Boston Declaration: A Personal Declaration in Response

https://thebostondeclaration.com/

A friend brought The Boston Declaration to my attention. It was part of an email from the Indiana Annual Conference on November 30, 2017, apparently promoting it as worthy of our theological and political consideration. My friend wrote that he considered responding to the Declaration. That comment began the process that has resulted in this brief reflection. I have respect for many of those who signed the document. Since I have read the books of some, they surprise me that they have signed a document like this. It will probably help any potential reader to read the declaration first. Rather than analyze the document, I have written my own declaration. I have embraced the flow of the Boston Declaration. However, I have used it as a foil for my declaration. In doing so, please understand that I am giving the Declaration great respect. I hope my response is respectful, seeing some common ground but acknowledging large areas of disagreement. 

I am just one follower of Jesus, whom I believe to be a Jewish prophet and teacher of wisdom, as well as the promised Jewish Messiah, the hoped for Son of Man, and therefore Son of God and Savior of the world. The Christian community needs to hear in a new and powerful way his message of love for the neighbor, love for the enemy, and his beatitude upon those who make peace.

We live in a cultural setting in which outrage against inappropriate sexual behavior has become highly politicized. People have what appears to be moral outrage at private behavior when it conveniently advances their political agenda but turn away when it becomes politically expedient. Such selective outrage at private moral failings reveals the importance of the political issues involved. Voters have too often had such difficult decisions forced upon them by the political process. 

We live in a cultural setting when people rightly express outrage against the small numbers of those who advance white supremacy, (one is too many) while conveniently ignoring the rise of violence and the shutting down of free speech on campus and other settings, simply because such intimidation and violence advances the progressive cause and beats opponents into silence. We can celebrate the advances made in race relations in America. Racism is the birth defect of this nation. If we have the eyes to see, we will see the influence of the Civil Rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as evidence of correcting this defect. The changes in legal, political, economic and cultural standing of racial minorities are a celebration. Yet, too many persons, organizations, and political parties, depend upon alienating races rather than bringing them together. 

Christians as individuals and communities need to have boldness and courage to resist the forces that divide and alienate. Such a path is a risk. It involves costly discipleship. It might mean our preferred tribe, which is that collection of people and organizations who think like us, will disassociate from us. It might have to embrace the fact that in this cultural climate fellow Christians will judge and exclude us. Following Jesus today involves reminding people that their political opinions ought not to become idols. Jesus has become the property of a tribe. Jesus is greater than their political agenda. Jesus did not have a political or economic agenda. In fact, if we have come to political opinions, we need to hear Jesus in the voices and ideas of our political opponents. We need to hear the voice of Jesus outside our tribe. Christians agree that the poor need always to before us as we contemplate our political and economic views. We must always oppose the forces that separate and alienate on superficial grounds, such as economics, social status, religion, or race. We must also be mindful of the forgotten men and women in a free enterprise system that have the vision and passion to use their talents in a way that finds and creates needs among people and devise plans to fill those needs and desires. Such creativity requires faith and hope in the future, as well as love for family, community, and nation. It has led to improving the material lives of all persons, including the least of these. We need to have a rebirth of respect for the pursuit of happiness and respect for private property, both of which are important for the economic well-being of all.

We can be grateful for the biblical challenge to choose life (Deuteronomy 30). The West has inherited a tradition of philosophy and religion, of politics and economics, which provides the intellectual and practical resources that will improve life. The diversity of cultural setting is impressive, whether from eastern and southern Europe, from the Middle East and North Africa, and eventually from northern Europe and America. These resources encourage openness to learn from and tolerate views that derive from other cultural traditions. Such resources have advanced the cause of freedom in such a way that they encourage on-going social reform. For that reason, the economic advances made by all persons, regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation, is one that all Christians can celebrate. “Following Jesus today means choosing life, joining the Spirit-led struggle to fight the death-dealing powers of sin wherever they erupt.” The Holy Spirit, the giver and sustainer of life, bids us to choose paths that lead to life for self and for others. Too many people choose death. We see death in the too many abortions. We see death in the sexual obsession of so many. If we have the eyes to see, we see death in the abuse of drugs. We see death in the political decision to stifle free enterprise and the use of private property through federal taxation, bureaucracy and regulation that leads to economic stagnation rather than creativity and growth. We see death in locating sin among the wealthy and powerful, making them the object of envy and hate, instead of recognizing our common bond with them in sin and potentially our common bond of faith. Too many who profess Christ are actually part of the alienating forces in America today, as they focus upon the superficial differences of race, gender, sexual orientation, social status, and economic status. Such differences, while important, do not define us as human beings or as believers in Christ. Christians who fire the flames of suspicion and alienation between such groups do nothing to advance the ministry of reconciliation God has given the church (II Corinthians 5:18-20). Too many Christians adopt a stance of critique toward a tradition and toward a political and economic tradition while at the same time participating fully in that system. They are enjoying the benefits of freedom and relative economic well-being while supposedly advancing an alienating critique from a morally self-righteous position. Their critique, offered from what appears to be the moral high ground, is in contrast to their lives, which rely upon participation in the system they profess to critique.

In reflecting upon such matters theologically, the identity of God becomes important. This God asks people to do justice, to love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). This God asks of all people to honor God and to do what is right (Acts 10:34-35). God has created humanity in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), regardless of the superficial differences humanity has created. Behind the diversity in which humanity lives, moves, and has its being (Acts 17:28) is the unity humanity has as creatures of God. The path of following Jesus involves recognizing the blessing of God upon the poor, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the meek, those persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and the merciful (Matthew 5:1-10). Uniting with the people of Israel, following Jesus involves loving God with all that we are and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:28-34). As Jesus received the Spirit in his baptism by John, as the Spirit empowered him in his teaching, healing, and exorcism, as the Spirit empowered the early church and the first believers, the Spirit will lead us in the world today. This means willingness to discern the places where evil shows itself in this world, the courage to oppose it, and the willingness to suffer for the sake of righteousness. The spiritual danger is always present that those who oppose evil will find that evil overcomes them. Resentment against the existing order of democracy and capitalism, for example, can become a secret poison. Such resentment can become its own form of slavery that people carry with them wherever they go. No one has the right to hold the possibility of a new world brought by human action, even if we delude others and ourselves into thinking Jesus is with our brand of politics and economics. Even if successful, such a proposal will become another oppressive existing social order that will inspire resentment and opposition. Evil is not the answer to evil. Discontent, hatred and insubordination toward the existing social order forgets that every human system lives in the shadow of evil (Karl Barth, Romans, p. 480-1). In opposing evil, we run the risk of becoming like what we oppose. The revolutionary who fights oppression too often becomes like the oppressor (George Orwell, Animal Farm). 

As a follower of Jesus, I find in him my rest, peace, and salvation. I mourn the coarseness of our politics. I mourn the disrespect Americans show to their political opponents. I have a particular concern with how people are bringing Jesus into their political ideologies. Far from honoring Jesus, such attempts actually reveal the idolatrous attachment we have toward our politics. We reveal our desire to have Jesus to serve our political ideology (Karl Barth, Romans, p. 378). I lament the broken lives and homes of this nation. I lament the alienation that so many people feel from a nation that has steadily grown its respect for the worth and dignity of its citizens. I lament the alienation some citizens feel from an economic system that has created so much opportunity for people to pursue happiness. I lament the sometimes-justified feeling of alienation people have from the police, military, and others who defend this nation devoted to freedom. I lament the failure of so many Americans to understand that we live in a dangerous world and that therefore the nation needs to defend itself. I lament a divided church in its understanding of the role of the Bible, the teaching of the apostles, the classical teachings of the church, and the role of the political views of its members. The failure to show honor to other Christians has been a failure of immense proportions in terms of their witness in the world. In particular, bringing Jesus into our particular vision of the responsibility of government brings dishonor to Jesus. It suggests that the only thing that matters is politics and economics. It fails to see the spiritual issues that afflict humanity and which only the risen Christ can heal. 

America is full of false ideologies. Among the deepest is the failure to recognize that the ideas that established America, especially its devotion to liberty, limited government, and constitutional rights are the best hope for the world. Such ideas have shown that political and economic freedoms are beautiful partners in expanding the wealth of a nation, the freedom of its citizens, and the respect that institutional life offers individuals. Such ideas do not isolate the wealthy as particularly evil or the poor as particularly virtuous. The more people can feel their worth and dignity finds respect in the political and economic spheres of cultural life, the healthier the nation can become. Respectful participation will always lead to healthier individuals. The ideas that founded America have become increasingly part of the world, not only in Europe, but also in Asia and Africa. The false ideology in America places at the feet of America exploitation, racism, sexism, and empire that more accurately lays at the feet of communist and fascist movements, as well as other forms of totalitarianism. Today, the greatest danger to those who love liberty is militant Islam. We live in a violent world. We show love to the neighbor when we defend them. In particular, opposition to the hateful ideology that we find in militant Islam deserves the full support of the church and individual Christians. The willingness to give hateful labels to such concerns (homophobia, islamophobia, racist, and so on) betrays its own bigotry and unwillingness to engage reasonable discussion and debate. Such rhetoric attempts to put one on a moral high ground that one does not hold while shaming any opposition to a particular view of the role of government in this nation. Such an approach is the path to its version of fascism. Such an approach will never acknowledge that it may have much to learn from the opposition.

As one who worships the God of Israel and seeks to follow Jesus in this world, the invitation is always present to choose today whom I will serve (Joshua 24:15). As a call to action, I am just one person. I want to do my part in this setting. I want any reader to know that I choose to make political and economic commitments that are life-giving. As such, I will treat the stranger with love. While respectful of the differences human beings have created, I also recognize that beneath the differences are common humanity and our existence as creatures God has made. I look forward to the spread of regard for the worth and dignity of all persons. I long for a time when Christians can be with each other in the way the risen Lord is with us today through the presence of the Spirit. I want to work with others for a reasonable care of the earth. Instead, so many people seem to use the language of care for the earth as a mask for a socialist and anti-capitalist agenda. I hear in the deep divisions in our world a call for my feeble efforts to bring healing. I will work against anti-Semitism. I will work against any effort to dehumanize the Muslim. I gladly open myself to the wisdom that will come in our global setting from religions differing from my own and from those who have no religion.

Prayer: Your love for me is deep

Lord, you are a loving God. Your love for me is deep. Your love holds strong even as I struggle for truth, gamble on other paths, and ready myself to give in to temptation. I invite you to walk with me on my journey. Help me to see beyond the flashy, the smooth pitch, and the quick fix. Help me today to keep my eyes focused on Jesus, who knew temptation, disappointment, and pain. In the midst of temptation, he remained faithful to his heavenly Father. Help me to remember that you, Father, are always working for my good. Hold me in your grace, tender God, and help me to move beyond myself so that I can live and serve, as did Jesus. Amen.

Prayer: Too often I live in the shadows

Lord, you are light and truth. Yet, I confess that too often I live my life in the shadow of darkness.

• I pray that your love and light would shine on all those who suffer, giving hope to those whose lives war, persecution, and slavery have obscured. Help them to know the power of your life-giving light.
• Guide all the leaders of this world to govern with compassion and justice.
• I pray for all whom stress and fear weigh them down. They attempt to muddle through their days relying on themselves instead of you. Turn their faces toward you, so that in their times of difficulty you are the beacon that guides them.
• Shine your healing light on those who suffer the darkness and loneliness of depression. Vanquish the demons that wreak havoc in their lives and restore them to wholeness.
• Bring healing to those who live under a cloud of pain and suffering, flooding their pain with the warmth of your light.
• Comfort those who walk in the valley of the shadow of death, that whatever the number of their days, you will bathe them in your glow.
• Fill me with your Spirit so that all who encounter me se the light of your love shining in my face. 

I pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world. Amen.

Prayer: Give me a steadfast heart

Lord, give me a steadfast heart so that an unworthy thought will not drag me downward. Give me an unconquered heart that no difficulty or suffering can sear out. Give me an upright heart that an unworthy purpose may not tempt me to turn aside. Bestow upon me also an understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you. I pray these things through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.[1]

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[1] -Inspired by Thomas Aquinas.

Prayer: You have given me faithful framework

Read Exodus 20:1-20 and the Ten Commandments

Lord, you have given me a faithful framework to live a faithful and godly life. Yet, I fail to keep your commandments. I do not always put you first. I often worship any number of other gods and idols. I get so busy, I forget that you command me to rest and renew myself. I do not always tell the truth. I do not honor those in authority, especially those close to me. I have impure thoughts. I often covet what someone else has. Forgive me for not keeping your commandments, whether in thought or deed. Place your commandments in my heart, so that I might follow you faithfully. Amen.

Prayer: Thank you for the gift of free will

Lord, you are gracious and loving. One of the greatest gifts you have given me is the gift of free will. You have not forced yourself upon me. You have allowed me to choose whether I will surrender to you and follow Jesus. I know that this choice is a daily one. Will I today choose my own desires or your desires? Will I run after worldly pleasure, or the true joy of knowing Christ? Give me a heart that wants to choose you and desire your leading above all else. I am so thankful that you have called me to follow you, and today I choose to obey. I find my freedom in choosing you. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

Prayer: Lord, I bring my broken, sinful, and weak self

Lord, I bring myself before you, just as I am. I am broken, sinful, and weak. I confess that I am fickle. I say one thing and do another. Forgive me, for I have sinned. I say that I want to follow you, but I turn around and walk the other way. I say that I love you, and yet, I do not love my brothers and sisters. For these reasons, and many more I could name, I find myself amazed at your grace, compassion, and slowness to anger. I humbly thank you. I know that you are here, ready to hear my prayer of confession and to help me to turn from my sinfulness. You have forgiven me repeatedly. Thank you for not treating me as my sins deserve. For the divine qualities of love and forgiveness, I worship you today. Amen.

Prayer: You are gracious to hear me today

Lord, you are gracious to hear me today. I am in need of your grace and forgiveness, today and every day. Your graciousness allows me to be honest in prayer. You offer manna in the desert (Exodus 15). You nourish a hungry crowd with loaves and fishes (Matthew 14). Yet, I find it difficult to trust your abundance. I hoard what I have because it makes me feel secure. I keep score within my relationships by keeping tallies of my good works and the shortcomings of others. I follow Jesus, but only to a point. The gospel confronts me and challenges my complacency, and my response is to make excuses. Forgive me, gracious Lord. Help me to trust a divine grace that defies logic. Help me to live in the extravagance of your love and boundless mercy. Give me the will to live all of my life in service to you, my strength and redeemer. Amen.

Prayer: Give me the grace to see the world as you see it

Lord, give me the grace, even if only for a little while during corporate or private worship, to catch a glimpse of the world as you see it. In my judgments, help me to measure others and myself as you judge me. In my condemnations of others and myself, make me to love the things that you love and to loathe the things that you despise. Give me that vision that is able to see your presence in the little things of life, to wonder at the sacred worth of those people whom the world considers lowly and worthless. Help me, even for just a little while in my private and public worship, to think as you think, to see as you see, and to judge as you judge. Amen.

Prayer: I praise you for binding me to others

Lord, I praise you for having bound me with humanity in a great unity of life so that each of us must lean on the strength of others. I depend upon the help and work of brothers and sisters for my comfort and safety. I ask for your blessing on all the men and women who have toiled to build and warm my home, to fashion my clothing, and to gain from the sea and land the food that nourishes me. I pray that they may have health and joy. I pray that they have hope and love. I pray such things for my family and me, so I pray such things for them as well. Grant me wisdom to deal justly with every man and woman whom I face in the business of life. Help me not to inflict suffering through selfish indifference or willful ignorance of a callous heart, even if unknowingly. Amen.[1]

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[1] Based upon  --Walter Rauschenbusch, The Communion of Saints, ed. Horton Davies (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Publishing, 1990), 121-22.

Prayer: You search for me

Lord, you search after me when I have gone far from you. Yet, I confess that my own affairs consume me. I seldom pause to listen for the wind in the trees or hear the happy voices of children. Sometimes, I feel that the burdens of the world fall entirely on my shoulders, and I have been slow to put my trust in you or to cooperate with others. When I take myself too seriously, remind me that I am only human. Make me patient with my mistakes, even as I am willing to forgive others. Remind me that I am also precious, not because I am good but because you have accepted me and called me to be part of your people on this earth. Amen.

Prayer: In mystery and silence you are present in my life

Lord, in mystery and silence you are present in my life. I ask you to bring new life out of destruction, hope out of despair, and growth out of difficulty. I thank you that you do not leave me alone. Rather, you work to make me whole. Help me to perceive your unseen hand in the unfolding of my life. Help me to attend to the gentle guidance of your Spirit. In such ways, I will know the joy you give to my life as one of your people. Amen.

Prayer: You see through my pretenses

Lord, you see through all my pretenses to that silent, secret space where my true spirit sojourns. I ask you to prune away the deceits that mask my best intentions and all those quick defenses that disguise who I really am. Open me to you and to all who touch the truth of my being, so that all persons may see the integrity of a life given over to you, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer: I confess I have been less than you called me to be

Lord, you are merciful. I confess that in attitude and action, I have been less than you created and called me to be.

• I have forgotten your blessings toward me and in so doing I have failed to bless others.
• I have taken for granted the limitless depth of your love and forgiveness, and in so doing, I have withheld love and forgiveness from others.
• In my misguided efforts to maintain control, I have clung to bitterness, hurt, anger and disappointment, rather than letting go in faith and trust, releasing myself to the healing and cleansing power of your Spirit.

Forgive me, I pray. Forgive me for my willingness to settle for so much less than you desire to give me and to do in me. Restore me to right relationship with you and with others, for the sake of you Son, my Savior and Friend, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer: I come before you with a troubled heart

Lord, you are Lord of all. I come before you with a troubled heart.

• I regret that I often give lip service to what I believe, speaking of my beliefs only when it is convenient and non-threatening.
• I admit that though I profess tolerance, I do nothing to enhance the lives of those whom others simply do not tolerate.
• I profess open-minded and fair thinking and acting, yet I admit that I quickly interrupt and take sides before I have even heard both sides of an argument or issue.
• I pride myself on church attendance, and hesitate to be the church in my daily life.
• I say I am willing to try new ways of worship, and I quickly complain that things are not as they used to be.
• I quickly volunteer to help with a church project, but withdraw my commitment when something better comes along.
• I stand for tolerance, and then refuse to give respect to one who disagrees with my theology, politics, or moral standards.

I come before you today and confess those things that trouble my mind and heart. You are gracious, so much so that sometimes I wonder how you can tolerate me. I am grateful for the good news that I have new life in Christ, that true confession can lift the burden of a troubled mind and heart, and that I receive your forgiveness offered in the cross. Amen.

Prayer: Help me let go of the past

Lord, as I enter this time of prayer, I ask that you help me to let go of what is past. Release me from anger, resentment, and hurt of days gone by. Free me from bitterness and help me to fill this space with the love of Christ. I offer my gratitude for your gifts.

• For the gift of love, I offer thanks.
• For those people in my life who love me unconditionally, I offer thanks.
• For those who provide a safe place in the shelter of their unselfish love, I offer thanks.
• For those who give, expecting nothing in return, I offer thanks.
• For those who inspire me to raise to my best self, I offer thanks.
• For those who have helped me to put the pieces of my life back together when it seemed like circumstances or my choices have shattered my hopes and dreams, I offer thanks.

I honor the past and look forward to the future with hope so that the fires of hatred in this world transform into flames of love through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer: You know I have sinned

Lord, you know I have sinned. You know I have hurt others, I have been unkind, and I have had times when I think only of myself. You have given me such grace and mercy. Help me to extend the same to my brothers and sisters. Free me from holding grudges, from gossip, and from passing judgment. Help me never to pour shame upon another. Rather, help me to show love and peace. Help me to walk with others toward forgiveness and restoration. Thank you for the beauty you will bring to my relationships because together, we have sought your healing. We belong to you, Lord. Amen.

Prayer: You have been so generous with your love

Lord, you have been so generous with your love toward me. I come to you in gratitude for your love, which is always present to me. In the stillness of this moment, I remember with thanksgiving the times in my life when your love enabled me to rise to my better self. I thank you for the gift of your Son, who came that I might know what perfect love looks like. Breathe in me new life, instilling me with enthusiasm for the opportunities I have to begin again. Empowered by your love for me, help me to unite with all of life in the example of Jesus, who is Lord of my life. Help me to be intentional in the way I interact with others so that no one can doubt whom I serve. Help me to be patient and gracious with myself when I give them good reason to doubt. Amen.

Prayer: Teach me to deal with others the way you have dealt with me

Lord, teach me to deal with others the way you have dealt with me. Forgiveness is not easy for me. I find it easier to nurture my wounds, dwell upon my hurt, and focus upon the injustices I have endured. I admit that I have gnawing resentments and memories of old offenses. You have forgiven me, so help me to forgive others. You have welcomed me, despite my offenses, so help me to welcome others. You have loved me, despite my faults, so help me to love my sisters and brothers in Christ. Amen.

Prayer: You have shown grace in the changing phases of my journey

Lord, you have shown your grace. I come to this place of prayer, recognizing that I have come to you at so many different stages in the journey that is my life. I have struggled with doubt and loss as I question your presence in the midst of my pain and the pain of those I love. Thank you for the patience to let your love seep into the broken places of my life. I have come to you with uncertainties about what I believe, what you want me to do with my life and how I might serve you. Thank you for helping me to honestly doubt, so that the question of faith and servanthood might have an honest answer rather than an apathetically accepted one. I have come before you with a joy that knows no bounds in the celebration of love and the fulfillment of dreams. Thank you that you have given me the grace to share the joy with others. I have come to you in my life from a variety of pathways. Yet, I can see that each path is part of the same journey to be part of your people. Your people have a mission to bring your love to the world through the one whom we strive to follow, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

Prayer: You have made your love clear

Lord, you have made your love for me so clear. Yet, I confess that I have not loved others as you have commanded me to do. I have done wrong to my neighbor. I delight in pointing out the faults of others. I have ignored your law of love and devised my own law instead. I have not recognized your presence when two or more have gathered in your name. Have mercy upon me. Awaken my heart to your love in such a way that it will kindle in me love for others. Help me to know the fulfillment of your law of love in my life. Amen.

Prayer: Sometimes I find it difficult to know holy places

Lord, sometimes I find it difficult to know holy places and holy times, even when I am in the midst of them. On occasion, I long for a spectacular and unambiguous showing of your grace, something like a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15). Yet, what I know I need and what my heart longs for is that your Spirit set my heart ablaze instead. On occasion, I long for the sound of your clear and unmistakable voice. Yet, what I truly long for is that your voice ring clear through my words, through the words of others, and through the matters on which I ponder. I want to know who you are. “I am” is the mystery of your name: “I am who I am,” “I cause to be,” “I am there for you.” Such mystery allows you to address the deepest needs of my heart. If my mind and heart are open, this place and this moment in which I now pray is holy. Thank you. Amen.

Prayer: Help me to greet you when you show up in an unexpected way

Lord Jesus, you have come to humanity as the Jewish Messiah, the anointed one of God of Israel. The promise of a Jewish Messiah has become the hope for humanity. You are the power and love of God present to us. You have come to humanity as the Son of God, the actual presence of God with us. Today and every day, help me to greet you when your constant presence shows up in a surprising and unexpected moment in my life.  Enable me to lay aside my preconceptions of you. Enable me to meet you as you are rather than who I would have you to be. Help me to follow you, to walk with you where you lead, to love you as you are, and to be the disciple whom you would have me to be. Amen.

Jesus, what was it like to walk with you when you on earth?

Jesus, what was it like to walk with you when you were on earth? Would I have believed in you if I had seen you and heard your voice? I am so grateful for your word, which tells me the stories of your life, death, and resurrection. Your words challenge me. Your call to love the neighbor, regardless of how unlovable he or she may be, to love the enemy, and to love the least, continue to challenge and motivate me. Move me away from my selfishness and toward the selfless giving that defined your life. I ask you never to let me become complacent in my salvation or wary of giving my life fully to you. You gave your all for me. I give all back to you. Thank you so much, Jesus. I love you. Amen.

I pray for your family, the Jews

Lord Jesus, I pray for your family, the Jews. Preserve them from the prejudice and persecution of the church, the mosque and the secular governments of the world. Forgive humanity our sins against your people in the past. In particular, however, enable the church to honor them today by advocating for them, to stand by and with them, and to fight fiercely against all forms of sin against them. Help me as a person of faith in Christ to give thanks that Israel taught us to look for and to expect a messiah. Help me, in every aspect of my life, to be faithful to your love, not only believing in you as the promised Messiah for humanity, but also following you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

Prayer: I ask that you align my heart with your heart

Lord, you are loving and merciful. In this quiet moment, I ask that you align my heart with your heart, so that I will submit to your will in all things. I do not understand so much of my life. I have enough fear and doubt that it can keep me from trusting your goodness. However, let me freely release such fears and doubts to you. Help me to come to you with my uncertainty, knowing you have no surprise at such feelings. I come in trust. I ask your Spirit to renew my faith once more. You are God. That is enough. Amen.

Prayer: You call me out of darkness and into your marvelous light

Lord, you call me out of darkness and into your marvelous light. However, I crouch in the shadows, ashamed of the wrong I have done and the good I have neglected to do. I have been a timid disciple, afraid of putting my life on the line for the good of your rule on earth. I conceal my true self from others. I hide behind the delusion of my power and competence. The mask I present to others conceals so much. I allow division and discord to rule in my heart, crowding out your presence. I know discord is not your way. You have shown me, in Christ, that you are a reconciling God. Call me back to you. Equip me for relationships of integrity in my family, church, and world, all of which you love. I acknowledge my need of your love today. Amen.

Prayer: I find it difficult to get into the boat

Lord Jesus, I find it difficult to get into the boat of life and set out across the dangerous seas of life when I am in the boat (Matthew 14:22-33). I can feel battered by the waves. I feel the wind against me. I wonder if you will reach me in time. Yet, you also want me to get out of the boat! You want me to walk toward you, ignoring the wind that makes sailing through life so difficult. You call me to trust that you will not let the waves swallow me into the depths. Yet, I find myself resisting. I want to stay behind. I have more fear than I do faith. Yet, help me to remember that when life gets difficult and the storms of life rage, you can fill me with the confidence that you come to me in the middle of the storm. Help me to remember that you will reach me in time. In the presence of death, grief, illness, despair, the waves crashing against the boat, and even my sinking into the depths, do not change the assurance that you are with me and for me. Give me patience to wait for you and allow you the time to come on your time rather than my time. Give me a heart that trusts you in all things. Amen.

Prayer: I confess my shortcomings

I want to confess honestly my shortcomings to the God who has love that will never let me go. I too often see others in terms of black and white and allow myself shades of grey. I can so quickly judge others by what they fail to do. I can also quickly give excuses for my actions. I can look askance at how others spend their money. I make allowances for my spending habits. I can so readily hold others to the rules and allow myself the luxury to bend them in order to justify my actions. I can be so eager to hold others accountable to the letter of the law while giving myself a measure of grace. Forgive me. In these moments of stillness, release me from the harshness of my ways and fill me with the love of Christ so much that it will flow outward to others as grace offered to them. I am so grateful for the grace of God that surrounds me and goes before me. I am so grateful that the love of God is stronger than my misdeeds. I receive your forgiveness. I receive this good news and breathe in the forgiving love of God.

Prayer: I am too much like the disciples of Jesus

Lord, you are merciful. I am too much like the disciples of Jesus, who were often shortsighted and smallminded. I focus on problems and needs. I focus on what seems like logical or possible solutions. I am confident you work through such analysis of decisions I must make in my life. Yet, too often, I rely upon my strength and resources and therefore find myself quickly overwhelmed. I forget to turn to you. I fail to depend on your Spirt. Forgive me, Lord. Remind me that your ways are not my ways. All things are possible with you. Renew me in faith and commitment that I might trust you in every situation. Amen.

Give me courage to confront myself honestly

Lord, give me courage to confront myself honestly. Help me to leave pretense behind and get me down to what is real. Help me to act justly with those close to me. Help me to advocate justice for those distant from me. Help me to work toward healing what life has injured. Help me to celebrate the rest you give. Lead me in the narrow way of trust. Accompany me into the awe or ache so deep that I must sort out what matters. I ask that your grace transform me so that I will be confident of your blessing upon my life and become a channel of blessing to others. Amen.

Prayer: Thank you for the gift of family

Gracious Lord, I thank you for the gift of family. I thank you for the gift of my biological family. I thank you for the vast family of your children baptized into this faith. I thank you for those who have parented me in my spiritual journey. They have encouraged me to grow. They have modeled healthy relationships. They have taught me the ways of Christ. I thank you for those who stand strong when family lets me down, as they inevitably will do. I pray for the brokenness afflicting family. I ask you especially to bring healing and restoration where family relationships have strain and severing. I ask for you to bless me as I endeavor to walk as a faithful disciple within family, whether biological or families of choice. I ask this to the praise and honor of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer: Lead on, Lord and Savior

I ask you to lead me, Lord and Savior. If I do not have your leading, I would not know which way to go. Without you, I will stumble, wander aimlessly, and search for something I could never find. You have found me. You picked me up and set me on a path that leads to life. You did so through the pastors, teachers, and other servants within the Body of Christ. I have the hope that eventually you will guide me to your home forever. In the meantime, I will follow you. Sometimes, other paths of life seem clearer. Yet, I trust your leadership above all, even when the path is foggy, ambiguous, and unclear. Lead on, gracious Lord and Savior. Amen.

Prayer: The Pain and Suffering of this world are overwhelming

Lord, the pain and suffering of this world are overwhelming. I turn on the TV or open the newspaper, and I see death, disease and despair. At what point do I just throw my hands in the air and quit? However, this present suffering cannot compare with your future glory (Romans 8:18). When I pay attention to the other parts of nature, I see it also struggles with its pain and suffering. I wonder if at some level, its creatures long for its pain and suffering to end. Lord, how much longer must humanity wait, how much longer must humanity suffer? No matter how deeply I hope, hope does not cure the sick or end wars. Lord, many of us in the community of the faithful seek your glory, your presence here and now. We want the power of your Spirit to fill our entire being to overflowing. We are simply one part of your vast creation. As part of your faithful community, we long from the depths of our souls for the lifting up and revelation of the children of God. What this means, of course, is that I must wait. I am impatient at times. I wait with pain. Yet, I also wait with the firm hope in your Son, who has already experienced the glory to come in resurrection. So today, I wait and offer thankful praise for the glory to come. Amen.

Prayer: Creator help me to create

Lord, you are a loving Creator. I ask that you help me to create with you. As I humble myself before you in prayer, I thank you for the seeds of faith you have planted in me when I was a child. I thank you for the Sunday school teachers, preachers, music leaders, parents, siblings, and other adults you brought into my life who have encouraged the growth of your word in me. Grant to me the courage to release the things in my life that choke me and prevent me from growth. You know what hinders me. Make me aware of the hindrances of my life and help me to clear a pathway for you. In those now uncluttered spaces, help me to fill up with your strength.  Nourish me with the sacramental life of the Body of Christ so that I might give to others your patience, hope, and love so that others may grow like seeds free of the weeds that might stifle their growth. Thank you for the gift of your grace that has allowed me to flourish in spite of the load I have carried. I am grateful that you are always present to me. I ask for your help that I might be present today to the people I meet, so that I can feed and nourish others. Thank you for showing me what love looks like in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah and the Savior of the world, who taught us to pray …

Prayer: My life stretches ahead of me in its brevity

Lord, you are everlasting. The span of my life, long or short as it may stretch ahead of me today, is brief, a mere candle flame burning to the edge of the taper, when compared with the vastness of creation and the eternal quality of your divine life. My life is temporal. Regardless of when the end of my time comes, the end is always close to me. The end troubles me. The sense and awareness of the eternal quality of your divine life gives me some assurance and peace. In quiet moments, I ponder the seasons of my life, its progress and its steps backward, its dramatic changes or its slow but persistent change over time. I see mysteries around me. I ask your help to look and listen to your creation. I am uncertain of what the end of my life will bring. Yet, when I look to your Word, your Son, and his life, death, and resurrection, I approach my end with hope. Is death really a birth into a fuller life than I can imagine here? I trust your Word. Such trust will lead to life on earth with greater readiness to follow where your Spirit leads me. Amen.

Prayer: I confess failure in the pressure of the moment

Lord, I have a confession to make. At times, the pressures and stresses of the moment catch me off guard. I act hastily, rashly, and thoughtlessly. I say and do things I later regret. In the heat of the moment, I can allow my temper, impatience, and selfishness overcome the goodness and compassion you have brought into my life. I respond in ways that hurt others and dishonor you. I confess that though I long to have the mind of Christ and respond in all situations as Jesus modeled for me, I fail too often. I admit that I am shortsighted, forgetful, and fearful. I ask your forgiveness, Lord. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and the love of humanity. Amen.

Prayer: I have rejected your word when it did not suit my agenda

Lord, you are mighty and merciful. I must confess, though, that I have rejected your revealed word when it did not suit my agenda. I have settled for fitting you in my life, rather than have my life conform to you. In my pride, I have failed to repent of my sins or even acknowledge their existence. I ask your forgiveness. Give me eyes to see your Son as he is, ears to hear his truth, a heart captive to his will, and hands that draw others into the presence of the Son. I pray these things, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer: I have a conflicted heart and will

Lord, you are holy. I have a conflicted heart today. My intentions are often good. Yet, I still find a way to fail to do what is right. I usually want to do what you command, but I also find it tempting to figure out a way around it. Even if I do feel some guilt, I want to justify my actions rather than take the difficult steps toward making amends. I ask your divine forgiveness for the harm I have caused when I have followed my will and strayed from your teaching. Strengthen me today so that my heart and will unite in the desire to do what is right. Amen.

Prayer: Help me to open my door to those in need

Lord, help me to open my door to those in need. You know me, Lord. I fear those who are different from me. I am suspicious of the stranger. I do not want the other to use me. Yet, Jesus taught us to show hospitality, to welcome others, and to give a cup of cold water (Matthew 10:40-42). Prod me beyond my closed door. Give me the courage to reach out to those in need. You have given me so much. Help me to share what you have given me with those who have less. Remind me that so many people are strangers to the love of God. In your Son, Jesus, you broadened your promises to Israel to include humanity. You invited all persons to become part of the people of God. You have an open door to us. You welcomed us. Help me to welcome others in the same love you have shown to humanity. Amen.

Prayer: I pray for the courage of an open heart

Lord, I am grateful for your love. I pray today for the courage to have an open heart as I come to you in prayer. I admit my weaknesses. I know I will receive your loving understanding and leave this quiet time strengthened because by this conversation with you. Here are a just a few of my weaknesses.

• For the times I have been less than patient with other people in my life.
• I regret the instances when I have not given others the mercy they extended to me.
• I am sorry that I have trivialized the important issues and exaggerated the small stuff.
• Forgive me for all the occasions when I become extremely angry.

In spite of the weaknesses I can name and the weaknesses of which I am not even aware, help me to have gratitude today for the people in my life who love me anyway. I ask you, as one who loves me, to grant to me the grace to forgive myself. Help me to let go of the times when I have been less than my best. When others have forgiven me and when you have long forgotten, I still harbor feelings of shame and remorse. Help me to let go and love myself anyway, just as you continue to love me. I pray the lessons of the past might give me hope for the future. I pray these things in the name of the one who came that we might follow the way of love and life eternal. Amen.

Prayer: I live with the results of my sin and brokenness … Liberate me

Lord, I know that you are gracious. Yet, I live with the results of my sin and brokenness every hour. I see the results of human sin in a world full of violence, abuse, disease, poverty, discrimination, hatred, and fractured relationships that litter this world. I see how some people suffer loneliness, isolation, dislocation, hunger, depression, and addiction. Still others experience plagues caused by their regrets, failures, angers, or fears. Yet, I see so many who cling to the familiar patterns even though they cause pain and hurt to the ones they love. I see as well that I have done some of these things in my life. I am blind to the self-destructive behavior in me, even while I seem to see it so quickly in the lives of others. Am I still doing some self-destructive things? Becoming a slave to old attitudes, old ways of thinking, and old ways of acting is so easy that they (and I) do not even recognize the master they (and I) serve. Yet, you offer a different way. You are so gracious that your grace can help my find my true freedom. Set me free, I pray, to be the person you have designed me to be. Liberate me from all that threatens to keep me trapped and bound. In you alone, I will find the freedom to be what you created me to be. [See Romans 6:12-23.]

Prayer: I need to reorient myself to the truths of faith

Lord, you are mighty, the creator of the universe, the one who sustains life, and the future redeemer of the world. I am in awe that one who is majesty and mystery is willing to receive my humble worship, hear my prayers, and care for my concerns and burdens. I need to reorient myself to the truths of faith.

• Life is more that I can see or touch.
• Love can conquer hate.
• Forgiveness of my enemies is not only possible but a command.
• I embrace the truth that I find hope in Jesus Christ rather than anything in which I might trust in this world.
• I embrace the truth that the foundation of life rests on Christ rather than anything I am or do.  

Thank you for meeting me here, in my place and my time. I pray for your Spirit to speak to me and renew me by your divine grace. Amen.

Prayer: Before reading the Bible, I pray …

Lord, too often I see only as if I had the dimness of the twilight light. However, when I come before the Word made flesh, I want to come so open that I will see and hear something that will surprise me. Silence my agendas. Banish my assumptions. Cast out my casual detachment.  Confound my expectations. Clear the cobwebs of my ears. Penetrate the corners of my heart with your word. I know you can. I pray you will. I wait in these quiet moments with you in quiet anticipation. Amen.

Prayer: I confess the mixture of virtue and vice I find in myself

Lord, you are good, forgiving, and overflowing in unwavering love. I confess this is a beautiful contrast with the mixture of virtue and vice I find in myself. I am a mixture of good and bad, forgiveness and grudges, and faltering love. My sins are too heavy to carry, to real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive me for what my lips tremble to name, what my heart can no longer bear, and what has become for me a consuming fire of judgment. The pardon you have already offered to me in the cross of Jesus is my hope. Yet, in the quiet and urgency of this moment, set me free from a past I cannot change. Open me to a future that I know I have the ability to change. Give to me the grace I need this day to grow more and more into the likeness and image of your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Light you have given to the world. Amen.

Prayer: I can make much trouble for myself and others

God of unity and peace: I can talk much about unity and peace. At the same time, I can make much trouble for myself and for others. Quarrelling seems too natural to me. Whether in church, at home, at work, and even between nations and religions, quarrelling is part of my life. I can be so loyal to things and ideas. I can be loyal to my country. Yet, I must never allow such loyalties surpass my loyalty to Jesus Christ. The wisdom of this world is sometimes a parable of the rule of God that Jesus announced. Yet, I must never allow the wisdom of this world to look better to me than your Word. I can think of myself as so good that the humiliation of the love of God shown in the cross of Jesus is something from which I want to hide. Yes, today and every day, I need your forgiveness and mercy. Embrace me today with the power of your Spirit of reconciliation. Fill me with a powerful light that shines with love into the world. I want this day to show increased commitment to leading the life of a follower of Jesus. Amen.

Prayer: Help me to be a good steward of what you have made

Lord, help me to appreciate your abundance. You created all things and granted human beings dominion over the earth. Help me to become a good steward of what you have made. Form me into a responsible caretaker of water, earth, and sky. Shape me into a protector of beasts that creep and birds that soar. Help me to offer shelter to others: infant, child, woman, man, stranger, and friend. Most of all today, help me to be a good steward of myself. I need to be a good steward of the gifts, aspirations, and limitations I have. Use the gifts I have to bring your rule on earth. Amen.

Prayer: Prepare me to hear from the Bible

Lord, prepare me to hear from the Scriptures. Sometimes it can be easy to dismiss a passage that seems familiar. I have heard it before and so I disengage. Yet I know that your word is powerful and that it is calling me to live like Jesus. Do not let me turn off my ears so quickly. Help me to listen well and to respond with obedience. Let me see what you are doing through the Scriptures. You are working and I want to join you. Amen.

Prayer: Help me to appreciate rest for the journey

Lord, help me to appreciate the fact that you give me a resting place. God and I can pause, renewing myself for the journey. I know I will need to take to the road again. You told us as your followers to go into the world. This pause enables me to ready the sail. My true homeland is not here. In one sense, we as Christians are strangers in every land. We are pilgrims moving toward the abiding city of God. That is also true of me as an American follower of Jesus. No matter how much I love this land and its mission of the spread of liberty, it remains my temporary home. As I go, I will pray. As I go, love will be my song and life will be my celebration. I have the privilege to be one small part of the house of God that God is fashioning. I want to go with God this day. Amen.

Prayer: I take your gifts to me for granted

 

           You are the God of all creation and the maker of all things. You have gifted your church with uncountable talents and provided many of us with comfortable living spaces. As for me, sometimes I am wise and use my talents for good purpose. I invest them, foster them, and watch them grow in usefulness to the reign of God. Yet, too often, I take what you have given me for granted. Rather than using your gifts wisely, I bury them to keep them safe, or squander them on things I do not really need. I fall into the temptation of debt, putting my wants ahead of my true needs, and my desires ahead of what you desire for me and your rule. In my selfishness, my eyes and ears close to the very ones you call us to serve and care for. Forgive me, Lord, when I hide or squander your gifts. Strengthen me and help me stand firm in your ways. Teach me to be a wise steward of all that you give me. The Body of Christ needs all of its members for the ministry you place before each of us. I trust that you have supplied the needs for the part of the Body of Christ in which I participate. Therefore, inspire your church to use these gifts in ways that bring pleasure to God. Give me courage to invest myself and to overcome the fears that inhibit the work of the rule of God.

            Amen.