From Our Hearts to Yours

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship  (Gal.  4:4,5).

It has been well said that “timing is everything”. And, make no mistake, there was a set time for the coming of Messiah…as there is for everything. This verse speaks to me of God’s sovereignty. It speaks of His plan of redemption. It speaks of the humility of His Son. It speaks of His humanity. It speaks of our need. And it speaks of His glorious purpose. He did all of this that we might receive by privilege that which is Jesus’ by right.   (Robb Powell)

Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man… (Matt. 1:19)

 Often the focus of Christmas is upon the virgin, Mary, and rightly so. But for God’s plan to work there had to be the right man already committed to this young woman. And that is exactly what we are told about Joseph. He was righteous. He was open to hearing God’s messages to him. He maintained self-control in his relationship with Mary. He was obedient to God’s unusual instructions. And he was a faithful worshipper of God. Not one word of Joseph is recorded in scripture, but his actions speak louder than words. Placed into an incredible circumstance, Joseph was a model of the kind of person God can use when creating miracles.  (Deb Roberts)

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” [which means “God with us”]  (Matt. 1: 23)

God is with us. He is for us; for you and me. Have you ever stopped to think about what it means to have God with us and for us? God does not want to leave us to our own devices and let the world spin out of control into destruction. God sent his one and only Son into the world to begin restoring the world to how it was meant to be. Why? Because he loves us. Christ came to bring calm to where there is chaos. He came so you may find peace in the storm. This Christmas, may you find peace and the calmness that is only found in Christ.  May you take heart in knowing that Christ came to earth for you.  (Cam Farquharson)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1: 18).

Are you a carnivore?  God is, in a strange kind of way:  he became incarnate:  he became meat, flesh.  He doesn’t just talk; he became one of us.  And as He did, he embodied (i.e. incarnated) grace and truth.  Ponder that combination:  grace without truth is feel-good, cheap sentimentality; truth without grace is judgmental legalism.  But the intertwining of the two is stupendously mind and heart-boggling, life transforming, the gift that keeps on giving as we are “transformed into His Image with ever-increasing glory” (II Cor. 3: 18).  May you glimpse a fragment of that glory this Christmas season.  (Syd Hielema)

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness...he humbled himself and became obedient to death...therefore God exalted him” (Phil.  2:5-8).

Ponder this: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” this Christmas.  God sets a pattern: humble yourself, to be exalted - the way up, is the way down.  God demonstrates this pattern by descending to become a man.  We imitate this pattern and are: “transformed into His Image with ever-increasing glory” (II Cor. 3:18)  

Question: "God, how might I courageously emulate you over the holidays?"   (Mark deVos)

Seasonal Thoughts

Well, it is hard to believe that we are already finished classes and gearing up for exams. While all of this goes on, we are also simultaneously preparing our hearts for Advent. Here is a seasonal thought.

Matthew 2:1  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’^[b]”

This is such a powerful story. Imagine what this season would be if our contemporary neo-Herodians  were actually successful in removing the Christ out of Christmas. What indeed?  

Writing as one who has known Christmas both with Christ and without Christ, trust me when I  tell you it makes all of the difference in the world. And then some….

Remove The Christ and I ask you.. Whence:

·         Mystery?

·         Anticipation?

·         Drama?

·         Compassion?

·         Ritual?

·         Depth?

·         Transcendence?

·         Meaning ?

·         Beauty?

·         Redemption?

Without His story, life, example and Spirit, we have just another empty winter festival….another corpse without a soul.  Indeed, one need not probe deeply to determine that it is because of His Spirit that we connect this season with generosity, compassion, altruism, caring, family and such. It is because of His incorporation into the narrative of the season that we have the very things that are most meaningful and compelling. 

A friend of mine once commented that it seems that at Christmas the world actually reflects on “the way things ought to be”. People should not be lonely at Christmas. There should not be fighting/poverty/hunger/hatred at Christmas. There should be goodwill at Christmas. People should care at Christmas. Families should love each other at Christmas… etc. 

Where does this seasonal imperative, the sense of “oughtness”,  come from?  Where, indeed?

Be assured it did not come from the Roman feast of Saturn that once occurred on the same date. It did not come from the pagan rituals of northern Europe. And it does not arise from the culture of the office party. It is ground into the biblical narrative of the Giving God who has given this undeserving world the ultimate GIFT, at an unimaginable cost to Himself.

My prayer for all of us is that we can re-discover the “Gift that keeps on giving”. 

Leaning into Advent

 

You have made man a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet (Ps. 8: 5).

 

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10: 10b).

 

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! (II Cor. 5: 17)

 

The prof at the big university down the mountain stood behind the lectern facing 400 students and didn’t beat around the bush:

 

You’ve got to be an I-Pad. You’ve got to be extra-ordinary: flat, sleek, fast, smart, better than anything else out there. You cannot be a Blackberry. Ordinary doesn’t cut it. Yesterday can’t make it today. Don’t forget my words: BE AN I-PAD.

 

What would that do to you – to have words like that pronounced over you?

 

This is what it does to me:

 

Such words leave me feeling less human, less alive, more anxious. Those words compel me to lean into Advent, because they reveal how twisted and distorted life can be on Planet Earth in 2013. They drive me to listen to Paul’s warning in Romans 12:

 

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Rom. 12: 2 in “The Message”)

 

These words also drive me to invite the Scriptures written at the top of this page to permeate my entire being.

 

Advent is a longing for the home where we can wear our God-given identities. Advent is forward-looking nostalgia to fully become the new creation God has already transformed us to be. Advent is straining our ears towards what Bruce Cockburn calls “rumours of glory.”

 

The second-century pastor Irenaeus declared, “The glory of God is seen in man fully alive.” Ah…those are Advent words. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1: 14).

 

His glory planted in us, in our jars of clay: His life to give us “life to the full;” His promise to fill us with hope.

 

Not flat, sleek and fast. No: instead, deep and rich and full.

 

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples.

But the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn (Isaiah 60: 1-3).

 

 

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 30

  Praying into Advent

Ever since the 4^th century, Christians have used the “Church year” (also called the “Liturgical calendar”) as a worship guide for “living into” the story of God’s faithfulness to us.  This year begins tomorrow, the first Sunday of Advent, and continues through Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost (and then continues through what is called “Ordinary Time”).  It’s quite stunning to picture how millions of our fellow believers have received blessing upon blessing by living into this rhythm for the past 1700 years. 

It’s fitting that our 30 ways of prayer end as Advent begins.  To participate in this transition, pray your way into Advent by pondering the story of God’s faithfulness and your part in it.  For example:

“Lord, we long for the day when our faith shall be sight, and tears shall be no more.  We are in awe as we contemplate your long-suffering faithfulness:  you became one of us in the fullness of time, dying and rising again, and sending the Spirit as a deposit of the new creation that we groan for in eager anticipation.  Through the refining power of your Spirit, shape us as your New Creation signposts so that:

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness, so our faces display Your likeness

Ever changing from glory to glory, mirrored here may our lives tell Your story

Shine on me, shine in me, shine through us.   (adapted from “Shine, Jesus, Shine”)

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 29

Praying in the winter seasons of our faith

How do you pray when you cannot pray?  How do you pray when it seems like God has let you down and you don’t trust him enough to pray to Him?  Or you have strayed away from Him and, in your shame, feel that He does not want to listen to you?  Or you are too spiritually exhausted or broken or apathetic to pray? 

The beauty of the call to prayer we receive from our Lord is that there are even prayers for the seasons when we cannot pray.  The Psalms are filled with such prayers (just do a google search for “Psalms of lament), and they often take our own inability to pray and place it inside the multitude of prayers of the believing community throughout history (for starters, see Psalms 13, 42 and 88).

Some ways to pray when we cannot pray:

Lord, I don’t know if you are there and if you want to hear from me – but I am broken and confused and _______; I am longing for an encouraging glimpse of any kind….

Lord, I don’t love you; Lord, I don’t want to love you; but Lord, I do want to want to love you (Annie Lamott).

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 28

Breath Prayer

As necessary as it is to our every moment, we don’t usually think about our breathing. Take a deep breath right now. Feel more at peace? Something so simple is such a tremendous blessing. A breath prayer takes breathing and combines it with a sentence prayer, as if you are breathing in God. As you breathe in, address God by one of His names or titles (ex. Father God, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, Saviour King, etc) and as you breathe out, say a short prayer of what is earnestly on your heart, what you think about God, or how much He means to you. Breath prayer is most easily described by way of examples.

Sample: Holy Spirit, please fill me.

                Yahweh, You are holy.

                My God, forgive me.

                Jesus Christ, I need You.

                Fortress, surround me.

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 27

Prayer of rest

Chapel today will lead us to offer our anxiety back to God.  Is your load heavy?  Ponder the gospels:  Jesus’ ministry was vitally important in the scope of history   - so many people’s lives were at stake, but He went about His work peacefully and was at rest. Jesus told us not to worry about anything (Matthew 6:34). 

When stress hits you today hit the “Pause” button for 30 seconds. In this time commit the stressful, less-than-ideal situation  into the capable hands and care of God. Like you would leave a stack of books off at the library, try leaving the anxiety and irritation with Him. Work out of peace, knowing that you are in His plan, in His world, doing His work, for His glory. You don’t have it perfectly figured out; that’s okay. Let your day slow down a little bit. He is in control (Matt 6: 25-34).

Sample: God of peace, You ask us to come to You for rest. There is a lot going on in my life right now and there doesn’t seem to be much room to sit and rest or get away from the stress. Please help me to live out of a foundation of peace today. Whenever a stressful situation comes up, or something tries to steal away that peace, I pray that I’d be able to find my rest in You.  Nothing is more important than You, God, no matter how many demands or people or assignments need my attention today. I don’t have to rush through things or get overwhelmed because You are with me.

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 26

Post-it Prayers

Take out a little pad of post-it notes, and write a different prayer item on each one:  a person's name, an item of thanksgiving, a temptation to be protected from, a fruit of the Spirit to grow into more sturdily, a region of the world, an upcoming event, and more.  Place these in various places:  around your desk, your room, in the pages of a book you are reading, on the edge of your computer screen, and place where this day will take you.  As you notice them throughout the day, turn each one into a one-sentence prayer. 

Ketchup Checkup

“David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! ⁶ He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’”

(2 Sam. 12:5-7a)

“Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” (Prov. 27:6)

 

If I cannot see the ketchup stain that’s right under my chin, I am not going to do anything about it.

Recently I had a mentoring meeting in which 3 of my mentors spent 2 hours working with me on character development, or unnoticed ketchup stains. Yes, they pointed out areas that are natural strengths and areas that have gone through improvement, but it was them pointing out the 27 year old ketchup stains that blessed me more than they will ever know.

Living this proverb, “Better is open rebuke then hidden love,” (Prov. 27:5) is easier said than practiced. But the goal of honest checkups must remain clear: growth in our maturity in Christ.

I know a dorm of guys that took Prov. 27:5 seriously and as an application decided to take their turns sitting in the middle of a group, so that the rest of the dorm could name the attributes and blinds spots of the person in the middle. I am not sure if that degree of openness is the best option for every dorm context (that being said, 3 years after graduation these guys are still best friends!), but I admired their courage to apply Scripture and speak the truth boldly and honestly to one another.

Few people in the world have the boldness of the prophet Nathan. You and I must take the initiative to invite wise people to speak into our lives.

Consider approaching wise and trusted friends with the question, “What am I doing that promotes the flourishing of this team or of this dorm?” “What am I doing that hinders flourishing?”

What if you are the one invited to give the ketchup checkup?

Throughout the Proverbs wisdom is the constant companion to correction (cf. 1:23; 3:11). The two go hand in hand. Honest communication ought to have proper content, context and purpose: the content brief, the context safe and the listener able to detect neither frustration nor arrogance. A gentle and prayerful posture, coming from a heart of deep, immovable love is difficult to reject.

What gives us the strength to do these checkups?

We are in the Lamb. In the Lamb we are holy (Heb. 10:14) and in the Lamb we are free from the need to run in fear of what we know is being washed and made new.

So why not take a risk and ask a dear friend to do a ketchup checkup?

...just because I can’t see the ketchup, doesn’t mean others don’t.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30 WAYS T0 PRAY: DAY 25

 Centering Prayer

As we begin a new school week at end of term, it's easy for us to enter into Monday feeling overwhelmed by the demands of the week.  That feeling calls us to simplify.  

How ?  Focus on one phrase/characteristic/name of God (ex.  Prince of Peace, Lover, Rock, Comforter, Father, God with Us, Lord of History, Hope of the Nations, Holy One, Shepherd, Light of Life) that either expresses your desire for God or brings into focus a characteristic of God that will bless you this week. Let that word or phrase linger within you and open yourself up to God’s presence through that word.   

Write the word or phrase somewhere (on a note on your desk, or maybe even on the palm of your hand?) so that you'll see it repeatedly throughout the day.  

30 WAYS T0 PRAY: DAY 24

 Prayer Partners

“Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).Jesus taught His disciples to begin their prayers with, “Our Father” - praying was something they were to do together. Praying with someone else is a good way to be held accountable to believe in the extravagant love of King Jesus and to experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Prayer partners can intercede for you, believe in God for you, and listen to God with you.  Praying for another, and listening to them pray for you is deeply encouraging.  And, on a practical note, having someone else listen beside you as you pray can help you to stay focused ...and consistent in prayer.  

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 23

 Pray in different positions

We typically adopt two positions in prayer: sitting or standing. However, the Bible is riddled with examples of biblical heroes kneeling while they prayed (Acts 20:36) or even laying themselves prostrate on the ground while they prayed (2 Samuel 12:16).  Paul instructs us to pray standing with our hands raised (I Tim. 2:8).  Try praying in a different position while you pray today. Recognize God’s authority as King while kneeling before Him. Humble yourself in the dust before the mighty God of the heavens and revere Him as you lay upon the ground. Lift raised hands to honour the one who holds every molecule in this vast universe in his hands.  Take a prayer walk and marvel at this world. 

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 22

Pray through the newspaper

 Fifty years ago today, Pres. John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and C. S. Lewis passed away.  You will find articles about both of these deaths in today's newspapers, as well as much more.  We are bombarded with information about the terrifying and heart-wrenching news of what happens everyday in our broken world. Pick up the Hamilton Spectator or read the newspaper from your hometown online and talk to God about the events that are going on. Ask Him to intercede for those stories that break both your heart and His.  Pray especially for leaders who are called to make decisions that seem virtually impossible to make.  Remember leaders of the past whose names are in the news (as they are today).   As you bring various matters to the Lord in prayer, hum "He's got the whole world in HIs hands" as you read and pray.

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 21

 Praying the Ordinary

Paul instructed the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Today, focus on seeing and serving God in the everyday, ordinary events, conversations, housework, homework, office work, etc. God is everywhere in our ordinary surroundings. “Our vocation [and studies] is an asset to prayer because our work becomes prayer. It is prayer in action.” (Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, by Richard J. Foster) As 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Our ordinary days are enriched when we live to honour God in everything and pray to Him through every moment.

Sample: Dear God! See that bird over there that’s singing so beautifully? Thank You for it and for reminding me of the detail and beauty that You’ve put into Your creation.

God, washing dishes really isn’t my favourite thing to do, but I’m here doing them anyways. Thank You for scrubbing the dirt off of me and gently drying me off. Your word says that you are the potter and I am the clay (Is 64:8). You have a purpose for me, Master Potter, and thank You that I can’t slip through Your fingers and fall.

Dear Jesus, the person walking towards me in the hall often looks dark and troubled.  I don't know his (her) story, but you do.  Please pour your grace and truth into his life with encouragement and healing.  

Lord, today I laughed really hard ! Thank You for filling me with joy and for letting each day have its glad moments. It truly warms my heart.

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 20

Day 20: Prayer of Confession

Having an intimate relationship with anyone requires vulnerability, the ability to admit when we are wrong and humility to ask for forgiveness. In a prayer of confession, be vulnerable and ask for God’s help to shun sin, confessing your sins to Him in humble repentance. Remember God’s forgiveness and compassion and have confidence in the saving work of Jesus and that He really does forget all of our sins (1 Jn 1:9). Nothing that we can do can separate us from God’s love.

Sample: Jesus, I’ve messed up. I was born a sinner and I know that without Your grace, I am nothing. Thank You for going to the cross for me and for taking the punishment that I deserve. Although I try to live as You lived, I am not perfect. I’ve sinned against You again, God. It isn’t natural for me to talk about my weaknesses and my downfalls, but Lord, You already know all about it, so here I am, bowed before You, to tell You all about it....

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 19

Finger Prayer

Our spirituality can be simple, and so can our prayers.

Thumb – Pray for the people closest to you: fellow students and workers, your family and children.

Pointer – Pray for those who point the direction: teachers, mentors, pastors, youth leaders, etc.

Middle – Pray for government officials and those who stand tall in society: fire-fighters, police, doctors, etc.

Ring Finger – This is your weakest finger, so pray for the weak, poor and the needy.

Pinky – The finger farthest from you: pray for your own needs.

Good Exhaustion

         

 

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40: 28-31)

 

“Are—are—are you,” panted Shasta, “are you King Lune of Archenland?” The old man shook his head. “No,” he replied in a quiet voice, “I am the Hermit of the Southern March. ..If you run now, without a moment’s rest, you will still be in time to warn King Lune.”

 

Shasta’s heart fainted at these words for he felt he had no strength left. And he writhed inside at what seemed the cruelty and unfairness of the demand. He had not yet learned that if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one. But all he said out loud was: “Where is the King?” (from The Horse and his Boy, the Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis)

 

****

It’s been unusually windy this month, and the trees in the forest behind our home look tired. The few remaining leaves have been blown off, weak limbs have cracked and fallen, and the trees are swaying back and forth as if to say, “enough already! Let us rest.”

 

That’s good exhaustion. They get to sleep for the winter after a strong season of growth.

 

The vibe I pick up on campus tends to assume that exhaustion is a bad thing. The reality is this: if we get tired while we are loving God and neighbour and seeking first the kingdom, that is good exhaustion. That is part of the rhythm of creation itself: hard work following by a much-needed time of rest and replenishment.

 

The question is not, “who can I tell how horribly exhausted I am?” Instead, the question is, “what do I hear after I offer my exhaustion to God?”

 

And His reply may include any of the following counter-questions:

 

 Will you take time to refresh your hope in me, so that I can renew your strength?

 

Have you discerned the causes of your exhaustion and allowed me to refine them, so that you can offer me “good” exhaustion and not foolish, “striving after wind” exhaustion? (Today’s Journaling way of prayer may help you carry out such discernment.)

 

Can you hear me calling you with the reward of “another and harder and better good deed” to be carried out before it’s time for that well-needed winter (Christmas) rest?

 

Those are the types of questions that lead us to become more rooted in the tree of life.

 

 

 

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 18

  Journal your prayers and questions

Write a letter to God with your requests, anxieties, joys, fears, hopes and dreams.  Keep it somewhere safe (and somewhere that you will remember,) until the end of the semester or school year.  Pick a date on your Zimbra calendar, and make a note there to take it out again.  Reread your prayer and see how God has worked in your life and answered that prayer (whether He answered it with a yes, not yet, or I have something better in mind). These prayers can serve as powerful reminders of God’s action in your life.

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 17

 Pray through a psalm

Psalms are the prayers of people living in ancient Israel, crying out to God, exalting God, pleading with God. Pray through one or two, echoing the ancients’ prayers and letting the psalm resound with your own heart. Perhaps you will even be inclined to write your own psalm.

Samples:      Feeling overwhelmed  – Psalm 46

                   Feeling abandoned by God – Psalm 44

                   Needing forgiveness – Psalm 51

                   Feeling joyful – Psalm 98

                   In awe of God – Psalm 33

30 WAYS TO PRAY: DAY 16

 Liturgical Prayer

Some of us shy away from traditional prayers that have been written and memorized, but there is deep wisdom in praying liturgical prayers. It may even shock us how a prayer written hundreds of years ago can be so relevant to what we are going through today. Below are a few prayers that have been spoken and sung throughout the ages, all speaking to the same God that we serve today.

Sample: A Heart to Love Thee

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of Thy Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore Thee, a heart to delight in Thee, to follow and to enjoy Thee, for Christ’s sake. (Ambrose of Milan, c 339-97)

                The Praises of God

                Lord God: you alone are holy, you who work wonders!

                You are strong, you are great,

                You are the Most High, you are the almighty King,

                You, holy Father, King of heaven and earth.

                Lord God: you are Three and you are One,

                You are goodness, all goodness,

                You are the highest Good, Lord God, living and true.

                You are love and charity, you are wisdom,

                You are humility, you are patience,

                You are beauty, you are sweetness,

                You are safety, you are rest,

                You are joy, you are our hope and our delight,

                You are justice, you are moderation,

                You are all our wealth and riches overflowing.

                You are beauty, you are gentleness,

                You are our shelter, our guard and our defender,

                You are strength, you are refreshment,

                You are our hope, you are our faith.

                You are our love, you are our complete consolation,

                You are our life everlasting, great and wonderful Lord,

                all powerful God, merciful Saviour!

                Amen. (St. Francis of Assisi)

                Prayer for God’s Presence

                Lord, be with us this day, within us to purify us;

                Above us to draw us up;

                Beneath us to sustain us;

                Before us to lead us;

                Behind us to restrain us;

                Around us to protect us.

                (Patrick, c 389-461)

                Prayer for a busy season

                Lord, temper with tranquility

                Our manifold activity

                That we may do our work for Thee

                In silence and simplicity

                (anonymous Quaker prayer, 18^th cent)