truth

Give us faith to believe what is true

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
The Annunciation, Caravaggio, via Wikimedia Commons
 
O Holy God of Promise,
    we so often place our trust in the things we can see,
    and touch, and easily believe.
But you did not ask us to believe what is easy,
    you have asked us to believe what is true!
Forgive us, Holy One, when we doubt the ways you work.
Forgive us when we find it hard to believe an ancient story.
Forgive us when we question how you chose to enter the world,
    born as one of us.
Forgive our lack of faith and belief
    in ways which seem so impossible to believe.
Help us to look in faith, open our belief, and set aside our doubts
    that you sent your Son, born of a virgin –
        the one who has come to set us all free.
We offer these prayers in the name of your Son,
Emmanuel, God with us.  
Amen.

Jan Brooks, Presbyterian Pastor in Kansas
_______________________________  

Luke 1:26-29
 
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 
    to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, 
    a descendant of David. 
The virgin’s name was Mary. 
The angel went to her and said, 
    “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words 
    and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 
 
___________________________________
 
What part of the Christmas story is the most difficult for you to believe?
Share this with God, and perhaps a trusted friend.

Continue reading →

Spirit, breathe your story of truth into ours

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image by Geralt via Pixabay
 
Truth-telling, wind-blowing, life-giving spirit –
    we present ourselves now
        for our instruction and guidance;
    breathe your truth among us,
        breathe your truth of deep Friday loss,
            your truth of awesome Sunday joy.
 
Breath your story of death and life
    that our story may be submitted to your will for life.
We pray in the name of Jesus risen to new life –
        and him crucified.
 
Walter Brueggemann, 1933 -2025,  American Protestant Old Testament theologian
Prayers for a Privileged People
 
________________________________
 
 
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. 
He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, 
    and he will tell you what is yet to come. 
He will glorify me because it is from me
    that he will receive what he will make known to you. 
All that belongs to the Father is mine. 
That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.
 

Continue reading →

Prayer at Election Time

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash  

 
Heavenly Father
source of all truth and wisdom, 
who knows and loves the whole creation,
watch over our nation at election time:
that truth may prevail over distortion,
wisdom triumph over recklessness
and the concerns of every person be heard.

Lord Jesus,
who chose the way of the cross in the Garden of Gethsemane,
help us to turn our backs on self interest
and to support policies that sustain the poor, 
the vulnerable and the frightened people of this world.

Holy Spirit,
who brought understanding
among myriad peoples and languages at Pentecost,
give to all your people a passion for peace
and inspire us to work for unity and cooperation throughout the world 
and in our political life together.

Lord, we give thanks for the privileges and responsibilities 
of living in a democratic society.
Give us wisdom to play our part at election time,
that through the exercise of each vote, 
your Kingdom may come closer.

Protect us from the sins of despair and cynicism, 
guard us against the idols of false utopias 
and strengthen us to make politics a noble calling 
that serves the common good of all.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
 
Unboxed Worship, Box Hill Baptist Church, Australia
 
___________________________
 
 
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings
be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions,
that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Continue reading →

a prayer for freedom

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image by Zulmaury Saavedra via unsplash
 
Dear God,
 
I used to think that freedom meant I could do anything 
    or have anything I wanted.
That just made me a slave to my own desires.
Soon I found myself trapped 
    in destructive habits, hurtful relationships and even powerful addictions.
That is not freedom. That’s bondage.
 
When I learned about Jesus, I saw the truth:
I am a needy person who needs a merciful God.
Only you provide what I’m looking for.
Only you can provide that path to freedom.
Thank you for teaching me that freedom is found 
    in living a life consistent with truth,
    in a way that keeps my heart, mind, body, and soul all free.
True freedom comes when the reality of your holiness
    overpowers my sinful inclinations
    and fills my life with the fullness of your liberating love.
 
Ronald Beers, Chief Publishing Officer for Tyndale
_______________________
 
 
But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, 
  so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

Continue reading →

Jesus, touch our eyes

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Andrey Mironov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 
Lord Jesus, touch our eyes,
    as you did those of the blind;
then we shall see
    in things that are visible
    those things which are invisible.

Lord Jesus, open our ears,
     heal our wounds and purify our lives,
     as you did those who came to you;
then we shall hear and perceive what is true
     amidst the sounds of the world,
     and find wholeness in ourselves.

after Origen, 185—254, Alexandrian Theologian
 
_______________________________
 
 
They came to Bethsaida, 
    and some people brought a blind man 
    and begged Jesus to touch him. 
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. 
When he had spit on the man’s eyes 
    and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, 
    “Do you see anything?”
He looked up and said, 
    “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. 
Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, 
    and he saw everything clearly.
 

Continue reading →

have mercy and cleanse me

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
photo by Zeynep Yilmaz via pexels
 
 
Have mercy on me, O life-giver, through your goodness.
In your great tenderness soothe away my faults.
Cleanse me of my guilt,
    do not hold my failures against me.
For I have come to see that I fail you,
    when I have not acknowledged with my whole being
    that I am made truly in your image;
    in not walking in your ways I have sinned against you.
You are love and truth itself
    and seek sincerity of heart;
  teach me the secrets of wisdom.
Cleanse me from all that prevents me
    from listening to your word.
 
Ianthe Pratt, organizer of Catholic women’s activities in London
____________________________
 
 
Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Continue reading →

Spirit of the Lord, we need you

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image via pxhere CCO
 
 
Spirit, we know that we have done wrong by You.  
Please forgive us for grieving, resisting, and quenching You.  
We have resisted You through sin, through our rebellion, and through our hardness of heart.  
At times, we have been spiritually blind.  
At other times, we knew what You wanted us to do, 
    but we chose to ignore Your promptings.
Yet this is not how we want to live now
 
We need You to change us.  
Only through You can we truly worship.  
Spirit of the Lord, You are the one who brings us to a place where we can worship.  
You are the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of life. 
Thank You for the truth, the holiness and the life You give us.
 
We need Your wisdom and understanding as we seek to live this life.  
Keep us from disbelief, from fear.  
We need Your strength to help us do what you are asking us to do
    and to live how You are asking us to live.  
Speak loudly and drown out the other voices calling us 
    to conform to the patterns of this world.
 
You are the Spirit of self-control and love.  
Give us the self-control needed to deny our flesh and follow You.  
Give us a love strong enough to motivate courageous action.  
Manifest Yourself through us that we may serve and love Your bride the church, as You do.
 
Come, Holy Spirit, come.  
We don’t know exactly what that means and looks like for each of us yet, 
    in the particular places You’ve called us to inhabit.  
But, nonetheless, whatever it means, we ask for Your presence.  
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
 
Francis Chan, 1967- , American pastor and author
from Forgotten God, pg 165-166
 
_______________________________

1 Corinthians 3:16

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
 

Continue reading →

how do I worship in spirit?

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image / pixabay
 
O God, what is Spirit?
How do I worship in spirit and in truth?
I am such a solid, earthly creature,
    my feet planted firmly on the ground,
    my life based upon material things.
I like to touch and feel and see before I believe.
I am accustomed to dealing with houses, land, and money,
    with bread, meat and potatoes,
    with objects handled, weighed, and valued
    by my own standards.
I am uncomfortable with what cannot be analyzed
    or dissected or given a market value.
What is Spirit?
 
Yet, O Lord, the very things I handle and see
    lose meaning when they become ends in themselves.
They are all given meaning by the things of the spirit,
    by love and hope and faith.
I know when I come down to it,
    if I have all kinds of earthly goods
         and have not love,
    I have nothing.
I need the mystery beyond the tangible.
I need the things of the spirit
    to give meaning to the material things I prize.
I cannot divide life up,
    you have made it whole.
If I avoid love, diminish hope, deny faith,
    my appreciation of my house and land,
    my meat and potatoes, shrinks,
And I become a little man
     with little aims and little power.
 
Kenneth Phifer
 
————————————
 
 
But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—
when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. 
The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 
For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
 

Continue reading →

O wondrous power of the cross!

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Bonnat Crucifixion Detail / sdalry / Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0
 
O wondrous power of the cross!
O unspeakable glory of the passion 
    which became the Lord’s tribunal, the world’s judgment, 
    and the power of the Crucified!
From Your cross You draw all things to Yourself, O Lord!
When You stretched out Your hands to an unbelieving people that mocked You,
    the whole world was finally brought to confess Your majesty. . . .
In this way type gave way to truth, prophecy to revelation,
    the ancient law to the gospel.
You drew all things to Yourself, Lord, 
    so that what previously was performed 
         in the one temple of the Jews in mystic signs
    is now celebrated everywhere by holy men
         in every country in revealing rites. . . .
Your cross is the font of all blessings, the source of all graces,
    and through it the believers receive strength in return for weakness,
    glory in return for shame, life in return for death.
 
Pope Leo the Great, c.400-461, influenced the Chalcedonian Creed and Attila the Hun
 
________________________
 
 
 
So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.  So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

Continue reading →

prayer for our leaders

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay   
 
Lord God, in our prayers for our country
we remember especially the men and women 
who powerfully influence the life of society:
    those who fashion our politics,
    those who frame and administer our laws,
    those who mold public opinion through various forms of media,
    those who write what many read.
May all such recognize their responsibility to you and to the nation, 
    that people may be influenced for what is good, not evil;
    for what is true, not false;
for the glory of your name,
 
Frank Colquhoun,1909-1997, evangelical priest and author, Church of England
 
______________________
 
 
Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
    and princes will rule in justice.
Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,
    a shelter from the storm,
  like streams of water in a dry place,
    like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
    and the ears of those who hear will give attention.
The heart of the hasty will understand and know,
    and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.
The fool will no more be called noble,
    nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.
For the fool speaks folly,
    and his heart is busy with iniquity,
  to practice ungodliness,
    to utter error concerning the Lord,
  to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,
    and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
As for the scoundrel—his devices are evil;
    he plans wicked schemes
  to ruin the poor with lying words,
    even when the plea of the needy is right.
But he who is noble plans noble things,
    and on noble things he stands.

Continue reading →