A Concord Pastor Comments: Praying 10 minutes today: FRIDAY 6/1

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:

Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer. - Romans 12

No doubt about it, Lord:
   when things are tough I sometimes slack off
in making time for you, for prayer and for hoping
   that you'll be there to see me through...
How is it that just when I need more than ever
   to come to you in prayer,
I go off alone, wondering and sometimes grumbling
   about where you are and where you've been...
Perhaps I'm angry, at least disappointed, and often confounded
   by how you've let come to pass the very things
      that most stress my soul, that most confuse my mind...
Whatever are my problems today, Lord,
   call me to your side, to prayer,
to a time and place where you and I can be together...
Call me aside from everything else and everyone else
   and quicken a spirit of prayer and trust within me...
Help me make it through these difficult days and nights,
   help me endure what burdens my heart
and give me wisdom to understand how
         your hand takes mine even, and especially,
            when I pull back from your embrace...
If I'm not ready to rejoice in the hope you offer,
   let me hope the day will come when joy again
will make it's home within me...
And through it all, Lord, keep me faithful to serving you
   in reaching out to those around me and finding
in serving others' needs some mending of my own...
When I slack off, Lord,
   refresh me with your presence
and call me to your side...
Remind me that with you all things are possible
   and with you, all shall be well...

Draw me to a place, a time to spend with you today, Lord,
   and in my prayer, give me hope for peace
my eyes can not yet see...

Here are some tips for praying 10 minutes a day. If you find these daily prayer reminders helpful, please let me know - and share them with others. You'll find an archive of these daily posts here.