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:
I kept faith, Lord,
I kept faith, Lord,
even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted..."
- Psalm 116
This I have done, Lord...
I have kept faith
when I was greatly afflicted,
when the midday skies were dark
and I teetered on the edge of hopelessness...
Even then I kept faith
and reached out for your hand to guide me,
your love to sustain me,
and your light to shine on my path...
Even then I kept faith,
peering into the darkness I feared,
watching and waiting
for your light to open my eyes,
for your peace to lift my drooping spirit...
Even when I was tempted
to give in to doubt,
to give up and walk away,
to abandon my trust in your care:
even then, Lord,
I kept faith...
Even when I harbored a certain anger
when you were slow to respond to my pleas;
when I resented and envied others
whose lot looked easier, better than mine,
even then, Lord,
I kept faith...
Even when I tried to lock myself up,
away from you and others who cared;
even when I turned aside
from words of love, gestures of kindness
and the care of friends who knew my plight,
even then, Lord,
I kept faith...
Even when I thought keeping faith
was a waste of my time and my effort
(and in vain all my prayer gone unanswered,
so it seemed)
even then, Lord,
I believed you were near, you were there,
that you knew, that you cared,
that in spite of it all, in the dark, through my fear,
you reached out to touch, to bless,
every tear on my face,
and to heal the pain in my soul...
I kept faith, Lord,
- Psalm 116
(Before moving on to the reflection below,
spend some quiet time with the scripture verse above...)
This I have done, Lord...
I have kept faith
when I was greatly afflicted,
when the midday skies were dark
and I teetered on the edge of hopelessness...
Even then I kept faith
and reached out for your hand to guide me,
your love to sustain me,
and your light to shine on my path...
Even then I kept faith,
peering into the darkness I feared,
watching and waiting
for your light to open my eyes,
for your peace to lift my drooping spirit...
Even when I was tempted
to give in to doubt,
to give up and walk away,
to abandon my trust in your care:
even then, Lord,
I kept faith...
Even when I harbored a certain anger
when you were slow to respond to my pleas;
when I resented and envied others
whose lot looked easier, better than mine,
even then, Lord,
I kept faith...
Even when I tried to lock myself up,
away from you and others who cared;
even when I turned aside
from words of love, gestures of kindness
and the care of friends who knew my plight,
even then, Lord,
I kept faith...
Even when I thought keeping faith
was a waste of my time and my effort
(and in vain all my prayer gone unanswered,
so it seemed)
even then, Lord,
I believed you were near, you were there,
that you knew, that you cared,
that in spite of it all, in the dark, through my fear,
you reached out to touch, to bless,
every tear on my face,
and to heal the pain in my soul...
I kept faith, Lord,
even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted..."I recount all these times, Lord,
lest I ever forget the pain I bore
when I thought hope was gone,
the fear I faced
on the darkest of days,
the times I survived
with the help of your grace...
This I remember lest I ever forget
how your grace was my strength
when I thought you were gone,
how your love was within me
when I felt all alone,
how your Spirit sustained me
when I thought all was lost...
I kept faith, Lord,
even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted..."Let me never forget keeping faith in hard times,
holding on through the pain,
holding fast in my fears
with only your word, your promise,
as pledge that a new day would dawn,
your peace would be mine
and your grace heal my heart...
Even now, Lord,
I keep faith through good times and bad,
trusting your presence in my sorrows as in my joy,
knowing you're always at my side
to deepen my trust and strengthen my hope...
In the stillness, Lord, help me see
how you were present when I thought you'd left me,
how you were my strength in my weakest hour,
how only your promise and your Spirit's grace
have helped me in my troubles
to keep faith with you and in your word...
In the quiet of my prayer, Lord, help me remember
how you've brought me safe thus far
and safe will lead me home
through whatever comes my way...
To ponder and pray over...
Through what troubles, through what fears, have I kept faith with God?
What difficulties, what doubts have tempted me to loose faith?
When I look back, when and how has God kept faith with me
when I thought he had abandoned me?
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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