Let us begin our day with a song: The Deer’s Cry
Loving God, help me be aware of you at each moment. I invite Jesus, my brother and friend, to walk with me through this day. Open my eyes and heart to see you and your beauty in all that surrounds and fills my day.
We invite you to ponder these verses of Psalm 63 from Nan Merrill’s Psalms for Praying:
O Love, You are my Beloved, and
I long for You,
my soul thirsts for You;
all that is within me thirsts,
as in a dry and barren land
with no water.
So I have called out to You in
my heart,
sensing your power and glory.
because your steadfast love is
life to me,
my lips will praise You.
I would radiate your love as long
as I live, becoming a blessing to others
in gratitude to You.
In gratitude, we invite you to sit with the request of Jesus’ disciples as they make a request of him.
Luke 11:1-4, 9-10
He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
And forgive us our sins
For we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
And do not subject us to the final test.”
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Words help us to pray. Scripture is one way to deepen our relationship with God. God’s creative spirit, however, invites us to be open to all: to beauty, images, words and silence. You are invited to rest a few minutes in these words by Mary Oliver:
Praying
It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.
-Mary Oliver
What are you being invited to this day?
How can words and beauty open the doorway to a love relationship with God?
How will you and God spend this day together?
Let us pray…
Gentle Jesus, you taught your disciples to pray. You have invited me into this journey with you. You know my longing to know, love and serve you more deeply. Help me to see all you, God the Creator, and the Spirit have made just for ME. You love me more deeply than I can ever imagine. As St. Augustine said, “God loves us as if there were only one of us.” Let us rest in that truth this day.
You are invited to close your prayer with this song by Carrie Newcomer as you lean into God this day.