Prayer 2.26.23
God of all,
we pray to you this first Sunday of Lent,
maybe a little more eager
than you will find us some weeks from now.
For the weariness of this winter God,
it makes us want to welcome something new,
something a little different,
if even we don’t entirely know where this journey is going.
So God in these early days of this Lenten season,
meet us -
in what is weary,
and wanting,
and waiting.
Stir up the longing within us,
that we might seek you in new ways.
Stir up the longing with us,
that we might let ourselves be found.
Meet us in this first Sunday of Lent, God,
and journey with us to all that lies ahead.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.
Meet us here God,
and call us -
to be more of who you want us to be.
For we begin this Lenten journey
with nothing but possibility ahead.
But these 40 days, God,
like the 40 days before this,
and the 40 days before that -
- these days, God,
they can slip by so quickly.
And it’s true for all of us, that while we journey here,
there are fish to catch,
and nets to mend,
and all the many things, that require our doing.
We begin this journey aware,
that one of the possibilities ahead
is that we let these days slip by -
as we have before,
as we will again.
And while you are not a God who would curse us for simply living,
you are a God who loves us too much
to let us toil with nets, when beauty beckons.
So call us here, God, we pray.
Call us to new awareness and intention,
that we might hear you, and have the courage to follow.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.
Call us here, God,
towards the people you want us to be.
And as you do,
let us drop the things that aren’t serving us.
For this journey, God,
it’s too hard, too long,
when we’re carrying too much.
We need your help here,
for it’s never as simple, as dropping the nets.
We are quick to defend our loads -
for who will we be without them?
So we need you,
to call us, and free us.
Free us from narratives that don’t lead to our flourishing.
Free us from fears that falsely tell us we can’t let go.
Free us from systems that entangle us in busy-ness.
Make us to release our grip,
unclench our jaws,
unbind our imaginations.
Call us, God, and free us so that we may follow.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.
So God of all, we pray to you this first Sunday in Lent,
asking that you prepare us for the possibilities that await.
Help us to hear you as we journey,
help us to hear one another, remembering we don’t journey alone.
In this we pray all together - Our Father…
