You, Who Are

October 6, 2021October 5, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

_{Transfiguration / Giovanni Bellini / Wikimedia Commons}

You, who are over us,

You, who are one of us,

You, who are –

Also within us,

May all see You – in me also,

May I prepare the way for You,

May I thank You for all that shall fall to my lot,

May I also not forget the needs of others,

Keep me in Your love

As You desire that all should be kept in mine.

May everything in this, my being, be directed to Your glory

And may I never despair.

For I am under Your hand,

And in You is all power and goodness.

Give me a pure heart – that I may see You,

A humble heart – that I may hear You,

A heart of love – that I may serve You,

A heart of faith – that I may abide in You.

Dag Hammarskjöld, 1905 – 1961, Swedish diplomat, UN Secretary General

Markings freely modified

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Psalm 24:1-6

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
established it on the waters.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.

They will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob

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God of the high and holy places

August 24, 2021August 23, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

God of the high and holy places
where I catch a glimpse of your glory,
above the low levels of life,
above the evil and emptiness which drags me down,
beyond the limits of my senses and imagination,
you lift me up.

In the splendour of a sunset,
in the silence of the stars,
in the grandeur of the mountains,
in the vastness of the sea,
you lift me up.

In the majesty of music,
in the mystery of art,
in the freshness of morning,
in the fragrance of a single flower,
you lift me up.

Awe-inspiring God,
when I am lost in wonder
and lost for words,
receive the homage of my silent worship
but do not let me be content to bear your beauty and be still.
Go with me to the places where I live and work.
Lift the veil of reticence behind which I hide.
Give me the courage to speak of the things which move me,
with simple and unselfconscious delight.
Help me to share my glimpses of glory
until others are drawn to your light.

Rev. Jean Mortimer, Minister in the United Reformed Church, UK

The Complete Book of Christian Prayer

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Psalm 19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

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I weave a silence . . .

August 16, 2021August 15, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

_{Sunrise behind Lindisfarne Castle / © Ian Capper / cc-by-sa/2.0}

I weave a silence on my lips
I weave a silence into my mind
I weave a silence within my heart
I close my ears to distractions
I close my eyes to attractions
I close my heart to temptations

Calm me O Lord as you stilled the storm
Still me O Lord, keep me from harm
Let all the tumult within me cease
Enfold me Lord in your peace.

David Adam, 1936-2020, English priest, rector of Lindisfarne
The Book of a Thousand Prayers

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Psalm 62:1-2

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

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to you I commit my trust

August 12, 2021August 11, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Loving and tender providence of my God,

into your hands I commend my spirit;

to you I abandon my hopes and fears,

my desires and repugnancies,

my temporal and eternal prospects.

To you I commit the wants of my perishable body;

to you I commit the more precious interests

of my immortal soul

for whose lot I have nothing to fear

as long as I do not leave your care.

Though my faults are many,

my misery great,

my spiritual poverty extreme,

my hope in you surpasses all.

It is superior to my weakness,

greater than my difficulties

stronger than death.

Though temptations should assail me,

I will hope in you;

though I break my resolutions,

I will look to you confidently

for grace to keep them at last.

Though you should ask me to die,

even then I will trust in you,

for you are my Father, my God,

the support of my salvation.

You are my kind, compassionate and indulgent parent,

and I am your devoted son,

who casts myself into your arms and begs your blessing.

I put my trust in you,

and so trusting, shall not be confounded. Amen.

St. Claude de la Colombière, 1641-1682, French Jesuit priest and ascetic

Hearts on Fire Praying with Jesuits

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Psalm 56:3-4

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?

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a Deacon’s prayer

July 15, 2021July 14, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

I thank Thee, Lord, for sparing me to see this morning, the blood running warm in my veins, the activity of my limbs and the use of my tongue. I thank Thee, Lord, for clothing and for food, and above all, I thank Thee for the gift of your darling Son Jesus, who came all the way from heaven down to this low ground of sorrow, who died upon the cross, that “whosoever believeth upon Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Our Lord, our heavenly Master, we ask Thee to teach us. Guide us in the way we know not. Give us more faith and a better understanding and a closer walk to your bleeding side.

I have faith to believe you are the same God that was in the days that are past and gone. You heard Elijah praying in the cleft of the mountain. You heard Paul and Silas in jail. You heard the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. I have faith to believe that you have once heard me pray, when I was laying and lugging ’round the gates of hell, no eye to pity me, no arm to save me. You reached down your long arm of protection, snatched my soul from the midst of eternal burning. You placed me in the rock and placed a new song in my mouth. You told me to go, and you would go with me; open my mouth, and you would speak for me.

For this cause we call upon you at this hour. And while we call upon you, we ask you please don’t go back to Glory, neither turn a deaf ear to our call. But turn down the kindness of a listening ear, catch our moans and our groans, and take them home to the High Heavens. We please boldly one thing more, if it is your glorious will, I pray Thee.

Deacon Washington Banks, Gethsemane Baptist Church, 1973

The Prayer Traditions of Black People

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Psalm 30:8-12

To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

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bless the vaccines

May 6, 2021May 5, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the countless ways you show us your love.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us

and giving people (those we call brilliant) a spec of your brilliance

to create vaccines that ‘help our bodies develop immunity to the virus’.

We ask you to bless the vaccines to our bodies,

for those who are already fully vaccinated

and for those who will be getting them.

We pray we will not be adversely affected – long and short term,

and, if it is in our best interests,

to only experience mild or no symptoms after receiving the vaccine.

Thank you for all the volunteers and medical community

that are tasked with administering the vaccines.

We confess our FAITH IS IN YOU and not the vaccine.

So, we also pray for those who do not feel led to get one,

that you would also give them immunity and keep them healthy.

We trust in You and your Word!

We pray this prayer in the lovely name of Jesus!
Amen!

Paula Cianci, family friend

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Psalm 91:3-6

Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

Continue reading →

Lament in Times of Sorrow

March 19, 2021March 18, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

_{Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay}

God, we call out to you!
From the depths of our hearts, we cry,
“Lord, hear our prayer!”

We are consumed by grief.
The events of the past few days have overwhelmed us—
it’s hard to sleep,
it’s hard to eat,
it’s even hard to pray.

Where are you, God?

Deep down, we know that you love us—
we’ve experienced your mercy and your faithfulness in the past,
and it has sustained us through many difficult times.
We refuse to believe that you have deserted us,
or that you are unaware of the pain that we’re feeling.
And so we turn to you again,
longing for your presence,
looking for your comfort and peace.

Surround us with your unfailing love.
Remind us that you alone are God,
and that you hold us in the palm of your hand.
Give us courage and strength to face the days ahead,
and strengthen us in the knowledge that we do not face them alone.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray.

Amen.

Christine Longhurst, Worship Professor, Canadian Mennonite University

re-worship.blogspot.com

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Psalm 77:1-2

I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted. Continue reading →

cleanse me from my sin!

February 25, 2021February 24, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Where shall I begin to weep for the actions of my wretched life?

What first-fruit shall I offer, O Christ, in this my lamentation?
But in Your compassion grant me forgiveness of sins.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Come, wretched soul, with your flesh to the Creator of all.

Make confession to Him, and abstain henceforth from past brutishness;

and offer to God tears of repentance.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have rivaled in transgression, Adam, the first-formed man,

and I have found myself stripped naked of God,

of the eternal Kingdom and its joy, because of my sins.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Woe to you, miserable soul! How alike you are to first Eve!

For you have looked in wickedness and were grievously wounded;

you have touched the tree and rashly tasted the deceptive food.