Category: Spirituality

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

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This is from the Book of Common Prayer according to the Episcopal Church.

Most merciful God, 

we confess that we have sinned against you 
in thought, word, and deed, 
by what we have done, 
and by what we have left undone. 
We have not loved you with our whole heart; 
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. 
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. 
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, 
have mercy on us and forgive us; 
that we may delight in your will, 
and walk in your ways, 
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

[A deacon or lay person says:]

Almighty God have mercy on us, 
forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
strengthen us in all goodness, 
and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. 
Amen.

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This is from the Book of Common Prayer according to the Episcopal Church.

And Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

You have said “yes.” You have accepted the job offer. Now is not the time to doubt. Now is not the time to be looking back.

No job is perfect, and no job is really secure. Security is found only in God. Stop looking for it in the outside world.

Doubts after decisions are devils trying to sabotage your new job, your new adventure. Put both hands to the plow and don’t look back. It is too late to question, too late to second guess. Plow forward. Move ahead.

It is good, sometimes, to close the book on a past chapter of your life. Indeed, we should be “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (Phil. 3:13).

“Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation” (Matt. 26:41 NSB).

I declare to myself that this year, 2024, shall be the year of prayer.

I have never been a prayer warrior. Yes, I have studied the Bible, theology, and church history. Likewise, I have worshiped and praised. But prayer has always been a weak point for me.

It is time to make prayer a priority. It must become a daily habit. No, even deeper. I must learn to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

I will study and practice the Jesus Prayer with the Eastern Orthodox Tradition. Furthermore, I will practice the prayers in the Common Book of Prayer. I will pray the prayers in Luther’s Small Catechism. And I will practice the prayer in the Catholic prayer book of St, Benedict. In all cases, I will learn how to pray from those who have been praying for ages.

I will, of course, pair this with Bible reading and meditation. And I will not neglect silence, solitude, and simplicity. My desire is to grow in my relationship with God.

Pray every morning and prayer every evening. And pray throughout the day. Remember to remember. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.