May 31, 2011

I give myself to you, God of all.

Please use me.

Break me apart,

And refine me.

Remove the parts of me that are unacceptable to you,

Place within me a new heart,

Fully created by you,

Filled with your spirit.

Remake me, O God.

Remake me to shine in the way that you intended,

And in the same way that you shine…

Even if it is only a tiny fraction of your light,

Let me shine light.

Amen.

May 30, 2011

Help me to commune with you, O God.

Help me to know you intimately, and help me to feel your presence all around me.

I pray to know more of you each day

So that I can learn how to love in the way you do,

And so I can help others to see who you are,

Shining through me.

Amen.

May 29, 2011

God, who of us has the right to say they have all the answers?

There are denominations that teach this and that…

There are other world religions that teach things about love and peace and equality…

But often, each of these wants to claim that they have the one right answer.

Each wants to say the other does not have the truth, or only part of the truth.

In the end, only you, O God, know.

Help us to get along,

Using the things that help us to love

And agreeing where we can.

Help us to never claim someone else’s experience of the divine is wrong or impossible,

And help us to continue to talk to one another so we can continue to learn from one another.

Amen.

May 28, 2011

What do you want from us, Parent God?

What do you want us to be?

If it’s all about love,

Why is it so hard to love?

If we are to bring others into relationship with you,

Why do others seem to think that idea is so strange,

And why would anyone react to us in anger when we try to introduce them to you?

Why was your Son persecuted for revealing the kingdom of heaven?

And how can we possibly hope to spread your love and his

When he himself was rejected by the world he created?

Strengthen us,

Move us,

Mold us into your image,

And help us to persevere

So that we may spend eternity praising you.

Amen.

May 27, 2011

I need your grace, each and every day, O Lord.

I need your forgiveness to be renewed,

Because I am always making mistakes.

I keep trying to remake myself in your image,

But it is so hard to stay with you,

And so easy to take steps in the wrong direction.

I do this even when I know it is what I am doing.

Lord, God, forgive me,

And please do the re-creating yourself,

So that I can stay in your light

And not compel myself toward the darkness.

Amen.

May 26, 2011

Lord God, I thank you for the breath I take each day.

I take each breath, each heartbeat, each moment for granted.

This is just the same way I take your presence for granted.

I know you will always be there, and be here with me,

Sustaining my life and re-creating my world each day.

Help me to remember the wonderful things you have done for me

Each and every day of my life,

And help me to keep returning my thanks to you,

Gracious and loving God.

Amen.

May 25, 2011

You have made this day,

I praise you greatly for all you have done!

You desired that the world be created, and it was.

You desired that humans be created, and we were.

You desired relationship with us humans,

And some accepted, while others either distrusted you,

Or simply went another way.

Help us, the church, to guide others into the relationship you want.

Help us to show, not force, others to find you.

Help us to keep from judging the way that you relate to humans other than ourselves,

And help us to live with our differences in peace.

Amen.

May 24, 2011

Lord, look upon your servant with favor!

I look to you day and night.

I follow your statutes to the best of my ability.

I ask you to guide me before I make a decision,

And I come to you afterward to help digest whether I did the right thing.

But I still lack peace.

I still feel that I am wandering without clear direction.

Maybe, like the sheep, it is not necessary that I know my destination,

Only that I can trust the shepherd.

Is this what I am to learn?

Then lead me, O God!

May 23, 2011

How does it get away from me, O Lord?

How does the time fly by so quickly so that before I even take a breath,

I feel a thousand miles behind?

How can I catch up with all the things I am supposed to do?

How can I do the million things that I have neglected, or simply not had a chance to complete?

Then again, Lord, what do you command?

To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you.

That’s all.

Help me to remember to put your things first,

And not to sweat all the things I have piled up upon myself.

Amen.

May 22, 2011

Where is there away from you, O Lord?

Are you really everywhere at all times?

It is unthinkable that there is a way we can escape from your presence,

And yet, we see such suffering sometimes that we have to wonder

Whether you can really see all the things that we see.

If you have all power, then how can children go without bread?

If you have all compassion, how can some be tortured and killed in the name of righteousness?

Lord, we pray that you would enter into our space,

And rain righteousness and justice on us.

Bring us into right relationship with you

And with our neighbor.

Help us to provide for others through your bounty to us.

Amen.

May 21, 2011

Glory to you, O Lord!

Praise and honor be to your name!

You are the sole creator of all things in the universe;

You are the rock and the redeemer;

Your love for us surpasses all that we can understand.

You formed us from out of your own imagination;

Your creative powers have no limit.

You formed us, and we strayed.

You made us, but we did not turn back to you.

Yet, you, O Lord did not turn from us,

But continued in patient lovingkindness,

Teaching us to be yours,

One by one if that was what it took.

Thank you Lord, because without your continuing love and patience,

We would all be lost.

Amen.

May 20, 2011

In the course of time, O Lord,

You have always shown yourself to be faithful,

Even when we humans have been utterly unfaithful to you.

Thank you, Lord, for your continued care for us,

And please forgive the ways in which we have sinned against you.

Instill in us a desire to know more of you

And to love you better

That our desires and actions would be motivated by caring for you

Instead of our own greed.

Amen.

May 19, 2011

O Lord, I do not have the ability to understand the mysteries that surround faith.

I read your word, and I discuss major theological issues.

I have no guaranteed answers.

All I know for sure is that you have chosen the people of this world

To bring into existence and to be your companions.

I believe that you want all of them to spend eternity with you.

O Lord, please reveal yourself to us,

Help us to know you well enough, the whole world over,

That we would reach to you with all our being.

Amen.

May 18, 2011

All have come from you,

And all will return to you.

It is unlikely that any of us understand how this is to be

Or what it really means.

All we know, O Lord, is that we have our source, being, and ending in you.

Hallelujah!

Amen.

May 17, 2011

Hope for the hopeless,

Love for the unlovable,

Joy for the brokenhearted,

Peace for the war torn.

Perhaps this is the best way to describe you, O Lord.

Please look on us and give us all that we need to survive and grow in faith.

Amen.

May 16, 2011

Sometimes in my walk, Lord, I have felt the darkness overshadow me.

It has seemed as uncontrollable as a cloud blocking out the sun.

I have been to the depths, and I have totally lost my way.

Yet, now that I am away from those experiences,

I see that you were with me.

You never stepped away from me,

Even when I feared I was so far away from you

That I would never find you again.

Lord, give strength to all those who suffer with any illness,

Especially those who struggle with mental and emotional disease.

Draw them closer to you

So that they may find strength in their comforter.

Amen.

May 15, 2011

O, Lord, you are light,

And I am living in your light.

I want to continue to stay in your light

And avoid the darkness.

But in my story, I know the darkness can come

Sometimes without reason,

Usually without warning.

Lord, keep me safe from the darkness,

That I may not only continue to be in your light,

But that I may continue to reflect your light to others.

Amen.

May 14, 2011

In the brightness of the morning,

When I have just risen and the day is new,

Lord, reveal yourself to me.

In the mid-day, when I have begun to deal with the problems of the day

And I start to stumble,

Lord, reveal yourself to me.

In the afternoon when fatigue sets in and hopelessness threatens,

Lord, reveal yourself to me.

In the evening when I am exhausted,

And I need to find rest,

Lord, reveal yourself to me.

Wherever I am, whatever I do,

Whatever my struggle or triumph,

Lord, reveal yourself—all of who you are—to me.

Amen.

May 13, 2011

I sing to you, O Lord!

I shout of your mercies to me!

I sing of the ways that you have brought me through my battles—

Battles of the mind,

Battles of will,

Battles with others and with myself.

Lord, I praise you for the greatness you have shared with me,

And I pray that you would continue to heal me when I ail.

Amen.

May 12, 2011

In the history of people,

Many have tried to prove your existence.

All different types of logic have been used,

Many different views have been argued.

But, O Lord, you have revealed yourself to me

In a way that no proof could ever enhance.

You have shown me that you are real

In the ways you touch my life and my soul daily.

You have given me more assurance of your love and grace

Than any logic or science could ever prove.

Lord, extend that assurance to all humans

So that we can all live under your wings of love and sustenance.

Amen.

May 11, 2011

Looking at the variety and the wonder throughout this world,

Lord, you have been so faithful to your people.

You have continued to regard and sustain us,

Even as the world continues to turn

And change and even as the rest of creation

Has come through great changes and tribulations,

Sometimes at our hands.

Forgive us for our lack of care for your creation,

And inspire us to care for it as you have commanded.

And, O Lord, please continue to care for and sustain us

So that we can eventually find our way back to you.

Amen.

May 10, 2011

Lord God,

I can never thank you enough.

When I look at all the things around me that you have created,

When I realize the wonders that are in this world,

I know that I can never return to you enough praise,

Enough thanksgiving,

Enough love

To even begin to repay all that you do for me

And for the world.

With all my being,

I praise you and thank you

Because of all you have done in creating me

And the billions of people,

The earth, creatures, plants,

The sun, moon, stars,

All of this delights us,

And all praise is due to you.

Thank you,

Lord God.

Amen

May 9, 2011

When the storms of life burst onto the scene

And bring floods of rain that threatens to overtake me,

Lord, let my trust be in you.

When I have taken my last step,

And feel that I cannot move another inch.

When I am so overcome by fatigue that

I fear I will take my last breath,

Lord, let my trust be in you.

When I am overwhelmed with joy,

Joy that fills and erupts from deep within my soul,

When I feel that I may burst with the happiness inside,

Lord, let my trust be in you.

Whatever my place,

Whatever my circumstance,

Only you, O Lord, will I trust.

Amen.

May 8, 2011

Give me your love,

O Lord.

Give me your love that extends to all the people of the world.

Help me to see them with your eyes,

Help me to know them with your heart,

Help me to care for them as you do.

Then, Lord, lead me into service,

Just as Jesus taught his disciples to be servants, Lord,

So teach me.

Amen.

May 7, 2011

In the scheme of things,

My life is not very long at all.

It is only a whisper of time

When compared to the eternity of God.

But, over the course of the ages,

Many have made lasting impacts on the world,

Whether their names are unknown to us any longer,

Or they are infamous,

There are many who have outlasted their own lives,

Whose actions live on.

Lord, let me be someone who affects the world through my love

So that it can never be the same again.

Amen.

May 6, 2011

In a hectic world, O Lord,

Pull us into true relationship with you.

We look for you, but think we cannot find you…

Or maybe we think we look for you but cannot find you.

You have told us that all who truly seek will find you.

I ask for your guidance, Lord.

Help us to know how to truly seek.

Help us to know what it is we are looking for when we turn to you…

Remind us that you are not simply a grant bestower, but you are the almighty God.

Help us so that we do not look to you to give us what we want,

But to see what you want of us.

Amen.

May 5, 2011

Let there be peace in the world,

Not peace that we talk about daily, as the end of aggression,

But real peace that comes from the true giving over of our hearts to love

And the recognition that all others who share this planet are

Valuable members of God’s community.

Let peace begin this moment,

And let it spread from one person to the next,

Through your spirit,

So that we will be willing to live in ways

That allow others to live, too.

Peace can only be real if we share resources in love.

Let it be so, Lord.

Amen.

May 4, 2011

Creator and Sustainer of all,

Forgive us, your creations.

We have littered your planet,

We have used precious resources with little regard for the rest of creation,

Or even our own future.

We have moved forward,

Marching to the beat of the drum of progress,

Little realizing the impact we might be having on the world,

Or on the establishment of your kindom on earth.

We pray for it every time we pray as Jesus taught us,

But we seldom seem to actually want your kindom here.

We would rather be our own rulers.

Lord, forgive us, and give us new hearts—

Hearts that love and cannot hold hate—

Hearts that look to you as our leader and sovereign.

Amen.

May 3, 2011

Lord God,

You are greatly to be praised!

Your majesty covers the entire earth.

The psalmist writes that there is nowhere we can go away from your presence.

Wherever we hide ourselves away, you are there.

Thanks be to you, who have made us living, thinking beings.

Thanks be to you, who have shown us that we are yours.

Thanks be to you, who have breathed life into us.

Let us return our lives to you in love and service.

Amen.

May 2, 2011

When deepest night falls on my soul,

God is there.

When I am dancing in greatest joy,

God is there.

When the tears fall so much that my face drips,

God is there.

When I am so afraid that I tremble,

God is there.

When I am running ahead of the pack,

God is there.

When I can barely take another step,

God is there.

Thank you, God, for your faithfulness to me,

And help me to begin to be just as faithful to you.

Amen.

May 1, 2011

We take for granted the beauty of your world, O God.

The singing in the trees of the birds,

And the many noises made by all of creation…

If we listen, we can hear them all cry out to you

And bless you for their existence.

The trees and plants reach up to the sun,

But are they possibly reaching up to you, too?

Humans may be the only creatures that have some things,

But they are not the only parts of creation that sing your praises.

Thanks be to you, O God!

Amen.