Serenity Prayer

This prayer is beloved by many and spoken to end every 12 step meeting.  Most are totally unaware that the prayer is more than four lines long.  They have no idea of its origin.  It is a Christian prayer of surrender and trust in Jesus. 

God, grant me the

Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can:

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did,

This sinful world as it is

Not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right

If I surrender to His will

That I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy

With Him forever in the next.  

(Reinhold Niebuhr)

Prayer Is More About Listening

 

A significant learning for me is that prayer is more about listening to God in His Word than speaking to God. It is in silence that we hear His “still small voice.”   It is a wonderful dialogue in which we choose to be present to each other. Philip Yancey reflects that "There have been long times when I've wondered if God is even there when I pray.  Whether anyone is listening.  In magic, people try to get their gods to do what they want.  So they kill animals and make sacrifices to get their crops to grow or to heal their sick child.  In religion, we try to do what God wants.  Prayer for me is about alignment between me and God.  It's as much about me listening to God, and changing through that experience, as it is about God listening to me and responding in some miraculous way to my requests."   (Faith Today, Jan/Feb 2001, page 28)

A Franciscan Blessing

May God bless you with a restless discomfort
about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships,
so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression,
and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for
justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer
from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may
reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that
you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able,
with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,
Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour,
and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you
and remain with you, this day and forevermore.

Amen.

Wedding Feast

 

Dan Scott, a dear friend, sent me these wonderful words of encouragement.  ".... the Bible is best understood, neither as a book of rules nor as a compendium of wisdom, but as a love story, prolonged and painful but one that ends on a tremendous note of joy with the greatest of all celebrations: the wedding feast of the Lamb. This is also why the New Testament reveals Jesus as the Bridegroom whom the church awaits with longing. He is the promise we hope for, the purpose for which we were made. He is the One who is able to deal with our brokenness, to heal our sin, and to woo us back to himself through his powerful, self-sacrificing love. He is the paradise we seek. 

 

Today as you suffer life's small indignities, don't allow them to become a source of continual frustration; instead, let them remind you of your longing for something more. Ask the Lord to help you turn your frustrations into occasions for praise as you express your desire to take part one day in the greatest of all celebrations, the wedding feast of the Lamb and his bride, the church."