Prayer for Thursday, July 29, 2010 · 30 July 2010

Hi God,

I suppose it must be rather a treat,
when you are 101 years old,
to have a child show up for a visit.
Still to be able to sit
outside on a lovely July day,
    and to watch the clouds gather and dissipate;
    to see the motor cycles and trucks
       rumbling up and down the road;
    to see bicyclists and the occasional jogger
       keeping their bodies in shape;
    to comment on the goings on,
    or just sit quietly and appreciate
       the activity,
       the sunshine
       and the breeze.
I wouldn’t know, of course,
I’ve never yet been 101.
I’m only guessing because,
as the son, I found it all to be
rather a treat for me.

Thank you for such blessings.

Amen

— lgpiper

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Prayer for Tuesday, July 20, 2010 · 20 July 2010

Oops, God,

I almost forgot again!
Maybe we could rig up
some kind of alarm system.
In some ways,
that might be cool:
    little thunderbolts to jog our memories;
    bigger thunderbolts when we’re being dufuses;
    and huge thunderbolts when we’re being evil.
If life were only so simple, huh?
Presumably, You can’t zap evil folks,
‘cos otherwise You’d have to admit
that some of us are irredeemable.
Aren’t we all, in theory, redeemable?
I thought that was the point
of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross,
to redeem us all,
even the not-so-nice folks.
I sure hope so.

So my prayer today is,
if You don’t view
any of us to be irredeemable,
that You can help us think similarly.
I realize this has consequences.
For one thing, we’d have to give up
the comfort of capital punishment.
We would also have to rethink the wisdom
of sending drones over far off lands
to “eliminate bad guys”,
all the while, ignoring “unfortunate collateral damage”.
Help us learn to eschew such comforts.

Also, I ask you, please,
to have mercy on my soul,
sinner, albeit redeemable (I hope), though I be.

Amen

— lgpiper

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Prayer for Thursday, July 15, 2010 · 15 July 2010

Hi God,

Recently, I’ve been reading about slavery
and thinking about racism.
While slavery as practiced in the U.S.
is long behind us,
the attitudes that facilitated it
seem ever with us.
We still view “others” as being
somehow less human than we ourselves.

I suppose this is nothing new.
I can’t imagine,
when the Israelites were slaughtering
all the men, woman and male children
of the people they conquered,
saving only the young virgin girls for themselves,
that they viewed any of the conquerees as being human.
My impression is that, in Jesus time,
the Samaritans were viewed
as being less than fully human,
and treated accordingly.

So what is it in us humans
that allows us to deny
the basic humanity
that we share with all people?
That allows us to take lives with impunity—
mere “collateral damage” we say—
or to deny basic civil rights—
not torture, just adding “emphasis” to our queries—?
Is this genetic or learned behavior?
If genetic, how do we evolve?
If learned, how do we unlearn?

So, this is my prayer today,
that you do speak to us,
perhaps SHOUTING would help,
to help us understand,
not just intellectually but internally,
the ways in which we are all brothers and sisters,
children sharing a common parent, You.

I also ask you, please,
to have mercy on my soul,
sinner though I continue to be.

Amen.

— lgpiper

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Prayer for Friday, July 10, 2010 · 2 July 2010

Hi God,

When I looked up this morning
(and again this afternoon, if truth be told),
at the blue sky against the green trees,
I wanted to preserve that beauty forever.
I know I’m not supposed to get attached like that.
I should merely enjoy each moment as it unfolds.
As Paul says, I should be content
in whatever state I find myself.
But … if I could bottle beauty,
that’s what I’d choose.

I thank you that I can experience
that special blessing from time to time.
It makes the dreary, long winters easier to bear.
Oops, there I go again,
forgetting to remain always content
in whatever state I find myself.

So my prayer today
is that you help us truly
to find ways to remain content
even when things aren’t to our liking.
Also, please have mercy on my soul,
malcontent sinner though I seem to be.

Amen

Scriptural Reference:
Phil 4: 10-13

— lgpiper

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Prayer for Tuesday, June 29, 2010 · 29 June 2010

Hi God,

I watched a little bit of the World Cup
and I saw that soccer players
are much like baseball players.
They thank You whenever they
score a goal or hit a home run.
How come they don’t thank You
when they strike out or muff a kick?
Shouldn’t they also thank You
for reminders to remain humble?
Or is it all a charade
and You don’t actually
change the trajectories
of kicked or pitched balls?
Somehow, I think that You
have better things to do
than to effect our silly games.

So my prayer today
is that You help us get real
in our expectations of You.
It would also be nice if
You could help us get real
in our attempts to understand
Your expectations of us.
Probably, we’ll have to spend
more time listening.
That’s gonna be tough
for those of us
who would rather babble
than shut up and listen.
I also ask that You, please,
have mercy on my soul,
babbling sinner though I be.

Amen

— lgpiper

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