Friday Prayer

 

God is not found in the soul by adding anything, but by a process of subtraction – Meister Eckhard

God of grace and God of glory, fill us this day with Your love to fuel and feed our lives.  Help us release the pain, knowing that life leaves an imprint on all of us.  Remind us that everyone is going through something.  When we cling to afflictions as a badge of honor on our faith scout sash, help us remember that Your love is not earned.  Help unclog our ears to hear the stories we are telling about ourselves and clear our eyes to see the patchwork remnant fabric of the past we are using to create the quilt of the narratives we are living.  Grant us wisdom that You are found not by doing more, trying harder, adding more to our lives, but by being.  You call “rest” holy.  You rest on the seventh day, making this a wide-open space.  Yet, in a world that is 24-7-365, we never unplug.  This weekend may we breathe and be, may we rest.  And may we rest in You.  When our mind starts to rummage and ruminate on that thing we did last week or a month ago, grant us courage to say, “God take this broken part of my life with Your shalom.”  And may I release the grip I have on that pain so that the pain might release its grip it has on me.  God of mystery, wide-open spaces, You are found in delight and affliction; in moments of rest and work; in time of prayerful play; let Your present be our guide in these hours this day.  Amen.