Unimprisoned God

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Ruby-crowned kinglet on a snowy day

O Omnipresent God,

Unhindered by any door, deadbolt, or lock:

We who worship alone today

Within the walls of our homes or rooms or curtained hospital beds or unsheltered in the open air

Offer you our solitude as sacrifice of praise,

In gratitude for the gritty faith of the many in the great cloud of witnesses

Who themselves worshipped in prisons of stones or caves or holes in the ground,

In exile and in illness;

In solidarity with many today imprisoned by poor health or sin's consequences or the unjust decisions of the powerful— 

Some deprived of all contact with the world outside—

Companion us in all our lonely lamentations; 

Shine Your light into our darkness to show the gold gleam of the most holy place of Your presence; 

Unite us in the spiritual communion of the saints, one body in Christ beyond time or space;

Remind each one that no child of Yours is ever truly alone,

for you are with us always in love and grace

For the glory of Your holy name.

Amen.

Ruler of Wind and Waves

Amaryllis bud in front of bokeh Christmas lights

Click here to listen to me pray this over you.

Eternal, omnipotent God, 

Ruler of wind and waves,

Who raised a storm against your wayward prophet

And spoke hush to the waves swamping the disciples' boat,

Who sent a great fish to swallow the one and called many fish into the nets of the others:

Speak peace to the troubled hearts of Your children;

Where we are wayward, use the storms to drive us back to You;

Where we are worried (and, Lord, we are worried), speak Your peace that passes understanding into our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies;

Only You are strong enough to carry all the weight of all our worries;

Only You are loving enough to want to.

Provide everything needed, from discipline to daily bread;

Have mercy on our frailties and sins;

Heal our sorrows and sicknesses;

Grant us rest in the Almighty Love come down at Christmas and abiding always,

in Jesus' name, Amen.

A Prayer for the Threshold of the Year

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Eternal God,

Thank you for the blessings Your hand  has provided us this year.

We bring you the challenges You have carried us through,

The wounds and disappointments we need You to heal,

The ones that may never heal this side of Heaven,

The lessons You’ve taught us,

The lessons we’ve still failed to learn,

The accomplishments You have worked for us.

All of them we offer You as material for sacrifice.

In all these things Your hand has been working, whether we knew it or not.

In all these things Your love has been working, whether we knew it or not.

You are the alpha and omega,

Beginning and end,

Author and finisher of our faith.

You have carried us through all this year,

And you already await us in the new one.

You have never forsaken us and will not forsake us now.

Grant us grace and strength for today

And tomorrow

And all the tomorrows remaining to us until we see Your face in death or the soon return of Christ.

May Your love be our rest,

Your power our security,

Your communion our hope.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

Amen.

31 December 2023

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A Christmas prayer for the sick

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O God our healer,

Who sweetened Mara's bitter waters with wood:

Sweeten the bitterness and loneliness of illness with the cross of Christ;

Console the ill with the fellowship of His sufferings and the Holy Spirit's comfort;

Show forth the sufficiency of Your grace and fullness of Your power;

Remind Your people to love, encourage, and pray for them;

Heal the grief of missing out, especially on days of celebration;

Forgive those who have added sorrow by their words and actions, intentional and accidental;

Transform sickrooms and hospital beds into sanctuaries through Your presence;

That the sick and their families may endure these afflictions as seeing You who are invisible,

And rest in Your promises that these sufferings are, even now, working for them an overwhelming, eternal, incomparable weight of glory;

In the name of Jesus,

the Man of sorrows who bore our sickness and pain as well as our sin,

Amen.

A Christmas Prayer for Those Who Feel Invisible

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O Sovereign King,

You who see the unseen and forgotten people,

Who sent Your royal angelic herald

To the unclean, uncouth shepherds,

The offscourings of society,

Distant from the rites of public worship,

But not from Your gaze:

Proclaim Your good news of great joy

To the invisible souls on the margins of church and culture now;

Invade our darkness with Your light,

Our fear with Your joy,

Our alienation with Your presence,

Our anonymity with Your attentive delight,

That we also might sound forth Your praises

And herald the glories You proclaim to us,

So that all glory and worship might resound

To Jesus the Savior,

Virgin-born yet God-enfleshed.

Holy and gracious is He.

Blessed be His name.

Amen.