A Concord Pastor Comments: NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 5/3

Night Prayer on Good Shepherd Sunday

Sometimes at the end of the day, Lord,
I feel like I'm lost in the woods,
in a dense, dark forest
where I can't find my way
and I don't know the way out...

And it's lonely in those woods...

So I'm grateful, oh so grateful, Lord,
when you draw me to prayer:
prayer like a small clearing in that forest;
prayer that's a carpet of soft green grass
where I can lay down my head and rest;
prayer like a small brook, bubbling by;
prayer under a cathedral ceiling, rising high,
opening up to light pouring down,
promising the dawn;
prayer like an oasis of peace,
a sanctuary of your presence,
a chapel of your grace...

Draw me into prayer this night, Lord,
help me imagine such a setting,
a place where I can bring my fears and worries,
a place where you will listen
and gently tend to all my needs:
a place of prayer,
a place of peace...

Draw me in prayer to just such a place
where we might meet, Lord:
a place where I might lean upon your chest
and hear your heart
until I hear it beating one with mine...

So come, Lord:
lead me, guide me,
shepherd me in prayer
through the darkness of this night
until a new day dawns tomorrow...

Amen.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all I need,
He makes me lie down in green meadows,
Beside the still waters he will lead.

He restores my soul, he rights my wrongs,
He leads me in a path of good things,
And fills my heart with song.

Even though I walk through a dark and dreary land,
There is nothing that can shake me,
He has said he won't forsake me,
I'm in his hand.

He sets a table before me in the presence of my foes,
He anoints my head with oil,
And my cup overflows.

Surely, surely goodness and kindness will follow me,
All the days of my life,
And I will live in his house,
Forever, forever and ever.

Glory be to our Father, and Brother,
And to the Holy of Holies,
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
Life, without end. Amen.