Soft and Steadfast, a prayer based on Hebrews 3 and James 1

Posted on August 23, 2021 by revlisad

soft-heart-cruel-world-2

Based on Hebrews 3:7-14, The Voice Translation and James 1:19-25, NRSV

Merciful One, soften my heart

Save me from hardheartedness
From evil and deceit
From mutiny and unbelief

Turn and return me
From wandering away
From petrifying slowly

Make my heart pure
Open to you
Wanting what you want

Make my heart true
Confident in you and your Word
Hearing and Doing

Make my heart noble
Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger
Rejoicing in your direction

Jesus
Heart of my heart
Keep me soft and steadfast in your nail scarred hands

Extended quote by John R. Wimmer, Blessed Endurance
The words joy rejoice as they appear in James and First Peter do not mean what they seem at first glance. The rejoicing we find here is not a shallow, syrupy, or optimistic refusal to admit that problems exist; instead, it is the realistic recognition of struggle bolstered by the decision to rejoice in knowing that God is working to bring us through strife to greater spiritual depth. Yes, it may be tough if not impossible to rejoice when suffering, but such joy will not take the form of emotional jubilance or elation.

James proclaims that suffering may be considered as joy when the encounter produces the spiritual virtue of steadfastness. And steadfastness, when allowed to flower into fullness, produces the most attractive bloom of all qualities: Christian maturity.

Authentic Christian maturity, then, is a steadfastness that we attain not by denial. It is a quality that, like any other kind of maturity, accrues with age, hard work, and a lot of bruising experience. It is the ability to redirect our thoughts beyond immediate woes in order to realize the spiritual growth that results from tests of faith.

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Prayer: Soft and Steadfast © 2017, updated 2021 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
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Prayer- Morning by Morning, based on Isaiah 50.4-5 and John 6.51

Posted on August 9, 2021 by revlisad

Image by getspotted from Pixabay

Isaiah 50:4-5, NRSV
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens— wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward.

John 6:51, NRSV
Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Morning by morning
Like the sunrise
Like manna

Morning by morning you waken and provide
You open my eyes to your presence and desire for this day
You open my ears to your encouragement, truth, and grace
You know my weakness, my weariness
You open me to your sustaining

Morning by morning you waken and provide
Now open my mouth to share what first found me
In every season and circumstance
With every soul along the way

Morning by morning you waken me
My eyes, my ears
My mouth, my heart

Morning by morning you waken me
To You and to all
Like the sunrise
Like manna
Great is your faithfulness!

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Morning by Morning © 2017 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
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Prayers based on Matthew 21.23-32

Posted on September 25, 2020 by revlisad

Prayers Based on Matthew 21:23-32
The Authority of Jesus is Questioned

Prayer: All Authority
Merciful and Mighty Christ
You proclaim and answer with authority
You reveal the way of righteousness

All authority in heaven and earth is yours
Receive the sacrifice of our trust and time

You deliver and heal with authority
You call for our turning and transforming

All authority in heaven and earth is yours
Receive the sacrifice of our trust and time

You breathe and share your authority
You send us to work and witness in your world

All authority in heaven and earth is yours
Receive the sacrifice of our trust and time
For the honor and glory of your name
For the building of your kingdom
For the saving of all creation. Amen

Prayer: Steadfast Surrender
Faithful One, make me faithful.
Steadfast One, make me steadfast.
Unchanging One, change me.
I surrender to your Word and ways, your call and claim.
Fulfill your good purposes in me and through me, now and forever. Amen.
______________

For the next few months, I’ll be posting prayers to accompany Bishop Ken Carter’s Bible Study on Facebook. Each week, Bishop Carter will bring in a guest to speak about the passage. We’ll be walking through the last chapters of the Gospel of Matthew.

You’re most welcome to read along and to join this Facebook discussion group. You don’t need to be a Methodist or attend a Methodist church. All are welcome and all means all.

May the grace of God’s word, the challenge, and the call, inspire us to great faith and great good works in Jesus’ name. – Lisa <

All Authority © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Steadfast Surrender © 2010 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

An Affirmation and Prayer Based on John 11

Posted on August 18, 2020 by revlisad

Summer in the Scriptures John (9)

Based on John 11:25-26
Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

In the midst of
unrelenting, unraveling, and unknowing
You are the Resurrection and the Life

In the midst of
hunger, disease, and great need
You are the Resurrection and the Life

In the midst of
conquest, prejudice, and oppression
You are the Resurrection and the Life

In the midst of
water, bread, and wine
You are the Resurrection and the Life

In the midst of
questions, promises, and prayers
You are the Resurrection and the Life

In the midst of
loneliness, hot tears, and agonizing decisions
You are the Resurrection and the Life

In the midst of
betrayal, saving your own skin, and abandonment
You are the Resurrection and the Life

In the midst of
injustice, brutality, and the misuse of power
You are the Resurrection and the Life

In the midst of
mocking, torture, and excruciating pain
You are the Resurrection and the Life

In the midst of
grave clothes, spices, and stone
You are the Resurrection and the Life

Imagining this prayer took me all the way through the coming chapters in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ passion and death.

What would you add to this prayer?
In the midst of
________, ___________, and _________
You are the Resurrection and the Life

_______________

For the next few months, I’m reading a chapter from the Gospels each day. This is part of the Summer in the Scriptures reading plan sponsored by the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Click Here for the reading plan.

You’re most welcome to read along and to join the Facebook discussion group, Summer in the Scriptures. You don’t need to be a Methodist or attend a Methodist church. All are welcome and all means all.

As part of the Facebook group, I’ve been supplying prayers based on the day’s reading. Feel free to post your prayers and observations based on the readings here or there as well.

May the grace of the Gospels, the challenge, and the call, inspire us to great faith and great good works in Jesus’ name. – Lisa <

Affirmation Based on John 11 © 2017 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

Prayer- Receive my Blessing, Receive Me (Psalm 136)

Posted on August 28, 2019 by revlisad

Taken on my mom’s porch!

Steadfast One
God of Everlasting to Everlasting
Receive my blessing
Receive me

You lead your people
Make me fully yours

I surrender my life to you again
I give what you first gave me
Lead me

I entrust my life to you again
Teach me to rely on you fully
Forgive me when I follow the false
and fleeting
Lead me

I take refuge in you
You alone are safety and shelter
You alone are grace and belonging
You alone are trustworthy and true
Forever
Blessed be your name

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever…
Who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever
– Psalm 136:1-3, 16

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Receive My Blessing, Receive Me © 2019 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia (revlisad.com)
Please leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

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