A Prayer for Friday, March 17, 2017

Green, Pt. 1 (15^th day of Lent)

O God,

Forgive us for those times when

we’ve been green with envy.

Help us be as grateful for the blessings

others have as we are for those we have.

Make us more conscious of those who have less

than we have than we are of those who have more.

Make us more interested in sharing what

we do have than in acquiring what we don’t.

Amen.

A Prayer for Thursday, March 16, 2017

Maybe (14^th day of Lent)

O God,

Today—

Maybe I’ll win, maybe I’ll lose.

Maybe I’ll succeed, maybe I’ll fail.

Maybe I’ll know, maybe I’ll wonder.

Maybe I’ll remember, maybe I’ll forget.

Maybe I’ll trust, maybe I’ll doubt.

Maybe I’ll give, maybe I’ll take.

If today’s like every other day 

so far, maybe I’ll do all of it.

Help me embrace all of it.

Help me love in all of it.

Amen.

A Prayer for Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Mobile, Pt. 5 (13^th day of Lent)

O God,

Give us mobile lives.

It’s good to get to go places. Help us seek

and take advantage of opportunities to do so.

But I mean more than that.

Give us lives that are always on the go.

Give us lives that are always seeking and

embracing new experiences and perspectives.

Don’t let us get stuck in our ways, in our places,

in our assumptions, or in our viewpoints.

Help us keep moving and growing.

Amen. 

A Prayer for Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Mobile, Pt. 4 (12th day of Lent)

O God,

Give us mobile joy.

Give us joy we can carry

from one situation to another.

Give us joy that springs from our awareness

that you love us, accept us, forgive us, and sustain us.

Give us joy that is deeply rooted in trust

that you are working your purposes out and

that everything is going to be all right someday.

Give us joy that is so real we can carry it from

a happy moment into a devastating crisis.

Give us joy we know is there whether we are

laughing uncontrollably or sobbing inconsolably.

Amen.

A Prayer for Monday, March 13, 2017

Mobile, Pt. 3 (11^th day of Lent)

O God,

Give us mobile compassion.

It’s easy to have compassion toward

our family and our friends—toward

those who are closest to or most like us.

It’s not so easy to have compassion toward

those who are strangers or who we perceive,

rightly or wrongly, to be our enemies.

Give us compassion that moves easily

between individuals, groups, and situations.

Also give us compassion that

moves from attitude to action.

Amen.

A Prayer for Sunday, March 12, 2017

Second Sunday in Lent

O God,

Draw us nearer to you.

Help us know you as well as we can.

As we grow nearer to you, draw us nearer to ourselves.

Help us know ourselves as well as we can.

As we grow nearer to you and to ourselves, draw us nearer to others.

Help us know others as well as we can.

As we grow nearer to you, to ourselves, and to others, help us grow in love.

Amen.

A Prayer for Saturday, March 11, 2017

Mobile, Pt. 2 (Tenth day of Lent)

O God,

Give us mobile hope.

Give us hope that moves

easily from us to others.

When things seem okay

for us,

give us hope that they’ll be okay

for everybody.

When things seem bad

for us,

give us hope that they’ll be better

for everybody.

When things seem great

for us,

give us hope that they’ll be great

for everybody.

In other words, give us hope

that, when we have it for

ourselves, immediately becomes

hope that we have for others.

Don’t let our hope be just

about us.

Let it move right on over to

other people.

Amen.

A Prayer for Friday, March 10, 2017

Mobile, Pt. 1 (Ninth day of Lent)

O God,

Give us mobile faith.

Give us faith that moves easily

from one situation to another.

Give us faith that is strong and useful

in good and bad times,

in happy and sad times, and

in easy and difficult times.

Give us faith that always focuses on you

but that adapts to whatever we encounter.

Help us always take our faith with us.

Never let us leave our faith behind.

Amen.

A Prayer for Thursday, March 9, 2017

Let, Pt. 3 (Eighth day of Lent)

O God,

Help us know when to let up.

Help us recognize situations when

we need to keep trying, but we

don’t need to try quite so hard.

Help us learn the art of making a

determined effort with a light touch.

Amen.

A Prayer for Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Let, Pt. 2 (Seventh day of Lent)

O God,

Sometimes we need to let it be.

Sometimes we need to let it lie.

Sometimes we need to do nothing—

and nothing is hard for us to do.

Help us know when it’s time to back

away and watch from a distance.

Help us know when it’s time to trust you,

and even to trust others, to deal with it.

Don’t let us use this prayer as an

excuse not to engage, to confront,

and to intervene if we should.

Still, help us know when

we need to let it be.

Give us courage and faith to do so.

Amen.

A Prayer for Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Let (Pt. 1)

O God,

Sometimes we need to let go.

Help us know when it’s time.

We want to do what we can;

we want to do what we should.

But there comes a time when we’ve

done all we can and should do.

When that time comes, give us grace and

strength to let it go and trust it all to you.

Come to think of it—let us already be

letting it go and trusting it all to you even

while we’re doing all we can and should.

Amen.

A Prayer for Monday, March 6, 2017

Reflect, Pt. 3 (Fifth Day of Lent)

O God,

We are flawed mirrors.

We are marred, dull, and cracked.

Nevertheless, as we receive

your love,

your mercy, and

your grace,

let us reflect them onto

everyone around us.

Let our imperfect reflection of you

match up well with their broken lives

so they can know that you love them.

Let the strange angles at which our marred lives

reflect you cause your love to shine into the

cracks, corners, and  hidden places of their lives.

Amen.

A Prayer for Sunday, March 5, 2017

First Sunday in Lent

O God,

We praise you for your great grace.

We praise your for your grace that is

so much greater than our greatest sin.

Help us acknowledge our sins

so we can repent of them.

But help us acknowledge your

grace even more so we can

embrace your forgiveness.

Amen.

A Prayer for Saturday, March 4, 2017 (4th day of Lent)

Reflect (Pt. 2)

O God,

Let the end result of our

searching and seeking be

that we more and more reflect

your grace, mercy, and love

that we see in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

A Prayer for Friday, March 3, 2017 (3rd day of Lent)

Reflect (Pt. 1)

O God,

Lead us to reflect on the state of our lives.

Who are we?

What are our priorities?

What are we wasting?

What do we need to build on?

What do we need to tear down?

Why do we think like we think?

Why do we assume what we assume?

Why do we do what we do?

Help us undertake an honest appraisal of

who we are, what we are, and why we are.

Let your Spirit guide us in the process.

Amen.

A Prayer for Thursday, March 2, 2017

Spirit (Pt. 3)

O God,

Thank you for the world, the solar system,

the galaxy, and the universe in which we live.

Help us be aware of and stay in

touch with the spirit of creation.

Make us sensitive to what causes your

creation pain and sorrow. Help us move

away from such attitudes and actions.

Make us sensitive to what brings your

creation joy and peace. Help us move

 toward such attitudes and actions.

Amen.

A Prayer for Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Ash Wednesday

O God,

As we embrace our mortality,

help us embrace your eternity.

As we confess our sinfulness,

help us embrace your grace.

As we acknowledge our lack,

help us embrace your abundance.

Amen.