A Concord Pastor Comments: Praying 10 minutes today: TUESDAY 6/12

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:

Unless the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain who build it...
Psalm 127

I'm not building an actual house, Lord,
but I've got a pretty big construction project underway -
and it's not finished yet...

I've been building this life of mine for as long as I remember
but when I step back and take a look at how it's going
it seems I may have misplaced my blueprints and my plans:
it's just not turning out the way I thought and hoped it would...

When I look at what I've built so far I see:
the front steps aren't quiet even,
not all the floors are level,
the foundation worries me
and the roof's not really strong enough to shield me
from what weather comes tomorrow...

And my building materials?
Well, I haven't always gone for the best:
I've settled for second rate, cutting corners here and there,
trying to patch over and catch up
when things weren't quite on schedule...

My carpenter friend reminds me: "measure twice and cut once."
But often I don't measure even once:
I estimate, approximate, guess and sometimes - flip a coin!
I don't always take a true measure of my situation, my responsibilities,
and the consequences of my haphazard choices.
So the stairs are uneven, the floors slope,
the foundation's cracked and the roof leaks...

The good news, Lord, is this:
the house of my life, with all its mistakes and problems
still stands,
even if it leans a little to one side or the other...

And today, sitting here with you, I'm taking the measure
(twice) of what I've done and failed to do
in building this life called mine...

I need a contractor, Lord, to help me make some home repairs.
I need an architect, a good one, to draw new plans,
to help design or redesign the life I hope to have.
I need a carpenter to smooth the rough edges
and right the odd angles of what I've built or tried to build alone.
I need you, Lord, to oversee, to plan, to help construct
the life you'd have me live, a life that brings me peace,
a life to offer others...

So I need a Master builder, Lord, because I see that on my own
I'll never be at home in what I build without your help.
Unless you build my house, O God,
my labor's all in vain...

Work with me, Lord, day by day:
I know that's what you want to do.
Work with me and help me see what's weak in my foundation,
uneven in my steps, what slants me off my balance,
fails to shield me in a storm...

Give me good, strong material to build my life anew:
remind me, Lord to measure once and measure twice
for every choice I make...

With your help, Lord, with your strong arm,
my life can be replanned, rebuilt, repaired,
restored, refurbished and refinished
for with you, my Master builder,
all things are possible and all can be made new...

And when this seems too much, O Lord,
grant the peace I need
to pray, to be still...
to know that you are near, to trust that you are here,
to know that with your help my work is not in vain...

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.