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:
O God, you are my God -
for you I long...
- Psalm 63
for you I long...
I do long for you, Lord, always,
and in so many ways...
I long for your wisdom in my daily dilemmas:
for your counsel in my confusion,
for your direction, when I'm lost and cannot find my way;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your wisdom...
I long for your peace in my family:
when misunderstandings and chips on shoulders
wedge their way between brothers and sisters,
parents and children, husbands and wives;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your peace...
I long for your strength when my spirit falters:
when my will is weak and conviction fails me,
when I haven't the courage to say and do
what your word calls forth from my heart;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your strength...
I long for your mercy:
when I fail to love as you've loved me,
when I fail to forgive as you've forgiven,
when I refuse to let go what needs forgetting:
I long for you, O Lord, and for your mercy...
I long for your understanding
when I'm at odds with friends and neighbors,
with colleagues and competitors:
when I refuse to see their point of view
and fail to do for them as I'd want done for me,
then I long for you, O Lord, and for your understanding...
I long for your patience:
when I want things done my way
and on my schedule, on my terms,
for my benefit and favor,
when I totally forget to even try to care for others' needs
before I care for mine;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your patience...
I long for your kindness:
when I'm self-absorbed and in a hurry,
when I'm brusque and gruff and curt,
when my rough edges need a smoothing buff
before I scrape against another's heart;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your kindnesss...
I long for your gentleness:
when I'm tempted to be rushed and less than careful,
when a warm and temperate spirit is what's needed
when I'm called to tend the needs and wants of others;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your gentleness...
I long for your joy:
when anger and self-pity haunt my soul,
when jealousy and envy steal my cheer,
when like a child I whine and pout
and miss the simple joys of every day;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your joy...
I long for your goodness:
when I settle for something less than true,
less than pure and honest, less than fair and just,
less than what you want for me to be and do and have;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your goodness...
And I long for your love:
when I'm tired of all my stuff and toys and things,
when my heart's in need of company that only you can give,
when my soul is thirsty for the sweetness of your presence;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your love...
O God, you are my God
- for you I long, always,
and in so many ways...
In the quiet of my prayer, Lord,
satisfy my longing for your presence, for your gifts,
for your mercy and your grace...
In the stillness of this time, Lord,
help me know how much I long for you
and how only you can fill the deepest longing of my soul...
O God, you are my God -
for you I long, always,
and in so many ways...
O God, you are my God -
for you I long...
- Psalm 63
(Before moving on to the reflection below,
O God, you are my God -for you I long...
I do long for you, Lord, always,
and in so many ways...
I long for your wisdom in my daily dilemmas:
for your counsel in my confusion,
for your direction, when I'm lost and cannot find my way;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your wisdom...
I long for your peace in my family:
when misunderstandings and chips on shoulders
wedge their way between brothers and sisters,
parents and children, husbands and wives;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your peace...
I long for your strength when my spirit falters:
when my will is weak and conviction fails me,
when I haven't the courage to say and do
what your word calls forth from my heart;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your strength...
I long for your mercy:
when I fail to love as you've loved me,
when I fail to forgive as you've forgiven,
when I refuse to let go what needs forgetting:
I long for you, O Lord, and for your mercy...
I long for your understanding
when I'm at odds with friends and neighbors,
with colleagues and competitors:
when I refuse to see their point of view
and fail to do for them as I'd want done for me,
then I long for you, O Lord, and for your understanding...
I long for your patience:
when I want things done my way
and on my schedule, on my terms,
for my benefit and favor,
when I totally forget to even try to care for others' needs
before I care for mine;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your patience...
I long for your kindness:
when I'm self-absorbed and in a hurry,
when I'm brusque and gruff and curt,
when my rough edges need a smoothing buff
before I scrape against another's heart;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your kindnesss...
I long for your gentleness:
when I'm tempted to be rushed and less than careful,
when a warm and temperate spirit is what's needed
when I'm called to tend the needs and wants of others;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your gentleness...
I long for your joy:
when anger and self-pity haunt my soul,
when jealousy and envy steal my cheer,
when like a child I whine and pout
and miss the simple joys of every day;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your joy...
I long for your goodness:
when I settle for something less than true,
less than pure and honest, less than fair and just,
less than what you want for me to be and do and have;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your goodness...
And I long for your love:
when I'm tired of all my stuff and toys and things,
when my heart's in need of company that only you can give,
when my soul is thirsty for the sweetness of your presence;
I long for you, O Lord, and for your love...
O God, you are my God
- for you I long, always,
and in so many ways...
In the quiet of my prayer, Lord,
satisfy my longing for your presence, for your gifts,
for your mercy and your grace...
In the stillness of this time, Lord,
help me know how much I long for you
and how only you can fill the deepest longing of my soul...
O God, you are my God -
for you I long, always,
and in so many ways...
To ponder and pray over...
My heart longs for many things:do I understand how much I long for God?
how all my longing, ultimately, is longing for my God?
How does my heart long for the Lord today?
what gift of God does my heart long for right now?
What keeps me from knowing how much I long for 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.
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