Prayers

Mid-week Prayer

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Read:  Isaiah 43:1-3a and Mark 4:35-41

Reflect:   Last week we considered that along with many wonderful opportunities to enjoy God’s good creation, the months of summer also carry an increased potential for natural disasters.  In addition to wildfires and tornadoes, flooding from rainfall, rapid snowmelt, and hurricanes are common spring and summer threats. 

In ancient times, floods often symbolized chaos and disruption of many kinds.  God’s word through the prophet Isaiah reassures us that God does not abandon us in times of disaster or distress.  Jesus demonstrates power over the forces of nature, saving us from the literal and figurative storms of our lives.  We give thanks for rescue and relief workers, meteorologists and storm trackers, and all who help us repair and rebuild!

Prayer:   Save us, O God, for the waters are rising, and there is no firm place to stand.  Life as we know it has been swept away.  Draw near to us in this time of need and be our protection.  Support us as we rebuild what has been ruined.  Do not let us drown in our sorrow, but raise us to new life in your promise of rebirth, already claimed for us in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.  (from All Creation Sings, p. 49.  ©2020 Augsburg Fortress, used by permission.)

THANKSGIVING

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Read:  Psalm 104

Reflect:  When you hear the word “Thanksgiving”, what images come to mind?  Is it a table loaded up with turkey, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and all the other fixings?  Do you picture a multi-generational family gathering?  A day of watching football or parades?  Or do you imagine a state of gratitude that shapes and guides your daily life?  Although the 1954 musical White Christmas is set in the days or weeks leading up to Christmas, Irving Berlin’s song “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” seems appropriate for our Thanksgiving Day celebrations and for cultivating a daily spiritual practice of gratitude.  The words, in part, are these:  “When I’m worried, and I can’t sleep/ I count my blessings instead of sheep/ and I fall asleep counting my blessings…”  The author of Psalm 104 seems to share this sentiment.  The psalm is both an extensive recounting of the wonders of God’s creation, and a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s abundant provision and care. One can almost imagine the psalmist at the end of the day, counting God’s myriad blessings, and then falling gently to sleep with words of blessing and praise still on their lips!

Prayer:  Generous God, you lavishly bless your world and all its people.  In good times, and in challenging ones, you are faithfully at work bringing good from evil, light from darkness, and new life from that which is broken or dying.  Help me to set aside my doubts and fears.  Empower me to trust in the abundance of your goodness and mercy.  Make me truly grateful for each and every blessing that you offer.  Let me begin and end each day declaring, “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”  In the name of Jesus, your greatest blessing, I pray.  Amen.

A Prayer for a New School Year

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God of all Wisdom, we give you thanks for the beginning of a new year of learning.  Watch over and protect all students.  Give them a love of learning that will stay with them throughout their lives.  Let them find joy in discovering the wonders of your world.  Let them be amazed by the diversity of life that you have made. 

Thank you for teachers, bus drivers, administrative staff and aides who give so much of themselves to the care of our children and youth.  Thank you for faculty, staff, and administrators who work in campuses of higher education.  Give a spirit of patience and understanding to all who engage in the education process. 

We pray also for parents.  Ease the anxieties that can come when children are in multiple schools and locations.  Inspire them with the knowledge they need to encourage and model life-long learning.  Give them the energy and patience they need to navigate the demands of work, school and activity schedules.  Fill them with your abundant love.

All these things, and whatever else is needful in your sight, grant to us, gracious and loving God.  Amen.