presence

Why is there so little prayer?

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
Why is there so little urgency
    to get time to pray?
Why is there so little forethought 
    in the laying out of time and schedule
  so as to secure a large portion 
    of each day for prayer?
Why is there so much talking,
    yet so little prayer?
Why is there so much running to and fro,
    yet so little prayer?
Why so much bustle and business,
    yet so little prayer?
Why so many meetings with our fellow men.
    yet so few meetings with You?
Why so little being alone,
    so little thirsting of the soul 
        for the calm. sweet, hours of unbroken solitude,
    where You and your child hold fellowship 
        as if they could never part?
It is the scarcity of these solitary hours 
    that not only injures my own growth in grace
    but also makes me such an unprofitable member of Your church,
         and renders my life useless.
 
Horatius Bonar, 1808-1889, Scottish Preacher and Hymnist
Celtic Daily Prayer, freely modified
 
_________________________
 
 
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.
In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    for you answer me.
 

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Come gentle rain of Advent-tide

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Hawaii lava flower
 
Isaiah of old prayed,
    “Let the earth open wide her mouth;
    as justice descends, O heavens, 
    like the dew from above,
    like gentle showers,
    let salvation fall from the skies;
    let justice spring up
    and salvation bud forth.”
Come gentle rain of Advent-tide,
    soak deep into my heart,
    calling forth signs of an early spring.
Make buds appear on my heart’s barren rosebush
    and blooms on its dried flower stalks.
Come showers of silence and wet my soul;
    soak deeply with your fertile fingers, dripping heaven’s dew.
May I come forth from my times of prayer
    as from a bath:
    dripping wet from a sacred soaking, 
    refreshed, renewed, revitalized.
Advent prayer of December stillness,
    dampen my dry soul,
    coax forth green leaves of the Spirit 
    and bring forth buds of bright flowers 
    as green trees flicker with magic lights 
    and green wreath circles
    whirl on front doors,
    red-bowed in festive joy.
May soggy souls ooze out awesome gifts,
    for Emmanuel, God-among-us,
    is awakened from a yearlong slumber 
    by gentle mists of Advent longing 
    and is eager to give gifts of love, 
    presents of your presence.
Radiant Rain God,
    make me your brimful cloud,
    ready to shower down Emmanuel’s justice and peace 
    upon all I meet. 
 
Edward Hayes, 1931 – 2016, Catholic Priest, Kansas City
 
____________________________
 
 
Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open,
    that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
    let the earth cause them both to sprout;
    I the Lord have created it.
 

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Draw our hearts to trust

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment
image by  via Flickr    CC BY-SA 2.0
 
 
O Lord God, in whom we live and move and have our being,
    Open our eyes that we may behold your fatherly presence ever with us.
    Draw our hearts to you with the power of your love.
    Teach us to not be anxious about anything,
        and when we have done what you have given us to do
        help us, O God our Savior, to leave the issue to your wisdom.
    Take from us all doubt and mistrust.
    Lift our hearts up to yourself in heaven,
        and make us to know that all things are possible to us 
through your Son our Redeemer.
 
Brooke Foss Westcott, 1825-1901, British bishop and Biblical scholar
 
_______________________
 
 
Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

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you call me back, to atone, to return

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Bro. Jeffrey  Pioquinto, SJ, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
You call me back to atone,
to return,  
when you see how I’ve drifted
and gone away…

I stray from knowing your holy presence,
but you never take your eyes off me;
you take not even one step away:
you’re beside me, behind me,
above and below me,
you’re with me, Lord, on all sides…
 
But it only takes a turn of my heart,
a twist of my thoughts
in the blink of an eye
for me to forget (or do I fear?)
how close you are in every hour
of every night and day…

I stray from your love
though you’re so close at hand
and believe, in self-pity
you no longer care…
 
I choose my own way
as you walk by my side;
you follow my steps
as I turn from your path…
 
I want my own way
and insist that I’m right;
I assign you the blame
as I count my troubles…

But you stay by my side
and give me the freedom
to take your hand or walk away
in my foolishness and my fear…
And still you remain,
right by my side,
though I close my eyes
to yours seeking mine…

But you call me back, to atone, to return,
and with all my heart, I know you’re right:
I’ve drifted, I’ve strayed, I’ve gone away,
I’m lost and need to be found…
 
Give the grace, Lord, to turn my heart,
to turn my mind and thoughts to you;
to remember and trust how close you are,
how near’s the mercy you offer…
 
Call me back to atone and return
to the outstretched arms of your love
and ready my heart to be shaped again
in the image of your heart for me…
Amen.
 
Fr. Austin Fleming, Roman Catholic Priest in Massachusetts
 
______________________________
 
 
So he returned home to his father. 
And while he was still a long way off, 
    his father saw him coming. 
Filled with love and compassion, 
    he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

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Son of God, deliver us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Johannes Plenio via Pexels
 
You who guided Noah over the flood waves:
    Hear us.
You who with your word recalled Jonah from the deep:
    Deliver us.
You who stretched forth your hand to Peter as he sank:
    Help us, O Christ.
Son of God, who did marvelous things of old:
    Be favorable in our day also.
 
Scots Celtic Prayer
 
______________________
 
 
The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty.
    Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength.
The world stands firm
    and cannot be shaken.
Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial.
    You yourself are from the everlasting past.
The floods have risen up, O Lord.
    The floods have roared like thunder;
    the floods have lifted their pounding waves.
But mightier than the violent raging of the seas,
    mightier than the breakers on the shore—
    the Lord above is mightier than these!
Your royal laws cannot be changed.
    Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever.
 

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You are my God, my Life, my holy Delight

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image via Pixabay
 
 
What, then, is the God I worship? 
He can be none but the Lord God himself, for who but the Lord is God? 
What other refuge can there be, except our God?
You, my God, are supreme, utmost in goodness: 
    mightiest and all-powerful, most merciful and most just. 
You are the most hidden from us and yet the most present amongst us, 
    the most beautiful and yet the most strong, 
    ever enduring and yet we cannot comprehend you. 
You are unchangeable and yet you change all things. 
You are never new, never old, and yet all things have new life from you. 
You are the unseen power that brings decline upon the proud. 
You are ever active, yet always at rest.
You gather all things to yourself, though you suffer no need. 
You support, you fill, and you protect all things. 
You create them, nourish them, and bring them to perfection. 
You seek to make them your own, though you lack for nothing. 
You love your creatures, but with a gentle love. 
You treasure them, but without apprehension. 
You grieve for wrong, but suffer no pain. 
You can be angry and yet serene. 
Your works are varied, but your purpose is one and the same. 
You welcome all who come to you, though you never lost them. 
You are never in need yet are glad to gain, 
    never covetous yet you exact a return for your gifts.
We give abundantly to you so that we may deserve a reward; 
    yet which of us has anything that does not come from you? 
You repay us what we deserve, and yet you owe nothing to any. 
You release us from our debts, but you lose nothing thereby. 
You are my God, my Life, my holy Delight, 
    but is this enough to say of you? 
Can any man say enough when he speaks of you? 
Yet woe betide those who are silent about you! 
For even those who are most gifted with speech
    cannot find words to describe you.
 
St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430
 
_________________
 
 
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, 
    that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

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Jesus, Lord of Salvation

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
 
How is it, dearest Jesus, 
    that you graciously reached down to visit your chosen, 
    even so long before your time on earth? 
To tell your people that your thoughts were good, and not evil?
 
When you appeared to Joshua in human form 
    as Captain of the Lord’s host, 
he instantly knew your glorious character as Mediator, 
    and fell to the earth in adoration.
 
Hail then, you almighty Lord, you Captain of the Lord’s host,
    and of my salvation! 
You have entered the holy war and led captivity captive.  
You have fully conquered Satan and sin, and death, and hell, 
    for your people.
 
And you will surely conquer all those tremendous foes of ours, 
    in your people, and bruise Satan under our feet shortly. 
Indeed, dear Lord, you have already brought them under, 
    for by your sovereign grace in the hearts of your redeemed, 
    you have made your people “willing in the day of your power.”
 
By the sword of your Spirit, you have convinced my soul of sin, 
   and by the arrows of your quiver, 
    you have wounded my heart with deep contrition for sin. 
Lord, I fall before you, as your servant Joshua did, and worship you.
 
And with all the church of the redeemed, 
    both in heaven and earth, we cheerfully confess  
  “that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 
Amen!
 
Robert Hawker, 1753-1827, Anglican Priest
 
_____________________
 
 
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, 
    he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him 
    with sword in hand. 
Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
“Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”

At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence.

“I am at your command,” Joshua said. 
“What do you want your servant to do?”

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God of good ideas

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image, Bureau of Land Management, CC0 via flickr
 
 
God of good ideas,
    who began the world
    with light and word,
    who began again
    with flood and rainbow;
we acknowledge our frustrations with your church:
    its committees and structures,
    its method and systems.
These things have made us angry and sapped our energy.
 
God of new beginnings
    who began a new way
    of living with resurrection,
    who began a new community
    with tongues of fire;
    begin again here
    that structures may bend
    like dancing saplings;
    the past, present and future
    may be woven into 
    a fresh path of commitment.
 
May our ideas for your world and this community
    resonate in your presence,
    so that tested, tried, and challenged
    they may blossom in us
    as do dry places
    when longed-for rain falls.
 
Janet Lees
 
________________________
 
 
Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
    the coastlands and their inhabitants.
Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,
    the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,
    let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory to the Lord,
    and declare his praise in the coastlands.

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Just let me feel Your hands

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image, James Tissot, via Wikimedia Commons
 
I see Your hands,
not white and manicured,
but scarred and scratched and competent,
reach out –
not always to remove the weight I carry,
but to shift its balance, ease it,
make it bearable.
Lord, if this is where You want me,
I’m content.
No, not quite true. I wish it were.
All I can say, in honesty, is this:
If this is where I’m meant to be,
I’ll stay. And try.
Just let me feel Your hands.
And, Lord, for all who hurt today – 
hurt more than me –
I ask for strength and that flicker of light,
the warmth, that says You’re there.
 
Eddie Askew, 1927-2007, English director of the Leprosy Mission
 
_______________________
 
 
Then people brought little children to Jesus
    for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. 
But the disciples rebuked them.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, 
    for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 
When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
 

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wholeness of mind

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image by Elyas Pasban via Unsplash
 
 
Lord Jesus Christ,
you healed those who suffered
in mind as well as body.
Look in your compassion 
on people among us who are mentally ill.
 
We pray for all
    who are driven by depression to the depths of despair
    who attempt to end their own lives
    who are victims of obsession
    who are persecuted by the voices they hear
    who live in a world of their own
    who are violent or withdrawn
    who are plagued by religious delusions.
 
Take from them all unreality.
Help them to know that in the depths
    you search for them
  and that in your presence
    you hold them secure.
Grant to them wholeness of mind
so that they may be at peace,
    at one with themselves
    and at one with you.
We ask this for your name’s sake.
 
Neville Smith
 
________________________
 
 
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, 
    teaching in the synagogues 
    and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. 
And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 
News about him spread as far as Syria, 
    and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. 
And whatever their sickness or disease, 
    or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—
    he healed them all.

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