I am slowly working through a book called 'Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.' I have loved the book so far and I think I will enjoy using it more frequently at the start of the next liturgical year (Advent). There is a section in the book that has 'Occasional Prayers' for a variety of different situations. There are prayers for households and workplaces which are excellent. But I stumbled across a prayer to pray in the midst of change and thought I would share it here:
"Lord, help me now to unclutter my life, to organize myself in the direction of simplicity. Lord, teach me to listen to my heart; teach me to welcome change, instead of fearing it. Lord, I give you these stirrings inside me. I give you my discontent. I give you my restlessness. I give you my doubt. I give you my despair. I give you all the longings I hold inside. Help me to listen to these signs of change, of growth; help me to listen seriously and follow where they lead through the breathtaking empty space of an open door."
I don't think this prayer resonated with me specifically because of a need to handle change better. I can usually handle change pretty well. But there were some key words in there that do speak to me in specific seasons: Discontent; restless; fear; doubt. There are days when I feel so incredibly restless and I never really know what to do with that pent-up energy. It is frustrating and hard to put into words what I feel like inside of myself when that happens. I think this prayer speaks directly to some of those things - better than I've been able to articulate before.
Back to the gospel of Matthew tomorrow!
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