presence

Teach us to pray

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment
image via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
 

Lord, teach us to pray.

Some of us are not skilled in the art of prayer.  
As we draw near to you in thought, our spirits long for your Spirit, 
    and reach out for you, longing to feel you near. 
We do not know how to express the deepest emotions 
    that lie hidden in our hearts.

In these moments, we have no polished phrases 
    with which to impress one another, 
    no finely molded, delicately turned clauses to present to you. 
Nor would we be confined to conventional petitions, 
    repeating our prayers like reverent mantras. 
We know, our Father, that we are closest to you 
    when we have left behind 
    the things that have held us captive for so long.

We do not want to be ignorant in prayer and, like children, 
    make shopping lists for you.  
Rather, we pray that you will give unto us only what we really need. 
We do not  want to make our prayers so that they annoy you, 
    an omnipotent God, so that you do what we want you to do. 
Rather, give us the vision, the courage, 
    that enlarges our horizons and stretches our faith 
    to the adventure of seeking your loving will for our lives

We thank you that you are hearing us even now. 
We thank you for the grace of prayer. 
We thank you for yourself.
 
Peter Marshall, 1902 – 1949, Chaplain of the US Senate
HarperCollins Book of Prayers, freely modified
 
____________________________
 
 
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door 
    and pray to your Father, who is unseen. 
Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, 
    will reward you. 
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, 
    for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need 
    before you ask him.

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to share in your triumph

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna, via Wikimedia Commons

 
O Christ, the brightness of God’s glory
    and express image of his person,
  whom death could not conquer,
    nor the tomb imprison;
as you have shared our mortal frailty in the flesh,
    help us to share your immortal triumph in the spirit.
Let no shadow of the grave affright us
    and no fear of darkness turn our hearts from you.
Reveal yourself to us as the first and the last,
    that Living One, 
    our immortal Savior and Lord.
Amen.
 
Henry Van Dyke, 1852 – 1933, American diplomat and Presbyterian clergyman
________________________
 
 
But our citizenship is in heaven. 
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
    who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, 
    will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

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answering our askings

/ Eric Mathews / 2 Comments
 
Lord God, 
  grant us to see that 
      even as the Word must become flesh,
      the prayer must become physical:
  grant our prayers 
      eyes to see the invisible,
      ears to hear the inaudible,
      lips to voice the unspeakable,
      hands to clutch the intangible.
Then to complete the body of yearning,
  equip our prayers with 
      legs to step out on faith,
      legs to progress one step at a time,
      legs to walk with our Savior
  in answering our very own askings.
In the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
 
Cecil L. Murray, 1929 – , African American Pastor and Ethicist
 
__________________________
 
 
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, 
    to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 
And awe came upon every soul, 
    and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  
And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  
And they were selling their possessions and belongings 
    and distributing the proceeds to all, 
    as any had need.

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to become people of your light

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Adorazione dei Magi by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
On Epiphany day,
     we are still the people walking.
     We are still people in the dark,
          and the darkness looms large around us,
          beset as we are by fear,
                                        anxiety,
                                        brutality,
                                        violence,
                                        loss —
          a dozen alienations that we cannot manage.

We are — we could be — people of your light.
     So we pray for the light of your glorious presence
          as we wait for your appearing;
     we pray for the light of your wondrous grace
          as we exhaust our coping capacity;
     we pray for your gift of newness that
          will override our weariness;
     we pray that we may see and know and hear and trust
          in your good rule.

That we may have energy, courage, and freedom to enact
         your rule through the demands of this day.
         We submit our day to you and to your rule, 

                                  with deep joy and high hope.
 
Walter Brueggemann, 1933 – 2025,  American Protestant Old Testament theologian
Prayers for a Privileged People
 
________________________________
 
 
After this interview the wise men went their way. 
And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. 
It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 
When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 
They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, 
    and they bowed down and worshiped him. 
Then they opened their treasure chests 
    and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Reveal yourself to us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Fresco from the great Cloister of Santa Maria Novella in Florence / Lawrence OP
 
 
O Christ, the brightness of God’s glory 
    and express image of his person,
    whom death could not conquer,
    nor the tomb imprison;
  as you have shared our mortal frailty in the flesh,
    help us to share your immortal triumph in the spirit.
Let no shadow of the grave affright us 
    and no fear of darkness turn our hearts from you.
Reveal yourself to us as the first and the last,
    the Living One, our immortal Savior and Lord.
Amen,
 
Henry Van Dyke, 1852 – 1933, American diplomat and Presbyterian clergyman
 
_____________________
 
 
As they were talking about these things, 
Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, 
    “Peace to you!” 
But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 
And he said to them, 
    “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
     See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. 
     Touch me, and see. 
     For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
 

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Transfiguration Prayer

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Transfiguration of Christ, Carl Bloch, Wikimedia Commons
 

O God,
We open our eyes and we see Jesus,
the months of ministry transfigured to a beam of light,
the light of the world,
your light.
May your light shine upon us.

We open our eyes and we see Moses and Elijah,
your word restoring us, showing us the way,
telling a story,
your story, his story, our story.
May your word speak to us.

We open our eyes and we see mist,
the cloud of your presence
which assures us of all we do not know
and that we do not need to fear that.
Teach us to trust.

We open our eyes and we see Peter’s constructions,
his best plans, our best plans,
our missing the point,
our missing the way.
Forgive our foolishness and sin

We open our eyes and we see Jesus,
not casting us off,
but leading us down, leading us out –
to ministry, to people.
Your love endures forever.

We open our ears and we hear your voice,
‘This is my beloved Son, listen to him!’
And we give you thanks.

Amen

 
William Loader, New Testament Professor emeritus in Australia
 
__________________________
 
 
And after six days Jesus took with him 
  Peter and James, and John his brother,   
  and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  
And he was transfigured before them, 
  and his face shone like the sun, 
  and his clothes became white as light.  
And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, 
  talking with him. 
And Peter said to Jesus, 
  “Lord, it is good that we are here. 
  If you wish, I will make three tents here, 
  one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 
He was still speaking when, 
  behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, 
  and a voice from the cloud said, 
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
 
 

May Your Spirit …

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment
image
 
May your Spirit guide my mind,
Which is so often dull and empty.
Let my thoughts always be on you,
And let me see you in all things.
 
May your Spirit quicken my soul,
Which is so often listless and lethargic.
Let my soul be awake to your presence,
And let me know you in all things.
 
May your Spirit melt my heart,
Which is so often cold and indifferent.
Let my heart be warmed by your love,
And let me feel you in all things.
 
Johann Freylinghausen, 1670-1739, German pietist and hymnist
 
______________________________
 
 
how much more will the blood of Christ, 
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God,
purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

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Make me always busy in your service

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Les femmes saintes, James Tissot, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord, I make you a present of myself.
    I do not know what to do with myself.
So let me make this exchange:
    I will place myself entirely in your hands,
    if you will cover my ugliness with your beauty,
    and tame my unruliness with your love.
Put out the flames of false passion in my heart,
    since these flames destroy all that is true within me.
Make me always busy in your service.
Lord, I want no special signs from you,
    nor am I looking for intense emotions in response to your love.
I would rather be free of all emotion,
    than to run the danger of falling victim once again to false passion.
Let my love for you be naked, without any emotional clothing.

St Catherine of Genoa, 1447-1510, Italian Catholic mystic
 
___________________________
 
 
Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, 
preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. 
He took his twelve disciples with him, 
along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. 
Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; 
Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others 
who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

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only you can teach me to pray

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image / Conniemod, CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
 
Listen, O Lord, to my prayers.  
Listen to my desire to be with you, to dwell in your house, 
    and to let my whole being be filled with your presence.
But none of this is possible without you.
When you are not the one who fills me, 
    I am soon filled with endless thoughts and concerns
    that divide me and tear me away from you.
Even thoughts about you, good spiritual thoughts,
    can be little more than distractions,
    when you are not their author.
O Lord, thinking about you, 
    being fascinated with theological ideas and discussions,
    being excited about histories of Christian spirituality
    and stimulated by thoughts and ideas about prayer and meditation,
    all of this can be as much an expression of greed
        as the unruly desire for food, possessions, or power.
Every day I see again that only you can teach me to pray,
    only you can set my heart at rest,
    only you can let me dwell in your presence.
No book, no idea, no concept or theory will ever bring me close to you
    unless you yourself are the one who lets these instruments 
    become the way to you.
But, Lord, let me at least remain open to your initiative;
    let me wait patiently and attentively for that hour
    when you will come and break through 
        all the walls I have erected.
Teach me, O Lord, to pray. Amen.
 
Henri J.M. Nouwen, 1932 – 1996, Dutch-born Catholic priest and author
 
_________________________________
 
 
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, 
he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
 

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May we encounter You today

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image / Harold Copping / Wikimedia Commons
 
Loving God, our faithful father, you who created us in your image and likeness, and are willing to meet with us here, as market vendors, barbers, mothers and fathers.
 
We confess that in our sweat and toil, we often forget your presence.  In our struggles and weariness and frustration we are often lukewarm.  Forgive us.
 
Tabernacle with us.
We need you now more than ever.  Drained of strength and energy we come, that we might be re-energized and filled.
 
So come Lord. Come as the wind, blow your breath gently over us, blow the dust off our lives. Come as the fire, burn out all the hate and anger we feel towards those who oppress us and treat us unfairly.  Come as the water, wash the dirt of poverty off our stalls, the marketplace, and our lives.
 
Come as the dove – settle all matters concerning us.  Let peace reign.
 
May we encounter you today.  Ignite our hearts to worship and serve you.  Take your place and rule and reign in Jesus’s name as we leave our struggle at the foot of the cross and liberate us to worship you. Amen.
 
complied by Claudio Carvalhaes, professor of worship in New York City
 
_________________________
 
 
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.

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