Lord, it is night. The night is for stillness. Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; let it be.
The night is dark. Let our fear of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you.
The night is quiet. Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn. let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities.
In your name we pray. AMEN
from Night Prayer in “A New Zealand Prayer Book.”
There is very little that needs saying after this. Absorb carefully each line and sleep peacefully.
Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I am still on a gratitude kick. We have a tradition for each person to say something that they are thankful for. Yesterday I asked them to name something that is not the usual routine such as family, home, love etc. I said reach out and think of something different. My granddaughter (who is a recent college graduate with a fairly new job) said she is glad that she can live at home for now and save money. I am sure her parents were happy to know that she is grateful for that. It is good to share our gratitude. Too often we don’t thank God and we don’t thank others either. Share your gratitude with others.
We spend way too much time in the past or the future. This moment is all there is. Do everything each day in the presence of God. If you are washing dishes dedicate that task to God. If you are in the garden see God’s beauty. There is a wonderful old book called “Practicing the Presence of God – by Brother Lawrence.” He spends every moment with God. Don’t dwell in the past or the future. Spend each moment in the now with God.
It is so easy to sit back and let others take the lead. We are afraid that we can’t do things well enough. Jesus did not ask the disciples if they could do what he asked. He asked them to follow him but he expected them to lead others to Him. You can’t just follow. Christ asks us to lead!
One of my favorite hymns is The Servant Song. The third verse says: I will hold the Christ-light for you in the nighttime of your fear; I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear. Are we following through with this? We must hold the Christ-light for others. When they are in the darkest day they may not be able to do it for themselves. Be the Christ-light for someone else.
Sometimes I don’t think we understand how wonderful is the grace of God. Think about it: it is freely given; we don’t have to do anything; it is always there for us. Too often we feel that we have to earn our way into heaven. We are called to be the best Christian we can but we cannot earn our way. There is no magic formula we can use. God loves us no matter what. Knowing that we are so loved should push us to follow in His ways. Remember! Grace is a gift!
Don’t be afraid to learn something new. God gave us the ability to seek wisdom. We are supposed to keep leaning and growing striving to be all God wants us to be. you don’t have to agree with everything you learn. God gives us the ability to discern what is right. Don/t be afraid to test and taste new things.
Hear God in Other Voices 