written for worship on October 17, 2010 by
Diana R.G. Trautwein
“This is the air I breathe…this is my daily bread…”
“Abba, Father…”
“Allelu, alleluia…”
Oh Lord, I am so glad that we can sing our prayers to you.
Because sometimes - actually, a lot of time! - singing
is the only way we can muster up the words,
connect with the emotions,
get in touch with those central pieces
and parts of ourselves
that most need to be opened
to the reviving,
rejuvenating,
encouraging,
challenging work of your Spirit.
So, hear our songs today, Lord, as our earnest and heartfelt prayers to you:
our cry for mercy when life feels overwhelming;
our desire for forgiveness when we’ve gone astray;
our exuberant ‘thank you’ when we’ve seen grace;
our exhausted ‘where are you’ when we’ve lost our
bearings.
We sing these prayers of ours with full hearts,
and also sometimes with tired bodies and
puzzled minds;
with contrite spirits,
and just plain empty gas tanks.
And we sing them to YOU, O Lord, because…
we have no other.
You are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
You are the God of Deborah, Ruth and Hannah.
You are the God of Peter and Paul and Mary and Elizabeth.
And you are, most of all, the God of Jesus, the incarnate one;
Jesus, the savior and healer;
Jesus, the living water and bread of life;
Jesus, our hope and our redeemer.
How we thank you for Jesus and for the gospel good news he brings us!
How we thank you for the promise of Presence made real
by the indwelling of your Holy Spirit.
How we thank you for loving us in spite of the messes we make and the messes we inherit;
for loving us enough to call us to be better than we know, better than we are.
And we thank you most of all this day,
for the gift of prayer - which is the primary way we experience your presence with us. We thank you…
for prayers with words
and prayers without words;
for prayers of hope and delight
and prayers of discouragement and despair;
for prayers of contrition and repentance
and prayers of thanksgiving and praise;
for all manner of conversation,
interaction,
silent communication,
noisy jubilation,
or unconscious groaning - all of it
welcomed by YOU -
the God who sustains us through all that life throws our way.
Grant us grace and strength to pray without ceasing through all of our days. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
