Can it be true, O God;
That dreams do come true and that hope does turns outward;
Touching and transforming lives and world?
Can it be true, O God;
That the day will come;
Maybe now is;
When weapons of war will be remade into tools to feed?
And, when our eyes and hearts catch a glimpse of the ever present Holy;
In the midst of the everyday moments of our lives?
Can it be true, O God;
That we will find the will and the courage;
To remember the forgotten?
And to lift up the fallen?
And to exalt those now pushed to very edges of life?
Can it be true, O God?
We pray that it is.
For such is the promise of Christmas.
Please Pray for My Dad
When I was running today, a friend passed me going the other direction.
He turned around and we ran together for a mile or so and as we ran we talked. We talked about the marathon he had run and the new job he has just started. We talked about the juggling act of balancing work and family. And, he talked about his father, who is about my age, who is having a heart procedure next week. He asked if I would remember him in my prayers which I will do.
Here is what I think about prayer.
Prayer is not magic.
Not some heavenly hocus pocus.
But an intentional way I stand with another person or another community.
If that which we know and name as God is God is more about what connects us to one another than something (or someone) who is above us (which is what I believe), then prayer is somehow about tapping into that connection and adding what hope or concern or compassion or help I can to that community around me of which, through my understanding of the Holy, I am a part.
Prayer matters.
I know that first hand.
Some time ago I was going through a REALLY difficult time.
I seriously considered not just leaving my job, but leaving the ministry completely. Friends, whom I saw a couple times a year, knew how rough it was for me and told me they would pray for me.
Not for a miracle.
But pray offering what strength and hope and support they could through the channel which we knew and named as God. As I lived through those days and also looking back on them now. I am convinced that there were moments when the only way I made it through was because I knew they were there and had not forgotten me or given up on me. They were holding me up from a distance.
And, so I will pray for my friend’s father.
And, I will pray for the people of the Philippines.
I will pray for those parents who put their children to bed hungry tonight because assistance has been cut and there is no food in the house.
I will pray…
Because I believe it matters.
A Prayer…
O God, ever and everywhere present…
Meet us in this moment.
Now.
Just as we are.
Each of us, in many ways, walking contradictions;
Broken and whole at the very same time;
Ordinary humans living lives tinged with the Holy.
And, just as we are we pray;
Pausing long enough to allow life as it is and the world as it is;
To come face to face with healing and hope and gratitude and grace.
We pray for all those who find themselves in need.
Those whom we know and love.
And, those who fall within the circle of Your concern and care.
And, knowing joy as well as sorrow, we say Thank you;
For life.
For love.
For all that and all whom sustain us each day.
For all this and more…
Our prayers, O God.
Amen.
Today, O God…
Today, O God
May our world be small enough:
And our imagination large enough;
That we might see beyond the horizon of what is;
And catch a glimpse of what is to be;
As we do our best to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Amen.
A Prayer
For a moment, at least, O God, may our prayers fill our lives.
And then push beyond here and now out into the world You have entrusted to our care and keeping.
Our prayers not as wishful thinking or some type of magic;
But as a deep reminder that our lives are bound together;
Yours to mine.
Ours to theirs.
And as a holy moment
In which we allow our hopes and dreams and fears and sorrow to be intertwined with Your abiding presence with us and with all.
And so we pray, O God…
For ourselves…whispering our please and our thank you.
For those whom we love…please and thank you.
For those whom we know…please and thank you.
For the world in which we live…please and thank you.
May our prayers fill our lives…and then move beyond;
Out into the world You continue to love so much.
Amen.
A Prayer for a Summer Sunday Morning (or anytime for that matter)
Even if we pray with our eyes closed, O God;
Help us to live with our eyes wide open
So we can see…
The incredible beauty;
The unquenchable hope;
The deep-seated goodness;
And, the amazing grace;
Which surrounds us each and every day.
And also see…
All those who find themselves in need;
And the faces of all those who struggle all day, every day just to survive:
And all those whose backs are bent by heart-breaking sorrow.
And, if we are honest, O God, somewhere in that swirl of names and faces we see ourselves…in the midst of those who find themselves in need of hope and sustenance and forgiveness and grace, and also among those who work each and every day to make our families and our communities and our world a safer, more equitable, and less scary place for us and for all.
So having whispered our prayers;
And opened our eyes;
Having seen neighbors;
And recognized our ourselves;
May our lives follow where our prayers first lead.
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