Seek His Face -- Here, There, and Everywhere

Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.

(Psalm 27:7-8)

In the morning,

in the evening,

all throughout the day, O God,

I seek you.

Hear my voice when I call, Lord.

“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’

     Your face, Lord, I will seek.”

Your face, Lord, I will seek,

for I know that when I seek you,

I will find you.

And when I find you,

I know that I will find

   compassion for my pain,

   mercy for my plight,

   forgiveness for my sins,

   peace for my fears,

   strength to face the day.

Your face, Lord I will seek,

so that I may 

   love you,

   worship you,

   obey you,

   serve you,

   glorify you.

And because I know 

that all my encounters with others 

are also encounters with you

(for as I have done so to the least of these,

so also I have done to you…),

then I will also seek your face

in everyone I encounter today:

Your face, Lord, will I seek in the poor.

Your face, Lord, will I seek in the anxious ones.

Your face, Lord, will I seek in the stranger on the street.

Your face, Lord, will I seek in the children riding their bikes.

Your face, Lord, will I seek in the laid-off worker.

Your face, Lord, will I seek in the the business owner 

          who just shut down.

Your face, Lord, will I seek in the truck driver 

          delivering crucial medical supplies… and TP

Your face, Lord, will I seek in the exhausted doctors and nurses.

I seek your face in them, 

that I might love them as your children.

For so you have sought me

and loved me.

Your face, Lord, I will seek,

so that I may love you

as you have loved me.

Amen.

During the season of Lent, I am “Praying with David,” using prayers from the psalms as inspiration for personal prayers.

Sacred Thirst

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; 

     I thirst for you, 

my whole being longs for you, 

    in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 

I have seen you in the sanctuary 

     and beheld your power and your glory. 

Because your love is better than life, 

     my lips will glorify you.

(Psalm 63:1-3)

Thank you, O Lord, for awakening in me

an unquenchable thirst.

If there is a silver lining in this pandemic

(and of course there is, 

because you are always working

all things 

for the good 

for those who love you),

then it is this:

It has turned countless hearts toward you.

And in these turbulent and troubling days,

my own heart is more and more urgent

in seeking you.

Earnestly I seek you, Lord;

     I thirst for you,

my whole being longs for you,

     as in a dry and parched land 

     where there is no water.

You, Lord, have shown me your goodness

in more ways than I can count.

You, Lord, have graced me with your presence,

and given me glimpses of your glory.

Every day, if only I have eyes to notice.

Having tasted of your goodness and mercy,

I long for more and more.

I find this to be true:

     In you I find satisfaction 

     for the thirst of my soul.

But I also find this to be true:

     The more of you that feeds my soul,

     the more I want, the more I need.

Today, I turn my heart toward you.

Today, I seek you.

Today, I will cling to you.

Today, I will praise you,

that others may find the same satisfaction 

and the same thirst

of a heart turned toward you.

Thank you, O Lord, for awakening in me

an unquenchable thirst.

Amen.

During the season of Lent, I am "Praying with David", using prayers in the psalms as inspiration for personal prayers.

Lord, I Want to Love You Like My Cat Loves Me

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

               - Psalm 27:4

My cat loves me.

Actually, he’s not my cat. He is our daughter’s cat. But, alas, she has gone to the far ends of the earth (Montana) to study for her Master’s in Social Work, and she was unable to take the cat with her. So the cat – Ray – temporarily belongs to Carol and me.

But I’m the one that Ray loves.

I’m not bragging about it. It just happens that Ray chose me as the one he looks to for provision, and friendship, and comfort. 

He greets me when I wake up in the morning, quickly settling on my lap as I try to read my Bible and drink my coffee. 

When I take a nap on the couch, he tries to get as close to my face as he can.

Sometimes when I am getting ready for work, Ray follows me around the house; and if I stop in the middle of the room, he will reach up and ask me to hold him. 

It’s pretty cute, really. And endearing.

It makes me wonder, though: Do I look to God with the same passion and devotion that my cat has for me? Do I seek to rest in God’s presence with my whole being? Is it the longing of my heart to be held in the hands of the One who provides for me and cares for me eternally?

The psalmist – probably King David – only asks for one thing: “to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of [his] life.” Of all the things that David could’ve asked for – wealth, happiness, power… – he simply asked to dwell in God’s presence. 

Actually, that’s been the chief desire of the human heart since the third chapter of Genesis, when the first humans hid from God in shame. We’ve wanted nothing more than to be restored to fellowship with God. As Augustine said, “My heart was restless until it found its rest in thee, O God.”

And so nowadays when Ray crawls up and imposes himself onto my lap, it makes me say a quick prayer: “Lord, I want to love you with the same passion and devotion that Ray loves me.”

One thing I ask of the Lord, this one thing I seek…

What’s your one thing?

(Another) Prayer for Monday

"Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation." (Mark 16:15) 

"And this is [God's] commandment, that we should believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he commanded us." (1 John 3:23)

(Another) Prayer for Monday

Good morning, Lord.

It's Monday again. Happens every week, so it seems.

I have to admit,
 part of me wants to stay in the weekend.
The weekend wasn't long enough -- 
  it's always over to quickly.

Part of me wants to stay in the weekend.
But my heart has other plans.

I determine to live faithfully for you.
I determine to be the very best (fill in the blank)
  that I can be, for you.

In my heart, I want to love you with my whole being,
  and love my neighbor as myself.

In my heart, I want to proclaim the good news
  through the way I live --
    through my words,
      through my actions,
        through my relationships.

You have commanded me to go into all the world
  and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.

You have commanded me to believe in the name 
    of Jesus Christ my Savior,
      and to love those whose paths intersect with mine.

I pray that the desires of my heart
  will match your desire for me.

In my heart, I commit to obey your commands.
Not out of guilt or fear,
  but because I love you.
I love you, and I want my life to honor you.

It's Monday, and while part of me wants to stay in the
      weekend,
  my heart has other plans.
I have a whole new week ahead of me.
I give it to you, Lord.
Here am I... Send me.

Open Our Eyes

Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don't have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!”—if you don't give them the necessities of life?(James 2:15-16)

Note: My continuing education class in Pittsburgh, PA, was told to walk around the surrounding neighborhood and "read the context" to help discern ways for a church to minister to its own community. This prayer comes out of that experience.

Open Our Eyes

Open our eyes, Lord.
As we come to church on Sunday morning,
as we leave church that same day,
as we drive through the neighborhood
  during the week,
as we walk the streets -- 
Open our eyes.

Open our eyes to the strangers in our midst:
  the school children waiting for the bus,
  the men sitting at the bus stop,
  the woman paying for groceries with food stamps,
  the clusters of teenagers hanging around
    in the parking lots,
  "those people" of different race,
  the man with the "will work for food, God bless"
    sign made of old cardboard,
  the fast-food worker walking to her job,
    with another mile yet to go.
Open our eyes. Open our hearts.

Open our eyes to the signs that cry out for hope:
  empty storefronts downtown,
  dilapidated houses just around the corner,
  closed-down factory outside of town,
  drug paraphernalia scattered along the alleyways,
  payday and title loan shops on every corner.
Open our eyes. Open our hearts.

Open our eyes,
for when we see the lonely,
  the sick,
  the drunk,
  the single teenage mother,
  the poor and the homeless,
  the drug addict,
  the foreigner,
  the black, and the "white trash" -- 
when we see any that might qualify as
  "The Least of These"
we see you.

Open our eyes. Open our hearts.
Help us to see you. And to love you.
Help us to love you through our neighbor.
  

A Prayer for the Weekend

Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—
    the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.
Psalm 104:30 (The Message)

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work... 
Exodus 20:9-10

A Prayer for the Weekend

It's the weekend, Lord.
Renew us. Refresh us. Re-create us. Give us rest.
Send forth your Spirit, 
  and wash over us like the waves of the ocean.
Help us to observe sabbath rest -- 
  enjoying the abundance of your blessings,
  praising you for your goodness and your love,
  appreciating friends and family.
Fill our hearts with gratitude for your lovingkindness.

It's the weekend, Lord, but some still have to work.
They have long days, not rest.
They will toil, while others will relax.
Strengthen them. Encourage them. Bless them.

It's the weekend, Lord.
Renew in our hearts the desire to worship you.
Remind us that our sabbath rest is not just for us -- 
  it's for us to renew our love for you, too.

Send forth your Spirit, Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
Awaken our hearts to your glory.
Renew us. Refresh us. Re-create us. Give us rest.
Amen.