5 posts tagged “prayer”
At easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships,
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger …
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears …
To shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
And to turn their pain into joy.
May God bless you with foolishness …
To believe that you can make a difference in this world,
So that you can do what others say cannot be done.
Amen.
— A Franciscan benediction for challenging times
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Lord Jesus, you were in control that night they came for you. It was Your voice that sent Judas on his way to saying “Do quickly what you are going to do.” You were in control when you washed the disciples feet that evening; You chose to disrobe, You wrapped the towel around your waste, You were the one, only You, who chose to serve in great humility. And it was You in obedience to the Father, that chose to embrace the cross and all its shame. There is no doubt you are Lord, but as your gospel reminds us, you are teacher as well. Teach us, Lord. Open wide dear God, the hearts of we your people, and fashion in us willing hearts and minds the can do no less than love as you do. Teach us Lord, that only in loving one another as you do will the world see in church the body of Christ. Teach us and open us Lord, for the sake of this world which you love and for which you laid down your life. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Dearest God,
I know we are on speaking terms because I believe You have heard me. It doesn't feel like I've heard from you lately..or have I?
I pray for peace, yet strife remains all around. I pray for the Church, yet it wrestles with interpretation of things You said or did not say and man made prerequisites. I pray for equality, yet see disparity near and far.
I pray to do good in Your name, yet fall short. My attention wanes, my strength cannot keep pace with the best of my intentions. Despite forgetting to turn to You in all things, despite taking You for granted from time to time, I am utterly dependent upon You.
You and I are together-even together You are the majority of One.
With Your strength alone can I chip away at the walls I have built between You and I, between myself and others.
Grant me the courage to face this challenge.
The insidious growth of hatred in this world did not spread in one day. Once planted bitterness, anger, greed, apathy and ignorance encourage its growth. Its demise can occur when those who believe in Your unfailing forgiveness and abiding love live Your truth. Prayer in action, love in action.
My prayer for 2008, most Holy, persevering, tenacious, gracious God, is that I may be one who lives Your truth.
During this upcoming year tune my heart to seek Your truth, to listen for Your voice, to learn Your ways and incoroporate them in my life, to speak Your love, to remain faithful regardless of setbacks one day at a time, one person at a time, one heart at a time.
Like your servant Francis, make me an instrument of Your peace in and to this broken world. Amen
-Written by Joanna Depue
"Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves; when our dreams have become true because we dreamed too small; when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare boldly; to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery, not ours; where in losing sight of land we shall find the stars. This we ask in the name of our captain, who is Jesus Christ." Amen.
