{"id":10710,"date":"2021-01-14T19:53:18","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T18:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/?p=10710"},"modified":"2021-01-14T19:53:18","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T18:53:18","slug":"the-last-may-be-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2021\/01\/14\/the-last-may-be-first\/","title":{"rendered":"The last may be first"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nRotterdam shop window  (Photo: Irene Bom)<\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Opening Invocation<\/h3>\n

(inspired by Luke 14: 7-14<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

Hospitable God, you invite us to a banquet
\nwhere the last may be first,
\nand the humble and the mighty trade places.
\nLet us share your abundance with no fear of scarcity;
\nlet us greet strangers as angels you have sent!
\nSend your Spirit now
\nso that we may find a place at your table
\nand welcome others with radical hospitality.
\nIn the name of Jesus, Guest at all our tables, we pray.
\nAmen.<\/p>\n

 
\nwritten by Rev. Christopher Ney<\/strong>
\nPosted on www.uccfiles.com<\/a> (download)
\n <\/p>\n\n

 
\nFrom the blog<\/strong>
\nGrace upon grace<\/a>
\nSmall talk<\/a>
\nWe are a body<\/a>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rotterdam shop window  (Photo: Irene Bom)   Opening Invocation (inspired by Luke 14: 7-14) Hospitable God, you invite us to a banquet where the last may be first, and the humble and the mighty trade places. Let us share your abundance with no fear of scarcity; let us greet strangers as angels you have sent! … Continue reading “The last may be first”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[195],"class_list":["post-10710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayer","tag-first"],"yoast_head":"\nThe last may be first - Prayer matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A prayer to our Hospitable God by Rev. 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The psalmist says, I love the Lord because he hears my voice \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I will pray as long\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "prayer sheet"","block_context":{"text":"prayer sheet","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer-sheet\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11070,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2021\/03\/11\/3-prayers-of-lament\/","url_meta":{"origin":10710,"position":3},"title":"3 Prayers of lament","author":"Irene Bom","date":"March 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"(Photo: Irene Bom) \u00a0 To complement the many psalms of lament and your own 'wordless sighs' and 'aching groans' (Romans 8:26, MSG), here are three short prayers of lament to try on for size ... to pray for yourself, or on behalf of someone else. \u00a0 #1 Heart of my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "poetry"","block_context":{"text":"poetry","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/rust_islands.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/rust_islands.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/rust_islands.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/rust_islands.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16658,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2025\/09\/29\/bread-and-butter-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":10710,"position":4},"title":"Bread-and-butter ~ work","author":"Irene Bom","date":"September 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Labour litany Lord, bless the work of our hands. 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For those who work\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Litany"","block_context":{"text":"Litany","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/litany\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/commute_reflections.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/commute_reflections.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/commute_reflections.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/commute_reflections.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12456,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2022\/01\/07\/germinate-and-grow\/","url_meta":{"origin":10710,"position":5},"title":"Germinate and grow","author":"Irene Bom","date":"January 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Another New Year's prayer, albeit a few days late, a prayer that beautifully connects to our current theme of the month: GROW. \u00a0 New Year\u2019s prayer Lord, as this new year dawns, welcome. Welcome into our world and into our lives. Sow light in our hearts. Let it germinate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "prayer"","block_context":{"text":"prayer","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/tree_at_viaduct.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/tree_at_viaduct.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/tree_at_viaduct.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/tree_at_viaduct.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Irene Bom","author_link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/author\/irenebom-com\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/prayer\/\" rel=\"category tag\">prayer<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Rotterdam shop window  (Photo: Irene Bom)   Opening Invocation (inspired by Luke 14: 7-14) Hospitable God, you invite us to a banquet where the last may be first, and the humble and the mighty trade places. Let us share your abundance with no fear of scarcity; let us greet strangers as angels you have sent!…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10710\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}