Up/Out
O God,
May we live today constantly engaged in the practice of reaching up to you.
May we live today also constantly engaged in the practice of reaching out to others.
Cause our lives not to be a balance between reaching up and reaching out; cause them rather to be an intertwining of reaching up and reaching out.
Help us, in other words, to love you with all we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves; help us to do both all the time.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
A Prayer for Monday, July 30, 2012
Mercy
Grace, it has been said, means that we get what we don’t deserve. Mercy, it has also been said, means that we don’t get what we do deserve.
During this week, O God, we will have opportunities to show mercy.
There will be times when we will get to choose between giving someone what she or he deserves and not giving someone what she or he deserves; there will be times when we will get to choose between wanting someone to get what she or he deserves and not wanting someone to get what she or he deserves.
When we are confronted with those choices, O God, please remind us of the great mercy you have given us.
Indeed, fill us so much with your great mercy toward us that we can’t help but let it flow out of us and onto others.
Amen.
Grace, it has been said, means that we get what we don’t deserve. Mercy, it has also been said, means that we don’t get what we do deserve.
During this week, O God, we will have opportunities to show mercy.
There will be times when we will get to choose between giving someone what she or he deserves and not giving someone what she or he deserves; there will be times when we will get to choose between wanting someone to get what she or he deserves and not wanting someone to get what she or he deserves.
When we are confronted with those choices, O God, please remind us of the great mercy you have given us.
Indeed, fill us so much with your great mercy toward us that we can’t help but let it flow out of us and onto others.
Amen.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
A Prayer for Sunday, July 29, 2012
The Lord’s Day
We worship you today, O God, who are the eternal God, the God who is above, beyond, and outside of time. We also worship you today, O God, as the God who in your grace has entered into, continues to enter into, and will enter into the limits of time for your glory and for our sake.
We bring all of our times before you in worship today, O God.
We bring our past, all that has come before that helps to make us into who we now are.
We bring our present, all that we now we are, all that we now do, and all the relationships that we now have.
We bring our future, trusting in hope that you are in your creation, in this world, and in our lives working your purposes out and that in that working out of your purposes you are moving us farther along in the eternal life that we by your grace share with you.
May we, temporal beings who by your grace enter into eternity, in our time of worship today focus on you, the eternal God who by your grace enters into time.
Amen.
We worship you today, O God, who are the eternal God, the God who is above, beyond, and outside of time. We also worship you today, O God, as the God who in your grace has entered into, continues to enter into, and will enter into the limits of time for your glory and for our sake.
We bring all of our times before you in worship today, O God.
We bring our past, all that has come before that helps to make us into who we now are.
We bring our present, all that we now we are, all that we now do, and all the relationships that we now have.
We bring our future, trusting in hope that you are in your creation, in this world, and in our lives working your purposes out and that in that working out of your purposes you are moving us farther along in the eternal life that we by your grace share with you.
May we, temporal beings who by your grace enter into eternity, in our time of worship today focus on you, the eternal God who by your grace enters into time.
Amen.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
A Prayer for Saturday, July 28, 2012
Competition
A certain amount of competition is inevitable, necessary, and even desirable in our lives.
In athletic events the goal is to compete with so as to try to finish ahead of the other participants.
In business the goal is to compete with so as to try to do better business than those in the same business.
In politics the goal is to compete with so as to try to defeat the one running against us or the ones putting forward a different plan than ours.
Competition can make us better. It can also make us worse if winning becomes our only purpose and if power becomes more important to us than people.
So help us, O God, alongside and even above our spirit of competition, to maintain, grow, and develop a sense of cooperation with those around us. Balance and even over-balance our desire to come out on top with a desire to give ourselves up appropriately for the sake of others. Cause us to be motivated by love and grace even in those areas of life that demand an attitude of competition.
In other words, O God, help us to live as followers of Jesus Christ in the real world.
Amen.
A certain amount of competition is inevitable, necessary, and even desirable in our lives.
In athletic events the goal is to compete with so as to try to finish ahead of the other participants.
In business the goal is to compete with so as to try to do better business than those in the same business.
In politics the goal is to compete with so as to try to defeat the one running against us or the ones putting forward a different plan than ours.
Competition can make us better. It can also make us worse if winning becomes our only purpose and if power becomes more important to us than people.
So help us, O God, alongside and even above our spirit of competition, to maintain, grow, and develop a sense of cooperation with those around us. Balance and even over-balance our desire to come out on top with a desire to give ourselves up appropriately for the sake of others. Cause us to be motivated by love and grace even in those areas of life that demand an attitude of competition.
In other words, O God, help us to live as followers of Jesus Christ in the real world.
Amen.
Friday, July 27, 2012
A Prayer for Friday, July 27, 2012
Thin
O God,
Sometimes life wears us thin.
Sometimes life wears us so thin that we feel like there is not much space at all between us and the various abysses into which we could fall: despair, hopelessness, fear, anxiety, and death.
Teach us and remind us and never let us forget that you are not only also on the other side of those thin places but that you are in them and on this side of them.
We thank you that when life wears us so thin that we sense that the chaos may break through to overwhelm us you are already there to hold us, to help us, and to save us.
So, as challenging and threatening as they are, we praise you for the thin places in our lives because in them we learn to throw ourselves into your arms and to trust ourselves into your care.
Amen.
O God,
Sometimes life wears us thin.
Sometimes life wears us so thin that we feel like there is not much space at all between us and the various abysses into which we could fall: despair, hopelessness, fear, anxiety, and death.
Teach us and remind us and never let us forget that you are not only also on the other side of those thin places but that you are in them and on this side of them.
We thank you that when life wears us so thin that we sense that the chaos may break through to overwhelm us you are already there to hold us, to help us, and to save us.
So, as challenging and threatening as they are, we praise you for the thin places in our lives because in them we learn to throw ourselves into your arms and to trust ourselves into your care.
Amen.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
A Prayer for Thursday, July 26, 2012
Tomorrow
On the one hand, O Lord, help us to live like there’s no tomorrow; that is, help us to live fully and freely in this day that you have given us since there is no guarantee that there will be another one.
On the other hand, O Lord, help us to live like there are unlimited tomorrows; that is, help us to live with trust in and with hope for the future that you have for us and for all your creation.
Help us to live creatively in that place where the reality of today meets the possibility of tomorrow, because in so doing we are free to do what we can do to make things better without being paralyzed by fear and anxiety.
Amen.
On the one hand, O Lord, help us to live like there’s no tomorrow; that is, help us to live fully and freely in this day that you have given us since there is no guarantee that there will be another one.
On the other hand, O Lord, help us to live like there are unlimited tomorrows; that is, help us to live with trust in and with hope for the future that you have for us and for all your creation.
Help us to live creatively in that place where the reality of today meets the possibility of tomorrow, because in so doing we are free to do what we can do to make things better without being paralyzed by fear and anxiety.
Amen.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
A Prayer for Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Wonder
Sometimes we wonder, O God.
We wonder about justice, about fairness, about integrity, about honesty, and about a lot of other necessary conditions that seem to be in short supply in this old world.
Sometimes we are filled with wonder, O God.
We are filled with wonder over the magnificence of your creation, over the intricacies of our bodies, over moments of grace, over displays of love, and over a lot of other wonderful things that are there for us to wonder over if we will just pay attention.
Balance our times of wondering with our times of being filled with wonder.
When the realities about which we wonder threaten to overwhelm us with despair, use the realities over which we wonder to overwhelm us instead with hope.
Amen.
Sometimes we wonder, O God.
We wonder about justice, about fairness, about integrity, about honesty, and about a lot of other necessary conditions that seem to be in short supply in this old world.
Sometimes we are filled with wonder, O God.
We are filled with wonder over the magnificence of your creation, over the intricacies of our bodies, over moments of grace, over displays of love, and over a lot of other wonderful things that are there for us to wonder over if we will just pay attention.
Balance our times of wondering with our times of being filled with wonder.
When the realities about which we wonder threaten to overwhelm us with despair, use the realities over which we wonder to overwhelm us instead with hope.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
A Prayer for Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Point
Help us to make progress today in getting the point, O God.
Help us to make progress in getting our point across. Give us hearts that care deeply, minds that think clearly, and mouths that speak carefully, so that the meaning we try to express will come from a pure heart, from a sharp mind, and from an articulate mouth.
Help us to make progress in getting someone else’s point. Give us open hearts, receptive minds, and listening ears so that we will really listen to and try to understand what other people are saying rather than letting their words cause us to categorize them in a way that we think permits us to dismiss them. And if, after really listening and trying to understand, we still can’t accept their point, help us to disagree in love and with grace.
Help us to make progress today in getting your point. Give us openness and discernment that we might better comprehend how your kingdom has come and is coming and that we might better recognize and do your will.
Amen.
Help us to make progress today in getting the point, O God.
Help us to make progress in getting our point across. Give us hearts that care deeply, minds that think clearly, and mouths that speak carefully, so that the meaning we try to express will come from a pure heart, from a sharp mind, and from an articulate mouth.
Help us to make progress in getting someone else’s point. Give us open hearts, receptive minds, and listening ears so that we will really listen to and try to understand what other people are saying rather than letting their words cause us to categorize them in a way that we think permits us to dismiss them. And if, after really listening and trying to understand, we still can’t accept their point, help us to disagree in love and with grace.
Help us to make progress today in getting your point. Give us openness and discernment that we might better comprehend how your kingdom has come and is coming and that we might better recognize and do your will.
Amen.
Monday, July 23, 2012
A Prayer for Monday, July 23, 2012
Discernment
As we enter into this new week, O God, we need to better develop the gift and skill of discernment.
Help us to grow in our ability to discern good from bad, better from good, and best from better.
Help us to grow in our ability to discern our true self, the self you mean for us to be, from our false self, the self we put forth to fit in, to make do, and to cover up.
Help us to grow in our ability to discern your will from our wants and from our culture’s expectations.
Develop, O God, the gift and skill of discernment in us.
Amen.
As we enter into this new week, O God, we need to better develop the gift and skill of discernment.
Help us to grow in our ability to discern good from bad, better from good, and best from better.
Help us to grow in our ability to discern our true self, the self you mean for us to be, from our false self, the self we put forth to fit in, to make do, and to cover up.
Help us to grow in our ability to discern your will from our wants and from our culture’s expectations.
Develop, O God, the gift and skill of discernment in us.
Amen.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
A Prayer for Sunday, July 22, 2012
The Lord’s Day
We do not ask you to be present in our worship today, O God, because you are always there whether we ask or not.
We do ask you to help us to be present in our worship today, O God, because sometimes we are not there even if we are.
Amen.
We do not ask you to be present in our worship today, O God, because you are always there whether we ask or not.
We do ask you to help us to be present in our worship today, O God, because sometimes we are not there even if we are.
Amen.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
A Prayer for Saturday, July 21, 2012
Care
Help us to care, O God.
Help us to care about the earth;
help us to care about the community;
help us to care about the neighbor;
help us care about the other;
help us to care about the hungry;
help us to care about the poor;
help us to care about the homeless;
help us to care about the lost;
help us to care about the marginalized;
help us to care about the lonely; and
help us to care about the sick.
Help us to care, O God.
Help us to care in ways that will lead us to do what we can do and to join together with others in doing what we can do.
Help us not to care in ways that fill us with despair that causes us to give up or to do nothing.
Help us not to care in ways that cause us to give and give of ourselves without taking the time to replenish our souls.
But God, please help us to care.
Amen.
Help us to care, O God.
Help us to care about the earth;
help us to care about the community;
help us to care about the neighbor;
help us care about the other;
help us to care about the hungry;
help us to care about the poor;
help us to care about the homeless;
help us to care about the lost;
help us to care about the marginalized;
help us to care about the lonely; and
help us to care about the sick.
Help us to care, O God.
Help us to care in ways that will lead us to do what we can do and to join together with others in doing what we can do.
Help us not to care in ways that fill us with despair that causes us to give up or to do nothing.
Help us not to care in ways that cause us to give and give of ourselves without taking the time to replenish our souls.
But God, please help us to care.
Amen.
Friday, July 20, 2012
A Prayer for Friday, July 20, 2012
Sorrow
O God,
Our hearts overflow with sorrow for
lives lost needlessly,
families devastated suddenly,
communities shaken unexpectedly,
and
anguish expressed violently.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Amen.
O God,
Our hearts overflow with sorrow for
lives lost needlessly,
families devastated suddenly,
communities shaken unexpectedly,
and
anguish expressed violently.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Amen.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
A Prayer for Thursday, July 19, 2012
Slowly
O God,
Help us take things slowly.
Help us take our conversations slowly, that we might become truly engaged with each other.
Help us take our work slowly, that we might accomplish our tasks thoroughly.
Help us take our movements slowly, that we might experience our bodies gratefully.
Help us take our prayers slowly, that we might commune with you deeply.
Help us take our lives slowly, that we might not miss a thing.
Amen.
O God,
Help us take things slowly.
Help us take our conversations slowly, that we might become truly engaged with each other.
Help us take our work slowly, that we might accomplish our tasks thoroughly.
Help us take our movements slowly, that we might experience our bodies gratefully.
Help us take our prayers slowly, that we might commune with you deeply.
Help us take our lives slowly, that we might not miss a thing.
Amen.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
A Prayer for Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Horizon
The horizon looks to us like the point where heaven meets earth; it looks to us like that point is a long way off.
The truth is, though, that the horizon is not the place where heaven meets earth.
The truth is also that the place where heaven in fact meets earth is not a long way off; it is right here, wherever we happen to be at the moment.
O Lord, help us always to remember that your Spirit is within us right here and right now, so wherever we are is where heaven meets earth.
O Lord, help us always to remember that your Spirit is among us right here and right now, so wherever your people exist in community is where heaven meets earth.
O Lord, help us therefore, both as individuals and as a community, to live and to love so as to bring the realities of heaven into contact with the realities of this world so that in and through us your will may more and more be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.
The horizon looks to us like the point where heaven meets earth; it looks to us like that point is a long way off.
The truth is, though, that the horizon is not the place where heaven meets earth.
The truth is also that the place where heaven in fact meets earth is not a long way off; it is right here, wherever we happen to be at the moment.
O Lord, help us always to remember that your Spirit is within us right here and right now, so wherever we are is where heaven meets earth.
O Lord, help us always to remember that your Spirit is among us right here and right now, so wherever your people exist in community is where heaven meets earth.
O Lord, help us therefore, both as individuals and as a community, to live and to love so as to bring the realities of heaven into contact with the realities of this world so that in and through us your will may more and more be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
A Prayer for Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Extravagance
We praise you, O God, for your extravagant grace and love; we praise you for the extravagant ways that you lavish them upon us.
Forgive us, O God, for when we accept your extravagance as if it is an entitlement; forgive us for when we grasp it as if it is our possession.
Inspire us, O God, to be conduits for your extravagance; cause the grace and love that you bestow extravagantly on us to flow through us so that others can know your extravagance as well.
Help us to share extravagantly what you give us extravagantly.
Amen.
We praise you, O God, for your extravagant grace and love; we praise you for the extravagant ways that you lavish them upon us.
Forgive us, O God, for when we accept your extravagance as if it is an entitlement; forgive us for when we grasp it as if it is our possession.
Inspire us, O God, to be conduits for your extravagance; cause the grace and love that you bestow extravagantly on us to flow through us so that others can know your extravagance as well.
Help us to share extravagantly what you give us extravagantly.
Amen.
Monday, July 16, 2012
A Prayer for Monday, July 16, 2012
Important
If we try to act important we will look foolish, O Lord—so protect us from trying to act important.
If we try to be important we will be arrogant, O Lord—so guard us form trying to be important.
If we try to live as if we are not part of something important, we will be impoverished, O Lord—so help us to grow in our awareness that we are part of something important.
After all, when we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done” we are in effect praying that we will be part of your kingdom and that we will participate in the doing of your will. As that happens, we are part of the most important kind of living that can be done.
Fill our lives, O Lord, with the awareness that we are part of what you are doing and thus we are part of the most important reality of which we can possibly be a part.
Amen.
If we try to act important we will look foolish, O Lord—so protect us from trying to act important.
If we try to be important we will be arrogant, O Lord—so guard us form trying to be important.
If we try to live as if we are not part of something important, we will be impoverished, O Lord—so help us to grow in our awareness that we are part of something important.
After all, when we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done” we are in effect praying that we will be part of your kingdom and that we will participate in the doing of your will. As that happens, we are part of the most important kind of living that can be done.
Fill our lives, O Lord, with the awareness that we are part of what you are doing and thus we are part of the most important reality of which we can possibly be a part.
Amen.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
A Prayer for Sunday, July 15, 2012
The Lord’s Day
Today many of us will share in Communion, in the Eucharist, in the Lord’s Supper, whether we worship in a tradition that celebrates it every Sunday or whether we worship in one that celebrates it occasionally and today is one of the occasions.
As we come to the table, O Lord, create in us an attitude of feasting since the Supper is a celebration of the great love you showed in Jesus Christ our Lord, since it is a foretaste of the great banquet that we will one day enjoy together, and since it is a sign of the fellowship with our sisters and brothers in which we participate now.
May our worship of you today be a celebration and a feast, O Lord.
Amen.
Today many of us will share in Communion, in the Eucharist, in the Lord’s Supper, whether we worship in a tradition that celebrates it every Sunday or whether we worship in one that celebrates it occasionally and today is one of the occasions.
As we come to the table, O Lord, create in us an attitude of feasting since the Supper is a celebration of the great love you showed in Jesus Christ our Lord, since it is a foretaste of the great banquet that we will one day enjoy together, and since it is a sign of the fellowship with our sisters and brothers in which we participate now.
May our worship of you today be a celebration and a feast, O Lord.
Amen.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
A Prayer for Saturday, July 14, 2012
In/Out
Lord, there are thoughts, opinions, motivations, and questions inside of us that should stay there; there are others that should be let out.
Give us the wisdom to know the difference.
Give us the restraint to keep inside what needs to stay inside and the courage to let out what needs to be let out.
And always, Lord, let us be growing toward having what we show on the outside match who we really are on the inside.
Amen.
Lord, there are thoughts, opinions, motivations, and questions inside of us that should stay there; there are others that should be let out.
Give us the wisdom to know the difference.
Give us the restraint to keep inside what needs to stay inside and the courage to let out what needs to be let out.
And always, Lord, let us be growing toward having what we show on the outside match who we really are on the inside.
Amen.
Friday, July 13, 2012
A Prayer for Friday, July 13, 2012
Alive
What will happen to our hearts as our days pile up and as our experiences accumulate?
It is possible that the longer we live and the more we experience, the smaller and harder and more closed our hearts will become; in that case our lives will become characterized by protectiveness and bitterness.
It is possible that the longer we live and the more we experience, the lazier and more distracted and more inattentive our hearts will become; in that case our lives will become characterized by apathy and escapism.
But it is also possible that the longer we live and the more we experience, the bigger and more focused and more open our hearts will become; in that case our lives will become characterized by empathy, compassion, grace, vulnerability, love—and life!
Grant, O Lord, that the longer we live the more alive we will become.
Amen.
What will happen to our hearts as our days pile up and as our experiences accumulate?
It is possible that the longer we live and the more we experience, the smaller and harder and more closed our hearts will become; in that case our lives will become characterized by protectiveness and bitterness.
It is possible that the longer we live and the more we experience, the lazier and more distracted and more inattentive our hearts will become; in that case our lives will become characterized by apathy and escapism.
But it is also possible that the longer we live and the more we experience, the bigger and more focused and more open our hearts will become; in that case our lives will become characterized by empathy, compassion, grace, vulnerability, love—and life!
Grant, O Lord, that the longer we live the more alive we will become.
Amen.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
A Prayer for Thursday, July 12, 2012
Receptive
We affirm, O Lord, that the things that really matter in this life are gifts that must be received rather than attainments that must be achieved, possessions that must be grasped, or status that must be maintained.
So give us receptive spirits; give us receptive lives.
Make us receptive to grace;
make us receptive to acceptance;
make us receptive to affirmation;
make us receptive to embrace;
make us receptive to appreciation; and
make us receptive to love.
Enable us to approach life with our hands wide open and our hearts wide open that we might receive the blessings that you and others want to give us.
Then give us the humility to receive what is offered, the gratitude to appreciate it, and the generosity to pass it on.
Amen.
We affirm, O Lord, that the things that really matter in this life are gifts that must be received rather than attainments that must be achieved, possessions that must be grasped, or status that must be maintained.
So give us receptive spirits; give us receptive lives.
Make us receptive to grace;
make us receptive to acceptance;
make us receptive to affirmation;
make us receptive to embrace;
make us receptive to appreciation; and
make us receptive to love.
Enable us to approach life with our hands wide open and our hearts wide open that we might receive the blessings that you and others want to give us.
Then give us the humility to receive what is offered, the gratitude to appreciate it, and the generosity to pass it on.
Amen.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A Prayer for Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Pain
It is difficult to thank you, O Lord, when our body hurts.
Still, help us to recognize and to be grateful for the important role that pain plays in our lives.
Thank you for the pain that alerts us to the fact that something is wrong.
Thank you for the pain that teaches us that we are vulnerable.
Thank you for the pain that reminds us of the pains that others feel.
Thank you for the pain that causes us to turn to you for help.
Thank you for the pain that forces us to slow down.
When we hurt, O God, we ask that you take our pain away.
But if our pain is one with which we must live for a while or even from now on, help us to live into it in a way that opens us up to a greater experience of your grace and to a greater sense of community with suffering humanity.
Amen.
It is difficult to thank you, O Lord, when our body hurts.
Still, help us to recognize and to be grateful for the important role that pain plays in our lives.
Thank you for the pain that alerts us to the fact that something is wrong.
Thank you for the pain that teaches us that we are vulnerable.
Thank you for the pain that reminds us of the pains that others feel.
Thank you for the pain that causes us to turn to you for help.
Thank you for the pain that forces us to slow down.
When we hurt, O God, we ask that you take our pain away.
But if our pain is one with which we must live for a while or even from now on, help us to live into it in a way that opens us up to a greater experience of your grace and to a greater sense of community with suffering humanity.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
A Prayer for Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Want
We confess, O God, that we do what we want to do; we affirm, O God, that we make time and find resources to do what is important to us.
Helps us to face the truth about what our choices reveal about what we want.
Do we want to become more and more wealthy or do we want to help those in poverty have the basic necessities?
Do we want to be more and more satiated or do we want to help the hungry have enough to eat?
Do we want to be more and more at leisure or do we want to see those who need work find it?
Do we want to be more and more like everybody else or do we want to be more and more like Jesus?
Do we want our will to be done or do we want your will to be done?
Help us, O God, to face honestly what our wants say about us.
Help us, O God, to want what we want to be what you want.
Amen.
We confess, O God, that we do what we want to do; we affirm, O God, that we make time and find resources to do what is important to us.
Helps us to face the truth about what our choices reveal about what we want.
Do we want to become more and more wealthy or do we want to help those in poverty have the basic necessities?
Do we want to be more and more satiated or do we want to help the hungry have enough to eat?
Do we want to be more and more at leisure or do we want to see those who need work find it?
Do we want to be more and more like everybody else or do we want to be more and more like Jesus?
Do we want our will to be done or do we want your will to be done?
Help us, O God, to face honestly what our wants say about us.
Help us, O God, to want what we want to be what you want.
Amen.
Monday, July 9, 2012
A Prayer for Monday, July 9, 2012
Time
This week, as with all weeks, we only have so much time; at the same time, we have plenty of time.
After all, it is the same amount of time that we have in every week and that everyone who has ever lived has had in every week.
Help us, Lord, to make good use of our time.
Help us to use our time…
…to do what we are called to do,
…to do what we are equipped to do,
…to do what is helpful to people,
…to do what is healthy for us,
…to do what is good, and
…to do what reflects the grace and love of Jesus our Lord.
Remind us to set some of our time aside to commune with you through prayer and reflection.
Help us, Lord, to make the best use of our time.
Amen.
This week, as with all weeks, we only have so much time; at the same time, we have plenty of time.
After all, it is the same amount of time that we have in every week and that everyone who has ever lived has had in every week.
Help us, Lord, to make good use of our time.
Help us to use our time…
…to do what we are called to do,
…to do what we are equipped to do,
…to do what is helpful to people,
…to do what is healthy for us,
…to do what is good, and
…to do what reflects the grace and love of Jesus our Lord.
Remind us to set some of our time aside to commune with you through prayer and reflection.
Help us, Lord, to make the best use of our time.
Amen.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
A Prayer for Sunday, July 8, 2012
The Lord’s Day
O God,
As we gather today to praise, to pray, to hear, to give, and to serve, bless those acts in and of themselves; grant that they will also serve as practice and preparation for our praise, our prayers, our hearing, our giving, and our service in our life in the world in the days to come.
Amen.
O God,
As we gather today to praise, to pray, to hear, to give, and to serve, bless those acts in and of themselves; grant that they will also serve as practice and preparation for our praise, our prayers, our hearing, our giving, and our service in our life in the world in the days to come.
Amen.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
A Prayer for Saturday, July 7, 2012
Breath
O Lord,
With every breath I take today, make me grateful for the air I breathe.
With every breath I take today, remind me I share the air with everyone else.
With every breath I take today, give me interest in the quality of the air.
With every breath I take today, let me breathe a prayer to you.
With every breath I take today, enliven me to life my life fully.
Amen.
O Lord,
With every breath I take today, make me grateful for the air I breathe.
With every breath I take today, remind me I share the air with everyone else.
With every breath I take today, give me interest in the quality of the air.
With every breath I take today, let me breathe a prayer to you.
With every breath I take today, enliven me to life my life fully.
Amen.
Friday, July 6, 2012
A Prayer for Friday, July 6, 2012
Busy
Being busy can be a good thing; after all, if we have things to do that are important enough to do then it is good that we be busy doing them.
Sometimes being busy is thrust upon us; there are things that we really must do.
But sometimes being busy is something we thrust upon ourselves; we are busy because we choose to be busy, even if the things we are busy doing are not all that important.
Gracious God, rid us of our drive to prove our importance or to justify our existence by staying busy all the time.
Give us the discipline to do with all our might those things that are important and to let those things go that are not—and the wisdom to know the difference.
And above all else, help us to be busy doing good.
Amen.
Being busy can be a good thing; after all, if we have things to do that are important enough to do then it is good that we be busy doing them.
Sometimes being busy is thrust upon us; there are things that we really must do.
But sometimes being busy is something we thrust upon ourselves; we are busy because we choose to be busy, even if the things we are busy doing are not all that important.
Gracious God, rid us of our drive to prove our importance or to justify our existence by staying busy all the time.
Give us the discipline to do with all our might those things that are important and to let those things go that are not—and the wisdom to know the difference.
And above all else, help us to be busy doing good.
Amen.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
A Prayer for Thursday, July 5, 2012
Everything
Scientists announced this week that they have seen evidence of the Higgs Boson, commonly known as the “God Particle”; it is a subatomic particle that could hold the key to how the various particles that comprise everything take on mass and thus the key to how everything exists.
We marvel, O God, at the Universe you have created and are creating; we marvel at the intricate processes by which it has developed and continues to develop.
We thank you, O God, for the dedicated efforts of researchers and for the collective knowledge of scientists; we thank you for the incessant curiosity that inspires their work.
We celebrate, O God, this discovery and all discoveries that further our understanding of the physical reality in which we live; we celebrate all the positive developments and all the progress that come from such discoveries.
We repent, O God, of our tendency to take discoveries to their negative and destructive extremes; we ask that you will protect us from ourselves as we make further discoveries about the power inherent in your creation.
Even as we celebrate the deep truths that our scientists are finding about the way everything holds together, O God, we recall and celebrate the even deeper truth given to us in your Book that Christ “is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).
That he holds all things together is ground for faith and motive for worship.
How he holds all things together is ground for science and motive for research.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
Scientists announced this week that they have seen evidence of the Higgs Boson, commonly known as the “God Particle”; it is a subatomic particle that could hold the key to how the various particles that comprise everything take on mass and thus the key to how everything exists.
We marvel, O God, at the Universe you have created and are creating; we marvel at the intricate processes by which it has developed and continues to develop.
We thank you, O God, for the dedicated efforts of researchers and for the collective knowledge of scientists; we thank you for the incessant curiosity that inspires their work.
We celebrate, O God, this discovery and all discoveries that further our understanding of the physical reality in which we live; we celebrate all the positive developments and all the progress that come from such discoveries.
We repent, O God, of our tendency to take discoveries to their negative and destructive extremes; we ask that you will protect us from ourselves as we make further discoveries about the power inherent in your creation.
Even as we celebrate the deep truths that our scientists are finding about the way everything holds together, O God, we recall and celebrate the even deeper truth given to us in your Book that Christ “is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).
That he holds all things together is ground for faith and motive for worship.
How he holds all things together is ground for science and motive for research.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
A Prayer for Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Freedom
We thank you, O God, that we are free.
We thank you that we are free from…
…sin,
…fear,
…legalism,
…death,
…despair,
…self-centeredness, and
…greed.
We thank you that we are free to…
…forgive,
…celebrate,
…explore,
…hope,
…give,
…love, and
…live.
Help us, O God, to take full advantage of the freedom we have in you.
Amen.
We thank you, O God, that we are free.
We thank you that we are free from…
…sin,
…fear,
…legalism,
…death,
…despair,
…self-centeredness, and
…greed.
We thank you that we are free to…
…forgive,
…celebrate,
…explore,
…hope,
…give,
…love, and
…live.
Help us, O God, to take full advantage of the freedom we have in you.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
A Prayer for Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Metaphor
“The baby is a rose” is a metaphor.
So is “God is a rock” and “Jesus is the door.”
These things we understand; we understand that those metaphorical statements make a comparison but do not describe an equivalency; we understand that they are to be taken as true without being taken as literal.
Help us, O God, to make progress in living in and with metaphor as the primary way that we can and do think about and talk about you. Give us great reverence for you that accepts that you are more than we could ever imagine or describe. Give us great humility that accepts the limitations of our minds to comprehend you and of our words to describe you.
At the same time, O God, help us to grow in a spirit of celebration and wonder that you, the unknowable and indescribable God, have always loved us enough to make yourself known to us.
The words we use to name and to describe you are metaphorical.
The relationship we have with you is not.
Thanks be to you!
Amen.
“The baby is a rose” is a metaphor.
So is “God is a rock” and “Jesus is the door.”
These things we understand; we understand that those metaphorical statements make a comparison but do not describe an equivalency; we understand that they are to be taken as true without being taken as literal.
Help us, O God, to make progress in living in and with metaphor as the primary way that we can and do think about and talk about you. Give us great reverence for you that accepts that you are more than we could ever imagine or describe. Give us great humility that accepts the limitations of our minds to comprehend you and of our words to describe you.
At the same time, O God, help us to grow in a spirit of celebration and wonder that you, the unknowable and indescribable God, have always loved us enough to make yourself known to us.
The words we use to name and to describe you are metaphorical.
The relationship we have with you is not.
Thanks be to you!
Amen.
Monday, July 2, 2012
A Prayer for Monday, July 2, 2012
Now
O Lord,
We have lived the life that is behind us and we will live the life that is ahead of us.
Help us to trust you with the ongoing results of the life we have lived to this point and with your ongoing guidance in the life that we will beyond this point.
But help us most of all to live at this point, to live in the now, to live in this present moment, since it is the only part of our life in which we have the capability of acting, of choosing, and, when we get right down to it, of living.
Deliver us from regret over or nostalgia for the past and from anxiety about or longing for the future that would get in the way of our living fully in the present.
Amen.
O Lord,
We have lived the life that is behind us and we will live the life that is ahead of us.
Help us to trust you with the ongoing results of the life we have lived to this point and with your ongoing guidance in the life that we will beyond this point.
But help us most of all to live at this point, to live in the now, to live in this present moment, since it is the only part of our life in which we have the capability of acting, of choosing, and, when we get right down to it, of living.
Deliver us from regret over or nostalgia for the past and from anxiety about or longing for the future that would get in the way of our living fully in the present.
Amen.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
A Prayer for Sunday, July 1, 2012
The Lord’s Day
As we come in our vulnerability to open our lives up to you in worship again today, O Lord, give us grace and love to remember the most vulnerable among and around us and to remember them in ways that will lead us to do what we can to help them.
Amen.
As we come in our vulnerability to open our lives up to you in worship again today, O Lord, give us grace and love to remember the most vulnerable among and around us and to remember them in ways that will lead us to do what we can to help them.
Amen.
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