Terrapin Station

Prayer of Green

Rachel Hackenberg shares a weekly prayer prompt every Friday. Here's today's: 

Today's prompt comes from Writing to God: Kids' Edition, my second book and an engaging resource to encourage young readers in prayer. One of my favorite prompts in the Kids' Edition is endless with possibilities for prayer:

"What's your favorite color? What do you like about that color?
As you think about your favorite color, can you imagine anything that God has
in common with that color? For example, if you like blue because it's
a beautiful color for the sky,you could say that blue is beautiful...and God
is beautiful too! Describe how God is like your favorite color."
(Paraclete Press 2012, pg 56)

Don't be afraid of prayer-writing playfully in response to this prompt, nor should you be surprised if the prompt inspires a thoughtful prayer from your pen. I hope that you'll share your prayers as comments on my blog, Faith and Water; I'm eager to learn what colors you choose -- fuschia, any one?

GOD IS GREEN

God is great, God is green

Like the Green Man

Like the heartbreaking color of new leaves in Spring

Like the hoary color of my tired tomato leaves in the hot July summer air

Like the cedars, fluttering like enormous living parasols

outside my window each day

The first color of them all was green

and everything grew out of it

from God

We thank God with big green smiles and hands clapping

because God is green.

Writing to God: Rain or otherwise

Rachel says:  How is the weather where you are? I encourage you to write a prayer that celebrates God's blessing in today's weather conditions (or, if you are experiencing destructive weather -- floods and tornadoes, for example -- seek God's blessing despite the weather).

Good morning, God!

Thank you for the sun, birdsong, yellow finch in my tree outside

and thank you also for the rain and chill of the past few days

it will be HOT soon enough, and for a long time.

Thank you, also, for people like Nat

who can see out of the box,

who moved this photo shoot from a cramped indoor space

to your glorious, drippy outside:

You show us creativity in the weather and nature

I think you smile when we get it.

Writing to God Day 36

Look around you today. How are you witnessing Christ present with others? Write a prayer for someone you encounter today. 

 

Today, the gift of a lifetime:

A dissertation defense

By a defender who has fought against so much

both expected and unexpected:

single mom...mom-pastor...chronic illness...catastrophic illness

and responded with laughter

She laughed!

Standing around her, a small cloud of witnesses

She achieves the goal.

This goal. For now.

And walks forth into the world to further Christ's work

in each day that remains.

Go with her, Jesus, with your hand on her shoulder

and your song in her heart.

 

 

Surprise!

Today's prompt: write a prayer of thanksgiving for the ways that God surprises you.

Oh, God!

Bananas grow on trees

and strawberries grow in the ground

and I give thanks for them as they go in my mouth.

Ken talks on the phone

to a cancer patient

and tells him, "It's all psychological. You just have to keep on."

Mesquite and pecan are leafing out

yet the temperature was freezing here last night

Good Friday is the planting day.

Surprise!

Writing to God Day 32

If your church follows the lectionary cycle of scripture readings, you may have heard Isaiah 43:16-21 this past Sunday. Here's verse 19a from the NRSV: "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"

Lent is not a wilderness season simply for the sake of wilderness seasons. Something is meant to happen here; something new emerges from this time with God. In the history of our faith, the wilderness is a place for honing holiness and reshaping life. What new thing is God doing in your life? Are you perceiving the new thing, are you still seeking to identify and understand it?

Write a prayer for the new thing (or for the perception of the new thing) that God is bringing about.

 

God, you are shaping me and knowing me.

For a few years there was a desert time

of feeding tubes and blenderized diets

of misery

of trying to "fix" things that are not fixable by me.

Now there is clear air

space

discontent

and a breath of energy comes

and I say, "what's next?"

I ask to be aware, so that when the next thing comes (or things)

I may be awake

alert

ready to step up

I ask to be unafraid

I ask to be blessed to know your will for me

and to say yes

Writing to God Day 23

From The Message, the opening verses of Psalm 104 read: "O my soul, bless God! God, my God, how great you are: beautifully robed, dressed up in sunshine, and all heaven stretched out for your tent. You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds, and took off on wind-wings."

Where are you seeing God today? Is God putting on a fashion show with the morning sunrise? Is God drawing on the sky with jet trails? Be creative! Use your imagination and write a prayer of delight for the goodness of God's presence. 

God of the open windows,

the temperature was 31 degrees this morning

Cold when I took out the trash

picked up the beer can from the sidewalk

placed it in the recycle bin

The day

holds such promise

of quiet

of greening everywhere

of renewal

Starting an hour earlier than usual

New secrets are revealed.

Writing to God Day 20

From Psalm 69, verse 3 in the NRSV: "I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for God." In your prayer-writing today, place in pen before God the places of deep fatigue in your life and soul. 

 

God, I am just tired

and sad

There's much to be grateful for

and in the big picture I'm lucky

and blah blah blah

et cetera

because the little things are the things that stab

just like with culture shock

where telephones and toilets    

trip you up

daily living is un-joyed

by the small slights

smears

disconnections

disaffectations.

Lonely.

 

Writing to God Day 17

"No matter what map has lost you, Love is the way."

This song -- "No Matter What," written by UCC minister Rob Leveridge for his album Dancing on the Mountain -- delights in the grace of God surrounding us through all circumstances, even along this mapless meandering called Lent. (You can hear his song here; it's the third song on the page.)

Today, write a prayer of praise for the ways that Love makes a way in your life.

 

O, you wonderful!

No matter how often I think I am alone

Lost

Stagnating

You bring me a surprise

You, the God of new days

are showing me that at least one of the great investments

in the last 15 years

has borne great fruit

and more will come.

I am so grateful. I am so thrilled.

I sing to you today~thank you, thank you!

Love, me

Writing to God

Today's prayer prompt begins with Jesus' lament in Luke 13:34 (NRSV): "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus leans on metaphors (especially parables) to teach fuller understanding of faith and of God. Here in Luke 13, a metaphor demonstrates the keenness of his love for the people despite the strident tone of his speech. For your prayer-writing today, create a new metaphor for Jesus. You might let yourself get carried away and write a list of metaphors; you might choose one metaphor that expands into a prayer. For inspiration with your metaphor(s), just look around you!

 

Unseen jet plane

streaking through a fading sky

reflected in the sun's dimming rays

I barely see your edge some days

and other days not at all

you are always there

you are mystery

Okay, change of plans for Lent...

The Ignatian Spirituality thing wasn't really jiving for me, and yesterday when I went to the site for the prompt I couldn't get in for a while.

So I am here to say that instead I am doing my private thing, and also writing prayers from Rachel Hackenberg's prompts. 

I started the latter before Lent, actually, and the first prayer I wrote was so personal I didn't feel I wanted to publish it on the blog. But it was very, very powerful! So, I may not publish everything I write...but I will try to write about the process. 

Here's today's prompt, read on my phone as I headed to a potentially difficult meeting. It gave me a rush of courage! that was only second to knowing that some praying folks had my back, too. 

***

Today's reading to prompt our prayers is Isaiah 10:21 (NRSV): "A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God." The prophet Isaiah foreshadows warring years for Jerusalem and a scattering of the people, but he also claims with hope that a remnant of the Israelites will be saved from the destruction in order to rebuild the nation. Despite all that will be lost, those who remain will be Israel's good news.

Many of us have experienced moments of devastating loss. Sometimes we've known long seasons of loss, when it feels that life is stripped bare and hope is a word only for the privileged. Life breaks us into pieces. To those seasons of our lives, Isaiah brings amazing good news: God only needs pieces to rebuild the whole. God can replenish a fire-devastated forest with just a few seeds, and God is fully capable of renewing life with just a few remnants.

In your prayer-writing today, observe the devastated or broken places of your life with God, and pray for God's blessing and renewal upon the remnants. (My writing is here: http://rachelhackenberg.com/lent-2-3/)

***

God,

There was a cataclysm of loss one day

in the very same room that feels so scary today.

I thought you had left me, then.

Today, I needed to remember that I lived through that.

In fact, I found my voice in it.

I learned to say, "What's the worst they can do...kill me?"  (with the certainty that it wasn't going to go that far!) 

I found grace in the love and support of others there,

the same as I did today.

I found confidence to remember my voice and speak. 

I held my head up and walked through it.

When I forget to ask your help, I am broken and alone.

Today, I walked on.

With your help, I can continue to walk.