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:
Lord, open my lips
and my mouth will proclaim your praise...
- Psalm 51
When I'm in a praising way, Lord,
I don't need any reminder:
my heart and lips open up
and the praise comes rolling out!
But when I'm in a different place
and things aren't going so well,
when my heart is shuttered and my lips are closed,
then my mouth is still, no praise to proclaim...
And that's when I need to pray, Lord,
that you will open my lips,
that you'll give my heart a song to sing
and my mouth your praise to raise...
There is no day, Lord,
when I have nothing for which to praise you.
There is no night, Lord,
when I can't look back and see in my day
a reason to praise you for your love.
There's not a moment, Lord,
when I can't turn from my own needs
and pray in gratitude for what I see around me...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the world in which I live, for the beauty of the heavens,
the warmth of the sun, the sweetness of rain,
and for everything that grows and blossoms and bears fruit...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the life that's mine, for the soul within me
wherein you choose to dwell, to make your home,
to call my heart your resting place...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for everyone who's touched my life with love, with kindness,
with friendship and compassion, with a hand to help me up
and a shoulder to lean and cry on...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for family and friends, brothers and sisters in Christ,
neighbors and colleagues, companions along the way,
acquaintances and even strangers whose word or smile
once brightened my day or lightened my heart...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for whatever gets me up and out in the morning
and helps me through the night...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the faith in my heart, great or small, weak or strong:
I praise you for the faith that leads me to seek you again
when I've give up believing in you;
I praise you for the faith that keeps and sustains me
when there's little or nothing left to my hope;
I praise you for the faith that roots and grounds me
when I'm battered and tossed by hurricane winds...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for your Word, for the scriptures, for the stories I remember,
the words that stay with me and the songs of your love
that echo in my heart...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the sacraments that bathe and refresh me,
cleanse and forgive me, feed and nourish me,
strengthen and grace me, anoint me with gladness
and yoke me to you and to others in love...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for your patience with my errant ways,
your gentle and forgiving mercy
and the grace to help me turn my life around...
Lord, open my lips
and my mouth will proclaim your praise...
- Psalm 51
(Before moving on to the reflection below,
spend some quiet time with the scripture verse above...)
When I'm in a praising way, Lord,
I don't need any reminder:
my heart and lips open up
and the praise comes rolling out!
But when I'm in a different place
and things aren't going so well,
when my heart is shuttered and my lips are closed,
then my mouth is still, no praise to proclaim...
And that's when I need to pray, Lord,
that you will open my lips,
that you'll give my heart a song to sing
and my mouth your praise to raise...
There is no day, Lord,
when I have nothing for which to praise you.
There is no night, Lord,
when I can't look back and see in my day
a reason to praise you for your love.
There's not a moment, Lord,
when I can't turn from my own needs
and pray in gratitude for what I see around me...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the world in which I live, for the beauty of the heavens,
the warmth of the sun, the sweetness of rain,
and for everything that grows and blossoms and bears fruit...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the life that's mine, for the soul within me
wherein you choose to dwell, to make your home,
to call my heart your resting place...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for everyone who's touched my life with love, with kindness,
with friendship and compassion, with a hand to help me up
and a shoulder to lean and cry on...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for family and friends, brothers and sisters in Christ,
neighbors and colleagues, companions along the way,
acquaintances and even strangers whose word or smile
once brightened my day or lightened my heart...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for whatever gets me up and out in the morning
and helps me through the night...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the faith in my heart, great or small, weak or strong:
I praise you for the faith that leads me to seek you again
when I've give up believing in you;
I praise you for the faith that keeps and sustains me
when there's little or nothing left to my hope;
I praise you for the faith that roots and grounds me
when I'm battered and tossed by hurricane winds...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for your Word, for the scriptures, for the stories I remember,
the words that stay with me and the songs of your love
that echo in my heart...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the sacraments that bathe and refresh me,
cleanse and forgive me, feed and nourish me,
strengthen and grace me, anoint me with gladness
and yoke me to you and to others in love...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for your patience with my errant ways,
your gentle and forgiving mercy
and the grace to help me turn my life around...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for my imagination, my dreams and ideas,
for my thoughts and questions and understanding,
for the thirst to discover and learn,
for the gift of knowing you, my Lord, my God...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
prayers you have answered, mercy you've shown,
grace you've shared, compassion you've showered on me,
new beginnings you've begun
and second chances you've offered...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for gifts you've given that I never noticed
and gifts from your hand that I never opened;
for gifts that I've wasted or lost or foolishly spent;
and for gifts yet to come, from your heart to mine...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the joy I see in those around me,
for the peace I see in others' hearts
and long to find in my own...
In the stillness of my prayer, Lord,
in the quiet of this time with you,
open my heart, open my lips
and my mouth will proclaim your praise...
Whether this be a good day or a bad one,
a happy day or a sad one, a difficult day or a day of pain,
open my heart, open my lips
and my mouth will proclaim your praise...
Open my mind, Lord,
open my eyes, my ears and my heart
to all the gifts around and within me,
all cause to give you praise and thanks...
Lord, open my lips
and my mouth will proclaim your praise...
for my imagination, my dreams and ideas,
for my thoughts and questions and understanding,
for the thirst to discover and learn,
for the gift of knowing you, my Lord, my God...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
prayers you have answered, mercy you've shown,
grace you've shared, compassion you've showered on me,
new beginnings you've begun
and second chances you've offered...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for gifts you've given that I never noticed
and gifts from your hand that I never opened;
for gifts that I've wasted or lost or foolishly spent;
and for gifts yet to come, from your heart to mine...
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will praise you
for the joy I see in those around me,
for the peace I see in others' hearts
and long to find in my own...
In the stillness of my prayer, Lord,
in the quiet of this time with you,
open my heart, open my lips
and my mouth will proclaim your praise...
Whether this be a good day or a bad one,
a happy day or a sad one, a difficult day or a day of pain,
open my heart, open my lips
and my mouth will proclaim your praise...
Open my mind, Lord,
open my eyes, my ears and my heart
to all the gifts around and within me,
all cause to give you praise and thanks...
Lord, open my lips
and my mouth will proclaim your praise...
To ponder and pray over...
Are there days, nights, times when it's hard to praise God?Do I need to take an inventory of the reasons I have
to praise and thank the Lord?
If I'm not in a "praising mood" today, will I ask God
to draw me out, to open my heart and my lips?
Will I ask the Lord to help me proclaim his praise?
Regardless of my heart's mood today -
what do I have, what gifts are mine,
for which to praise the Lord?
What will I ask of the Lord today?
From this prayer time, what word or phrase will I keep with me
to carry through the rest of my day?
From this prayer time, what word or phrase will I keep with me
to carry through the rest of my day?
(After you spend some time with these questions,
pray the reflection above one more time...)
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.
Tweet
Subscribe to A Concord Pastor Comments
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please THINK before you write
and PRAY before you think!