God, I long to follow close behind You, but I often see dully as through a glass. I cannot envision what I am meant to be in You, though I catch glimpses from time to time.
Paul told us to imitate him as he imitated Christ, and You have set examples among Your people of what it means to be a living sacrifice, of what it means to be beloved in Christ.
So make me like Mrs. C., who believes in the power of prayer because it set her free and made her new, who, like You, does not show favoritism and believes healing from the Holy Spirit is for everyone, who has a testimony to tell of Your great power and won’t stop praying till it comes on earth.
And make me like Father T., whose deep knowledge of Your love for him over a lifetime has settled in his breath and in his bones so deeply that when he walks into a room, everything changes. Shoulders relax, souls breathe easier, and people start to grasp that maybe, just maybe, they really are as loved as You say we are.
But most of all, God, make me like me, the me I am meant to be, the one you dreamed of when you knit me together in the dark. May I become my true self in You as You become ever more enfleshed in me.
If it takes a lifetime to become a living sacrifice, take my life and daily pour it out. And if it takes a lifetime to become the beloved one, take my heart and teach me your incomparable, transcendent love.
Last month, Elizabeth and I attended a beautiful service for my uncle, John. The following liturgy is adapted from the prayer at the end of the service.
Moments of deep pain and loss sometimes erase words, leaving us wanting to pray but not knowing how. So perhaps, for someone somewhere, these words could offer a guide or starting place for praying in the dark…
Gracious God, we are thankful that we got to witness a life. A life created by you, a life called by you, a man loved by you and by many others.
Thank you for your mercy and thank you for your compassion. Thank you that you call us home, and you remind us of home, and you woo us home. And John is home.
You are a merciful God who knows that we are made of dust and you love us because you have made us.
There is no wrong that you cannot make right, there is no sickness that you cannot heal, there is no darkness that you cannot shed light on.
We long for the day we will see John again, and we will see you face to face.
Sometimes it seemed like John saw dimly through a glass, and although sometimes we see very dimly through glass too, we long for the day when we will see you, we will see reality as it is, we will see so clearly and we will love so well and be loved so well.
Thank you for your everlasting arms. Thank you for your compassionate heart.
Thank you that you do not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick.
We are your children and we cast ourselves on your care; be merciful to us oh God.
Thank you for this time and thank you for the time we shared with a friend, brother, and uncle; a man loved by you.
Praise your name, now until forever, in Jesus’ name, Amen
Though I, like Paul, feel like the least deserving of all God’s people, the worst of sinners— and though I, like Paul, lament my thorn in the flesh and must resign myself that You are not removing it— help me, like Paul, to trust in your grace for me and my many weaknesses and to boast only in the power of Christ.
Help me, like Paul, to press on toward the goal and not get trapped in ruminations over the past or over my inherent inadequacies, but to set my sights on things above, where Christ is seated on the throne. And help me, like Paul, to learn contentment in all situations— even the situation of being me.
For I am who you made me to be. You knit me together in my mother’s womb and saw all my days. You knew I would struggle. You knew I would be incapable in so many ways. And yet You still made me. You still gave me life, still gave me Christ.
You made me complex even as I wish for simple. Still, Your thoughts about me are precious. Help me to trust in your unfailing love, for You are always with me. And You are always good.
Though my sins are many and my regrets are great, You take them far away. You remember that I am dust and fill my life with tender mercies, renewing my strength day by day, hour by hour.
In a world that tells us we don’t need You, I confess that I have always needed You. All I have been given comes from you. All I have been able to achieve comes from You. Even my desire for You comes from You.
Lord, you are Father to your children, and Your love remains with us forever. Let everything within me return Your love. Let everything inside me rely upon Your strength. Let everything that I am praise You all my days.
Over the years our family has developed a morning ritual. We call it “devo,” and we model it after the daily devotionals my husband grew up with. Every morning his family gathered in the living room before breakfast to read the Proverb and Psalms for the day.
We started doing morning devos in Cambodia when everyone was young and still learning how to read out loud, and we’ve changed up our routine several times. We started with the Proverbs only but at one point got bored of them and switched to the Psalms instead. Then we went through a phase where we were reading through the Gospels. We tried Shane Claiborne’s Common Prayer for a while, and now we’re back to the Proverbs again – we all missed the simplicity of those early days in Cambodia.
Several years ago we decided to sing on Friday mornings instead of read. Hymns had been instrumental in building my faith and keeping me moored in times of doubt and fear, but my children didn’t know the hymns, as we didn’t sing them at church on Sunday mornings. We owned a few Church of Christ hymnals, so we got to work teaching our family how to sing.
I don’t know if you do a “morning time” in your homeschool or if you have evening devotionals with your family. But I do know a few liturgies that have been helpful to our family, and I wanted to share in case you want to add any of them to your worship times.
The Apostles’ Creed. With a world in such flux and so many arguments over what is important or true, we wanted to draw our children to the foundations of our faith. In the Creeds we proclaim the most important beliefs of the Christian faith. They are the ones we need to agree on, the ones we should never waver from. We worked together to memorize the Apostles’ Creed and say it together most (not all) days. It has been an anchor for me the past several years. There are a couple modern songs based on the creeds, but nothing beats reciting the complete Apostles’ Creed, whether by yourself or in community.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Doxology. This was one of the first songs we taught our children. It’s simple and easy to sing and is really a prayer. We often end our morning devo by singing the Doxology (although we sometimes end on another song, which I’ll explain below). We also sing it before meals, especially when we have guests over. We love it when old Church of Christ friends come over because they can SING. Four-part acapella harmony, delicious and delightful and a little taste of heaven. (As it turns out, you can take the girl out of acapella churches, but you can’t take the acapella out of the girl.)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
The Serenity Prayer. Reinhold Niebuhr’s words are a newer addition to our morning times, but I think they have staying power. Like most people, I’ve known the first stanza for years (and it is the only part of the prayer attributed to Niebuhr with certainty). The second part is used in many 12-step programs and has been particularly helpful to me as a compulsive worrier. We are memorizing the entire prayer as a family.
Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as He did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that He will make all things right, If I surrender to His will, That I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.
Paschal Troparion (Resurrection Hymn). We’ve been singing this song ever since I learned it from eine blume during a Velvet Ashes retreat. The lyrics are a modern English translation of a 5th century Orthodox hymn. We sometimes end our morning times with the Paschal Troparion instead of the Doxology.
Christ is risen from the dead, Trampling down death by death. And to those in the grave He’s given life, He’s given life.
The Lord Bless You and Keep You. My mom prayed Numbers 6:24-26 over us each day before we headed off to school, and I started praying it over my oldest as soon as we got home from the hospital. At some point I stopped saying it over my bigs before bed, but my youngest still regularly requests this prayer – a reminder of the power of repeated prayers. The version below is closest to the New American Standard.
The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon you, The Lord be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.
And finally, the 23rd Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer. We don’t pray these as a family, but I pray them regularly by myself. I depend especially on “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”; “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, Your rod and your staff, they comfort me”;“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”; and “Give us this day our daily bread.” They speak to my tendency to worry, especially over money and death and danger. I need something beautiful and poetic and true to ground me in those times.
Prayer rituals have the power to form us as Christ followers. Perhaps you already have prayer rituals of your own; perhaps you are looking to develop some. If so, I hope these ideas can enrich your spiritual life and build a deeper, sturdier faith in our triune God.
