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

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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.