Lent, Day 45: A breath prayer for Holy Saturday.

Breathing in: The stone is in place...

Breathing out: ...empty, we wait.

Lent, Day 44: A breath prayer for Good Friday.

Breathing in: By his wounds we are healed...

Breathing out: ... it is finished.

Lent, Day 43: A breath prayer for Maundy Thursday.

Breathing in: You give us your body...

Breathing out: ...we pour out all our hopes on you.

Lent, Day 42: Come near. (A prayer.)

Today's reading: Mark 12:28-13:37

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (v. 31)

Your kingdom is near, O God,

so near we can

feel its breath

(just as generations

before have felt it).

Scattered to the winds,

we await your call,

anxious to be gathered close

and escorted deeper into

the eternity

you have already begun.

We, whose every love and

every richness

comes from you,

are watching:

we are here.

We anticipate your coming

not with fear, but in faith,

knowing that you who conquer death

are not interested in

pointless destruction

but in

loving redemption.

With gratitude we remember

(every day of this difficult walk

we know Friday must come

must always come, so

we keep reminding ourselves)

what you have done

and what you always do:

You love.

You live.

You call.

You breathe.

You speak.

You never end.

Lent, Day 42: A breath prayer for Holy Wednesday.

Breathing in: Gather us in to your self...

Breathing out: ...from the ends of the world, we watch.

Lent, Day 41: A breath prayer for Holy Tuesday.

Breathing in: Your kingdom comes near...

Breathing out: ...I give all my love.

Lent, Day 40: A breath prayer for Holy Monday.

Fill me with a faith to move mountains...

... flow from me in forgiving love.

I've been trying to think about a way to incorporate a personal worship element into this Holy Week's devotionals... for those of you whose churches may not have a Holy Week tradition, as well as for myself. With our kids at these ages, it is difficult for us to attend weekday or nighttime services, so for now we are "on our own" to mark the days of this set-apart week.

Once I realized it was perhaps (!!!) unrealistic to think of designing full-on home-and-family worship services on the spur of the moment, I decided instead to offer a breath prayer for each day until Easter. I'll send out the breath prayer every morning, so hopefully you (and I) will be able to have it in mind throughout the day. The regular reflection will come, as usual, later in the afternoon or evening. These breath prayers, like the reflection, will be inspired by the day's scripture reading.

If you're unfamiliar with the practice of breath prayers, they are brief--two line--prayers or meditations... brief words to help turn our thoughts toward God. You can use them anytime, anywhere; you can breathe the prayer once, or slowly and repetitively. As you take a breath in, simply say the first line of the prayer in your mind and heart; as you breathe out, say the second line. Typically breath prayers are formatted so that the "in" line is a prayer for filling, entering, nourishing, and the "out" line is a prayer of giving, letting go, release. You can jot the words down and carry them along with you in a physical way, as well as in a spiritual way, throughout this day.

I hope these brief prayers will help you to slow down and truly participate in this Holy Week.

Blessings to you.

Lent, Day 38: Being heard. (A prayer.)

Today's reading: Mark 10:46-52

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

when the crowds try to silence me,
and when I let them,
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

when I fear that you have passed me by
because I am not good enough for you
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

when, in my blindness, I fail to see where you are walking,
and when I fail to follow
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

when I only use my voice to criticize,
to complain, to argue, to judge, to spout off,
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

when I am afraid to ask you
for what I want
and
when I've convinced myself that my luxuries
are really needs
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

Jesus, Son of David, I want to see.
I want to follow you along the way.
I want to use the gift of speech to pray:
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

Lent, Day 31: Prayer.

Today's reading: Mark 9:14-32

help my unbelief

when the sure things
are shaken

help my unbelief

when my loves
are threatened

help my unbelief

when I am robbed
of myself

help my unbelief

when healing
seems denied

help my unbelief

when the future
appears dead

help my unbelief

when my words
are not enough

help my unbelief

when I simply
don't understand

still
I believe

help my unbelief

Lent, Day 25: Prayer.

Today's reading: Mark 7:1-23

God, grant me courage
to stand up against my culture
when its version of success,
of value,
of holiness,
of wholeness
is shaped by its own
self-importance.

God, grant me strength
to stand up for those
who are mocked,
mistreated,
ignored,
or silenced
for their refusal
or inability
to live up to society's
impossible standards.

God, grant me wisdom
to understand your teachings.
Help me to distinguish
truth from vanity,
honor from hypocrisy,
life from legalism,
clean from unclean.

Lent, Day 17: A prayer.

Today's reading: Mark 4:21-34

God
grant me the grace
to lift up your light
and extend the warmth
of your love
even in those places
where the glow may expose
this world's dangers
these nagging worries
my shame

God
grant me the hope
to faithfully scatter seed,
and grant me the trust
to leave growth
in your hands

God
grant us all the shelter
of your kingdom
where we will be safe
where we will be well
where we will be one
where we will be yours
world without end

Amen.
Amen.