A Concord Pastor Comments: Praying 10 minutes today: TUESDAY 12/11

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 come, O come Emmanuel
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear...

(Before moving on to the reflection below,

spend some quiet time with the words above...)

The words of this Advent hymn are strong, Lord,
   and you know better than I how many of your people
      are held captive and live in exile all around the globe...

I pray for them, Lord, especially in Advent:
   I pray for a harvest of justice to ransom those held captive
     and bring home those in exile...

I pray for those held captive by terrorism and war;
I pray for those imprisoned by prejudice and poverty;
I pray for those incarcerated by oppression
   and especially those who have been marginalized,
      deprived of shelter, food and health care;
I pray for those held captive by circumstance of birth
   and by problems and burdens far beyond their control...

And I pray that they be ransomed
   by those who seek and live the truth as you reveal it;
I pray they be ransomed by goodness dwelling
   in the hearts of all who love their neighbor...

I pray they be ransomed by faith in you, Lord:
you willingly made yourself captive to our flesh
and bore our sins upon your sinless shoulders;
with your death you ransomed us from death
   and in your rising freed us from this earthly exile...

O come, O come Emmanuel
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear...

And, Lord, I pray for myself and others
   who find ourselves held captive in much smaller ways,
     in exile from the homeland of a peaceful heart...

I pray for all held captive by their doubts and fears,
   whose faltering steps move slowly, if at all,
      for worry that in some way they might trip and fail...

I pray for those held captive by their past,
   their dreams and memories always haunting,
       keeping them from rest and looking foward to tomorrow...

I pray for those held captive by their secrets,
   those held hostage by their shame, shackled
and imprisoned in the loneliest of cells...

I pray for those held captive by their grief,
   their mourning weighing heavy on their hearts,
      depriving them of happiness and joy...

I pray for those held captive by relationships
   that crush the soul and keep a heart's door closed
to the balm of having friends who love...

I pray for those held captive by their jealousy and envy,
   who cannot see with grateful eyes the bounty
of your gifts that fill their laps and arms...

I pray for those held captive by addiction:
   imprisoned, hungering for what cannot fill or satisfy
   the heart's most real desires...

I pray for those held captive by mistrust and nagging doubt,
   whose hopes and dreams are clouded by the fear
that happiness has passed them by...

Ransom us, Lord, and free us from captivity
   in doubt and fear, in selfishness and sin,
   in grief and mourning, in pride and despair...

O come, O come Emmanuel
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear...

Ransom us, Lord, by your coming among us...

Ransom us, Lord, by your birth in Bethlehem...

Ransom us, Lord, by the truth of your gospel...

Ransom us, Lord, by the grace of your mercy...

Ransom us, Lord, by your suffering and death...

Ransom us, Lord, by your rising in glory...

Ransom us, Lord, in the gift of your Spirit...

Ransom us, Lord, from what holds us captive...

Ransom us, Lord, in our seeking to find you...

Ransom us, Lord, in this Advent of waiting...

O come, O come Emmanuel
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear...

In the quiet, in the stillness of my prayer:
   come, Emmanuel, and ransom me
      from all that holds me captive today...

Free me from my exile and bring me home to you
   for you are my God and you are here, with me,
      within me and by my side...

Rejoice, rejoice, O Israel:
   to you shall come Emmanuel!

Rejoice, rejoice, O my soul:
   to you shall come Emmanuel!

To ponder and pray over...

What holds me captive in my life? in my emotions?
   in my heart, in my soul?
What holds me captive - today?
How do I seek to be ransomed by the Lord?
Is my life, or part of my life, in exile?
How is the Lord, even now,
   seeking to bring me home from my exile?

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?

(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.