The Key That Releases From Fear

Lord,
in the Garden of Gethsemane
you shared with everyone
who has ever been afraid.
You conquered fear with love
and returned saying,
"Do not be afraid."
In the light of your love
death has lost its sting
and so has fear.
Lord, may your love
be the key
that releases me
from fear.

(a prayer of Frank Topping)

No More

In lands of drought and hunger
No more, dear Lord, we pray
Will mothers ask the question:
Which child to feed today?

(a prayer of James Carey at age 10)

Look and See

Oh Lord,
how shining and festive
is your gift to us,
if we only look,
and see.

(excerpt from "Look and See," by Mary Oliver, from Why I Wake Early (Boston: Beacon Press, 2004), 26).

Photo credit: Doug Webb Photography

Deeply

Abba, thank you
for the ability to
breathe,
think,
feel,
sleep,
worship,
pray,
and love
deeply.
Amen.


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We Come to You

As you came to us we come to you
Fragile as a baby hopeful and new
But learning fast that to walk is to fall
Soon we’ve done it all

We come broken and we come undone
We come trying hard to love everyone
But we come up short in all that we do
Because we do
So we come to you

As you came to us so we come to you
Dirty and hurting then dead in the tomb
But raised redeemed to show off the scars
‘Cause you’ve brought us this far

You came to show the way not around but through
So through it all we come to you

(Words and Music: Aaron Tate
©2004 Cumbee Road Music (admin by Music Services) / ASCAP)

Forgive My Little Efforts

Father God Almighty,
you inspired Moses, Samuel, and others
to write when their best tools
were papyrus and parchment,
reed styli and ink made from crushed berries and plants.

For millennia,
your servants have recorded
stirring and soaring works
in caves and cells,
dusty rooms and mud huts,
by lamplight and candlelight.

So many have written so well
in such circumstances
as to shame my little efforts
and shoddy craftsmanship.

So forgive me, Lord,
when I let tiny obstacles
and minor inconveniences
compromise my praying and writing.
Forgive all those times when I could do better
and make them less and less frequent
until they sink forever beneath the waves of creativity
imagination,
and productivity,
in Jesus' name, amen.

Lift My Gaze

Gracious Father, thank you for all I have to look forward to that is mine by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Lift my gaze from the mundane, often gritty, details of my life right now to the best life—new, rich, beautiful, expansive, and whole—that awaits me. Help me to live now so as to prepare for my life—soon, in Jesus’ name, amen.

(a prayer from the upcoming book, How to Survive the End of the World)

For Creation

Author of life,
Architect of creation,
Artist of earth,
Your works declare Your Holy Name.

Mighty rivers,
Turbulent seas,
Towering mountains,
Rolling hills,
Vast spaces of brilliance and grandeur.

You created pallet and paint,
Color and hue,
Shape and form,
Abundant and beautiful,
Glorious and majestic,
Full of mystery and wonder.

Blessed are You,
With divine love You created a world of splendor.

© 2012 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Interceding

Dear Father of mankind, make me the human channel, so far as in me lies, through which Thy divine love and pity may reach the hearts and lives of a few of those who are nearest to me.

Lord, today I would remember before Thee all my human brothers and sisters who need Thy help. Especially this morning I think
of those who are faced by great temptations;
of those who are faced by tasks too great for their powers;
of those who stand in any valley of decision;
of those who are in debt or poverty;
of those who are suffering the consequences of misdeeds long ago repented of;
of those who, by reason of early surroundings, have never had a fair chance in life;
of all the family circles broken by death;
of all missionaries of the Kingdom of Heaven in faraway corners of the earth;
of those who lift high the lamp of truth in lonely places;
of....and.....and....and.

Hear our prayer dear Father, hear our prayer. We love you. Amen.

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

2 Timothy 3:16, 17 Prayer

God, help me to accept the teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness that Scripture supplies, that I may be a messenger of God, competent and equipped for every good work. Amen.

2 Timothy 3:15 Prayer

Abba,
grant that I will be
so acquainted with Scripture
that I will be made
wise for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
Amen.

Empty Me

Redemption Has Come to My Little Soul

Lord, I worship you,
for redemption has come to my little soul.
I will spread the Gospel, with your help,
for I know that judgment is coming.
And I will waste no more time,
for I know the harvest is near,
and I want everyone around me to experience
forgiveness, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and life everlasting,
in Jesus’ name, amen.

(a prayer from the new book, How to Survive the End of the World)

Creation and Imitation

Lord God, beautiful Creator,
I have yet to create anything.

From mud pies to masterpieces,
everything I have formed or fashioned
has been a simple, sometimes crude, rearrangement
of your mighty works.

I have ever and always used the raw materials you provide
to make something that seemed new
but was in reality an imitation of you,
of your words,
of your wonders.

Sometimes, I confess,
I have cravenly tried to imitate
others who imitate you:
poets, prophets, and preachers,
artists and musicians,
whose gifts for reflecting your beauty and imagination
inspire awe and envy in me.

But they are imitators, too.
So save me, Lord,
from imitating other imitators.
Grant that I may always--
and with increasing artistry--
imitate only you,
the sole Creator,
the true Innovator,
the only Originator of all beauty and creativity,
in Jesus' name, amen.

Conceived

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A Prayer of Augustine

Let me know Thee, O Lord, who knowest me: let me know Thee, as I am known. Power of my soul, enter into it, and fit it for Thee, that Thou mayest have and hold it without spot or wrinkle. This is my hope, therefore do I speak; and in this hope do I rejoice.

(a prayer of St. Augustine, from his Confessions, Book Ten)


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To Speak...and to Refrain

I give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. I give praise and thanks to you for the privilege that is mine to witness to your kindness, to your beauty, to your great salvation. I confess that it is both privilege and pain to me—-sweet and bitter. I ask you, please, to make me faithful to speak at your urging and to refrain at your prompting. Light my lamp, and keep it burning. Make my witness bold and unconquerable, reminding me that by your grace and in your strength I can have a greater impact than that of earthquakes and armies. Amen.

(a prayer from the upcoming book, How to Survive the End of the World)

A Psalm On Viewing the River

Lord
if anything happens
if you come for me
keep them from interfering
desperately trying
to tug me
from your grasp.
If I'm far
across the river
where you own shore
and all beyond
don't let them
bring me back
prolonging death
not life
delaying life
that never crosses
unreturning river
again.

(a prayer of Joseph Bayly, from Psalms of My Life)

Revive and Restore

Lord Jesus,
you who are worthy to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise,
revive and restore me
through the worship I offer.
Let my worship bring joy to you.
Let it bring heaven to me.
Amen.

(excerpted from the upcoming book, How to Survive the End of the World)

God of Joyful Shouting

Lord, I praise you because you are
a God of joyful shouting,
a God of celebration,
a God who leaps and dances,
a God who sings,
a God who is (in Tozer's words)
"having a good time!"

God, help me to know your joy, your zeal, your zestful nature. Put me in touch with your singing, dancing, shouting heart. Let me laugh with you today and enjoy what you enjoy. Restore to me the joy of your salvation...of your very nature, in Jesus' name, amen.