One Prayer a Day

O Mad Lover!

O eternal, infinite God!

O mad lover!

And you have need of your creature?

It seems so to me,

for you act as if you could not live without [me],

in spite of the fact that you are Life itself,

and everything has life from you and nothing can have life without you.

Why then are you so mad?

Because you have fallen in love with what you have made?...

You clothed yourself in our humanity,

and nearer than that you could not have come.

(a prayer of Catherine of Siena; detail from a photo by christinhumephoto via unsplash.com)

It was your custom,
to go to the temple,
to the noisome temple
sometime to the scandalised temple
listening to the mumbo jumbo,
but it was your custom to go.
...
Give us grace in our changing day
to stand by the temple that is the present church,
the noisome temple
the sometime scandalised temple that is the present church,
listening sometime to what again seems mumbo jumbo.
Make it our custom to go
till the new outline of your Body for our day
becomes visible in our midst.

(from George MacLeod, The Whole Earth Shall Cry Glory, p. 39)

Come and Dwell

Sovereign Lord, I come to you with my will, my affection, my very self, and ask you to cleanse me from every evil temper, from every selfish wish, from every secret doubt, and to come and dwell in my heart and keep me pure, and use me for your own glory, in Jesus' name, amen.

(suggested by lines from Helps to Holiness by Samuel Logan Brengle, chapter 19; now revised and updated for modern readers)

Like That One Tree

God, make me like a tree,
that one tree,
that changes early
and easily
and willingly
and beautifully
when the season of change
comes,
in Jesus' name, amen.

(photo via freefoto.com)

For a Long Day of 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 coach cabin and airport terminal 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.

Hope and Cheer

Misplaced

The pride which leads me

to trust in myself

and not in you,

O Lord, forgive. Amen.

(based on a plaque in Coventry Cathedral; photo by @spiritvisionstudios via unsplash.com)

I Need You

Perfect Peace

On My Daughter's Birthday

It's my favorite daughter's birthday, Lord.

And still, after all this time (sorry, Aubrey),

I still can't fathom,

can't even process,

that she is all she is.

I'm still and always amazed

at how kindly, fully, and generously

you've answered my prayers

and her mother's prayers

for her.

You have made her faithful like Ruth and regal like Esther,

fierce like Deborah and brilliant like Abigail,

industrious like Lydia and a leader like Junia.

I give you so much praise and thanks

for my only daughter,

my firstborn, my Blossom;

for the child you gave me,

the woman she is,

the love we share,

the pride and joy I feel in her,

the blessings you've given her,

and the blessings you've given me through her.

Please bless her abundantly today

and in all the days to come.

Keep her safe and well.

Keep her marriage strong and beautiful.

Prosper her and her husband,

answer their prayers,

supply their needs,

fulfill their dreams.

Let her children continue to grow in happiness, health, and holiness.

Reward Aubrey's love and faithfulness and diligence as a mom

with beauty and grace,

charm and wisdom,

health and wholeness,

integrity and strength in each of her children

as you have done for me in mine.

Show her every kindness,

grant her your favor,

use her,

bless her,

hold her,

in Jesus' name, amen.

Fly to You

Jesus, lover of my soul,
I fly to you,
I lay my head on your chest,
my Friend,
my Brother,
my Lord and my God,
my Savior,
my Stronghold.
Amen.

(photo by Free-Photos via pixabay.com)

Reasonably Sweet

Lord, Thou knowest better than I myself
that I am growing older and will someday be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something
on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.
Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all;
but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains;
they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them
is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I dare not ask for improved memory,
but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson
that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet,
for a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places
and talents in unexpected people;
and give, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.

Amen.

(author unknown; photo via pixabay.com)

Bright Flame

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me,
Be thou a smooth path below me,
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me,
Today,

tonight,

and for ever.

(a prayer of Columba of Iona;

illustration by Comfreak via pixabay.com)

In the Cleft

The Blessing

Bounty

Pierce Our Souls with Your Love

O God and Lord of the Powers,
and Maker of all creation,
Who, because of your clemency
and incomparable mercy,
sent your Only-Begotten Son
and our Lord Jesus Christ
for the salvation of mankind,
and with His venerable Cross
tore asunder the record of our sins,
and thereby conquered the rulers and powers of darkness;
receive from us sinful people, O merciful Master,
these prayers of gratitude and supplication,
and deliver us from every destructive and gloomy transgression,
and from all visible and invisible enemies who seek to injure us.
Nail down our flesh with fear of you,
and let not our hearts be inclined to words or thoughts of evil,
but pierce our souls with your love,
that ever contemplating you,
being enlightened by you,
and discerning you,
the unapproachable and everlasting Light,
we may unceasingly render confession and gratitude to you:
The eternal Father, with your Only-Begotten Son,
and with your All-Holy, Gracious,
and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

(a prayer of St. Basil; photo by Roman Kraft via unsplash.com)

To Find My Value

Please keep me from measuring myself by the wrong standards.

How I compare to others isn't important.
The only thing that matters--and the only way to avoid my insecurities--
is to find my value as a creation of almighty God.

When I reflect on how much you love me, I find the courage to be myself,
and I realize I might be more valuable than I give myself credit for.

(an excerpt from the book, 365 Pocket Prayers, by Ron Beers)

Lovers of Your Word

(today's prayer for my children and grandchildren from the iPhone/iPad app, "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids," available in the iTunes app store, here)

Your Goodness and Salvation

Carillon

Lord God, make my life a prayer to you.
Make my words a hymn.
Make my actions and attitudes a carillon
that calls those around me to worship you,
in Jesus' name, amen.

Greyness of Our Apathy

O Christ, our Morning Star,
Splendour of Light Eternal,
shining with the glory of the rainbow,
come and waken us
from the greyness of our apathy,
and renew in us your gift of hope.
Amen.

(a prayer of Bede the Venerable, by way of the Daily Prayer Blog; photo by @dbmartin00 via unsplash.com)

For the Beauty

For Their Salvation

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

In the Recent Groanings of a Broken Creation

Father, we pray for those who have lost property or loved ones in the recent groanings of a broken creation. Please heal bodies and hearts and provide relief. Let your people show love and compassion to their neighbors and show the truth, goodness, and beauty of Jesus. Amen

(from the Daily Prayer blog; photo via everystockphoto.com)

I Lift My Heart to Things Above

God of almighty love,
By whose sufficient grace
I lift my heart to things above,
And humbly seek your face.

Through Jesus Christ the Just,
My best desires receive;
And let me in your goodness trust,
And to your glory live.

Whate'er I say or do,
Your glory be my aim;
My offerings all be offered through
The ever-blessed name!

Jesus, my single eye
Be fixed on you alone:
Your name be praised on earth, on high;
Your will by me be done!

Spirit of faith, inspire
My consecrated heart;
Fill me with pure, celestial fire,
With all you have and are.

(a hymn by Charles Wesley, slightly revised and updated; NASA photo via everystockphoto.com)

Precious

All We Have Accomplished

Servant Prayer

Heart and Spirit

When I Am Afraid

Let It Be a Golden Autumn Day

When I must go, dear God, please let it be

A golden autumn day; when red leaves fall,

When purple grapes in shining clusters hang

And bittersweet glows bright against the wall,

When o'er the barren fields and russet meads

Their last farewells the crickets cry.

Let me make my silent journey

When the homing birds fly south across the sky.

When I must go, dear God, please let me go

As silently as autumn rain,

As still as lacy shadows 'neath the willow trees,

As calm as is the moon above the hill.

So let me go--and may there be no grief

When life is done and I must say goodbye.

I'll take my leave with flowers and falling leaf

And lie in peaceful sleep beneath the sky.

(unattributed)

Never Have You Ever

Forgive The Prayers

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.

Sufficient

Kyrie

Fill Them With Joy

Today's prayer (which I pray for my kids and my grandkids) in the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app, available for iPads and iPhones.

Thank You For Not Snickering

God,

thank you for not snickering

at my delusion

that I am doing

Really Important Things.

(suggested by a line in Close Enough to Hear God Breathe, by Greg Paul;

photo illustration by @carrier_lost via unsplash.com)

Unpleasant Tasks

Lord Jesus, you persevered through unpleasant tasks. You corrected thick-headed disciples. You rebuked your closest friends. You agonized in Gethsemane over your approaching passion. You gritted your way through your execution.

Help me to do half so well. Help me through the unpleasant tasks that face me. Help me to stay dependent on you, and not on my own strength. Help me, Lord, help me.

Help me not to mistake ease for your blessing, or pleasantness for your will. I surrender my desire for a smooth path and an easy road to you, even as I ask your grace to bless both my obedience and my stupid mistakes, in Jesus' name, amen.

Keep It Too

Oh that mine eyes might closèd be
To what becomes me not to see;
That deafness might possess mine ear,
To what concerns me not to hear;
That Truth my tongue might always tie,
From ever speaking foolishly;
That no vain thought might ever rest,
Or be conveived in my breast;
That by each word, each deed, each thought,
Glory may to my God be brought.
But what are wishes! Lord, mine eye
On thee is fix'd, to thee I cry;
Oh purge out all my dross, my tin,
Make me more white than snow within;
Wash Lord, and purify my heart,
And make it clean in every part;
And when 'tis clean, Lord keep it too,
For that is more than I can do.

(a prayer of Thomas Elwood; detail from photo by @mimg via unsplash.com)

My All in All

I've little strength to call my own,

And what I've done, before your throne,

I here confess, is small;

But on your strength, O God, I lean,

And through the Blood that keeps me clean,

You are my all in all.

(from a song by Herbert Booth, slightly revised; photo via everystockphoto.com)

Ebenezer

All through the years, your providence has led me,
Your abounding goodness has been all my song,
All through the years, I sing your love and mercy,
Singing Ebenezer as the years roll on.

Lord, I Need You

Faithfulness and Truth

To Show Proper Respect

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

Fragrance

Dear Jesus,

Help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go.

Flood my soul with your spirit and love.

Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly

that all my life may only be a radiance of yours.

Shine through me and be so in me that every soul

I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.

Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus.

Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine,

so to shine as to be a light to others.

Amen

(a prayer of Mother Teresa, slightly revised; photo by Léonard Cotte via unsplash.com)

Breathe

Appointment

Lord, please be present in today's appointment,

in your wonderful, gracious, miracle-working power,

in Jesus' name, amen.

(photo illustration by Anton via unsplash.com)

All Our Work and Toil

O God, creator of the world,
of sun and moon and stars,
you chose to fashion us, your own,
your handiwork of love.

Indeed, we are your hands’ own work
and yet into our hands
you give the care
of every living thing.

In more ways than we can count
our work builds up
or tears apart what came
from your own hand.

Keep us faithful in preserving
all you’ve given
lest we harm the smallest part
of all you’ve made.

Give us good and honest work to do
and rest at each day’s end.
Give a fair and good day’s wage
for a good day’s work well done.

Give us work that nurtures and sustains
the ones who serve and those they serve.
Let those who labor work in peace,
in freedom without fear.

Give those in need a job to do
and to the tired well earned rest.
Let all our work and toil, Lord,
give glory to your name.

Amen.

(From A Concord Pastor Comments blog; photo by skeeze via pixabay.com)