Drop in the Bucket Thanks

Abba, there just are not words enough to thank you.
Not enough ways.
My heartiest thanks can be only a drop in the bucket.
But I do thank you.
For food in the fridge: thank you.
For running water: thank you.
For comfy pillows,
and clean sheets,
and quiet ceiling fans,
and dark bedrooms, thank you.
For quiet times,
For ebooks,
For health,
For a shrinking waistline, thank you.
For five senses: thank you.
For the delivery of mail: thank you.
For music: thank you.
For faithful friends: thank you.
For loving family: thank you.
For napkins,
and coffeemakers,
and sweet tea,
and nearby grocery stores, thank you.
For a job, thank you.
For an income, thank you.
For shoes on my feet, thank you.
For clean water to drink,
and nourishing food,
and clean clothes,
and a hot shower, thank you.
For a lawnmower
and treadclimber
and sunroof
and cell phone, thank you.
For roads
and rails,
for hiking trails,
for enzymes for Calleigh
and preschool for Miles
and doll babies for Mia, thank you.
For iTunes: thank you.
For date night: thank you.
For marriage: thank you.
For creme brule,
and scenic drives,
and remote controls, thank you.
For beauty
and peace
and balance
and prayer....I give you thanks.
Amen.

My Psalm 136















I give thanks to you, LORD, for you are so good.
Your love endures forever.

I give thanks to you, God of all gods.
Your love endures forever.

I give thanks to you, Lord of lords:
Your love endures forever.

You alone do great and mighty things;
Your love endures forever.

You made the heavens;
Your love endures forever.

You made me;
Your love endures forever.

You gave me a wife and incredible kids;
Your love endures forever.

You have filled my life with good things;
Your love endures forever.

Such grandchildren as I could never have imagined;
Your love endures forever.

You preserved my ministry through rough times;
Your love endures forever.

You preserved my children across many roads;
Your love endures forever.

You delivered me from sin;
Your love endures forever.

You freed me from depression;
Your love endures forever.

You have sheltered me from poverty;
Your love endures forever.

You have provided for me and mine, often miraculously;
Your love endures forever.

You have given me joy in your service;
Your love endures forever.

You have defended me over and over;
Your love endures forever.

You have taught me so very much;
Your love endures forever.

You have surrounded me with friends and family;
Your love endures forever.

You have answered countless prayers;
Your love endures forever.

And worked so many wonders before my eyes;
Your love endures forever.

You have given me your salvation;
Your love endures forever.

Your Word;
Your love endures forever.

Your presence;
Your love endures forever.

And an amazing family of faith;
Your love endures forever.

I give thanks to you, God of heaven.
Your love endures forever.

A Prayer of Thomas Aquinas for My Children and Grandchildren

Grant to my children--and grandchildren--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)

My Psalm 135


I praise you, LORD!
I praise your name.
I praise you in solitude,
I praise you in the company of your servants,
who minister in your house,
who enter your courts with gratitude and joy.

I praise you, LORD, for you are good;
I am lifted up when I lift you up!

For you chose me.
Me.
You made me your treasured possession.
And you have shown me so much kindness.

You are great, Lord,
greater than all gods,
more to be desired than anything I can desire.

You do whatever pleases you,
and I pray for your will to be done
on earth, in me, and in mine,
as it is in heaven.

You came up with the idea of clouds,
and rain.
And lightning, Lord.
You conceived the wind.
You invented weather.

You brought your people out of Egypt
in ancient days,
and brought me out of depression,
out of loneliness,
darkness,
and sin.

You have shown me signs and wonders;
I've seen Cheryl healed,
and Mike,
and others.
I've seen people crushed...
and healed, by your grace.
I've seen people get sober
and saved, like Ed and Butch and Elmer.
I've seen you turn hoarders into givers.

Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
your renown, O LORD, outlives all generations.
And you will vindicate your people;
you will have compassion on your servants.

The idols of this world and this culture are worthless.
They have nothing to offer.
They have nothing I want.

Let my house praise you, LORD;
Let the house of Aaron and Nina praise you.
Let the house of Kevin and Aubrey praise you.
Let your people Cobblestone praise you.
Let your praise resound in me
and around me.

Let it echo like a shofar from Zion,
like a trumpet from the walls of Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD.

Amen.

A Morning Prayer

Father God,

Today may my eyes be closed to anything but you.
May my ears be open only to hear your voice.
May my mouth be closed except to speak your love.

May all my senses seek you.
May all my actions reflect you.
May all my desire be only to do your will.

Amen.

(borrowed from the Daily Prayer blog)

Rich Man's Poor Prayer

Lord God, you have made me rich
in so many ways.
Thank you.

Today, I pray for your kind assistance
and abundant deliverance
in my family finances.

Please save me and mine
from debt
and waste
and any loss or setback
that you have not designed and ordained.

Please provide,
please restore,
please bless,
in Jesus' name, amen.

My Psalm 134

I praise you, LORD!
Let all your servants praise you;
morning, noon, and night
may hands
and voices
and spirits
be lifted up in your house
in praise to you!

LORD, you are the Maker of heaven and earth;
you can do anything.
You can certainly bless your people
from here to Zion today.

Please do so,
in Jesus' name, amen.

Connected

I may lose my phone signal,
Twitter may be over capacity,
and the internet may be slow,
but you are the strength of my heart
and my portion
forever.
Amen.

Voice


I praise you, Lord, for your voice:
the voice like many waters,
like a mighty waterfall;
the still, small voice;
the voice in the flaming bush;
the voice Samuel heard;
the voice like thunder at Jesus' baptism;
the voice of compassion that said,
"Do you want to get well?";
the voice that calmed the storm;
the voice that Mary Magdalene heard at the empty tomb;
the voice that said,
"your sins are forgiven,"
the voice that said,
"neither do I condemn thee,"
the voice that speaks in every page
of your marvelous word,
and the voice of your Spirit who says,
"This is the way; walk in it."

Please attune my ears--
physical AND spiritual--
to hear your voice,
whenever and wherever you speak,
in Jesus' name, amen.

(artwork: "Still Small Voice" by Barbara Taylor Hall; see here for more information)

Habakkuk 3:2 Prayer

LORD, I have heard people of faith
and their stories of you;
I am awed by their accounts
of great and mighty deeds you have done.
Renew those deeds now, in our day;
do now what you did then.
Amen.

6 D Prayer

Whatever it takes, Lord, give me...

Delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart.
Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Desire to know you, be with you, and seek your kingdom above all else.
Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Discernment that comes from a renewed mind that I might know your will.
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

Desperation because when I stop feeling my need for you I tend to wander.
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. (Psalm 119:67)

Discipline to plan for what I discern as your will.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Diligence to do your will with all my heart.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

(a prayer by Jon Bloom, executive director of Desiring God Ministries)

My Psalm 133

Lord, your Word is true:
it is a good and pleasant thing
when brothers live together in unity!

Let it be so today
as your church gathers to worship you;
let it be like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.

Let it be like the dew of Hermon
if it were to fall on Mount Zion.

So, LORD, bestow your blessing,
and rouse your people to life,
in Jesus' name, amen.

Silently

Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!

Song of the Three Young Men

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers;
You are worthy of praise; glory to You.
Glory to you for the radiance of Your holy Name;
We will praise You and highly exalt You forever.
Glory to You in the splendor of Your temple;
On the throne of Your majesty, glory to You.
Glory to You, seated betwwen the Cherubim;
We will praise You and highly exalt You forever.
Glory to You, beholding the depths;
In the high vault of heaven, glory to You.
Glory to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
We will praise You and highly exalt You forever!

(“Song of the Three Young Men," an apocryphal addition to the ancient versions of the canonical text of the Book of Daniel)

Help Me to Judge Rightly

Lord, help me to judge others
as I want them to judge me:
Charitably, not critically,
Privately, not publicly,
Gently, not harshly,
In humility, not pride.

Help me
to believe the best about others,
until facts prove otherwise—
To assume nothing,
to seek all sides of the story,
And to judge no one until I’ve removed
the log from my own eye.

May I never bring only the Law,
to find fault and condemn.
Help me always to bring the Gospel,
to give hope and deliverance,
As you, my Judge and Friend,
have so graciously done for me.

(A prayer from the website of Peacemaker Ministries, in an article on "Charitable Judgments")

True Contentment

Lord, grant us true contentment…
Acceptance of what each day brings,
Joy in you and not in things,
Tranquility in storm or strife,
Serenity in all of life;
That when you whisper, ‘Peace, be still,’
We’ll wait upon your perfect will,
Knowing we will soon be blessed
By love that only wants our best.
Help us see that we are meant
To rest in you… and be content.
Amen.
(a prayer by BJ Hoff, by way of the Daily Prayer Blog)

My Psalm 132

O LORD,
remember your people Cobblestone
and all the labor and sacrifice
your people have made
over the years--
the pleasures they have foregone,
the purchases they delayed or decided against,
the sacrifices they made--
to provide land
and a ministry home
for your work in
and around Oxford,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.

And now, Lord, people go up to The Loft,
they worship wholeheartedly in that place,
they experience miracles,
and you are blessing.
Your ministers are clothed with righteousness,
and your saints sing for joy.

For the sake of your name,
and for the sake of all who gave
and worked
and prayed
and sacrificed,
please look on us,
and bless us again,
with generous offerings,
with faithful tithes.
Move your people to give,
move your church to support your work,
and move us all to defy the economy,
to reject fear,
and to become a witness to our community
by the way we provide and manage your resources.

Be enthroned among your people;
bless your church with abundant provisions,
and use her to provide the poor with food.
Clothe your people with salvation,
and let us go on and on singing for joy.

Liberate us,
light us,
and lead us
in victory over all your enemies,
amen.

Stretch My Heart

O GOD,

Enlarge my heart
that it may be big enough
to receive the greatness of your love.

Stretch my heart
that it may take into it
all those who with me around the world
believe in Jesus Christ.

Stretch it that it may take into it all those
who do not know him,
but who are my responsibility
because I know him.

Stretch it that it may take into it
all those who are not lovely in my eyes,
and whose hands I do not want to touch,
through Jesus Christ, my Savior.

AMEN

(a prayer of Kapinga Esete, from the Daily Prayer blog)

Deserving Persecution

God, may I deserve
to be persecuted
for the sake of the Name (Acts 5:41).
Amen.

Success and Blessing

Lord, teach me please
the difference between success
and blessing.
Amen.

Earth-Maker, Star-Spinner

Almighty God, my Lord Adonai,
I praise you,
King of the universe,
Lord over all the earth,
Earth-maker,
Star-spinner,
Life-breather,
History-charter,
Sin-forgiver,
Light,
Energy,
Mind,
Love,
Strength,
Help,
and Hope...
I praise you!
Amen.

My Psalm 131


O Lord, my heart is not proud,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not pretend to understand great matters,
and do not aspire to great feats.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child wanting only its mother's presence,
that is how my soul reposes on you.

I put my hope in you, Lord,
both now and forevermore. Amen.

Coward Heart

Father,
I want to know Thee,
but my coward heart fears to give up its toys.
I cannot part with them
without inward bleeding,
and I do not try to hide from Thee
the terror of the parting.
I come trembling, but I do come.
Please root from my heart all Those things
which I have cherished so long
and which have become
a very part of my living self,
so that Thou mayest enter
and dwell there without a rival.
Then shalt Thou make
the place of Thy feet glorious.
Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it,
for Thyself wilt be the light of it,
and there shall be no night there.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

(A prayer by A.W Tozer in The Pursuit of God)

Wisdom

Whatever you teach me is all I have for others, God. I must be wise if we are to succeed, and you know I am not naturally wise. Too often I am a fool, tricked so easily by my own personality, deceived by my own ignorance, blinded by my proud determination to win, and misled by my logic. Sometimes my spirit is asleep or busy elsewhere or just encrusted with all my own exquisite rationalizing. I need your wisdom.

If I were brilliant, if I had the knowledge and strengths that I admire in so many other people, if I were a spiritual giant, I would simply ask you to help me do my best. But my best is not good enough. I do not know enough, and I cannot see clearly enough. I am your child, and I want to learn, but unless your Spirit teaches me, I have little to offer. I need your wisdom.

What you give me determines the success or failure of those I lead. They deserve some word, they need a message. How else will they understand our situation and how it informs our direction and points to a worthy purpose? I have studied and analyzed all I can. Teach me to go beyond the facts and feelings. My spirit waits quietly. I need your wisdom.

Teach me, God, so I have some wisdom to share.

(A prayer by Richard Kriegbaum, from Leadership Prayers, pp. 14-15)

A Prayer of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow

O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace.
Help me in all things to rely upon thy holy will.
In every hour of the day reveal thy will to me.
Bless my dealings with all who surround me.
Teach me to treat all that comes to me
throughout the day with peace of soul,
and with the firm conviction that thy will governs all.
In all my deeds and words
guide my thoughts and feelings.
In unforeseen events,
let me not forget that all are sent by thee.
Teach me to act firmly and wisely,
without embittering and embarrassing others.
Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day
and all that it shall bring.
Direct my will, teach me to pray,
pray thou thyself in me. Amen.

Let Our Worship Echo

Lord God, you draw us by your beauty
and transform us by your holiness;
let our worship echo all creation’s praise
and declare your glory to the nations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.