March 8 Prayer
Receive these words over you; “But Take heart, for I have over come the world.” Words from Jesus, the man God who was sent from heaven before the foundations of the world began, He was there, Here with us, desiring us, longing for us to be in relationship with love. Love of the Father, love of the Son, love of the Holy Spirit . Yes in this world we will have trouble, that is why he gave us his peace and asks us to take his heart. Hear his words over you today; “Rise up, O fair one Take my heart now And let me fill your cup My peace I give to you.” Pause here to receive and respond to His voice; ‘Awak my soul, make my heart ready, My heart cries out to the living God Make me confident in Your love. Make my heart ready, Ready to give thanks, Ready to receive the washing of your word, The peace you give to me. Ready to stand up and walk upon the high road To be governed by your grace In the union of the Holy Spirit. My heart is ready, for my heart is your heart Love through me today, Make me an instrument of your peace~ Amen John 16:33, Ps.57:7-11 DB March 6 Prayer
Looking over this past week I stop to see where God has met me. Where my thoughts and concerns have been, where my heart strings were pulled and where I struggled to stay connected In hope we pray bring us back to You, O God, Abounding in mercy, Our Lord is good to all his creatures. He does not deal with us according to our sins but casts them far into the deep blue sea. I thank You for filling my empty cup, for satisfying my thirsty soul and for nourishing my hungry heart. I thank You for showing the obstacles between me and you and for removing them. I thank You for your love and your grace that appears when I shed my worry and let my life become like a seed falling into the ground with You. I thank you that today is just the beginning. This moment now is the mother of all moments to come. Bringing new life, new choices to love, choices to give, to be truly honest, to become whole and to choose to really live. ‘Glory be to You, Father of all things, to You, Christ our King, to You, Holy Spirit breath of our being.’ Amen Psalm 103, 145:8-9 DB March 5 Prayer
….until the time came to fulfill his dreams... “He is the Lord our God. His justice is seen throughout the land. He always stands by his covenant— the commitment he made to a thousand generations.” Ps. 105:7-8, This story, lived centuries ago,about Joseph, his dysfunctional family and the undue suffering he endured. Envy, resentment, favoritism, betrayal, deceit, jealousy, rejection, anger, innocence, injustice, just about every human condition, one can imagine is displayed there. We are human, and though we are made in God’s image we cannot attain To his glory through our own will and emotions. We fall short, every time. And even though we may not commit such crimes as Joseph’s brothers did, we may feel those same emotions. Sometimes, in some places and in some situations. And when we notice and sink deeply there, a road will rise up to walk on, one step at a time, to confess, and to forgive, to honor this passageway to freedom. That we may be made whole, beautiful containers for God. God will turn things around, He will keep his promise To fulfill your dreams that He gave you long ago. Pause here to ponder your dreams and confess your shortcomings, Lord, we believe that you keep your promises to us For you are our only help when we feel helpless When we are betrayed and harbor resentment, You are the only way to forgiveness. When we suffer undue hardships, You rescue us and bring justice. When we are fearful You are our safe place. May we not give up hope in the dreams that you have given us long ago May we rise up and take the next step to follow you out from under our doubts and fears. Lead us on Lord, take our hands and let us proclaim your goodness everywhere we go. For you are the God who turns things around You are the One who gives us a reason to get up again, everyday, and be a place for glory to shine through. Alleluia! Amen DB Gen.37, Acts.7:9-15, Ps.105:19 March 4Prayer
‘A stark dry landscape A barren hot wilderness An unknown heart and twisted mind’ These are the descriptions of someone in pain. Someone walking through a difficult time here on earth Our Lord Jesus is well acquainted with sorrow and enters our pain through his very own journey to the cross Who knows their own heart ? When doubts and questions plague us. When people let you down When your trust even in yourself has waned? Blessed is the person who completely trusts and relies upon the goodness of God In every season,Jeremiah says, will not cease to bear fruit. Jer.17:5-10 Fresh leaves continue to unfurl before a blazing sun beating down upon it In the desert and yet flourishing, greening down to its roots and drinking up from the life stream of love. With everything you have let go of it now and trust completely in God, See and know that he holds this situation you are in. Look at where you have been putting your trust and turn towards the nourishing of your soul. ‘May we see the truth of the matter and understand better our own hearts. We give to You our own desires to let you search our hearts and stop pretending things are not as they really are. We pray Father, You, are our only source of strength during dark times. We ask for your spirit to flow through us now Letting your strength flow out of us to those who need your comfort today. We receive your strength, your peace, and your wisdom from above To be with those who are in such a place and offer hope there. By your grace, we will be well watered trees bearing fruit in every season. ‘For every good thing that I have comes from you.’ Ps.16:1-2 Amen DB March 3 Prayer
To follow Jesus on the journey to the cross. That’s what lent is all about. We take our time and reflect upon the areas of growth Our souls are in need of. Today’s reading is about following Jesus’ way not the way of the world’s kingdom Jesus offers us a cup to drink And it isn't a cup of power and esteem But of humility as He leads The way of leadership through servanthood Surrender rather than control A faith lived through self dying Into a new identity with Christ A union so deeply rooted in love that no ego can drive a wedge between No need to impress Nor appease For God the Father sees us Through the eyes of the beloved Son He sees through us Into our very depths of desire, The very core of who we are and who we are becoming. In our grief and in our shortcomings In our striving we come Lay down our cups before him to fill As He chooses What we are to drink It’s a different cup for each of us Wherever you are today will you offer him your empty cup? In your weakness Let him fill you with strength In our fears Let him fill you with courage In your grief Let him fill you with comfort In your sorrow Let him fill you with a joy that runs a river deep Stretch out your hands to hold out your cup to pray; ‘Not my will but yours dear Lord, I surrender to your love, your way of living out my faith Knowing in my heart that you see who I am and who I am becoming Completely yours. May we be poured out to serve others this day And live out our faith with Christ.’ Amen DB Matt.20:17-28, Gal.2:19-20 March 2 Prayer
“Lose your life to find it.” “Humble yourself and you He will exalt you,” Do not call anyone else teacher, or Father or any other high title for there is only one we serve. The greatest among you must be a servant.” What heavy burden of a title am I trying to live up to, I ask? What expectations from others weigh me down? What do I place on leaders, teachers, pastors those that hold positions that they are not able to bear? There is only One. One we are to be attached to. All created things we are to have a holy indifference. The only way our hearts can truly be free is to let go of these things that hold us earthbound. I ask God what strings and ropes tug my heart away from holy living? What am I tethered to that keeps me from being lifted higher in the spirit with him? ...My need to be seen, esteemed by what others think of me? Where my work is noticed and publicly honored, given credit for what I’ve done? Oh, Lord, I am just as guilty as the religious leaders you called out for their unhealthy attachments. Forgive me, I let go of these weights now. May my heart be only tethered to yours. May everything else fade away before You. So I may only see You, Your beauty here in the face of the other. May I let go of the expectations that weigh me down So I may take flight upon your wings of grace. ‘We exalt the Lord our God And bow low before his feet, For He is great and holy.’ We worship before your glory! Give us the wings to fly in holy detachment Amen Jn.12:23-26, Mt.23:1-12,Ps.99:5 March 1 Prayer
‘God is for us and not against us.’ We hear those words God did not withhold his beloved son Gave himself, his whole self for us God speaks from the mountain top ‘Listen to my Son’ He gives So we may give What can we give back to such a benevolent Creator Who does not withhold from us? Shall we take this cup of salvation, The cup of grace and raise it up to the one Who was raised up for us? How shall we give him an offering? Stop here to ask how you are to give back.. What are you to pour out before him now… ‘Jesus, we are listening to your words, “Do not condemn, do not judge, forgive so we may be forgiven, give and it will be given back to you.” This is hard we confess because our hearts want everything to be fair and just We want to see results right away We confess our need to see things change the need to be heard and understood. We ask for the grace to trust and the grace to give, for giving is the way to forgiveness Forgiveness is the way of abundance, a full cup easily overflows when it is raised up So raise your cup up, let your father fill you with everything You need, let it overflow, be poured out and ‘What shall I give back to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord And will fulfill my vows to you before all people.’ Ps.116:16-19,Lk.6:36-38,Rom.8:31-34 February 27 Prayer
The mountains bring forth peace and the hills righteousness You have to look up higher to see this Lift your head up from looking down From looking at the other With envy, comparison even admiration God is our only hope and help when we are troubled His very words bring life, They are full of the Spirit and life and this is where Jesus tells us to love, Love our enemies, those that hurt us Be made perfect as He is Be made whole The only way we can actually do this is to live out of our God created identity Live generously toward others, like God The way He lives toward you God gives us His best, the sun to warm and the rain to nourish the ground For all Let difficult people bring out the best in you , not the worst Pray blessings on others when you want to curse Have mercy on others when you want to bring judgment For all these perils we face we conquer overwhelmingly through Him who loved us. Nothing will ever separate us from this love of God in Christ. Rom.8:35-39 Matt.5:48, John 6:63 We pray now to look up higher than our circumstances Open the eyes of our hearts to see your great all encompassing love That covers all and is for all Help us to receive it, this love and believe in your words, Jesus, that bring life Let us bless others when it is hard And live generously full of your spirit and full of your love May we be deeply rooted in who you are and who you have created us to be Let the rain of your spirit nourish us And the sun warm us This day In Jesus name We pray Amen DB February 26 Prayer
Jesus makes things so clear through words that are hard to hear The words we say come forth from who we are and what we do It starts on the inside and That’s usually where we hide Until our outside world throws us curve ball and all turns us upside down “Peace comes to those who turn to God in their hearts. Glory will follow and fill the land, creating a pathway to walk upon.” Goodness and beauty, bounty and blessings That’s what I want. So shall we turn to God now and let him inside the envy, hurt, worry and fear? So we can be reconciled and made whole? So mercy can flow through. “Rise up Jesus in us and calm the chaos and the storm Rise up inside, so our words bring life and not enmity From the peace on the inside Where you are resting Mercy, faithfulness and truth they meet with an embrace. One leads to the other. May we be faithful to see what’s inside What needs washing to be clean. So your mercy and grace comes forth from who we are and words we say Jesus rise up in me today Keep our minds curious and open to repair May your mercy and truth follow me May we all learn to nourish forgiveness on the inside So we may cherish peace with others on the outside Jesus rise up within your church today That all we do becomes all of you In the Beautiful name of Jesus, we pray. Amen Matt.5:20-26, Ps.85:8-14 February 25 Prayer
A good Father loves A good Father sees knows what is needed. Cares and smiles over you A child wonders Unabashedly asks sometimes begs relentlessly for what they want. All we want is already there All we are waiting for In the silence and unknowns and unmet needs It’s there along, the answer is in the presence of seeking, asking and finding. May we never lose the wonder To simply seek, to simply ask, to simply wait for the opening In the dark and let the light come in. Like Queen Esther, Young and emboldened from stories on her youth She Remembers Father God, the one who brought her out of troubles, slavery and fear. She lays down her life into the hands of A good Father To trust in him even if she loses her life for her people She is willing to surrender all For a call to prayer A time set apart For courage to lead ‘May our prayers be simple and true Like Esther's honest cry, “Help me God for I am alone and have no one but you.” May our hearts take courage and rest in the wonder to be a trusting child We ask Lord, we receive, we seek You and find The doors opened before us today. Lead us as we trust in You. Let us find You in the faces we see, the unmet needs and desires Help us in this hour, we simply pray and simply trust. Thank you Papa for your hands of love and gifts from above. Thank you for the wholeness and peace you bring. We love You. Amen’ DB Matt.7:7-12, Esther |