Prayer & Praise
You watcher of men,
You monitor of women,
You supervisor of boys and girls,
You who watch and know and observe,
You are the one from whom no secret can be hid.
You know when we sit down and when we rise up,
You know when we go out and when we come in,
You know our great trust in you and our gratitude toward you.
But you also know our anxiety before you,
our need to hide,
our readiness to deceive.
Yet, you are ‘the One from whom no secret can be hid”.
So we pray that we maybe “full of truth” even as you are “full of grace and truth”;
We pray for freedom to tell you the full truth of our life:
Our hopes that are too large to imagine,
Our fears that are too deep to manage,
Our hates that are too hot to act upon,
Our loneliness that is too heavy to bear,
Our resentments that eat at us,
Our doubts that you care or will care enough.
Make us truth-tellers that we may move beyond our endless circles of deception and self-deception …
plain enough to address you,
simple enough “to will one thing”,
honest enough to utter and move on having sounded ourselves fully to you.
Amen.
Walter Brueggemann;Anna Carter Florence. Inscribing the Text: Sermons and Prayers of Walter Brueggemann . Kindle Edition.
In the past couple of years, I have found great solace and comfort from The Lord’s Prayer. Being reminded of His majesty, His greatness, being reminded to forgive and receive forgiveness, being reminded to look forward to His promises that His kingdom will come and He will make all things right, and until that day, praying “Thy will be done…..” covers so many circumstances, trials, questions, anxieties, and on and on.
Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.
So very thankful to be home again…almost 3000 miles total in our roadtrip. We made it home last night at 7pm, made it to church this morning and dropped my brother off at the airport an hour after the service. He was so awesome to drive us home so Steve could come home a week early to work on the job hunt (his job may be coming to an end in the coming months).
Thankful for an uneventful road trip and a chance for my kids to hang out with my brothers. It was a good trip…I had a chance to relieve the crew there and care for mom for awhile and it always makes me mindful of the load they carry daily.
You know what, I think we should all pray for both the Zimmerman and the Martin families, regardless of our own personal preference for an outcome.
I will keep Steve on the prayer list for a job.
Dusty, our wonderful friend of so many years needs our prayers right now…please remember her in prayer if you remember her service here.
Before my time, but I went ahead and prayed.
Praying for Dusty.
Derek,
You would have loved her…everyone did.
Thank you, jlo.
Praying for Dusty.
Derek…thanks for prayers for Steve. He has a job at the moment, but the end is pretty likely. Probably not before the end of the year though.
Praying for our Dusty today and every day this week.
Praying for a job for Michael, for Papias, for Steve and anyone else out there in PP land that is unemployed or underemployed. As Xenia says, Lord have mercy. Hear our cries.
And yes, Derek…praying for both families. A sad tragedy either way you look at it.
Amen, Linnea. Lord graciously hear us.
Just got word today that a sister in the Lord lost her 16 year old son to suicide. She lost her older son5 years ago in a drowning accident and her marriage before that. Please pray for Ginnie, that the Lord would sustain her and surround her with those who love her.
Praying for Ginnie.
I could use some prayer myself. Tomorrow is my Bday, which a year ago my husband totally forgot. When I confronted him on it two days later he moved out.
I’m in a really good place now, just not sure what emotions will be stirred.
Thanks jlo. Praying for you tonight and tomorrow. Happy Birthday– praying The Lord would bring something special your way tomorrow.
Thanks, Linnea. He brings me something special everyday.
Oh, Linnea…I have been offline mostly the last couple days and just caught up on here. So very sorry for your sister in the Lord…for Ginnie. How incredibly tough. Praying for her now, and for those who uphold her.
Praying for you as well, Jlo…praying for your day to be filled with grace and as Linnea said for something special. My friend Gianna often ends her day on FaceBook by reminding us, all of her friends, that we are not forgotten…sometimes it is a reminder that is reminiscent of a pat on the head.
Sometimes, though, it is that pierce to the heart that we need to hear.
We are not forgotten.
In the midst of the turmoil of the world. In the midst of the great pains and the tragedies and the terrors and the fires and the trials and the wars…the “little” pains of our hearts and the fears and the worries that seem small in comparison, and yet which make the tears come and make us feel so small…those are not overlooked.
We need to recognize the great and true trials around us and the immense suffering that some are facing, and yet we also need to recognize that sometimes just making it through the day in the midst of a wounded people takes great courage. Sometimes being forgotten on your birthday cuts to the quick and makes us feel forgotten…but we are not. You are not.
And we will be thinking of you tomorrow…and praying for you. And hoping that God will be expressing His delight in you…and ours…in ways that are tangible and delightful. Happy Birthday, Jlo…
Watched this tonight and it feels like it goes here.
Louie Schwartzberg: Nature. Beauty. Gratitude.
Link didn’t work
http://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude.html
Praying for Dusty and hoping the best for her.
Linnea, There are some things that I will never understand. My heart goes out to Ginnie and I pray God would sustain her through such a difficult time.
My brother learned today he has prostate cancer. Evidently it isn’t life threatening and they will come up with and implement a strategy for dealing with it in six weeks. His wife is a year removed from breast cancer.
Thank you for those who prayed today. I had a peaceful day, blessedly so.
jlo…I’m so glad you had a peaceful day…blessings to you 🙂
erunner…praying for your brother and his wife. I’m sure they feel like they’re under assault.
Sarah…forgot to thank you for your faithful and very thoughtful prayers 🙂