Sunday, January 14, 2007

Prayers for the Week of January 14, 2007

I will start us off this week’s prayers with a brief essay in Philip Yancey’s book Prayer - Does it Make any Difference? on "everyday" prayers, written by Karl Rahner.

Digging a Small Shaft

Oh everyday prayer! You are poor and a little tattered and the worse for wear like the everyday itself. August thoughts and exalted feelings are difficult for you. You are not an exalted symphony in a great cathedral, but more like a devout song, well-intended and coming from the heart, a little monotonous and naive. But, prayer of the everyday, you are the prayer of loyalty and reliability, the prayer of selfless, unrewarded service to the divine majesty, you are the dedication which makes the gray hours light and the trivial moments great. You don’t ask about the experience of the one praying, but about the honor of God. You don’t want to experience something, but to believe. Your gait may sometimes be weary, but you still walk. Sometimes you may appear to come just from the lips and not from the heart. But isn’t it better that at least the lips are blessing God than when the entire human being becomes mute? And isn’t there more hope then that the sound from the lips will find an echo in the heart than when everything in man remains mute? And in our prayer-poor times, what chides oneself or others for as lip-prayer is most often in reality the prayer of a poor but loyal heart that laboriously and honestly, in spite of all the weakness, weariness, and inner discontent, is at least continuing to dig a small shaft through which a small ray of the eternal light falls into our heart that is buried by the everyday.

Just add your prayers by clicking on "comments" below.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Lord for a good day at the MCOC. There seems to be such a spirit of love right now. It is wonderful.

Help us to be faithful to you.

In Jesus name,
Amen

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU LORD FOR ALL THE BLESSINGS YOU HAVE GIVEN MY FAMILY AND I. WE ARE BLESSED WITH A GREAT CHURCH AND SURROUNDED BY GREAT CHRISTIAN FRIENDS. PLEASE WATCH OVER RYAN AND HELP HIS LUNGS TO HOLD THE AIR IT NEEDS. ALSO, PLEASE WATCH OVER HIS FAMILY, AS I'M SURE THIS IS A VERY HARD TIME FOR ALL OF THEM. LET THE TREVETHIC'S FEEL OUR PRAYERS AND HELP RYAN GET BETTER. IN JESUS NAME I PRAY, AMEN.

Anonymous said...

Lord be with Ryan and his family. When they are feeling a little scared help them to feel your hand upon their shoulders and to know that you will never leave them. Be with our church family and surround us all with your love. Thank you for all of the great blessings you have given us.
In Jesus name,
Amen

Anonymous said...

Lord I praise you for being a God of healing, a God of love, and a God of comfort. I pray you will pour all of those things onto the Trevethics. Please be with Ryan as he recovers, give him peace and confort his parents.

Amen