Friday Prayer, March 31, 2017

“God put a new song in my mouth…” ~ Psalm 40:3

“New songs” often come through new circumstances. Hard circumstances. Times that call us to open ourselves and our lives to change, giving the Spirit fresh space to move and create. We can find a sort of comfort in the monotony of chords and words we’ve always sung, but God wants to create a new melody in us – stretching our voices, bringing us to fresh ranges of explored sound and experience. And in our new melodies, other voices (sometimes unexpected) may join in.

Will we give God the voices of our lives and surrender ourselves to a glorious symphony?

***

Loving God of all life,

On our hearts is the familiar tune, “Take My Life…” It is our prayer today, God,

                        Take my life and let it be

                        Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

                        Take my moments and my days;

                        Let them flow in ceaseless praise,

                        Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Oh God, we ask that you take all we are – our hands, our feet, our voices, our lips, our silver and gold, our intellect, our will, our hearts, our love, our very selves…wrap us into a chorus of ceaseless praise.

You are continually offering us all of you, and we seek to return the gift. You, the One who provides us daily bread and daily love, are the Source of all we are and all we truly need.

As we offer you our very selves we offer you the deepest prayers of our hearts – even the prayers for which we cannot form words. Thank you for hearing them.

We are prayerful today, God, for those who have recently faced difficult diagnoses. Words like “Parkinsons,” “Cancer,” “Stroke,” “Relapse”….

We are prayerful today, God, for those who have faced relational rejection and disappointment, hearing cutting phrases like, “I’m done,” “Leave me alone,” and “I’ve moved on.”

We are prayerful today, God, for those who have faced a bottoming out in self-esteem, holding questions like, “Why can’t I…,” “Will I ever…,” “Who cares for me?”  O God, hold us in the fear and steady us in the darkness of these words, these phrases, these questions.

Please, Spirit, form our lives into a song today –

a song that will soothe those in need of comfort,

a song that will uplift those in need of hope,

a song that will strengthen those in need of refreshment.

Take us, Lord – all of us.

In the love of the One who gave everything, Amen.