When You open Your hand

November 24, 2022November 24, 2022 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Loving God,
You are our Creator and Sustainer.
When You open Your hand,
You satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
And so we look to You whenever we are in need,
trusting in Your love and Your abundant goodness.

As You once fed the hungry crowds with five loaves and two small fish,
we ask that You would again fill those who are empty this day.
Pour out Your Spirit on all who hunger and thirst.

We pray for those who are physically hungry—whose stomachs are empty.
We think especially of the people in Somalia and Eastern Africa
who are facing critical food shortages;
who are suffering the effects of malnutrition and starvation;
and watching helplessly as loved ones die.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.
Pour out Your Spirit, so that they may be filled.

We pray for those who are empty emotionally—
who are lonely and long for companionship and love,
who are caught in the grip of depression,
or overwhelmed with grief.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.
Pour out Your Spirit, so that they may be filled.

We pray for those who are spiritually empty—
who are troubled, but don’t know where to turn;
who long for purpose and meaning, but don’t know where to look;
who need You, but do not yet know You.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.
Pour out Your Spirit, so that they may be filled.

God, we praise You for Your abundant gifts in our lives.
Pour out Your Spirit on us as well.
Fill us with Your compassion and love,
so that we would willingly share some of our abundance
with those who have need.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.
Pour out Your Spirit, so that we may be filled.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ,
who came so that all of humanity might come to know
the abundant life that comes from You.

Amen.

Christine Longhurst, Worship Professor, Canadian Mennonite University

re-worship.blogspot.com

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Psalm 145:14-19

The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them. Continue reading →

Prayer for Psalm 77

November 18, 2022November 17, 2022 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

remember mercy by ₡ґǘșϯγ Ɗᶏ Ⱪᶅṏⱳդ via Flickr

Lord! Have you locked your mercies in a cage?

Did you wrap your compassion with forgetfulness?

Has your rejection of your people become like a volcanic mountain?

Has your mercy become as small as a speck of sand?

Is there not one single umbrella of mercy

that provides shelter at the noon of your rage?

Just a moment of your rejection is like an eternity of pain.

The streets of hell become my path in your anger.

Will you reject your people forever?

Has the date of your mercy expired?

I am a Canaanite woman who has a daughter possessed by demons (Mk 7:26).

I seek your mercy.

I am blind Bartimaeus begging for your compassion (Mk 10:47).

You showed mercy to your servant Lot (Gen 19:16)

and to Epaphroditus when you healed him (Phil 2:27).

We too are your people!

Nurse us with your compassion and embrace us.

Don’t call us Lo-Ruhamah (Hos 1:6);

instead, fill our lives with divine mercy.

I shall recall your works and wonders,

and I shall remember you.

Will you forget us while we remember you?

We contemplate your works and hunger for your mercy.

Your compassion is better than life.

O Lord, Pharoah is wandering in your land!

The devil holds the neck of your daughters.

Loudspeakers are everywhere, rejecting your religion.

The body of Christ is blistered with divisions,

and your people are busy amputating your body.

Where are the winds of heaven and the thunder of your voice?

Where is the arm of God?

Where are your wonders, acts of power, and fountains of mercy?

I cannot be convinced that you have forgotten your mercies,

and so I wait for you.

Have mercy on me and my country.

Have mercy on us and guide your people.

Bring millions of believers to your church.

O Lord – Kyrie eleison.

Have mercy, O Lord!

Yohanna Katanacho, 1967 – , Palestinian Israeli evangelical theologian

Praying through the Psalms

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Psalm 77:1-12

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.

I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

“Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

Continue reading →

How we need your compassion!

August 12, 2022August 11, 2022 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

_{Jesus and the woman taken in adultery}_{/ public domain}

God, why do I call impossible what You call possible?

Why do I call unforgivable what You call forgiven?

Why do I compromise with what You call sin?

How I need to know Your heart,

and reach out in Your love and wisdom to others.

It’s easy to love the people who are standing hard and fast,

pressing on to meet that higher calling.

But the ones who might be struggling,

we tend to judge too harshly

and refuse to try to catch them when they’re falling.

We put people into boxes and we draw our hard conclusions

when they do things we know they should not do.

We sometimes write them off as hopeless

and we throw them to the dogs.

Our compassion and forgiveness sometimes seem in short supply.

We can love them and forgive them when their sin does not exceed our own,

for we too have been down bumpy roads before.

But when they commit offences outside the boundaries we have set,

we judge them in a word and we turn them out,

and we close the door.

Chuck Girard, Celtic author

Prayers for Today

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Romans 2:1-4

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else,

for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself,

because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things,

do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience,

not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Continue reading →

I pray for the children

June 28, 2022June 27, 2022 / Eric Mathews / 1 Comment

This morning, Lord, I’m praying for many people,

just a day after Dobbs v. Jackson…

I’m praying for those

disappointed and angry,

who believe their rights have been trampled and crushed:

their choice and autonomy wrenched from their grasp…

And I’m praying for those

now claiming a victory,

who believe that justice has finally prevailed:

the right to life, refreshed and reclaimed…

I pray for our country,

torn apart and embittered,

where the battle for rights will continue to rage,

dividing our nation, body and soul…

I pray for the Church

to preach with compassion

the gospel of life as the wisdom for choosing

what’s loving and true, what’s generous and good…

And I pray for the Church

to faithfully serve

with shelter, support, understanding and help

people and life in all shapes and all forms…

And last, but not least, Lord,

I pray for the children conceived every day:

planned or unplanned, welcome or not,

impaired or healthy, ill-timed or convenient,

each one made in your image divine,

each one named by your love and your grace,

each one, your own, entrusted to us…

Many to pray for, many to hold

in our arms, in our care, in our love.

Help us to welcome the gift of new life

with its challenges, burdens and blessings,

with the strength and help of your grace…

Amen.

Fr. Austin Fleming, Roman Catholic Priest serving near Boston, MA
Concord Pastor

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Zechariah 7:8-10

And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,

“Thus says the Lord of hosts,

Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,

do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor,

and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”

Continue reading →

let me reflect your love

May 19, 2022May 18, 2022 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

_{image / James Tissot / Wikimedia Commons}

Thank you, dear Lord, for your love and care for me

evidenced in so many ways.

Thank you for pardoning the sins I have committed this day;

thank you for the opportunities to show love well used this day;

thank you also for sins avoided on account of your guidance and restraint.

Let it be my single ambition, my God, to honor you

in every thought, word, and deed;

and make me bold to invite all people around me to honor and love you as well.

Your love toward me is so patient, so tender,

even when I provoke you with my disobedience.

Give me such an appreciation of your love for me

that I show the same patient and tender love to my neighbor,

especially when he or she opposed me.

Sit us within me a zeal to do all in my power,

whether in prayer or deed,

to promote the safety and happiness of my neighbor;

make me active to comfort and relieve all those whom you entrust to my care

by bringing me into contact with them.

Lord, help me to be peaceful rather than argumentative;

help me to be quick to forget an injury and be reconciled to my neighbor,

mindful of how many times you have forgiven my provocations.

After your own example, make me glad to give good in return for evil,

and thus share in the triumph of your love.

In all my dealings with my fellow human beings,

let me reflect your love, your generous spirit,

your desire to do good both to the just and the unjust.

You have so valued each person that you sent your Son for each and every one.

Implant, therefore, such a compassion in my heart for people.

that I will eagerly seek out how I may win them to your love.

David A. de Silva, Methodist professor

Praying with John Wesley

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1 John 4:16

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

Continue reading →

Your disposition toward me is goodness

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

_{image /peasap / flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0}

Lord, remind me that Your disposition toward me is goodness.

Keep me from the dark suspicion that You are not good.

You act with generosity and benevolence.

Keep me from believing that You are not for me.

You are gracious and compassionate.

Keep me from the assumption that I am beyond Your grace.

You are faithful and steadfast.

Keep me from the opinion that Your disposition toward me could change.

You are rich in love and never petty in Your anger.

Keep me from doubting the richness of Your love for me.

Kurt Bjorklund, 1968- , American Minister and author of

Prayers for Today A Yearlong Journey of Devotional Prayer

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Matthew 7:9-11

You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?

Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!

So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Continue reading →

Guide us to your will

June 11, 2021June 10, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

_{Photo by Paul Zoetemeijer on Unsplash}

Almighty Lord God,

your glory cannot be approached,

your compassion knows no bounds,

and your love for all mankind

is beyond human expression;

in your mercy look on us and all your people:

do not leave us to our sins

but deal with us according to your goodness.

Guide us to the haven of your will

and make us truly obedient to your commands,

that we many not feel ashamed

when we come before your Messiah’s

dread judgement seat.

For you, O God,

are good and ever-loving,

and we glorify you,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

now and for ever,

to the ages of ages. Amen.

from The Barberini Codex, 8th Century document of Byzantine prayers

Praying with the Orthodox Tradition

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2 Peter 1:3-4

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.

We have received all of this by coming to know him,

the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

And because of his glory and excellence,

he has given us great and precious promises.

These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature

and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

Continue reading →

Compassionate heart of Jesus

June 8, 2021June 7, 2021 / Eric Mathews / 1 Comment

_{The Crucifixion 1360’s / Metropolitan Museum of Art / Public Domain}

Compassionate heart of Jesus, have mercy on me.

Even before I offended you, my Redeemer, I did not deserve

the great graces you have given me.

You created me, gave me so many inspirations

and all totally undeserved on my part.

But having offended you, not only did I not deserve your favors,

I certainly deserved to be abandoned by you for all eternity.

But you, in your great mercy, have waited for me

and preserved my life even when I was at enmity with you.

Your mercy allowed me to see my misery and you called me to conversion;

you gave me sorrow for my sins and a desire to love you.

Now, I hope that, with your grace,

I am in your friendship once again.

Alphonsus Liquori, 1696-1787, Italian Catholic bishop and theologian

Praying to our Lord Jesus Christ prayers and meditations through the centuries

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Romans 5:6-10

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

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.