MorningPrayer

Dear God,      Sometimes we want to redo, remake, push the back space key, the delete key, pause, shift enter and do page down. Or sometimes we want to fast forward, page up, go home, or push airplane and mute and block it all out. But then again, God, we don't want to miss out on life and joy and opportunity. We want to be positive and optimistic and be open to challenge, change, transformation and new beginnings. May the depth of our experience be matched with the depth of our heart and mind to receive, process and deliver. Within the well of your Spirit, might we find the waters of eternal grace. AMEN

Dear God,    Still praying.  Still have a lot of things on our minds and in our hearts.  Concerns, sorrows, anxieties and pain, still there, but in our prayer, they are doable.  Prayer keeps us going. Finding our way through the wilderness.  Joys, thanksgiving, gratitude, smiles, love laughter and wonder, still there.  Amazing life, this.  And today, we begin a four week journey to Bethlehem, the birth, of course, of Jesus.  It is a prayerful time as the Holy family travels through the dirt and dissent of their life into a night of wonder and mystery.  Let's travel in prayer, shall we? AMEN

Dear God,     For many of us, this is a day of food, family, friends, gratitude, thanksgiving, story telling and joy.  We are grateful for the blessings and the good fortune that we have.  Truly, life is a blessing and a precious treasure.  Thank you God.  But, we are also painfully aware that many are not so joyful, having suffered losses or not having  the blessings of food and family that we have. We are prayerful for those who weep.  May they know your peace and abundance of mercy.  May all of us be aware of our blessings and the gifts we have.  In Jesus name we pray. AMEN

Dear God,       In the long list of "things to do",  may we add, taking a moment and being in silent prayer with you. May we breathe the refreshing breath of gentle presence and peace.  And then, God, as we chip away at our list, may we say a prayer of gratitude after each success. May we be centered in the priority of acknowledging your grace and peace. May no task be too small or too large that you are not at the center of our doing and being. AMEN

Holy Lord,     In the early morning silence of the sanctuary,        we are still, allowing the light of presence to enter in and fill us full.    May your peace be ours, O God.      May we pause long enough to seek out the sacred and become one with the Holy.      May deep inner joy become one with the awe of praise and serenity. AMEN

Dear God,    Help us to live in trust and not fear.  May our guiding principle be the ministry of Jesus who saw with his heart, gave of his mind and lived in compassion.  May we live out the principles of the Holy Spirit, breathing the breath of love and extending the helping hand of grace.  May we open our ears to the cries of the needy and lost, and out of our comfort, offer the best of who we might yet be.  In Jesus name we pray. AMEN

Dear God,     We live our lives in trust, faith in you, God, to be our guiding principle and our light of being.  You hold our minds and hearts in the palm of your hand, we are your creation and we breathe mud and stars. There is no other God before you or in front of you. On the platform of earth we have been placed, for what purpose you know and we must discover. In awe and praise we wind our way through the maze, knowing you are watching us and sharing with us the vision of eternity.   In the Holy Spirit we move in belief and grace. AMEN

Dear God,       It seems so clear to us; find a personal belief to cling to that gives us hope and life, treat others with respect and don't force our views on others.We embrace Christianity and a healing, saving  redeemer.  We commend it but don't force others to embrace it.          It seems so clear to us; live our life style as best we can, but don't force others to live it.  Others might not like what we live, but then we aren't forcing others to live our life style.  Find the one that suits you and do no harm, we suggest.        Is this asking to much for humanity, God, given that we are diverse and have freedom of thought. We are certainly a fallen species that needs constant learning and redemption.  We need the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.  We pray for humanity and our earth, God. Hold us, tight and help us. AMEN

Lord,     If we are tired and weary and we see dark and dim,            open our eyes to the light of the day.     Blaze a star across the sky and brand our mind with a cross of hope.     Thrust into the new dawn our captured selves awake with new vision.     Alive in the shadows flitting before the light, boldly we announce a new day of being. AMEN

Dear God, Sometimes the moments of our past stand like strong trees in the forest, vibrant and healthy, shedding old growth and growing towards maturity and inner wisdom. Sometimes we are like wispy clouds, shredded by the winds of fate and negative self reflection. It would be helpful, God, if you would be the ground of our growing, the sky of our experience and the mirror of our developing self. In humility and thankfulness we pray, AMEN -

Dear God,     Many of our beliefs and much of our life is based upon those who have gone before us; the saints in our life, the elders, the reformers and transformers, the martyrs and originators.  Lord, if they could talk to us now from the vantage point of distance and time, what would they say?  How would they instruct us? How would they care for us, laugh with us and cry with us.  Would they  suggest a different position and and ask us to change and reform?  Would they remind us of beauty  in our world and the harmony of love and caring.  Help us to listen carefully and honestly and find our way to the horizon of the future through the mystery of the past. AMEN

Dear God,     Once again our world has experienced the hatred and death of terrorism. In deepest prayer we turn to you for consolation and mercy.  Be with those who are suffering. Help our world in its anguished efforts to coexist with different ideologies, religions and beliefs.  Must humanity forever struggle with itself or is there an avenue for peaceful living or is escalation of violence the only way? Help us, God. AMEN

Lord God,    Protect us from evil, the shadows that devour and the storm that consumes. But if we can't be protected and completely safe, then prepare us for what might come. But if we can't be prepared, then hear our prayers of distress and save us. But if we can't pray because we are over whelmed then embrace us and carry us to safety. In Jesus name, we pray. AMEN

Creator God,    If the day tumbles like laundry on the clothesline,       flapping and dancing to the whim of the wind and the billowing  jet stream,  help us to choose the graceful arch,       the rhythmic dance,          the free floating cascade of inner strength and  purposeful direction.   We choose to be responsive and not reactive.   In your vision, O God,         we choose to be reflective and be guided by the meditation of prayer and the attitude of choice. In the freedom of the given moment and the gift of life,        we choose your presence of God as our guiding force.  AMEN

Dear God,     In the rising mists our visions are revealed and our horizon knows no limitations.  May we dream our way into the future and catapult through space on the breath of dawn and soar like the angels in planetary flight?  May we sing the ecstatic song of the eons and explode into dance like bursting stars and solar systems given birth? May our shadows flit and fly like Peter Pan as we light up the sky in our blazing. May we be so bold as to leap off the face of the earth in joy even as we kneel in the humus of praise. Our Lord and God, we murmur... AMEN

Dear God,      Today, may we be utilized as a vehicle of healing and saving light.        May we be filled with your love as a vessel is filled with flowing waters of the spirit.        May we overflow and never be emptied.       May we go forth, vessels propelled by the Holy Spirit,            as angel messengers and cosmic tubes of your grace.       If there be any in need that we meet today,            might we disappear and only your life giving heart be seen and known.  In Jesus name we pray. AMEN

Dear God,      Sometimes we need more patience because little things irritate and bother.  We know they shouldn't but, for some reason they just get under our skin and itch and itch and we get nasty and bite back. Do you have an ointment or a pill for this? Or a quick fix of attitude or a bit of sunlight or a moonbeam? Or maybe a "Patience Prayer", that will help? Perhaps, a prayer to stop, be still, give thanks, receive joy, live in peace and accept grace.  Perhaps...Thank You God, AMEN

Holy God,     You speak to us in voices extraordinaire; the rays of the sun, the singing of the birds, the dance of the toddler, the creased smiles of an aged one, the hush of the morning light...there are numerous ways we see and know your Spirit and connect to your love. We just need to be alive to the breath of your presence.  Help us to be open and awake to you and the Spirit that flow around us like wind. For, surely, the presence of the Lord is  in this place... AMEN

Thank you God, f or days of work, effort and challenge.  May we be mindful of the passing moments even in the midst of the most mundane tasks. In the quiet  simplicity  of our work may we experience the genuine  peace of gentle accomplishments. Imagine the brush of angels wings and the breath of God, saying yes. AMEN

Dear God,   Isn't it funny that fall as a time of decay and rot is also a season of beauty and wonder. It is, like old age a time of elegance and wisdom.  Life is ever changing in rhythms ancient and cycles predictable and yet each unique and mysterious.  We pray that the passing days like old leaves on the forest floor and vine worn vegetables may add to the humus of our wisdom and profound understanding of life.  In the quiet depths of earth and sky may we find peace. AMEN

Dear God,     There is a time for sitting quietly in a chair or a church pew or a car seat and being still; no music, no thought, no doing.  We fill our minds with activity and noise and run the maze of doing and forget about being. We mistake emotion for thought and passion for commitment.  Just as we love you with all our heart and soul, so we desire your love for us.  Hold us like a bird ready to fly and give us room to soar in the energy of faith. Then in knowledge and wisdom may we fly in grace. AMEN 

Dear God,      In our search for meaning, we always arrive at love, that deep love that captures our brain of purpose and wholeness and resides in our soul. In that love is our hope for life.  May we be perfected in our love for you and as we love our self may we love others.  In that love may we be set free from despair and live in the eternity of the Christ promise. AMEN