Prayers

Mid-week Prayer

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Read: John 4:1-14

Reflect: Giant Springs State Park is located just outside Great Falls, MT. The park itself is a beautiful place to picnic, walk, or just enjoy the outdoors. The best part, however is the water. Giant Springs is one of the largest freshwater springs in the United States. Every day, approximately 156 million gallons of water flow up out of the rocks before making a 200 ft. journey to the Missouri River. The water is crystal clear, warm enough to sustain water plants year-round, and the sound of its flow brings a sense of peacefulness and calm.

In his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus describes himself as being just such a source of abundance, peace, and life. The water he gives has the power to cleanse us from guilt and shame. He strengthens and sustains us through all the challenges and seasons of our lives. He renews us for life one hour, one day at a time. He speaks words of peace that can silence the world’s noise and calm our restless lives. The abundance of his love never runs dry.

Prayer: God our source, our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you. As Jesus once offered living water to a Samaritan woman at the well, so we ask you to meet our deepest needs with your eternal life. Help us to honestly name the desires that have power over us. Forgive us our injuries to self and other. Give us the strength we need to face each day. Direct our thoughts and actions toward the life that truly is life. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. (from All Creation Sings, p. 53. ©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.