If you take time to pause and remember 9/11 today, I would again commend to you this prayer from Rev. Jeremy Pridgeon. In over a decade I haven’t found a better one.

Link: http://bit.ly/2eYITAb

Today, I’m praying these verses from Albert Midlane for College Avenue United Methodist Church, for the UMC in general and for the church universal:

1 Revive thy work, O Lord,
thy mighty arm make bare;
speak with the voice that wakes the dead,
and make thy people hear.

2 Revive thy work, O Lord,
disturb this sleep of death;
quicken the smould’ring embers now
by thine almighty breath. [1]

[1] Albert Midlane, “Revive Thy Work, O Lord,” 1858, Hymnary.org, accessed September 19, 2022, https://bit.ly/3BRJqeQ.

Below is the “Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition” that we’ll be using in worship tomorrow (Sunday, January 2, 2022). I try to pray this prayer every day, but I think it’s especially appropriate at the start of a new year.

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things 
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 
you are mine, and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Note: I don’t take the phrase “put me to suffering” to mean that God wants us to suffer or that God will force us to suffer. Instead, I see it as our affirmation that we are willing to suffer for the work of the kingdom. E.g., in the 1960s the civil rights movement involved a lot of suffering for a lot of faithful Christians. As Christians, we don’t seek suffering out, but we are willing to bear the suffering that falls on us as we seek to live out our faith.

To update the language to modern usage, I have substituted “yours” for “thine,” “you” for “thou,” etc. from the version of this prayer found in the United Methodist Hymnal (607). 

The Bible is deeply concerned about justice for those who labor. This Labor Day, I would invite you to remember in your prayers both those who strove and those who still strive for justice for all who labor. The world more closely resembles God’s original intent and eventual promise because of their efforts.

Photo Credit: Lewis Hine/Library of Congress via PINGnews. Additional photo information: TITLE: 488 Macon, Ga. Lewis W. Hine 1-19-1909. Bibb Mill No. 1 Many youngsters here. Some boys were so small they had to climb up on the spinning frame to mend the broken threads and put back the empty bobbins. Location: Macon, Georgia. More.

Please note that a version of this post originally appeared in 2011.

Bishop Saenz has written a letter addressing the shocking events that took place in the national capital last Wednesday (January 6, 2020). You can read it here. One of the things he is asking is for United Methodists in Kansas and Nebraska to pray together from this coming Sunday until Easter Sunday. Here’s the prayer from The Book of Worship that he’s asking us to use:

God of all the ages, in your sight nations rise and fall and pass-through times of peril. Now when our land is troubled, be near to judge and save. May leaders be led by your wisdom; may they search your will and see it clearly. If we have turned from your way, reverse our ways and help us to repent. Give us your light and your truth, let them guide us; through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of this world, and our Savior. Amen. [1]

After what happened last week, I plan to start praying today.

[1] “A Prayer in a Time of National Crisis,” The United Methodist Book of Worship (Nashville, TN: United Methodist Publishing House, 1992), 517.

Pastor Mark Demas, who was serving Coffeyville First United Methodist Church, has contracted Covid-19 and died. I’m praying for his family, his friends, and his congregation, many of whom I know. Stay safe folks. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Wash your hands.

Good advice from Emmanuel Acho:

Log off if you need to, but join us for Communion on Zoom at 6 p.m. I don’t know what I’m going to say, but I’m trusting that the Holy Spirit will show up.

From 8 a.m. to 12 noon on Christmas Eve (December 24, 2020), the sanctuary will be open for prayer. You’ll need to come to the entryway marked “office” on the east side of the building and ring the doorbell on the glass door.

Following the injunction of 1 Timothy 2:1-4, we list those in authority on our prayer list in the bulletin every week. This week it seems appropriate to pray for Donald Trump not only as one who is in authority but also as someone who has fallen ill. I encourage you to pray regardless of your political persuasion—there is nothing that says that praying for someone indicates affection or approval. Pray for the President; pray for all those sick with COVID-19; pray for all those who have lost loved ones to this pandemic. Pray that God’s mercy and justice might roll down like waters over our afflicted country.

In the midst of the wildfires, hurricanes, a worldwide pandemic, and other disasters large and small, we find ourselves commemorating the anniversary of 9/11. United Methodist Discipleship Ministries has an excellent prayer from Rev. Jeremy Pridgeon.

Link: http://bit.ly/2eYITAb

PRAYER FOR NAACP PRAYER VIGIL — Last Saturday (May 30, 2020) Jenny, Liz, and I went to a NAACP Prayer Vigil in Salina. The vigil was in response to the death of George Floyd and countless others. I was invited to give a prayer. Here is what I prayed:

Gracious God, you created humanity as a multi-racial, multi-ethnic family, intending that we live in peace with you and harmony with one another. We have fallen short of that vision.

Today we remember those who have suffered the most because we have fallen short of that vision. Those who have suffered even unto death. George Floyd is only the most recent in a very long list. We will name only some of them here tonight. Yet you have known them all, you have called them by name, and you will never forget them

Lord, for my black and brown siblings I pray your presence, your power, your comfort, and your consolation. Help them as they continue their journey on a long and difficult road.

Lord, help those of us who are white to choose to walk beside them. Not to turn away, but to face the truth. The hard truth that racism and prejudice are still alive and well and killing your beloved children today. Help us to face the even harder truth that things aren’t going to get better on their own.

Lord, help those of us who are privileged by the color of our skin to realize that the racism that continues to surround and dwell within us is corroding our souls, stunting our discipleship, and keeping us from you.

We know that no one can truly, fully flourish until everyone can flourish. Lord Jesus help those of us born to a place of privilege, to remain silent no longer, help us to find the strength to speak up—even to our family and our friends. Help us to act—even when doing so is unpopular. Guide us, prod us, push us to work for your justice, to strive for your righteousness, and to build for your kingdom. Amen.

Note: When I say “privileged by the color of our skin” I don’t mean that all of those of us who are white have it easy, or that our lives are a cakewalk. What I do mean is that our lives are easier than they would be if we were African American.