 September 18 Prayer
“Hide me in the shadow of your wings, I shall behold your face; On waking, I shall be content in your presence.” Ps.17:15 Wake up and look for Jesus, He is here above and around you. Even within you the spirit dwells. So when you awake you may rest in the covering of warmth and safety, like a fluffy down comforter held close. Jesus walked close to those who followed him while he traveled the earth. He called them each by name , men and women, and each had a deep desire to know him more. And they were accompanying him, proclaiming good news of the kingdom of God. Lk.8:1 Not only was he with each individually but he was leading the group of them. He saw each of them as together, as one just as he was in the trinity. There is a flow of connection between all things In creation. We are his created beings. So as we wake up to a new day let us see the oneness in God is a oneness with each other. Prayer and blessing ‘Lord Jesus, we are each one of your followers and we desire to be close to you. We look for your steps to guide us. We each have your hand to hold. Help us to see you holding our brother's hand and our sister's hand and the strangers hand. May we know in a deeper way that there is no difference between us when you are present. Let us experience the delight of the trinity as we seek to serve you as we live in connection with one another. May your glory be revealed to us as we learn to love as you love. Our eyes are set on following you today. We are held close to your heart and are content in your presence. All glory be to the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.’ Amen  September 17 Prayer
Those whose many wrongs are forgiven, loves much in return. Lk.7:36-48 This is the lovely story of the woman who unashamedly shows her great love and gratitude for being forgiven toward Jesus. To love much is to receive much. To receive forgiveness we must first own and confess our wrongs and turn back toward Jesus. In the returning, in the confessing we become vulnerable and open to receive the grace that is waiting for us. It takes disowning our shame to own our sins and receive forgiveness . O what generous grace God offers us, his forgiveness freely given so we may be so filled with love that it will flow freely from us. Our only response is unashamed love and adoration. Let us come unashamedly to confess our failings. Sit at his feet looking up into the eyes of love and let him fill you with mercy and grace. Pause to pray We return to you O beautiful One. We lay down at your feet all of our wrong attitudes and thoughts, words and deeds that have not honored you. We do not hide them from you for if we do then we cannot receive forgiveness . We need your forgiveness so that we can be filled up with the cup of grace to be poured out into the world. We do not try to be right, or good we just surrender all to you. You are good and we thank you for your constant love. We thank you that you bring us out of our gloom and darkness into your great and marvelous light. Here we stand, saying great is our God. Unashamedly we declare our love and adoration for you. Thank you for lifting us up and holding us close to your heart. Amen  September 16 Prayer
“Wisdom is shown and justified by all her children who follow her.” Lk. 7:35 The skies have been full of smoke, the worst ever they say. The fog comes in and then goes out. Now a blue sky then a white one. Dark and light, wrong and right. O’ how we need wisdom now more than ever. “Wisdom takes care of those who look for her; she raises them to greatness. Loving her is loving life itself; rising early to look for her is pure joy. The Lord loves everyone who loves her, and those who pay attention to her have true security.” Eccl.4 What do you hear as an invitation to follow God today? When Jesus came to a generation, so many missed him because he was a different expression of the kingdom than they were not expecting. Don’t miss Jesus. He may appear in ways that you do not recognize. Let him surprise you and even look for him somewhere else than you are used to. Even look inside of you, where the Holy Spirit lives, there you will find wisdom waiting for you. Pay attention to what you are noticing inside, the truth of wisdom sometimes hurts but it leads to true security and life. “The wisdom of God will be proven true by the expressions of godliness in everyone who follows her.” Lk.7:35 Tpt Pause to pray Bless the spirit of wisdom inside of me May I see her May I seek her within me and hear God’s voice of reason that is above Earthly wisdom. May I have seek earnestly wisdom as I follow you God In my every moment to trust in and pass on to the next generation. Help me to listen deeply and pay attention Humbly I return and remember that I do not know everything I confess my own understanding fails me but I look to follow True wisdom and take delight in her. Thank you that you will take my hand and lead me this day to discover Jesus May I be the expression of your kingdom living through me this day. And may I look for Jesus in the unexpected doorways and encounters that will open up to me today. ‘Praise be to the Father , The Son and the Holy Spirit. In whom we live and move and have our being.’ Amen  September 15 Prayer
‘In God is my being, my me, my strength, my beatitude, my good, and my delight’ at Catherine of Genoa “We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.” Psalms 33:20-22 Pause here to notice what you are feeling inside your being. What are you feeling? Where have your thoughts been going? What has been your struggle and strength these past days? Offer your whole being to God. His presence is here, His word is right and all of His works are to be trusted. Prayer; God your faithful love fills the earth! Our soul is waiting for You, Lord, our love,our help, our shield and protector. In you alone we place our trust. You know our inner thoughts and Jesus you came to reveal them so we may be healed and set free. Bring your glory to shine upon the earth. Break through in us today so others may see our hope is beyond human striving and fixing but in following your justice. Let your unfailing love surround us and our hearts be filled with delight. Our hope is in You. Let hope rise up in those that are struggling and fearful and may they open their hearts to Love. Use us to be a pathway to find all that is good, faithful and true. In the midst of the external world we hold onto what is eternal. In the beautiful name of Jesus we pray. Amen  September 14 Prayer
‘How numerous are my fears! They rise up within me whispering there is no help for you in God. Yet You, O my Beloved, radiate around me, my glory, lifting up my head high. I cry aloud to You, and You answer within my heart. Rise up Love!’ Psalm 3 As you start a new day aware of the surrounding conditions allow God's presence to come and hold your head up to see His glory. Where Love dwells fears have to go. Let’s pray for the Lover of our souls to come and meet us where we are today. ‘Lord, we cry out to you within our hearts and know that you will answer us. We turn from our fears and our own ways and solutions and look toward your ways. Help us in our time of need. Fill us again with your hope for this day, for this hour. We need you every day and in every hour . May we become a resting place for others to find your glory. For you became like us in a human form, Lord of all, emptied to become a servant of all. You identify with every human condition, the weak and the strong , the voiceless and the vulnerable. We look to the power of your cross that brings reconciliation and justice, a way forward in Love. Help us to turn away from wrong in our thinking and in our actions. May we receive your cleansing to begin again and breath in new life, and new hope. May the air of revival rise up within us to proclaim that Jesus is Lord of all! Philip.2:5-11 Amen  September 13 Prayer
‘We are the Lords, Whether we live or die’ Rom.14:7-9 We belong to a greater being, the One who holds all things together The One who sees and hears our hearts So why fear my friend? He has this whole situation under his hands. We are called to bend low and rise high. Look for the Creator's face that shines on ours. Behind these closed in skies there is a bright blue waiting to break forth. Beyond the blazing fires and charged stumps of forests There will be new growth to spring up. Let us not grow weary in our prayers, For He hears and the whole earth groans and cries for redemption. Let us join in with their cry and believe with hope and confidence we are all the Lords. Prayer; O Great God and Creator, You who are full of compassion and grace we cry out for your redemption of the earth. We cry out for mercy, wisdom and protection. We ask for you to restore and heal our land. Protect and provide for those that are in the trenches to help put out these raging fires. May we look for your grace all around us and lift up those in need. There is a power so much greater than we know and see that our hearts cry out for . It is your loving presence that we desire and your mercy to triumph over judgment. Your presence brings to us revelation so our eyes may see the higher way. Keep our souls firmly planted in You and our prayers continually offered up from the earth before you. We belong to You, heart and mind, night and day, light and life, all is yours. So we surrender all to honor you. We receive the faith to persevere and always believe your goodness will prevail. Amen Peace be to you.  September 11 Prayer
“Unveil my eyes to see your face that I might recognize your grace and all these plans you have for me use them to set them free.” ~Salt of the Sound Another morning of a white out. That's when you cannot see the horizon line that separates the sky from sea. There is so much that we cannot see with our natural eyes, no wonder Jesus spoke in parables to get us to seek deeper truths and begin to see with the eyes of our hearts. ‘The blind cannot lead the blind,..Do not try to take the speck out of your brother's eye when you have a log in your own.’ Lk.6:29-42 When all you see is what is wrong, it is hard to see the face of God and His marvelous plans to set them free. In you and in me. When I am around a critical person I become critical of them. This makes me stop and begin to recognize the things that I see wrong in others are really what is wrong in me. Here is where I really need to hold firmly the ground of my being like St. Catherine’s tree, where we get all the nourishment from the ground of God’s love. Nothing to prove, nothing to hold onto, but to know what I cannot see is really inside of me. ‘Search me ,O God and know my heart’ Unveil my eyes to see your face that I might recognize your grace and all the plans you have for me use them to set them free’ Prayer; Lord, we thank you that You see all that is inside of us. Y ou know our hearts and you have marvelous plans for us all. Would you show us these plans, and unveil our eyes so we can see how beautiful your face is? That we might see the intentions you have for good and amazing things to come forth from our lives. Give us eyes to recognize your grace right here, right now in the face of another. Make us like trees planted by your living waters of love. Amen~ DB  September 10 prayer
“Just as the roots of trees hold firm in the soil, so it is the roots of love that hold the ground of our being together.” Where are your roots going deeper during this time? What is the soil like? Is it virtuous or has it been poisoned by the outside elements? Jesus calls us to be better and calls us to more. In Luke 6:27-36 He challenges us to love our enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hurt you...Love, bless, pray, give, do good, be merciful. Catherine of Siena in the 14th century received a dialogue from God in which she writes ; ‘For you are trees of love, and without love you cannot live, for you have been made by Me for love. The soul who lives virtuously places the root of her tree in the valley of humility.’ This may be a good place to start as we examine our hearts to pray. In Humility, to notice where we are offended or hurt by what we hear or see. Pause here now to be centered in the circle of ground that is God's love. Let your roots hold firmly into this ground of love that will hold you together. Feel the strength that rises within you to grow tall and reach your branches out. Feel the expanse of love that extends through the spaces around you . This is where love grows. We pray; O Lord, teach us your ways, so we may walk in your truth. Widen our hearts, loosen our grips and increase our expanse to reach for more. More love, more life, more hope to believe in all that you have and will give to us. May the ground of our being be planted in your soil and by your streams of love. Where everything we need for more is from You. We receive now this gesture of grace freely given to us so we may freely extend mercy to others. Thanks be to the God of love, the peace of Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Amen  September 9 Prayer
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the hungry for they will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will soon laugh.’ Lk.6 Lord, open my heart and my eyes to see myself as you see me and the world as you behold it. Where there is blessing there is a purpose. Help me to find your purpose in what is going on inside me and all around me. Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding’.Pr.3 Help us all to find you in the midst, to seek out wisdom and gain a new understanding. Help us to know who we are and where we are right now. To understand our own poverty and our own wealth. All comes from You, so may we see what we have been given and find a purpose for it. Help us to recognize where we are, hungry or filled, thirsty or satisfied, sad or happy, and let us find the gold that comes out of the ashes. We abandon ourselves to the Beloved with confidence and receive the blessing of Love. ‘From the Heart of your heart you are welcomed home in Him.’ “You are not surprised at the force of the storm, you have seen it growing. Through the empty branches the sky remains.” Rilke Blessing ; May you see what you already have; for all that remains in you, that which is true, good and alive, that which has a purpose, and you will become a fountain, full of wisdom and light. We pray, ‘God we ask that you fulfill all of our longing in You . May those that are wandering, hurt and in despair find You there in the middle of this passing storm. May their hearts come alive to that which you have already given and find the gold in the ashes. We thank you that you hear the cries of our hearts and give us the blessings of love from your heart to ours. We find our true home in you. It is what we have~ Amen  September 8 Prayer
“How great is our Lord, His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension.” Ps.147 In loving places, O god, are you known, your mercy extends to all the earth. Your abode has been established in our soul. Your dwelling place is in our heart. You break down our walls, our anger, fear and doubts….You call us to love, to grow toward harmony and wholeness.’ Ps.76 I arise today to see large pieces of ashes from the heavens covering the ground. The air is still and dry and the ash is like manna still falling. I am reminded of the verse in Isaiah that no weapon formed against you shall prosper and ask what are the weapons against me? What are the weapons that I still hold in my hand? The worry of what is to come, the fear of what is, the impulse to run away or stand and fight. So here I am, Lord, and you remind me once again that the battle is yours and you are doing the fighting. I lay down my own weapon and I arise and align myself in your love, await your presence and allow you to lead. Let's pray this song from St Patrick's prayer. ‘I arise today through the strength of heaven Light of sun, radiance of moon Splendor of fire, speed of lightning Swiftness of wind, depth of the sea Stability of earth, firmness of rock I arise today through God's strength to pilot me God's eye to look before me God's wisdom to guide me God's way to lie before me God's shield to protect me From all who shall wish me ill Afar and a-near Alone and in a multitude Against every cruel, merciless power That may oppose my body and soul Christ with me, Christ before me Christ behind me, Christ in me Christ beneath me, Christ above me Christ on my right, Christ on my left Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down Christ when I arise, Christ to shield me Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me I arise today In the power of the three amen |