Pause for Prayer: MONDAY 1/8

  Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

The big holidays are history, Lord, 

and now the rest of January  

and a whole new year lie ahead...

 

What will I make of the next 12 months, Lord,

and in the new year - what you will make of me?

I know you have plans for me, Lord,

- not for harm or woe -

but plans for my well-being:

for a year full of hope...*

As 2024 begins, Lord,
could you let me in on your plans
and help me make them my own?

When you call me to prayer

will you help me trust that you listen,

that you hear my every plea?

 

When I come looking for you, Lord,
will you show me your face,

give light for my path:
direct my steps, day by day,
and draw me close

to your heart and your truth?

Will you mold me in your wisdom,

straighten my every selfish bent

and help me care for my neighbor

before serving my own needs?

 

Will you take away 

what takes me from your arms

and hold me when I'm tempted 

to run, to flee, to isolate?

Will you help me seek you

with all my heart,

with all my soul and strength,

letting nothing deter my desire

to find you, to rest in your presence

and grow in your grace? 

 

Will you lift me up, out of myself,

and into your arms 

and into the lives of those around me?

 
Will you let me know 

the embrace of your strength,
the power of your love 

and your healing touch?

 

You will, Lord.

I know you will.

I know you'll do all of these things

because I know you have a plan for me

- not for harm or woe -

for for a year of well-being,

a year filled with promise, hope and peace...

 

Be Lord of my desires,

my wishes and my dreams;
be the Lord of my priorities
- be my daily planner -
be the Lord of all work, 

my play, my rest, my sleep...

 

Help me make the time to meet each day,
a time to sit and talk
- and keep me faithful to that time, Lord,

day by day by day....

 

Be my shepherd, strong and true
and help me trust that when I seek you
I'll find the help I need, Lord,
the love for which I thirst,

the joy my heart desires

and the peace that waits ahead

in the plans you have for me...

Receive the prayer I offer, Lord,

and open wide my heart

to live the grace you offer

in 2024...

Amen.

* Jeremiah 29:11-14

The Plans I Have for You by Ben Eaton

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