Running Low

Gracious God, I confess that I have often run ahead of you. I have run in so many different directions that I've become road-weary. I've rushed by others trying to find my own way. I've failed to stop long enough to build relationships with you and others. I find myself alone in the corner of life unable to speak or act having lost all hope. I've allowed the running to drain my inner spiritual landscape. I'm running on empty.

Fill me and forgive me again! Order my steps so that life will no longer be a blur of too much to do in too little time. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and help me today to rediscover the joy of your love. Help me to shed aimless thinking, speaking and doing. Help me to walk the path you have set for me. In the name of Christ I pray, Amen.

D. Carr

ADVENT

What are you doing to spiritually prepare for the celebration of Christmas. Advent is an excellent opportunity to make more room in your life for Jesus Christ. Share your thoughts, holiday traditions, prayers and blessing at praycation2@gmail.com.

At The Right Time

You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity. When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.”

Psalm 75: 2-3

Wonderful Counselor, we join the multitudes that praise you for who you are and for what you continue to do for all creation.

I yearn to know You, O Beloved, to abide in the Peace of Love; I choose to turn from the ways of the world, where ego separates and divides humanity.

At the set time, which you appoint, you will judge with equity. Have mercy upon us. When the earth totters with all its inhabitants, you are the one who keep steady the axis. Hold us steady and safe both day and night.

You say to the powerful, “Lead with justice and mercy.” And to the greedy, “Share your abundance with those in need. Let no one see your acts of mercy or know your works of charity.” Help us to be a better blessing to those around. In Jesus name, amen.

As I Live and Breathe!

Have you ever tried to bless God every chance you get? Try it this weekend from first thing in the morning to the last thing at night. It doesn't matter whether you're busy with the activities of the day or making pretend you have nothing to do. You can do it audibly or silently in your heart. Just do it - bless God every chance you get.

Let me know in the comment section how you handled today's assignment!

“I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. I live and breathe God; if things aren't going well, hear this and be happy:”

Psalm 34: 1-2 The Message

Let us pray:

Eternal God, this is a wonderful day to share our thanks and praise of you with others. We are glad to tell of your greatness. We are glad to declare to all, today and everyday of your mighty acts and glorious splendor.

We bless your name for it is by your mercy, our sins are forgiven. It is by your grace, we are saved. It is by your love we are accepted. It is by your peace that surpasses all understanding, we remain calm in the midst of chaos. It is by your power, that the impossible happens everyday. Thank you Lord, there is nothing impossible for you...not just today but everyday!

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ADVENT

Remember to share your prayers for peace, hope and joy along with your holiday thoughts and traditions in preparation for the coming celebration of God coming to the world to dwell among us at praycation2@gmail.com.

Happy “Thanks-living” Day!

Happy “Thanks-living” Day! Today reminds us that thanksgiving is a 24/7 lifestyle choice. We will be with friends and family or join others to cook meals for those with limited choices. We will worship and witness about the goodness of the Lord either in church or reverently bowed over the turkey!

Whatever you do today make room for the Lord at your table and in your life. Don’t wait for an invitation invite someone to join you!

"O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his loving-kindness endures forever."

Psalm 118:29

Let Us Pray:

Open our eyes today to see all that we should be thankful for even if at the present moment our problems, pain or need might lead us to believe that we have no thanksgiving. Open our eyes to your unfailing goodness. Help us to see that you are working behind the scenes of our lives to usher us into a season of restoration and reconciliation... and for this, we are thankful. Enter our hearts and clear away anything that prevents an attitude of gratitude.

With eyes wide open we see that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. Every good and perfect gift has graciously come from your hand. Thank you Lord, for all you have done for us. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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ADVENT

The Advent season, the days prior to the celebration of the birth of Christ is a crucial time of preparation. It is more that presents and pomp and circumstance. It is a journey where we remember that God came to dwell among us. The Word was made flesh!

Share your prayers, thoughts, holiday traditions and prayer experiences with us. Just email them now for consideration after Thanksgiving to praycation2@gmail.com.

A Timely Shelter

“The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.”

Psalms 9: 9

Trouble comes knocking at the door of our lives often unexpected. Trouble comes in uninvited and takes a seat in the living spaces of our hearts and minds. Trouble puts it feet up on the table of our resources refusing to leave in a timely fashion. Troubles acts like it never heard “This too shall pass.”

David was acquainted with trouble. He experienced trouble from the palace to the battlefield yet he was able to praise God for being a shelter for the oppressed and a refuge in times of trouble.

Let us pray:

Lord, thank you for being there for us in unsettling seasons. You didn’t abandon us when the unthinkable happened. Your love never wavered. Your protection was assuring. Your grace amazingly showed up when trouble took up residence in our lives.

We give thanks today because we can find shelter in you when trouble comes calling. In Jesus name, we trust our lives to the one who can help us and our troubles to the one who can solve them. Amen.

ADVENT

I have been out of the USA for the last several days on a journey with a group of ecumenical bishops to visit the Holy places in and around Jerusalem. I'll share the prayers for peace in subsequent months. Thank you for your prayers for a safe journey.

The Advent season is beginning soon. Please share your prayers for the coming season of Advent. This is the time of the year we celebrate the coming of the Christ child again. It is a season of hopes and dreams. It is a season of giving ourselves to Christ once again. Keep Christ the focus of your Advent season by sharing your prayers and prayer experiences. Email your prayers and thoughts to praycation2@gmail.com.

Can You Praise God Enough?

Have you ever praised God so much that you ran out of words? You strain to offer more praise and thanksgiving but you find yourself at a loss for words. You are not alone. All of us have had that experience especially after the Lord has done the impossible or the miraculous for us.

The Psalmist had the same experience. When he recounted all the moments when God didn’t utterly destroy Israel even when Israel had proven unworthy of God’s love. How can you ever praise God enough for when the Lord has done for you!

Let us pray:

“Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord? Who can ever praise him enough”

Psalm 106: 2

Today we lift our voices to join the chorus of those who are continually praising your name for your acts of kindness, your goodness and your mercy towards us. You are good and your faithful love endures forever!

We can exhaust ourselves in radical praise and it still won’t be enough. We can come to end of the lexicon and it still won’t be enough. We can empty ourselves in thanksgiving and it still won’t be enough because who can ever praise you enough?

Take our praise offering as just the beginning….in Jesus name, Amen.

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PRAYING THROUGH THE PSALMS

Join us in Praying through the Psalms during this transition season between autumn and the liturgical season of Advent. Pray a psalm a day or pray your favorite psalm. Share this psalm discipline with others on FB, twitter or via email. You can always subscribe by clicking on the icon on the lower right side of the home page. Let us pray together and watch God work wonders in our lives!

Divine Defender

Why, LORD, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

Psalm 10:1

Dear Lord,

There are times when we feel that you are so far away. When we can’t hear you, we want to runaway. When we can’t see you, we seek other sources of relief to our own detriment. When we feel insecure, we lash out at those who may be weaker than ourselves. When evil triumphs and justice is ignored, we feel abandoned.

Forgive us Lord. It is not You who moved. We allowed our fear to move us where faith would have held us. You alone know the depth of our anguish. Breakthrough the trampled levels of faith so that your love overwhelms are fears once again.

We place our lives into your hands because it is there we find strength and comfort. You are the defender of the helpless and the oppressed. Help us today to live with integrity as examples of your loving presence in the world.

In Jesus name, Amen.

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It's Yours!

“ The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, 


the world, and all who live in it;…”

Psalm 24:1

The Earth is yours, O Lord. You have given the world life and everyone who lives in it with fullness and glory. You have founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Help us today to take better care of the seas, rivers and the life that lives within it and beside it. Equip us with new wisdom and knowledge to overcome environmental negligence. Please help us in this hour as the seas and it creatures are being spoiled by pollutants that may change the world you so carefully created forever. In this hour of need we pray in Jesus name, Amen.

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PRAYING THE PSALMS

In this season of transition from autumn to winter, let us pray together the Psalms. It is a wonderful book filled with joy and lament, excitement and sorrow, poetry and prose that speaks to the depth of our souls. Let’s see what God wants to say to us!

Dawn's Early Light

"In the morning, O Lord, hear my voice. In the morning, I lay my needs in front of you, and I wait."

Psalm 5:3

Orchestrator of the Universe help me this morning and every morning that you grant me life, to come to you in the quiet of dawn's early light, before caffein, rush hour, the opening bell, the punched clock, while there is a hush all over the house. Before I take on too much of the day or before the day takes me on, I come before you to hear Your voice telling me which way to go.

I present myself, my soul and body as a reasonable sacrifice. I bring you praise and thanksgiving before I lay my needs before you. I bring the possibilities of the day and ask you to use it for your glory. I bring whatever patience I can gather to wait, wait to hear your voice in every matter. In Jesus name, Amen.

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PRAYING THE PSALMS

Sometimes we are not sure where to begin when it time to pray. Start with the Book of Psalms! Join us during this transition season between autumn and winter to pray the psalms. Let this time be your jump start into your daily devotions or pray it as a sustaining moment during the day.

Let me know if you will be praying the Psalms with us as well as what is your favorite Psalm?

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Why God?

“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?”

Psalm 2:1

Let us pray:

O Lord our God, we are overwhelmed with questions today. We are inquisitive children. We seek to know the unknowable.

Why do the nations rage? Why do people plot against each other in vain? Why do they desire to stand together against You and your anointed?

Show us how to navigate between those who are distracted by greed and those distracted by arrogance. Remove from us the desire to join their plots. Forgive us when we have submitted to our own selfish motives. Forgive us when we have become the they.

Help us to love what is right in such a way that wrong will not be tolerated. Help us to speak truth to power and speak it in the way of Love. In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen.

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Stand Strong

Praying Through the Psalms

We are living between the golden glow of autumn and the icy glare of winter. Many of you have already tasted the snow or cold menu that winter provides: the early morning chill has given way to plummeting temperatures; jackets are shed, coats dug out of closets, boots located, snow covered the not yet fallen leaves, planes diverted and travel plans changed.

In this transition, I asked the Lord what should we do. The answer came back, pray the Psalms. The Book of Psalms offers us an opportunity to transform this transitional season into powerful encounters with God. You can turn each psalm into your own personal prayer or testimony. We may not pray through all 150 psalms by Thanksgiving and the genesis of the Advent season. We will however touch upon several Psalm-subjects from anger to zeal, fear to power, oppression to joy and healing to guidance.

1. Center your attention on God in your prayer space.
2. Assume your prayer posture whether it is standing, sitting, lying prostrate or simply lifting your face towards heaven.
3. Be still while invoking the presence of God
4. Read the Psalm of the day or a portion thereof.
5. Pray the Psalm and discover its power.

Let's try this prayer discipline. Let me know in the comment section is you will join the journey.

Let us pray:

“And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season.”

Psalm 1: 3

God of all seasons, I desire today to walk hand in hand with your goodness, stand strong beside virtue and sit in the seat of your Truth. I delight in your Word and will dwell on it day and night.

Position me in a place where I can grow and flourish like the trees planted beside the streams of waters. Stretch me beyond my comfort zone so that I may produce good fruit in due season. Even in the uncertain seasons of transition, cause me to prosper in whatever I do today.

In Jesus name, Amen.

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