O Lord, our Father!
We have gathered here at the turn of the year
because we do not want to be alone but want to be with each other,
and together be united with you.

Our hearts are filled with somber thoughts
as we reflect on our misdeeds of the past year.
And our ears are deafened by the voices of the radio and in the newspapers,
with their numerous predictions for the coming year.
Instead we want to hear your word, your voice, your assurance, your guidance.
We know that you are in our midst,
and are eager to give us all that we need, whether we ask or not.

On this night we ask for one thing only:
that you collect our scattered thoughts,
getting rid of the confused and defiant thoughts that may distract us,
and thus enable us to concentrate on your limitless generosity to us.
You were abundantly generous to us last year,
and will be no less generous to us next year, and in every year to come.
Fill us with gratitude to you.

Technorati Tags: karl barth, new year, prayer mondays, trevin wax

Barring my faulty memory (and if I’m not lazy) I want to post prayers on Monday from all over Church History and then throughout the modern day, and then my own. This is prayer comes from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer but can be originally found in Luke 1:68-79 as the prayer of Zechariah.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel : for he hath visited, and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us : in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets : which have been since the world began;
That we should be saved from our enemies : and from the hands of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers : and to remember his holy Covenant;
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham : that he would give us;
That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies : might serve him without fear;
In holiness and righteousness before him : all the days of our life.
And thou, Child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest : for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people : for the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God : whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death : and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Technorati Tags: prayer mondays, zechariah

On Mondays, I usually post some sort of Prayer. This Monday, I want to post my own thanks to God who is in charge. Some of these things I have learned to be thankful for in retrospect. Other things on this list I’m definitely not sure about, but I’m hoping I can thank God without gritted teeth. My aim is to put down a marker in hope.

I’m thankful for a wife who snaps back at me: she has the strength to ensure I don’t walk over her and the wherewithal to manage a house of rambunctious kids.

I’m thankful for three kids that are smart, loud, energetic and annoying: it will likely be something I hold onto in my later years when I start (or continue) to forget.

I’m thankful for the times I thought I would die from asthma: it helps me understand my daughter and my son when they’re having an attack.

I’m thankful that my wife and I opted for the non-well-paying arts careers: our home is full of drawings, color, rhythm and music.

I’m thankful for a considerable lack of money: it makes me appreciate help, gifts, and freelance projects whenever any of those come in.

I’m thankful that what I do have is still more than most people in the world and I’m thankful that that embarasses me.

I’m thankful for vehicles with too many miles and people with open hands: if they didn’t get that high, people wouldn’t feel comfortable giving them away.

I’m thankful for the 1%: they pay over 55% of the national taxes since the rest of us (who work) can’t cover it and wouldn’t even if we could.

I’m thankful for rainy days and Mondays for several reasons, Karen Carpenter being one of them.

I’m thankful for having to move to Connecticut: I probably would never have gotten a chance to preach there otherwise (still might not).

Technorati Tags: 2011, prayer mondays, thanksgiving

Barring my faulty memory (and if I’m not lazy) I want to post prayers on Monday from all over Church History and then throughout the modern day, and then my own. This one comes from Ambrose of Milan.

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins,

and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit.

Take away from me the heart of stone,

and give me a heart of flesh,

a heart to love and adore thee,

a heart to delight in thee,

to follow and to enjoy thee,

for Christ’s sake.

Technorati Tags: ambrose, prayer mondays

Great God, I ask for no meaner pelf
Than that I may not disappoint myself,
That in my action I may soar as high
As I can now discern with this clear eye.

And next in value, which thy kindness lends,
That I may greatly disappoint my friends,
Howe’er they think or hope that it may be,
They may not dream how thou’st distinguished me.

That my weak hand may equal my firm faith
And my life practice what my tongue saith
That my low conduct may not show
Nor my relenting lines
That I thy purpose did not know
Or overrated thy designs

Technorati Tags: prayer mondays, thoreau