A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 12/1

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(Reflective background music for today's Pause for Prayer...)

I wait for you, Lord,
and I have waited for so long

and in so many ways…

I wait to find you, to know you,
to believe in you...

I wait for you to show yourself,

to show me your face

and let its light shine full upon my own…

I wait for you to speak to me,

to speak a word I understand:

a word my heart can grasp,
a word my heart can hold,
a word my heart can keep,
a word that brings me peace...

I wait to find the truth that sets me free

from all that holds me fast

in my confusion, fear and doubt…

I wait for you to hear my prayer
   and answer me...

I wait for your Spirit to move me,
   nudge me and shake me awake;
I wait for your Spirit to stir within
   and let me know that you're with me
      and I'm with you...

I wait to hear a word from you of

where to turn, the path to take,
the choices I should make...

I wait for you to calm my fears,
my anxious, lonely heart,

my troubled soul…

I wait for you to help me find
even just a little peace of mind…

I wait to find your presence in my daily rounds:

in the ordinary people, times and places

where I least expect but really need to see you...

I wait to know your mercy:

the forgiveness of my sins,
the cleansing of my soul,

refreshment for my spirit...

I wait because I trust you'll never fail
to call me to begin again, anew,

my slate wiped clean,
my sins absolved,
my heart mended, healed and pardoned...

I wait for you
when I'm not even sure why I still wait -

but then I wait some more

for in the waiting I begin
   to see you in the dark
      and hear you in the silence...

In the waiting I begin to know
   your presence and your face
and to feel your gentle touch

in the care of those around me

whose hearts and hands are yours, Lord,
whose voice and word are yours...

In the quiet of my Advent prayer

I wait for you
and I trust, I know, Lord
that you are waiting for me…

Amen.