The Lord is near

Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all.
>>> The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.

 


A prayer

Lord Jesus,
by the loneliness of your suffering on the cross,
be near to all who are desolate, and in pain and sorrow;
let your presence transform their sorrow into comfort,
and their loneliness into fellowship with you;
for the sake of your tender mercy.

 
by George Appleton
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #435


From the blog
Circle me, Lord
The Holy Other
The Spirit does wonders
 

Planted near you


Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens, Western Cape, South Africa

Prayer

(inspired by Psalm 1)

Holy God,
we come before your throne
and admit that most of the time
we are too busy singing and praying and
feeling good and feeling bad and feeling so-so
to stop and listen for your tiny, little whispers.
In your word you paint for us a picture of full and abundant life,
life that can only be had by drinking your living water,
knowing you not as a title, but intimately, a mystery …

We pray that our lives would be planted near you –
that we would send our roots deep into your word and your life,
that we would draw nourishment from you,
and that with the life you give we would in turn
provide shelter and comfort and blessing
to whoever comes under our branches.

We pray that we would not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor abide in the house of the scornful,
but that our delight would be in you,
in your truth, in your grace,
now and forevermore.

 
~ posted on Jeff’s Blog (adapted)
 


From the blog
3 Prayers for a clean heart (includes a blessing from Jeff’s Blog)
To keep our hearts in tune
Bend down low
 

Guest post: For peace with justice

Peace Wall, Tabeetha School, Jaffa

 

This guest post comes to us from Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee. It’s from the Associate Minister for St Andrew’s Church of Scotland in Jerusalem and Tiberias, Muriel Pearson, as she reflects on a Christian response to the current crisis in Israel-Palestine.

Muriel writes,

At the moment we are in a ‘wait and see’ situation, but Gaza is under constant attack and all water, food and fuel has been stopped from entering. Most Israelis are totally traumatized by the horrific events of Saturday, and most will have lost someone or be concerned about hostages, or have had their faith in the military protection they thought they had shattered.

The government who have lost face massively are just now relying on massive military retaliation to rebuild confidence. The effect of this in Gaza is cataclysmic. Gaza is tiny, the size of the Isle of Arran, and has 2.3 m people, 47% of whom are children.

I am not sure what is happening in the West Bank, I don’t know if the settler violence and Palestinian resistance is ongoing. It’s not in the news.

People I know here in the north are shrunk in on themselves, not daring to lift their eyes or express an opinion, hoping for a cloak of invisibility. Things are very tense. Hezbollah has a lot of rocket power and Iran’s backing, but so far they have been relatively quiet. They see the arrival of US warships as provocation, however.

I feel the whole situation reveals a massive failure in leadership across the world, particularly the western world and here in Israel and Palestine. Palestinians feel their plight has been forgotten. We have the tools in the UN declaration of human rights to behave according to the rule of law, but this is being massively undermined on a daily basis by attacks on civilians which go unremarked, never mind unpunished.

I have found the words of Francesca Albanese the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories helpful. She says, ‘It is possible and it is necessary to stand with both the Palestinians and the Israelis without resorting to ethical relativism.’ And I believe this is what we must very carefully do.

This means criticizing both sides, holding both sides in prayer but standing up for peace with justice, which has to mean rights for Palestinians who for 75 years have been denied them. At the same time, the right of Israel to exist and for its citizens to live in peace must also be upheld. I have written more about this avoidance of polarization in my most recent blog post, Together in our hearts.

Points for Prayer

  • Remember the dead, the injured, the bereaved of both sides: each one made in the image of God
  • Pray for leadership with vision, courage and compassion here in Israel-Palestine and around the world
  • Pray for an immediate cease fire and humanitarian aid to Gaza, and for the safety of all hostages held in Gaza
  • Pray for leaders on the world stage to behave with integrity, in accordance with international law and respecting the human rights of all
  • Pray for those – especially peace activists – who feel God has abandoned them, that hope is lost

 
I find this Christian Aid prayer helpful:

Pray not for Arab or Jew,
for Palestinian or Israeli,
but pray rather for ourselves,
that we might not
divide them in our prayers
but keep them both together
in our hearts.

 

With thanks,
Muriel

 


From the blog
Embrace the cities and towns
A very present help in trouble
Give me a heart of flesh
 

Be near, be close

Prayer

God, we praise you,
Father, all powerful,
Christ, Lord and Saviour,
Spirit of Love,
drawing us to share in your life and your love.
One God, three Persons,
be near to the people formed in your image,
close to the world your love brings to life.
We ask you this,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
one God, true and living,
for ever and ever.

 
~ The Liturgy of the Hours
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #869


From the blog
3 Prayers to the Sacred Trinity
Too beautiful for war
Who do you work for?