A Concord Pastor Comments: Praying 10 minutes today: WEDNESDAY 12/5

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...
(The lyrics are from Isaiah 40:1-4)

Comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low:
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain.

Comfort my soul, Lord:
   my heart, my mind and my imagination...

Comfort me in my dreams,
   in my fears and worries,
      in my memories and in my hopes...

Speak comfortably, Lord, in my family,
   among my friends and neighbors, among my colleagues at work
      and all the peoples of the world...

Speak comfortably to the young and the old,
   in the lives of the lonely and brokenhearted,
      in the brokenness of lives undone, unhinged, unloved...

Speak a word of comfort
   to those who are confused and confounded,
to those who struggle to accept
   the challenges and problems that burden them...

Speak a word of comfort, Lord,
   to those who find it hard to hope,
      those who flirt with despair
to those who need a sign from you and those around them
   to kindle the fire of hope within their hearts...

Speak a word of comfort to those who need work
   and who live in fear of not finding it...

Speak a word of comfort to the lonely
   to free their hearts to open
      to the company of those around them...

Speak a word of comfort to the sick, Lord,
   to those in chronic pain in mind and limb:
be the kind Physician of their souls
      to encourage and to heal them with your Spirit...

Speak a word of comfort to the dying
   and refresh their trust and hope in you
      and in the life you promise, life for ever...

Speak a word of comfort to the grieving, Lord,
   to those whose losses darken sunny days,
      whose hearts are mourning in the midst of others' joy...

Speak a word of comfort to those who've been abandoned
   by the world, the government, by neighbors and by me...
Speak comfortably to those who feel abandoned by the church...
Let your word of comfort heal, console, challenge and strengthen
   the ones left out and cast aside:
let them find a welcome by our side and in our hearts...

Speak comfortably to your people, Lord:
   may your voice and words
      make low the mountains of anxiety and fear,
         make straight the paths of those who've lost their way,
            and make smooth the rough and tumble places
               where we stumble and we fall...

In the quiet of my prayer, Lord,
   speak comfortably in my soul, my heart and mind...

Speak a word of comfort in my prayer, Lord,
   and help me hear and trust it
      and taking it to heart,
         let me speak a word of comfort
            to all I know and all I meet...

(Before moving on to the reflection below,

spend some quiet time with the scripture verse above...)

To ponder and pray over...

What word of comfort from the Lord does my heart need to hear?
How might I ask the Lord to speak comfortably to me
   in the circumstances and situations of this very day?
What word of comfort might I speak to others today?
How might I speak more comfortably to those around 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?

(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.