Prayer

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Prayer of Thanks

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At this moment, Lord,
all I want to do
is thank you.

Every part of me
swells with gratitude
for the goodness and mercy
you have shown to your child.

You have been my light
through the darkest of days.
You have been my strength
when I’ve battled distress.
You have been my sure path
out of the shadows.
You have been my companion
at my journey’s every turn.

And still today,
you continue to enfold me
and blanket my littleness
with the mantle of your might.

Your goodness astounds me;
your love overwhelms me.
At this moment, Lord,
all I want to do
is thank you.

Adapted from Psalm Prayers for Seniors,
by Merging Traffic blog author Dennis Ference,
© 2000 Liguori Publications. Available from Liguori,
Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

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Prayer for Compassion for Others

scream-879491_1920Divine Spirit,
how easy it is for me
to get trapped in the maze
of my own sufferings
and the tangle
of my own concerns.

I wake up in the morning,
and I begin the stretch
through the usual stiffness
and expected aches and pains.
I go to bed at night
to recline with memories
of a past that I treasure
but that no longer can be.

And in between
I often stumble in the dark
of a self-absorption
firmly planted
behind a closed door.

But you have placed a light
deep in my spirit,
shining always outward
and not merely within.
It lights the faces
of my brothers and sisters,
exposing our oneness,
baring their need.

Help me, Lord,
to move out
toward the other.
Help me, Lord,
to pry open my door.
Help me to do justice
and be compassion.
Help me, Lord,
Help me.

Adapted from Psalm Prayers for Seniors,
by Merging Traffic blog author Dennis Ference,
© 2000 Liguori Publications. Available from Liguori,
Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

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…there is a season

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To everything
there is a season,
and a time
for every purpose
under heaven. Ecc.3:1

O God of the Journey, your gift of life unfolds
in seasons to reveal the mystery and depth
of your love.

You ask us to bend with the winds and rivers
of change so that we may continue to reflect
the infinite variety of your Being.

Open us to the grace of the moment
so that we may never cease thanking you
and being a blessing
for those with whom we dwell.
And in every cross and triumph to come,
may our faith lead us, without fail,
to know your presence intimately
and to experience the joy and beauty of your peace. Amen

© 2015 Dennis Ference

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Awed by the Wonder

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Lord, sometimes when I gaze
  at the sky,
time, which in these later years,
has come to move so quickly,
seems all of a sudden,
to stand perfectly still.
And for just a moment
I rest at the edge
of endless possibilities,
and I am awed by the wonder
of all that has come forth
as gift from your hands.

How majestic the mountains,
how lush the carpets of green!
How powerful the moving waters,
how graceful the billowy clouds!
How vast the varieties of
    living creatures,
how splendid their mingling
    and mix!

And as part of all this glory,
here I stand with my brothers
    and sisters,
richly blessed
to know something about you,
privileged to discover
that we come from your love
to share in the spirit
that makes things to be.

How great are you
beyond all I can imagine!
How graced are we
whom you have made your own!

Adapted from Psalm Prayers for Seniors,
by Merging Traffic blog author Dennis Ference,
© 2000 Liguori Publications. Available from Liguori,
Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

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Darkness and Trust

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Sometimes, Lord,
in the dark of the night,
I am brought especially low
by the hurts and losses
and the burdens of these days.

I wonder where you are,
and I wonder how it can be
that your children
should suffer
and know such distress.

My mind is rattled
by thoughts and worries
that question your love
and puzzle over promises
on which I depend,

Then, in the whispers
of the past, I remember
how you broke the silence
to light the dark,
to guide me through danger,
and to calm my fear.

And as the morning dawns,
I choose to go on,
trusting in you and praising
   your name,
placing my future under your care,
setting my life firmly in
   your hands.

Adapted from Psalm Prayers for Seniors,
by Merging Traffic blog author Dennis Ference,
© 2000 Liguori Publications. Available from Liguori,
Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

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Rest

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I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie
down in safety.       (Psalm 4:8)

Often, O Lord,
on this journey of life,
I feel like I’m walking
   a tightrope
with miles of emptiness below
and no one to catch me
and nothing to hold on to.

I reach for and grasp at
promises of security
that pop up all around me,
though they fade like the wind
when I truly need them
to give me direction
and steady my step.
But it is you alone
who are my true security;
it is you alone
who will take my hand
to travel every step with me
in answer to the cry
that comes out of my fear
of walking this way alone.

And with this truth
to console and comfort,
I surrender my anxiety,
and I take my rest.

by Dennis Ference
© 2000 Liguori Publications
(First posted without pic 10/30/14.)

Taken from Psalm Prayers for Seniors by Dennis Ference. Available from Liguori Publications, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Itunes, and other ebook sources.