Thursday, January 31, 2013

A Prayer for Thursday, January 30, 2013

Who

O God,

Forgive us for the ways in which we categorize people and therefore think of them in generalized ways that lead us to wonder and to ask “what” they are.

Lead us instead to put our assumptions and ourselves at risk by making the effort to get to know them as people and therefore to think of them in particular and personal ways that lead us to wonder and to try to find out “who” they are.

Help us to put the question of “Who?” far ahead of the question of “What?”

Amen.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

A Prayer for Wednesday, January 30, 2013

That

O Lord,

We can’t help but wonder sometimes how things got to be the way they are; indeed, sometimes “How?” is an important question to ask on our way to better understanding.

But would we be better off as people, as the Church, and as a society if we focused less on “How?” and more on “That”?

Do we need to see that, while it is important to understand how human beings got here, it is vitally important to embrace the fact that we are in fact here and that we therefore need to be there for each other?

Do we need to see that, while it is important to understand how you have chosen to be present among us through such events as the Incarnation and Pentecost, it is vitally important to know that you are in fact with us and that we therefore need to live in light of that reality?

Do we need, O God, to minor in “How?” but to major in “That”?

Amen.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

A Prayer for Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Habits

Sometimes we develop bad habits—habits of motive, of attitude, of thought, of words, or of actions—that are not helpful to us or to anyone else and that may even be harmful.

Help us, O Lord, to identify such bad habits and, by the help of your Spirit, to move away from them and to give them up.

We recognize and acknowledge, though, that giving them up is not enough.

So help us, O Lord, to identify better habits and, by the help of your Spirit, to develop the discipline of practicing them so that we not only avoid the bad and destructive but do the good and constructive.

Amen.

Monday, January 28, 2013

A Prayer for Monday, January 28, 2013

Around

O God,

This week we will get around; we will go to places and travel in between places. Guide us in our choice of destinations and in our choice of routes; lead us in the ways we should go.

This week we will be around; we will be around people and around situations. Guide us in the ways that we relate to people and to situations around which we find ourselves; help us to be a positive presence and a helpful influence.

Amen.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

A Prayer for Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Lord’s Day

O God,

As we give ourselves to you in worship today may we praise you for how you have given and continue to give yourself to us and may we be inspired to go out and give ourselves to you by giving ourselves to others knowing that as we do, you will give more and more of yourself to us.

Amen.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

A Prayer for Saturday, January 26, 2013

Silliness

For the silliness that surrounds us and that lies within us, we give you thanks, O God; thank you that you in your grace and wisdom gave us such a remarkable safety valve to help release steam and to relieve pressure.

Amen.

Friday, January 25, 2013

A Prayer for Friday, January 25, 2013

Expansion

O God,

Forgive us for the ways in which we try to reduce you to what we can understand and manage; forgive us when we attempt to reduce our experience of you to rituals, to rules, and to appearances.

Expand our ways of experiencing you; open our spirit, mind, heart, and senses to all of the ways that you reveal yourself in us and around us.

Expand our ways of responding to you; open our lives up to the vast possibilities of grace, love, and service.

Move us away from reduction and toward expansion when it comes to the ways that we experience and respond to you. Let our lives reflect our growing awareness of and participation in the wonder of it all.

Amen.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

A Prayer for Thursday, January 24, 2013

Mercy

O God,

For your mercy that has led you to show us compassion and kindness when we are hurting, even if the pain comes due to our own actions or lack of action, we praise you.

For the privilege and opportunity to have your mercy flow from us to other people who are hurting, we praise you.

Help us to be people who, because we have received mercy, offer mercy.

Amen.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

A Prayer for Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Through

O God,

Today may…

…your strength come through my weakness,
…your plenty come through my poverty,
…your joy come through my sorrow,
…your hope come through my worry,
…your faithfulness come through my inconsistency,
…your health come through my sickness, and
…your wisdom come through my foolishness.

Amen.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

A Prayer for Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Motives

O God,

Protect us from the illusion that we know ourselves so well that we always know why we do what we do; protect us from spiritual laziness that assumes that our motives are always sound.

At the same time, increase our awareness of our motives so that we will better understand what drives us; increase our ability to discern whether our motives are in line with our identity as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Form and shape us so that our main motives will be to love you and to love others; form and shape us so that our actions will be driven by those motives.

Keep us constantly aware that why we do what we do is just as important as—if not more important than—what we do.

Amen.

Monday, January 21, 2013

A Prayer for Monday, January 21, 2013

Possibilities

O God,

This week is pregnant with possibilities.

We think that we know some of what will happen and a good bit of what we expect likely will take place, but even in those cases there will be details that surprise us.

Then there will be those occurrences and opportunities for which we have absolutely no anticipation; we have no inkling that they are coming.

Thank you, God, for the routine of the expected and for the upheaval of the unexpected; thank you, God, for a life that is predictable enough to be manageable yet unpredictable enough to be exciting.

Help us to face all the possibilities of this week with great faith and with great hope, knowing that you are with us in all things and that in all things you are working your great purposes out.

Amen.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

A Prayer for Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Lord’s Day

Make us ready, O God, to experience your glory, grace, and love in all their extravagance.

Make us ready, O God, to be extravagant in what we do with it all.

Amen.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

A Prayer for Saturday, January 19, 2013

In Touch

May our prayers, O God, keep us in constant touch with the Spirit of God, the spirit of self, and the spirit of others.

Amen.

Friday, January 18, 2013

A Prayer for Friday, January 18, 2013

Social Networks

Thank you, God, for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Words with Friends, and all of the other great technological ways that we have to stay in touch with and share our lives with each other.

Protect us, though, against the temptation to let such ways of connecting take the place of face to face, voice to voice, heart to heart, spirit to spirit, life to life encounters with the people who are near enough to us physically that we can actually be there for each other and provide help to each other.

And in all our relationships, give us grace to strive always to do good and not to do harm in all that we say and do.

Amen.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A Prayer for Thursday, January 17, 2013

Wild/Tame

Help us, O God, to live our lives perched precariously and securely on the line between a wild faith and a tame one.

On the one hand, give us courage to practice a wild faith, a faith that looks for and is willing to participate in the audacious and hard to believe things that you are up to. Remind us that if all we expect is that which is expected, our expectations need to become better aligned with your ways in the world.

On the other hand, give us grace to practice a tame faith, a faith that looks for and is willing to participate in what you are doing in the ordinary and mundane realities of life. Remind us that if all we look for is the wild and unexpected, we will miss the vast majority of what you doing in the world.

Amen.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

A Prayer for Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Keys

Once a lock has been re-keyed, there is no point in keeping the old key. If you keep trying to use the old key to open the re-keyed lock, it will only lead to frustration.

The new key, now—that one will allow you to make progress in going through the door.

O God, sometimes your Spirit and grace “re-key” us so that only a new key will open the doors for us.

Guard us against a rigid faith that refuses to acknowledge the changes that you have made and are making in us. And having acknowledged the new things that you are doing, help us to accept the new and different ways of thinking, trusting, and living that you give us so that we can continue to go forward.

Protect us from trying to force the old key into a re-keyed lock; make us wise so that we will recognize and use the new key.

Amen.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A Prayer for Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Clever

In the things we say and do today, O God, help us to be clever in a good way. Help us to be creative, wise, careful, gentle, and loving.

In the things we say and do today, O God, help us not to be clever in a bad way. Help us not to be manipulative, dishonest, evasive, or hurtful.

And make us clever enough to know the difference…

Amen.

Monday, January 14, 2013

A Prayer for Monday, January 14, 2013

Humor

This week, O God, we will once again live in a world that is full of contention, suffering, and pain. We do not ask you to bless our sometimes failure to pay attention to and to immerse ourselves in the travails of the world so as to participate in what you are doing to overcome them. We do not ask you to give us permission to escape our responsibilities nor to give us peace if we do.

Much of what goes on around us is just not funny.

Much of what happens to us is just not funny.

And yet—not everything that we regard as a major crisis is in fact major and sometimes it is not even a crisis. Give us discernment to know the difference.

Where it is possible and appropriate, O God, help us to treat our lives with a light touch and with a sense of humor. Give us grace not to take ourselves too seriously; give us grace not to laugh at others inappropriately.

Thank you for a sense of humor; this week may ours become more evident and more mature.

Amen.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

A Prayer for Sunday, January 13, 2013

The Lord’s Day

As we gather today to worship you, O God, remind us of both the privileges and the responsibilities of being the baptized people of God; lead us to celebrate our identity as your beloved children and to renew our commitment to live as your people.

Amen.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

A Prayer for Saturday, January 12, 2013

Pets

Thank you, God, for our pets.

Thank you for what they help us to learn about…

…caring for those who can’t care for themselves,
…accepting love that is unconditional,
…the importance of just being there,
…the pleasure of simple things,
…the nurturing power of touch, and
…the power of joyous welcome whenever someone comes home.

Amen.

Friday, January 11, 2013

A Prayer for Friday, January 11, 2013

Sensitivity

O God,

On the one hand, protect us from being too sensitive about what people think or say about us; on the other hand, protect us from not being sensitive enough about what is going on in our mind and spirit.

On the one hand, help us to be sensitive to the needs of the people around us; on the other hand, help us not to think that we can accurately sense what is going on inside of someone else unless they choose to share it with us.

Increase and lessen our sensitivity as we need it increased and lessened.

Amen.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

A Prayer for Thursday, January 10, 2013

Longings

We all have our longings, O God.

Some longings are common to us all. We all long for security, for community, for meaning; we all long to be protected, accepted, and fulfilled.

Other longings are individual, personal, and private.

We acknowledge that you are fully aware of our longings.

Keep us constantly aware that the fulfillment of our major longings begins with our awareness of your acceptance of us that leads to our acceptance of you. Keep us in touch with your Spirit and in tune with your grace so that our personal longings will be realized and pursued in ways that are good for us and for others.

Amen.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

A Prayer for Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Moments

They come without our asking and they go without our noticing; the moments of our life are a gift that we take for granted.

Thank you, God, for the gift of each moment; keep us alert, O God, to what is happening in each of them; it is, after all, the sum of our moments that constitutes our life.

Especially keep us aware of your presence in each moment; make us ever more sensitive to the leadership of your Spirit and to the promptings of your grace.

Then keep us aware of our presence in each moment; make us ever more alert to what is within us that we might be fully ourselves in the living of our life.

And keep us aware of others’ presence in each moment; whether we are with someone or not, others are always there—so make us ever more willing to let them touch our life and to let our life touch theirs.

Empower us to live each moment of our life fully, freely, bravely, and humbly.

Amen.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A Prayer for Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Sure

O God,

We would like to be more sure than we are able to be. Given the uncertainties of life and the fallibility of our understanding, though, we must live with a lot of uncertainty.

Give us faith and hope to do so.

At the same time, help us to grow in the assuredness that you are always with us; help us to grow in our awareness of the sureness of you.

Help us to remember that it is a fact that you are right here, whether or not we are conscious of your presence—but increase our consciousness.

Amen.

Monday, January 7, 2013

A Prayer for Monday, January 7, 2013

Another

Thank you, God, for…

…another week,
…another day,
…another chance,
…another opportunity,
…another thought, and
…another breath.

As we make another effort, help us to trust in you, to rely on your Spirit, to follow Jesus, to be appropriately bold, and to be appropriately humble.

Amen.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

A Prayer for Sunday, January 6, 2013

Epiphany

O God,

In Jesus Christ your Son you revealed yourself to the whole world and made it clear that your grace and salvation are for all who will receive it.

As the light of the star led the Magi to the One who was the Light of the World, let your light so shine in us that we will point others to him as well.

Amen.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Prayer for Saturday, January 5, 2013

Twelfth Day of Christmas

For the great truths of which the Christmas Season reminds us, we give you thanks, O God.

Thank you that you so loved the world that you sent your only Son.
Thank you that you taught us of the dignity of our bodies by having your Son come in a body.
Thank you that you showed us the basic value of humility through your Son laying down his heavenly prerogatives to take on human flesh.
Thank you that you showed us in your Son what it means for your Church to be the Body of Christ in the world.

Thank you for these and for all of the other great truths of which the Christmas Season reminds us, O God.

Amen.

Friday, January 4, 2013

A Prayer for Friday, January 4, 2013

Eleventh Day of Christmas

O God,

We praise you that the baby Jesus who was born in Bethlehem as God Incarnate grew up to be the adult Jesus who as God Incarnate immersed himself in the suffering and pain of the people around him, taking that suffering and pain on himself and bringing healing and peace to those people.

We praise you for your continuing incarnation in your Church, which is the Body of Christ in which the Holy Spirit dwells. We praise you that we are called and empowered to immerse ourselves in the suffering and pain of those around us and, by your grace and love, to help.

Forgive us when we fail to be present with those who need you and us the most.

Strengthen us when we immerse ourselves in the lives of the hurting, the marginalized, and the oppressed.

Amen.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

A Prayer for Thursday, January 3, 2013

Tenth Day of Christmas

O God,

We praise you that the infant Jesus grew up to be a man who was complete, mature, and whole in his humanity and who therefore could be at peace even in the midst of disappointment and danger.

We praise you also that because of him and through him we can always be growing into such completeness, maturity, and wholeness.

Grant us your peace; grant us the real peace that comes from knowing you as intimately as we can and from knowing ourselves as fully as we can.

Amen.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

A Prayer for Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Ninth Day of Christmas

“The flesh is weak,” we like to say, and indeed it can be; but teach us, O God, that it can be stronger than we will usually acknowledge.

After all, your Son Jesus lived in the same flesh that we do and he lived in perfect freedom and in perfect obedience; through him we can live in much greater freedom and obedience than we think we can.

We praise you, O God, that your Son, by living as a human being in this world, both shows us who we can be and gives us the ability to be who we can be.

We admit the weakness of our flesh, O God. We know that you can make us stronger if we will only admit the possibility.

Amen.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

A Prayer for Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Eighth Day of Christmas

O God,

Your Book tells us that, in accordance with the law, Joseph and Mary had their son circumcised on the eighth day of his life and that on that day they officially gave him the name “Jesus” (Luke 2:21).

On this Eighth Day of Christmas, we praise you for his name that so well describes who he is and what he came to do: “The Lord Saves.”

When we get lost—when we wander away, when we try to find our way apart from you, when we forget who we are, when we forget whose we are—Jesus always comes after us to find us and to save us.

We thank you that he is still saving us from ourselves...

Amen.