prayer – Page 8 – Hear what the Spirit is saying

Wind Chimes: 24 Jan 2013 — Day 7

Readings for Day Seven — Walking in solidarity

Numbers 27:1-11 | The right of inheritance to daughters
Psalm 15 | Who shall abide in God’s sanctuary?
Acts 2:43-47 | The disciples held all things in common
Luke 10:25-37 | The Good Samaritan

To walk humbly with God means walking in solidarity with all who struggle for justice and peace. This poses a question for those who pray for the unity of Christians this week: what is the unity we seek? 2013-WPCU-Readings-and-Prayers

Prayer on Day Seven

Triune God, in your very life you offer us a unique pattern of interdependence, loving relationships and solidarity. Unite us to live our lives in this way. Teach us to share the hope that we find in people who struggle for life all over the world. May their endurance inspire us to overcome our own divisions, to live in holy accord with one another, and to walk together in solidarity. God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen.

Image: School of Theology & Ministry, Seattle University

Wind Chimes: 23 Jan 2013 — Day 6

Readings for Day Six — Walking beyond barriers

Ruth 4:13-18 | The offspring of Ruth and Boaz
Psalm 113 | God the helper of the needy
Ephesians 2:13-16 | Christ has broken down the dividing wall between us
Matthew 15:21-28 | Jesus and the Canaanite woman

To walk humbly with God means walking beyond barriers that divide and damage the children of God. Christians in India are aware of the divisions among themselves. The treatment of Dalits within the churches and between them is a church-dividing issue that betrays the biblical vision of that unity for which we pray this week. 2013-WPCU-Readings-and-Prayers

Prayer on Day Six

Father, forgive us for the barriers of greed, prejudice, and contempt that we continually build which separate us within and between churches, from people of other faiths, and from those we consider to be less important than us. May your Spirit give us courage to cross these boundaries, and to tear down the walls that disconnect us from each other. Then with Christ may we step forth into unknown terrain, to carry his message of loving acceptance and unity to all the world. God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen.

Image: School of Theology & Ministry, Seattle University

Wind Chimes: 22 Jan 2013 — Day 5

Readings for Day Five — Walking as the friends of Jesus

Song of Solomon 1;5-8 | Love and the beloved
Psalm 139: 1-6 | You have searched me out and known me
3 John 2-8 | Hospitality to friends in Christ
John 15:12-17 | I call you friends

To walk humbly with God does not mean walking alone. It means walking with those who are those vital signs of God‘s presence among us, our friends. “But I have called you friends.” says Jesus in John‘s Gospel. 2013-WPCU-Readings-and-Prayers

Prayer on Day Five

Jesus, from the first moment of our being you offered us your friendship. Your love embraces all peoples, especially those who are excluded or rejected because of human constructions of caste, race or colour. Filled with the confidence and assurance of our dignity in you, may we walk in solidarity towards each other, and embrace each other in the Spirit, as children of God. God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen.

Image: School of Theology & Ministry, Seattle University

Wind Chimes: 21 Jan 2013 — Day 4

Readings for Day Four — Walking as children of the earth

Leviticus 25:8-17 | The land is for the common good, not personal gain
Psalm 65:5b-13 | The fruitful outpouring of God’s grace on the earth
Romans 8:18-25 | The longing of all creation for redemption
John 9:1-11 | Jesus’ healing, mud, bodies, and water

If we are to walk in humility with God, we will need always to be aware of ourselves as part of creation, and recipients of God‘s gifts. There is a growing recognition in today‘s world that better understanding of our authentic place in creation must become a priority for us. 2013-WPCU-Readings-and-Prayers

Prayer on Day Four

God of life, we thank you for the earth, and for those who care for it and bring forth its fruits. May the Spirit, the giver of life, help us to recognise that we are part of creation‘s web of relationships. May we learn to cherish the earth and listen to creation‘s groaning. May we truly walk together in the steps of Christ, bringing healing to all that wounds this earth, and ensuring a just sharing of the things that it brings forth. God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen.

Image: School of Theology & Ministry, Seattle University

Wind Chimes: 20 Jan 2013 — Day 3

Readings for Day Three — Walking towards freedom

Exodus 1:15-22 | The Hebrew midwives obey God’s law over the command of Pharaoh
Psalm 17:1-6 | The confident prayer of one open to God’s gaze
2 Corinthians 3: 17-18 | The glorious freedom of God’s children in Christ
John 4:4-26 | Conversation with Jesus leads the Samaritan woman into freer living

Walking humbly with the Lord is always a walk into receiving the freedom he opens up before all people. With this in mind we celebrate. We celebrate the mystery of the struggle for freedom, which takes place even in the places where oppression, prejudice and poverty seem to be impossible burdens. 2013-WPCU-Readings-and-Prayers

Prayer on Day Three

Liberating God, we thank you for the resilience and hopeful faith of those who struggle for dignity and fullness of life. We know that you raise up those who are cast down, and free those who are bound. Your Son Jesus walks with us to show us the path to authentic freedom. May we appreciate what has been given to us, and be strengthened to overcome all within us that enslaves. Send us your Spirit so that the truth shall set us free, so that with voices united we can proclaim your love to the world. God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen.

Image: School of Theology & Ministry, Seattle University

Wind Chimes: 19 Jan 2013 — Day 2

Readings for Day Two — Walking with the broken body of Christ

Ezekiel 37:1-14 | “Shall these dry bones live?”
Psalm 22:1-8 | God’s servant, mocked and insulted, cries out to God
Hebrews 13:12-16 | The call to go to Jesus “outside the camp”
Luke 22:14-23 | Jesus breaks the bread, giving the gift of himself before his suffering

To walk humbly with God means hearing the call us to walk out of the places of our own comfort, and accompany the other, especially the suffering other. 2013-WPCU-Readings-and-Prayers

Prayer on Day Two

God of compassion, your Son died on the Cross so that by his broken body our divisions might be destroyed. Yet we have crucified him again and again with our disunity, and with systems and practices which obstruct your loving care and undermine your justice towards those who have been excluded from the gifts of your creation. Send us your Spirit to breathe life and healing into our brokenness that we may witness together to the justice and love of Christ. Walk with us towards that day when we can share in the one bread and the one cup at the common table. God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen.

Image: School of Theology & Ministry, Seattle University

Wind Chimes: 18 Jan 2013 — Day 1

Readings for Day One — Walking in conversation

Genesis 11:1-9 | The story of Babel and legacy of our diversity
Psalm 34:11-18 | “Come … listen.” God’s invitation to conversation
Acts 2:1-12 | The outpouring of the Spirit, the gift of understanding
Luke 24:13-25 | Conversations with the Risen Jesus on the road

To walk humbly with God means to walk as people speaking with one another and with the Lord, always attentive to what we hear. And so we begin our celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by reflecting on scripture passages which speak of the essential practice of conversation. 2013-WPCU-Readings-and-Prayers

Prayer on Day One

Jesus Christ, we proclaim with joy our common identity in you, and we thank you for inviting us into a dialogue of love with you. Open our hearts to share more perfectly in your prayer to the Father that we may be one, so that as we journey together we may draw closer to each other. Give us the courage to bear witness to the truth together, and may our conversations embrace those who perpetuate disunity. Send your Spirit to empower us to challenge situations where dignity and compassion are lacking in our societies, nations, and the world. God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen

Image: School of Theology & Ministry, Seattle University

Wind Chimes: 12 Jan 2013

Sometimes the sounds from the chimes are rhythmic, like the regular movement of a person from one place to another. We’re all on a journey. What do you hear?

The Journey Prayer

God, bless to me this day,
God bless to me this night;
Bless, O bless, Thou God of grace,
Each day and hour of my life;
Bless, O bless, Thou God of grace,
Each day and hour of my life.

God, bless the pathway on which I go;
God, bless the earth that is beneath my sole;
Bless, O God, and give to me Thy love,
O God of gods, bless my rest and my repose;
Bless, O God, and give to me Thy love,
And bless, O God of gods, my repose.

Prayer of St. Brendan the Voyager, Irish Monk, (484-577)

Prayer: Quoted by Daniel Clendenin on Journey with Jesus: Poems and Prayers

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Wind Chimes: 07 Jan 2013

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

Romans 8:25-26 NRSV

The chimes are a call to prayer (again). What do you hear?

Continuing prayer for our new Congress

I’ll confess that I often don’t know how to pray, even when my hopes seem to be in accord with God’s love. On January 3, 2013 many, including me, began a 21-day prayer vigil for our new Congress and the President. In addition to our daily and weekly prayers for our political leaders, this is a special time of prayer requested by an interfaith coalition of folks like you and me. Commit to praying, and let us trust the Spirit to work in ways we can barely imagine. Read more about this effort and sign-on to pray here: Call to Prayer. Then, join us in praying for our new Congress.

The Home Page for The Faith & Politics Institute

Image: Dreamstime

Faith leaders want Americans to pray for collegiality | Religion News Service

I have begun my prayers as part of this effort. I continue to pray for our leaders and invite you to do the same. This is something we can all do.

WASHINGTON (RNS) At a time when the ideals of compromise and collegiality seem like a distant dream in the nation’s capital, an unusually diverse coalition of religious leaders is asking Americans to pray for civility.

“Through daily prayer, we are calling on the ‘better angels of our nature’ needed to sustain our nation and solve problems,” said the Rev. Peg Chemberlin, immediate past president of the National Council of Churches and one of the faith leaders taking part in “18 days of Prayer for the Nation.”

Prayers begin Thursday (Jan. 3), the first day of the new Congress, and end on Jan. 21, the day of President Obama’s second inauguration.

Read the entire post here: http://bit.ly/VlaAO8

via Faith leaders want Americans to pray for collegiality | Religion News Service.

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