Category: Morning Prayer

“Dear God, just because we can, it doesn’t mean we have the wisdom to know what we should (be or do). The choices being made by the individual human beings today are fraught with misguided motives, based on distorted information, heading toward questionable ends. In other words, as a human race, we are pretty messed up.

And political correctness isn’t helping the situation. Seems like we’ve lost the wisdom of the ages and are foolishly writing our own rules for life, faith, and justice. O.K. I am a little pessimistic that we’ll reconcile the mess we are in as a nation, being nearly equally divided between social justice and individual responsibility.

What does ‘numbering my days aright’ (Moses, Psalm 90:12) look like? How do I do it? How do I help my clients do it? How do I help my family and friends do it? How is it done? When I was in my youth, I was certain I’d do it (living) right. In my prime of life I gave it (life) my best shot. Now at seventy-two, I’m less sure of many things, and more sure of some things. Maybe that’s why I resonate with Psalm 90.

I’m sure that You are the ‘ Eternal Thou’ and we are the ‘feeble now.’ That Your Word is Sacred. That death is Your final ‘no’ to our getting our own way. That Your mercy is in proportion to Your wrath. And in Jesus Christ is forgiveness, restoration, and resurrection.

May I ‘number my days’ in light of these things I’m sure of. My ‘calling’ (my blessing) is to help individual men and women flourish in community, especially within the context of the Body of Christ, the Church. Help me count each of my remaining days as having been faithful to my ‘calling.’ And may it also be true for those whose lives I touch, especially including my clients, family, and friends. In Jesus. Amen.

Last night I could not light the fireplace, but a simple two-wick candle created a warm glow in the darkness. Symbolically, may that be said of all of us.

“Dear God, I saw the movie, ‘The Shack’ last night. It attempts to depict You and MacKenzie dealing with the murder of his daughter Missy.

It speaks to a number of questions humans have about You. Some are trivial. Some are profound. Some center on matters of faith and trust. As with all of us, reflections and questions about You are personal, in that they affect our faith relationship with You.

Please help us find the answers to our questions about You as if we are Mac in ‘The Shack.’ Lead us to a place of encounter with You. Break through our doubts, our fears, our bitterness, our confusion, our agony, and our pain.

Help us come to understand Your love, what forgiveness is, and what it means to trust others, but most of all, what it is to trust You.

I pray this in Your Name as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

“Dear God, between Jewel Foods, Sam’s Club, Aldi, and Costco they know practically everything Carol and I eat and how often we eat it. Our public, personal, and private lives hold few secrets.

Amazon remembers not just what we buy, but what we’ve considered buying. Facebook knows more about our friends than we do. Our phone provider knows who we talk to, who talks to our friends, and who their friends talk to. Quicken knows what we make, how we spend our money, what our savings are and who we give donations to. The medical profession knows us inside and out: Drs. A…, F…, M…, P…, S…, W…, Z…, have made sure of that regarding me. My Internet company knows what I like to watch and/or listen to, what my political preferences are, and my choices regarding the arts.

In light of the above, there seems little that is not known about me/us. But only You know us completely. You understand who I am and what my passions are.  To You it is no mystery how I feel toward others, how I love my wife, my kids, and my grandkids. You know even the secrets of my heart.

Your awareness, knowledge, understanding, comprehension, and discernment of each human: man, woman, child, and infant are unfathomable. No information system in this world can be compared to Your omniscience. No data crunching programs can measure up to Your Divine Wisdom. No self-indulgent entertainment can satisfy longings as can Your Amazing Loving Care for us.

Whether we like it or not, we cannot hide much from this world in which we live, and we sure can’t hide anything from You. What is also true is that You know everything about us, and find us worthy of being loved by You, even knowing our faults, sins and failures.

Thank You, God, for giving us significance, value, identity, and personhood. Thank You for remembering us. Now help us, and each one who reads this prayer, to know You personally, intimately, and freely, even as we are known (by You). In the name of Your Son Jesus, Amen.”

“Dear God, You are the Almighty One. We are still as Job, silenced as he was when You ask us ‘Can we…?’ for our answer is still ‘no.’ We can not control the sea. We can not control the wind. We can not stop earthquakes, mud slides, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or even the rain and snow.

We can not stop hatred, lying, cheating, robbery, and murder. We can’t even stop ourselves from thinking evil of others, wishing ill on our enemies, desiring revenge, cutting ourselves off from those who oppose our point of view. We are no less guilty of injustice than those we accuse of being so.

Your righteousness is our only hope. Forgive our sins and heal our land. May we repent as did the nation of Nineveh when they heard from Jonah of Your coming judgement. Our currency reminds us every day how far we have distanced ourselves from You. May ‘In God we trust ‘ become true again.

Have mercy on us. Forgive our sins and heal our land. I pray this prayer to You on behalf of all my loved ones, friends, and family. In the name of Jesus, amen.”

“Dear God, in the midst of the mayhem in the world, the secularization of the church, and the deterioration of civil discourse, have mercy on us. We have lost our sense of what is true and what is false. We seek justice without, while holding deceit within. We consume, instead of showing compassion. We speak words of love, while harboring bitterness and hate. Lord God, have mercy on us. Bring spiritual healing to our nation, restore our family relationships, and help truth prevail. We are an embittered people, hunkered down with fear. Lord God, have mercy on us. Lead us to fresh waters and green pastures. Restore our souls. Bring back hope to our personal worlds. Give us today what we need for life, productivity, and good will. In the name of Jesus, amen. One more thing. Watch lovingly over whoever is reading this. Thank You.”

“Dear God, I pray for our nation today; for those who are afraid, and for those who are hopeful. May both groups remember that You are the One who is in control of the universe.

May all of us keep in mind we are mere men and women, humans, all dependent on You for life, liberty, and happiness. For my family, friends, neighbors, and fellow Americans, guide our incoming President and his administration to do what is right, honorable, just, compassionate, fair, and equitable. May they reverence You, hearken to  Your Word of Truth, and lead our nation with Your mercy and grace. Though they will most likely never know many of us by name, You know them. And You know us. Make the connection for them and us to be a people who can truly proclaim, ‘In God we trust.’

Help us remember that it is Your Son Jesus Christ Who will reign over the whole earth, in justice, truth, and compassion. Encourage us even in this moment that You are God, our God, and our Saviour through Jesus Christ. In whose name I pray, amen.”