Prayer

 

Abba God

I raise my hands to you.

Pick me up and carry me.

Hold me close enough to feel your heart

Enfold me in the safety of your arms

Lift me up so that I can see

And let me rest my head upon your shoulder.

This raising of my hands

is my offering of praise

This bowing of my head

my only act of worship. 

Unspoken

 The past month has held deep emotions that have not been reflected in the photos on my blog. The story is still too painful to share publicly, and yet I don't want to present a false representation that my life is filled with sunshine when it's not. So for now, this will be an unspoken prayer request.  

Almighty God,

of whose only gift cometh wisdom and understanding; 

We beseech thee with thy gracious favour 

to behold our universities, colleges, and schools, 

that the confines of knowledge may be ever enlarged, 

and all good learning flourish and abound; 

bless all who teach and all who learn; 

and grant that both teachers and learners 

in humility of heart may look ever upward unto thee, 

who art the fountain of all wisdom; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord, 

who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, 

ever one God, world without end. Amen.

A prayer for universities, colleges, schools, and other places of learning from the Book of Common Prayer

One day

Thank you for the all that I've been able to accomplish today, and thank you that everything else will keep until tomorrow. 

Lord, make me

an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek 

to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

~St. Francis of Assisi

Disturb us, Lord,

to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope and love.

Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrive safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision of Heaven to dim.

Amen.

~Sir Francis Drake

Prayer

you kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6.10 NIV

Rejoice

The mother who was scheduled to abort her baby yesterday decided to keep the baby. 

Love my job

Photo for illustrative purposes only. I don't normally wear a hat when I'm teaching, nor do I hold my hand at such an awkward angle. 

Two years ago, when I was in the midst of my substitute teaching career, I prayed that God would give me a job I loved, or help me to love the job I had.

In August, I began teaching ESL classes at SVSU. When my students are absorbed with a task or at the end of class when I am gathering up papers papers and shutting down equipment, I pause for a moment.  

"Thank you," I find myself praying. "I love this job!" 

Worship

This day may our hearts be pure,

and our hands clean,

That our prayers bear the fragrance of lilacs in the spring,

Our songs echo Heaven's Holy, Holy, Holy ring,

And our lives all glory to our Lord and Savior bring.

May our worship be acceptable.

Prayer for our church

Lord Jesus,

I pray for your children, my brothers and sisters, all around the world.

May we who are hungry be filled,

that we might offer others the Bread of Life.

May we who are hurting be healed,

that we might lead others to the Great Physician.

May we who are lonely be comforted,

that we might introduce others to the Friend of sinners.

May we who are imprisoned be freed,

that we might convey others to the Victor over death.

May we who are inadequate be filled,

that we might reveal to others the Almighty God.

May your Name receive the glory.

May your kingdom come and your will be done.

Guided

The Lord directs our steps, even when Mapquest doesn't.

Julie, Betsy and I drove to Canada last weekend to attend our friend Layne's wedding. 

My directional style differs from that of my sisters. I sometimes like adventures that other people define as "lost." My sisters prefer I confine my adventures to Michigan when they're not riding with me.

I did print directions before we left. But, I did not examine them in detail. Mapquest couldn't find the exact location, but I figure that once we got close enough we'd figure it out. Also, I forgot which were the directions to the ceremony site and which were to the reception site. 

We ended up touring country lanes in Ontario. We drove past the Tim Horton farm. The weather was lovely and the scenery with peaceful, while the climate in the car was growing a little stuffy and stressful. 

So, I prayed a simple prayer asking the Lord to show us where to go and to help us in our sisterly interactions.

Minutes later, on a country road in the middle of nowhere we ran into the bride and groom. The groom was strumming the guitar. They were posing on what usually was a deserted road but on Sunday afternoon was, as a couple out for a stroll in the country described it, more like Piccadilly circus. 

The groom pointed us in the right direction, and fifteen minutes later we arrived at the ceremony site. 

My sisters vowed to print their own set of directions next time we set out on an adventure.

Doors

Sometimes God answers prayer by closing doors. Sometimes those doors aren't figurative.

My sister and I made an offer on a house two miles north of our parents' house. It was a cute, two-bedroom block house with hardwood floors, glass doorknobs and a magnificent oak tree in the backyard. Freddie Mac rejected our offer in favor of another offer, and we turned our attention next door.

A "For Sale" sign perched against the mailbox of the three-bedroom house with two-car garage next door. It had a fireplace, hardwood floors and a stain in the corner of the dining room that caused Julie's nose to wrinkle. We submitted an offer, and this time it was Fannie Mae who turned it down.

Next we toured a charming, two-bedroom stucco house with an arched door, colored glass chandelier and mold in the bathroom. My builder uncle was undaunted by the mold caused by a faulty roof design, so I made an offer. But once again the Freddie Mac's house went to another bidder.

I am disappointed, but God knows more about real estate and my future than I do. So, I thank the Lord for closing doors. 

And I wait for open doors.

Praying people

Prayer is the most powerful form of social action 

because God responds directly to praying people.

~John D. Robb

Prayer

Our prayers are the necessary opening 

that allows God to act without violating our freedom. 

~Walter Wink

Hosanna

"Dear Father in Heaven," Abigail prays at every meal, "please help Mommy to have another baby."

God answered prayer. On December 22 Carmen delivered a seven pound, eight ounce baby girl. Jimmy and Carmen named their fourth daughter Hosanna Grace. 

"Mommy gots the baby out," three-year-old Abigail proudly announces.

God of the publican,

O holy God, make me such a creature as thou canst take pleasure in,

and such a being that I can take pleasure in thee.

"Mercy" The Valley of Vision

From the depths

Grant that I may not pray alone with the mouth;

help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart.

~Martin Luther

Teach me

that if I do not live a life that satisfies thee,

I shall not live a life that will satisfy myself.

from "Happiness" The Valley of Vision

Thy will

"God has editing rights over our prayers.

He will...edit them, correct them,

bring them in line with His will

and then hand them back to us to be resubmitted."

~Stephen Crotts