Page 8 of 12

Posted on

Bless What Eludes My Grasp: Loder

Powerful prayers Have you ever been praying for someone…some things…and you just knew that there was something else you were supposed to pray about? There was someone on your list of people that was eluding your mind in the moment and it gnawed at you so you prayed the generic prayer to the sovereign God of forgettful people reminding Him that He knew all and you remember scant little…We have all been there. In this prayer we are reminded that there are things that elude our grasp, so we trust in the God that is larger than our grasp.  MC

______________________________

Lord, so many things skitter through my mind,

and I give chase to gather them

    and hold them up in a bunch to you,

but they go this way and that

    while I go that way and this…

So, gather me up instead

and bless what eludes my grasp but not yours:

    trees and bees, fireflies and butterflies,

    roses and barbecues, and people…

Lord, bless the people…bless the people:

    birthday people,

        giving birth people,

            being born people;

    conformed people,

        dying people,

            dead people;

    hostaged people,

        banged up people,

            held down people;

    leader people,

        lonely people,

            limping people;

    hungry people,

        surfeited people,

            indifferent people;

    first world people,

        second world people,

            third world people;

    one world people,

        your people,

            all people.

Bless them, Lord.

Bless what eludes my grasp but not yours.

~Ted Loder (Guerillas of Grace)

Posted on

Michalangelo: A Sonnet

1003414michelangelo2 (1)I stumbled upon this sonnet written by Michelangelo (and translated by William Wordsworth) today. Finding a small God-space free of distractions, I discovered a gentle reminder to ask God to breathe His life, thoughts and passions into my soul, and to unbind my tongue so that I might have the power to sing a new song to God…from His perspective.   MC

 _________________________________

A Sonnet

 

The prayers I make will then be sweet indeed,

If Thou the Spirit give by which I pray;

My unassisted heart is barren clay,

That of it’s native self can nothing feed;

Of good and pious works Thou are the seed

That quickens only where Thou say’st it may.

Unless Thou show to us Thy own true way,

No man can find it: Father! Thou must lead;

Do Thou then breathe those thoughts into my mind

By which such virtue may in me be bred

That in Thy holy footsteps I may tread;

The fetters of my tongue do Thou unbind.

That I may have the power to sing to Thee,

And sound Thy praises everlastingly!

 

Posted on

Finding Space

I read this meditation this week and it continues to speak to me…mcw

 

    Each of us needs an opportunity to be alone,

    and silent,

    to find space in the day or in the week,

    just to reflect

    and to listen to the voice of God

    that speaks deep within us.

    Our search for God is only our response

    to His search for us.

    He knocks at our door,

    but for many people their lives are too

    preoccupied

    for hem to be able to hear.

                                        ~Cardinal Basil Hume

 

Posted on

Benediction Prayer

I have been receiving numerous requests for the Benediction prayer I read last Sunday at SVA. Our Sunday message/conversation was dealing with humility and leadership as we looked through ACTS 21. In the benediction, I read a prayer from a Christmas card that was very powerful…Here it is for those who wanted it, and for those who didn't hear it, enjoy!

____________________

What to Ask God For

I asked God to take away my pride, and God said no. He said it was not for him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole, and God said, "No, her spirit is already whole. Her body is only temporary."

I asked God to grant me patience, and God said no. He said that patience is the byproduct of tribulation. It isn't granted; it's earned.

I asked God to give me happiness; God said no. He said he gives blessings; happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain, and God said no. He said I must grow on my own, but he will prune me in order to make me fruitful.

I asked God if he loved me, and God said yes. He gave me his only Son who died for me, and I will be in heaven some day because I believe.

I asked God to help me love others as much as he loves me, and God said, "Ahhh, finally! Now you have the idea."

____________________

Dei Gratia

Monty