Monday Morning Offering - 16

Image: George Mendoza

A reader from the warm and sunny south writes of his experience with these weekly prayers: "Your Monday Morning Offering is now part of my Monday morning coffee with five friends. We all try to read it before we meet and then discuss it when we get together."
It's a joy to know that the word shared here is shared again!

Good morning, good God!

I’ve been wondering, Lord:
what do you do with it all?

What do you do with all the stuff I offer you
on Monday mornings?

And not just my stuff:
other people make morning offerings, too,
and some do it every day of the week…

Lord, what do you do with everything we offer you?

Like steam from millions of cups
of coffee and tea and hot chocolate,
our prayers rise up to you:
a morning offering of incense
ground from our beings,
steeped in our sorrow,
sweetened by our joy…

What do you do with everything we offer you?

I know you hear our prayers
(every single one of them!)
and I believe you cherish our “asking” prayers
just as much as our “praising” prayers…

I believe you’re pleased just to hear from us -
no matter what we say or ask or plead…

And I believe you listen
even when we don’t know what to say:
our silence, too, rises like a sweet fragrance -
be the cups of our hearts empty or full…

Lord, what do you do with everything we offer you?

We offer you prayers, petitions and praise…

We offer dreams and schemes for you to bless with success…

We offer you our hopes and pray we will cope
when you take too long, so long to answer…

We offer you our work or pray to find some work to do…

We offer you our weakness and beg for your strength…

We offer you hearts for healing, hurts for soothing,
bodies for mending, problems for fixing
and relationships for repairing…

What do you do with everything we offer you?

You store it up -- of course, you do!

You keep all we offer
in the infinite depths of your heart
where beats the heart
of every one ever born,
all of us here now
and those whose hearts
have yet begun to beat…

In your heart every prayer is heard, treasured
and measured for eternal keeping
like ribbon-tied love letters
or valentines from children…

Lord, what do you do with everything we offer you?

You remember everything we offer you,
even the many prayers we have forgotten,
prayers that once seemed so urgent…
every one of our prayers echoes in your heart,
forever…

So I come once again, Lord,
and offer you my Monday and the week ahead…

I offer you my needs
and pray you make me generous
because, already,
I have more than I need…

I offer you my troubles and pray for your peace…

I offer you my fears and pray for your strength…

I offer you my silence
and trust you hear the words I cannot say…

I offer you my words and deeds this day, Lord,
and pray they help and bless
all those whose paths cross mine…

Like the steam from my coffee, Lord,
let my morning offering
rise up to you
and live forever
in your Heart of hearts…

Amen.

-ConcordPastor