Category: prayer

Testing ground


(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)

 
The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery has a lengthy entry on Wilderness, ending with the following summary:

“… the wilderness is an ambivalent image in the Bible. If it is a place of deprivation, danger, attack and punishment, it is also the place where God delivers his people, provides for them and reveals himself.”

 
Some of this tension is found in this short reading that ties together the baptism and temptation of Jesus, with the Holy Spirit playing an active role in both:

Mark 1:9-13: The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Litany for Lent

Because temptation is woven into the fabric of our lives,
and we know the weariness of forty days in the desert,
and the beckoning power of sweet fruit,
and the vain promises of the world,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.

Because we see the broken before the whole,
and the half empty cup, and the unfinished task,
and the thirst in freedom’s quest,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.

Because we trust in what we can see,
and we are blinded by our prejudices,
and we do not know what we do not know,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.

Because our need for correctness exceeds our need for truth,
and our excuses preempt the cry of the wounded,
and our celebration of blessing is mindless of those displaced,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.

Because you came among us,
and breathed into our sinewy souls,
and healed our pain and let us wound you,
and loved us to the end,
and triumphed over all our hatred,
we need you, God.
We need you, God.

written by Katherine Hawker (inspired by Iona Community Worship Book, 2002). Posted on re:worship. 

From the blog
see also Theme: Ever sustaining (Prayer sheet)
 

Wilderness woes


(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)
 

While searching for ‘dry wilderness’ on my go-to online prayer resource – the treasure trove, re-worship.blogspot.com – I found this call to worship by Rev. Nathan Decker.

It is inspired by Isaiah 35 and recognizes both the reality and pain of the wilderness experience and our sustaining hope in God for a life beyond the wilderness.

 

Call to Worship

(inspired by Isaiah 35: 1-10)

Too long have we walked this dry desert wilderness
    searching for salvation.
 
We’ve drunk the cup of sorrow,
burned our feet upon the sands of misery,
and watched as our children were devoured
    by jackals, lions, and beasts.
 
“Be Strong! Do not fear! Here is our God!
God will come and save you!”
Today, we walk in the Holy Way,
    the highway of the wise!
 
Where the lame leap as deer!
Where grateful blind eyes see colors!
 
And the speechless sing out to our merciful Lord!
Blessed be the Lord our God!
 
Praise the Lord, O Zion!

 
written by the Rev. Nathan Decker, and posted on the Discipleship Ministries website of the United Methodist Church in the US.

Tips on searching re-worship blog

The search box on the website is very powerful. Type in a string of keywords to find posts that contain all the words you’ve specified. To exclude words like ‘index’ or ‘resource’ (handy lists of posts arranged by type or theme), add -[keyword] to the search box, e.g. -index -resource, and those posts will be filtered out.

Also check out Christine Longhurst’s tips on How to use the re:worship blog.
 

From the Prayer Matters blog:
also see Call of the wild ones and Wild animal praise

Prepare a way


(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)
 

This is the first post in our March series, “Wilderness”.

In this short, but evocative litany John Birch captures some of the atmospherics of the wilderness as physical and emotional terrain.

Prepare a way

(referencing Isaiah 40:3-5, Mark 1:3, Matthew 3:3, Luke 3:4)

In the lonely places
The wilderness
Where we stand forlorn
Windswept and alone
Your voice calls out
Prepare a way for the Lord

In the dark places
The shadows
Where we hide our fears
Embrace our tears
Your voice calls out
Prepare a way for the Lord

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

see also People of the way
 

Wild hope #1


On the coast near Belfast, Northern Ireland (Photo: Irene Bom)

 
On 25 February (Lent 2) I preached in my home church in Rotterdam. One of the strands of my sermon was about being in “God’s waiting room”, like Abraham and Sarah were.

As part of my sermon I shared this helpful comment from an article by Pete Wilson entitled “The Spiritual Benefits of Waiting”. He writes: “Faithful waiting involves actively seeking contentment, even amid less-than-optimal circumstances.”

Here is a prayer entitled “Waiting” by Jonny Baker that looks to God to help us in the waiting, as he helped countless before us.

Waiting

As Sarah waited…Ninety years for a son to fulfill God’s promise.
We wait in hope for what we thought had been spoken to us.

As Moses waited…40 years in the desert,
being prepared by God to lead his people.
We wait for emptiness and humility;
for bravado to wither.

As Israel waited…40 years of wandering,
hungry, depressed, thirsting, unsure.
We wait for the right time to act.

As the Prophets waited…1000 years of promises
that God would raise up a Saviour.
We wait for the signs that God has not forgotten.

As Mary waited…9 months of her 14 years for the child of God.
We feel the birth-pains, yet fear for the child.

As John the Baptist waited…
Scanning the crowds for the one whose sandals
he would not be worthy to untie.
We long for an experience of the Divine.

As Jesus waited… 30 years of creeping time.
40 days in the desert of temptation.
3 years of misunderstanding.
3 days in the depths of hell.

So we wait for God’s time.
Preparing the way.
Our turn to toil on leveling mountains
and straightening paths.
Our turn to watch the horizon.
Our turn to pass on the hope
that He who promised is faithful and will come back.

 
Source: Worship Trick No.67 on Johnny Baker’s Worship Tricks website.

See also blog post For all the saints
 

Fierce love #2


Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles  (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

Here’s a prayer inspired by Genesis 32:24-28, where Jacob wrestles with God.

O Wrestler
contending with us until daybreak,
holding us in the grip of your argument,
grappling with our questions and doubts,
You who strive to deepen us through struggle,
and strengthen us through adversity:
Hold on to us now
in that fierce love that will never let us go.
Bless us, as you name us, as those who have prevailed.

~ posted on Third Space

Go deeper

– follow the Third Space link above for more on Genesis 32:24-28
– see also Fierce love #1
 

Fierce love #1


 

With Lent almost upon us, the theme for February is “wild”, as a precursor to a Lent-inspired theme for March: “wilderness”.

Here is a prayer by Bruce Prewer that touches on various dimensions of God’s love, including its fierceness, standing up for victims of wrong.

A prayer

God of all things seen and unseen, if you had insulated yourself from the pain of the world, then your name could not be love and our condition would be without hope. Thank you for being so personally involved, for revealing your complete commitment in Jesus of Nazareth. Through him we pray with hope, in him we pray with love.

Let your healing love be known this day by all who suffer ailment of body, or distress of mind, or agony of spirit.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your intimate love be known today by all who feel forgotten or lost, and all who are walking in the dark valley of despair.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your fierce love this day redress the wrongs of all who suffer exploitation, injustice, abuse, neglect, violence or unwarranted imprisonment.
     Please reveal your compassion,
      Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your nurturing love today encourage those who are gathering resolve to make tough decisions, take on new responsibilities, or break free from some bondage.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your relentless love this day upset congregations that have become self-centred or even contemptuous of other churches.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your reconciling love today gather together the separated Christians, and make them aware of the fellowship and mission of the one, universal body of Christ.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Let your inspiring love this day rejuvenate pastors, priests and prophets who have become weary to the very roots of their souls.
     Please reveal your compassion,
     Loving God, bring wholeness to all.

Thank you for hearing us, most loving God. With the whole body of believers in time and eternity, we want to love, praise and serve you, today and evermore. Through Christ Jesus your true Son. Amen!

 
— written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on Bruce Prewer’s website. http://www.bruceprewer.com/
 

Hot-hearted in serving thee


Keerthana’s tasty treat (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

In this series of prayers by Chinese Christian women, practical tasks inspire prayer for parallel spiritual virtues.

Use and adapt the prayers to enrich your own daily (prayer) life.

Prayers by Chinese Christian women

Prayer when opening a door

I pray thee, Lord, to open the door of my heart
to receive thee within my heart.

When washing clothes

I pray thee, Lord, to wash my heart,
making me white as snow.

When sweeping floors

I pray thee, Lord, to sweep away my heart’s uncleanness that my heart may always be pure.

When pouring oil

I pray thee, Lord, to give me wisdom like the wise virgins who always had oil in their vessels.

When posting a letter

I pray thee, Lord, to add to me faith upon faith, that I may always have communication with thee.

When lighting lamps

I pray thee, Lord, to make my deeds excellent like lamps before others, and more, to place thy true light within my heart.

When watering flowers

I pray thee, Lord, to send down spiritual rain into my heart, to germinate the good seed there.

When boiling water for tea

I pray thee, Lord, to send down spiritual fire to burn away the coldness of my heart and that I may always be hot-hearted in serving thee.

from 2000 Years of Prayer compiled by Michael Counsell, p. 527-8

Other posts in the “Heart” series:

United by love

(Photo: Irene Bom)

 

I took this photograph of John and Ruth Robertson's wedding plaque when I last visited them in South Africa in 2015. Both have since passed away after a long life of loving and prayerful devotion in God’s service.

I first met John and Ruth the year after they were married, when I was in my 20’s, and they graciously took me (and later my family) into their hearts and prayers.

Ruth and John had been friends for years and when Ruth heard that John’s wife had died, she sent John a letter of condolence. Imagine her surprise when he came to visit her and proposed. Ruth’s initial response was “no”. She was in her fifties and happily single. But then, after praying about it, she contacted John and said, “If you ask me again, I’ll say yes”. So began a new chapter in their lives as instruments of love as a couple.

May you and I be instruments of love wherever God has called us and may we inspire and support others as John and Ruth have inspired and supported so many over the years – also me.

A prayer: Instruments of love

Let us pray to our kind and merciful God that his love for us may animate all we do and that our love may become contagious. Let us say: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That the Church, the People of God, may never cease to proclaim by its teaching, life and liturgy that love of God and neighbour is the heart of the gospel and that people are God’s gift to us, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That people may not lose their hearts in today’s economic systems of profit, efficiency, production and competition, but that they may keep giving first place to human relationships of friendship and respect, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That we may have room in our hearts and homes for refugees and strangers, that we may learn to share our goods and ourselves with the little people loved by God – the poor and the lonely and those who suffer, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That those who don’t know how to forgive, those who have not experienced much happiness in life or whose longings have not been fulfilled may encounter a bit of God’s goodness in our attention and care, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

That in our Christian communities we may uplift one another rather than tear down, accept each other with trust and affection, forgive one another from the heart and go forward together in hope and love, let us pray: Lord, make us instruments of your love.

Our gentle God, help us to love you and one another with your measure, that is, without measure,
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

 
from Liturgies Alive, Models of Celebration,
posted on re-worship.blogspot.nl.

Related topics to explore to your heart’s content

  1. Resources for the 2018 week of prayer for Christian unity which takes place annually from 18 to 24 January.
  2. From the blog: Prayer sheet on Theme: The greatest is love

 

From a grateful heart


(Photo: Lindy Twaddle)

A Prayer

based on Psalm 103:1-5

Come!
Come praise the eternal God!
Let all that is within us —
body, emotions, mind, and will —
praise God’s holy name!

Despite our failures, He forgives and releases us.
More than any doctor, He heals our diseases.
When we are famished and weak,
He fills us with good and beautiful things,
satisfying our needs,
and restoring our strength.

So come!
Come, praise the eternal God!
Sing songs from a grateful heart,
and remember all that He has done for us.

source: https://re-worship.blogspot.nl

What songs of praise and thanksgiving is your heart dying to sing today? Sing away.

See also Forgiven and forgotten

Give me a heart of flesh

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

God said to the Jews in exile in Babylon, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26, NIVUK)

Here is a prayer dating back to the 4th century asking God to work this miracle in us.

O Lord, who has mercy on all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore you,
a heart to delight in you,
to follow and enjoy you,
for Christ’s sake, Amen

St. Ambrose of Milan (AD 339-397)

Related topics to explore to your heart’s content

  1. Jesus’ parable about the sower and the seed in Mark 1:1-20 (also in Matthew 13 and Luke 8). Note in particular the impact of stony ground.
  2. From the blog: Unite my divided heart
  3. www.christianitytoday.com article about Ambrose and his legacy
from www.christianitytoday.com
 
“When we speak of wisdom, we are speaking about Christ. When we speak about virtue, we are speaking about Christ. When we speak about justice, we are speaking about Christ. When we are speaking about truth and life and redemption, we are speaking about Christ.” So wrote Ambrose, bishop of Milan, biblical exegete, political theorist, master of Latin eloquence, musician, and teacher; in all these roles, he was speaking about Christ.