My First Prayer of the Day

Hear my cry for help,

     my God and my King,

     for to you I pray.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;

     in the morning I lay my requests before you

     and wait expectantly.

(Psalm 5:2-3)

It is good, O God, that my first thought each day

should be of you.

When I open my eyes, 

these should be the first words 

to flow through my mind:

“Good morning, God.”

Good morning, God.

Thank you for bringing me through another night.

Thank you for the promise of today:

   that you will bless me and keep me,

     and make your face to shine upon me,

       and be gracious unto me;

   that you will will look upon me with your favor

     and grant me peace.

I pray to you for help

this and every day, for I need you.

I cannot make it through one moment,

let alone a whole day,

without your help.

Hear me now, Lord, as I lay my requests before you:

   Let me be faithful to you.

   Let me glorify you by

     the words I say,

       the things I do,

         the ways I care for others,

           even the thoughts of my mind and heart.

   Bless those whom I know, and those I don’t know;

     let them experience the blessings of your love

     and your presence.

   When I stray from your ways

     (and it is most likely that I will, though I don’t mean to),

     I ask two things:

       Convict me in my heart, that I may repent;

       and forgive me.

And now I wait expectantly,

for I know that your blessings will be more abundant

   than the sand at the seashore,

   and the stars in the night sky.

I wait, not idly, but actively.

I'm going to get out of bed and live for you.

I dedicate this day to you.

Amen.

During the season of Lent, I am "Praying with David," using the prayers found in the Psalms as a model and inspiration for my own prayers.

Sunset, Sunrise

“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.”- Philippians 1:3-5 

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”- Lamentations 3:21-23

I take a lot of pictures of sunsets and sunrises. The sky is transformed in the moments preceding and just after the sun sets in the evening, and rises in the morning. Beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow, purple appear out of nowhere, fanning out across the horizon. They are, truly, brushstrokes of the Divine Artist. Each day provides a new canvas for God to display God's amazing glory.

It's not just the beauty of the sunsets and sunrises that captivates me. It's also the joy, gratitude, and hope that stir within me as I witness God's glory unfolding before me. At the end of the day, when I watch the sun set over the bay, or behind the spanish-moss in a grove of cypress and live oaks, my heart wells up with gratitude for God's goodness and mercy. I find myself overcome with appreciation for another day in which God has been good to me, and granted me grace and life. Likewise, at the beginning of a new day, as I scan the horizon and see the darkness transform into beautiful daylight, I am filled with hope and optimism for the day that awaits me; I am inspired by God's glory to offer myself anew unto God's service.

I mention these things because I am currently experiencing a sunset and a sunrise in my vocation as a pastor. After nearly 12 ½ years of service as the pastor of the Georgetown Presbyterian Church, the sun has set on my tenure with that amazing congregation. And likewise, the sun is rising on the new church God is calling me to serve, the Graves Memorial Presbyterian Church in Clinton, North Carolina. Much like my experience of the sunsets and sunrises I photograph on a regular basis, my heart is full of gratitude and hope as I pass through this particular sunset and sunrise in my vocation.

The apostle Paul wrote lovingly to the Philippians, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.” That is, truly, how I feel as I reflect on my time in Georgetown. My family and I have been on the receiving end of incredible love and kindness from the people of Georgetown Presbyterian Church. We have discovered the riches of grace, we have grown together in faith, we have experienced joy and gladness, and we have journeyed together through some very painful tragedies. Every step of the way, though, we have experienced the goodness of God together and we have sought to be faithful in administering God's grace in our everyday lives.

At the end of the day, my heart is filled to overflowing with love and gratitude. The sun may be setting, but there is so much beauty and grace to behold. I am, indeed, thankful, even if my gratitude is mingled with grief and sadness at the close of this day.

And I am also filled with hope, both for my family and me and our new church, and for Georgetown Presbyterian. I know that the setting of the sun on this particular day will be followed by an equally spectacular rising of the sun for the tomorrow that awaits us. I stand firmly alongside the writer of Lamentations who said, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness (O Lord)!” Glory, splendor, and new mercy await us all tomorrow. There will be a beautiful new day of ministry and partnership in the gospel in Clinton, North Carolina. And there will be a beautiful new day of ministry and partnership in the gospel for the people of Georgetown Presbyterian Church. I know this, because I know that each day God gives us is full of glory and mercy and love; every day is different, to be sure, but every day brings God's goodness to us.

At the end of this day, I give thanks. I give thanks for a wonderful church family that has accompanied me through an incredible journey of faith and gospel ministry over the past 12 ½ years. I give thanks for my wife and four beautiful children (the fourth of whom we gained through marriage this year!), and for the daily demonstration of God's love that I experience through them. I give thanks to God for the opportunity to serve in Clinton, North Carolina.

But most of all, I give thanks for God's faithfulness. God's mercies are new every morning.

Really, they are.