September 30, 2011

I despair.

I realize this doesn’t make me different from others in this world,

But sometimes the despair seems overwhelming,

And I feel that I am suffering as much as anyone ever has.

It is ludicrous, really.

I realistically know that no matter how bad it has been for me,

I am extremely fortunate and have no ground to stand on in complaining

Or even feeling sorry for myself.

It is the state of humanity to sometimes feel blue, or despair.

But, O Lord, you have done so many things for all of us.

When I turn my mind to your gifts for me and your creation,

I am ashamed of my want and sadness.

Forgive me, O Lord,

And turn my mind to the awesome wonder of what you are and what you have created for us.

Amen.

September 29, 2011

We are piteous creatures,

Dear Lord.

We need your healing.

We need your guidance.

We turn to you,

And we know you are there.

All we can do,

Then,

Is thank you.

Amen.

September 28, 2011

When you look out over the universe,

The universe you have created,

What do you see, O God?

How can you see all at one time,

All of time together,

All the hurt,

Joy,

Lives,

Galaxies,

Atoms,

Relationships,

And everything else all at a glance?

Humans can only wonder at you,

O God,

And none can begin to understand.

How you are

Who you are.

You are amazing beyond our greatest imagination!

Amen.

September 27, 2011

We love you, O Lord,

And we were made to love you

Throughout infinity,

And through our lives and beyond,

Trusting in you

And living lives intent on your service.

Don’t let us lose focus,

But help us to keep our eyes on you,

On the example you are for us,

And on being who you want us to be,

In this life,

And with you in the next.

Amen.

September 26, 2011

Who are we?

What are we?

In your image, but how?

How can we stand before you?

How can we begin to know you?

What is the true path to knowledge?

Questions plague humanity,

Questions we cannot answer.

Give us faith to face the questions,

Knowing that answers may never come,

Yet living lives in search nonetheless.

Amen.

September 25, 2011

God,

Thank you for the simple pleasures of each day.

The sun on my face,

The wind that cools and soothes,

The fragrance of the grass,

The beautiful colors of the countryside,

The fellowship with humanity,

The relationship with you.

Amen.

September 24, 2011

Lord, save us from ourselves.

All around we see destruction,

Hatred,

Famine,

War,

Disease,

And all kinds of violences.

It is often hard for us to realize,

But we have chosen these things for ourselves

Through our own will

And through the will of those who came before us.

Help us, O God, to put aside those sins of the past

That seem to be leading us without choice to continued sins in the future,

And help us to choose your way starting here,

Starting now.

Amen.

September 23, 2011

Who am I to call upon you?

I am only one person.

My life is as grass that withers.

My moment on the earth is short,

And seemingly without much consequence.

Yet you still call me your beloved.

You still care for all the things that burden me.

You still love me.

That is who I am.

The beloved of the most high.

Amen.

September 22, 2011

How can I,

Broken as I am,

Be an effective teacher for you?

How can a person,

With so many imperfections,

Be called to your service?

Yet, I look to the scriptures,

And I see those you have called in the past,

Doubtful,

Fearful,

Sinful,

And I think…

I’m not all that bad…

Amen.

September 21, 2011

All the colors all around,

All the beautiful things in nature,

All the ways that creatures and plants and soil and creation work together…

All of them cry out in tribute to you,

And your awesome design of this world.

Teach us not to miss these signs of your presence,

But to see you in all things,

Because, since you created them,

You are present in all things.

Amen.

September 20, 2011

Lord God,

It seems that if all these things that we believe are true,

It seems that if you are there and you are listening,

It seems that if we are really called to bring others to faith in you,

That we should be better able to prove your existence.

Is that what it is all about?

Do you refrain from giving us proof

So that we have to believe only by faith?

Help us to walk by faith, as you have commanded.

Help us to see the truth in your word,

Even when we find it to be not historically true,

But true in the sense that it tells us about you.

And help us to verify your existence

Through our experience of your love.

Amen.

September 19, 2011

We are designed

To have relationship with you.

We are made

To worship.

We are intended

To love you and your creation.

Help us to recognize us,

And strengthen us to

Live our lives to those ends.

Amen.

September 18, 2011

In the midst of our grief,

Be our comfort, O God.

In the midst of our fear,

Be our courage.

In the midst of our sadness,

Be our relief.

In the midst of our deep, deep anxiety,

Be our ease.

When we are in need, O God,

Meet us where we are.

Amen.

September 17, 2011

Our faith is made up not only of scripture and teachings,

But of stories that remind us how you have been active in our lives.

This is just the way the ancients passed down their faith—

Through stories that showed your love for them.

Help us to be able to share those stories with others

So that we can bring others into relationship with you.

Amen.

September 16, 2011

Lord God,

When I signed up for this,

When I chose to be a disciple,

I didn’t expect everything would be easy.

I didn’t believe it would always be sunshine.

All I knew is that you would always be with me.

Lord, sometimes I feel so beaten down by the needs and expectations of the world.

Sometimes I feel lost and out of control.

Lord, please renew your spirit within me

So that I can be renewed and revived

To do what I know you have called me to do.

Amen.

September 15, 2011

I can’t ever do it all,

And I walk around carrying guilt for all the things I haven’t done,

Some things that are really important,

And some things that are mundane and of little importance at all.

Yet, I carry this guilt

Because I’m not motivated enough to do it all,

Or there’s not time enough to do it all,

Or I just plain forget.

Help me to release the guilt,

Because it doesn’t serve you,

And help me to feel as if I can accomplish more,

With less negativity.

Amen.

September 14, 2011

Sometimes I feel like I’m walking blind,

There seems to be nothing to guide be where I’m going.

Lost,

Without a firm path,

Without direction.

Lord, please fill me with your light,

Give me a purpose,

Beyond what the world wants from me,

Beyond what I expect from myself.

A purpose, that is all for you.

I pray for that, O God.

Amen.

September 13, 2011

Why is it so hard to do good?

Why is it so easy to slip into sin?

Why does it seem so impossible to follow Christ,

When all I am and all I do revolves around Christ

And his worship?

If it is hard for me,

A minister of word and sacrament,

Then I imagine it must also be hard

For all those with whom I come into contact.

God, please strengthen me as a pastor

So I can help others through their difficulties

And help them to find wholeness in you…

The same wholeness I continue to strive for myself.

Amen.

September 12, 2011

Grace is what I need, Lord,

Only grace.

I am broken,

And I cannot be repaired.

I cannot make up for the things I have done

And the things I have left undone.

The very nature of sin is that it cannot be redeemed.

So, I need grace.

Grace upon grace.

I cry out to you,

Believing in the atonement won for me

By the son, Christ Jesus,

And I throw myself on grace.

Amen.

September 11, 2011

In the midst of our despair,

In the middle of our mourning,

When we are at our lowest,

When we cry out to you,

Lord, be our comforter.

Hold us close

And remind us that you are in control of all things,

Even if we can’t understand why horrible things happen.

Help us to trust you,

Even though our experience tells us that you should never have

Allowed these terrible events to happen.

Help us to have faith in the things we do not see.

Amen.

September 10, 2011

God,

As Christians,

We are one faith among many in this world.

We believe we have the truth,

And so do all the other world religions.

What right do we have to say they all must be like us?

Is it possible to have more than one truth?

How can we share our faith without discounting other people’s faith?

Is salvation available to all people, through you?

Through your son?

Help us to know how to share what we are,

Without putting other people and other cultures aside.

Help us to love and serve you faithfully,

Living your vision for the world.

Amen.

September 9, 2011

Lord, how can we teach others to love

When we Christians are so full of hatred?

How can we teach about you

When we are so influenced by the world

And the negative things within it?

How can we learn to follow you

When we don’t even recognize you?

How can we be yours

When we don’t even know you?

Draw us into you,

O God.

Teach us your ways,

Teach us about you,

And show us how we are related to you

So that we can love you as much as possible

And experience life in relationship with you.

Amen.

September 8, 2011

Thank you for this day, O God.

Thank you for all the gifts you have given to me.

Please help me to use them to praise and worship you,

And please empower me to tell my story

Of how you have moved in and changed my life,

So that I can teach others

How to have relationship with you.

Amen.

September 7, 2011

Lord, you are Holy.

We are unaware of how wonderful you are, but

You are all Holiness.

Help us to participate in your holiness

By participating in what you are

And by enjoying your spark inside of all of us.

Amen.

September 6, 2011

Time, O Lord,

That is the one thing we seem not to have enough of.

We feel rushed for everything,

We feel like we cannot get it all done,

And one of the first things we leave out of our day

Is you.

Lord, help us to realize that our time is not the issue,

It is our priorities.

Help us to get them straight,

Beginning with serving the master of the universe.

Amen.

September 5, 2011

Lord, I believe it is true that the goodness in our lives is made of

Small moments when we can see the greatness in you and others

Strung together.

I pray that we can recognize you more often

So that we can live within those moments

More and more often.

Let us recognize you in all things,

So we can learn how to appreciate

All that you are.

Amen.

September 4, 2011

Music rings in our ears, and we hear you.

Wondrous scenes flash before our eyes, and we see you.

A cool breeze or a gentle touch brushes our skin, and we feel you.

We see, touch, hear, know, and experience you in so many ways, O Lord.

Those moments may seem fleeting, but we ask you to widen them,

Strengthen them,

Help us to not doubt them,

Until we know you as fully as we can this side of heaven.

Amen.

September 3, 2011

Lord, have mercy.

We are a broken and rebellious people.

Lord, have mercy.

We are greedy, needy, and narcissistic.

Lord, have mercy.

We refuse to focus on others, and only focus on ourselves and how others can serve us.

Lord, have mercy.

We are infinitely in need of you, yet we do not recognize that need.

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy on us because we have little to offer by ourselves, yet we are so filled with pride and arrogance, we accept all your gifts as if they are our rights and we congratulate ourselves for getting good things on our own. Remind us that we need you, and accept us when we finally come to you.

Amen.

September 2, 2011

Salt of the earth,

Light of the world,

Use your people to reach the world.

Use us, your people, to change the world.

You have the power to make all things new,

Let us be partners in your mission to redeem creation.

We long to be with you, and we long to teach others how to know you.

Let us be salt,

Let us be light,

Let us change the world.

Amen.