Tuesday, June 30, 2015

A Prayer for Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Fresh

O God,

Help us always to be
willing to take a fresh look.

After all,

we have changed,
times have changed,
understanding has changed,
and
circumstances have changed.

So if we are willing to take
a look at something today
that we made our mind up
about a long time ago,
we might find that
things look different;
we might find that
we need to open
our mind back up and
let some fresh air in.

After doing so, we
might change our mind.

Or, we might decide that
the perspective or position
from long ago is still the best one,
but at least some fresh air
will blow the dust off it and make
it cleaner and more presentable.

Deliver us, O God, from

intellectual,
moral,
ethical,
emotional,
theological,
and
spiritual

mustiness.

Amen.

Monday, June 29, 2015

A Prayer for Monday, June 29, 2015

Encouragement

O God,

Help me to contribute to the development
of an atmosphere of encouragement.

Help me to be an encourager to others.

Let me encourage them

to do what they need to do,
to grow like they need to grow, and
to be who they are meant to be.

Let me encourage them through
my attitudes, my words, and my actions.

Help me to let others be encouragers to me.

Let me accept their support
of who I am and
of what I try to do.

Let me accept their praise
with gratitude and with humility.

Encourage my sisters, my brothers,
and me to create and to live in
an atmosphere of mutual encouragement.

Show us how best to
encourage one another.

Amen.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

A Prayer for Sunday, June 28, 2015

The Lord’s Day

O God,

We praise you for all the ways
that you have touched us.

Thank you for your gracious touch that has

restored us when we were broken,
found us when we were lost,
welcomed us when we returned,
loved us when we were unlovable,
blessed us when we felt cursed,
forgiven us when we have sinned,
lifted us when we have fallen, and
comforted us when we were hurting.

Thank you for your people whose
hands have been your hands to us.

Help us to be the people whose
hands are your hands to others.

Amen.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

A Prayer for Saturday, June 27, 2015

Change

O God,

Things change.

As they do,

help us to be open
to new possibilities.

As they do,

let the constants
in our lives be
grace, love, hope,
mercy, and justice.

As they do,

help us to keep our
eyes always on you,
and especially on
your Son Jesus Christ.

As they do,
give us lots
of wisdom—
but give us even
more love.

Amen.

Friday, June 26, 2015

A Prayer for Friday, June 26, 2015

Drag (Part 3)

O God,

Don’t let me think that I can or
should drag it out of people.

Keep me from trying to drag

approval of me,
agreement with me,
affection for me,
or even
love for you

out of them.

Help me to know myself
well enough that my life
is an offer of my love.

Help me to know you
well enough that my life
is an offer of your grace.

Let me love people enough
that I want them to know
and to love you and me.

Let me respect you,
them, and myself
enough that I won’t try
to force them to love us.

Give me grace to offer
your love and my love
to them as a gift.

Give me grace to leave
it to them to decide
what to do with it.

Amen.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

A Prayer for Thursday, June 25, 2015

Drag (Part Two)

O God,

Keep me from
dragging people
down.

Don’t let me

nurture attitudes,
speak words, or
undertake actions

that, if other people are
influenced by them, will
result in them going to a
moral or spiritual place
that is lower than
where they were.

Help me instead

to develop motives,
to offer ideas, and
to live a life

that will inspire people
to move to
a moral or spiritual place
that is higher than
where they were.

Help me also to remember
that I can’t drag people anywhere
they aren’t willing to go.

Let me offer the good gifts I
have received from you in ways
that are gracious and loving.

Remind me to leave it to you
to move them along.

Amen.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

A Prayer for Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Drag (Part One)

O God,

Please don’t let me be a drag.

Don’t let me be someone
who impedes progress;
don’t let me be the one
who stands in the way of
a good plan or of its execution.

Don’t let me be someone
who gets in the way of enjoyment;
don’t let me be the one
whose attitudes and actions
turn a good time into a bad time.

Don’t let me be someone
who offers resistance or creates friction;
don’t let me be the one
whose narrowness slows down
forward movement.

Don’t let me be a drag, O God.

Instead, let me be someone
who fosters progress,
who joins in the party, and
who helps good movements

to move.

Amen.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

A Prayer for Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Glimpse

O God,

Today

will be a good day,
a day worth living,
if I can catch a glimpse
of your glory.

Lead me to look
in the right places.

Lead me to watch for
a glimpse of your glory

in the trust of a child,
in the willingness of a volunteer,
in the smile of a friend,
in the selflessness of a servant,
in the vulnerability of a lover,
in the love of a parent, and
in the need of a stranger.

Remind me to keep my
eyes on where your glory
is most likely to be found.

Amen.

Monday, June 22, 2015

A Prayer for Monday, June 22, 2015

Adventures

O God,

Thank you for all of
the adventures in life.

Thank you

for the new things,
for the unexpected opportunities,
for the different twists, and
for the challenging obstacles

that we will experience in this week
and in all the weeks that we live.

Give us courage so that we
will run away from none of it.

Give us faith so that we
will embrace all of it.

Give us hope so that we
will see the possibilities in all of it.

Give us insight so that we
will perceive the wonder in all of it.

Amen.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

A Prayer for Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Lord’s Day

O God,

Let our love be defined by your love
as we see it in your Son Jesus Christ.

Let our love be marked

by humility,
by service,
by sacrifice,
by encouragement,
by hope, and
by grace.

Let our love be defined by your love
as we see it in your Son Jesus Christ.

For love’s sake,

Amen.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

A Prayer for Saturday, June 20, 2015

For

O God,

For the gift of a new day we will experience,
for the gift of the people we will encounter,
for the gift of the thoughts we will think,
for the gift of the words we will say,
for the gift of the voices we will hear,
for the gift of the sights we will see,
for the gift of the love we will share,
for the gift of the hope we will maintain, and
for the gift of the life we will live,

we give you thanks.

Amen.

Friday, June 19, 2015

A Prayer for Friday, June 19, 2015

Emanuel AME Church

O God,

Bless the families of the nine people who were murdered in their church building after they had shared in a time of prayer with the man who would shoot them.

Bless the church family that has been violated by senseless and hate-fueled violence while engaging in actions—in Bible study, prayer, and hospitality—that should make for peace.

Help the Charleston community so that whatever divisions they have will not be made wider by this treacherous tragedy and that whatever progress they have made in coming together will not be harmed by it.

Help our nation so that we will take responsibility for our corporate role in creating and perpetuating a culture of violence even as we hold the killer responsible for his actions.

Inspire us all so that we will do what we can to make such mass killings less likely.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Amen.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

A Prayer for Thursday, June 18, 2015

Compelled

O God,

Let us be compelled to act

by empathy,
by compassion,
by grace,
by hope,
by mercy,
by humility,
by acceptance,
by understanding,
by wisdom, and
by love

and not

by fear,
by vengeance,
by ignorance,
by despair,
by arrogance, or
by hatred.

Amen.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

A Prayer for Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Used (Part 4)

O God,

Thank you for those things that get used
regularly in the normal course of our lives.

Thank you for things like

toothbrushes,
toilets,
sinks,
chairs,
roads,
phones,
utensils,
beds, and
lights.

Fill us with gratitude for even
the simplest and most basic things
that we use without thinking about them.

Help us to pay attention
and to be grateful …

Amen.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

A Prayer for Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Used (Part 3)

O God,

Forgive us for those times when
we have used other people

to further our ambitions,
to solidify our position,
to satisfy our desires, or
to demonstrate our power.

Help us to forgive those who
have used us in those or other ways.

Give us grace and love to view
others as people to be respected
rather than as objects to be used.

Help us to live and to work
as partners in life rather
than as rivals in battle.

Help us to treat each other
as fellow travelers on the journey rather
than as competitors in a race.

Help us to see each other
as persons to love rather
than as means to an end.

Amen.

Monday, June 15, 2015

A Prayer for Monday, June 15, 2015

Used (Part 2)

O God,

It is only natural that we get used to certain things;
it is only human that we grow accustomed to
what we encounter on a regular basis.

Sometimes, though, that to which we grow accustomed
is that to which we should pay the most attention.

We get used to those with whom we share the closest relationships—
but help us to tend carefully to those relationships.

We get used to your presence with us through your Spirit—
but help us to keep our spirits open to how you are leading us.

We get used to reading our Bibles—
but help us to keep our minds open to its guidance.

We get used to the crowds of people around us—
but help us to remember that the individuals in
those crowds both need and can share love.

We get used to the great needs of the world—
but help us always to do what we can to help.

Don’t let our familiarity
breed contempt or apathy.

Help us instead to pay close attention
to those who are and to that which is

always there.

Amen.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

A Prayer for Sunday, June 14, 2015

The Lord’s Day

O God,

You are—and that is reason enough.

It is reason enough for us
to gather to praise you with
our hearts and with our voices.

It is reason enough for us
to be grateful that you gave us a life
and a beautiful world in which to live it.

It is reason enough for us
to be amazed that you think about us
and that when you think about us,
you think about us with love.

It is reason enough for us
to be aware that you are always
there to guide us, to comfort us,
to challenge us, and to strengthen us.

It is reason enough for us
to shudder at your willingness to give
of yourself that we might know you.

It is reason enough for us
to worship you not only with
our hearts and voices but also by
living our lives in ways that are inspired
by your gracious and sacrificial love.

You are, O God—and that is reason enough
for us to worship you today and every day.

Amen.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

A Prayer for Saturday, June 13, 2015

Used (Part One)

O God,

There are ways we used to be
that we no longer are,

thoughts we used to think
that we no longer think, and

things we used to do
that we no longer do.

Insofar as those are ways, thoughts, and actions
that were immature, improper, or insufficient,
we thank you that we have moved beyond them.

Insofar as there are ways, thoughts, and actions
that we should not have abandoned and
that in moving past we actually regressed,
help us to reclaim them.

Give us wisdom to
know the difference.

Give us strength
not to return to them
or to return to them
as is best for us and others.

Amen.

Friday, June 12, 2015

A Prayer for Friday, June 12, 2015

When

O God,

When I am dying,
let me die well.

When I am gone,
let me be remembered.

When I am unaware,
let me be peaceful.

When I am immobile,
let me be gracious.

When I am unable,
let me be receptive.

When I am past thinking,
let me keep loving.

When I enter eternity,
let me live well.

Amen.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

A Prayer for Thursday, June 11, 2015

While

O God,

While I am alive,
help me to live well.

While I am here,
help me to be present.

While I am aware,
help me to pay attention.

While I am mobile,
help me to move wisely.

While I am able,
help me to serve willingly.

While I am breathing,
help me to share life.

While I am loved,
help me to share love.

While I am blessed,
help me to bless.

Amen.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

A Prayer for Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Ahead

O God,

Help us to keep moving ahead;
help us to keep moving forward
so that our direction is always ahead.

Never let us retreat; even
when we take a step back,
let us then take two steps forward
so that we are always moving ahead.

And let the goal ahead of us be maturity;
let us always be heading toward becoming
the most complete version of ourselves
that we with your help can be.

Protect us from trying to get ahead;
guard us against letting our goals be
materialistic and our motivation egotistic.

Don’t let us want to have
more than others have;
don’t let us judge our success
by how much money we make
and how many things we own.

Let our aim be to give ourselves away
rather than to build ourselves up
and to share with others rather than
to hoard what we have for ourselves.

Who knows how much life
we have left ahead of us?
Help us to live it well.

Who knows when we will reach
what is ahead of us after we die?
Help us to live here in ways that
get us ready for what awaits us there.

Amen.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

A Prayer for Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Faithful

O God,

Thank you for always
being faithful to us.

Thank you for always
being faithful
to your commitments

to us,
to your church,
to your world,
and
to your universe.

Help us to be faithful to you.

Help us also to be faithful

to our commitments to our loved ones,
to our responsibilities to our various communities,
and
to our obligations to the world at large.

Enable us to be faithful

in trust,
in hope,
in service,
in compassion,
and especially
in love.

Amen.

Monday, June 8, 2015

A Prayer for Monday, June 8, 2015

New

O God,

“Nothing,” the Preacher says,
“is new under the sun.”

Well, maybe not.

But we sure haven’t seen it all.
And we sure haven’t understood it all.

So keep us always ready to encounter people, ideas,
perspectives, stories, objects, and approaches
that, while not new, are new to us.

Make us always ready to process
our new experience, encounter, or “discovery,”

to incorporate it into our feeling, thinking,
talking, and acting as we should,

and to resist and discard any part of it that would
keep us from loving you and loving others as we should.

Thank you for every new thing we will
encounter on this day and on every day.

Help us to keep our eyes, our minds,
our hearts, and our minds wide open
to whatever you have awaiting us.

Amen.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

A Prayer for Sunday, June 7, 2015

The Lord’s Day

O God,

Help us to worship you
in spirit and in truth today.

Help us to worship you as we really are—
as people who are flawed, frail, and forgiven.

Help us to worship you as you really are—
as God who is holy, loving, and forgiving.

Amen.

Saturday, June 6, 2015

A Prayer for Saturday, June 6, 2015

Choices

O God,

For the choices that
put us on the right road,

for the choices that
put us on the wrong road
that nonetheless led us
to the right place,

for the choices that others made—
some of which we know about and
some of which we don’t—
that caused us to change direction,

for the choices that were
forced on us by circumstance or
offered to us by opportunity
and that changed our lives,

we give you thanks.

We thank you for the place to which
you in your grace have brought us
both because of and despite our choices.

Help us to gain wisdom from
the choices of the past that
have led us to our present.

Help us to make choices
in the present that will lead us
to our most appropriate future.

Amen.

Friday, June 5, 2015

A Prayer for Friday, June 5, 2015

Proportion

O God,

The amount of knowledge, insight, understanding, and wisdom that we don’t have far outweighs the amount that we do have.

Grant that the frequency with which we express our opinion will be in proportion to the amount of knowledge, insight, understanding, and wisdom that we actually possess.

We’ll enjoy the rest and others will enjoy the quiet.

And we’ll all give you thanks!

Amen.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

A Prayer for Thursday, June 4, 2015

Passing

O God,

On the one hand, I am just passing through.

On the other hand, I will only pass this way once.

So while I am passing through this world,
help me to make the most of it.

Help me

to love deeply,
to care fervently,
to help committedly,
to share generously,
and
to live boldly.

Help me to live so that when I pass away
I will have lived as full a life as I possibly could.

Help me to live so that when I pass on,
the faith, hope, and love in which I have lived
will have me well prepared for what comes next.

Help me to live so that when I pass from the scene,

I will pass down

some memories that will be worth remembering,
some values that will be worth preserving,
some practices that will be worth continuing,
and
some projects that will be worth developing.

Amen.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

A Prayer for Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Relief

O God,

For

Red Skelton,
Johnny Carson,
Lucille Ball,
Dick Van Dyke,
Andy Griffith,
Flip Wilson,
Steve Martin,
Mitch Hedberg,
George Carlin,
Richard Pryor,
Rich Little,
Groucho Marx,
Peter Sellers,
Stephen Colbert,
Tina Fey,
Amy Poehler,
my cousin Stan,

and anyone else who has ever
provided me with comic relief,

I give you thanks.

May their tribe increase . . .

Amen.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

A Prayer for Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Friends

O God,

For old friends,
for new friends,
for future friends,
for good friends,
for best friends,
for all friends--

Thank you!

Help me to focus more on
being a friend than on having one.

Help me to focus more on

giving than on receiving,
on helping than on being helped, and
on loving than on being loved.

Amen.

Monday, June 1, 2015

A Prayer for Monday, June 1, 2015

Busy

O God,

If this week is
like most weeks,
we’ll be busy.

We’ll be busy with
things we have to do.

We’ll be busy with
things we want to do.

We’ll be busy with
things we don’t want to do.

We’ll be busy with
things that don’t need doing.

Whatever we’re busy with this week,
help us to stay busy
loving you and loving other people.

Let love motivate our every task;
let love guide our every action
let love be the measure of our every success.

When we look back on this week,
may we be able to note some accomplishments.

Mainly, though, may we be able to note a lot
of loving thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

Amen.