Opening Prayer ~ Gather Me to Be with You by Ted Loder

O God, gather me now

to be with you as you are with me.

Soothe my tiredness… quiet my fretfulness…

curb my aimlessness… relieve my compulsiveness…

let me be easy for a moment.

O Lord, release me

from the fears and guilts which grip me so tightly;

from the expectations and opinions which I so tightly grip,

that I may be open to receiving what you give,

to risking something genuinely new,

to learning something refreshingly different.

O God, gather me

to be with you as you are with me.

Forgive me for claiming so much for myself

that I leave no room for gratitude;

for confusing exercises in self-importance

with acceptance of self-worth;

for complaining so much of my burdens

that I become a burden;

for competing against others so insidiously

that I stifle celebrating them

and receiving your blessing through their gifts.

O God, gather me

to be with you as you are with me.

Keep me in touch with myself,

with my needs, my anxieties,

my angers, my pains, my corruptions,

that I may claim them as my own

rather than blame them on someone else.

O Lord, deepen my wounds into wisdom;

shape my weaknesses into compassion;

gentle my envy into enjoyment,

my fear into trust, my guilt into honesty,

My accusing fingers into tickling ones.

O God, gather me

to be with you as you are with me.  Amen.

Deuteronomy 7:9

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Reflection

As you reflect on the opening prayer and scripture passages, consider what it means to be gathered into the comforting arms of a faithful God who truly wants the best for you.  What does that look like in your life right now under the current situation we are all finding ourselves in? Take a moment to breathe… Take a moment to wonder… Take a moment and feel the love…

Use a time of being “gathered in” to prepare yourself for the “going out”. God’s faithfulness will strengthen you for the road ahead.

Closing Prayer

Let the words of this cherished hymn be the prayer on your lips…

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;

there is no shadow of turning with Thee;

thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

as Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Pardon for sin, and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear Presence to cheer and to guide,

strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow,

blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness,

morning by morning, new mercies I see;

all I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.