June 30, 2011

What if my flame has gone out, O God?

How can I reignite it?

I try to relight myself,

I strike matches,

I rub sticks together,

I find the driest wood,

And the tiniest timber,

I blow and blow,

But still I remain unlit,

Cold and worn by the world.

But then I realize,

I can never do this by myself,

It is you who must light the fire within.

Give me your spirit that I may burn for you.

Amen.

June 29, 2011

Deep inside,

In the secret recesses of my heart,

Lord, plant your seeds.

Water them with your spirit,

Feed them with your words,

Warm them with your touch,

Light them with your brilliance,

And cause them to grow,

Unabated,

Until my entire life is a deeply rooted tree

With bushels of fruit for you

And for your kindom.

Amen.

June 28, 2011

Give me relief, O God!

I am thirsty for your life giving water.

I am hungry for bread that truly satisfies.

I am desperate for your deep healing in my life.

I have seen deep valleys and dark desert.

I have walked through storms,

And I have felt unable to escape them.

Pull me out, O God.

Haul me back onto the shore so I can regain my footing.

Lead me into safety and restore me

To face the storms again.

Amen.

June 27, 2011

Speak a fresh word to me.

Give me ears to hear your voice.

Show me new signs and wonderful things.

Give me eyes to see them.

Reach deep into me and renew me from within.

Give me the ability to feel your touch.

Command my senses, so that they may be attuned to you,

That I may live to your glory.

Amen.

June 26, 2011

When will it come together, O God?

When can we finally know what it is this world is meant to be?

When can we find a time when humans do not wish to harm other humans,

When all respect life

And the divinity within life?

When will we remember how to respect the divine nature

That created life?

For, O God, we know that you do not wish suffering on us,

But you work all things together for good.

Let us participate in your goodness

Here and now.

Amen.

June 25, 2011

Who can stand before you,

Great and mighty God?

Who can say to you,

“See, I am blameless.”

Who can accuse you of being unfair

To humans who are good but sinful.

Lord, teach us to live in your light,

Trusting in your goodness

And clinging to your mercy.

Amen.

June 24, 2011

In all our rush to success,

In all our fighting for what we feel are finite resources,

Help us to remember that you are God.

All we need can be found in you.

Wealth is not scarce.

There is great abundance.

Help us to learn to share so that all may have some,

None may have nothing,

And none may be ruled by their possessions.

Amen.

June 23, 2011

God in heaven,

Creator of all things,

Lover of all people,

Help us to stand on your gifts to this world of

Grace,

Love,

Justice.

Not hard justice that hurts others,

But justice that causes us to remember how to treat others as you would have us do.

Help us to flood the streets with love and grace and good justice

Until it overflows all the dams and levees,

And all humanity is awash in goodness,

Flowing straight from you.

Amen.

June 22, 2011

In all our grief, Lord,

In all the pain,

In the midst of a world that seems to be out of control,

In our lives that seem to move from injury to injury,

O God, heal us.

Heal us from the pains that have been forced upon us by others,

Heal us from the pains that we have caused ourselves to suffer,

And heal us from the pain that causes us to hurt others.

Give us the ability to see all humanity as your children,

And all of us as each other’s sisters and brothers,

And very truly,

Each other’s keepers.

Amen.

June 21, 2011

Dear God,

Let my life be a testament to you.

Let me shine your light through me,

Because I cannot create light,

I can only reflect it.

As I reflect your light,

O God,

Help me to keep from refracting it so severely

That others cannot see the real source of the light itself

Because of all I have put of myself into it.

Make me a pure reflector of you.

Amen.

June 20, 2011

In our eyes, O God, it is easy to question what is going on in the world.

We think we can question your plans.

We think we can judge you.

Our sight is so finite,

Our vision is so limited,

That we cannot even begin to see the designs you make with our lives.

We cannot trust you,

Because we cannot believe that you can order this chaos.

Help us to see bigger.

Help us to feel more than we have before.

Help us to sense your glory all around us,

And help us to put all our trust in you and your goodness for us.

Amen.

June 19, 2011

God, please extend your grace,

Grace to all nations,

Grace to all people.

And, Lord, cause the church not to withhold what they know of grace

From anyone who seeks it.

Amen.

June 18, 2011

Lord God,

Give me a new song.

Let it be a song I love to sing

And a song others love to hear.

Let it be a song of love and a song of worship.

Let it be a song that celebrates the beauty of this world

And the beauty of your world.

Let it replace my old songs of greed and disrespect.

Let it be a new song

That gives you glory.

Amen.

June 17, 2011

God,

Focus your people on peace.

Help us to put and end to war,

Poverty,

Prejudice,

Hatred,

And cause us to help you bring about a world of

Peace,

Shared resources,

Understanding of others through diversity,

And true love.

Amen.

June 16, 2011

We who serve the Lord,

Serve the Lord in happiness.

This is because we know that God is the creator of all

And that our focus must be on God’s will.

When we are able to conform ourselves to God’s will,

Even if it is only fleeting,

We know that who we are and what we are doing will be blessed.

We trust in God

And ask for God’s guidance and correction.

I pray, Lord God, that I may receive your guidance

So that I can live according to your plans for me,

And so that I can swim in your blessings.

Amen.

June 15, 2011

When I look at all the things around me,

I marvel, O God, that you took the care

To create such beauty, such complicated forms of life

That interrelate and bring such wonder to the world.

From the flowers that bloom, to the bees that pollinate them,

And all the way through not only food chains,

But all kinds of chains of reliance on other species

And on the land,

Lord, all you have created is very good.

We can seek out creation’s ways of working,

But we can never place ourselves on a level with the great designer.

Thank you, God,

Amen.

June 14, 2011

This life can seem so short.

We want to hold on to every second,

And elongate our time here on earth.

This is good because we have so much to share,

So much to give.

But, Lord, help us to give our time here to you,

So that we know that our walk on this earth

Doesn’t simply lead us to oblivion,

But each step leads us closer to the time

When we will live fully in your presence.

Amen.

June 13, 2011

Lord God,

Look down on your people.

Teach us to love.

Help us to put aside difference

And learn how to see all others

As images of you,

Images of perfection.

Amen.

June 12, 2011

O God,

I sometimes feel that I have been far removed from you

For a long time.

Sometimes I feel so far away from you

And what you are calling me to.

Sometimes I feel that I am working as hard as I can,

And yet I can’t get any closer to my goal,

Or the goal I believe you have for me.

It is then that I have to remember that you have promised

That no matter where I am or where I go,

You will always be near.

Please help me to turn to you

In all days

At all times.

Amen.

June 11, 2011

You are good, O God.

You show us how to be good.

Your presence in us is a guide and comfort

In times of joy

And in times of trouble.

Keep us close to you,

Lord God,

That we may become more like you.

Amen.

June 10, 2011

How can I serve, God?

What do you have in store for me?

Where shall I go?

To whom shall I give your word?

What can I tell them?

What do I know that can change the hearts of others?

O God, please give me answers

So that I can turn the world’s heart

Toward you.

Amen.

June 9, 2011

Draw me into the light, dear God.

I have wandered in the darkness too long.

Place my feet on solid ground.

Let me walk and not be afraid.

Shadows have moved against me,

Darkness has surrounded me.

I call out to you, but I hear no answer.

I cry to you, but I feel you cannot hear me.

I fear that the gap between us has grown too large for

My loudest shouts to reach your ears.

Yet, I know that you are truly always with me.

When I am afraid, I lose sight of you,

But as far away as I may feel, you never lose your hold on me.

Remind me, each and every day that I am yours, O God,

And you have promised to be near.

Amen.

June 8, 2011

Energize me, O God.

Move me to make changes.

Cause me to be different than others,

And different than I have been,

So that I can change those around me.

Help me to infect others

With zeal for you

And zeal to do your will.

Amen.

June 7, 2011

O Lord,

We try to replace you.

We find things that,

While we do not say they are more important than you in words,

We give them more of our time,

More of our effort,

More of our money.

We put all these things before you,

And we wonder why we don’t feel your presence strongly.

We wonder why we can’t hear your voice clearly.

We wonder why we are unable to know your call on our lives.

Help us to put you first,

As you belong,

So that we can live how you want us to live,

And so you can bless us as you want to bless us.

Amen.

June 6, 2011

When we feel that we cannot reach a goal,

Lord, give us perseverance.

When we feel that we can never forgive those who have hurt us,

Lord, increase our compassion.

When we feel we can never escape our own sinfulness,

Lord, help us to forgive ourselves and turn to you.

Whatever we face,

Whatever pain we feel,

Whatever fear overtakes us,

Whatever the case,

However we might fall,

Lord, we trust in you to pick us up.

Amen.

June 5, 2011

There is no moment that does not belong to you.

We praise you for each day.

We praise you for the time that we have to walk the earth.

We praise you for each and every part of your creation.

Make us true disciples,

That we may continue to live in a spirit of thankfulness,

Knowing that you are always there,

Every day,

Every moment.

Amen.

June 4, 2011

How can we ever possibly be good enough for you, O God?

You are perfection, and we are imperfect, sinful beings.

Yet, we know that you already know this about us,

And that you do not expect perfection.

You already know all we can be,

And you love us anyway.

You love us so much,

That you have made it possible to bridge the gap between us.

Inspire us to do our best,

But give us a spirit of grace for ourselves

That mirrors your grace for us.

Amen.

June 3, 2011

Lord, my God, you are my shepherd.

You provide for me things that I do not even realize I need.

You give me food and you give me the ability to rest.

I know that I am safe in your arms, and in your arms I want to stay.

Help me to draw nearer to you,

Help me to seek you out,

And help me to learn your ways for me,

So that I can fulfill the purpose you have for me in this life.

Amen.

June 2, 2011

Thank you, God, for all things bright and beautiful.

Your creative powers and imagination are unfathomable to humanity.

We cannot measure the bounds of your cosmos.

We cannot explain all the things we see.

Although we probe our surroundings with methods you have given,

We cannot measure the love,

We cannot resolve the creative force,

We cannot leave you out of our equations.

So, thank you, God, for loving us into existence,

And help us to continue to know you better.

Amen.

June 1, 2011

Lord God,

Here I am.

Send me.

Use me to the utmost,

And help me to bring healing to my world.

Through that healing, O God,

Help me to bring peace to the entire world.

Please, Lord, don’t let my efforts be in vain,

But empower me to be exactly what you want me to be,

So that I can, indeed, change the world.

Amen.