Prayer matters

Birds don’t reap

A gathering of larks by Abigail Carroll,
inspiration for my St Francis Focus this year

Call to Worship

Look at the birds of the air;
they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns
and yet God provides for the basic sustenance of life.
May our hearts be open to trust you.

Look at the birds of the air;
they neither study nor plan nor plot their course
and yet God writes the instinct for migration into their hearts.
May our eyes be open to see you.

Look at the birds of the air;
they neither talk nor vote nor debate their responsibility
yet God weaves them into communities which nurture and defend.
May our hands be open to serve you.

~ written by Katherine Hawker, and posted on re:Worship

From the blog
Ask the animals
The whole bright world rejoices
In the school of prayer with St Francis of Assisi

Bread-and-butter ~ work

Labour litany

Lord, bless the work of our hands.

For all those who toil and labour:
Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who have lost their jobs,
who are unemployed or underemployed,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who work in hazardous conditions
without sufficient protection,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who face discrimination, harassment,
or abuse in the work place,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who are not paid fair wages
or who are denied legally due overtime pay,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For migrant agricultural workers
and for all who work the land,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For all employers that they may seek to provide
a just work environment,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who struggle to balance job commitments
with the needs of their family,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For all humans who seek to become the co-creators
of the promised Kingdom,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

Loving God,
through your Son you gave us an example of how to love one another and how to embody this love in labour to serve the poor and the oppressed. Give us the strength to continue working to bring forth your kingdom here on earth — a kingdom of justice and peace, where all know compassion, grace and mercy.
Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

from re:Worship

Photo taken in the train on my way home from my “bread and butter”, the job that provides me with the money I need to live.

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Brother Lawrence
The work of our hands
Evening prayer #2

He took bread

The four-fold pattern of self-giving love

At the very end of his life Jesus did two things that more any other, lodged in the minds of his friends. The first, the washing of their feet, spoke as no other action could, of the plain, unromantic, down-to-earthness of the love God both shows and asks for. The second has proved even more meaningful in the two millennia that have passed since Jesus first took bread and wine and did with them four deeply significant things.

He took bread into his hands; thanked God for it; broke it; shared it. And he said, “This is my body, my blood. This is me .. this is what I am like. He is showing them the profoundly simple pattern of this one totally good human life: a life taken and lived in complete openness to the Father and so ‘offered’. A life lived thankfully at every point by one who saw God’s hand in everything. A life spent in the costly love of others and finally broken on the Cross. A life totally shared.

Those four actions of offering, thanking, breaking and sharing, together show the pattern of what self-giving love means … and if we accept Christ’s authority in our lives we are committed to trying to make that pattern our own.

from This Sunrise of Wonder by Michael Mayne, 2008 edition, p. 296-7

Prayer of adoration

O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

Lord Jesus, preaching good tidings to the people,
proclaiming release to captives,
setting at liberty those who are bound:
We adore you.

Lord Jesus, friend of the outcast and the poor,
feeder of the hungry,
healer of the sick:
We adore you.

Lord Jesus, denouncing the oppressor,
exposing the hypocrite,
overcoming evil with good:
We adore you.

Lord Jesus, pattern of gentleness,
teacher of holiness,
prophet of the kingdom:
We adore you.

Lord Jesus, dying to save us from our sin,
rising to give us eternal life,
ascending to prepare our heavenly home:
We adore you.

Almighty and loving God, you loved the world so much that you gave your only Son to be our Saviour. You allowed him to empty himself of his heavenly glory and become a suffering servant. Yet by your grace we have beheld his glory, such glory as befits the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. Amen.

— written by David Beswick, posted on re:Worship

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Michael Mayne
Making, making, making
Full of air

Bread and honey

Call to Worship

(inspired by Psalm 81)

Sing aloud to God our strength and shout with joy:
God, our Host, welcomes us.
God reminds us,
“I brought you out of the land of Egypt and fed you along the way.”
When we opened our mouths, God filled us with good things.
God calls us to walk the path of faithfulness, trusting the promise:
a feast for all —
freshly-baked bread, hot from the oven,
and sweet honey to satisfy our hunger.
Let us worship God!

~ written by Rev. Christopher Ney, posted on re:Worship

Fruity teabread (Recipe)

Note: This recipe calls for patience

Makes one 1 kg loaf

300ml cold tea
175 g raisins
125 g sultanas
50 g soft brown sugar

1 egg
225 g wholemeal plain flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t mixed spice

Place the dried fruit and the sugar in a large bowl.
Pour over the tea and allow to soak overnight.

Grease and line a 1.6 litre loaf tin. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Beat the egg into the fruit and sugar mixture. Add the flour, baking powder and spice and mix well with a wooden spoon, making sure all the ingredients are well-combined. Spoon into the prepared loaf tin and level the top with the back of a spoon.

Bake in the over for about 75 minutes until firm and well risen.

Turn out the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack. When cooled, wrap and store for a day or two before eating.

source: Tea, published by Postbooks

From the blog
Thank you. For taste buds
Prayer poem: Sweet words
In the school of prayer with Anselm

Daily bread

Prayer

Lord, when we say, ‘Give us today our daily bread,’ may we remember our brothers and sisters who live below the poverty line and pray, ‘Give them today their daily bread’. Give us the wisdom and courage to challenge the policies and structures which make the poor ever poorer, while we have more than enough. Grant us more deep compassion that we will not rest while surplus food rots in one part of the world, and families starve in another, for your loves’ sake.

based on the words of Sister Margaret Magdalen CSMV,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #440

From the blog
Deep connection
Asking and answers
Miraculous supply

Bread of life

“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:4

Lord, let me hunger enough that I not forget the world’s hunger.
Lord, let me hunger enough that I may have bread to share.
Lord, let me hunger enough that I may long for the Bread of Heaven.
Lord, let me hunger enough that I may be filled.

But, O Lord,
let me not hunger so much
that I seek after that which is not bread,
nor try to live by bread alone.
Amen.

~ from Banquet of Praise: A Book of Worship Resources,
published by Bread for the World, posted on re:Worship

drawing by John Giuliani, from Becoming Bread: Meditations on Loving and Transformation by Gunilla Norris

From the blog
Crossing the threshold
Table grace
Time together

A strange sight

Exodus 3:1-5

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight — why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

You Break In

Into the daily cycle of our lives
When all seems well
With us and with the world
When our yoke is easy
And the burden light
You break in
And scatter our complacency

Into the daily cycle of our lives
When we are comfortable
And at our ease
When the fire is lit
But eyes are closed
You break in
And challenge our dependency

You break into
Our daily prayers
Humble hearts
Lay souls bare
You break in
You break in

You break in
When defenses are down
With an Angel’s shout
Or the quietest sound
You break in
You break in
And we change
And all things change
When you break in

written by John Birch, posted on the Faith and Worship website

From the blog
Prepare a way
Blessed assurance
Broken spirit sacrifice

Strange and stranger

Prayer of intercession

inspired by Genesis 18:1-10

Lord God Almighty,
as Abraham and Sarah extended the gift of hospitality to visiting strangers,
open our hearts to share with others,
and to graciously receive the fulfillment of your promises.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Holy Spirit,
Lord God, as we run from new idea to strange idea,
looking in vain for you,
give us eyes to see you present, as you always are,
in the form of the poor, the needy, and the hopeless.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Heavenly Father,
creator of visible things, and creator of invisible things,
give us courage to trust you with this day, with tomorrow,
and with our redemption to eternal life.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Lord Jesus,
the purity of your heart is obvious
in the single desire to do the Father’s will,
at all times, in all places and at any cost.
Help us keep our eyes focused on you as the singular Lord of our life.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Holy Spirit,
inspire us to see Christ alive in our very own lives.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Lord Jesus Christ, Great Physician,
remember us who are still in the earthly body,
so that disease may be cured.
We name those who need your healing power ____.
Loving Christ:
Help us share the faith.

Listening God, hear our prayers.
Amen.

~ written by Paul Sauer, posted on re:Worship

From the blog
Theme: Good shepherd [prayer sheet]
The last may be first
Small talk

Strange but true

TO PONDER

‘Our pilgrimage on earth cannot be exempt from trial. We actually progress by means of trial. We do not know ourselves except through trial, or receive a crown except after victory.’

by Augustine of Hippo

from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 391

Prayer

Keeper of our lives,
      you know the hardness and gentleness of human hearts.
You call your people to faithful living.
Through the storms of life
      that bring suffering and fear, joy and laughter,
      teach us to turn to you for all we need,
      so that we may come to know your presence
      even in the midst of the trials that surround us.
Amen.

posted on re:Worship

From the blog
Trust in the slow work of God
In the school of prayer with Terry Hinks
“A Good Night’s Sleep” inspirations

Strange territory

Prayer

inspired by the Beatitudes

God of life and of truth,
Your Son invites us to see the world through your eyes and we find ourselves disoriented:

You bless the poor
You bless the meek
You bless the pure in heart.
You turn our world and its values upside down.

We have signed on to follow your Son
but this is strange territory.
It doesn’t look anything like
the life we have been taught to yearn for,
to work for,
to believe will bring us happiness.

Yet, You know the despair that besets
so many of our young people
who fear that their future has been mortgaged
by our greed and carelessness.
You hear the cries of those who
have traded their souls for power and money
and now have emptiness as a friend.
You see those who are caught in lives that
lead only to weariness and anxiety.

Set us at Jesus’ feet
so we can learn to judge our lives differently.
Awaken in us that hunger and thirst for you
which will lead us to your will
and your peace.

Open our eyes to see your unexpected blessings.
Open our hearts to welcome you
when you come to us in strange ways.

Then make us into a community of blessedness
that beckons this neighbourhood
into your joy.

We ask these things in the name of Jesus
who blesses us with your living presence
and fills our lives with your life-changing truth.
Amen.

~ written by Christine Jerrett, posted on her website

From the blog
Summer-friendly spiritual practices
St Patrick’s Breastplate embodied
In all seasons – grow