All My Cares

A Thousand Glad Answers

You speak words of promise,
and we answer.
A thousand times we answer,
in a thousand tongues--
we answer in hymns of praise,
we answer in songs of thanksgiving,
we answer in lyrics of gladness,
we answer in candor about hurt,
we answer in abrasive anger,
we answer in deep abandonment.

We answer and draw close to you.
And in answering we are changed:
given freedom,
come to truth,
bound in obedience.

We answer and are yours, all yours,
not our own,
yours, and
glad that we belong to
you our faithful savior.

(a prayer by Walter Brueggemann, from his book, Prayers for a Privileged People, p. 169)

Unnecessary Things

O God, teach me how to dispense with unnecessary things.

(a prayer by Toyohiko Kagawa; photo by Sarah Dorweiler via Unsplash.com)

Lord, Make Calvary Real to Me

Lord, make Calvary real to me.
Lord, make Calvary real to me.
Open mine eyes to see victory in Christ for me;
Lord, make Calvary real to me.

For the Unemployed

Lord God Adonai, my Abba, Father, please have mercy on those people--millions of them in this country alone, and many among my friends, neighbors, family, and flock--who are unemployed or soon to become unemployed. Please provide work and income for them. Please defy the "economy" by your great mercy and guide them quickly to honest work that meets their needs. In the meantime, please supply patience and loving trust in you as well as strength, creativity, inspiration, guidance, and energy for all those who must search and struggle to figure out where to find work and how to pay bills, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Benedictus es, Domine

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 for ever.
Glory to you in the splendor of your temple;
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim;
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.
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 for ever.

(from the apocryphal Song of the Three Young Men, vv. 29-34)

A Life That Will Satisfy

O Lord,
help me never to expect any happiness
from the world, but only in Thee.
Let me not think that I shall be more happy
by living to myself,
for I can only be happy if employed for Thee,
and if I desire to live in this world
only to do and suffer what Thou dost allot me.

Teach me
that if I do not live a life that satisfies Thee,
I shall not live a life that will satisfy myself.

Help me to desire the spirit and temper of angels
who willingly come down to this lower world
to perform Thy will,
though their desires are heavenly,
and not set in the least upon earthly things;
then I shall be of that temper I ought to have.

Help me not to think of living to Thee
in my own strength,
but always to look and rely on Thee
for assistance.

Teach me that there is no greater truth than this,
that I can do nothing of myself.
Lord, this is the life that no unconverted man
can live,
yet it is an end that every godly soul
presses after;

Let it be then my concern to devote myself
and all to Thee.
Make me more fruitful and more spiritual,
for barrenness is my daily affliction and load.
How precious is time, and how painful to see it fly
with little done to good purpose!

I need Thy help:
O may my soul sensibly depend upon Thee
for all sanctification,
and every accomplishment of Thy purposes
for me, for the world,
and for Thy kingdom.

(from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers, edited by Arthur Bennett; image by Fånga Images via unsplash.com)

I Bring to Thee My Heart to Fill

I bring to Thee my heart to fill;

I feel how weak I am, but still

To Thee for help I call.

In joy or grief to live or die,

For earth or Heaven, this is my cry:

Be thou my all in all.

I've little strength to call my own,

And what I've done before Thy Throne

I here confess, is small;

But on Thy strength, O God, I lean,

And through the Blood that makes me clean,

Thou art my all in all.

No tempest can my courage shake,

My love from Thee no pain can take,

No fear my heart appal;

And where I cannot see I'll trust,

For then I know Thou surely must

Be still my all in all.

(a hymn by Herbert Booth; illustration by kevsnaps27 via Unsplash.com)

Arise

 

Reign Over Me

Come, King of Grace, and fill me with your grace in this life, just as you will fill me in heaven with your eternal glory. Reign over me in the gracious kingdom of your Holy Spirit; yes, prepare your kingdom in me, which is justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Enlighten my heart, rule my life, and sanctify my thoughts so that they all may be reverent and pleasing to you. Surround me with your grace, that I may never be removed from it.

Come to me, Holy Trinity! Make me your dwelling and your temple. Spark in me the light of your knowledge, faith, hope, humility, patience, prayer, perseverance, and reverence. Amen.

(from Amish Prayers, compiled by Beverly Lewis)

Phos Hilaron

 

The Cambridge Chorale sings Owain Park's arrangement of the 1700-year-old Phos Hilaron (Hail, gladdening light):

Hail, gladdening Light, of His pure glory poured

Who is the immortal Father, heavenly, blest,

Holiest of Holies, Jesus Christ our Lord!

Now we are come to the sun’s hour of rest;

The lights of evening round us shine;

We hymn the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit divine!

Worthiest art Thou at all times to be sung

With undefiled tongue,

Son of our God, Giver of life, alone:

Therefore in all the world Thy glories, Lord, they own.

The House of My Soul is Narrow

O Lord,

The house of my soul is narrow;

enlarge it that you may enter in.

It is ruinous, O repair it!

It displeases Your sight.

I confess it, I know.

But who shall cleanse it,

to whom shall I cry but to you?

Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord,

and spare Your servant from strange sins.

Amen.

(a prayer of St. Augustine; photo via unsplash.com by Max Zed) 

True Humility in Them

This prayer, abundantly answered for my children, I now pray once a month for my grandchildren (from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad, available exclusively via iTunes).

Doors to You

Every day I see again

that only you can teach me to pray,

only you can set my heart at rest.

Only you can let me dwell in your presence.

No book, no concept or theory

will ever bring me close to you

unless you yourself are the one

who lets them become the doors to you.

But Lord, let me at least remain open

to your initiative.

Let me wait patiently and attentively

for the hour when you will come

and break through the walls I have erected.

Create new doors.

Teach me, O Lord, to pray.

Amen.

(a prayer of Henri Nouwen; photo via unsplash.com in collaboration with Drazen Nesic)

Forgive My Prayers

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Abba, Father,

forgive my prayers.

Forgive all the misguided prayers I have prayed.

All the selfish prayers.

All the self-righteous prayers.

All the stupid prayers.

All the small-faith prayers.

Forgive the prayers I have "preached"

instead of truly prayed.

Forgive the times I have only or mostly

mouthed the words.

Forgive the countless times

I have prayed only what was on my heart,

not even bothering to seek what was on your heart.

Forgive the weak prayers.

The manipulative prayers.

The faithless prayers.

The feckless prayers.

The fraudulent prayers.

Forgive, Lord,

and thank you more than I can say

that you still listen...

after all that.

Amen.

 

New Day

 

Expose and Depose

Lord God, there is so much hate and violence, 

so many lies, 

and so much corruption in this world, 

and so much of it

so well financed and organized. 

Expose it all, Lord. 

Depose the corrupt. 

Deliver us from evil, 

in Jesus' name, amen. 

(photo illustration by Will Porada via unsplash.com)

Happy Birthday, Robin

 

Abba, you have granted me the loveliest bride,

the perfect woman for me, and I am grateful.

Bless her abundantly, extravagantly, today, on her birthday.

As your beauty and grace lives in her and exudes from her,

let her feel your approval in every way

on this day and in all the days to come.

Smile on her. Rejoice over her. Thrill her and fill her

with the awareness of your pleasure

and the rich appreciation of her husband, family, and many friends, in Jesus' name, amen.

Ours and Yours

 

Mercy

Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Lord, have mercy on me, a husband.

Lord, have mercy on me, a father.

Lord, have mercy on me, a grandfather.

Lord, have mercy on me, a son.

Lord, have mercy on me, a brother.

Lord, have mercy on me, a writer.

Lord, have mercy on me, a friend.

Lord, have mercy on me, a man.

Lord, have mercy on me, your child.

(photo by Hassan Saleh via Unsplash.com)

Yet You Hold Me

I do nothing, I give you
nothing. Yet you hold me

minute by minute
from falling.
Lord, You provide.

(excerpt from "Psalm Fragments (Schnittke String Trio)," by Denise Levertov, The Stream and the Sapphire, p. 23).

Highest Good

God, You are the highest good of the reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of You is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.

To go to heaven fully to enjoy You is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.

Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows. But the enjoyment of You is the substance.

These are but scattered beams, but You are the sun.

These are but streams, but You are the fountain.

These are but drops, but You are the ocean.

Amen.

(from God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse by James Weldon Johnson, by way of the Daily Prayer blog)

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Respect

My prayer today for my kids and my grandkids, from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad.

Majestic

 

Breathe Into Me

Secure

 

To Overcome

Lord, please teach me
and teach my world
not to return evil for evil
but to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21),
darkness with light,
ugliness with beauty,
hatred with love,
anger with understanding,
grief with comfort,
frustration with faith,
and despair with hope,
in Jesus' strong name, amen.

America's Birthday

Lord my God,

I worship you today,

on this 248th birthday of this nation,

these wonderful United States of America

in which I live.

I thank you for the freedom

to worship you publicly...

even as I ask you

to show kindness and mercy

to those who lack that freedom

because they live elsewhere.

Thank you for all those

who have sacrificed for my freedom,

for those who risked

(and many who gave) their lives

to make this a free and independent nation,

for those in my nation's armed services, past and present,

and for all who have served the cause of liberty in other ways...

even as I pray for those who even now

are in harm's way,

far from home,

in this nation's service.

Please meet their needs,

watch over them and their loved ones,

and grant them your favor in every way.

And, Father, on this Independence Day 2024,

I pray for the people in this land

and every land

who have not yet discovered the freedom

that is offered to them in your Son, Jesus Christ.

Draw them to you,

set them free

from sin and sadness and strife,

and grant them the eternal freedom

that is found only in trusting you,

in Jesus' name, amen.

(photo by Free-Photos via pixabay.com)

For Your Constancy and Perseverance

Abba, I give you praise today;
for your constancy and perseverance in all things,
from the rotation of the earth
to your faithfulness to me;
for your justice,
from your laws and decrees
to your discipline of me;
for your mercy,
from your care for the birds of the air
to your kind mercy toward me,
shown even now in the mercy of a new day,
of my latest breath.

I give you praise, Abba;
if I could praise you enough,
it would take all my breath for all of eternity,
and still would not be enough.

By the Wind of the Spirit

Lord God Adonai,
teach me please not to be blown around
on the waves of circumstances,
but to sail solely
by the wind
of the Spirit,
in Jesus' name, amen.

At Thy Feet