For Iran
On the Last Day of the Old Year
(from my online friend Austin Fleming's A Concord Pastor Comments blog, and updated to 2017)Good Lord,
it's the last day of 2017...
Only a few hours left in this old year
which seemed so new
oh, not-so-long ago...
Where has the old year gone, Lord?
And how did it go?
And how did I go with you,
make my way with you, Lord,
these past twelve months?
I remember the times
we walked and talked together,
side by side,
you and I...
And I remember the times
when I forgot, somehow,
that you were right there by my side,
and the times I tried to pretend
that you weren't there,
always within arm's reach...
I remember the times when you took delight
in my words and my work
and I remember the times I ignored and forgot you
- but still you loved me
and in your mercy, you forgave me...
Nothing I've done, Lord,
merits what you've given me:
all your love is grace,
an unearned gift
from your heart to mine...
In return I offer so little
and I have so little to offer...
But there comes now a new year, Lord,
and with it my prayer
to live a life more worthy
of all you so freely give me...
In this new year, Lord,
make strong my resolve to be faithful,
make deep my trust in your presence
and make sure my hope in your promise,
for without your help
I will fail...
Lord, you offer me only
what is true and pure,
good and just, strong and graced...
In this new year, help me recognize
what is false, cheap and sham...
Help me to settle for nothing less
than what comes from your heart and hand...
Nourish me, Lord:
give me a hunger for what is genuine,
a thirst for what is holy,
a wisdom for discerning your gifts...
It's the last day of the old year, Lord...
Shake from my heart what has no place there
and wake my heart
to the gift of your grace
and the dawn of a new beginning...
Amen.
As We Come to the Close of Another Year
As we come to the close of another year, we would indeed make it the prayer of our hearts that you would abide with us.
We thank you that you have been with us through the days of this past year.
Perhaps many a day we have not felt you near,
Perhaps at times we have even felt that you have
forsaken us and forgotten us but we thank you
that it has never been so.
We thank you that you are constantly with your people, and that you have enabled us to persevere in grace,
You have comforted our hearts,
You have heard our prayers,
You have come so often to our aid.
We pray that you will go with us into this new year.
There is none of us who knows what the new year will hold, but we thank you that every moment of that year is in your hands, and you will be with your people.
We thank you that with that promise girding us, we can go forward with confidence and in your peace. We pray that you will help us to walk with you in this new year better than we have ever done before. Forgive us, Lord, for our sins and our backslidings of this past year.
Grant to us, as the days of the new year unfold, an ever closer walk with you.
Help us to put sin to death,
Help us gladly yield our lives unreservedly to Jesus Christ, our Savior, and God that we may regard ourselves entirely at his disposal to be, to go, to do, as he would wish
We pray that it may be our privilege to serve him,
to bring glory to him, to help others to know him better, and to help some, indeed, to come to know him for the first time.
Have mercy, we pray, upon those connected with us who come to the end of this year and their hearts are still closed against you, still hardening their hearts against you.
Spare them, O God, we pray; spare them! Grant that this new year would mark the beginning of new life in Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for the almighty Holy Sprit, for his limitless power
to bring conviction of sin,
to give new birth,
and to draw those who are away from you
to faith and to repentance.
We pray, Lord, that you would do that in the hearts and lives of all who are upon our hearts.
For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
(from Heart Cries to Heaven by David Campbell)
Surfeit
you have turned my water to wine,
whenever I lift my cup to you.
But the water jars in Cana were no cups,
but great stone cisterns
of twenty or more gallons in capacity--each.
And there were six of them.
A hundred gallons.
Maybe close to two hundred.
So I pray a Cana prayer today, Lord,
a hundred-gallon-prayer,
for you to pour into me and mine
a surfeit of Spirit,
of sweetness,
of wine,
for the manifestation of your glory, amen.
Forgive Us Our Debts
Forgive the things I've charged or financed
to assuage my desires
instead of waiting,
instead of saving,
instead of giving.
Forgive the money I've wasted
on impulse purchases,
interest payments,
and fees and penalties.
Forgive the consumer mentality
that makes me buy now,
pay later,
pay more in the long run.
Teach me to wait,
to save,
to resist temptation,
in Jesus' name, amen.
(photo by Chance Agrella via freerangestock.com)
O Holy Child
Descend to me I pray,
Cast out my sin and enter in,
Be born in me today.
I hear the Christmas tidings
The great glad story tell,
O come to me, abide with me,
My Lord, Immanuel!
(slightly modified from O Little Town of Bethlehem, by Phillips Brooks)
On This Feast of Stephen
Father, on this feast of Stephen,the first martyr of your church,
I pray for all those
among my brothers and sisters
who today face persecution, even martyrdom.
Give them strength, Lord,
and stamina.
Lift their eyes to their Lord,
as you did for Stephen,
and give them love for their persecutors
and hope for themselves and their families,
in Jesus' name, amen.
You Who Were Rich Beyond All Splendor
You who were rich beyond all splendor,
Who for love's sake became poor;
Your throne for a manger surrendered,
Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
You who were rich beyond all splendor,
All for love's sake became poor.
You who are God beyond all praising,
Who for love's sake became man;
Stooping so low, but sinners raising
Heavenwards by your eternal plan.
You who are God beyond all praising,
All for love's sake became man.
You who are love beyond all telling,
Savior and King, I worship you.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Cause us to do what you would do.
You who are love beyond all telling,
Savior and King, I worship you.
(a hymn by Frank Houghton, updated)
Come, Come, Jesus, I Await You
Night has fallen; the clear, bright stars are sparkling in the cold air; noisy, strident voices rise to my ear from the city, voices of the revelers of this world who celebrate with merrymaking the poverty of their Saviour. Around me in their rooms my companions are asleep, and I am still wakeful, thinking of the mystery of Bethlehem.Come, come, Jesus, I await you. . . .
I am a poor shepherd; I have only a wretched stable, a small manger, some wisps of straw. I offer all these to you, be pleased to come into my poor hovel. I offer you my heart; my soul is poor and bare of virtues, the straws of so many imperfections will prick you and make you weep--but oh, my Lord, what can you expect? This little is all I have. . . . I have nothing better to offer you, Jesus, honour my soul with your presence, adorn it with your graces. Burn this straw and change it into a soft couch for your most holy body.
Jesus, I am here waiting for your coming. Wicked men have driven you out, and the wind is like ice. I am a poor man, but I will warm you as well as I can. At least be pleased that I wish to welcome you warmly, to love you and sacrifice myself for you.
Amen.
(This prayer, written by a young Italian seminarian named Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in 1902 who would later become Pope John XXIII, has become a Christmas Eve tradition for me, and for this blog).
The O Antiphons: O Emmanuel
O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Savior:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.
Amen.
The O Antiphons: O King of the Gentiles
O King of the Gentiles and their desired One,
the cornerstone that makes both one:
Come, and deliver man,
whom you formed out of the dust of the earth.
The O Antiphons: O Rising Sun
O Rising Sun,
splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.
Amen.
The O Antiphons: O Key of David
O Key of David,
O royal power of Israel,
controlling at your will the gate of heaven:
come, break down the prison walls of death
for those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death;
and lead your captive people into freedom.
Amen.
The O Antiphons: O Root of Jesse
O Flower of Jesse’s stem,
you have been raised up
as a sign for all peoples;
kings stand silent in your presence;
the nations bow down in worship before you.
Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.
Amen.
The O Antiphons: O Adonai
O sacred Lord of ancient Israel,
who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush,
who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain:
come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free. Amen.
The O Antiphons: O Wisdom
O Wisdom,
coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other mightily,
and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.
Amen.
Saturday Psalm #39
O Lord, you know me.Better than I know myself.
You know all there is to know about me.
You know what I will do
before I do it.
And you know why, too.
You know what I'm thinking
before I think it.
You see me when I'm alone,
and you see me in a crowd.
You know what I am going to say
before I say it.
You precede me.
You follow me.
You hold my hand.
Wow. Just wow, Lord.
It's too wonderful to grasp.
Yet I know it's true.
I can go nowhere that you are not.
I can try to flee from you,
and you will still be there before I arrive.
You are never absent.
Never unaware.
Never surprised.
Never inattentive.
Wherever I go, you are there to guide me,
and your strength will be there to support me.
Even the deepest darkness won't separate me from you,
for you are light,
and you enlighten all things.
You even see into the most delicate, inner parts of my body--
my nerves,
my cells,
my capillaries and corpuscles.
From my mother’s womb,
you have seen me.
Thank you for making me so complex
and for knowing me so intimately!
Your workmanship is incredible, absolutely incredible.
You watched every moment as I was formed,
and monitored my every move in the seclusion of the womb.
You knew me then.
You know me now.
You've known me every moment in between.
Every day of my life up to now was recorded in your book.
Every moment of my future is laid out with precision.
I am amazed that you think about me, O God.
I am finite, but your thoughts toward me
are infinite.
How is that possible?
How can that be?
I don't understand you, God,
but I know you understand me.
I cannot grasp the "why" or "when" of your ways.
But you chart all my ways.
Open me like a book, O God,
examine my heart and mind.
Point to anything that displeases you
and lead me where you want me to go.
Amen.
For Every Day's Miracles
(photo via everystockphoto.com)
Let Us Run
stir us up
and call us back.
Kindle and seize us.
Be our fire
and our sweetness.
Let us love.
Let us run.
(a prayer from the Confessions of St. Augustine; photo via everystockphoto.com)
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