MorningPrayer

Loving Shepherd,     When our actions harm and our words wound, bring us into the fold of your presence and soothe our nerves and calm our fears.  Help those who have felt the sting of our rebuke to heal and find their peace.  Forgive us, O Lord, for our sins and mold us anew in your love and vision. Give us the discernment of clear seeing and thinking and nurture us in the waters of your mercy and the bread of your loving kindness. May Jesus give us the peace of now and forevermore. AMEN

Dear God,    Our prayer is one of brokenness and longing.  The world is fractured and humanity lies bleeding.  We truly do need a savior.  We cannot do it by ourselves; our very humanness prevents us.  Our ego, pride, arrogance and unknowing prevents us from healing.  Yes, we are amazing in our technology and our art but in our relationships and ideology we need help, O God.   This Christmas we place ourselves in the nativity of your mercy and the manger of your healing love. AMEN

Dear God,      As we journey closer and closer to the nativity of new life, may the star of faith that guides us be the clarifying light of wisdom and personal evaluation. Help us, God, to see ourselves in the light of your grace and perceive the world around us with intelligence, humor and insight. With every step, might we be emptied of a past of dis-ease and filled with the mystery of new hope and wellness in you. AMEN

Dear God,      We are people who need to live in hope.  Even in the face of loss, fear or despair, we need to believe that our life matters and that circumstances can improve. In you, God, lies our hope.  You are the energy of the universe that lifts us up in your image and does not give way to despair but believes by faith that we can triumph.  Keep us alive in your vision and your faith in us to persevere.  Like the Holy family at Christmas, we will make our journey without knowing the conclusion but believing in your mercy and love. AMEN

Holy Lord,      Gentle is the hush of morning; smelling of flute music and purring violins. In the sanctuary of your pink sunrise might we know peace and harmony. Empty of us of soot and creosote and create of us, hollow vessels that receive your love and are filled with your grace. Flow into us and through us, O God, and saturate us in your Holiness and blaze new paths of mystery in our own spirit. May we leap high from the ground and become one with you in the wonder of Jesus birth. AMEN

Good Morning, a personal prayer.  My mother's husband, Stan Stultz died last evening. Dear God,     In your Holiness and love, we lift up our hearts in prayer.  The line between life and death is thin and we, your people, are fragile  In sadness and loss many feel alone in this moment and fearful of the future.   Embrace us in your loving grace and enfold us with angel wings of infinite compassion and melodies of sweet eternal life. May the gift of Christmas lodge in all of our hearts and the Christ child be the gift of hope and joy now and forevermore. AMEN

Dear God,     The frozen sun has dragged the morning into afternoon.  The shadows are heavy on the ground but crisp and fresh is the air.  In the warmth of our caves we sniff the baking bread and watch the fires glow in the stove. If the serenity in the home could slide like shadows across the ground and coast in the crisp air, then surely, peace would be on earth and humanity would tremble in the joy of life, love and a God of wonder and grace.  And then, free from greed and hate filled ideology we could be one. We pray that it might be so. AMEN