Christmas Prayers: Three

We have prayed with, and for another, for the kind of Christmas we need and a life that lives up to the Christmas we have received. Today and this week, we pray together for Christmas to endure in our shared lives.

Blessed Father, who has chosen the weak things to confound the mighty:

Give us, your people—so susceptible to size, so easily impressed

by worldly rank and scope—give us, O Father, an eye for mangers tucked away in stables, and an ear for truth whose only fanfare is the rippled intuitions of the heart.

Visit our sick with quiet assurance of your care.

Encircle our bereaved with your warming, healing presence.

Point out markers on the trail for those of us who have lost our way.

And douse with the cold waters of common sense any among us who

might this very day be on the verge of some destructive action or decision.

The race is short, Father, even at its longest, and we desire to run it well, together, and to your glory.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Christmas Prayers: Two

Let us pick up where we ended our last Collective Prayer, “Let it be enough that you are for us, with us, and within us, through Jesus Christ,” praying together that our celebrations this season will be with more than words.

O Father who sent your Son among us that the Word might be made flesh, bless with your favor and encouragement those in our time who would ‘flesh out’ the Scriptures and make credible the gospel to an unbelieving age:

all who earnestly work for peace;

all who deliberately live on less than they might in order to

share with those who have less than they need;

all who make it their business to plead the cause of the orphan,

the prisoner, and the oppressed;

all who stand up in any company to challenge racial slurs and

expose prejudice;

all who have trained themselves to listen with genuine concern

to those who need an outlet for their grievances and cares;

all who have gone to the trouble of learning the gospel well

enough to be able to share it with others.

O Father who has told us clearly in the drama of Bethlehem that words alone won’t do, help us productively to couple what we say with what we are to do, lest our rhetoric outrun our deeds,

through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Christmas Prayers: One

Ernest Campbell offers a set of three “Christmas prayers,” written to help us move our attention from all this festive season brings, to the reason for the season, as they say. Let us join with Campbell and one another in the days leading to Christmas morning to pray our way to life in Jesus’ name.

O God, our Father, whom we trust but do not fully understand; whom we love, but surely not with all our hearts; give us, we pray, not the kind of Christmas we want, but the kind we need.

We live with a sense of busyness and anxiousness;

remind us of the providence that marks a sparrow’s fall.

We live with a shrinking and shriveled sense of personal worth;

remind us of a love to which each soul is precious.

We live with a sense of the years going by too quickly or longing them to do so;

remind us of abiding purpose in which all that comes to

pass partakes of the eternal.

We live with a sense of wrongs committed and goods undone or

unattempted;

remind us that for such the Shepherd seeks, the Father waits.

Our souls take their rest, O Father, in the joy of what you are. Let it be enough that you are for us, with us, and within us,

through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

An Isle of Thanksgiving

The headmaster of the twin’s school recently described 2020 as a chaotic sea of anger, uncertainty, bitterness, and despair. Many of us can attest to the accuracy of this description of 2020’s voyage.

We have come to understand that traversing such seas is daunting and requires no small measure of courage and strength, as well as inlets of rest. We cannot live in chaos without reprieve. And while it may seem counterintuitive, the harbors that offer us restorative peace we need are isles of thanksgiving. These ports of confessed peace pepper the map of even our lamentable odyssey to ensure that we ‘lack in nothing’ (James 1:2-4). It is in giving thanks that the water filling our hull is poured back into the churning sea, our provisions are re-stalked, and our sails battered by the tempest are repaired, ready to be filled with the spirit as we continue our crossing.

So, while 2020 has truly been a year on turbulent waters, let us today, and often along our pilgrimage, dock on an isle of thanksgiving together, wherever we may be. We’ll do so through this prayer adapted from The Book of Common Prayer. Pray with your faith family today as they pray for you…

Accept, O Father, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, for our family of faith, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks and relationships which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

We thank you for strength to endure and compassion in struggle and for hope that imprisons our everyday.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

For the Church IX

In the practice of lament, we share in one another’s suffering and toils. This prayer for the church is not a lament, but a prayer that proceeds from the revelation that there are those lamenting amongst us. Let us pray with and for another these words, adapted from Ernest Campbell.

Play the light of your truth and love upon our less-than-perfect hearts, O Father; for, left to our own understanding, we have a way of befriending sin and opposing righteousness.

Help those of us who are passing through heavy seas to ride out the storm with faith that Jesus is aboard.

By your providence lead those of us who are down on themselves into some life experience in which their worth will be affirmed.

Call back to your side those of us who can recall a day when they loved you more.

And for those of us who weep the tears of the bereaved, renew the vision of earth’s first Easter morning, that they may conceive of death henceforth as one of the ‘all things’ that work together for our good.

Keep us faithful to each other and to you, whatever comes, until on your strong arms we fall, and our work is done.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Seeing All Things

There are so many places and things designed to help us see, and so much to see in our world. We see a nation divided and people spent with inequality. We see too, small acts of kindness and generosity, the changing of the seasons, and hope in what can be bought and what can be won. And yet, for all that we see, we often miss so much. So, together, let us pray with and for one another a prayer to see the unseen, adapted from John Ballie. Pray with us…

Glory to you, O Lord my King! In love and awe we greet you this day which you have gifted! We give you praise and love and loyalty, O Lord most high!

Help us, Father, not to let our thoughts today be wholly occupied by the world’s passing show. In your loving kindness you have given us the power to lift our minds to contemplate the unseen and eternal; help us not to remain content only with what we see and feel, here and now. Instead grant that each day may do something to strengthen our grasp on the unseen world and our sense of the reality of that world. And so, as the end of our earthly life draws ever nearer, bind our hearts to the holy interests of that unseen world, so that we may not grow to be a part of these fleeting surroundings, but instead grow more and more ready for the life of the world to come.

O Father, you see and know all things. Give us grace, we pray, to know you so well and to see you so clearly that in knowing you we may know ourselves completely as you know us; and in seeing you we may see ourselves as we really are before you. Give us today a clear vision of our lives in time as it appears in your eternity. Show us our own smallness and your infinite greatness. Show us our own sin and your perfect righteousness. Show us our own lack of love and your exceeding love. Yet in your mercy show us also how, small as we are, we can take refuge in your greatness; how, sinful as we are, we may lean upon your righteousness; and how, loveless as we are, we may hide ourselves in your forgiving love. Help us today to keep our thoughts centered on the life and death of Jesus Christ our Lord, so that we may see all things in the light of the redemption which you have granted to us in his name. Amen.

For the Church VIII

This week, as we lament in preparation for peace, we pray for our city in a prayer for the church. Let us join together through these words adapted from Ernest Campbell.

Hear us now, O Father, as we pray for Dallas, Texas; praying for it, not from without, as though its dust and noise and pain were beneath us or beyond us, but from within, as your church, as those who know its squeeze and take to heart its burned-out hopes and embedded divisions.

Grant that fences that keep potential friends apart may be fashioned into bridges so that the hurts of any may concern all.

Help us to look for you and find you in the lives we live and the work we do.

O God, for whom all time and place are your habitation, be our God for we would be your people.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Personal Lament

Knowing that life is not all it can be, recognizing our contribution to the shortcomings, and inviting our Father who desires more for us (and says it is ours already), is the foundation of lament. This week, in light of the Sermon on the Mount and our nation's anxious state and our ruptured and juvenile relationships, let us personally lament together. Pray with your faith family; these words adapted from John Baillie.

Holy Father, we have dedicated our souls and lives to you, yet we lament before you that we are still so inclined to sin and so reluctant to obey:

So attached to what makes us feel good, so neglectful of spiritual things;

So quick to gratify our bodies, so slow to nourish our souls;

So greedy to present delight, so indifferent to lasting blessing;

So fond of being lazy, so unprepared for work;

So soon to play, so delayed at prayer;

So quick to look after ourselves, so slow to look after others;

So eager to get, so reluctant to give;

So confident in our claims, so low in our performances;

So full of good intentions, so unwilling to fulfill them;

So harsh with those around us, so indulgent with ourselves;

So eager to find fault, so resentful when others find fault with us;

So unfit for great tasks, so unhappy with small ones;

So helpless without you, and yet so unwilling to be tied to you.

O merciful Father, forgive us yet again. Hear this sad account of our failings and in your great mercy blot it out of your memory. Give us faith to lay hold of your perfect holiness and to rejoice in the righteousness of Christ our Savior. Grant that resting on his goodness and not our own we may become more like him, so that our will may be united with his, in obedience to yours. All this we ask for Jesus’ holy name’s sake. Amen.

Heaven Cares

We’ve talked quite a bit about ‘saltiness’ and being ‘light’ these last couple of months. And while too much repetition can dull the senses, let us risk one more prayerful reflection for the sake of the church. This week, we join together in praying that whatever might dilute the tanginess of a life lived out of love and whatever might press us to hide away the lamp of good works would be overcome by heaven’s care. Let us pray together these words adapted from Ernest Campbell.

As we look to the world within we are prompted to lay our many needs before you Father. In the brilliance of our Savior’s birth, his entrance into our dim world, we ask for power to overcome whatever in us runs counter to his love, and for courage to be loyal to the light he came to share.

May his lowliness curb our status-seeking,

his humility melt away our pride,

his purity condemn our lust,

his love for people shame the love we waste on things and ideas,

his sense of mission challenger our aimlessness and steady our passions.

Give us feeling for those whose lot in life is harder than our own, and a particular concern for those who live and dies as though Christ has not come, who do not know at the heart of things love reigns, and heaven cares.

All this we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Heart

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus goes directly to the heart of what keeps us from experiencing the fullness of the realities inherent in our Father’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, namely, our heart. So this week, we join together in prayer for a heart in-beat with our Father’s through these words adapted from John Bailie.

Let’s pray.

O Father, you are the only origin of all that is good and fair and true; to you we lift up our souls.

O Father, send your Spirit now to enter our hearts.

Now as we pray this prayer for ourselves and one another, do not let any room within us be secretly closed to keep you out.

O Father, give us the power to pursue only what is good.

Now as we pray this prayer for ourselves and one another, banish any evil purpose or plan that lurks in our hearts waiting for an opportunity to be fulfilled.

O Father, bless all our plans and work, and help them to prosper according to your will.

Now as we pray this prayer for ourselves and one another, do not let us hold on to any plan that we dare not ask you to bless.

O Father, give us purity of heart, a single-mindedness, and meekness.

Now as we pray this prayer for ourselves and one another, do not let us say to ourselves secretly, ‘But not yet’ or ‘But not too much.’

O Father, bless every member of this faith family.

Now as we pray for ourselves and one another, do not let us harbor in our hearts any jealousy, bitterness, or anger toward one another.

O Father, bless our enemies and all those who have done us wrong.

Now as we pray for ourselves and one another, do not let us cherish in our hearts the intention to pay the back as soon as we get an opportunity.

O Father, let your Kingdom come on earth.

Now as we pray for ourselves and one another, do not let us still intend in our hearts to devote our best hours and years to the service of lesser goals.

O Holy Spirit of our Father, as we finish this time of prayer for ourselves and one another, do not let us return to evil thoughts and the ways of the world, but let the same heart be in us that was in Christ Jesus, our LORD. Amen.

For the Church VII

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the ‘blessed’ (already happy) is their mercy. This predilection for responding to human need in a way that leads to healing and forgiveness flows from their hunger and thirst to live rightly with God and neighbor (Matt. 5:6-7). For our greatest and most repeated need within our relationships is wholeness through forgiveness. More than civility or even kindness, our personal and societal relationships require that we seek the forgiveness of our debts (our sin) as we forgive our debtors (sins against us). Such is the way Jesus taught us to pray (Matt. 6:12, Lk. 11:4).

Knowing that the merciful are such because they have received mercy, let us pray for the church “A Prayer of Forgiveness,” penned by April Thomas and printed in Latisha Morrison’s “Be the Bridge” (121).

God, we thank you for your Word and everlasting love. Thank you for providing us a clear path to reconciliation, one that builds bridges, closes gaps, and showcases your plan for us all.

There is so much strife and conflict attempting to distract us from who you are, closing our minds and hardening our hearts against one another. We pray we are loosened from the chains of unforgiveness and that our hearts are softened toward one another so our journey forward together as your children will be victorious.

Help us to see your love in one another and strengthen our desire for community and oneness in you. Open our ears to listen to the stories of those around us so that we may better understand one another. Help us to release negative thoughts and ideas about others, even if there are past hurts, and to forgive.

Thank you for forgiving us and fiercely loving us even when we have chosen to turn our backs on you. It is only by your grace we are able to walk this path.

In your Son’s name, amen.

Direction & Consolation

The rhetoric and incivility of this week’s so-called “debate,” testify to our need for something more. For consolation because of the deplorable state of our nation’s leadership, and for those who suffer most because of its depravity. For direction for a way forward, something other than what we see on screens and hear from hubris. We need most desperately the comfort and command of our Father. And we, his children, to be what we are in Him, salt and light like the Son.

So we pray. We pray for direction and consolation and Christ-likeness together, through these words adapted from Earnest Campbell.

Father of all the families on earth, busy with every human being, believing in us more fully than we dare believe in ourselves,

grant us what we need to live more like Jesus:

a quiet mind,

a forgiving spirit,

indifference to wealth,

a humbler estimate of self,

a readiness to pray,

a clear vision of your purposes,

courage to do the right we know.

Command and comfort us, Father, for we need both direction and consolation. Then shall our order lives confess the beauty of your peace on earth as it is in heaven.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Church VI

Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The “earth” which we live has a name, Dallas. In Jeremiah 29, God says to his people that the way they go about living should be in the city, for the city, because in their blessed living so too would the city be blessed. So this week we pray that our [the Church] wills and actions would match our heavenly Father’s for this particular place on earth. Let us join together in these words adapted from Ernest Campbell,

We pray today for Dallas:

a microcosm of the ailments and aspirations of the world;

a representative sampling of Western culture at its best and worst;

emblematic of your Church’s strength and weakness;

an ordeal for many, a delight for some.

Raise us as a people, gracious Father, into a community in which the welfare of one becomes the concern of all. May we se our differences as assets rather than liabilities, occasions for growth rather than grounds for tension. Out of teeming multitudes grant that a new breed of humanity may surface for whom the common good will inspire nobler and more just forms of public service.

Bless the leaders of our city with decision-making wisdom and an irrevocable commitment to the equitable construction and enforcement of law. Help us as members of Christ’s body to more effectively relate our faith to life as it is lived in our city. Make us bearers of hope, champions of justice, and agents of reconciliation.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

His Kingdom Come

You and I wake into a world in which God rules. A world in which, despite the apparent evidences, is spinning not out of control, but instead is flowing towards a certain future. The kingdom of heaven in which we enter, is a life of intimate purpose, and humble submission. Let us join together through the adapted words of John Baillie to pray for His kingdom to come and will to be done in and through our faith family this week…and beyond.

Our Father in heaven, you are the hidden Source of all life. Help us today, and throughout the week, to meditate on your great and gracious plan that mere mortals like us should look up to you and call you Father.

In the beginning you, the uncreated, released your creative power;

And then space and time and matter;

The atom and the molecule and crystalline forms;

The first germ of life;

And then the long upward striving of life;

The things that creep and fly, the animals of the forest, the birds

of the air, the fish of the sea;

And then the gradual down of intelligence;

And at last the making of human beings;

The beginning of history;

The first altar and the first prayer.

O hidden love of God, it is your will that all created spirits should live forever in pure and perfect fellowship with you. Grant that in our life today and this week, that we may do nothing to defeat this, your most gracious purpose. Help us to keep in mind that your whole creation is groaning in labor pains as we wait for the revealing of the children of God to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and the city on hill; and let us welcome every influence of your Spirit upon our spirits that may make this happen more speedily.

When you knock on the door of our hearts, may we never keep you standing outside, but welcome you in with joy and thanksgiving. May we never harbor anything in our hearts that we would be ashamed of in your presence; may we never keep a single corner closed to your influence.

Do what you will with us, O Father; make of us what you will, change us as you will, and use us as you will, both now and in the larger life beyond;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Church V

The apostle Paul talks about the church as an amalgamation of a variety of parts and giftings which come together to be one body of Jesus. This coming together has been the proverbial “thorn in the flesh” or Christ’s body as far back as stories go. While the pang for unity without uniformity is a persistent pressure, it has also been a primary prayer of Jesus’ for us (see Jn. 17), and the faithful for one another. So this week, at a time when our society is emphasizing our division, let us join with Ernest Campbell in this prayer for the Church to find harmony. For our sake, and, the sake of our city and nation and world.

Our Father who has willed a variety of gifts in the one body of your Son, your church, hear us.

Hear us as we pray for a more productive fusion of insights and abilities among your people;

guard us against wasteful rivalries and unwarranted divisions

to the end that each may rejoice in the gifts and talents of the other

In particular, we pray that white and black, democrat and republican, male and female, sisters and brothers may march together as beneath one banner in the spirit of mutual trust and interdependence.

Whatever the nature of our work, help us, Father, to do it unto you.

Let our shops and offices, our schools and factories, our streets

and homes feel the influence of Christ through us.

Use our assorted skills and aptitudes in the manner of a

conductor with an orchestra, calling out this instrument,

then that; this section, then another, to offer their best in a

grand performance of the work at hand.

Tune us to your will, and harmonize us with each other and with you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

All We Need Is Jesus

Remembering who God is for us, especially through the Son, is pivotal to enduring faith. So together we pray that we and our sisters and brothers would find all we need in Jesus through this prayer adapted from John Ballie. Let us pray…

O God, immortal, eternal, invisible, let us remember with joy and thanksgiving all that you have been to us:

Companion of the brave;

Supporter of the loyal;

Light of the wanderer;

Joy of the pilgrim;

Guide of the pioneer;

Helper of all whose work is heavy;

Refuge of the brokenhearted;

Deliverer of the oppressed;

Relief of the tempted;

Strength of the victorious;

Ruler of rulers;

Friend of the poor;

Rescuer of the perishing;

Hope of the dying.

Give us faith now to believe that you can be all in all for each of us, according to our need, if only we renounce all proud self-dependence and put our trust in you.

Forbid it, O Father, that the sheer difficulty of honoring you in our lives should ever tempt us to despair or give up trying. May we always keep in our minds that this human life was once divinely lived; that this world was once nobly overcome; and that this physical body, which so sorely troubles us now, was once made into your perfect dwelling place.

Show your loving kindness today and this week, O Father, to all who are in need of your help. Be with the weak to make them strong and with the strong to make them gentle. Cheer the lonely with your company and the distracted with your solitude. Prosper your Church in the fulfillment of its mighty task, and grant your blessing to all who have worked hard today and this week in Christ’s name.

Amen.

For the Church IV

Among the prophet Isaiah’s messianic visions is a picture of God’s people, the church, as a house of prayer. Writing in unison with the LORD, Isaiah says,

“the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,

to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,

to be his servants…

…even these I will bring to My Holy Mountain

And make them joyful in My House of Prayer.

Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be

acceptable on My altar;

For My house will be called a house of prayer for

all peoples.”

(Isaiah 56:6-7)

Through the image of ourselves that the LORD paints for us in Isaiah, we pray for the church today with these adapted words from Ernest Campbell. Let us pray together,

Here, together, in this house of prayer, we pause to pray for ourselves, for the church.

Some of us carry a brokenness inside too deep for telling.

Some of us are madly in love with a past that can never be again.

Many of us are tired of trying to sustain the image of a self that no longer exists—or never did.

Not a few of us have grown hard and unmannerly from battling social wrongs, and we want to be civil again.

Others—more — of our number have become worldly wise and sophisticated at the expense of neglected prayer and a seldom-opened Bible, and we yearn to feel that oneness with you which marked our earlier years.

O Father whose name we bear,

you have loved us; love us still—

until our conflicts are resolved,

our imbalances are corrected,

and our sins, which are many, lose their appeal for us before

the beauty of your righteousness.

All this we pray in faith and with thanksgiving,

through Jesus Christ our LORD. Amen.

Calling Creation to Mind

Living and working in the city, a place full of human crafted splendor as well as squalor, can dull our senses to the grounding truths and cultivated compassions of the Creator’s crafting. But it does not have to be so. Though we may be far from the grandeur of the mountains or the majesty of the sea, though we may be shaded by skyscrapers and marveled by masses, we are near enough to the Creator’s work to be steadied and compelled by it. At least that is what we will be praying with and for one another using these words adapted from John Ballie.

Creator Spirit, who forever hovers over the lands and waters of earth, enriching them with forms and colors that no human skill can copy, give us today the mind and heart to rejoice in your creation.

Forbid that we should walk through your beautiful world with unseeing eyes;

Forbid that the attractions of the city and its stores and steel, its promises and playthings, should ever steal our hearts away from the love of open fields and green trees;

Forbid that under the low ceiling of office or classroom or workspace or study, we should ever forget your great overarching sky;

Forbid that when all your creatures greet the morning with songs and shouts of joy, we alone should wear a grumpy and sullen face;

Let the energy and vigor which in your wisdom you have infused into every living thing stir within in our being today, so that we may not be lazy or mindless bystanders among your creatures.

And above all, give us grace to use these beauties of earth around us and this eager stirring for life within us to lift our souls from creature to Creator, and from nature to nature’s God.

O Father, your divine tenderness always outsoars the narrow loves and kindness of earth. Grant us today a kind and gentle heart toward all things that live. Help us to take a stand against cruelty and misuse of any of your creatures and created things. Help us to be actively concerned—as you are—for the welfare of little children, and those who are sick, and of the poor, and those who suffer indignity by laws and by individuals, remembering that what we do for the least of these brothers and sisters of Jesus, we do for Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Church III

The body of Christ, as we have confessed routinely, is a work in progress! We are a mixed bag that seems at times to contradict itself, struggling to be faithfully present while in-step with our storied past. Aware of our polar tendencies that vary by the day and place and people, let us pray together “for the church” with this prayer adapted from Ernest Campbell.

We pray, Father, for your church, scattered far and wide:

clinging to old ways in a new day, or else rushing to embrace the new in reckless abandon of the past;

here suffering from battle fatigue, there afflicted with inertia;

at times embarrassed by its Galilean accent, at other times so thoroughly assimilated to the surrounding culture as to lose all distinctiveness;

in some instances foolishly competitive, in others superficially merged around shallow affirmations;

often given to deeps uninterpreted by words, more often given to words unaffirmed by action.

Bless your church, Father, with divine guidance and direction,

that in the thick of life,

and at those points where people hurt,

we may be your servant people.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Daring to Pray

Distinguishing between want and need is no simple task for us humans. Perhaps that is why Jesus taught us to pray the way he did, focusing our attention on the will and way of the Father before getting into our daily details. In the same vein, we dare pray together this prayer adapted from Ernest Campbell.

We pray now, gracious Father, for our needs, insofar as we can distinguish what we need from what we want.

We want friends; we need deliverance from overweening pride and playing the comparison games that puts others off.

We want light; we need discipline to sustain the search for truth amid the chaotic noise of our moment.

We want peace; we need patience and courage for that which makes for peace.

We want excitement; we need victory over distractions and artificial stimulants, and the character to face life as it is.

We want love; we need fidelity, the only context in which authentic love can flourish.

Destroy what is evil in us, O Father, and incline our hearts toward good.

All this we dare to pray,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.