Monday, February 26, 2007
Meditation on Matthew 5:3
Lord, help me to be
one of the poor in spirit,
one who knows that you are the one I rely on,
not my strong hand,
you are the one who brings me what I need,
not my cleverness or strength,
you are the one who holds me in the night
when the darkness comes crashing down,
you are my hope.
Let me remember, O Lord,
how surrounded by things
I can be incredibly empty,
that crying "Me! Mine!"
opens up a pit that can never be filled,
how my real hunger can burn, unfed,
even as my body suffers from too much food,
how thinking I have the answers
leads me, once again, and again,
into the dust.
Help me nourish the knowledge
that You are the way
that brings me life, hope and happiness.
You are the source of living waters
that soothe the burning in my heart,
You are the Bread of Life
that feeds my aching hunger,
You are the Rock
who shelters me from the storm.
Lord, without you , I am naught!
Be Thou my king,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
one of the poor in spirit,
one who knows that you are the one I rely on,
not my strong hand,
you are the one who brings me what I need,
not my cleverness or strength,
you are the one who holds me in the night
when the darkness comes crashing down,
you are my hope.
Let me remember, O Lord,
how surrounded by things
I can be incredibly empty,
that crying "Me! Mine!"
opens up a pit that can never be filled,
how my real hunger can burn, unfed,
even as my body suffers from too much food,
how thinking I have the answers
leads me, once again, and again,
into the dust.
Help me nourish the knowledge
that You are the way
that brings me life, hope and happiness.
You are the source of living waters
that soothe the burning in my heart,
You are the Bread of Life
that feeds my aching hunger,
You are the Rock
who shelters me from the storm.
Lord, without you , I am naught!
Be Thou my king,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Help Me O Lord, scripture
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Darkness Falls
Darkness falls -
O Lord, be thou my light!
As the storm draws near
Keep me within thy sight.
Be Thou my strength,
Hold up my wavering hand
As the flood grows deep
Across this trembling land.
May thy cross be
A beacon bright as day
To guide my feet
When darkness hides the way.
Thy Mercy is
My only refuge place,
There is no hope
Without thy loving grace.
As midnight falls
With sword and cry and grief,
Only with you
Will my soul find relief.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
O Lord, be thou my light!
As the storm draws near
Keep me within thy sight.
Be Thou my strength,
Hold up my wavering hand
As the flood grows deep
Across this trembling land.
May thy cross be
A beacon bright as day
To guide my feet
When darkness hides the way.
Thy Mercy is
My only refuge place,
There is no hope
Without thy loving grace.
As midnight falls
With sword and cry and grief,
Only with you
Will my soul find relief.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: God Our Shelter, Help Me O Lord
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Prayer for one with a serious illness
Lord,
It is hard to face that dark reality
that our life is limited,
and one day, easy or hard,
we will return to you.
And yet, even seeing the outcome,
you bless us with the desire to carry on,
and give us hope,
for you are our healer,
our light,
our salvation,
who has pity for our sorrows,
and care for all our ills.
Lord, today, we especially recommend to you our sister(brother) (name),
who is looking down that hard road.
Be with her (him), and if you will, let her(his) body be healed.
Give her(him) and her(his) family the strength they need,
and smooth their way in the face of all obstacles,
and fill them with that peace that only comes from you.
Lord, you are our light, our life and our salvation. To whom else should we turn?
Amen.
It is hard to face that dark reality
that our life is limited,
and one day, easy or hard,
we will return to you.
And yet, even seeing the outcome,
you bless us with the desire to carry on,
and give us hope,
for you are our healer,
our light,
our salvation,
who has pity for our sorrows,
and care for all our ills.
Lord, today, we especially recommend to you our sister(brother) (name),
who is looking down that hard road.
Be with her (him), and if you will, let her(his) body be healed.
Give her(him) and her(his) family the strength they need,
and smooth their way in the face of all obstacles,
and fill them with that peace that only comes from you.
Lord, you are our light, our life and our salvation. To whom else should we turn?
Amen.
Labels: Help Me O Lord, Need for God, Trust
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Loving
O Lord,
sometimes it's just so hard
to see the sorrows,
frustrations,
desires
of our loved ones,
to let them go
like doves flying off
into your care.
How often I want to scream,
NO! Don't do that!
and sometimes,
it pierces through my thick head
that you watching us
make all the wrong choices,
as we choose sin over good,
anger over love,
lust over charity,
must know how much restraint and love
it takes
to watch those who you care fore
choose badly.
O Lord,
help me to choose the good over the bad,
the light over the dark
to feel my heart conflicted, breaking with love
than to reject the chance to love,
and to thank you always
for your great mercy,
this day,
and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
sometimes it's just so hard
to see the sorrows,
frustrations,
desires
of our loved ones,
to let them go
like doves flying off
into your care.
How often I want to scream,
NO! Don't do that!
and sometimes,
it pierces through my thick head
that you watching us
make all the wrong choices,
as we choose sin over good,
anger over love,
lust over charity,
must know how much restraint and love
it takes
to watch those who you care fore
choose badly.
O Lord,
help me to choose the good over the bad,
the light over the dark
to feel my heart conflicted, breaking with love
than to reject the chance to love,
and to thank you always
for your great mercy,
this day,
and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Discipleship, Help Me O Lord
Sunday, January 18, 2004
A Prayer for Frustrating Moments
Hurting,
frustrated,
and confused,
I turn to you,
my anchor, my hope, my light.
O Lord,
so much I long to accomplish
yet
so often what I turn my hand to
seems to crumble up
and blow away
like dust,
either my standing in the way of your action,
or struggling against the current of where you would have me go.
Lord,
help me to learn
patience,
and to persevere,
to have pure motives,
to understand the paths you set me on,
to choose your way over my own,
and above all, to always be willing to say yes.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Hurting,
frustrated,
and confused,
I turn to you,
my anchor, my hope, my light.
O Lord,
so much I long to accomplish
yet
so often what I turn my hand to
seems to crumble up
and blow away
like dust,
either my standing in the way of your action,
or struggling against the current of where you would have me go.
Lord,
help me to learn
patience,
and to persevere,
to have pure motives,
to understand the paths you set me on,
to choose your way over my own,
and above all, to always be willing to say yes.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Help Me O Lord, Suffering
Thursday, January 08, 2004
O Lord,
at times I feel so overwhelmed,
so much I want to do,
so much I ought to do,
so much I need to do
so little time.
Remind me of the days
when the crowds pressed you in
and you left before dawn,
or escaped in a boat
to have a little quiet
with your Father,
or of the days
you saw the people in their need
so many of them
and so few do to the work.
My beloved Master,
You who knows just how it feels,
send me the wisdom
to deal with my exasperations
and the patience to deal with the anger and irritation,
and how to deal with all that comes
by the light of your love.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
at times I feel so overwhelmed,
so much I want to do,
so much I ought to do,
so much I need to do
so little time.
Remind me of the days
when the crowds pressed you in
and you left before dawn,
or escaped in a boat
to have a little quiet
with your Father,
or of the days
you saw the people in their need
so many of them
and so few do to the work.
My beloved Master,
You who knows just how it feels,
send me the wisdom
to deal with my exasperations
and the patience to deal with the anger and irritation,
and how to deal with all that comes
by the light of your love.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Labels: Emmanuel, Help Me O Lord
Thursday, November 20, 2003
A prayer when feeling discouraged
Help us, O Lord,
to rest secure in your love and promises
on those days when it feels like we are pouring water through a sieve,
when all our efforts seem to be as solid as a puff of smoke,
when our best efforts seem futile,
useless,
unwanted.
Remind us then, Lord,
that we are sowers of your seed,
and that the growth and harvest remain
in your hands,
and only you can really know
the repercussions of all our actions.
Teach us to know that the least thing we do in your name is one of those seeds,
able to bear unexpected fruit.
Help us to remember that
the kind word said to a person who didn't expect it,
a letter send,
a cup of water given,
all these little actions have meaning beyond our knowing,
and are every bit as important to spreading your light
as are the words and actions of the great.
Thank you for giving us the chance to spread your light.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2003
Help us, O Lord,
to rest secure in your love and promises
on those days when it feels like we are pouring water through a sieve,
when all our efforts seem to be as solid as a puff of smoke,
when our best efforts seem futile,
useless,
unwanted.
Remind us then, Lord,
that we are sowers of your seed,
and that the growth and harvest remain
in your hands,
and only you can really know
the repercussions of all our actions.
Teach us to know that the least thing we do in your name is one of those seeds,
able to bear unexpected fruit.
Help us to remember that
the kind word said to a person who didn't expect it,
a letter send,
a cup of water given,
all these little actions have meaning beyond our knowing,
and are every bit as important to spreading your light
as are the words and actions of the great.
Thank you for giving us the chance to spread your light.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2003
Labels: Help Me O Lord
