Posts Tagged ‘prayer’

Some Thoughts to think about from a Friend

March 12th, 2009

Today I read two great posts that really hit home for me on my friend Tara’s blog, Story-Formed.

The first is called “Hungry, anyone?” and I recommend you go check it out.

The second was mostly this quote from Henri Nouwen that I thought I’d share with you here as well:

“So what about my life of prayer?  Do I like to pray?  Do I want to pray?  Do I spend time praying?  Frankly, the answer is no to all three questions…The truth is that I do not feel much, if anything, when I pray.  There are no emotions, bodily sensations, or mental visions.  None of my five senses is being touched – no special smells, no special sounds, no special sights, no special tastes, and no special movements.  Whereas for a long time the Spirit acted so clearly through my flesh, now I feel nothing.  I have lived with the expectation that prayer would become easier as I grow older and closer to death.  But the opposite seems to be happening.  The words “darkness” and “dryness” seem to best describe my prayer today.

Maybe part of this darkness and dryness is the result of my overactivity.  As I grow older I become busier and spend less and less time in prayer.  But I probably should not blame myself in that way.  The real questions are, “What are the darkness and the dryness about?  What do they call me to?”…

Are the darkness and dryness of my prayer signs of God’s absence, or are they signs of a presence deeper and wider than my senses can contain?  Is the death of my prayer the end of my intimacy with God or the beginning of a new communion, beyond words, emotions, and bodily sensations?…

The year ahead of me must be a year of prayer, even though I say that my prayer is as dead as a rock.  My prayer surely is, but not necessarily the Spirit’s prayer in me.  Maybe the time has come to let go of “my” prayer, “my” effort to be close to God, “my” way of being in communion with the Divine, and to allow the Spirit of God to blow freely in me.“

rejoicing in the joureny -
Bethany

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Tell me what is…

March 3rd, 2009

Tell me what is. Speak truth and reality to me. By your grace do not permit me to live any longer in a dream world. Take me into the true, the real, the present, for you are the Great I AM and I come to you simply as I am in this present moment. Do what you will. Amen.

 

 

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

 

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Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14th, 2009

“Christ, King of tenderness,
Christ, King of tenderness,
bind us with a bond
that cannot be broken.
Bind us with a bond of love
that cannot be broken.” Amen.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Prayer for Gaza

January 14th, 2009

CNN noted today that the death toll in Gaza has now exceeded 1,000 people. A friend’s blog directed me to this article and this prayer for Gaza which appeared in a Jewish Newspaper. I thought I’d share it:

Lord, who is the creator of all children, hear our prayer this accursed day. God, whom we call Blessed, turn your face to these, the children of Gaza, that they may know your blessings, and your shelter, that they may know light and warmth, where there is now only blackness and smoke, and a cold which cuts and clenches the skin.

Almighty who makes exceptions, which we call miracles, make an exception of the children of Gaza. Shield them from us and from their own. Spare them. Heal them. Let them stand in safety. Deliver them from hunger and horror and fury and grief. Deliver them from us, and from their own.

Restore to them their stolen childhoods, their birthright, which is a taste of heaven.

Remind us, O Lord, of the child Ishmael, who is the father of all the children of Gaza. How the child Ishmael was without water and left for dead in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba, so robbed of all hope, that his own mother could not bear to watch his life drain away.

Be that Lord, the God of our kinsman Ishmael, who heard his cry and sent His angel to comfort his mother Hagar.

Be that Lord, who was with Ishmael that day, and all the days after. Be that God, the All-Merciful, who opened Hagar’s eyes that day, and showed her the well of water, that she could give the boy Ishmael to drink, and save his life.

Allah, whose name we call Elohim, who gives life, who knows the value and the fragility of every life, send these children your angels. Save them, the children of this place, Gaza the most beautiful, and Gaza the damned.

In this day, when the trepidation and rage and mourning that is called war, seizes our hearts and patches them in scars, we call to you, the Lord whose name is Peace:

Bless these children, and keep them from harm.

Turn Your face toward them, O Lord. Show them, as if for the first time, light and kindness, and overwhelming graciousness.

Look up at them, O Lord. Let them see your face.

And, as if for the first time, grant them peace

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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Preparing Our Hearts for Christmas: O Emmanuel

December 23rd, 2008

The O Antiphons are a set of liturgical prayers prayed during evening prayers over the last few days of Advent. They are a beautiful way to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming, so I’m sharing them with you each day for the next week, along with some scripture verses and my own short prayer for each day.

Read this post to learn more about the O Antiphons.

Today is the last of the O Antiphons. I hope you enjoyed joining me on this journey of prayer and expectation for the coming of Christmas.

December 23rd: O Emmanuel

“O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Savior:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.”

Click here to hear this antiphon in Latin.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

May Emmanuel, the God who is with us always, He who has breathed his very breath into all living things and promises to never leave or forsake those which are his, come to each of us this day and be seen and present with us.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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