How Shall I Sing To God? Tuesday Prayer

How shall I sing to God
when life is filled with
gladness, loving and birth,
wonder and worth?
I'll sing from the heart
thankfully receiving
joyful in believing.
This is my song,
I'll sing it with love.

How shall I sing to God
when life is filled with
bleakness, empty and chill,
breaking my will?
I'll sing through my pain
angrily or aching,
crying or complaining.
This is my song,
I'll sing it with love.

How shall I sing to God
and tell my Saviors story
passover bread
life from the dead?
I'll sing with my life
witnessing and giving
risking and forgiving.
This is my song
I'll sing it with love.


#591 Gather Hymnal

Peace the World Cannot Give

I knew my soul was sick and that I needed spiritual advice, and I knew also that this advice shouldn't be terribly sophisticated. So I went to see the pastor of my son's preschool....

I said that I was all over the place, up and down, scattered, high, withdrawing, lost, and in the midst of it all trying to find some elusive sense of serenity. "The world can't give that serenity," he said. "The world can't give us peace. We can only find it in our hearts."

"I hate that," I said.

"I know. But the good news is that by the same token, the world can't take it away."

Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Anchor Books, 1994), p. 221.

Sunday Prayer (late Edition)

Gracious God,
Thank you for this day.
Thank you for your presence in our lives.
Thank you for this day of worship and focus on you.
Thank you for your goodness to us.
Lord, forgive us when we take you for granted.
Forgive us when we take others for granted.
Forgive us when we take ourselves for granted.
Thank you for your forgiveness, may we live our lives as your forgiven people.
Lord we are grateful that our leaders care about the economic situation in our country, but Lord, can they go a little further than just Wall Street to Main Street to down the street to across the street and to those who make the street their home? Lord, may we do our part to make it so.
Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Collect for Communicators

God who wrote your words
on tablets of stone
with fingers of fire

God who gave your Word
the chief cornerstone
with hands of flesh

Help us who write
with fingers of flesh
through sparks of fire
to break open
hearts of stone

--The Reverend Jan Nunley

A Prayer For the Brokenhearted

Lord,
I am tearing the heart of my soul
in two.
I need you to come
And lie there yourself
In the wounds of my soul.
--Mechthild of Magdeburg

For Thursday

Praying Our Distractions

Martin Smith

You can't say about praying: "Practice makes perfect; gradually you will get to be really good, so be patient with the messiness of your beginner's results. In time you will be proud of what you achieve." Instead, the advice might go something like this: "Honey, prayer is God's way of getting you to meet the cast of characters you call your distractions. God knows we spend a lot of time disowning them and pretending we don't know them. They are family. Prayer will always be messy, because they are. Those 'distractions' are our mess. They're the mess we are in. So prayer is our rendezvous with them and God is present to introduce us. Maybe what you call your distractions are really the main event."

Source: Newsletter of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington

Tuesday prayer

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

e e cummings

The Reign of God

Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the kingdom is in heaven,' then the birds of heaven will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known...."

Gospel of Thomas 3

Sunday Prayer

Gracious God, today as we labor in your vineyard, your Kingdom, guide our work.
As we stand in the pulpit with all our labor for a sermon, may all that is said bring forth fruit.
May your vineyard flourish, may your Kingdom flourish.
May your spirit flow forth like water watering the land, may our souls be filled with your goodness, your mercy, your kindness.
Oh Lord we pray for our brothers and sisters
who were devastated by the power of hurricane Ike.
Oh Lord we pray for those who have lost their homes,
lost their jobs, lost their savings in this economic crisis.
Lord, presently, life just doesn't seem fair.
Life seems precarious, and unsure.
Lord we turn to you to right the wrong, bring peace to war torn lives,
comfort to those who are in pain and suffering, and love to those who feel unloved
Oh Lord the list goes on of the needs in this world.
How do we find the words, to say, except to turn to you our rock and our salvation.
And so Lord to you we turn and place our trust. Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Prayer of Devotion

still my soul, that i might pray Thee
calm my mind, that i might hear Thee
light my vision, that i might see Thee
unveil my heart, that i might truly love Thee

bend my knee, that i might adore Thee
loose my tongue, that i might exalt Thee
come witin, that i might know Thee
give me wings, that i might ever sing Thee

--Dr. Karen A. Eshelman, in Women's Uncommon Prayers: Our Lives Revealed, Nurtured, Celebrated.

Thursday Prayer

Eternal wellspring of peace--
may we be drenched with the longing for peace
that we may give ourselves over
as the earth to the rain, to the dew,
until peace overflows our lives
as living waters overflow the seas.

Marcia Falk, The Book of Blessings
(Beacon, 1996)

Psalm 130 Page 784, BCP

De profundis

1

Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice; *
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

2

If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss, *
O Lord, who could stand?

3

For there is forgiveness with you; *
therefore you shall be feared.

4

I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him; *
in his word is my hope.

5

My soul waits for the LORD,
more than watchmen for the morning, *
more than watchmen for the morning.

6

O Israel, wait for the LORD, *
for with the LORD there is mercy;

7

With him there is plenteous redemption, *
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

Tuesday Prayer

The Sacrament of Letting Go - © Macrina Wiederkehr

I worry too much. Autumn trees ask me not to worry. They, like Jesus, suggest trust rather than worry. So often in autumn I want to lean my head against a tree and ask what it feels like to lose so much, to be so empty, so detached, and then simply to stand and wait for God’s refilling. It sounds so simple, so easy. It isn’t easy.......

Slowly
she celebrated the sacrament of letting go
first she surrendered her green
then the orange, yellow and red
finally she let go of her brown
shedding her last leaf
she stood empty and silent, stripped bare.
Leaning against the winter sky
she began her vigil of trust.

And Jesus said:
Why do you worry about clothes? Remember the flowers growing in the fields; they do not fret about what to wear; yet I assure you not even Solomon in all his royal robes was dressed like one of these.

Shedding her last leaf
she watched its journey to the ground.
She stood in silence
wearing the colour of emptiness,
her branches wondering:
how do you give shade with so much gone?

And Jesus said:
Do not be troubled or needlessly concerned
and then,
the sacrament of waiting began.
The sunrise and sunset watched with tenderness.
Clothing her with silhouettes
they kept her hope alive.
They helped her understand that
her vulnerability
her dependence and need
her emptiness
her readiness to receive
were giving her a new kind of beauty.
Every morning and every evening
they stood in silence
and celebrated together
the sacrament of waiting!

And Jesus said:
Now if this is how God cares for the wild flowers in the fields which are here today and gone tomorrow, will he not care all the more for you...?

Thoughts from Elizabeth of the Trinity

Oh, how great God is, and how we are loved!

It seems to me I have found heaven on earth
since heaven is God and God is in my soul.

She does not look at the paths on which she is walking;
she simply gazes at the shepherd who is leading her.

I raise my eyes and look at God and then I lower them on you,
exposing you to the rays of his love.

Let yourself be loved.

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

Sunday Prayer

Forgiving and ever merciful God, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Help us to forgive when it is the hard thing to do. Help us to forgive one another for the slights, and big hurts as well just as you have forgiven us. Help us to remember that when we forgive we let go of wounds, pain, hurt and anger that would bind us and keep us from being free. Help us to remember that forgiveness does not mean we have to stay in abusive relationships or situations. Lord thank you again for the multitude of forgiveness that you have for all.

Lord as we remember this week the events of 9/11, help us to forgive those who caused these acts. Help us to continue to support and encourage those who were traumatized that day and those who still deeply miss their loved ones.

And Lord once again we lift up those in Texas and surrounding areas that have been impacted by hurricane Ike. We pray for the other countries that have also been impacted by the recent hurricanes. Help us to reach to out to our brothers and sisters in these areas with loving kindness and good will. Amen.

cross posted at revgalblogpals and my blog

Stella Maris

Art: Jana Skarecky

Blessed Mother, Star of the Sea,

Hear our prayers for those who are in the path of Hurricane Ike and the storms that will follow it. Keep safe those who work in first response, rescue, and other tasks made necessary at these times.

Stay the frustrated hearts and fearful spirits of evacuees and those who will lose power and property.

Hold us all in your arms this day.

A Prayer For the World This Friday

O God of love and mercy help us to be respectful and better stewards of all the resources you have given us; awaken us from apathy.

O God of love and mercy shine your light on all who hate and turn them from the darkness that consumes their minds, bodies and souls and bring them into the light of your love.

O God of love and mercy shine your light on each of us

that we may be passionate for your justice and mercy,

that we may reflect the beauty of your light to all peoples;

use us as instruments of your mercy and compassion and

help us to see your face in the face of our neighbor.

O God of love and mercy, let your light shine.

As summer fades and days grow shorter in the northern hemisphere, your love never fades, never wavers.

As winter warms and days grow longer in the southern hemisphere, your mercies are renewed again in forest and field and flock.


O God of love and infinite compassion, bless your world,
for you are merciful and you love your whole creation.


In Jesus’ name,

Amen

World in Prayer

Pray for safety during Hurricane Ike

With those of us on the Gulf Coast of Texas preparing for Hurricane Ike, I find these words of Paul comforting. I ask for God to keep all people safe during the storm and its effects.

Romans 14:6-8

14:6 Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

14:7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.

14:8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.

A riff off of Psalm 121

Heavenly Father, we look up to You as we pray today, for You are high and lifted up in reality and in our praise of You. Your word teaches that You made heaven and earth, and You made us in Your image, a little lower than yourself. You know us completely, far better than we know ourselves. You know our needs. You anticipate every problem that will cause us to struggle in the days ahead. You keep Your eyes upon us day and night, ever ready to come to our rescue. Direct our paths, so we will not stray into evil. Protect us from Your enemies and ours, through Your Son, who taught us to pray, “Our Father. . .”.

Tuesday Prayer

I heard a story about three bowls.

The first bowl is inverted, upside down, so that nothing can go into it. Anything poured into this bowl spills off.

The second bowl is right-side up, but stained and cracked and filled with debris. Anything put into this bowl gets polluted by the residue or leaks out through the cracks.

The third bowl is clean. Without cracks or holes, this bowl represents a state of mind ready to receive and hold whatever is poured into it.

Sometimes I am that first bowl, so busy being “productive” that I don’t notice when the very thing I want presents itself. Sometimes I am the second bowl, with such a fierce judging voice that focuses on what’s not working that I’m unable to see or appreciate all the things that are going well.

And sometimes, wonderful times, I am the third bowl, able to be present and absorbed in what I am doing, whatever it is.

– by Sue Bender, from “Everyday Sacred: A Woman’s Journey Home”

Benediction for the Week

Go, my children, with my blessing, never alone.
Waking, sleeping, I am with you, you are my own.
In my love's baptismal river I have made you mine forever.
Go, my children, with my blessing, you are my own.

Go, my children, sins forgiven, at peace and pure.
Here you learned how much I love you, what I can cure.
Here you heard my dear Son's story, here you touched him, saw his glory.
Go, my children, sins forgiven, at peace and pure.

Go, my children, fed and nourished, closer to me.
Grow in love and love by serving, joyful and free.
Here my Spirit's power filled you, here my tender comfort stilled you.
Go, my children, fed and nourished, joyful and free.

Text: Jaroslav Vajda
Tune: Ar Hyd y Nos (All Through the Night)

Sunday's prayer

Merciful God, we ask that your loving kindness be showered on the communities of faith we serve. We ask that where there is conflict that there is ability to speak the truth in love. We ask where there are divisions that restoration would be brought about by the power of your love. Help us to be ministers of reconciliation in a world full of hate, pain and alienation. And keep on forgiving us, so that we might learn to forgive ourselves and in turn forgive others.

We also pray for those who have experienced the devastating power of hurricanes this seaon and those who are in the path of those to come.Amen.

Saturday Prayer

You have loved us first. Help us never to forget that you are love, so that this sure conviction might triumph in our hearts over the seduction of the world, over the inquietude of the soul, over the anxiety for the future, over the fright of the past, over the distress of the moment. But grant also that this conviction might discipline our souls so that our hearts might remain faithful and sincere in the love which we bear to all those whom you have commanded us to love as we love ourselves.

~Soren Kierkegaard
(Gannet Iona Image)

Prayer For Passages

God of all time: As the summer flowers fade, as leaves begin to fall, as crops ripen, as beginnings and endings in our lives bring both joy and sorrow, we ask simply that you abide with us, walk with us, through these passages all the way into an eternity with you and with all God's people. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Thursday: Becoming Fully Human

"Committing myself to the task of becoming fully human is saving my life now. This is not the same as the job of being human, which came with my birth certificate. To become fully human is something extra, a conscious choice that not everyone makes. Based on my limited wisdom and experience, there is more than one way to do this. If I were a Buddhist, I might do it by taking the bodhisattva vow, and if I were a Jew, I might do it by following Torah. Because I am a Christian, I do it by imitating Christ, although I will be the first to admit that I want to stop about a day short of following him all the way."

~~Barbara Brown Taylor
Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, 229

O Holy One, I commit myself to you, who created me and continues to grow me into myself. Help me--help each one in this world--to live consciously for You. Amen.

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Tuesday Prayer

from Community and Growth by Jean Vanier

Therese of Lisieux writes that as she meditated on the New Commandment of Jesus, to love people as he loves them, she began to see how imperfect her own love was:

it was so obvious that I didn’t love my sisters as God loves them. I realize now , that perfect love means putting up with other people’s shortcomings, feeling no surprise at their weakness, finding encouragement even in the slightest evidence of good qualities in them.

To love people is to recognize their gifts and help these to unfold; it is also to accept their wounds and be patient and compassionate toward them. If we see only gifts and beauty, we idealize them. If we see only the wound, we do too much for them and tend to keep them in submission.

Hymn for Labor Day

Jesus, thou divine Companion, by thy lowly human birth
thou hast come to join the workers, burden bearers of the earth.
Thou, the carpenter of Nazareth, toiling for thy daily food,
by thy patience and thy courage, thou hast taught us toil is good.

Where the many toil together, there art thou among thine own;
where the solitary labor, thou art there with them alone;
thou, the peace that passeth knowledge, dwellest in the daily strife;
thou, the Bread of heaven, art broken in the sacrament of life.

Every task, however simple, sets the soul that does it free;
every deed of human kindness done in love is done to thee.
Jesus, thou divine Companion, help us all to work our best;
bless us in our daily labor, lead us to our Sabbath rest.

Text: Henry Van Dyke
Tune: Pleading Savior