Category Archives: Prayers and Poetry

Winter Sky

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A winter sky near end of fall

Is prelude to the goose’s call;

Portends the end of colors all;

Anticipates snow’s sparkle.

 

 

A winter sky at winter’s end;

A muted sun, a muffled blend;

A captured, hostage, cold-filled friend

Holding springtime’s hope.

 

 

 

Sure as the warmth, the sun; the cold

Decreases through each day in bold

Sweet symphony of time foretold;

Farewell to winter’s sky.

Images: ian-keefe-rR1_WcIXlBM-unsplash-scaled.jpg; tomoko-uji-eriuKJwcdjI-unsplash-scaled.jpg; jordan-wozniak-xP_AGmeEa6s-unsplash-scaled.jpg

Look

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Not in the loud and clamorous claims

Nor in incessant sound;

Not in storied sorrows shared

Nor trouble searched and found.

 

Not in self-pity, sad and true

Nor in great despair;

Not in calls for sympathy

Near or far or there.

 

No, only in a careful look

Inward and outward, too

Is Christ’s mind heard and understood

By such a man as you.

 

God heeds not frivolous plans;

He bears not stupid talk;

His will does not comport desires

In crooked ways to walk.

 

Where is His love? Oh it is there

But not in your design

It is unvarnished truth alone

That rules fullness of time.

Image: bird-s-eye-photography-of-mountain-1624496.jpg

 

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

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Almighty God and Heavenly Father, who of Your gracious providence and tender mercy has preserved me, I humbly praise and magnify Your glorious Name for all Your goodness to me this day. If I have walked uprightly and honestly and truthfully; if I have kept my tongue as with a bridle, it is of Your mercy, O Lord, my God; therefore thanks and praise be to You this day; through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer taken from Alone with God, JH Garrison, copyright 1891, St. Louis: Christian Publishing Company.

Chair Prayer (Lament)

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Dear Father, and we call you that because Jesus did and we love the thought that You – in Your glorious majesty and power – not only allow it, but think it is fine for us to do so,

Here we are – just wanting to be in Your presence, not knowing what’s going on in the world and grateful You’re with us during this time of change and shaking and so many voices. And we sit here with You, knowing that all the many, many voices and sources and claims serve mostly to clutter the space between us without lending the truth we really seek. Please know this: we love You. Oh what You have gone through as many have rebelled and pretended and tried to usurp (they never could – You are so much higher and greater). Oh what You’ve watched as the wicked have plotted and acted in ways more despicable than we ever knew or care to know. It must bring such sorrow to You to see people who could be quite good grasp instead at meaningless trinkets (money, fame, acceptance…) and invite corruption into what could have been so good because You extended Your generous hand – You gave talent and beauty and intelligence and they used it for villainy rather than virtue, depravity instead of decency.

And we weep for what You see and the little that we can see. Our eyes have a film over them still, though not as much as there once was. We’ve walked around in a dim stupor, thinking we saw what there was to see. And we didn’t. Although there is nothing we could do to deserve Your presence, we are here and love You. We love you and our hearts ache for what glory was intended and what has happened since the garden. And no matter what, we are Your’s. Our little insignificant selves are on Your side. You’ve said when we’re weak, You’re strong, so there’s that. We’re available for whatever You need us for.

In Jesus’ blessed Name, Amen.

One Day

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It’s quiet here beneath the boughs;

The grasses ripple in the breeze;

Azure sky’s loose caress of

Blue-white clouds and sun’s warm rays.

 

 

 

It wasn’t so in days gone by;

Those days – loud ammunition’s fire,

Behind you! shouts or calls for help,

The dust, the heat, and chaos dire.

 

One day my last, a sudden shock

And one last look at skies of gray;

Silence save for sight and sound of

A buddy’s tear and plea to stay.

 

But now? God holds me in His care

Because for those who, brave and true,

Sacrifice for righteous cause

He knows, because He did so, too.

 

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Good Friday Confession

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We come to this night as we do every year to remember.
To recall the sacrifice our Savior, Jesus made for us.
But we cannot kneel at the cross without acknowledging why. Tonight we will also remember the sin that put Him there. Our sin.
So tonight we walk through the darkness of our lives in order to reach the light of our Savior’s presence. Knowing that confession and repentance brings freedom and cleanses us.
We take time to confess our idols: Money. Food.
Government. Work. Video games. Television.
 Phones. Computers. Even loved ones. Anything that stands in the way of God being first in our lives.
My Lord and my God, I claim You as the Source and Object of my life.

We take time to confess our pride and arrogance. Our self-centeredness. Our selfishness. Our expectation that others should do or be what we, ourselves, are not. Putting ourselves ahead of others instead of following our Savior’s example of service.

Father, You are first, not us. Our desires are not centered on ourselves, but are rooted in Your kingdom.

We take time to confess sins of omission: Good or helpful things that were in front of us that we could’ve done and didn’t. Praying fleeting prayers where intensity was required. Withholding good words. Living lives of careless indifference.

Jesus, although You are God’s Son, You spent Your time here on earth in healing, loving, and showing what God is like. We will do the same.

We take time to confess our sins against ourselves: Our addictions, even seemingly harmless ones. Our self-condemnation. Our negative self-talk. Holding onto the shame of things that Jesus has forgiven.

Jesus, we thank you for Your blood that removes Satan’s accusing power over us.

We take time to confess our sins against others: Gossip. Lust. Harsh speech. Unkindness. Holding a grudge. Having an unforgiving spirit. Using God’s gift of grace as a license for immorality.

Father, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.

We take time to confess our sins against God: Finding little time to spend with Him in Bible-reading, prayer, and meditation. Dismissing our responsibilities to be God’s representatives in the world. Ignoring His Spirit. Ignoring His whispers. Laziness in seeking Him and His will. Tolerating evil instead of hating it.

O God, Who hears the faintest whisper of the weakest of Your children, we are unworthy. But we will stand for holiness as God’s holy people. Cause us to delight in Your Word and Your presence.

Beautiful Savior

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Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,

 

Son of God and Son of Man!

 

 

Glory and honor, praise, adoration

 

Now and forevermore be Thine!

 

 

Beautiful Savior by Joseph A. Seiss, Moravian hymn, 1873; Images: jackson-david-8qudl9pDZJ0-unsplash.jpg; zac-durant-_6HzPU9Hyfg-unsplash.jpg

 

Prayer For Inauguration Weekend

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Dear Heavenly Father, Creator of the universe and all good things,

We are so very grateful for Your hand on this nation, The United States. From its inception Your hand of direction and blessing was on it. You led our founders in righteous direction and gave them Your way to set government in three branches: The Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our King; He will save us. We want that bedrock. We plead for that firm foundation – You – above all others.

As we move forward now with Donald John Trump as our President, we ask three things.

We ask for protection on the gatherings this weekend and going forward. We ask You will put a dome over those gathered for his swearing in and that any nefarious plans of harm above, on or under the earth will be revealed and foiled. We pray every effort for delay, hurt, or destruction will fail in plan and form; that they will trip and fall and be unable to rise. We ask that You and You alone will direct the weather. We ask for spiritual protection: that attacks of any and every type will boomerang back on those sending and intending them. We ask You to rebuke and cast out lesser gods who bring evil to each state, city, and town as well as over our nation. Cast them all out, we pray, never to show their filthy heads again. Replace them in Your righteousness.

We implore protection for righteous leaders and servants in this government, for them and their families and loved ones. We ask that the craft of plans to trip them or entrap them will come to nothing.

We pray that any person, regulation, or rule that is there in an effort to weaken, wound, or impoverish this administration will be revealed and ousted, losing all authority, control, and influence.

We ask for wisdom. You know all the things necessary for righteousness in a nation and we ask for those to be implemented. You know all that is not only unnecessary, but even destructive for a righteous nation and we ask they will be destroyed. Along with wisdom, we pray for insight, discernment, and knowledge. We pray that You will shine Your light on knowledge that has been hidden or interwoven with deceit so that we will know truth and be freed from the slavery that has been the result of those lies. You know all that’s going on in this world of ours, so we ask You to reveal what will help and what will move this nation to what You intended for it to be. We ask for Your strong hand in this matter.

We ask for Your Holy Spirit and Jesus to be present in every corner of government; and also in every part of our families, churches, education, business, media, and entertainment. We pray that Jesus will be lifted above all else. We ask forgiveness for the awful things this nation has taken part in, done from the least to the greatest. We all implore Your forgiveness. We pray for the sifting necessary to purify us completely. And we ask for mercy in this process. We pray You will give Your people pockets of Goshen and that You will deliver us from the evil one and every form of evil. And we thank You for what You are doing and how you are moving. We will watch You while You are watching us. You are not tame and You are beyond our idea of mighty and we love that about You. And we love You.

In Jesus’ blessed Name,

Amen

References: Isaiah 33:22; Celebration Hymnal C. 1997 by Word/Integrity.

What He Said

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Thanksgiving. A time set aside – set aside – for giving thanks to our Creator for the many benefits He gives to us with an open hand. As lovely as Christmas is, it isn’t a time for Christmas yet. Rather, Thanksgiving is a special, precious time of thinking, therefore seeing, our blessings.

The first time our nation celebrated this special day was in 1621, when people in Massachusetts celebrated with a feast of thanks in the New World. George Washington recalled their gratitude by issuing a proclamation of Thanksgiving in 1789. John Adams and James Madison followed suit. Then came the Civil War. There doesn’t seem to be much of anything to be grateful for in a war. Yet Abraham Lincoln designated thanksgiving to be given in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea, and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. Thanksgiving has been celebrated in the United States ever since. Or has it?

We have a day we call Thanksgiving. Many people look forward to a feast and football game. But Thanksgiving without true thanks is pretty thin, don’t you agree? With the challenges our nation has faced for a good decade – okay –  a century or more, we would do well to read about the struggles and triumphs of real people, the sacrifices and treasures discovered in the midst of those sacrifices, and the amazing mercy and provision of God through it all. We might even go waaay back and consider what Israel faced during the days of Jeremiah. In fact, to borrow his prayer:

I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Correct me, Lord, but only with justice – not in Your anger, lest You reduce me to nothing.

And then, yes then, we might consider our own lives – the days we breathe in and out from day 1 until now – and consider the near misses, lessons learned, and certainly the blessings over them all. And only then we might begin to understand the mercy of God is beyond description. And our carelessness of thought and appreciation could be wearing a bit thin for Him. And upon reflection, repentance clears a beautiful path to giving thanks.

Sources: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/thanksgiving-proclamation-1863; Jeremiah 10:23-24; Image: pexels-rdne-5847888-scaled.jpg

Allow One Thing

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Allow one thing to penetrate my thoughts;

One pleasing memory, One blessed time;

Whose simplicity a lesson taught

God’s splendid presence by design.

Allow one merit to inquire of me:

Courage, kindness, energy of youth;

Trust that heaven’s endless glory be

Shown in light of love and light of truth.

Allow in life and trouble and through time

Questions asked and later asked again

With answers changed and changing, yet all mine

Hide and seek, yet found in heaven’s name.

Images: unsplash-andrew-neel-a_K7R1kugUE-unsplash.jpg; pexels-photo-314807.jpeg; zac-durant-_6HzPU9Hyfg-unsplash.jpg