A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 11/26

Audio for today's Pause for Prayer

Bless the Lord, my soul,
    all my being, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, my soul;
    and do not forget all his gifts...
- Psalm 103

Me, Lord?
Would I forget all your gifts to me?
No way!
I mean, how could I?
You've been so generous...

Well, okay,
I guess, maybe, sometimes
it's true:
   I do forget...

I loose track of what you've given me,
   how you've been there for me,
      what you've done for me,
but that was back then, Lord,
   and this is now...

I so easily focus on
   what I need from you now;
   how I need you in my life at this moment;
   and what I want you to do for me, today...

Sometimes, Lord, my memory of past blessings
   doesn't even reach back to yesterday...

What you gave me last month,
   how you blessed me last year
and the gifts I've received and carried for decades:
   all of these fall into a great black hole,
      forgotten and eclipsed by my needs today...

I don't mean to be ungrateful, Lord,
   but often that's where I end up,
   forgetful of your forgiving love,
   your enduring patience and endless mercy,
   your abiding presence at my side and your gifts, large and small,
      hand delivered to my heart:
   some gifts opened, enjoyed but then discarded;
   others used, abused or wasted;
   and some left tied, wrapped up, unopened
      when my petulant heart in self-pity
         refused to receive what you generously offered...

Bless the Lord, my soul,
   all my being, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, my soul;
   and do not forget all his gifts...

Once more then, Lord,
   I ask for your forgiving love,
      your patience and your mercy.
I pray you drop these gifts on my heart's doorstep
   that I not miss them,
      not fail to receive them gratefully;
   that I might open them with joy
      and find in them the peace of your presence
         that comes with your hand's every gift...

And, refreshed by such grace, Lord,
   open my memory and my mind to look back
      and find again the gifts I've forgotten
   from years, months, weeks and days ago...

Help me recognize the gifts I failed to see
   when they arrived in wrappings I didn't expect;
help me find and accept any gift I ignored or rejected
   because it wasn't just the one I'd prayed for;
help me be grateful for gifts whose time has passed,
   gifts my angry heart refused to open and accept,
and give me joy in knowing that you were there for me
   with gifts unknown, unnumbered and undeserved;
help me know, in my heart of hearts,
   that you know better than I, Lord, what I really need
      and what will truly bring me peace...

In this quiet time, Lord, in your mercy,
   pardon and forgive me for having forgotten, lost and wasted
      so much of what you've given me
   and especially any gifts you gave
      for me to share with others...

Open the eyes of my heart and soul,
   the doors of my mind and memory,
      to find all the gifts I've received from your hand.
Teach my heart to rejoice in your generous love...

In the stillness here with you, Lord,
   give me the gift of a grateful heart
and grant me an attitude of gratitude...

Give me your Spirit's help to recognize your gifts
   regardless of their wrapping or how they came my way;
open my heart to gifts I didn't ask or pray for,
   the gifts you knew I needed,
      though maybe not the gifts I wanted...

Help me trust that you know best what I need most today
   and that you will give me everything I need to be at peace
      with you, with my neighbor and with myself...