A Concord Pastor Comments: Praying 10 minutes today: WEDNESDAY 1/16

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 trust in your faithfulness, Lord.
Grant my heart joy in your help,
   that I may sing of the Lord,
      "How good our God has been to me!"
- Psalm 13

(Before moving on to the reflection below,

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

I do trust in your faithfulness, Lord.
I trust that you love me, care for and protect me,
that you're on my side, that you defend me...

I trust all this even if, today, I don't see your hand,

your strong arm reaching out to help me:

still, I trust in your faithfulness...

I trust that you're faithful, Lord,

even when you move slowly, silently, even secretly

in ways I don't understand...

And when I cannot find you,
      when I fear that you've forgotten and left me all alone,
even then, Lord,
   I trust that you are faithful...

I trust because you've always been there, Lord...

I find traces of your presence, your fingerprints,
pressed gently on my soul, reminding me
that how you move within my life and heart's a mystery
         of love and wisdom far beyond my ken...

You've never failed to help me, Lord,
   albeit all in your own time, not mine
and in ways of grace that often confuse and confound me
   as I wait for a storm to pass, a problem to be solved,
a crisis to be sorted out, a decision to be made...

I trust in your faithfulness, Lord,
   that somehow you are there, you are here,
you are with me and within me all the time...

With this trust I pray that you might strengthen me
   in just this faith that gets me through, gets me by
when all else fails around me...

In the middle of the storm before the rain has stopped;
   while I'm working on a problem, no answer yet in sight;
when the crisis is most difficult; when I don't know where to turn:
even then, Lord, in the midst of it all,
   grant my heart joy in your help...

I know that you've been with me always, Lord,

and I know that once again I'll see

how you've helped me make my way

through my present trials and troubles

but if only in the struggle you might grant my heart

a glimpse, a taste, a share, a drop

of the joy that's yours to give...

I trust in your faithfulness, Lord:
grant my heart joy in your help...

But if, in your wisdom, Lord,

in your mysterious and inscrutable ways, this is not to be,

then refresh within my mind and heart, deep within my soul,

the memories of the joy of looking back and finding,

graciously revealed, the ways you've been my guide,

my good shepherd, my strength, my help, my hope...

And then, again,

I will sing of your love:

how good our God has been to me!

I know that sometimes in my fear and sadness

I fail to find the gifts you offer for my peace.

In the stillness of my prayer, Lord,

open me to any ways you grant my heart the joy I pray for.

In the quiet of this time with you, refresh my soul

with memories of your help and grace throughout my life

and with them, nourish in me hope and trust

that in your faithfulness you are near, you are here,

you are my Lord and God...

To ponder and pray over...

What memories of God's faithfulness already help me trust?
Do my troubles sometimes keep me from seeing
   how God is present in my life?
For what share of joy do I pray?
Do I trust that God is with me, helping me,
   even when I find it hard to pray?
How will I ask God, today, to be with me,
   to grant my heart joy in his help?

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.