Saturday, May 31, 2014

A Prayer for Saturday, May 31, 2014

Forty-Second Day of Easter

O God,

Help us to lead
a full life
that shuns
nothing that
happens in it
and
no one who
comes into it.

Help us not to run
from anything
or
from anybody.

Help us to lead
a full life
that embraces
everything that
happens in it
and
everyone who
comes into it.

Help us to deal
fully and faithfully
with everything
and
with everybody.

Amen.

Friday, May 30, 2014

A Prayer for Friday, May 30, 2014

Forty-First Day of Easter

O God,

Keep us
aware of,
alert to,
and
responsive to
your gracious presence
within us through
your Holy Spirit,
about us in
your creation,
and
around us in
other people.

Thank you for
the ways in which
your pervasive presence
reminds us of
your love
for us,
for your creation,
and
for all people.

Lead us to
pay attention to how
your pervasive presence
calls us
to love you,
to love your creation,
and
to love all people.

Amen.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

A Prayer for Thursday, May 29, 2014

Fortieth Day of Easter

O God,

What an opportunity
is ours because
the resurrected Christ
is in us!

What an opportunity
is ours
to know him,
to listen to him,
to obey him,
to be empowered by him,
and
to follow him!

What fools
we are
if we do not
take advantage of
this opportunity!

What fools
we look like
if we do!

Give us wisdom
to look like
fools.

Amen.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

A Prayer for Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Thirty-Ninth Day of Easter

O God,

Give us

a mind that
thinks clearly,

a spirit that
trusts completely,

a heart that
loves constantly,

and

a body that
lives boldly.

Amen.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

A Prayer for Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Thirty-Eighth Day of Easter

O God,

Let

our one motivation,
our one inspiration,
and
our one obligation

be

the love—
the radical,
relentless
commitment
to you
and
to people—
that lives in us
because
the risen Christ
lives in us.

Amen.

Monday, May 26, 2014

A Prayer for Memorial Day

O God,

Thank you for those men and women whose love for nation, family, and freedom has led them to give their lives in service to our country.

Thank you for those men and women whose love for nation, family, and freedom leads them to work behind the scenes to make and keep peace so that more men and women won’t have to give their lives in service to our country.

Have mercy on those whose greed, hate, narrow-mindedness, and lust for power make it necessary for our men and women to give their lives in service to our country.

Give us hearts that tend toward mercy, reconciliation, understanding, and peace that we might be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Amen.

A Prayer for Monday, May 26, 2014

Thirty-Seventh Day of Easter

O God,

When we who
have the gift of life
live among the dying,
we are responsible
to share what we have
with them.

Forgive us for when
we try to keep
to ourselves
and
for ourselves
the life that you
have given us.

Inspire us by
the grace and love that
you have given us
to share your life
with everyone
we know
and
with everyone
we encounter.

Let such sharing begin
with the ways that
we think and feel
about those who are
different than we are …

Amen.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

A Prayer for Saturday, May 24, 2014

Thirty-Fifth Day of Easter

O God,

Let us know you.

You are all
we need to know.

If we know you,
we live in eternal life.

If we live in eternal life,
we live in confidence
that everything will
ultimately fall into place.

If we live in such confidence,
we live with a sense
of purpose that
enlivens everything in which
we are involved
whether it seems to us
major or trivial.

So let us know you,
because in knowing you
we know everything else
we really need to know
while even if we know
everything else but
don’t know you,
we miss the point because
we miss real life.

Amen.

Friday, May 23, 2014

A Prayer for Friday, May 23, 2014

Thirty-Fourth Day of Easter

O God,

Deliver us from
the allure of
false certitude;
give us instead
a tenacious trust.

Deliver us from
the pull of
misguided arrogance;
give us instead
a hopeful humility.

Deliver us from
the draw of
self-righteous judgmentalism;
give us instead
gracious understanding.

Deliver us from
the assumption of
completed maturity;
give us instead
constant growth.

Deliver us from
the inertia of
resigned pessimism;
give us instead
a servant spirit.

Deliver us from
the illusion of
successful arrival;
give us instead
an amazing journey.

Amen.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

A Prayer for Thursday, May 22, 2014

Thirty-Third Day of Easter

O God,

Help us,
as we wait
to live
forever,
to remember
to live
today.

Amen.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

A Prayer for Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Thirty-Second Day of Easter

O God,

Keep us mindful that where
your loving and gracious power is,
resurrection is always possible,

and so it is always possible that

death will give way to life,
despair will give way to hope,
and
defeat will give way to victory.

Keep us on the lookout for it …

Amen.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A Prayer for Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Thirty-First Day of Easter

O God,

We wonder about so much
because there is so much
we can’t know.

Help us to wonder
even more;
let us marvel
over the wonder of you,
over the wonders of your Creation,
and
over the wonders of your grace.

We worry about so much
because we can’t see
into the future.

Help us to worry
much less;
let us instead trust in you
and
do what we can
to address problems
in a constructive way.

We wish for so much
because we can’t see
the value in
what we already have.

Help us to wish
less and to wish for less;
help us be content with what we have,
grateful that our needs are fulfilled,
and
to work to meet
good and noble goals
rather than
wishing that they
could be achieved.

Amen.

Monday, May 19, 2014

A Prayer for Monday, May 19, 2014

Thirtieth Day of Easter

O God,

Do not let us accept
mere existence
and
bare survival
as substitutes for
real life.

Do not let us accept
the following of rules
and
the performing of religious rituals
as substitutes for
real spirituality.

Do not let us accept
resignation to
circumstances caused by our actions
and
crises caused by our choices
as substitutes for
real faith.

Do not let us accept
begrudging acceptance
and
condescending tolerance
as substitutes for
real grace.

Do not let us accept
shallow chatter
and
nodding acquaintance
as substitutes for
real relationships.

Do not let us accept
spasmodic involvement
and
occasional donations
as substitutes for
real service.

Do not let us accept
less
and
enough
as substitutes for
abundant life.

Amen.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

A Prayer for Sunday, May 18, 2014

Fifth Sunday of Easter

O God,

Thank you for
the new beginning
that each day brings.

Thank you for
the new beginning
above all beginnings—
the resurrection of Jesus Christ—
of which each Sunday reminds us.

Thank you for
the privilege of
worshipping you,
the God of new beginnings.

Thank you that
today may bring
the new beginning
that we need.

Thank you that
today may inspire us
to help others
find the new beginning
that they need.

Amen.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

A Prayer for Saturday, May 17, 2014

Twenty-Eighth Day of Easter

O God,

Thank you that, when
we were confronted with
the reality of death and with
the anxiety that it brings to life,
you did something about it
through the resurrection of Jesus.

Thank you for
every opportunity that we,
when we are confronted with
the realities of death and life
that are all around us,
have to do something about them
through the presence and power
of the resurrected Christ.

Help us to be as proactive and bold
about human crises
as you were
in the resurrection of Jesus.

Inspire us to take the power
of the resurrection that
we have experienced and
turn it loose in the world and
in the lives of those around us.

Amen.

Friday, May 16, 2014

A Prayer for Friday, May 16, 2014

Twenty-Seventh Day of Easter

O God,

Thank you for the physical breath
that you give us to breathe.
Let us breathe it in
slowly,
deeply, and
gratefully.

While the air you give us to breathe is good,
we have a tendency
because of selfishness or carelessness
to do things
to mess it up.
Help us to tend to it as best we can
so that it will be
the cleanest and healthiest air it can be
not just for our sake
but for everybody’s sake.

Thank you for the spiritual breath
that you give us to breathe.
Let us breathe it in
slowly,
deeply, and
gratefully.

While the spirit you give us to breathe is good,
we have a tendency
because of selfishness or carelessness
to do things
that cause us not to experience
its effects as well as we could.
Help us to keep ourselves
as open to the spirit as we can
not just for our sake
but for everybody’s sake.

Thank you for the breath
you give us to breathe …

Amen.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

A Prayer for Thursday, May 15, 2014

Twenty-Sixth Day of Easter

O God,

There is so much death around us.

Some of it comes
in the natural course of things—
someone lives a good long life
and then it is enough
and so they die.

Thank you for such deaths.

Some of it comes
in ways that seem to us out of order—
someone dies young or unexpectedly or tragically.

Thank you for the ways you help us
to live on in the wake of such deaths.

Some of it comes
as the result of cruel conditions or cruel choices or both—
children die from malnutrition and disease
because of famine or war
and because we who could help don’t
or people suffer
because of misguided and misapplied political or religious beliefs.

Thank you that there are ways we can help
bring life to bear in the midst of such death
if we are willing to give ourselves up—
if we are willing to take on pain and death that others might live.

There is so much death around us.
But there is so much life within us.

Give us grace and strength to share it,
no matter what it costs us.

Amen.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

A Prayer for Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Twenty-Fifth Day of Easter

O God,

It’s dark in a tomb;
it’s light outside a tomb.

So since you
have raised us
from death to life and
have taken us
from the darkness
into the light,
help us to walk
in the light.

Help us to walk.

When we were dead
in our sin we
could not even walk;
now we are alive
by your grace
so we can walk—
and run and jump!
Thank you
that we can walk,
that we can keep
moving forward;
cause us to take
full advantage of
the opportunity.

Help us to walk
in the light.

Thank you that
by your grace
your path for us
is bathed in your light.
Show us when
we veer off the path
you would have us walk;
let us be alert to
when we are treading
toward darkness.

Thank you that
you have released us
from the darkness and
have put us in the light.

Help us to walk
in your light.

Amen.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

A Prayer for Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Twenty-Fourth Day of Easter

O God,

What stones need
to be rolled away
from our lives?

What blocks us
from knowing you
so we can
know eternal life?

What needs
to be removed
from us
so we can
be set free to
live the life that
you intend for us
to live?

What needs
to be taken away
so we can
live the life that
Christ died and
rose from the dead
that we might be able
to live?

Show us what stones
need to be rolled away
from us
if we are going
to really live.
Help us
to face them honestly,
to admit them fully,
and
to request their removal sincerely.

Thank you
that you still
roll stones away …

Amen.

Monday, May 12, 2014

A Prayer for Monday, May 12, 2014

Twenty-Third Day of Easter

O God,

Only you can give
the gift of life
and we praise you
for that gift
that is the foundation
of all other gifts.

While only you can give life
you do give us the ability
to enhance our lives
and the lives of others;
help us to use that ability
wisely, gladly, and generously.

Help us to see that
our lives are best enhanced
as we help to enhance
the lives of others.

Forgive us for the tendency
that we sometimes indulge
to try to enhance our lives
by taking away from
other people’s lives,
be it in the way that we
think about them,
talk about them, or
treat them.

Help us consistently
to live lives that are
life-affirming
and
life-enhancing.

Amen.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

A Prayer for Sunday, May 11, 2014

Fourth Sunday of Easter

O God,

As we celebrate
who we will one day be
because of the resurrection
of your Son Jesus Christ,

lead us to celebrate
who we already are today
because of the resurrection
of your Son Jesus Christ

and to commit ourselves
to being all that we can be
in the days to come
because of the resurrection
of your Son Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

A Prayer for Saturday, May 10, 2014

Twenty-First Day of Easter

O God,

Thank you for
life’s celebrations
that give us
a foretaste of what
everlasting celebration
will be like.

Thank you for
life’s worship experiences
that give us
a foretaste of what
everlasting worship
will be like.

Thank your for
life’s relationships
that give us
a foretaste of what
everlasting relationships
will be like.

Thank you for
life’s life-affirming events
that give us
a foretaste of what
everlasting life
will be like.

Amen.

Friday, May 9, 2014

A Prayer for Friday, May 9, 2014

20th Day of Easter

O God,

We praise you that
by your grace
you come to us
in your fullness
and that
you fill up our lives
with your life.

We praise you that
by your grace
we know you
as the One
who enlivens us,
as the One
who renews us,
and
as the One
who empowers us.

We praise you that
by your grace
we know you,
that we are aware of
your gracious presence
in our lives, and
that we live
in light of the fact
that you are always
with us.

Amen.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

A Prayer for Thursday, May 8, 2014

19th Day of Easter

O God,

Forgive us for when we
in one moment
profess belief in
resurrection
and in the next moment
think, talk, or act like
we don’t believe anything
can be done to counteract
the forces of death
that are at work
all around us.

Let our belief in
resurrection
be a belief in
its present and ongoing power
and let that belief show itself
in the ways
we think, talk, and do something
about the life-draining forces and events
that are all around us
and that are all over this world.

Amen.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

A Prayer for Wednesday, May 7, 2014

18th Day of Easter

O God,

Keep us mindful
of the fact that
resurrection cannot occur
unless death occurs.

As we progress in walking
in newness of life, show us
how to let you put to death
those ways of
thinking,
speaking,
and
behaving
that drain the life from us
rather than reflect and enhance
the newness of life
in which we are growing.

Put to death
any arrogance,
any vindictiveness,
any envy,
any self-centeredness,
any fear,
and
any hypocrisy
that may remain in us
and
hinder us from truly
walking in newness of life …

Amen.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

A Prayer for Tuesday, May 6, 2014

17th Day of Easter

O God,

We acknowledge
that we live
in the meantime
between
the resurrection of Jesus
and
our own resurrection.

We also acknowledge
that in this meantime
we have been
and
are being raised
with Christ
to walk
in newness of life
through him.

Keep us mindful
of the fact that
we are not just
to wait for
our resurrected life
but
that we are to grow
in living
the resurrected life.

So in this meantime between
the resurrection of Jesus
and
our own resurrection,
help us to become
more and more able
and willing
to live the life
that you have
through the power of resurrection
given us to live
here and now.

Amen.

Monday, May 5, 2014

A Prayer for Monday, May 5, 2014

16th Day of Easter

O God,

Thank you for
your constant presence
with us
through your resurrected Son;

keep us constantly
aware of
your constant presence
with us

that we might
live constantly
in light of it.

Amen.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

A Prayer for Sunday, May 4, 2014

Third Sunday of Easter

O God,

We praise you today
because you raised
your Son Jesus Christ
from the dead
and
because, being raised,
he is here
with us.

We praise you today
because in your Son Jesus Christ
you will raise us
to new life
and
because even now
you are
raising us
to new life.

Let our praise of you
lead us to reach out
and touch
other lives
with the new life
that is ours
in your Son Jesus Christ
that they might also
know you in the new life
that comes through
knowing him
in the power of
his resurrection.

Amen.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

A Prayer for Saturday, May 3, 2014

Fourteenth Day of Easter

O God,

As best as we can understand
from your Book,
our life after
the great future resurrection
will be one of
uninterrupted joy,
unlimited understanding, and
unhindered fellowship.

For now, though, even as
we live lives in which
we have been raised
to walk in newness of life,
we live with
interrupted joy,
limited understanding,
and
hindered fellowship.

Still, because
the resurrected Christ
lives in us, we do have
joy in you,
understanding of you, and
fellowship with you—
far, far more
joy,
understanding,
and
fellowship
than we would have
without his presence
in us.

Remind us of how wonderful
our admittedly limited life is
because of the resurrected Christ
and of how unspeakably wonderful
our unlimited life will be
because of the resurrected Christ.

And in him, let
our joy,
our understanding,
and
our fellowship
increase
with every passing moment.

Amen.

Friday, May 2, 2014

A Prayer for Friday, May 2, 2014

Thirteenth Day of Easter

O God,

Thank you that
in your grace
you allow us
to know you.

Thank you that
through the
resurrection of Jesus
in which we have
been raised
to newness of life
we can participate
in eternal life
here and now.

Thank you that
the time will come
when we will
know you
fully and freely.

Thank you that
even now
we can grow
to know you
more and more.

Please
don’t let us miss
the opportunity …

Amen.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

A Prayer for Thursday, May 1, 2014

Twelfth Day of Easter

O God,

Help us each day
to move a little closer
toward full and unbroken
communion with you.

Use the factors, circumstances,
people, and events
that tend to get in the way
of that communion
to become instead
avenues through which
we step closer to you.

Help us to remember that
you are always
with us
and to do
everything we can
always to be
with you.

Amen.