Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 11/13

Photo by Elizabeth G Brooke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my seasonal posts are among my personal favorites - I enjoy reworking them and sharing them with you year after year.  Here's my latest version of a prayer I first posted 16 years ago...

 

The chill, the rain, the wind
have claimed all leaves
save those whose stubborn hold
will not let go 'til you, Lord,
say the word 

and then they'll fall

spiraling in

autumn's annual letting go
when holding on 

to what's now past
might seem survival's only path
but you know, more than I, Lord,
you know how my letting go 

may be my only way to hold 

all I keep dear 

and all I dearly try to 

keep as mine...

 

Help my letting go, Lord,
my letting go my hold on all

my stored up fears and tears, 

my grip on all I won't let go

and all that won't let go of me... 

 

I offer you 

my fear of falling,
fear of letting go my heart
into your saving hands,

into your promise to be there
to catch me safely in your arms

and hold me close

in your embrace...

 

Help me make my own

the prayer of falling autumn leaves,

trusting that you'll keep me, Lord,

through winter's biting wind and cold

as I let go my grip, my hold

on all I've lost

- save my hope of spring... 

 

Gather up your falling leaves

and catch the pleas 

that spiral from my heart
in my letting go 

my autumn soul 

into your gentle hands, Lord,

on a crisp November breeze... 

 

Amen. 

Letting Go by New Creation Worship   

 

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Instrumental

In the tempest's roar
Still, your peace endures forever
Certain as the dawn
Perfect love has won my heart

Casting all my cares
To the One who holds tomorrow
Resting in your love
Grace now overflows in me

Fall into the everlasting arms
Walk upon the waves, you are my calm
Jesus, I will trust in all you've done
Letting go, letting God take over

Casting all my cares
To the One who holds tomorrow
Resting in your love
Grace now overflows in me

Fall into the everlasting arms
Walk upon the waves, you are my calm
Jesus, I will trust in all you've done
Letting go, letting God
I fall into the everlasting arms
Walk upon the waves, you are my calm
Jesus, I will trust in all you've done
Letting go, letting God take over

Instrumental

Be still and know O my soul
All is well, all is well
Be still and know O my soul
All is well, all is well

There is a peace that calms every storm
There is a peace
His name is Jesus
His name is Jesus

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Night Prayer: THURSDAY 11/12

In November, we keep the worthy custom of remembering and praying for those who have died.  I especially favor this prayer which I first found in the 1969 Rite of Funerals - and then discovered in a musical setting by Carol Browning.  You might pause for a moment and remember, perhaps even write down, the names of those who have died for whom you want to pray this night, this month...

Peace be with those who have left us,

    with those who have gone to God.
May they be at peace.
May they be with God.

May they be with the living God.
May they be with the immortal God.
May they be in God's strong arms 

    and gentle hands.

May they sleep in peace.

May they live in peace.

May they be where the name of God is great.

May they be with the living God 

   now and on the day of judgment.

May they live with God.
May they live in eternal light.

May they live in the peace of the Lord.
May they live forever in peace

With God in peace.

................................................................... 

Protect us, Lord, while we're awake

    and watch over us while we sleep

that awake, we might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

 

Two songs this evening: the first is Carol Browning's setting of the prayer above and the second another, John Rutter's setting of a blessing written by William Sharp.

Peace Be With Those by Carol Browning

 

  

Peace be with those who have gone to God.
May they be at peace.
May they be with God.

 

May they be with the living God.
May they see the immortal God. 

 

May they find their delight in the Lord.

May they rest secure in God.

 

May they know the peace of the Lord.

May they rest forever in peace. 

 

 

Deep Peace by John Rutter, performed by Libera

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Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 11/12

Will I ever learn, Lord?

Will I ever learn not to panic
   when times are tough,
   when I'm overwhelmed,
   when things fall apart,
      and nothing feels right?

Will I ever learn, Lord?

Will I ever learn to trust and hope
   that things will get better,
   that peace will be mine,
   that tomorrow will come
      and that all’s not lost?

Will I ever learn?

Will I ever learn to trust, Lord,
   that you're on my side,
   that you have my back,
   that you are my strength
      - and that all shall be well?

Will I ever learn, Lord?

Well, at least I hope I'm learning, Lord

    learning day by day

    that you are ever with me,

    your love for me abiding

that I have every reason to trust and believe:

    all shall be well,

    all shall be well,

    all manner of things shall be well...

Amen.

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NIght Prayer: WEDNESDAY 11/11

This was a day for remembering, Lord:

    and for honoring and praying for

        all of our veterans...

 

We remember and pray for the men and women

who, for years, interrupted their lives to serve us

    and we honor their generosity...

 

We remember their willingness

to stand in harm's way

    and we honor their courage...

 

We remember their love

of liberty and freedom

    and we honor their loyal devotion...

We remember their leaving behind,

their separation from, their family and friends

    and we honor their personal sacrifice...

We remember the memories they carry,

the horror and price of war

    and we honor their strength of spirit...

 

We remember all they lost,

their emotional and physical pain

    and we honor their commitment to duty...

 

We tell these veterans, 

    "Thanks for your service!"

        but that's too little, Lord:

these words pale 

    in the face of their dedication and sacrifice:

        given freely, that we might be free,

        offered selflessly on our behalf,

    r    endered humbly for our nation's pride...

 

So tonight we remember and pray

    for those who've served so well,

who've kept our country safe to be

    the land of the free and the home of the brave...

 

Give them the reward of their service, Lord,

    and heal with your gentle touch

any pain or memories they may still bear

    in mind and heart and soul...

 

Protect us, Lord while we're awake

    and watch over us while we sleep

that awake, we might keep watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

On Veterans Day by Karl Hitzemann

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Pause for Prayer: Veterans Day

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This post includes my Veterans Day Prayer followed by two more from Alden Solovy at To Bend Light. You might want to share these prayers with veterans you know...

A Prayer for Veterans Day

God of peace,

we pray for all who have served our nation,
    protecting and defending our freedom...

 

We pray for those who have fought,
    whose spirits and bodies are scarred by war,

whose nights are haunted by memories
    too painful to face in the light of day...

We pray for those who serve us now,
    especially those in harm's way:

        keep them healthy and strong,
        shield them from danger
        and bring them home, soon and safe,
        to their waiting families and friends...

Turn the plans and the hearts and the minds
    of our leaders and enemies, too,
to the work of justice which always yields

    a bountiful harvest of peace...

 

Lord of all power and people:

    we long for the peace that you left us,        
    help us work for the peace that sustains us,

    the peace that our veterans guarded

       by putting their lives on the line for us,

            for our nation and world... 

Amen.

Image source

To the Soldier, To the Veteran

These things I do not know:

The sound of a bullet.
The power of a blast.
The blood of a comrade.
The depth of your wound.
The terror at midnight.
The dread at dawn.
Your fear or your pain.

These things I know:

The sound of your honor.
The power of your courage.
The blood of your wound.
The depth of your strength.
The terror that binds you.
The dread that remains.
Your dignity and your valor.

For these things I pray:

The sound of your laughter.
The power of your voice.
The blood of your yearning.
The depth of your healing.
The joy that frees you.
The hope that remains.
Your wholeness and your love.

© 2011 Alden Solovy and To Bend Light. 

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Veterans Day Prayer

God of compassion,
God of dignity and strength,
Watch over the veterans of the United States
In recognition of their loyal service to our nation.
Bless them with wholeness and love.
Shelter them.
Heal their wounds,
Comfort their hearts.
Grant them peace.

God of justice and truth,
Rock of our lives,
Bless our veterans,
These men and women of courage and valor,
With a deep and abiding understanding
Of our profound gratitude.
Protect them and their families from loneliness and want.
Grant them lives of joy and bounty.
May their dedication and honor
Be remembered as a blessing
From generation to generation.

Blessed are You,
Protector and Redeemer,
Our Shield and our Stronghold.

© 2011 Alden Solovy and To Bend Light.  

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Night Prayer: TUESDAY 11/10

Veterans Day is tomorrow, but there's no day in the year when we're not in debt to these men and women who have served us...   

 

The 15-foot-high, bronze sculpture pictured below is at the center of a small park, a memorial to military chaplains, in Des Moines, Iowa. It's titled  A Veteran’s Prayer for Eternal Peace, which became the inspiration for my prayer below...

 

A Veteran's Prayer for Peace

 

The hands of  a veteran, Lord...

 

Hands that once gripped a rifle,

        now empty, free to lift to you in prayer...

Hands that once held off the enemy,

    now raised up to welcome and receive...

Hands that once embraced

   a wounded, fallen body,

    now raised in prayer to you

        to whom we lift the ones we lost...

 

Hands that trembled once in danger's face,

    now steady, calm and grateful

        for survival, life and hope...

 

Hands that ached with loneliness,

    away from home and loved ones,

        now hold the hands of family and dear friends...

 

Hands that reached to you in prayer, 

    once in time of war,

open still, this very day, 

    in prayer that all wars end...

 

Hands that served a nation's call 

    to guard, to fight and shield,

I pray now rest at ease, in peace,

    their work and service done...

Protect them, Lord, our veterans,

    watch over them with care

that awake, they stand the watch with you

    and asleep, rest in your peace...

 

Amen. 

 

Many will be familiar with the Navy Hymn (Eternal Father, Strong to Save) where each verse ends in prayer for "those in peril on the sea."  Here is a later version which prays more broadly for all who serve in the armed forces: on the sea, on the land and in the air...

 

Almighty Father, Strong to Save

 

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Almighty Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

O Christ, the Lord of hill and plain
O'er which our traffic runs amain
By mountain pass or valley low;
Wherever, Lord, thy people go,
Protect them by thy guiding hand
From every peril on the land.

O Spirit, whom the Father sent
To spread abroad the firmament;
O Wind of heaven, by thy might
Save all who dare the eagle's flight,
And keep them by thy watchful care
From every peril in the air.

O Trinity of love and power,
Our people shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go,
Thus evermore shall rise to thee
Glad praise from space and land and sea.

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Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 11/10

   

 

For weeks now
I've watched the trees along my way:
their green leaves turning,
draping the highway's shoulders
in a last gasp of color and beauty
- they take my breath away!

 

And then one night
(under cover of darkness)
the trees did quietly conspire
to shake off their faded frocks 

and take a bow,
a copper-shaded fond farewell...

 

Soon they'll all stand bare
'gainst a chilled November sky,
stilled with scarce a shiver,
their branched arms stretching long
and bracing for the coming snow

December’s sparkling winter coat, 

their shining wintry armor…

 

Would that I were bold enough
to stand so naked,

there before my God:
my bare arms straining, reaching
for the warmth of winter's love...

 

But I'm not so brave 

and so I pray to trust, 

as do the trees,
that spring will come again
and make of frost a morning dew
to turn the leaves all green again

on branches now gone bare...

Amen. 

I don't usually include music in Pause for Prayer posts but this instrumental seems just perfect for this prayer and this time of year...  Do yourself a spiritual favor and just sit back and listen... and pray...

Autumn by Herman Beeftink

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Night Prayer: MONDAY 11/9

It's November, the month of All Souls, a season in which Christians pray for the salvation of those who have died.  Our thoughts might turn to what are called the Four Last Things: death, judgment, heaven, hell - and  perhaps another: purgatory. An item in today's news - Ross Douthat's interview of Donald Trump - includes all five! While this post was written after I had read the the transcript,  this prayer is not about Donald Trump - it's about each and all of us.  Here's a link to the whole interview and at the bottom of this post, you'll find the portion of the interview relevant to this post.

I guess I can't predict, Lord,

just who or what might prompt me

to reflect on my mortality,

on the finite shelf-life 

    of this frame I call my body,

on the import and the impact

    of my thoughts, words and deeds

        on my eternal future,

on the intimate connection 

    between the person I am

        and who I will forever be...  

Do I think, do I believe,

    do I hope, do I presume 

        that my next home will be heaven?

Is that something I ponder?

    something I pray for?

        something I work towards?

    or is it something

        I take for granted?

(Note to self: 

    resist taking eternal realities for granted!)

 

And with what heart, Lord, 

    do I approach these questions?

Is my heart burdened

    by grudges and resentments?

    bitterness and animosity?

    malice and spite?

    bigotry and prejudice?

    by loathing and disdain?

Is my heart soiled by any of these, Lord?

    even in small ways?

    in ways I dismiss as negligible?  

    in ways I defend and justify

        in my self-righteousness?

 I often pray, Lord, 

    that you'll forgive my trespasses

        as I forgive those 

            who trespass against me...

Will my own prayer 

    render a judgment against me?

What hostility, Lord,

    keeps me from loving my neighbor

from seeing and loving in my enemy

    what you see and love in the same person? 

Which are the relationships, Lord,

    where I withhold the mercy

         I pray you'll offer me,

    where I refuse to love

        and choose instead to hate? 

 

What feelings in my life, Lord,

    do I so stubbornly hold on to

        and so tenaciously embrace  

    that I'm blinded to your word

        and deaf to your command

    that I love, not hate, my neighbor

        even as I love myself?

What ill-will do I so doggedly cling to, Lord,

    that I would jeopardize, that I'd risk losing

        your forgiveness of my sins

    and the heaven that awaits

        those who humbly do your will?

 

It's November, Lord, 

    and I'm praying for those who have died...

Make me mindful of my own mortality,

    of my weaknesses and flaws,

    of my failings and my sins 

and my ever-present, overwhelming need

    for your grace to set me free

of all that keeps my heart

    from loving you, my God

        - and my neighbor as myself...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

    and asleep rest in your peace...

Amen. 

 

Tonight's song is a simple and beautiful musical setting of an old prayer of uncertain authorship..

 

Litany of Humility by Thomas Muglia

 

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From the interview...  

ROSS DOUTHAT:  Death. Let's talk about death.

DONALD TRUMP:  Okay. 

DOUTHAT: What do you think happens when you die?

TRUMP: Well, I hope I'm missed. (LAUGH) I hope--

DOUTHAT: No, I mean-- I mean to you-- I mean to-- What do you think happens to Donald Trump when you die?

TRUMP: Okay. You mean where I go?

DOUTHAT: Exactly.

TRUMP: Well, I'm a religious person, so in theory I go to heaven.

DOUTHAT: Do you think you're going to heaven?

TRUMP: I hope so. I don't want to go to hell.

DOUTHAT: So I watched you at Charlie Kirk's memorial service– Erica Kirk, his widow got up - and gave some very moving remarks about Christian forgiveness, how you have to forgive your enemies and your opponents--

TRUMP: That's right.

DOUTHAT: And you followed her, and you said, and I know this was a little bit of a joke but I think facts come through jokes. You said, quote, "I hate my opponents and I don't want the best for them." Let's say you pass away, you're entering the next life, and all you have to do to enter paradise is feel love and forgiveness for James Comey, Nancy Pelosi, anyone who you have expressed hate for over the years. Do you think you can do it?

TRUMP: Well, then I wouldn't be real, would I? I mean, if I said to you, sure, the easy answer to that is "Oh, yes, I could forgive."

DOUTHAT: No, I don't think it's an easy question at all.

TRUMP: I found them to be extremely dishonest people, very bad people, very bad for our country. I love our country far more than I can love people and people like that.

DOUTHAT: Is the answer no then?

TRUMP: The answer is no. I want to be honest, no. I think it would--

DOUTHAT: Before the judgment throne of God?

TRUMP: Before the judgment. No, I think they were very bad people and-- I dislike, I can use the word hate, I do hate some of my enemies. I think they're-- they've been terrible. Look what they've put me through, the weaponization. I got indicted - I got impeached.

DOUTHAT: Mr. President. You have had the most charmed and remarkable life of any American in my entire lifetime, and you are telling me that before the judgment throne of God you couldn't find it in your heart to forgive some of your enemies? After all that's been given to you? Come on. Help me out here.

TRUMP: I mean, it's such an easy answer. All I have to do is say, "Yes, I can."

DOUTHAT: I-- I, again, I don't think it's an easy answer--

TRUMP: Honestly, , can I-- can I be honest--

DOUTHAT: --that's why I asked it. Yes.

TRUMP:  I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies and I always will.

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