 Job 38:4-5
Matt. 8:23-27 “Lord, save us!” His disciples cry out as their boat is being swamped by the waves and they fear it will go down. Jesus replies by asking them why they are afraid and then speaks to the winds and waves and a great calm descends. “ Who is this that even the winds and sea obey him?” Sit for a while in the boat of your own storm and disorder. What does that feel like ? Where is Jesus for you in that feeling ? When Job was going through the most horrific time of desolation and storm in his life God answers him out of the storm. He declared his supreme power over all that he created in the earth. Can you see this God in Jesus who by his very words stopped the sea? What does he want to say to you ? What is it that you desire for him to do? What is he asking from you ? As you speak to Jesus now Tell him what is in your heart . We pray together as one people, O Lord, save us ! From all that drags us down From all that we try to control From trusting in our own devices From all of our fears From -— We look to you, who created the heavens and the earth The foundations of land and the sea and set boundaries for all things, limits that would allow all to grow in harmony together. May our eyes be open to see what you are creating around us for your glory and our good May our hearts and hands participate With you to bring order out of disorder, Calm out of chaos. And may our prayers of compassion for others release the chains that hold them bound, Setting the captives free to see you as you really are, Good and beautiful and just God! We love you and surrender to your love in us today. Amen  Psalm 80
“ Hear us O Shepherd of Israel Show us your mighty power Strengthen this vine and protect it The Son of your love The stock your right hand has planted Then we will never turn back from you Revive us again That we may trust in you Make your face to shine down on us “ Settle yourself in a quiet place Imagine the sounds of the quiet green space all around you to gaze upon . There are so many places in scripture that refer to God as the shepherd of his flock. I receive this image of God His delight and love to care for his sheep. His desire to protect and grow and nurture them. Where today do you need to know God as your Shepherd? Are you able to trust in someone else rather than yourself ? Can you let go of trying to change everything and everyone around you? Pause to pray Today, I welcome you, O Lord as my Shepherd I will not want for anything today but your face to shine down upon me. As I face difficulties and challenges may I surrender into your care that you have this situation and it is not mine to fight for . Let me trust in you as my good shepherd and feel the freedom to graze upon the grass you provide. Strengthen my hands to do your work today. May I welcome all that comes to me for I know it is for my healing . May my face reflect your delight that shines upon me and let the rays of your love shine upon all those I meet.” Amen  Acts 12:1-11
Today we come with honest hearts Humble us Lord to trust in you at all times knowing that you are waiting to be gracious to us and show compassion. Read the story of Peter being chained up to two guards in prison in Acts 12 At night , as the church was praying elsewhere, an angel came to break his chains and release him from captivity. I suppose he was sleeping, exhausted after fighting his imprisonment and fears of his own death. He follows the angels instructions and takes his hand into freedom. Into the open gates into the city that imprisoned him. Sit with this image a little while and feel what the air might have felt like as Peter takes a breath. The night sky, the smells and stillness all around him. Now where are you? Jesus, your teacher, the Angel of freedom takes your hand and leads you out from all your fears. He is the God who hears He is the God who is here. Settle this knowledge into the very center of your being Pray, Lord you are the only way into freedom for me from fear and all that I think I need to control. I let go and trust that you are here and you are taking my hand and leading me out from all these fears. I thank you that you will guide me every step of the way. I am free and I delight in trusting your gracious hand to lead me. In the name of the Father who is for me, in the name of Jesus who is with me and the Holy Spirit that lives within me. Amen  Welcome your complete self here as you become aware of God’s presence in you this moment.
Await with open hands and an open heart to listen. “O’ God will you restore us and grant us your salvation? Your very presence brings us into health and wholeness. You give to us the fountain of life.” In Matthew chapter eight, a man that has a disease called leprosy comes to Jesus and asks to be healed and cleansed. “If you are willing,” he says to Jesus and Jesus is willing and he reaches out to touch the man and he is healed and restored . Having that type of disease in those days meant you were cast out of the community where you lived, set apart, cut off and isolated without anyone to touch. Right now with the pandemic spreading we are even more aware of those around us to distance ourselves and stay clean. We are conscious of everything we touch or not touch. I wonder what it was like for the man with leprosy to reach out to Jesus? For Jesus to reach out and touch him and make him whole again? Where do you need to be touched and restored today? In your body, in your soul? In our isolation and distancing we need to be seen, heard and touched. Make the time now for God to fill this sacred space with His touch and restore what you have lost. Pause to Pray God, We welcome you here to come in our isolation and distance from others to receive your touch today. Restore us where we need to be cleansed so we may bring your love and grace to others that desperately need to know you love them and you will restore them. In every failure, in every shame let your light come in and declare “you are made clean” We pray for every person that is ill today and cut off from human touch. May they feel your tangible touch now in their bodies and receive your healing peace. We thank you for the strength and grace for the doctors, nurses and medical workers who care for the sick. May they know your touch today as well. May we welcome your presence in all of the ways that may surprise us this day. We lay down our agendas and listen for yours. May You be glorified through our lives today. Amen  Bring yourself into a still calm safe place
and become aware of the loving presence of God. Psalm 89:2 “Thank you Lord for your unfailing love that will last forever. Your faithfulness to us stands as firm as the heavens above.” Take a long breath as you read that verse out loud again. God gives us assurance that his love will never fail us no matter what storms may come our way we have a firm foundation that is his word. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:24-28, to listen and act upon his word. This will change us if we let his word go deep and trust in the love that becomes our bedrock of faith. Yes, the storms will come, they surely are here and we feel the fierce winds and the waves beating against our hearts of faith. But if our heart's house is on that sure foundation of love, we will stand and not take that great fall of collapse into the sea. When your heart feels weak and weary like sifting sand between your fingers come back to this image of God’s love for you as a rock that cannot be moved no matter how great the storm will be. A prayer of trust; Jesus, we trust in the very life that redeemed us to live in you and for you to make your home in us. Would you give us the faith to see you there within us, calm , resting in the bottom of the boat in the midst of the stormy sea. May our faith be rooted and grounded in the knowledge that you are faithful, true and will not abandon us no matter what comes our way. May the roots of our faith be anchored upon this bedrock that cannot be moved by stormy seas. Your love will keep us from falling, from our faith collapsing. We choose to trust in you now, listen to your voice, and follow what you say. Welcome prayer; “Today I welcome everything that comes my way, because I know it is for my healing. I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons, situations and conditions. I let go of the desire for power and control. I let go of our desire for survival and security. I open to the love and presence of God and God’s action within me. God , I give you all of these things and trust in your unfailing love. May you guide and direct my steps today to bring glory to your name.” Amen  “For I know that the Lord is great,
and whatever the Lord wills is accomplished” Psalm 135:5-6 “The Lord called me from birth, he gave me my name, “You are my servant, through whom I show my glory.” Isaiah 49:1-6 Stop and ponder these words from scripture. Who are you in relationship to this great God, who calls you by name? I think about this call from birth, that God knows me as He is forming me, giving me life. He sees all the various possibilities for my life and what is ahead. How there will be times when all my strength and work feels in vain. The cause I have been fighting seems to be for nothing. Yet, God will accomplish His will, His glory through His called ones. Isaiah must have felt these feelings and had these thoughts. He writes, then the Lord spoke to me, “now the Lord has spoken”, He is my cause, my strength and my reward. His vision for my life is much greater and beyond what I have ever thought. With an open heart and surrendered spirit we pray, Father, you call us each by name, you have formed us in our mother's womb and have given us a purpose and a will to accomplish. We are humbled to even think of this. Forgive us when our thoughts are too small and we become weak and weary in doing good. Give us your strength to carry out your vision for our lives. You are the greatest reward and cause we could ever live for. May we each enter the joy today that comes from serving you. May we know the delight that you are working alongside of us to help us accomplish all that you desire to reveal love in the world. We welcome once again everything that comes to us today because we know it is for our healing. We welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons, situations and conditions. We open to the love and presence of God and God’s action within us. To show your Glory! Amen  As we pause this day to pray, look to the heavens that are higher than you are and yield to the God who sees you.
Psalm 5:3 “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” Matt.7:12 -13 “ Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.. You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate.” See God’s kingdom as an open beautiful flourishing garden, an open space for all to freely live. There is a gate that is opened for us to go through but it is a narrow opening and in order to fit through you cannot carry too large of a backpack . What is it in your backpack that is too heavy of a weight and too large that keeps you from fitting through the gateway? Can you take it out and leave it before the gate? See Jesus at the gate, he is there waiting to welcome you, to help you empty that pack you are carrying. He looks in without judgment and discerns with you what to lay down, lovingly taking things out one by one and placing them on the ground. Now you may stand up straight and feel the lightness of your body, the openness of your heart and the joy that comes with Jesus by your side. Receive all that he has to give you as you enter in to live freely without judgment. Breathe in His presence with joy to pray “Father, you freely welcome us in . Help us to live generously with ourselves and with others. Jesus, you laid down your life for all, may we take up your perspective and really see one another through your eyes. Spirit, help us to live from this lighter place and not carry any baggage that keeps us from seeing and loving others. Today we welcome everything that comes to us, because we know it is for our healing. We welcome you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to make your home in us, to be your body in this world.” Amen.  “Bless the Lord, O my soul
And never forget all God’s benefits” Ps.103:1 “Do not judge least you be judged for you will be treated as you treat others, and the measure you give will be the measure you get” Matt.7:2 Pause and just be as you are in the presence of God. How do you bring yourself ? What do you hold within you and what does that ask of you? As you sit here begin to remember all of God’s benefits toward you. He is gazing at you with eyes of love and acceptance right now. Can you trust totally in this deep love and allow yourself to sink in there into the ground of your being with God? Begin to release yourself to the Lord as you pray; We remember Lord that you are always waiting for us to come and receive your grace. We are so thankful for all that we have in you. For all that is ours and will be ours if we only surrender into the gift of your being in us. Help us this day to see beauty in ourselves so we may see beauty in others. Forgive us for the way we judge another and when we hold these judgements in ourselves. We lay our judgments down and rest a while by the quiet pool of living water you provide for us. May we dip our cup in and drink from the well of your grace and be empowered to offer this cup to people you have placed in our lives. We open our hands up with our arms stretched wide into your heavenly expanse that knows no limits nor measure. Let us give out of your abundance freely as you have freely given to us. May we grow our roots down deeper to discover how intimate and far reaching is your love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding - the fullness of God. Eph.3 Thanks be to God, our creator, Jesus our constant companion, Holy Spirit, our faithful guide. Amen  Every Father, grandfather , stepfather, solo Father , grieving Father , Father of the fatherless , Father without children of their own .
Lord, We thank you for every father here today that they would know your pleasure and love for them. Give them all the strength, patience and wisdom to lead their sons and daughters into an open loving relationship. May their words always bring life and when they fall short may they know your compassion to forgive and begin again. Give them boldness and courage to be the father you have called them to be no matter how old their children are. May they never forsake praying for their children. Grant them your grace and favor to listen and to be listened to. “Every father Called to raise up Sons or daughters May your heart be patient May your mind be clear May our God be with you And calm Your Fears” ***** offer your children back to God now and receive grace****** Remember... We honor our fathers today, those that have passed. We remember their love and kindness that you revealed through them to us. Thank you for the days we had with them on this earth. We treasure them for all that they deposited into our lives,for this we are forever grateful . Healing … and for those Fathers that were absent and couldn't love us the way we needed to be loved we forgive them because you forgive us. We ask you to heal the father wounds in us today so we may know the depth of your love for us as we call you Father. Forgive us when we have not been able to honor our fathers and only saw their failings . May we see you as our true beloved Father and trust in you wholeheartedly. ******Receive healing ****** We pray for all the fatherless children and those that need a word of encouragement and direction . Lord, would you raise up fathers to father those without families . Would you open doors for men to speak into young men's lives that would propel them into a thriving life with you. To point them in the right way to go without judging them but through patiently loving them . **** ask God who it is that he wants you to reach out to*** We Pray for estranged fathers from their children that are grieving today . We thank you that you will return the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers as you have promised in the last days. Lord comfort these Fathers and may they continually pray for their lost children. **** pause and hold up families you know that are struggling *** We pray for every orphaned child and refugees today that they will know you the true Father of all. Come to all of our orphaned hearts this day as David wrote in the psalms “even if my father and mother abandons me, the Lord will hold me close “ We ask that you would Restore the dignity and integrity of Fatherhood in our community and all over the world. Our beloved Father we humble receive all that you have for us this day . You are a good, good father and you love us all . May we always be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ who dwells in our hearts That we may grow to understand how deep and how high,wide and never ending your love is for us. Amen  Psalm 138
“I give thanks, O Lord with all my heart; You have heard the words of my mouth. In the presence of the angels I praise you. I bow down toward your holy temple.” Sit and breathe in the Holy Spirit from God that gives you life. Present yourself as His holy temple, the place where He has chosen to dwell and receive his presence in your body, your mind and in your heart. Luke 2:41-51 This is the story of Jesus when he was a young boy coming of age traveling with his family to Jerusalem. There it says he listened, asking questions, giving astonishing answers to all that were present. Jesus, through the holy spirit longs to give to us his words of wonder, to ask us the questions we hold inside us that we may fear to answer. He is there ready to astonish us, to amaze us with the endless possibilities he sees in us. What may be, what lies ahead if we trust ourselves fully to him? What have we to lose but our own fear of self? Could we become like little children and be filled with wonder and curiosity? He will listen to our questions. He reveals the mysterines to his children if we will only wait patiently and clear our minds to hear. Open your heart now to pray with your questions and wait silently for the answers that will come in His presence. Here we are Lord, open and full of wonder like little children. Many of us are Parents, Mothers and Fathers and know how hard it is to make our children understand what is best for them. We all have also been children, lost our way and full of fear. We cry out to you, loving Father, Jesus our friend and teacher. Listen to our hearts , we give you permission to come and reveal how you see our situation today. Where we hold the unanswered questions and fears. We thank you that you have come to calm our fears and give us wonder for what lies ahead of us. May we never give up on hope but hold on tight to what is true in you. May we never lose our wonder nor cease to be amazed of what you are able to do in us and through us. Lift our spirits higher this day so we may see the wonder of your working in our world. May we be filled with holy anticipation that light will break in the cracks and Love will always win. That everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Let us be as children this day to begin again, to love again with wonder and amazement and let go of everything else that we cannot understand. Fill us again with you dear Jesus! |