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:
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
- Psalm 105
(Before moving on to the reflection below,
So many things keep me from prayer, Lord...
So many things, large and small,
pull me in a dozen different directions
and slowly, surely, my time for prayer
slips to the bottom of my list of things to do
until I forget, until I'm too tired even
to rest in the stillness, in your peaceful presence...
I wonder, Lord:
of my dozen distractions, how many might diminish, even vanish
if first I take the time just to take a few deep breaths,
open myself to you and ask you to
assure me of your presence,
lead and direct me in my prayer,
and keep me attentive to our time together...
If I turn first to you and your assistance
will you fail to help me pray?
If I seek you first, before all else,
won't I see more clearly in my heart
what's large, what's small;
what's right, what's wrong;
what's pure, what's not;
what's true, what's false;
what's selfish and what's selfless;
what will help me - and what won't?
If I seek your face in prayer, Lord,
won't I more easily find you through my day
in my neighbors and in strangers,
in my work and in my rest,
in my heart and in my prayer?
If I seek and ask for your strength, Lord,
won't I more quickly draw from you
the grace and courage, faith and trust
I need to move from dawn to dusk
and through the dark of night?
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
So many things keep me from prayer, Lord:
what keeps me from prayer, keeps me from you
and what keeps me from you, keeps me from hope,
and what keeps me from hope, keeps me from life...
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
Even when I'm busy with good things
when I'm faithful to the work that's mine to do,
when I'm doing what I must to make a living,
even then, Lord, I need to seek you out,
to seek your strength, your face,
your watchful eye upon my day;
to seek the wisdom of your word
to help me know which way to turn
when so many things, large and small,
draw me in a dozen different ways...
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
In this quiet time, help me see
that seeking you and your strength, your face and your presence,
is always the first step I need to take,
the first place I need to go,
the first prayer I need to offer...
Without you, Lord,
I'm nothing...
Without your grace and might
I'm powerless...
Apart from the light of your face
I walk in the darkness...
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
Slow me down, Lord,
on the busiest, most difficult of days
and in your quiet presence, with your grace,
help me ponder the decisions I must make
and the turns that I might take at every crossroad...
In the stillness of my prayer, help me plan my day
and find the strength I need to live it in your love,
according to your word, with the wisdom of your eye
to guide me to your holy face...
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
- Psalm 105
(Before moving on to the reflection below,
spend some quiet time with the scripture verse above...)
So many things keep me from prayer, Lord...
So many things, large and small,
pull me in a dozen different directions
and slowly, surely, my time for prayer
slips to the bottom of my list of things to do
until I forget, until I'm too tired even
to rest in the stillness, in your peaceful presence...
I wonder, Lord:
of my dozen distractions, how many might diminish, even vanish
if first I take the time just to take a few deep breaths,
open myself to you and ask you to
assure me of your presence,
lead and direct me in my prayer,
and keep me attentive to our time together...
If I turn first to you and your assistance
will you fail to help me pray?
If I seek you first, before all else,
won't I see more clearly in my heart
what's large, what's small;
what's right, what's wrong;
what's pure, what's not;
what's true, what's false;
what's selfish and what's selfless;
what will help me - and what won't?
If I seek your face in prayer, Lord,
won't I more easily find you through my day
in my neighbors and in strangers,
in my work and in my rest,
in my heart and in my prayer?
If I seek and ask for your strength, Lord,
won't I more quickly draw from you
the grace and courage, faith and trust
I need to move from dawn to dusk
and through the dark of night?
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
So many things keep me from prayer, Lord:
what keeps me from prayer, keeps me from you
and what keeps me from you, keeps me from hope,
and what keeps me from hope, keeps me from life...
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
Even when I'm busy with good things
when I'm faithful to the work that's mine to do,
when I'm doing what I must to make a living,
even then, Lord, I need to seek you out,
to seek your strength, your face,
your watchful eye upon my day;
to seek the wisdom of your word
to help me know which way to turn
when so many things, large and small,
draw me in a dozen different ways...
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
In this quiet time, help me see
that seeking you and your strength, your face and your presence,
is always the first step I need to take,
the first place I need to go,
the first prayer I need to offer...
Without you, Lord,
I'm nothing...
Without your grace and might
I'm powerless...
Apart from the light of your face
I walk in the darkness...
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
Slow me down, Lord,
on the busiest, most difficult of days
and in your quiet presence, with your grace,
help me ponder the decisions I must make
and the turns that I might take at every crossroad...
In the stillness of my prayer, help me plan my day
and find the strength I need to live it in your love,
according to your word, with the wisdom of your eye
to guide me to your holy face...
Seek out the Lord and his might;
constantly seek his face...
To ponder and pray over...
What are the things, the situations, the distractions
that keep me from prayer?
How different might be my day, my night,
were I to make time for prayer a priority on my schedule?
How might my choices and decisions be different
if I made them in prayer?
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.
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