A Concord Pastor Comments: Monday6 Morning Offering: 5/6

Good morning, good God!

Fresh from yesterday's Pentecost I am, Lord,
but still much in need of your Spirit
and in need of your Spirit's powerful gifts...

So, I offer you a confession of foolishness, Lord,
especially the foolishness of sin in my life:
   give me your Spirit's gift of right judgment
   to discern between right and wrong, good fun and folly,
   love and lust, self-care and selfishness,
   humor and harm,
   genuine care and gossip...

And I offer you my desire for the Spirit's gift of courage:

to follow where my prayer leads me,

to be faithful to my convictions,

to speak and act when I'm afraid to speak and act,

to venture beyond my own comfortability

and to be fearless in walking by your side...

I offer you my stubbornness, Lord,

and pray for the Spirit's gift of understanding:

open me to the depths

of what others think and feel

to the depths of others's suffering,

to the good in another's point of view

and to acceptance of your will for me

when I simply just don't get it...

I offer you my self-centeredness, Lord,

and pray for the Spirit's gift of wisdom:

to see you in all peoples and in all things,

and to see everyone and everything through your eyes;

to see the truth as you know it;

to see your hand at work at all times;

to find meaning in suffering;

and to discover your fingerprints

on every bit of my life

and on the whole of creation...

I offer you my pride and know-it-all attitude, Lord:
and pray you'll give me the Spirit's gift of knowledge:
   deepen my desire to know you and to love you;
   make me hungry to know the truth of your Word;
   make me thirsty for your Spirit's counsel in my conscience,
   teach me to know and love the path you walk, Lord
       and give me the desire to follow you;
   deepen my love for our Church and its teachings
    and for all that leads me closer to you...

In a world that often and easily forgets you, Lord,
give me the Spirit's gift of reverence:
   give me a spirit of profound respect for you
       and for the people you call your own;
   make me humble in your presence
       and among my brothers and sisters;
   give me a love for prayer and time for prayer,
   and give me a spirit of prayer
       that leads me to rely on you
       to be my light and my salvation...

I offer you my tendency to rely on myself, Lord,
and pray for the Spirit's gift
of wonder and awe in your presence:
   increase my desire to be with you
       and never to be separated from you, Lord;
   keep me from anything or anyone
       who keeps me from you;
   teach me to find joy
       in knowing you are always with me;
   and teach me to find peace
       in trusting that you are there
       even when I cannot find you...

The gifts you offer are many, Lord,
and I know I need them all
every single one of them,
all the time...

Lord, help me receive, accept and share your Spirit's gifts
with those I know and meet
and open me to the all gifts of those whose paths
cross my own today - and through the week ahead...

Amen.