For My Needs
(photo by mac8oppo via pixabay.com)
To God My Help
O God, my help in ages past,
My hope for years to come,
My shelter from the stormy blast,
And my eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And my defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
O God, my help in ages past,
My hope for years to come,
My shelter from the stormy blast,
And my eternal home.
Travelers
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.
Saturday Psalm #102
Can you hear me?
Please bend your ear
and come to me
in my great need.
Tune to my wavelength,
and answer me asap.
For my days pass far too fast
and I'm feeling mighty old these days.
I've lost a step--or twenty!
But worse than my age these days
are my unreliable moods.
I stress too easily.
I get discouraged much too often.
I deprive myself of sleep
and my Enemy steals my peace.
And my joy.
I care far too much what people think.
And I've almost forgotten what joy feels like.
What's the deal?
What's wrong with me?
I tell myself it's part of the aging process.
But I know there's more to it than that.
Help me figure it out, Lord.
Speak to me through your Word,
through wise counselors,
and through my loving wife and kids and friends.
Until then, I know this:
You are still in control.
You are still worthy of praise.
You will arise and have mercy on me and mine.
You will send help in time of need.
You will never abandon your people.
You will be glorified among the nations.
Your radiance will awe the kings of the earth.
You will rebuild all the Enemy tears down,
you will restore all he steals.
You hear the prayers of the most needy.
You will not reject their pleas.
When I am tempted to be discouraged
or to indulge in self pity,
I will remember that you have looked down on me
from your holy heights
and blessed me beyond my wildest imagining!
You hear the groans of the prisoners,
You free those condemned to die.
Your fame is rightly celebrated in Zion,
and by your grace I will yet sing your praises in Jerusalem,
both in this life and the next.
So what if I'm old?
So what if I could be healthier and more vigorous?
My God, who lives forever,
has granted me a long and wonderful life!
More importantly, you who laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands
will be mine forever!
This body of mine will wear out like old clothing.
You will someday even discard the heavens and the earth
and replace them like an outdated suit of clothes.
But you are always the same;
you will live forever.
And you are mine forever.
And all me and mine--we are yours.
Thank you!
Hallelujah!
Amen.
(photo art via pixabay.com)
Outdo
God, I fear
You’ve made the World too beautiful this year.
(a prayer by Edna St. Vincent Millay; photo by Lynn McCane)
You Lead Me
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be,
Still it's Your hand that leads me.
You lead me, You lead me;
By Your own hand You lead me:
Your faithful follower I will be,
As by Your hand You lead me.
Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden's flowers bloom,
By waters calm, o'er troubled sea,
Still it's Your hand that leads me.
Lord, I would clasp Your hand in mine,
And never murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since I know my God is leading me.
And when my task on earth is done,
When, by Your grace, the victory's won,
Even death's cold wave I will not flee,
Since You through Jordan are leading me.
(a hymn by Joseph Gilmore, slightly revised; photo via pixabay.com)
Saturday Psalm #101
Lord, let the soundtrack of my lifebe filled with songs about your love and justice;
let my theme song be filled with your praise.
By your grace, make me careful to lead a blameless life.
Make me patient in waiting for you to show yourself.
Let my housecoat be a blameless heart.
By your grace, help me shield my eyes from anything vile.
Help me steer clear of faithless friends
and corrupting companions.
By your grace, I will have nothing to do with evil.
I will not listen to gossip and slander;
I will not excuse arrogance.
By your grace, I will look for godly companions and counselors
to walk with me
and minister to me.
By your grace, I will learn to recognize
and avoid all those who traffic in lies
and stir up conflict and dissension.
By your grace, I will turn a deaf ear to wickedness
and live and lead without their interference.
(based on Psalm 101; the illustration is Psalms 101 and 102 from a 13th century Psalter created by monks in France)
A Good Prayer
My Master, I have sinned before You.
May it be Your will, O Lord my God, to grant me a good heart, a good portion, a good inclination, a good friend, a good name, a good eye, a good soul, a lowly disposition, and a humble spirit.
(A prayer from the Talmud, Tractate Berakhot; photo by Bubamara via everystockphoto.com).
Rest and Rule
let your Spirit,
who rested on Jesus the Branch—
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord—
rest on me and rule in my life today,
in Jesus' name, amen.
(based on Isaiah 11:1-2; photo by "hickory hardscrabble" via everystockphoto.com)
A Variation on a Hymn
We’re in your hands,
Whate’er the future holds,
We’re in your hands.
The days we cannot see
Are not a mystery;
You’ve planned them perfectly.
We’re in
your
hands.
(variation on a hymn by Stanley Ditmer; pronouns and lines 5-7 revised; photo by comfreak via pixabay.com)
On Our Anniversary
how can I possibly thank you
for my bride,
my wife,
and these forty-two years of marriage,
and forty-five years of love
you have given me
with the lovely Robin?
Thank you for yet another year of life together.
Thank you for her faithful,
giving,
loving,
kind,
passionate,
sweet,
constant heart.
Thank you for all
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 has stuck with me, never wavering in her support.
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.
Saturday Psalm #100
I'm so happy to be your child.
I'm so happy to worship you;
I'm delighted to sing songs to you.
I'm thrilled to know and say that you are God,
you are my Creator, and I am yours.
I'm happy to be your child, the sheep of your pasture.
I'm grateful to enter your gates,
it is my privilege to come into your courts with praise;
I am honored to give thanks to you and praise your name.
For you, LORD, are good,
and your love endures forever;
your faithfulness never ends.
Amen.
(photo by paularps via everystockphoto.com)
Mysterious Companionship
inspire all my thoughts;
pervade my imagination;
suggest all my decisions;
order all my doings.
Be with me in my silence and in my speech,
in my haste and in my leisure,
in company and in solitude,
in the freshness of the morning and
in the weariness of the evening;
and give me grace at all times humbly to rejoice
in your mysterious companionship,
in Jesus' name, amen.
(a Prayer of John Baillie, revised slightly from A Diary of Private Prayer)
A Prayer 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)
Saturday Psalm #99
You reign, LORD!Reign!
Exert your power and influence;
let the nations sit up and take notice.
You are enthroned between the cherubim;
shake the earth with your mighty moving.
You are great, LORD,
exalted over everything and everyone everywhere.
Let all people everywhere
come to praise your great and awesome name—
for you are holy.
You are King,
you are mighty,
you are just.
You always do what is right.
I exalt you, LORD God,
I bow before your throne
and make my back,
my heart,
my life your footstool.
You heard Moses and Aaron;
you chose them to be your servants,
and Samuel and David.
They called on you, LORD,
and you answered them.
You forgave them,
and showed them mercy,
though you punished their misdeeds.
Do so for me, too, Abba, Father,
do so for my family,
for my friends and neighbors.
I exalt you, LORD God,
I bow before your throne
and make my back,
my heart,
my life your footstool.
Amen.
If My Lips
could sing as many songs as there are waves in the sea;
if my tongue
could sing as many hymns as there are ocean billows;
if my mouth
filled the whole firmament with praise;
if my face
shone like the sun and moon together;
if my hands
were to hover in the sky like powerful eagles
and my feet
ran across mountains as swiftly as the deer,
all that would not be enough
to pay you fitting tribute,
O Lord my God.
(Jewish prayer; photo by Andrew-Art via pixabay.com)
For Childlike Trust
Lord, please make me
like a child
who launches out
from the top
of a corkscrew slide,
trusting his unseen father
to be there when needed
to safely catch him
and pick him up,
in Jesus' name, amen.
So Rich and Free
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole;
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.
(a prayer by Seth and Bessie Sykes)
Day of War
My salvation,
cover my head in the day of war;
shield me in the heat of battle.
Amen.
(based on Psalm 140:7; photo by JackSellaire via pixabay.com)
I Confess My Desire to Acquire
God, I confess my desire to acquire and repent of my consumerism. I confess that I sometimes believe that having more things will make me happier, more important, or more secure. Please teach me to be grateful for what I have instead of always wanting something new or something more. Teach me to defy the myth of more and set my mind and heart on eternal things instead of material things. Teach me to keep my life free from the love of money and possessions and be content with what I have, in Jesus’ name, amen.(the prayer that closes chapter two, "The eBay Attitude," in my book, American Idols)
Saturday Psalm #98
You have done marvelous things;
you have conquered
with your right hand and your holy arm!
You have trumpeted your salvation
and bannered your righteousness
for all to hear and see!
You have written your love
and faithfulness to your people
on my heart
and in my heritage.
I will shout for joy to you, LORD,
I will loudly sing your praises!
I will make music to you with my lips
and tongue
and hands
and feet
and eyes
and smiles
and laughter
and gifts,
for you are my King.
Let the waves of the sea crash with your praise,
let everything in the sea sing to you,
the world, and all who live in it,
the rivers
and peaks
and lakes
and streams.
But let me join the chorus,
let me always be among them,
let me not hold back,
for you are righteous and fair,
you are glorious and awesome,
amen.
(photo by dhester via everystockphoto.com)
A Certain Light That I Love
What is that love when I love you, my God? It is a certain light that I love
and melody and fragrance and embrace
that I love when I love you--
a light, melody, fragrance, food,
embrace of the God-within,
where, for my soul,
that shines which space does not contain;
that sounds which time does not sweep away;
that is fragrant which the breeze does not dispel;
and that tastes sweet which, fed upon, is not diminished;
and that clings close which no satiety disparts--
that is what I love when I love you, my God.
(from The Confessions of St. Augustine, slightly reworded)
A Prayer for My Cluttered Soul
Father, my soul gets so cluttered: old hopes,
broken dreams,
dusty determinations,
stored-up hurts and resentments,
good intentions waiting to be pulled out
at just the right time,
undone tasks,
unkempt thoughts,
unrepented sins.
Come to my heart, Lord God,
throw open the windows of my soul,
sweep through its dusty confines,
clean out its musty places,
go through, blow through, flow through,
clear it,
clean it,
rearrange it,
and make it your own,
like a bride moving into a bachelor pad,
in Jesus' name, amen.
You Are God All-Sufficient
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)
For My Wife on Mother's Day
I don't have to tell you how blessed I am
by the wife you've given to me,
and the kind of mother she has been--
and is--
to our children.
She walks in beauty, like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies
(to quote Byron).
She showers blessing, like August rain,
on every dry and needy place.
She denies herself, like the pelican of myth,
feeding her loved ones with her own lifeblood.
She fights with passion, like a badger,
to defend and protect her home and family.
What a gift she is to me and to this family.
Lift her up in our love,
encourage her with our gratitude,
and let her feel your favor
flowing through ours,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Saturday Psalm #97
LORD, you reign, and we should all be glad!
Even those who are far from earth should be grateful
for your sovereign and loving reign.
You could swarm us with darkness, but you don't;
your rule exudes righteousness and justice.
You could send down fire to earth
and consume your foes on every side.
You could light up the world with lightning
and throw one catastrophe after another at us.
You could make the mountains melt like wax
and cause us to tremble in fear
before your unlimited power.
Yet the heavens declare your righteousness,
and we breathe in your mercies like the atmosphere.
Those who worship idols should be ashamed,
for there is no God like you.
Even the gods of man's imagination
are pale imitations.
We should all rejoice constantly
that YOU are the one in charge;
there should be universal gratitude
because of your judgments, O LORD.
For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
Those who love you should say so,
and reject evil,
for you guard the lives of your faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
You shed light upon the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
I rejoice in you, LORD,
you who make me righteous by the blood of the Lamb,
and praise your holy name.
Amen.
Moon and Shadow
I do not know you God because I am in the way. Please help me to push myself aside.
(from A Prayer Journal by Flannery O'Connor; photo by NASA via everystockphoto.com)
Your Temple
This is your apse.
This is your transept.
This is your nave.
You have raised it.
You have furnished it.
You have lighted it.
I, your custodian, will sweep it
and do my best to keep it
so that it might bring glory to you,
this Temple, my body.
(photo via pixabay.com)
Shaper and Ruler of All
Lord God Almighty, shaper and ruler of all creatures, we pray for Your great mercy, that You guide us better than we have done, toward You, and guide us to Your will, to the need of our soul, better than we can ourselves. And steady our mind towards Your will and to our soul’s need. And strengthen us against the temptations of the devil, and put far from us all lust, and every unrighteousness, and shield us against our foes, seen and unseen. And teach us to do Your will, that we may inwardly love You before all things, with a pure mind. For You are our maker and our redeemer, our help, our comfort, our trust, our hope; praise and glory be to You now, ever and ever, world without end. Amen.(a prayer of Alfred the Great)
Saturday Psalm #96
I sing a new song to you this morning.
I sing praises to your beautiful name;
I proclaim your salvation and your mercies,
as new as the sunrise.
I declare your glory to those around me,
I marvel at your deeds to all who will listen.
For your are great, LORD,
and unspeakably worthy of praise;
you are to be honored above all gods.
For all the gods we humans turn to
are mere idols,
while you, LORD, made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are your servants,
strength and glory are your attendants.
I ascribe to you, LORD,
all the glory and strength
and honor and praise
my heart and mind and voice
can summon.
My offering I bring into your courts,
my sacrifice I make to you again today.
I worship you, LORD,
in all your splendor,
in all your holiness,
in all your fearsome, awesome majesty.
You reign.
This world you have made is firmly established,
it cannot be moved;
you will judge all its inhabitants justly.
The heavens sing to you,
the earth celebrates you;
the seas resound with your praise,
and should all their teeming multitudes
join the trees of the forest
and the flowers of the field
in song to you,
it would be inadequate.
Let me always be heard among them, though,
singing your worth to all who may hear,
my LORD,
my God,
my righteous judge.
Amen.
(photo via pixabay.com)
Star-Shepherd
Shepherd of the Stars,
Whole galaxies form your royal train.
The countless host of heaven,
blazing suns,
mighty planets,
dappled moons,
comets, asteroids, vapors, black holes,
all follow after you like so many ducks behind their mother.
And yet, Lord, my immmense, mind-boggling, Star-Shepherd,
you condescend to me,
to sit with me,
whisper to me,
commune with me.
Such thoughts are too marvelous for me,
I cannot attain unto them!
But I praise you and thank you,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Spare Us
Break us of our need for the familiar.
Spare us any joy that’s not of you,
And we will worship you.
(a Puritan prayer;
photo illustration via pixabay.com)
Saturday Psalm #95
I shout aloud to you, the Rock of my salvation,
the foundation of all my joys,
the only source of any righteousness I have.
I come to you this morning with thanksgiving
and sing your praises from my heart.
For you, LORD, are the great God,
the great King above all gods.
You hold the Mariana Trench in your hand,
and balance the peak of Everest on your fingertip.
The whole sea is your plaything, for you made it,
just like you made the continents of the earth.
I bow before you;
I bend the knee,
I press my face to the ground in worship,
for you are the LORD my Maker;
you are my God
and I am your wayward lamb,
one of the flock under your care.
I hear you, Shepherd King.
I hear your voice.
Though I have strayed from you many times,
I am not straying now.
I crave your favor,
your touch,
your rest.
Come anew to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for Thee.
In Returning and Rest
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You have taught us that in returning and rest
we shall be saved,
in quietness and confidence
we shall be strengthened.
By your Spirit
lift us to your presence
where we may be still
and know that you are God.
(from the Book of Common Prayer)
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