Prayers

"Father, settle my heart so I can hear your Spirit, and settle my pride so I can follow your servants..."

"Be at peace, O my soul, with the blessings the Lord HAS given you, and do not fret about the ones He hasn't yet..."

I haven’t looked at the sky all day. Focused so much on my busyness and the mechanics of my own problems, I forget to focus on what really matters… Looking up. Drinking in the beauty of God’s world around me. Enjoying life by the moment, by the drop. Lord, help me live carefully, but no so held back that I miss life itself. Help me simply enjoy the people I’m with, without over-thinking or rushing to move on. Help me keep my eyes looking up, to You.

O my soul, beware the dark machines of human reason. They are so helpful when under our control, but if we let go our hand and attention they will soon switch places with us and we will be enslaved, our souls and spirits made prisoners to their iron gears. Reason is our tool; let it not become our task master. Used well it can help set us free, but given the reigns it can place us in a subtle bondage from which escape comes only at great cost. O my soul be wise and reasonable, but be free, and do not serve the machines.

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner. You call me first to abide IN You, not work FOR You. You teach me that service is an outflow, not an engine; a result, not a cause. Forgive me for looking at my life and the lives of others through the lenses of achievement rather than communion. I have set my tasks and accomplishments on the balance scale opposite the rest of the world and judged myself according to which way it tips, but You, Lord, do not measure my worth with the same weights. You place in my corner the weight of the cross, and that love is heavier than all the achievements and accolades ever done by the sons of men. You place in my corner the blood of Christ, and that gift is far weightier than any acceptance I could hope to earn. THANK YOU. Lord, let me...

Lord, thank you for overwhelming me with the power and beauty of your presence. You move me to tears and silence when your Spirit touches mine. The closer you approach across the vastness of your eternity, the smaller I feel. I tremble in spirit at the thought of your majesty, but my heart is giddy to think of your gracious love. You are my song and my guiding star. You, O Jesus, are indeed my light and my salvation, and the joy you share with me is like none other I’ve ever known. Thank you, Adonai, Abba.