Prayer for Monday, February 18

Begin your prayer time by lighting a candle or by ringing the opening bell in the right hand column at the website here. Allow the ringing of the bell to draw you into sacred space with God. Take a few deep breaths, breathing in God's love and presence, breathing out any distractions or worries.

Lord, Jesus Christ, teach me to pray.

Prepare yourself for the reading of the scripture passage by quieting yourself and  asking God to speak to you in this passage.  Read the passage slowly with both the mind and the heart, at least two times.


A Reading from the Book of Deuternonomy [8:11-16]

Moses convened all Israel, and said to them:  Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today.  When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who lead you through the great and terrible wilderness, and arid waste land with poisonous snakes and scorpions.  He made water flow for you from flint rock and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good.

In addition to the time that Jesus spent in the desert, the 40 days of  of Lent also reminds us of the 40 years that the children of Israel spent wandering in the desert before they were able to make permanent homes in the land of Israel.  In this passage, they have already passed through all of the difficulties of the journey and are now settling down to build their new lives.  Moses reminds them in advance of the human tendency to stop noticing all of the blessings and goodness in their lives, to forget all of the things that God has given them and to begin to think that all of the good things have come to them through their own hard work alone.

Today, I invite you to pray a prayer of remembrance and gratitude.  

Begin by quieting yourself and opening your heart to God, the Giver of all good things.

We all have a story of our life.  Take a moment now to look back over your story.   You may want to start at the beginning of your life or choose a certain time period that was particularly difficult, rewarding, or interesting, or you may just want to  look over the last several years.  Close your eyes and let your story unfold.  Notice the changes, challenges, joy, grief, adventure, and difficulties that make up your story.  Spend several moments doing this.  Don’t rush it.

Looking back at your story, are you able to see God's presence in your story?  How was God present with you?  How is God present with you now?  

Spend some time thanking God for the many experiences that you have come through and for the ways God has been present with you.  Thank God for all of the good things that have come into your life and also the challenges.  You may want to do this with words or you may just want to be in silence and offer God a heart that is filled with gratitude.  

Make some notes in your journal about your story and your experience of God’s presence.  What are you grateful for?  What parts of your story do you still find it hard to be grateful for?  


Loving Jesus, Throughout this day, may I feel deep gratitude for all of the parts of my life. Open my eyes to the gifts and blessings of this day.