Loving God, In a world where people so many cannot escape the violence, help those of us who are not under constant threat be radically committed to non-violence. May we never glorify our friends, our family or our elected officials threatening others with harm. May we never remain silent when others use language of hate when speaking of or to any of Your beloved children. Help us to measure our ...
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God of Peace, On Veteran’s Day, we pray for all who have served our country on land or sea or air, at home or in far away lands. We pray for the safety of future veterans in active combat zones, and for those in places where violence could rear its ugly head at any time. We pray for those who made it home alive, but for whom life has never been the ...
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Note: I've been writing a version of this prayer for several years now. Here is the 2023 version. Maker of all things, We pray for those who are overworked and overwrought. For those who are overwhelmed and just plain over it. For those who feel like there are not enough hours in the day and for those who fill their hours with that which does not feel like enough. For those who have lost ...
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(as Idalia makes landfall) Creating God, It’s hard when Your good creation is trying to kill us. It’s hard to reconcile a loving creator with a creation that can, at times, be devastatingly beautiful and then be just plain devastating. We know we are complicit We know we haven’t cared for Your Earth the way You told us to But, to be fair, these natural born killers existed way before any coal engines or smoke stacks ...
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There are far too many Pinterest and Instagram stories out there from people who get up at five in the morning, fix themselves a cup of coffee or a very specific kind of tea and then spend an hour with their Bible and notebook in prayer and study. So, that is fantastic...if it works for you. But most of us are NOT going to be able to pull that off in ...
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Hey friends, I spent last week with a bunch of people engaged in Christian camping ministry. If you know me, you know that I LOVE camp. We had one session where we broke up into small groups and talked about ways we experience God's abiding presence in our lives. I got some really good feedback on the exercise, so I thought I'd share it with you. Disclaimer: time in nature is ...
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Jesus, Gentle Healer, our pain is piled on top of pain We've just about done all we can do. We've worn our masks. We got our vaccines. We've kept our distance. We've missed out on so much. We thought we were done. But it keeps coming back. Another cancelled trip. Another missed event. Another season of missed revenue. Another distance learning day. Another friend who is no longer with us. The pile of grief and pain and ...
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Note: this prayer is not meant to exclude the unvaccinated. It is to give voice and vocabulary to the frustrations and struggles I am hearing from those who are vaccinated (and am experiencing myself). I believe our prayers are most effective when we can be honest with God and ourselves about what we are thinking and how we are feeling--especially when we wish weren't feeling and thinking those things. God, ...
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On this day when the first vaccines are being administered to first responders, we pray: For healthcare workers on the frontlines who are physically and mentally exhausted. For those who continue to battle the virus in hospitals and in homes. For the long-haulers who have been dealing with the effects of this virus for months. For the custodians and janitors and all the unseen heroes who tirelessly clean and sanitize to keep ...
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God of love and God of all, We enter into this election with an anxiety unmatched by any election day that has come before. Instead of a nation coming together to elect a common leader, we are a nation coming apart at the seams. We are battling for the soul of America, but we have very different ideas of how that soul should look, feel and behave. We fear for the safety and peace ...
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