6/21/21

NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 6/21

I remember childhood summers that seemed to have no horizon: a time and place as close to heaven as any young heart might ever dream.  A child’s summer joy comes as a gift from God: a taste of timelessness, a promise of perpetual play, a season of sun and unending fun. Who but God might offer such a gift?  But where have those childhood summers gone? Have we lost our hope in summer's promise? If we don't believe in summer, how can we believe in heaven where summer's joy must surely never end...  Heaven: where summer's timeless stillness calms with peace all other seasons' grief...

Come summer with me, Lord,
come summer with me 
deep down in my soul…  

Restore my faith in summer’s time, 
in rest, in joy, in play, in you...

Come summer in my heart
and dwell there, Lord,
as if summertime would never end, 
as if all time were a child's time, 
eternal time, when school is always out
and joy is ever in... 
 
Come summer with me, Lord,
come summer with me 
deep down in my soul…   
 
In these long-awaited days, Lord, 
slow me down and give me time to be with you,
extra time to spend with you,
to find you always by my side... 
 
Let any summer doldrums lull, calm and call me 
to a place of peace, of prayer,
of meeting you again:
like bumping into an old friend
on the streets of my vacation... 
 
Come summer with me, Lord,
come summer with me  
deep down in my soul… 
 
Help me relax, Lord, 
and find a peaceful place 
where I can meet you face to face,
as when you took your own rest, Lord: 
leaving city and crowds behind, 
going up the mountain, out to the desert,
sailing across to the opposite shore,
off by yourself to sit in the silence
and pray... 
 
Come summer with me, Lord,
come summer with me 
deep down in my soul… 
 
Slow me down, Lord, 
and let the busyness that runs me 
and the work that runs me down 
settle to a pace that lets me be,
just be with you in the quiet shade
where my heart speaks to yours 
and yours to mine,
where, in the silence, I can hear your voice,
your word...

Come summer with me, Lord,
come summer with me 
deep down in my soul…  

And if my summer time is crowded with work and things to do, 
if vacation time is short or simply not in sight, 
if problems bear down like the season's noonday sun
- even then, especially then -
come summer with me, Lord, 
come summer with me deep down in my soul:
as the sun comes up at morning,
as the stars shine bright all night,
as soft rains fall upon me…

Come summer with me, Lord,
come summer with me 
deep down in my soul…   

Protect us through the summer, Lord,
and watch over our lazy days
that awake, we might keep watch for you
and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.
 
Send Us Your Spirit by Dan Schutte


Send us your spirit, O Lord.
Evening enfolds us and holds us too near.
Wake the morning light. Make our living bright.
Shine on our darkness, O Lord

Teach us your wisdom, O Lord.
Shadows have clouded, have crowded our sight.
Give us hearts that see. Set our loving free.
Hear us and help us, O Lord.

Send us good summer, O Lord.
Winters have chilled us and stilled us too long.
Give us love's own fire. Be our true desire.
Send us your spirit, O Lord.
  
 


  

  
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