An Offering: Chaff and Grain

The following prayer - written for use in church tomorrow - was inspired by a George Eliot quote about friendship that I used to keep on the wall by my bed, written out and given to me by a close friend: 

“A friend is one to whom one may pour out the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that gentle hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.” 

Lord, it is an incredible truth that you give us the greatest gift we could ask for - yourself.

In response, we bring ourselves before you.

We bring not just our bodies, but our whole selves, all that we are.

We bring you all that we have done: that which has pleased you and brought you glory, and that which has not.

We bring you our thoughts and our emotions, our joys and sorrows, the things and the people that are on our minds.

We bring your our faith, and we bring you our questions and doubts.

We do so because we know you are good, gentle in heart and humble in spirit.

As our greatest friend, may you keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.  

Open Heart Surgery

"But I warn you - unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of the religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!" Matthew 5:20

This alarming statement of Jesus - and the equally alarming demands made in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount - have come up in House Group and in my daily reading this week. The following prayer, which could be alternatively titled "From Pharisee to Follower", is a result of my reflections on the comparison made there between 'perfect' or 'true' righteousness and that which is only skin deep.

Holy God,

I bring you my heart.

I know it is too small, and often tightly clenched.

It is sensitive, its rhythm easily thrown off at jabs from others.

Selfishness and indulgence have clogged its arteries, restricting your life blood from flowing through unhindered.

A fearful heart, plagued with anxiety about this or that.

This heart is committed to holiness yet permanently hampered by its own inadequacy,
Driven to conceal its failure from itself and others by external rules -
Keeping up appearances.
A deceitful heart.

I know this is not a heart of your heart, a righteous heart.
And in my heart of hearts that is not how I want it to be.

So I give you my heart, damaged and blemished as it is.
And by your grace I pray that you replace it with yours.

Facing Change

I am approaching a time of change.
I feel sadness and loss, and some fear of the unknown.
But now I realise, Lord, that this stripping back of all I know is really a gift;
An opportunity to loosen my grip on these things
That I may be free to embrace you more fully and unhindered.

So lead me on, Lord, with joyful abandon
Into freedom and into You.

"If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.
 But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." 
   Matthew 16:25

Why?

Why don't you do something, Lord?
How can you let it be this way?

Aren't you the God of infinite love and grace,
Who cares for our every need,
Who created us and wants each one to prosper and flourish?

I do believe that.
I've see it in action.
I can't help but thank and praise you
For who you are and what you have done.

And yet, so many suffer.
So why Lord?

Why don't I do something?
How can I let it be this way?

For you are the God of infinite love and grace,
Who cares for every need
Who created us and wants each one to prosper and flourish.

Forgive me for my indifference.
Teach me to love as you do,
And in humble service,
to care for a hurting world.

Permanent Present Tense

Yesterday I was reading a blog entry written by a pastor, in which he outlined lessons he had learned in leading people through change. One statement in particular - 'Celebrate the past' - really struck me. Then this morning I just happened to catch the end of a radio programme based on a recently released book, 'Permanent Present Tense', written by a researcher in neuro-psychology about her experiences studying a man who had no memory. The two together produced the following musings. The quote at the end is from a speech made by John F Kennedy. 

Save me, Lord, from living in a permanent present tense;
With my constant rushing from one deadline to the next,
Not living for each moment so much as just about surviving it.

Forgive me for when I dismiss too quickly what has gone before;
For when my preoccupation with the now,
And my eagerness for what is next,
Blind me to the significance of what you have already done. 

You are helping me to see...

The past is a gift:
A great and precious library of case studies to be explored and learned from and built on.
And you, you are the knowledgeable librarian, showing me where to look and helping me to understand,
Training me in this art of Holy Remembering.

For what we learned yesterday is the compass to navigate tomorrow
And "it is in celebrating the past that we awaken the future."

All of me

Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘People of Israel, listen! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’"                                       Mark 12:29-30  


I want to love you with all of me.

With my body, as a temple to your Holy Spirit. 
In the way that I treat it, with respect for your creation. 
With the way that I manage it and care for it - a good steward of your gift of life. 
In the way that I dress it, with care and attention yet with modesty.
And in the way that I use it, in service of your Kingdom. 

With my mind.
May my thought life be faithful to you, not dwelling on things that are at odds with you and your Kingdom. 
May it be full of goodness and free from complaining, negativity and cynicism.

With my heart.
May I seek you for my fulfilment, rather than turning to other things.

With my possessions.
Help me to have a loose hold on what I own, Lord; what is mine is yours. 
Help me to honour you with the way I use my money.
Teach me not to be wasteful.


Lord, I am so far from wholeness in many of these areas. 
Forgive me and refine me until all of me is yours. 

Perspective

You are so much bigger than me.

Bigger than the things I can or cannot do. 
Bigger than the boundaries of my existence.
Bigger than my understanding of you.
Bigger than my expectations of you.

More powerful than I give you credit for.
More righteous than I can comprehend.
More magnanimous than I let myself believe. 

I have gotten things out of perspective lately, Lord. 
My distance from you has warped my perception of reality -
Made you too small 
   - and me too big. 

As I edge closer again, the reality of my smallness and your bigness gradually comes back into focus. 

I am humbled
        awed
        encouraged
        and a fresh sense of hope springs up within me.

By way of introduction

Hello reader!

First things first - thanks for visiting 'One Life's Liturgy'.

What you will find here are poems/prayers/ponderings that have helped me express my thoughts and reflections along my journey of faith. Up until now they have been aired in my journal only, but for a while I had been toying with the idea of getting them out there for others to share in too...just in case my journey's ponderings might resonate and encourage another soul along their way. 

This morning I finally did something about it - so here they are, for you to read, discard, reflect on, pray through and/or comment on as you see fit.

I'd love to hear your thoughts of you do fancy commenting!

God bless you wherever you are in the journey yourself -
Amanda