Tough Times

Your Holy Spirit sustains us through anything and everything that can possibly be, God, and we are grateful to know this. But sometimes we feel put upon, as if You personally have sent us a life workbook in a box that we cannot maneuver very well.

We are not fond of the tough lessons, no matter how much we learn from them, mainly because it is after the fact that we seem to get Your point. We are a stubborn, arrogant people who like to have our own way. Free will not withstanding, Your way usually does make the most sense, as long as don't apply human logic to compensate for our need to control our lives and our worlds.

God, please forgive us our need to teach You the lesson. Bless us with Your patience. Love us, despite our need to tell You how to run things. Amen.

Hemming and Hawing

What are we waiting for, God?

Are we still hoping You will do everything for us because that's what we think Your job is?

Are we still thinking that we aren't accountable for anything we say, do or produce?

Are we stuck in the belief that our presence here doesn't matter or make a difference?

Are we so sure that You exist that we take it for granted that You will protect us from all harm, not bothering to manage our lives with intelligence and reason?

Are we willing to waste our lives, only to discover, too late, that we could have done and been so much more?

What are we waiting for, God? Amen.

Peace

God Who Redeems Us All, please grant us the peace which You tell us passes all understanding. Teach us this peace which we long for, not just in the war zones around the world, but in the war zones in ourselves, our families, our communities. These privately-funded wars are not fueled by government funds, but by long-held grudges, hurt feelings and offenses we cling to, despite knowing that we can choose differently. We wonder why there is so little peace in Your creation, blaming You for what we are not willing to invest in, even for a few moments a day.

Something we need to remember, God, is that war costs us dearly, and that peace also comes with a price. Teach us, implore us with Your love, to choose peace every chance we get. We can choose to be kind, even if we have not received kindness. We can choose to be helpful, even if we have not received help. We can choose to forgive, even if we have not been forgiven. We can choose to love, even if we fear the consequences.

Bless us with the remembrance today, God, that peace is a choice, each moment, each day for all of us. Amen.

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.