Joys & Concerns

Gracious God, who somehow manages to sustain me through a three day retreat by a beautiful lake with six confirmands, thank you for the blessing of discovering again and again that your faith is active and alive in young people who continue to ask brilliant questions while pushing me to the brink of sanity. For this joy:

O Lord, Hear My Prayer.

Remind your church and your blessed creation of this youth so that I don't have to sit down with another pastor to talk about why young people are not continuing the minsitry of the previous generations. I know you have more patience for this. But, I find it darn near impossible to explain to anyone why my generation is not interested in church or the ministry beyond our church. These are things that I can't explain. And quite frankly God, I don't want to explain this. I can't figure it out and I don't want to have to apologize for my generation. For this frustration:

O Lord, Hear My Prayer.

Empower me with new energy for another week looking forward to another working weekend. Grant me energy, hope and love as I bound through this week to gather with your servants at the Maine Conference Annual Meeting at another beautiful place in this state. For this strength:

O Lord, Hear My Prayer.

Help me to figure out what I just witnessed on PBS tonight. Help us all to remember how important it is to tell stories across our generations so that we might remember the transgressions of the past. Remind us that only in telling these stories will we learn from our mistakes and only be hearing these stories will we learn more about the world that we have created. For this concern:

O Lord, Hear My Prayer.

Anticipate with me the fun that awaits me this week as I look forward to a new opportunity for connections. No matter how many times I struggle with loneliness, celebrate the giddiness of new friends with me, O God. Relish in the comfort of watching documentaries with friends and sipping wine. Embrace me with these small moments of grace through the love of friends. For this peace:

O Lord, Hear My Prayer.

There are probably many other prayers on my heart and mind. I could pray for the world and peace. I could pray for hope and possibility. But, for now, hear these prayers, O Lord. Hold them close to your bosom. Breathe upon them and enliven me with your love so that I might love the world as much as you have loved me. For these and so many more things, in the name of Christ Jesus, I pray. Amen.