A Bidding Prayer reflecting on Mark 1:29-39

A Bidding Prayer

As Jesus withdrew from a world of demands and the concerns of others, in worship we have an opportunity to withdraw, reflect and pray.  I invite you to this time of prayer. 

(Brief moment of silence)

God lover of us all, most Holy One,
Now, in shared quietness, we listen to the wisdom
of your Spirit speaking to our inner hearts as we join in this time
of silence and meditation.

We thank you for our personal journeys…
sometimes a long and hard journey...

We thank you for the work we have done this week

for what is finished and for what is imperfect and incomplete...

In your forgiving love, we now let go our guilt and shame for what we have done and what we have left undone - as we also commit to make good as we are able...

Our thoughts turn towards others in our lives and community who are struggling and we name these sisters and brothers silently to you...

We acknowledge our common humanity as we pray for the people of other nations.  Today we pray for the people of the Ireland and the people of the United Kingdom.  

Amen

New Year's Resolutions

New Years Resolutions 2012

People who study New Years resolution say that 75% of people who make them give up on them within nine days of the new year.  That means that by now most people have given in.  Will power is weak.  The Apostle Paul said that when he said  “the things he would do are the things he does not do and the things he would not do are the very things he finds himself doing.”  I can relate.  All of us can related.  

So why bother?  If it is hopeless - what is the value of our yearly exercise in soul searching?  Are we just setting ourselves up again to discover how weak we are?

So years ago - a wise spiritual guide told me that we fail in our resolutions because they usually are written in opposition to something.  We say - “I will NOT overeat” or “I will NOT smoke.”  Even when we state this in the reverse as a positive affirmation of what we will do differently, the resolution is still a reaction against something in our lives we want to struggle against.

My friend’s suggestion was to take a different approach.  She points out that “what you resist, persist.”   In other words, the more you fight something, the more you are caught in a relationship with what you would like to rid yourself of.  Her solution?  Rather than not doing something, learn to listen to how other options are more life-giving.  “Listen to Spirit,” she called it.  What brings joy and healing to my life and to those around me?  How do I feel when I take that daily walk in the morning rather than jump into a long day of work?  How do I feel when I am honest and attempt to work out a difference with another person?

From our faith perspective, the Spirit of God is always at work in the world around us.  The new year is a time to commit to tuning in and listening more and following the Spirit.