led by Dustin G. Wright on Thursday, August 27, 2009
Opening Prayer:
God, thank you for this day,
and all that are gathered here to share it.
Please bless and be with us today
as we seek to better understand You.
God, grant us the Peace that is You within us.
God, help us to the share the Peace that is You with the world everyday.
Amen.
First Reflection: Ephesians 6: 10-20
10A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.13Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
19And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.
20I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.
- from The New Living Translation
Second Prayer: meditative prayer while listening to "Wartime Prayers" by Paul Simon
Prayers offered in times of peace are silent conversations. Appeals for love, or love's release. In private invocations. But all that is changed now. Gone like a memory from the day before the fires. People hungry for the voice of God hear lunatics and liars.
Wartime prayers. Wartime prayers in every language spoken. For every family scattered and broken. Because you cannot walk with the holy if you're just a halfway decent man, I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind with a genius marketing plan. I'm trying to tap into some wisdom. Even a little drop will do. I want to rid my heart of envy, and cleanse my soul of rage before I'm through.
Times are hard. It's a hard time, but everybody knows. All about hard times, the thing is, what are you gonna do? Well, you cry and try to muscle through. Try to rearrange your stuff. But when the wounds are deep enough, and it's all that we can bear, we wrap ourselves. In prayer.
Because you cannot walk with the holy, if you're just a halfway decent man, I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind with a genius marketing plan. I'm trying to tap into some wisdom. Even a little drop will do. I want to rid my heart of envy, and cleanse my soul of rage before I'm through.
A mother murmurs in twilight sleep and draws her babies closer. With hush-a-byes for sleepy eyes, and kisses on the shoulder. To drive away despair she says a wartime prayer.
Second Reflection: excerpt from Experiencing the Soul "A Native American Elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: 'Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.' When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, 'The one I feed the most."
- by Elliot Rosen and Ellen Burstyn
Third Prayer: The Peace Prayer of St. Francis
Lord make me an instrument of your peace Where there is hatred, Let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, Joy. O Divine Master grant that I 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.
- Author unknown
Third Reflection: Marker in the Sand, by Pearl Jam
LYRICS HERE
Wartime prayers. Wartime prayers in every language spoken. For every family scattered and broken. Because you cannot walk with the holy if you're just a halfway decent man, I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind with a genius marketing plan. I'm trying to tap into some wisdom. Even a little drop will do. I want to rid my heart of envy, and cleanse my soul of rage before I'm through.
Times are hard. It's a hard time, but everybody knows. All about hard times, the thing is, what are you gonna do? Well, you cry and try to muscle through. Try to rearrange your stuff. But when the wounds are deep enough, and it's all that we can bear, we wrap ourselves. In prayer.
Because you cannot walk with the holy, if you're just a halfway decent man, I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind with a genius marketing plan. I'm trying to tap into some wisdom. Even a little drop will do. I want to rid my heart of envy, and cleanse my soul of rage before I'm through.
A mother murmurs in twilight sleep and draws her babies closer. With hush-a-byes for sleepy eyes, and kisses on the shoulder. To drive away despair she says a wartime prayer.
Second Reflection: excerpt from Experiencing the Soul "A Native American Elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: 'Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.' When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, 'The one I feed the most."
- by Elliot Rosen and Ellen Burstyn
Third Prayer: The Peace Prayer of St. Francis
- Author unknown
Third Reflection: Marker in the Sand, by Pearl Jam
LYRICS HERE
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