"The" Lenten Prayer

In the Orthodox Church, there is a simple prayer that occupies significant importance within their weekly liturgy. Every Monday through Friday during the weeks of Lent, this short prayer is prayed twice daily. After the first reading, the worshiping participants bow prostrate, falling on their knees and faces, at each petition for God to “take” and “give.” Continuing the physicality of the prayer, the church family bows twelve times in a humble act of hope, saying, “O God, cleanse me a sinner.” And then the prayer is prayed for the second time and all fall again in silence.

While the motion and repetition might feel strange and a bit perplexing to most of us, the reason the Orthodox tradition places this little prayer so prominently in their Lenten habits is that it spells out rather succinctly, in a unique way, “all the negative and positive elements of repentance and constitutes…a ‘checklist’ for our individual Lenten effort.” After all, the aim of the season of Lent is for the presence of Christ to reveal both where we are stumbling and what more He longs for us.

So for the next several weeks, we’ll continue incorporating this prayer into our Lenten traditions. Today, and throughout this week, let this prayer conclude your daily time with our Father. Whatever else you are doing, listening to, reading, or talking with God about; let the repetition of this prayer keep our aim in focus.

Pray with me,

O Lord and Master of my life!

Take from me the spirit of sloth,

faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity,

humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.

Yea, O Lord and King!

Grant me to see my own errors

and not to judge my sisters and brothers;

For Thou art blessed unto ages of ages.

Amen.

Next Foot Forward

One of the most difficult parts of a journey is just putting the next foot forward. Lacking momentum, generally content and comfortable where we find ourselves, the prospects of a journey may be alluring, but the energy needed to begin has a host of hindrances. This is especially true for a journey like the one we are on through the Lenten season—a pilgrimage with Jesus through the bright sadness.

While we know what awaits us on the other side, it still takes courage and faith to confess what keeps us from life anew today. So this week, let’s put our next foot forward together, knowing that what we are confessing is being confessed by our sisters and brothers too. And that together, we make our confession from the sure orientation, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” (Ps. 32:1)

As we did on Ash Wednesday, we’ll pray a portion of the “Litany of Penitence,” but this time, as we pray get specific. Let yourself dwell long enough in the “general” confession (emboldened) until there are specifics for you to share with our gracious Father. Then, pray the remainder of the prayer as one who is already “Blessed…whom the LORD counts no iniquity” because of Jesus.

Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and with one another,
that we have sinned.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, nor mind, nor strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. Have mercy on us, gracious Father.

We turn to you, Father, acknowledging our divided, wounded, and self-absorbed hearts.

Restore us, good Father,
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.

Bring to maturity the fruit of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.

By the cross and passion of your Son our King and Friend,
Bring us with all your saints into the complete joy of Jesus’ resurrection.

Amen.

Praying Like Psalmists

The psalms are a “school of prayer” that God’s children have attended for millennia. These poetic prayers do more than give us words to use in our prayers, they invite us to find our voice within them. The language of the Psalms is not merely descriptive; it is evocative. It is language meant to evoke, to bring to mind an image, a memory, a feeling, that then leads us to prayer.

This evocative nature is especially true for our seven Psalms of Lent, which have been our guide through the Lenten Season for the last two years.

The words of these psalms particularly, draw us into an image or memory or feeling of pain or surprise for ourselves and/or those around us. And in doing so, invite us to find God in these needy places, much like the “two sons” found their father in their time of need.

So today, take a moment to pray Psalm 6, written out for us below.

Before starting, ask the Spirit to help you see who and for what you are praying along the plot line of faith. Then, read each paragraph and let whatever image, memory, or feeling that comes to mind (whether for you or another) lead you to express the psalmist’s words in your own words. Then do the same for the next paragraph and the next until you’ve concluded the psalm.

WRESTLING WITH GOD

Please, God, no more yelling, no more trips to the woodshed. Treat me nice for a change; I’m so starved for affection. Can’t you see I’m black-and-blue, beat up badly in bones and soul? God, how long will it take for you to let up?

WRESTLING WITH LIFE

Break in, God, and break up this fight; if you love me at all, get me out of here. I’m no good to you dead, am I? I can’t sing in your choir if I’m buried in some tomb!

DONE WRESTLING

I’m tired of all this—so tired. My bed has been floating forty days and nights On the flood of my tears. My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears. The sockets of my eyes are black holes; nearly blind, I squint and grope.

SURPRISED BY HOPE

Get out of here, you Devil’s crew: at last God has heard my sobs. My requests have all been granted, my prayers are answered. Cowards, my enemies disappear. Disgraced, they turn tail and run.

With His Work In Mind

Prayer is a response, always. While we often think of praying as our reaching out to God, in truth, we can cry out to God, complain to God, and commune with God only because He has spoken first, because He has acted first. That’s the way our scriptures tell the story anyway. God speaking, breathing us into life with Him, and, even when we’d trade that life for something less, continuing to act in our favor, make a way for us to communion with Him still.

It is because prayer is a response to God’s Word and work, that we can pray with the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) as we consider what God has done to ensure we can respond to Him. So, as you pray the short and simple words alongside your sisters and brothers in Jesus today, remember, as we learned Sunday, from where you pray them…at the atoning sacrifice, which is the cross of Christ.

“God, make atonement for me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13)

Galvanize Our Days

This week we conclude our exercise in particularizing Jesus’ instruction to pray for our Father’s kingdom to come and will to be done in our time and place as it is in heaven.

Adapting Ernest Campbell’s “A City-Dweller’s Prayer,” we’ll focus our attention on the final stanza (embolden below).

When you get to this part of the prayer, slow down. Let the words sink into your heart, and let the Spirit lead you to express the specifics on which they light: the maze of opportunities, of could be’s and what if’s which suffocate hope, and the heart of Jesus which grants us energy and clarity to live the Way as people new. Confess and express these, for yourself and as a part of our social collective, in the presence of the One for whom nothing is hidden. Then conclude with a shared “Amen”.

Come back to these words and insights throughout the week ahead, allowing the heart and life of Jesus to galvanize our way forward together.

Pray with your faith family…

Father, our God of every time and place,

prevail among us too;

within the city that we live

among the people whose streets we share

and whose souls we learn to love,

your promise to renew.

Our people move with downcast eyes,

tight, sullen, and afraid;

Surprise us with your joy divine,

for we would be remade.

O Father whose will we can resist,

but cannot overcome,

Forgive our harsh and strident ways,

the harm that we have done.

Like Babel’s builders long ago

we raise our lofty towers,

And like them, too, our words divide,

and pride lays waste our powers.

Behind the masks that we maintain

to shut our sadness in,

There lurks the hope, however dim,

to live once more as your design.

Let wrong embolden us to fight,

and need excite our care;

If not us, who? If not now, when?

If not here, Father, then where?

Our forebears stayed their minds on you

in village, farm, and plain;

Help us, their crowded, harried kin,

no less your peace to claim.

Give us to know that you do love

each soul that you have made;

That size does not diminish grace,

nor concrete hide your gaze.

Grant us, Father, those who labor here

within this throbbing maze,

A forward-looking, saving hope

to galvanize our days.

Let Jesus, who loved Jerusalem,

and wept its sin to mourn,

Make just our laws and pure our hearts;

so shall we be reborn!

In, Through, and To Jesus we pray, Amen.

To Live Once More

We’ll continue to make particular Jesus’ instruction to pray for our Father’s kingdom to come and will to be done in our time and place as it is in heaven.

Adapting Ernest Campbell’s “A City-Dweller’s Prayer,” we’ll focus our attention this week on the third stanza (embolden below).

When you get to this part of the prayer, slow down. Let the words sink into your heart, and let the Spirit lead you to express the specifics on which they light: the masks we and neighbors wear as protection, the longings, and pursuits to be who we are truly created to be (and all the false selves sold and bought in our society), the timidity that keeps us from “issues” and the courage to know our place in salvation's story here and now. Confess and express these for yourself and as a part of our social collective in the presence of the One for whom nothing is hidden. Then finish the prayer.

Come back to these words and insights throughout the week ahead, seeing through what divides to what and who unites, and trusting that He is working in and through you for those around you even now.

Pray with your faith family…

Father, our God of every time and place,

prevail among us too;

within the city that we live

among the people whose streets we share

and whose souls we learn to love,

your promise to renew.

Our people move with downcast eyes,

tight, sullen, and afraid;

Surprise us with your joy divine,

for we would be remade.

O Father whose will we can resist,

but cannot overcome,

Forgive our harsh and strident ways,

the harm that we have done.

Like Babel’s builders long ago

we raise our lofty towers,

And like them, too, our words divide,

and pride lays waste our powers.

Behind the masks that we maintain

to shut our sadness in,

There lurks the hope, however dim,

to live once more as your design.

Let wrong embolden us to fight,

and need excite our care;

If not us, who? If not now, when?

If not here, Father, then where?

Our forebears stayed their minds on you

in village, farm, and plain;

Help us, their crowded, harried kin,

no less your peace to claim.

Give us to know that you do love

each soul that you have made;

That size does not diminish grace,

nor concrete hide your gaze.

Grant us, Father, those who labor here

within this throbbing maze,

A forward-looking, saving hope

to galvanize our days.

Let Jesus, who loved Jerusalem,

and wept its sin to mourn,

Make just our laws and pure our hearts;

so shall we be reborn!

We Can Resist...But Cannot Overcome

Last week we began praying a prayer as a particularized expression of the way Jesus taught us to pray:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

We’ll continue the adaptation of Ernest Campbell’s “A City-Dweller’s Prayer” this week, focusing our attention on the second stanza (embolden below).

When you get to this part of the prayer, slow down. Let the words sink into your heart, and let the Spirit lead you to express the specifics on which they light: your and our ways of resisting, which are harsh, divisive, and prideful. Confess them, for yourself and as a part of our social collective, and then finish the prayer.

Come back to these words and insights throughout the week ahead, confessing, repenting, and receiving the grace of the One through whom you are reborn, whose will cannot be overcome.

Pray with your faith family…

Father, our God of every time and place,

prevail among us too;

within the city that we live

among the people whose streets we share

and whose souls we learn to love,

your promise to renew.

Our people move with downcast eyes,

tight, sullen, and afraid;

Surprise us with your joy divine,

for we would be remade.

O Father whose will we can resist,

but cannot overcome,

Forgive our harsh and strident ways,

the harm that we have done.

Like Babel’s builders long ago

we raise our lofty towers,

And like them, too, our words divide,

and pride lays waste our powers.

Behind the masks that we maintain

to shut our sadness in,

There lurks the hope, however dim,

to live once more as your design.

Let wrong embolden us to fight,

and need excite our care;

If not us, who? If not now, when?

If not here, Father, then where?

Our forebears stayed their minds on you

in village, farm, and plain;

Help us, their crowded, harried kin,

no less your peace to claim.

Give us to know that you do love

each soul that you have made;

That size does not diminish grace,

nor concrete hide your gaze.

Grant us, Father, those who labor here

within this throbbing maze,

A forward-looking, saving hope

to galvanize our days.

Let Jesus, who loved Jerusalem,

and wept its sin to mourn,

Make just our laws and pure our hearts;

so shall we be reborn!

God of Every Time and Place

When asked by his apprentices how to pray, Jesus gave them a rather straightforward model to get them started. “The Lord’s Prayer,” as we call it, begins with the declarative invocation, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” All at once, Jesus proclaims the majestic truth of intimacy and breadth of God‘s rule and humbly summons that authority over the details of daily life.

This month, as a part of our new year’s traditions, we are going to pray a prayer together that is learned from Jesus’ prayer. A prayer for our Father’s kingdom to come and his will to be done in our time and place in His-story.

In each of the following weeks, we’ll draw out a particular part of this prayer to give us focus. This week, though, let’s refamiliarize ourselves with the prayer, letting the Spirit lead us to invite the “God of every time and place” to be the Father whose care and wisdom take active shape in us, through us, and for our neighbors.

Let us pray together an adaption of Ernest Campbell’s “A City-Dweller’s Prayer.”

Father, our God of every time and place,

prevail among us too;

within the city that we live

among the people whose streets we share

and whose souls we learn to love,

your promise to renew.

Our people move with downcast eyes,

tight, sullen, and afraid;

Surprise us with your joy divine,

for we would be remade.

O Father whose will we can resist,

but cannot overcome,

Forgive our harsh and strident ways,

the harm that we have done.

Like Babel’s builders long ago

we raise our lofty towers,

And like them, too, our words divide,

and pride lays waste our powers.

Behind the masks that we maintain

to shut our sadness in,

There lurks the hope, however dim,

to live once more as your design.

Let wrong embolden us to fight,

and need excite our care;

If not us, who? If not now, when?

If not here, Father, then where?

Our forebears stayed their minds on you

in village, farm, and plain;

Help us, their crowded, harried kin,

no less your peace to claim.

Give us to know that you do love

each soul that you have made;

That size does not diminish grace,

nor concrete hide your gaze.

Grant us, Father, those who labor here

within this throbbing maze,

A forward-looking, saving hope

to galvanize our days.

Let Jesus, who loved Jerusalem,

and wept its sin to mourn,

Make just our laws and pure our hearts;

so shall we be reborn!

Orthodox Advent Prayers | Three

One final time this Advent season, let us join with our sisters and brothers in the Orthodox Church and beyond, and pray together for the Spirit to stir amongst us the Name that is our deepest longing...

O Lord, stir up the hearts of our neighbors, friends, and family
you have established your house and your kingdom forever
through your Son Jesus Christ.
Reveal your saving purpose and your holy love to us,
and move our hearts to faith and obedience;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

December 18th | O Adoni

Today we join in the second of our seven O Antiphons. Prayers that have been sung by our faith family for centuries. Sung so that the quickening pace of Christmas is not just all the things on our calendars but the longing in our hearts.

In case you are interested, the tune which I sing them is from (appropriately!) O Come O Come Emmanuel. Let us rejoice in praying together: we prayerfully sing together the second of our seven O Antiphons.

O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fir of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

Orthodox Advent Prayers | Two

Let us again join with our Orthodox family of faith in asking for a “stirring up” of the Spirit in and amongst us this Advent season. A prayer, like we saw with Isaiah on Sunday, that is gripped in hope, yielded by peace, and so is a response to God with us!

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to joy.
Lift up our heads from the dust
and adorn us with your righteousness,
that we may rejoice
and testify that our Lord has come;
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

Orthodox Advent Prayers

In the Orthodox tradition, the “stir up prayers” are spoken one each Sunday of Advent. Let us join with our sisters and brothers around the globe and pray these prayers for our faith family today, and in the week to come, especially as we live and work in the power of Peace.

Let us stir up one another by seeking the Spirit’s movement…

Stir up your power, O Lord, and come.
Keep us watchful and ready for the day and hour of your return.
Empower us with the gifts and strength we need,
and keep us faithful to the end;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

From the Ages

Our particular stories of faith, as Hebrews 11 and the season of Advent so aptly remind us, are written within the page of The Story. While knowing this truth is important and helpful, it is by praying this truth that the power of faith’s history takes hold of our hearts.

So this week, let us pray together this prayer from the ages— prayer adapted from John Ballie.

Father of our ancestors, we cry out to you. You have been the refuge of good and wise, prodigals and prostitutes in every generation. You are the beginning of history and our end, the light of life which enlightens every woman and man to realize their full humanity. Throughout the ages you have been the Lord and giver of life, the source of knowledge, and the fountain of all goodness.

The patriarchs & matriarchs, like Abraham and Ruth, trusted you and were not put to shame;

The prophets & prophetesses, like Isaiah and Anna, sought you and put your words on their lips;

The psalmists, like David, and the humble like Mary, rejoiced in you and you were present in their songs;

The apostles, like Peter, and disciples like Martha and Mary, waited for you and were filled with your Spirit;

The martyrs, like Stephen and Felicity, called upon you and you were with them in the flames;

Our poor souls called, and have been heard by the Lord, and have been saved from every trouble.

Father, you have always been there, you are with us now, and you endure forever;

We thank you for this well-worn Christian path, a way ancient and ever-lasting,

a road beaten hard by the footsteps of saints, apostles, prophets, and martyrs.

Thank you for sign posts and warning signals which are there at every corner and which we can understand through the study of Scripture and history, through great literature and the stories of others in your Spirit.

Above all, we give you sincere and humble thanks for the great gift of Jesus Christ, the pioneer of faith.

We praise you that we have been born in an age and a land where we can know his name, and that we are not called to face any temptation or trail which he did not endure.

Holy Father, help us to profit from these great memories of the ages gone by, and help us to enter into the glorious inheritance which you have prepared for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Prophetic Prayers | Finale

We began our “prophetic prayers” saying: The prophets of old spoke and prayed to help us become aware of ourselves in relation to God and others, and that’s the prophetic prayers we need anew today. Praying scriptured prayers for clarity to see and courage to act in the reality of our Father’s Kingdom come and will being done in our time and place in history.

In conclusion, let the prophetic vision of Isaiah lead us into the gratitude and grace of our part in the world alive, a kingdom come (“Jerusalem & Zion” born anew) because of our Father cares, Jesus reigns, and the Spirit guides.

“Before she went into labor,
    she had the baby.
Before the birth pangs hit,
    she delivered a son.
Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?
    Has anyone seen anything like this?
A country born in a day?
    A nation born in a flash?


But Zion was barely in labor
    when she had her babies!
Do I open the womb
    and not deliver the baby?
Do I, the One who delivers babies,
    shut the womb?” Declares the Lord

“Rejoice, Jerusalem,
    and all who love her, celebrate!
And all you who have shed tears over her,
    join in the happy singing.
You newborns can satisfy yourselves
    at her nurturing breasts.
Yes, delight yourselves and drink your fill
    at her ample bosom.”

For this is God’s Message:

“I’ll pour robust well-being into her like a river,
    the glory of nations like a river in flood.
You’ll nurse at her breasts,
    nestle in her bosom,
    and be bounced on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
    so I’ll comfort you.
    You will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

You’ll see all this and burst with joy
    —you’ll feel ten feet tall—
As it becomes apparent that God is on your side
    and against his enemies…

God’s Decree…

“I know everything they’ve ever done or thought.

I’m going to come and then gather everyone—all nations, all languages.

They’ll come and see my glory.

I’ll set up a station at the center. I’ll send the survivors of judgment all over the world: Spain and Africa, Turkey and Greece, and the far-off islands that have never heard of me, who know nothing of what I’ve done nor who I am.

I’ll send them out as missionaries to preach my glory among the nations. They’ll return with all your long-lost brothers and sisters from all over the world. They’ll bring them back and offer them in living worship to God…says God.

“For just as the new heavens and new earth
    that I am making will stand firm before me”
        —God’s Decree—
“So will your children
    and your reputation stand firm.
Month after month and week by week,
    everyone will come to worship me,” God says.

(Isaiah 66:7-23)

Prophetic Prayers | Five

As a parts of the body of Christ, prophets call us to awe and response to God with us, to remember the Life we have with the expectation that we can and will live it to the fullest in, through, and for Jesus. So, let’s continue praying like prophets with and for one another, letting an adaption of 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 be our guide.

 We have been called and sent by Jesus, the Messiah, according to God’s plan, along with our spiritual friends and companions to God’s church in Dallas, to Chris City Church, believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life. Not to mention all who call out to Jesus, wherever they live. He’s their Master as well as ours!

May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be ours.

Every time we think of one another, we thank God for our lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in us—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in our lives.

Just think—we don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of us as we wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep us steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got us started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on us. May we never forget that, living with courage and compassion, doing justice and loving kindness because we are in awe and responding to God walking with us. Amen.