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Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35

Lord,

Our world is being overtaken.

Hear our cries, claim our hearts, calm our fear, heal our disease. 

Show your power, glory, and mercy to a world who forgets.

Amen.

Father,

You know our days and our moments — both past and present. 

You know the reason for our circumstances. 

We know that your power is greater than anything we can imagine. 

May we humble ourselves before you, and call on your name. 

Amen.

March 2020 In the crisis of Coronavirus /  COVID-19

Lord, It is all so hard. It is so hard to pray.

It is so hard to face the endless need and the fear and the death that comes every day.
It is so hard to see the suffering and the sadness.
It is so hard to see the unrest among people.
It is so hard to accept commands from those in authority, strangers who do not know us. 
Our nation’s self love has brought us to this place. Our quest for pleasure and riches and worldly security. We have turned to the world to shape our hearts. 
You are there watching, listening, calling, commanding. And we close our ears. Because you call us from the pleasure we see into the trust which is not seen. 
Make my ears hear, make my eyes see, make my heart glad in you. 
Hold me fast. 
You gather up the blessings you have given because your people have turned away. 
You remove our protection because we have forgotten it was you who protected us. 
And you bring anguish to us because we have brought anguish to you. 
Our nation has scorned your Word and scoffed at holiness. 
Father, it is my heart that needs healing and correction. My heart longs to be at rest in you. 
Call us as a nation, Lord, call us to run to your arms. Make us lift up your Holy Word in honor. Open our eyes to the goodness that you created, and give us a hunger to know you intimately. Stand in our path before us so that we cannot ignore you, still our selfish desires, and show us your goodness and your wisdom and your glory. 
Call to our leaders in your mighty voice. Make them see the truth that has been whispered in their ears, make them know that it is your power and not our own that created our nation and sustained it. Make them bow before you and before the world in reverence to you. 
Make us all unashamed to acknowledge your name before men as the one true God. 
Be our cloud and our fire again.
Amen

Father,

Keep the recognition of the suffering of Jesus in my thoughts.

Keep the love for other people in my thoughts.

Keep the hope we have in you in my thoughts.

Lift my thoughts from the worldly to the holy.

Lift my concerns from the tasks to the mission.

Lift my efforts from ordinary to effective.

Lead me into obedience.

Lead me into service.

Lead me into your arms.

Keep me, lift me, lead me.

Be my cloud and my fire.

Amen.

April 2020

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16

Father,

You are for me.  Quiet my soul, turn my eyes toward you. I thank you today for all who stand in the gap for me: both Church leaders and community leaders. Grant them favor and wisdom, grant them honor and respect. Protect them from evil, and from those who would do them harm.  For the burdens they carry, make them able. And cause them to be aligned with your holy purposes. And grant me this, too. Amen.

“May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith, and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart, for unless he move mightily in me no inward fire will be kindled.”

from Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan Prayers

Father,

Your mercy toward me is  overwhelming. I cannot expect to know your plans, but I can depend on your Word. Today I pray that your mercy continues, on me, on my household, on my nation, and on my world. I pray that doors are opened, that despair is overcome, and that sickness and brokenness are healed. And I pray that my love for you increases, my devotion for you increases, and my knowledge of you increases. 

I pray that my witness is pure and earnest, and that my actions and  thoughts are in obedience to you. I pray that the love you have given is evident in my life, and that any kindness shown points directly to you and your glory. I pray that the lost hear your call, and that every heart who seeks will find your goodness and your love. Amen.

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