A Prayer for the Faint and Weary…


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.

Get a personal letter from Diana twice a month

Sign up for *More Wondering. . . * a monthly personal letter from Diana to you, available only to email subscribers. As thanks, receive a copy of Diana's new ebook,30 Ways of Aging Gracefully.

powered by TinyLetter

To receive blog posts in your inbox, sign up below.