Hearts and Hands Together

Gracious and loving God, we pray this day that we may put service to You and Your people first and foremost in our lives. Please present us with ways that we specifically may help those most in need. Please show us the hungry, the hurt, the lonely, that we may ease their suffering and give them new strength and hope. Please allow us to shower those who mourn with comfort to ease their grief. Please help us offer forgiveness and mercy when we feel incapable of doing so on our own that we may ease another's anguish over having made a mistake that cannot be corrected any other way. Please bless those who we may not encounter directly, but who are Your children, deserving of all that You have to offer. Our hearts and hands are Your most important instruments in our world. Please, let us never take these tools, and what they can accomplish, for granted. Amen.

Grace

Grace-Full God, thank You that I felt Your spirit holding my hand, urging me to wait just a few more seconds before entering that intersection. Your attention to such loving detail in Your world means that I am safe, the people in several other cars are safe and we all will live another day in Your creation.

Grace-Full God, thank you for reminding me that my friend's birthday is coming up at the end of the month and that she loves to be remembered on her special day, if only with a card. You remember each of us in ways we often fail to acknowledge. It feels quite wonderful to be able to pass that on to someone You helped me find.

Grace-Full God, thank You for taking care of all of us, even when we aren't aware that it is You guiding us, encouraging us, making space for us to be as You would have us be. Amen.

A Steady Pace

God Who Journey's With Us, there are so many ways that we get from one place to another in any given day. Mostly, we choose whatever is fastest because we believe we have so little time to spend on travel. Planes, trains and automobiles are our favorites, trusted methods that catapult us forward, always forward, so we don't miss our chance to be bigger, better, stronger than all our competition, whoever they may be.

Walking seems like a lost art, doesn't it? A slower pace, a cadence that requites rhythm, patience and attention to the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other. We don't even like parking too far away from shopping mall entrances and grocery store doors for fear it will take time away from the task at hand.

But walking with You is our charge, we who are Your elect, Your chosen, Your people. By not being willing to use our bodies to walk in Your world are we missing those moments in which we can learn to walk with You more intimately? Amen.

Wonders and Signs

Miraculous God, I hear people say they will only believe in You if they can have proof you exist. Signs are important to them to understand how You work, where You are at any given time and what Your plans are for the next few years or so. I guess, God that they have a point. You have a whole lot of power to work with, and wonders and signs seem to be a pretty easy, tangible way of expressing Yourself. It also would clear up a lot of questions.

But You parse these bits of glamour and glitz out sparingly, like seasonings in a finely crafted stew. Too much and the whole pot is uneatable. Not enough and the zest is gone. We trust You with this delicate balance, God, believing that faith is the bridge that will bring us to deeper knowledge and renewed vision for Your activity. Amen.

Begin With Me

Begin with me, God, as You began the world. Teach me to create as You create, with grace, truth, mercy and love.

Begin with me, God, as You began the world. Teach me the beauty of both heaven and earth, the seas and the skies, the wild and the tame.

Begin with me, God, as You began the world. Teach me the songs that stir from the rocks, the birds, the squirrels and the trees, presenting a symphony of sounds.

Begin with me, God, as You began the world. Teach me to listen for Your voice through all the people I encounter this day and every day. Amen.

Hallowed Be Your Name

Our Loving Creator, we glorify Your name today and every day. We pray that Your world will always be our world, that Your will will always be our will, both here and in heaven. Please nourish and sustain us with what we need for today. Forgive us all the ways that we hurt ourselves, each other and You, as we forgive those who hurt us. Please lead us away from that which would harm us and protect us when we choose a path of destruction. You are our world, our strength and our song. Amen.

Why Are We Weeping?

Why are we crying, God? What breaks our hearts to the point of filling our souls with over flowing sadness and pain? What is it about our lives that separates us from You, causing us to seek solace in our own tears?

What will bring us back to You for what we most need from You? A contrite heart? A sprit looking for forgiveness beyond human acceptance or understanding? A recognition that we cannot manage this journey as well when we attempt to take our steps without You beside us?

Whatever it takes to come back to You, we know that when we do our tears will be dried. We will be forgiven, understood, accepted because that is who You are for us. Amen.