Category: bible

Jesus’ circle goes deep and wide


 

“Then Levi gave a great banquet for Jesus in his house and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them.”

A prayer

Jesus of the table,
You gathered unexpected people around
hearths of hospitality.
You stretched out your hand
for grapes and bread, for wine and welcome.
May we populate our tables
with all kinds of people.
Because at the table
our hearts can be glad
for a while.
Amen.
 

To ponder

“Jesus traces his circle wide, calling us all to be kinfolk to him by doing what God desires us to do. And if kinfolk to him, then kinfolk to one another, with all the delights and aches that come in learning to be a family.”

~ from a blog post by Jan Richardson
 

God with me lying down


 

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
      for you alone, Lord,
      make me dwell in safety.

 

Evening prayer

God with me lying down,
God with me rising up,
God with me in each ray of light,
Not I a ray of joy without Him,
      Nor one ray without Him.

Christ with me sleeping,
Christ with me waking,
Christ with me watching,
Every day and night,
      Each day and night.

God with me protecting,
The Lord with me directing,
The Spirit with me strengthening,
For ever and for evermore,
      Ever and evermore, Amen.
            Chiefs of chiefs, Amen
 

from Carmina Gadelica, Vol 1, p. 5,
included in The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #660

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Pádraig Ó Tuama
“A Good Night’s Sleep” inspirations
Up to us
 

Settle down

 
Jeremiah starts his letter to the exiles in Babylon with these words: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: … settle down.” (Jeremiah 29:4-5)

In the same chapter we read: “I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (v. 11-13)

 
“Settle down” was an integral part of God’s plan to minister to his wayward people and recalibrate their relationship with him, a relationship based not on law but on promise.
 

Act of Confession

(based on the Psalms)

Search us, O God, and know our hearts.
Test us and know our anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in us that offends You,
and guide us on the road to life. (Ps 139:23-24)

[ Time of silence, or appropriate song ]

O Lord, You have examined our hearts
and know everything about us.
You know when we sit down or stand up.
You know our thoughts from afar.
You see when we walk or lie down,
You know every detail of our conduct.
You even know what we are going to say before we say it.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for us,
too great for us to understand. (Ps. 139:1-3, 6)

Cleanse us from hidden faults.
Keep us from deliberate sins.
Don’t let them control us.
Then we will be free of guilt,
and innocent of serious wrong-doing. (Ps 19:12-14)

Listen to the promise of God:
Those who love Me, I will deliver.
I will protect those who know My name.
When they call to Me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them,
and show them my saving power. (Ps 91:14-15)

Lord, we trust in Your unfailing love!
We rejoice, because You have rescued us!

Sing praise to God,
because He has been so good to us! (Ps 13:5-6)

[ Song of thanksgiving and praise ]

 
~ from re:worship

From the blog
A new nature
Yield as sacrifice
Change from the inside out
 

Look down and see


Artwork by Irene Bom
 

My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief, until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.

 

Prayer of intercession

The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down. (Psalm 145:14)

God of love
hear the cry of those who yearn for love;
fractured families, broken homes
neglected, unwanted, alone.
God of love
hear our prayer

God of justice
hear the cry of those who yearn for justice;
persecuted and oppressed,
exploited, ill-treated, broken.
God of justice
hear our prayer

God of peace
hear the cry of those who yearn for peace;
in battle zones and broken states,
frightened, fearful, anxious
God of peace
hear our prayer

God of healing
hear the cry of those who yearn for healing;
physical and spiritual
hurting, weakened, depressed
God of healing
hear our prayer

God of mercy
Hear the cry of those who yearn for mercy;
convicted, in need of your Grace,
contrite, humble, bowed down,
God of mercy
hear our prayer

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1-2)

May you know
The peace of God
The love of God
The justice of God
The healing and mercy of God
This day and all days
Amen
 

~ written by John Birch, posted on www.faithandworship.com

From the blog
Blessed assurance
Go where it is deeper
Broken spirit sacrifice
 

Grow down deeply


 

“Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:7, The Voice

 

A summer prayer for grace

God of gentle rains and warm sun,
God who encourages growth;
we are creatures who sometimes grow quickly,
and sometimes get stuck.
God of freedom, of liberation, of binding ropes being cut;
we are bound in ways we don’t always understand or recognize.
God of exodus and exile and homecoming,
God who calls us to leave where we are and come home;
help us to have the courage to make the journey
and to trust in the path.
God of health and healing,
God who wants us to be made whole;
we come as people who are wounded in body and in spirit,
people who seek healing.
God who has laid out a way for us to live,
who has given us rules for living in community;
we come as people who sometimes go astray,
people who stretch the rules.

God of Grace,
we come as people who live through that Grace.
And so we praise you for the growth,
we rejoice in being set free,
we dance along the path that leads us home,
we give thanks for the healing we have received,
we relax in the knowledge that we are forgiven
and we live as people of Grace. Amen.

~ written by Rev Gord, and posted on Worship Offerings.

From the blog
Food for thought
From prayer and conversation to answers
Theme: Called into community  [prayer sheet]
 

In the school of prayer with the Spirit


Poetry of the People exhibition, World Museum Rotterdam
 

Announcement
I will be taking short a break, resuming weekly posts in a few weeks time.

Meanwhile, here are some verses on praying in the Spirit for us to ponder in the run-up to Pentecost 2026, all from the J.B. Phillips translation.
 

It is because you really are his sons that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts to cry “Father, dear Father”.

By the Spirit we connect with the Father and the Son.

We do not know how to pray worthily as sons of God, but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonising longings which never find words. And God who knows the heart’s secrets understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention as he prays for those who love God.

As our helper, counsellor, comforter, advocate and intercessor the Holy Spirit ministers to us in many and varied ways.

Pray at all times with every kind of spiritual prayer, keeping alert and persistent as you pray for all Christ’s men and women.

What does it mean for you to ‘pray at all times’ in the context of your daily life?

But you, dear friends of mine, build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith and by praying through the Holy Spirit keep yourselves within the love of God. Wait patiently for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ which will bring you to the life eternal.

‘Praying in/by/through/in accordance with the Spirit is tied up with faith, hope and love.

From the blog
The Gift booklet : a 12-part series of readings and prayer poems on the Holy Spirit originally created for Pentecost 2017
 

Thank you. For work


View of the sunrise on my commute to work

 
REFLECTION
The kingdom of heaven came near to Peter and Andrew at their place of work, fishing in the Sea of Galilee (Matt 4:18-20).  Pray for the kingdom of heaven to come near to us at our place of work too.

Litany of Labor

Let us pray to the Lord of all creation,
from whom comes life and work and purpose.

Almighty God,
when you formed us lovingly out of the dust of the earth,
you breathed into us the breath of life
and gave us work and purpose for living.
You placed Adam in the garden of Eden to till and keep it.
Through our work, you made us co-creators with you,
shaping the world in which we live.
You gave dignity to our labor by sending your Son to labor with us.
By our labor, you enrich the world.
By our labor, we enjoy the fruits of creation.
By our labor, we find direction and purpose.
By our labor, our families are made secure.

For providing varieties of work and for blessing us by our labor:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who plow the field and those who make the plow;
for farmers and farm workers, for steelworkers and machinists;
for those who work with their hands and those who move the earth:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who tend the sick and those who seek new cures;
for doctors and nurses, for scientists and technicians;
for those who keep notes and those who transcribe:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who think and those who create;
for inventors and explorers, for artists and musicians;
for those who write books and those who entertain:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who work in offices and those who work in warehouses;
for secretaries and receptionists, for stockers and bookkeepers;
for those who market products and for those who move them:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who inspire our minds and those who motivate us;
for teachers and preachers, for public servants and religious servants;
those who help the poor and those who work with our children:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those whose labor is tidiness and cleanliness;
for janitors and sanitary workers, for drycleaners and maids;
for those who produce cleaning products and those who use them:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For those who sail the waves and those who fly the skies;
for captains and attendants, for astronauts and deep sea divers;
for those who chart and those who navigate:
We give you thanks, O Lord.

You bless us all with skills and gifts for labor.
You provide us opportunities to use them,
for the benefit of others as well as ourselves.

Guard and protect those who labor in the world.
Bless the work of our hands, O Lord.

Look kindly upon the unemployed and the disabled.
Give health to the sick, hope to the bereaved.

Keep us from laboring only for greed.
Make us loving and responsible in all that we do.

Creator Lord, you are the source of all wisdom and purpose,
you are the blessing of those who labor.
Be with us in our labor to guide and govern our world.
Give all men and women work that enhances human dignity
and bonds us to one another.
Give us pride in our work,
a fair return for our labor,
and joy in knowing that our work finds its source in you;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

— written by Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and posted on Liturgy by TLW.
 

From the blog
Circle me, Lord
Work as an offering
In the school of prayer with Brother Lawrence
 

Walk his way with joy


 

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

 

A Litany

Jesus invites us to a way of celebration,
meeting and feasting with the humble and poor.
Let us walk his way with joy.

Jesus beckons us to a way of risk,
letting go of our security.
Let us walk his way with joy.

Jesus challenges us to listen to the voices
of those who have nothing to lose.
Let us walk his way with joy.

Jesus points us to a way of self-giving,
where power and status are overturned.
Let us walk his way with joy.

Jesus calls us to follow the way of the cross,
where despair is transformed
by the promise of new life.
Let us walk his way with joy.

 
— by Rex A E Hunt, from www.rexaehuntprogressivelgy.com
 

Sing for joy


 

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

 
 

Advent Prayer

Alleluia the Christ child comes,
and we await his birth.
Let us throw off our distractions,
and allow the chaos to settle.
Let us watch for the signs,
and listen to the messengers.
Let us stand on tiptoe,
and shout aloud and sing.
Something new is emerging,
something new is being birthed.

 
~ written by Christine Sine, and posted on GodSpace.

From the blog
God’s glory revealed
Longing for his appearing
Ding! Dong! Curiosity