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 will praise you, Lord,
with all my heart...
- Psalm 111
I'm glad the psalmist speaks here in the future tense, Lord!
I will praise you, Lord,
with all my heart...
- Psalm 111
(Before moving on to the reflection below,
spend some quiet time with the scripture verse above...)
I'm glad the psalmist speaks here in the future tense, Lord!
Praising you with all my heart is something I want to do,
something I hope to do,
but I know I'm not there yet...
It's the word all that hangs me up...
All's a little word that asks a lot - it asks for everything -
and everything seems, sometimes, just too much to give...
No doubt about it:
you deserve everything and you're worthy of everything
and everything I have was first your gift to me
so everything I have is yours already, Lord...
Well, everything in my heart is yours except
what I try to hold back, what I hide,
what I conceal behind my fears,
what I cling to and in self-pity
shelter from your touch...
Of course, even all that is yours, Lord:
there's nothing I can bury deep enough
to keep it from your sight, your love, your mercy...
But when I hunker down
and crouch in these protected corners of my heart,
when I shield my soul from help,
when I prefer the darkness to your light:
then there's no way I can praise you, Lord
- not with all my heart...
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart...
The only way I'll come to praise you
with the whole of who I am, with all my heart,
is to surrender what I keep and won't let go,
to let go the things I keep that end up keeping me...
Surrender?
Why, Lord, do I fear letting go what holds me down?
Why do I embrace what holds me fast
and keeps me from the peace I want so much?
Why don't I let go what piles on, what weighs me down,
what keeps me shut inside my failings and my fears?
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart...
I want to praise you with the whole of who I am
and so I pray for grace to help my soul surrender:
to let go whatever keeps my heart divided,
to be free of burdens I have made my friends,
to relieve my heart of useless fears and worries...
I'll praise you with all my heart, Lord,
when I've opened up the places that I've hidden
and invite your touch of mercy and its healing
to uncover and set free the things I keep
that end up keeping me...
I'll praise you with all my heart, Lord,
when I stand in peace before you,
when I walk into your light
and let nothing shield my soul from your grace,
the love you offer...
In the quiet of my prayer today, Lord,
help me begin to come out from my hiding
and to surrender to your mercy and your healing...
In the stillness, Lord, let me hear your voice, your word,
and let your wisdom draw me from my heart's shadowed corners
into the arms of your embrace...
Set me free to praise you, Lord, with all my heart,
to surrender to your love...
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart...
but I know I'm not there yet...
It's the word all that hangs me up...
All's a little word that asks a lot - it asks for everything -
and everything seems, sometimes, just too much to give...
No doubt about it:
you deserve everything and you're worthy of everything
and everything I have was first your gift to me
so everything I have is yours already, Lord...
Well, everything in my heart is yours except
what I try to hold back, what I hide,
what I conceal behind my fears,
what I cling to and in self-pity
shelter from your touch...
Of course, even all that is yours, Lord:
there's nothing I can bury deep enough
to keep it from your sight, your love, your mercy...
But when I hunker down
and crouch in these protected corners of my heart,
when I shield my soul from help,
when I prefer the darkness to your light:
then there's no way I can praise you, Lord
- not with all my heart...
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart...
The only way I'll come to praise you
with the whole of who I am, with all my heart,
is to surrender what I keep and won't let go,
to let go the things I keep that end up keeping me...
Surrender?
Why, Lord, do I fear letting go what holds me down?
Why do I embrace what holds me fast
and keeps me from the peace I want so much?
Why don't I let go what piles on, what weighs me down,
what keeps me shut inside my failings and my fears?
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart...
I want to praise you with the whole of who I am
and so I pray for grace to help my soul surrender:
to let go whatever keeps my heart divided,
to be free of burdens I have made my friends,
to relieve my heart of useless fears and worries...
I'll praise you with all my heart, Lord,
when I've opened up the places that I've hidden
and invite your touch of mercy and its healing
to uncover and set free the things I keep
that end up keeping me...
I'll praise you with all my heart, Lord,
when I stand in peace before you,
when I walk into your light
and let nothing shield my soul from your grace,
the love you offer...
In the quiet of my prayer today, Lord,
help me begin to come out from my hiding
and to surrender to your mercy and your healing...
In the stillness, Lord, let me hear your voice, your word,
and let your wisdom draw me from my heart's shadowed corners
into the arms of your embrace...
Set me free to praise you, Lord, with all my heart,
to surrender to your love...
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart...
To ponder and pray over...
What parts of my heart do I try to hide from God? from others? from myself?
Have some corners of my heart become my hiding place?
Have some fears become my friends?
Dare I pray and ask the Lord to set me free, to help surrender,
the things I keep that end up keeping 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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