FCCR-ACE Prayer Blog

Congregationalists Learning to Pray

Hi God,

This morning, Brewster was a dog on a mission:
he tugged me all the way to the park.
There, I set him free, 
    merely to run around;
    to chase balls
    to greet his new friend for the day, 
       Molly, a nice young weimaraner. 
Nothing fancy, just simple joy.

I seem to need this reminder a lot:
to take joy in simple, repetitive activities,
regular rituals, so to speak.
So my prayer today 
is that you help us to realize
the joy that comes with
the regular repetition of simple actions;
that we may find them ever satisfying.

Also, I ask you
to have mercy on my soul
sinner though I be.

Amen

Hi God,

My prayer today
is that you help us
to see people as they are
not as we would prefer to view them;
to notice that sometimes people are indeed “sheep without a shepherd”,
rather than label them faciley as lacking initiative.
Grant us the grace to be able to help people in their need
not duck your commandment to “feed my sheep”
by requiring that the needy first conform to our worldview.

Also, please have mercy on my soul,
sinner though I be.

Amen

Dear god..

Thank you for another week of employment and oh so thank you for a weekend off to enjoy it.

It’s not that I’m not grateful for the steady flow of income that eases the worries that so many of my compatriots are now suffering…It’s just that I long for a sense of meaning to the way I spend the bulk of my 9-5 time…I mean more than just the ability to support my family and the warmth of my home and plenty of food and clothes. I haven’t the strength to sacrafice that security in my life.

I do however wish that my time from 9-5 meant more than just making sure the numbers add up and recalculate and that all the commas are in the right place and that the writers aren’t spinning untruths for unsuspecting shareholders.

Amen

Dear God

I Have questions

Why does the Novocaine work sometimes but not everytime? It is like I never know if I’m going to suffer tremendously or just have all the dread of the dental work and walk out without any pain at all….

Why are flag draped coffins necessary? I mean I understand that when they come into Dover there will be photographers who want to record the event…but why is it necessary? Shouldn’t the family have a right to say take the picture of my loved one’s final return home and print it in all the papers…show it all over the web so that everyone can see and maybe feel the terrible cost the family has been asked to pay. Shouldn’t the family have the right to say “This is a private moment here is a photo of my beloved smiling as they held their first born child. Leave the photo of the casket to our family photo album please.”

Why are the choices for so many retirees or about to retire folks just save more, lower your retirement expectations or work longer?

Why is there such an exciting lovely world out there if there is never going to be time or money to explore it?

Why do some fight so hard for others, Hiram Bingham IV, Harvey Milk, MLK Jr, and end up being asked to sacrafice so much for what they believe in?

Hi God,

I’m thinking that critical thinking skills are a blessing;
But they are also a curse.
Too often my criticality leads to negativity,
toward others and toward myself.

So my prayer today
is that you help us
lift the curse of negativity
from our souls and minds,
while still allowing us
to distintuish when things
are right and when they are not.

Also, please have mercy on my soul,
sinner though I continue to be.

Amen