meet the insolent giant and Esther to face the king and plead for her people, saying, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). Give me God the Holy Spirit burning in and through me, with humble, holy, faithful effect, in Jesus' name, amen.

(based on lines from Take Time to Be Holy, by Samuel Logan Brengle, p. 228, scheduled for a September 2013 release)

A Prayer from Westminster Abbey

Let All Thy Gifts of Grace Be Mine

O vision clear! O Voice Divine!
Dear Son of God and Son of Man!
Let all Thy gifts of grace be mine;
Complete in me Thy perfect plan.

(a prayer of General Albert Orsborn,
the final verse to his song,
"When Wondrous Words My Lord Would Say")

Tiny Prayer

And still, Lord, to me impart
An innocent and grateful heart.

(a prayer by Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

Source of All My Blessing and Joy

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, by Bob Hostetler, pp. 95-96)

On This Tax Day

On this day of internal revenue
some of us are paid up,
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, Abingdon, 2008)

Discount

Lord God Adonai, help me to truly discount everything, seeing it as rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:8).

A Morning Offering

I bless the night that nourished my heart
To set the ghosts of longing free
Into the flow and figure of dream
That went to harvest from the dark
Bread for the hunger no one sees.

All that is eternal in me
Welcome the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.

I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Wave of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

(by John O'Donohue, in To Bless the Space Between Us)

For Baseball

Thank you, God, for baseball:

for outfields of green
and the crack of the ball on a wooden bat.
For pitchers with eccentric windups,
for stolen bases
and diving catches.
For double plays
and double steals,
bunts and brushbacks,
squeeze plays and home runs.
For "cold beer here!" and ballpark franks.
For the seventh inning stretch.
For day games and night games.
For OBPs and ERAs,
pickoff plays and headfirst slides,
pennant races and "Wait till next year."
Amen. 

To Abide

O Savior, how unspeakable is your love! "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me: it is high, I cannot attain unto it."

I can only yield myself to your love with the prayer that, day by day, you would unfold to me somewhat of its precious mysteries, and so encourage and strengthen me, your loving disciple, to do what my heart longs to do indeed--ever, only, wholly to abide in you.

Amen.

(a prayer of Andrew Murray, from his book Abide in Christ, slightly revised)

Variations on Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
a reflection of your beauty,
a reservoir of your mercy,
a carrier of your grace,
a conveyor of your love,
a channel of your kindness,
a conduit of your healing power,
an expression of your passion,
an agent of your kingdom,
and a means of your working
in the lives of those around me,
amen.

A Prayer from My New Book

Gracious God, my King, thank you for [your] wide and long and high and deep...love for me—-that you would go so far to seek me, condescend so low to ransom me, open your heart wide to restore me and persevere so long to wait for me. Such knowledge is too great for me; I can’t even begin to comprehend it. And yet I feel it, Lord. I feel it.

As I contemplate all your loving thoughts and actions toward me, I feel my heart strangely warmed by the entrance of your love. Please continue this work in me, and help me to draw closer and closer and fall deeper and deeper in love with you, my soul’s Lover and Friend, in Jesus’ name, amen.

(from Falling in Love with God, by Bob Hostetler, p. 81)

Money and Me

Help me to love and serve you,
and to hate money
and tell it what to do
and where to go,
instead of the other way around,
as I am prone to do
(Luke 16:13-14),
amen.

O Mad Lover!

O eternal, infinite God! O mad lover! And you have need of your creature? It seems so to me, for you act as if you could not live without [me], in spite of the fact that you are Life itself, and everything has life from you and nothing can have life without you. Why then are you so mad? Because you have fallen in love with what you have made?...You clothed yourself in our humanity, and nearer than that you could not have come.

(a prayer of Catherine of Siena).

Prayer in a Traffic Jam

Lord,
it is inconvenient,
but someone ahead could be hurt,
or worse.

Have mercy on those who need it most,
and give patience
and gratitude
to the rest of us,
for whom things could be much worse,
in Jesus' name,
amen.

Home

Home
is
wherever
I'm with you.

(a prayer from Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros)

55

Abba, Father,
as of today,
I've made it to 55.

It seems like a signpost of sorts,
but I pray, let it not be a speed limit,
or a limit of any kind.
Let it not be as far or as fast as I can go.

I rejoice that,
as old as I am,
55 is not nearly so old
as it once was.
I thank you
that I am not nearly
as decrepit
as I once imagined
people of this age to be.

Thank you that you have ordained
at least this many days for me.
Thank you that my life's journey
has been showered with so many blessings
and such abundant mercy and grace
as to boggle the mind.

Thank you that I have no regrets,
and few sorrows.

Thank you for a faithful, lovely wife,
such wonderful children,
and beautiful grandchildren
as I have.

Please let the days that remain to me
be healthy,
prosperous,
joyful,
pleasing to you,
and a blessing to others,
in Jesus' name, amen.

Prayer from My Upcoming Book

Lord God, my faithful Lover, you have been so good to me, in spite of all my neglect and thoughtlessness. From my earliest moments of moral awareness, I have chosen my own way instead of yours. Over and over again in my life, I have wrestled the sovereign’s crown from your head and tried to place it on mine. Too many times to count, I have failed to give thanks for all your care and kindness to me—-worse than that, I have whined and complained like a bratty child rather than acknowledged and appreciated all your beauty and blessing.

Awaken me, God, to your constant care and generosity. Awaken me to the ways you have stood by me and the numberless times you have withheld judgment and punishment from me. Awaken me to your redemptive and constructive purposes in anything and everything I have ever seen as suffering in my life. Awaken me to my deep, fathomless need for your mercy, grace, and love....that I may rise and clasp your outstretched hand. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(from Falling in Love with God, which is scheduled for release April 9, 2013)