prayer

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The Year of the Whale

whale tail1
“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” (Jonah 1:1-3)
Sometimes, Jonah is the story of our lives. We know what we are supposed to do, we know what is required, but somehow, we just can’t see our way to it. We run, heading off in the opposite direction, believing we can flee from it. But fleeing doesn’t necessarily involve going somewhere else. We can flee and never leave the comfort of home, because ignoring something, neglecting it or procrastinating is also a form of escape, a mental one. When we focus on anything and everything, but what we know we are called to do, we are just as guilty of fleeing from God as Jonah was, only without having to pack any bags or pay a fare.

Whether it’s physically or mentally, usually running away doesn’t turn out so well. Sooner or later, our actions cause the people around us anguish, putting them in distress for our sake, while we slumber through the storm, until we are roused from our stupor, are tossed into the raging waters, and find ourselves in the belly of a beast.

At times, we have to get to the very end of our rope, before we even consider that we may have made the wrong move, and in those times, we usually have to crash into the tumultuous seas of consequence, before we look up, before we remember God.

So what can we do, then, from the depths of our denial? Jonah’s answer was prayer. He prayed for forgiveness, for mercy, for repentance and thanksgiving, promising to turn back, to remember God and to make amends by saying, “what I have vowed, I will pay,” because the thought of being banished from the sight of the Lord, was scarier than setting out to do His will.

Jonah knew that submitting to God’s will is a hard task, costing us everything, and on occasion, even our very will to live. Maybe that is why we resist, because it doesn’t turn out to be what we hoped or longed for, what we expected for our lives, but is exactly what we knew He would do, what we expected of Him.

No matter how far we run, or how many times, the Lord, in his mercy pursues us with His abounding love and grace. He patiently waits for us to turn, to realize how fully we live when we submit to His ways, reeling us back into his presence with arms wide open.

And for his mercy, I am grateful beyond words. Praise God.
~SLM

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A Grateful Heart: My Prayer

Gratitude is on my mind today. I’ve been wondering why we find it so hard to just be thankful. When did gratitude go out of style, become so uncool? Every day we are so “ate up” with what we think is wrong in our lives, with what we think is insulting or offensive, that we can’t see past the negatives to the abundance of positives.

We obscure our lives with so much wanting, confusing desire with need, that sometimes, it seems, we forget this uncomplicated truth: “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” We live in a time that is unprecedented in all of recorded history. We literally have almost anything we desire at our fingertips, at any given moment, and while there seems to be great disparity between those who “have” and those who “have not,” even the poorest among us still enjoy a standard of living greater than all but a handful of other countries.

We are blessed, more than any other people at any other time, and the simple act of counting your blessings makes all the difference in the world to your attitude about life, turning your attention away from the “don’t” haves and toward the “do” haves. Even on our worst days, when we we’ve gotten a rotten diagnosis, or we don’t know how we’re ever going make it another day, we still have more than we came with. We can still “count it all joy, when we meet trials of various kinds, for we know that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness,  letting steadfastness have its full effect, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  And, we can still “give thanks in everything: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us.”

So, here’s a prayer for a grateful heart:

Instill in me a grateful heart that I may know Your ways and live by them. That I may be thankful for all Your gifts, even when those gifts appear to me as trials, for it is through adversity that You draw me nearest to You, that You teach me of Your faithfulness and love, that You show me the meaning of perseverance, of trust, of faith.

Instill in me a grateful heart that I may see humanity through Your eyes. That I may be thankful for Your love, Your compassion, even when that love feels miles away and I cannot see it, knowing that each person I see faces the same fears, insecurities, and battles as I, for it is Your love which connects us all, which teaches us of hope, of tolerance, of compassion.

Instill in me and grateful heart that I may walk with you in love and joy. That I may be thankful for the tranquility of Your presence, even when I’m surrounded by chaos, and strife is the theme of the day, trusting that Your yoke is easy, that Your guidance will see me through, that I may find solace with a prayer on my lips and peace in my heart.

Amen

~ SLM

1 Timothy 6:7, James 1:2-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:18

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December Prayer 2014

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the beauty of the Holiday Season, for the love and support of family, for the opportunity to reach out to the “least of these,” to live as you would have us, loving our neighbor as you have loved us, understanding that all we have we owe to You, for we come into this world with nothing, and that is also how we will all surely leave.

Keep us safe from the snares and pitfalls of our own inflated egos, which trap us in endless cycles of false hope and self-importance, filling us with grandiose thoughts of our own greatness, or desperate feelings of worthlessness and despair. Fill us, instead, with Your mighty Light, the Light of the World, whom You lovingly gave to us that we might live in Your presence, might recognize Your awesome grace, might know Your love, Your joy, Your peace.  Amen

~SLM

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A Prayer for All Saints Day

Heavenly Father,
How desperately we need your guidance in our lives, a rebirth in our thinking, a renewal of our minds. In our way of thinking, overcoming a life a threatening situation means staying alive, but in Your way of thinking, it sometimes means surrendering this life to the next. Your will be done, dear Lord, not ours! Give us the strength and dignity to endure, filling us with peace and serenity so we may bring glory and honor to Your holy name. Amen
~SLM

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A Prayer for the New Year 2014

Finally, after all the “busy-work” of the Holiday Season, a moment of peace and contemplation – ahh! I have missed my quiet time of reflection and have resolved to be more disciplined about it. This is the first fruit, the rebirth of sanity for the new year, expressed in a simple prayer.

Heavenly Father,

All praise and honor belong to you for there is no other like you, none who compare to you. You know my heart, dear Lord, my sorrows and joys, my triumphs and troubles; all that I am is laid bare unto you. Send me your Word, your Wisdom, a guiding light in the darkness, for you are the rock upon which I have built my life.  Give me toleration for the weaknesses of my brothers and sisters, and remind me that I, too, am far less than perfect. Keep my eyes fixed upon your example, your consequence,  steering my every step to Your greater purpose, filling my heart with the tranquility of your presence, the comfort of your love that I may show others peace and encouragement in your name.

Amen.

SLM

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A Prayer for Love

As if my year-long (and I suspect much longer) commitment to Proverbs wasn’t enough, I’ve recently begun an additional study of Deuteronomy, and this prayer was on my heart this morning…

Heavenly Father, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, fill my heart Your loving presence. Give me ears to hear and eyes to see that I may live in Your commandment, loving you with all my heart, all my soul and all my might. Bind Your love upon my heart so that I may conscientiously talk of it when I sit in my house, when I walk by the way, when I lie down and when I rise up, diligently showing Your love to those I meet through word and deed.  Amen.

~SLM

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Proverbs 9 Prayer

Heavenly Father, blessed possessor of eternal wisdom, show me how to be wise to truth. Set my feet on the path that You have chosen, and fortify me with Your discipline that I may recognize foolishness in all its guises. Fill my heart with Your love and graciousness that I may eat from your banquet table, growing more like You with each day, and dwelling in the fullness of Your rich presence. Amen.

 

~SLM

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Proverbs 8: A Prayer for Guidance

Heavenly father, your love and guidance amaze me. Thank you for the wonders of your Wisdom which is ever present, ever patient, waiting in plain sight for us to simply take note. Bless my eyes, dear God that I may see; see your hand in everything, no matter how great or small, and no matter how joyous or painful. Bless my ears, oh Lord that I may hear; hear your loving voice in every situation, no matter how difficult or harmonious, and when I have lost my way, fill my heart with your gracious Wisdom that through Wisdom’s presence, I may truly live.

Amen.

~SLM

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Proverbs 7 A Prayer Against Temptation

Heavenly Father, creator of the seeds of wisdom, root your word in my heart that I may grow in truth and light.  Lead me away from the enticements of the temptress, and keep me safe from her carefully placed snares.  Help me to keep company with your wisdom as I would a sister or a trusted friend, and show me Your will that I may know Your way. Amen

~SLM

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Proberbs 6 A Prayer for Wisdom

Lord, in your wisdom, you call your people to purity; you know my heart, what influences me, forgive the times when sin, not your grace and spirit, have motivated me. Take my hands, my feet, and my words; use them for your good purposes. Give me the wisdom to walk away from temptation, to weigh the consequences and count the costs of my actions, to overcome it.  Help me to know the peace that comes with the wisdom which is rooted in your word.  Amen.

~SLM