A Concord Pastor Comments: Praying 10 minutes today: Novena for Pentecost

Over the next week, we'll be using a novena for our Praying 10 minutes a day. (After Pentecost Sunday, May 27, we'll return to the usual format.) The oldest novena is the prayer of the first disciples (Mary, the apostles and other believers) from the time Jesus ascended to his Father (40 days after Easter) to the feast of Pentecost. These nine days are a time for us to pray for the coming of the Spirit upon the Church and upon each of us. Each day of the novena you will find a post with scripture and prayer for that day.

Praying 10 minutes today...

Novena to the Holy Spirit - Day 4

Find a quiet time and place to pray...

take a few deep breaths...

be still and know that God is near..

A word to reflect on...
Paul traveled through the interior of the country

and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples.

He said to them,

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”

They answered him,

“We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

Acts 19:1-8

For reflection...

• When I received the sacrament of Confirmation,

I received the gifts of the Holy Spirit:

wisdom... understanding... right judgment... courage...

knowledge... reverence... wonder...

and awe in God's presence...

When I'm being selfish and foolish,

do I ask for wisdom?

When I'm confused and confounded,

do I ask for understanding?

When I have choices to make,

do I ask for right judgement?

When I find it hard to say and to do the right thing,

do I ask for courage?
When I know how much I don't know about God,

do I ask for deeper knowledge?

When I realize I only pray when I want something,

do I ask for reverence?

When I think I pretty much know everything,

do I ask for a sense of wonder?

When it seems like I've forgotten who God is in my life,

do I make time to sit quietly in his presence?

• Has the Holy Spirit moved, drawn, directed, encouraged me
in ways I've ignored or put off?
How is the Spirit nudging me today? In what direction?

Will I follow where the Spirit leads me?

• What shall I pray for the Church today?

I pray for the Church to welcome the the movement of the Holy Spirit,

and never to fear where the Spirit may lead God's people...

I pray for the Spirit to open the minds and hearts of all God's people

to the wisdom and counsel of the ages, of the faith, of God's Word...

I pray for the Church to welcome the gifts of all God's people,

in whatever way they might serve others,

the gospel and the work of justice...

• The Gifts of the Holy Spirit (as they are named in the Rite of Confirmation) include: wisdom... the spirit of understanding and right judgment... courage... the spirit of knowledge and reverence... and the spirit of wonder and awe in God's presence...

For which of these gifts will I pray today?

Let us pray:

Come, Holy Spirit

to this time of prayer, this quiet time

and in the stillness, let me know your presence and your power...
Like unopened birthday presents, your gifts often lay dormant
   in my mind and heart...
With the breath of your wind, stir me to look for those gifts...
With the power of your presence,
   help me to discover and open those gifts...
With the fire of your love, lead me to use those gifts to grow in faith,
   and for the sake of all whom I might serve with your help...

Come, Holy Spirit,

fill the hearts of your people

and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created

and you will renew the face of the earth.

(Look to the top of the sidebar and choose one of the 24 songs on the widget as part of your 10 minutes of prayer today...)