Skip to main content

Awaken us to Your Presence

Have been using David Adam's wonderful wee book "The Rhythm of Life" recently as an aid to my daily devotions, and came to the end of it last Friday. The last set of prayers and readings in it are a short set of devotions for a Saturday night, under the title of "Advent: the Coming One." Obviously that had special resonance for me at this time of year, and it spurred me on to write this short responsive prayer largely based on the material there, focussing again on the watchfulness that advent should engender... I hope you find this helpful as you head into another week in the run up to Christmas:

Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Dispel the darkness of night.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Clear the deafness from our ears.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Remove the blindness from our eyes.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Soften the hardness in our hearts.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Eradicate the slowness in our brains.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.
Stimulate our senses and make us more aware of you.
Come, Lord, awaken us to your presence.

Into a world of gathering gloom
Into a society riven by strife
Into our sense of impotence
Come, Lord Jesus
Come, Immanuel

Into our joys and celebrations
Into our homes and families
Into our work and rest
Come, Lord Jesus
Come, Immanuel

Into the hearts of those in desperation
Into the bodies of those who are ill
Into the void left by those who are absent
Come, Lord Jesus
Come, Immanuel

Come, Lord, awaken us with your presence
Maranatha
Come, Lord Jesus.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Living under the Empire... (2) Where is Babylon?

We were driving back from school last week, talking about books that we had been reading and my younger son, Ciaran, asked me "Where is Babylon?" I have to confess that my history is better than my geography, and I said that it no longer exists as an inhabited city, but its ruins were to the north west of the current capital of Iraq, Baghdad. When I checked however, I discovered that it is actually about 50 miles south of Baghdad and the modern town is the administrative centre of the province of Babil... But just as the modern city is but a shadow of the historic capital of 2 ancient empires, first under Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE and then the "Neo-Babylonian" empire (under Nebuchadnezzar etc) in the 6th century BCE, so the earthly Babylonian empire/s was/were fleeting in comparison to the enduring metaphorical idea of Babylon. The original Empire under Hammurabi was probably the ultimate origin of some of the early Biblical stories, including the ...

A Woman of no Distinction

Don't often post other people's stuff here... But I found this so powerful that I thought I should. It's a performance poem based on John 4: 4-30, and I have attached the original YouTube video below. A word for women, and men, everywhere... "to be known is to be loved, and to be loved is to be known." I am a woman of no distinction of little importance. I am a women of no reputation save that which is bad. You whisper as I pass by and cast judgmental glances, Though you don’t really take the time to look at me, Or even get to know me. For to be known is to be loved, And to be loved is to be known. Otherwise what’s the point in doing either one of them in the first place? I WANT TO BE KNOWN. I want someone to look at my face And not just see two eyes, a nose, a mouth and two ears; But to see all that I am, and could be all my hopes, loves and fears. But that’s too much to hope for, to wish for, or pray for So I don’t, not anymore. Now I keep to myself And by that ...

Psalm for Harvest Sunday

A short responsive psalm for us as a call to worship on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, and given that it was pouring with rain as I headed into church this morning the first line is an important remembrance that the rain we moan about is an important component of the fruitfulness of the land we live in: You tend the land and water it And the earth produces its abundance. You crown each year with your bounty, and our storehouses overflow with your goodness. The mountain meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are filled with corn; Your people celebrate your boundless grace They shout for joy and sing. from Psalm 65