The pride which leads me
to trust in myself
and not in you,
O Lord, forgive. Amen.
(based on a plaque in Coventry Cathedral)
With All of Who We Are
Heavenly Father, Creator of our bodies, grant that we may worship you with all of who we are.
Each Morning Broken
Amen.
(a prayer of Soren Kierkegaard, slightly revised; image by jclovesu via pixabay.com)
Afford a Spring to Me
Let me feel like what I see;
Speak, and by your gracious voice,
Make my drooping soul rejoice.
On your garden deign to smile,
Raise the plants, enrich the soil;
Soon your presence will restore
Life to what seemed dead before.
(from a hymn by John Newton, slightly revised; image by @alpduran via unsplash.com)
Winds of March
Who but Thee, O Lord, who slept in the hinder part of the ship and commanded us to be not fearful.
And told the storm: be still.
Give us that same great faith, O God, as we come into the new spring.
Bless our plows, and our harrows too.
Let our grass seed fall on good ground, rot naturally in the moist earth, and live again in the warmth of the sun.
Bless every suckling on this place, our Father.
Strengthen the mothers, and spread their tender spirit of love and sacrifice into the hearts of men the world around.
We saw the wild geese in echelon flying, O God, and we are thankful.
Amen.
(from the book, The Farmer Gives Thanks; photo via everystockphoto.com)
Spring
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
For blue of stream and blue of sky;
For pleasant shade of branches high;
For fragrant air and cooling breeze;
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
(by Ralph Waldo Emerson; photo by ROverhate via pixabay.com)
Path and Guide
Holy Father, always be our path and guide,our protection and shield,
our consolation and strength.
Set our feet, minds, and hearts onto your path of divine peace. Make your holy and divine Word, which you allow us to hear, vibrant and active in our hearts so we might please and serve you until the end of our lives. Amen.
(from the book Amish Prayers, compiled by Beverly Lewis)
On His Birthday
Oh, Lord, my God,
gone are the days
when my little boy
could climb into my lap
and melt my heart with a smile.
Gone are the nights
when I could read him a book
and smile with joy
at his plea for more
or sing him a lullaby
without knowing he could do it far better.
But oh, what a son he still is today.
Oh, how you've blessed me,
not only with a boy,
but with such a son,
such a husband,
such a father,
and such a friend as he is.
And though I know it is selfish
to ask more when you have given so much already,
I ask.
Lord, I ask.
Please make his every dream
come true.
Please.
Continue making him like Enoch, who walked with you,
like Noah, who found grace in your sight,
like Abraham, who walked by faith,
like Joseph, a dreamer and doer,
like Moses, who walked on holy ground,
like his namesake Aaron, who led your people into your presence,
like Caleb and Joshua, who saw with eyes of faith,
like Elijah, who received food from your hand,
like Elisha, who was given a double portion,
like David, who danced before you, a man after your own heart,
like Jehoshaphat, who trusted in you,
like Hosea, who forgave largely,
like John, a beloved disciple,
like Barnabas, a mentor and encourager.
Make him more than anything, like Jesus, lover of souls.
Bless him, Lord, on his birthday,
and every day to come,
as you have so blessed me with him,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Sea of Love and Goodness
O Lord, sea of love and goodness, let me not fear too much the storms and winds of my daily life, and let me know that there is ebb and flow but that the sea remains the sea. Amen.
(A prayer of Henri J.M. Nouwen; photo by Joseph Barrientos via Unsplash.com)
Harbor
to your quiet harbor,
where I can be safe from the storms
of sin and conflict.
Show me the course I should take.
Renew in me the gift of discernment,
so that I can always see the right direction
in which I should go.
And give me the strength and the courage
to choose the right course,
even when the sea is rough and the waves are high,
knowing that through enduring hardship and danger
in your name
we shall find comfort and peace. Amen.
(a prayer of Basil of Caesarea)
Mistakes
Lord, please redeem,
even sanctify,
my mistakes,
for I make a lot of them.
for I make a lot of them.
Amen.
(photo detail by Timasu via pixabay.com)
First Speaker
First Speaker,
you whispered your love to me
in my mother's womb.
First Knower,
you knew me
long before I knew you.
First Finder,
you found me
before I looked for you.
First Lover,
you loved me
before I had the first chance to love you back.
And you are still speaking,
knowing,
finding,
and loving me
first,
every day,
every moment;
you are always
speaking,
knowing,
finding,
and loving
me first.
Thank you,
in Jesus' name, amen.
(photo by Calvin Craig via Unsplash.com)
The Economics of Enough
the economics of enough.
If in greed
I ask too much of you.
If in fear
If in fear
I ask too little.
Measure daily my bread.
Amen.
(from http://twitter.com/twitturgies; photo courtesy of everystockphoto.com)
Measure daily my bread.
Amen.
(from http://twitter.com/twitturgies; photo courtesy of everystockphoto.com)
Our Ashen Way
On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
you Easter parade of newness.
Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
mercy and justice and peace and generosity.
We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.
(excerpted from Prayers for a Privileged People by Walter Brueggemann; photo by Amplitudy via pixabay.com)
you Easter parade of newness.
Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
mercy and justice and peace and generosity.
We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.
(excerpted from Prayers for a Privileged People by Walter Brueggemann; photo by Amplitudy via pixabay.com)
Lift Up
(a prayer from The Imitation of Christ (Classic Devotions in Today's Language, by Thomas à Kempis, compiled and edited by James N. Watkins)
For Mia
especially today on her 13th birthday.
Bless and guide her wherever she is,
Bless and guide her wherever she is,
everywhere she goes,
keeping her as lovely and kind as she is today
even as you increase her in wisdom, learning, and skill.
Continue to make her strong in faith and conduct.
Comfort her when she's sad or discouraged.
Lift her when she stumbles.
Surround her with friends and family
who respect, value, and love her.
And may the peace that passes understanding
and joy unspeakable
fill her heart and her days,
both now and ever more,
in Jesus' name, amen.
keeping her as lovely and kind as she is today
even as you increase her in wisdom, learning, and skill.
Continue to make her strong in faith and conduct.
Comfort her when she's sad or discouraged.
Lift her when she stumbles.
Surround her with friends and family
who respect, value, and love her.
And may the peace that passes understanding
and joy unspeakable
fill her heart and her days,
both now and ever more,
in Jesus' name, amen.
On This Day When I Speak
Father, let my speaking today
be like apples of gold
in settings of silver,
in Jesus' name,
amen.
(based on Proverbs 25:11)
(based on Proverbs 25:11)
As We Travel
Father God,please grant me and the lovely Robin
safe and successful travel today.
Make smooth paths
(and flight schedules) for our feet.
Grant safe and timely travel to the airport.
Help us to make our flights
and safely reach our destination.
Protect us from infections.
Guide our steps,
guard our thoughts,
and give us sweet communion with you
and pleasant interactions with others.
Make us alert to any opportunity to be the means of blessing
to our fellow travelers,
or those who serve them,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Who Delights in the Welfare of His Servants
my temperament,
my ministry,
cause people to say,
"Great is the Lord,
who delights in the welfare
of his servants" (Psalm 35:27),
in Jesus' name, amen.
(image by Falco via pixabay.com)
Valentine
floating from a sun-filled sky,
draping airy-white on flowered fields,
Your love astonished me.
No frilly show,
no assorted-chocolate pledge,
no candy hearts or silver kisses
disclosed your care for me;
But unsparing,
cross-bearing,
thorn-wearing love
that opened hands and feet and side
to spill your heart for me,
To recreate,
inundate my longing soul
with giving, holding, accepting,
enfolding love for me.
(photo by stux via pixabay.com)
For Nina
the mother you gave to my grandchildren Miles and Mia,
the daughter-in-law you gave to me and Robin,
the blessing you gave this world in bringing Nina into it.
Grant that she may rest in the knowledge that she is loved,
she is yours,
she is enough,
she is blessed and a blessing.
Shower on her every blessing today on her birthday
and every day that is to come,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Your School
I see your school is not an easy one, O Christ, but I would learn from You. Train me, teach me. Do You reply to me as to James and John, "You do not know what you are asking? (Matthew 20:22)? Still, O Lord, train me, discipline me, teach me, that I may know you.
(a prayer of Samuel Logan Brengle, from today's reading in Take Time to Be Holy; photo by macdeedle via pixabay.com)
Laughter and Joy
O Lord Jesus, fill our mouths with laughter and our tongues with shouts of joy (Ps. 126:2).
A Prayer of Simon Peter, Revised
DO NOT depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord
(based on Luke 5:8 KJV; woodcut by Niccolo Vicentino from Library of Congress archives).
My Treasure
nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance,
now and always:
Thou and Thou only,
first in my heart,
High King of heaven,
my Treasure Thou art.
(author unknown, 8th Century; translated from ancient Irish to English by Mary E. Byrne, in “Eriú,” Journal of the School of Irish Learning, 1905; photo by timcgundert via pixabay.com)
Your Fingers Can Hold Me There
I wish to commit myself to you once and for all,
so there shall be no taking back.
I cannot commit myself into your hands, O God,
I cannot do it;
but yet I can commit myself into your hands;
for though I cannot keep myself there,
your fingers can hold me there,
your strong, gentle fingers
always giving way and never letting go;
your wise subtle fingers,
wrestling so gently against my puny rebellions,
that I tire myself trying to climb out of your hands,
and come to rest at last in those wounded palms.
(a prayer of Austin Farrar; photo by HeteroSapiens via pixabay.com)
Mighty
Your love--it never wavers.
You will be mine forever,
And yours alone I'll be.
(from a hymn by George S. Smith, slightly revised; photo by RitaE via pixabay.com)
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