Friday, March 17, 2017

A Prayer for Friday, March 17, 2017

Green, Pt. 1 (15th 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.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

A Prayer for Thursday, March 16, 2017

Maybe (14th 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.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

A Prayer for Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Mobile, Pt. 5 (13th 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. 

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

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.

Monday, March 13, 2017

A Prayer for Monday, March 13, 2017

Mobile, Pt. 3 (11th 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.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

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.

Saturday, March 11, 2017

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.

Friday, March 10, 2017

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.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

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.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

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.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

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.

Monday, March 6, 2017

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.

Sunday, March 5, 2017

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.

Saturday, March 4, 2017

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.

Friday, March 3, 2017

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.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

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.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

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.