Saturday, February 28, 2015

A Prayer for Saturday, February 28, 2015

Tenth Day of Lent

O God,

Thank you that in your love each and every one of us matters. Thank you that in your eyes our particular and individual lives are significant. Thank you that by your grace every single one of us is valuable.

Forgive us for our sometimes failure to remember how valuable we are. Help us to accept, to celebrate, and to live in light of the fact that we are your beloved children.

But forgive us for sometimes letting ourselves believe that our life is more important than anyone else’s life, for sometimes putting our individual rights and privileges ahead of everyone or anyone else’s rights and privileges, and for sometimes failing to consider the impact of our choices on everyone’s or anyone’s ability to choose.

Forgive us for sometimes failing to remember and to live in light of the truth that as followers of Christ we are to think of others even more than we think of ourselves. Help us to think of and to treat others as Jesus taught and showed us to do …

Amen.

Friday, February 27, 2015

A Prayer for Friday, February 27, 2015

Ninth Day of Lent

O God,

Help us to take responsibility for our sins; help us to think and to act responsibly as we perceive and as we repent of our sins.

Don’t let us fixate on our sins; don’t let us fall prey to the paralysis of obsessive guilt. Don’t let us wallow in our guilt so that our “repentance” becomes all about us and leads to no positive developments.

Help us instead to learn from our sins; help us to move toward more positive and helpful ways of thinking, of feeling, and of living.

Help us instead to make restitution for our sins; give us the courage and the willingness to make right (or at least to make better) what we can.

Help us instead to mend relationships that are broken because of our sins; give us love and grace to seek forgiveness from and reconciliation with those whom we have injured through our sins.

Help us to take responsibility for our sins in ways that will contribute not only to our own healing but also to the healing of the people around us and of the world in which we live …

Amen.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

A Prayer for Thursday, February 26, 2015

Eighth Day of Lent

O God,

If this is a time when I need to experience your closeness, let it be.

If this is a time when I need to experience your distance, let it be.

If this is a time when I need to experience your comfort, let it be.

If this is a time when I need to experience your challenge, let it be.

If this is a time when I need to experience your affirmation, let it be.

If this is a time when I need to experience your conviction, let it be.

If this is a time when I need to experience your kindness, let it be.

If this is a time when I need to experience your sternness, let it be.

Whatever I need in order to grow

in my knowledge of you,
in my service to you, and
in my love for you,

let it be.

Amen.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A Prayer for Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Seventh Day of Lent

O God,

Help us to repent of being too hard on ourselves.

While sorrow over our sins is appropriate and while repentance of our sins is necessary, some of us take such sorrow and repentance to unnecessary and unhealthy extremes.

Some of us continue to beat ourselves up over sins for which you long ago forgave us. Some of us have never learned to take your grace to heart so that we can forgive ourselves. Some of us are far better at forgiving others than we are at forgiving ourselves. Some of us are able to accept the failings of others far better than we are able to accept our own.

Thank you that we take our sins seriously; thank you that we do not presume upon your mercy.

But help us to remember that we are your beloved children. Help us to be so aware of your grace and mercy that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you forgive us and that you want us to forgive ourselves. Help us not to practice a flawed spirituality that finds value and even comfort in self-flagellation.

Instead let your grace, love, and mercy be so real to us that we will live more and more in the peace of our own healing …

Amen.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

A Prayer for Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Sixth Day of Lent

O God,

Give us discernment during these days of repentance and reflection.

Help us to discern between sins of which you are convicting us and guilt to which we are unnecessarily and even irrationally clinging.

Help us to discern what attitudes and motives we presume to be acceptable but which are in fact incompatible with a commitment to Jesus Christ and with the influence of your Spirit, grace, and love on our hearts.

Help us to discern those aspects of our approach to life that need to be adjusted or even eliminated because they do not reflect an awareness of, much less a commitment to, the ways of Jesus.

Give us discernment during these days of repentance and reflection.

And having discerned our real need for real repentance, help us by your grace to turn around and go the other way …

Amen.

Monday, February 23, 2015

A Prayer for Monday, February 23, 2015

Fifth Day of Lent

O God,

Thank you for your grace that leads you to forgive us of our sins against you.

Help us to grow in your grace and in our awareness of your forgiveness that we might grow in our ability to forgive others who have wronged us.

Help us to grow in grace so much that we even get better at forgiving ourselves.

Amen.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

A Prayer for Sunday, February 22, 2015

First Sunday in Lent

O God,

Thank you for Sunday! Thank you for the Lord’s Day! Thank you for Resurrection Day!

Thank you that on this one day out of every seven we get to stop and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and to anticipate our own resurrection.

Help us to remember that we have already died with Christ and have already been raised with him to walk in newness of life. Let us celebrate not only what was and what will be but also what already is.

Thank you that in the midst of this season of repentance and fasting we get to step aside to have a day of celebration and feasting. Make us so mindful of the reality of resurrection that our celebration will be heartfelt and genuine …

Amen.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

A Prayer for Saturday, February 21, 2015

Fourth Day of Lent

O God,

We may have made a commitment to fast during this Lenten season; we may have made a commitment to give up something that we enjoy. If we have made such a commitment, help us to keep it.

But help us to keep it with sound motives and good intent.

Help us to keep it not as a means to show how spiritual we are or how disciplined we are but rather as a means to help us focus on how much we need you. Let our craving for what we have given up remind us of our deepest craving of all—our craving to know you and to love you.

Let our giving up of something be a means by which we give ourselves over to you.

Amen.

Friday, February 20, 2015

A Prayer for Friday, February 20, 2015

Third Day of Lent

O God,

Help us to go deep.

Help us to go deep into our spirit
to see what is there.

For the love that is there,
for the mercy that is there,
for the grace that is there,
for the faith that is there,
for the compassion that is there,
for the peace that is there, and
for the hope that is there,

we thank you and ask you to make
those realities even stronger in us.

For the apathy that is there,
for the grudges that are there,
for the bitterness that is there,
for the despair that is there,
for the hate that is there,
for the envy that is there, and
for the self-righteousness that is there,

we ask for the grace truly to repent so that
our thoughts and motives change.

Help us to go deep …

Amen.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

A Prayer for Thursday, February 19, 2015

Second Day of Lent

O God,

Slow us down.

Slow us down so we can pay attention to what’s going on rather than fly through it all with only a vague awareness of the scenery that zips by at the edges of our field of vision.

Slow us down so we can be more aware of your presence, of your majesty, and of your love.

Slow us down so we can be more aware of our spirit, of our default settings, and of our motives.

Slow us down so we can be more aware of other people’s perspective, of their situation, and of their needs.

Slow us down so that we can live our life rather than just move through it.

Amen.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

A Prayer for Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Cold

O God,

It’s cold. Where I live it’s irritatingly cold; in many places it’s dangerously cold.

When it’s cold we go into self-protection mode: we put on sweaters and coats and hats and gloves and scarves to protect ourselves from the cold; we stay inside and hunker down against what’s going on outside.

Remind us that we tend to do similar things when another person is or other people are cold toward us. Remind us that when someone rejects us or ignores us or dismisses us we tend to go into a shell to protect ourselves from getting hurt.

Help us to be secure enough in our relationship with you, in our perception of ourselves, and in our healthy relationships with people that we do not feel threatened when someone is cold toward us.

Help us also to be aware enough of how it feels to be treated as if we are unworthy, unimportant, or unwanted that we will never be cold toward another person. Help us instead to treat everyone we know and everyone we encounter as your precious creation and as our partner on the journey. Help us to treat everyone with a spirit and attitude of love, grace, and acceptance.

Amen.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

A Prayer for Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Spring

O God,

Thank you for the daffodils that are blooming here in South Georgia;
thank you for the mid-winter reminder they offer us that spring is indeed on its way.

It is so good to see a little spring color in the midst of winter’s gray;
it is so hopeful to see a little vibrancy in the midst of dormancy.

Help us to keep our eyes open for
other hopeful signs that you send our way.

When our lives become cold and gray,
when our bodies become cold and gray, and
when our world becomes cold and gray,

help us to see the signs of life that are present because of

the reality of our resurrected Lord,
the power of your Holy Spirit, and
the presence of your love and grace.

In the midst of our winters, help us to look for
the signs of your assurance that spring is indeed coming …

Amen.

Monday, February 16, 2015

A Prayer for Monday, February 16, 2015

Plans

O God,

We have made our plans for the week; we have thought ahead to all that we need to do and we have made plans to get it all done.

Thank you for the ability to look ahead and to plan ahead.

Thank you also for the wisdom to know that while it is possible that many or even most of our plans will hold together it is also possible that many or even most of them will fall apart. If this week is like most weeks, some of our plans will work out while some of them will not.

Give us the grace to adapt in response to the situations and challenges that will emerge this week. Help us to remember and to live in light of the truth that some of our greatest opportunities may present themselves in the form of interruptions and even irritations.

Give us discipline to stick to our plans.
Give us flexibility to change our plans.
Give us wisdom to perceive your plans.

Amen.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

A Prayer for Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Lord’s Day

O God,

In our worship of you today help us to distinguish your voice from all of the other voices that demand our attention.

Let our spirit be quiet enough to hear your still small voice.

Let our spirit be courageous enough to hear your challenging and demanding voice.

Let our spirit be trusting enough to hear your comforting and affirming voice.

Let our spirit be focused enough to hear your voice calling us to follow Jesus in the way of service, sacrifice, and love.

Amen.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

A Prayer for Saturday, February 14, 2015

Love

O God,

Thank you for your love that will not let us go.
Thank you for your love that causes you to give yourself away.
Thank you for your love that is characterized by intense commitment.
Thank you for your love that forgives and restores.

Give us a love that will not let others go.
Give us a love that causes us to give ourselves away.
Give us a love that is characterized by intense commitment.
Give us a love that forgives and restores.

Let your love be our love; let our love be your love …

Amen.

Friday, February 13, 2015

A Prayer for Friday, February 13, 2015

Might Not

O God,

We might not have been given this moment—but we have been.
We might not have been made aware of your love for us—but we have been.
We might not have been granted the privilege of knowing you—but we have been.

Even with all that we have been given we might not take full advantage of the opportunities to live fully in the moment, to respond to your love with our love, and to grow in our knowledge of you.

You certainly have given us this moment.
You certainly have made us aware of your love for us.
You certainly have granted us the privilege of knowing you.

Help us to grow in gratitude so that we certainly will take full advantage of the opportunities you have given us …

Amen.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

A Prayer for Thursday, February 12, 2015

When

O God,

Sometimes we use “when” to talk about what once was: “when I was a child, I spoke as a child.”

Sometimes we use “when” to talk about what will someday be: “when we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be.”

Sometimes we use “when” to talk about what always is: “when I get lonely I think of you.”

So whenever we say “when” help us to remember that you are in it all; you are in our past, you are in our future, and you are in our always.

Let our utterings of “when” become prayers to you; let them become prayers of thanks for your constant presence and let them be prayers of hope and trust that you are working in our lives and in your creation to bring your great purposes about.

Teach us to pay attention to when we say “when.” Let our every uttering of the word serve as a reminder that you are our help in the past, in the present, and in the future …

Amen.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

A Prayer for Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Lift

O God,

Let us lift our hearts in praise to you in everything that we encounter.

Let us let you lift our hearts whenever we become weary or discouraged.

Let us lift the spirit of someone else whenever we can.

Let us lift someone’s burden at every opportunity.

Let us lift our eyes to see beyond our immediate context.

Let us lift a hand to volunteer when there’s something we can do.

Amen.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

A Prayer for Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Never

O God,

We admit that

we never know,
we never suspect, and
we never can tell.

But give us

such faith that we never stop trusting,
such hope that we never stop believing,
such love that we never stop giving,
such grace that we never stop accepting,
such mercy that we never stop forgiving, and
such life that we never stop living.

Amen.

Monday, February 9, 2015

A Prayer for Monday, February 9, 2015

Recall

O God,

When we recall the past, help us to do so accurately. Help us to remember the facts of what happened as clearly as we can. Help us to remember that our memory is shaped by our perspective, by our needs, and by our wishes; show us how to remember well without putting complete trust in our memory.

When we recall the past, help us to do so imaginatively. Give us the ability to imagine how you were at work in what was going on. Give us the ability to discern between what you were doing and what we wanted you to be doing. Shape our memory so that it puts past events in their appropriate place within your purposes.

When we recall the past, help us to do so gracefully. Let our memories be full of grace; protect us from inordinate regret, from paralyzing guilt, and from excessive second guessing. Give us grace to forgive others and to forgive ourselves. Help us to learn from our mistakes without dwelling on them.

When we recall the past, help us to do so constructively. Help us to view the past as preparation for the present; let us apply the lessons of the past to our current situation. Help us to use the pieces of the past to construct something better in the present. Show us how to use the past to build up and not to tear down our relationship with you, our acceptance of ourselves, our relationship with others, and our role in the world.

Amen.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

A Prayer for Sunday, February 8, 2015

The Lord’s Day

O God,

As we reach out to you in worship today
help us to remember and to celebrate
the fact that you are already reaching out for us.

As we reach out to you in the coming week
help us to remember and to count on
the fact that you are already reaching out for us.

As we reach out to you throughout the rest of our life
help us to remember and to grow in our embrace of
the fact that you are already reaching out for us.

As we reach out to you at the end of our life
help us to remember and to rest in
the fact that you are already reaching out for us …

Amen.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

A Prayer for Saturday, February 7, 2015

Limits

O God,

Give us wisdom to accept that there are limits on our abilities to know, to go, and to do.

Give us grace to accept that there are no limits on our ability to love.

Amen.

Friday, February 6, 2015

A Prayer for Friday, February 6, 2015

Listen

O God,

Help us to get better at listening.

Help us to get better at listening to you. Let our prayers be as much about listening to you as about talking to you. Help us to listen for the whisperings of your Spirit as we go about living our lives. Give us discernment to differentiate between the voice of false gods and your voice. Then let us listen to what you are telling us.

Help us to get better at listening to ourselves. Help us to grow in our knowledge of who you made us to be and of what it means for us to live with integrity. Give us discernment to differentiate between the voices of our false selves and the voice of our true self. Then let us listen to what our true self is telling us.

Help us to get better at listening to each other. Help us to grow in our understanding of other cultures, of other experiences, and of other perspectives. Give us a grace-fueled stance of acceptance rather than a fear-induced stance of judgmentalism. Let us listen to each other so that we can learn from one another.

Help us to get better at listening to our planet. Help us to grow in our understanding of the ways in which it speaks to us. Let us especially learn to hear when it tries to tell us that we are putting it under stress that is hard for it to bear.

Help us to get better at listening.

And when we really hear, let us act on what we have heard in ways that constitute a genuine response …

Amen.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

A Prayer for Thursday, February 5, 2015

Ready

O God,

We plan—but we plan knowing that our plans may not work out.
We anticipate—but we anticipate knowing that we cannot anticipate everything.
We prepare—but we prepare knowing that we cannot be prepared for every possibility.

Give us wisdom to plan, to anticipate, and to prepare.
Give us greater wisdom not to trust in our plans, our anticipation, and our preparations.

Help us instead to place our trust in you.
Help us to live trusting that you will guide us in and through whatever comes.

Let us be ready but not in the sense that we think we know what’s coming.
Let us be ready in the sense that we know that no matter what comes we will live faithfully and creatively in it.

Amen.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

A Prayer for Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Transition

O God,

Help us to learn to walk so closely to you that when we transition from this life to the next life it will be for us just a short step and not a quantum leap.

Help us to learn to be so fully aware of your presence that when we close our eyes in death and open them in heaven it will not seem like all that drastic a change in our situation.

Help us to learn to celebrate your love and grace on Earth so constantly that when we find ourselves celebrating them in eternity we will realize that it’s really nothing new.

Amen.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

A Prayer for Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Cynical

O God,

We can be so cynical; we can be so sure that everyone else’s motives are unsound and that no one is to be trusted.

We do need to be discerning; we cannot naively assume that everyone is sincere. Give us wisdom to be discerning but grace not to be cynical.

Help us to face up to the real but hard to face possibility that our cynicism toward others is a reflection of who we know ourselves to be. Help us to examine ourselves to see whether we question everyone else’s motives because our own motives are so questionable. Help us to grow in sincerity and integrity that we might better detect and appreciate those qualities in others.

There is so much negativity in this old world; help us not to add to it through a cynical attitude.

Let us instead become purer in heart and sounder in spirit that we might become more positive and more insightful.

Amen.

Monday, February 2, 2015

A Prayer for Monday, February 2, 2015

Winning

O God,

Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.

It may be, though, that we need to redefine “winning” if we really want to follow Jesus.

Do we define winning in terms of service? In terms of giving? In terms of helping? In terms of forgiveness?

Do we define winning in terms of love?

Lord, help us to grab hold of the fact that for followers of Jesus winning can look an awful lot like what the world considers losing.

Then help us to pursue winning with all our might …

Amen.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

A Prayer for Sunday, February 1, 2015

The Lord’s Day

O God,

Cause one byproduct of our worship of you
today to be a sharpening of our vision.

Help us to turn our eyes more on you;
as we turn our eyes more on you turn them
into eyes that see more like you see.

Let us grow

in seeing the world as you see it,
in seeing ourselves as you see us,
in seeing situations like you see them, and
in seeing other people like you see them.

Give us eyes with vision that is not clouded
by fear, by despair, by judgment, and by apathy
but that rather is sharpened
by trust, by hope, by grace, and by love.

Give us eyes to see, O God;
give us eyes to see you and
eyes to see as you see.

Amen.