Prayer in strange times

Saturday 26 March

This I know:
The steadfast love of the Lord
endures for ever
For those laughing
and for those weeping
The steadfast love of the Lord
endures for ever
For those who are paralysed by fear
And for those whose creativity is stirred
The steadfast love of the Lord
endures for ever
For those who have been this way before
And for those who are charting new territory
The steadfast love of the Lord
endures for ever

For those who crouch by the empty tomb
And for those who have already found
the folded grave clothes
The steadfast love of the Lord
endures for ever
May we hold one another
reverently
in that steadfast love

Liz Crumlish

Friday 25 March

Today, like every other day,
we wake up empty
and frightened.
Don’t open the door to the study
and begin reading.

Take down the dulcimer.
let the beauty we love
be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways
to kneel and kiss the ground.

Rumi, 13th Century

Thursday 24 March

Loving God
As I enter the gift of a new day
On the edge
Out of my comfort zone

You are before me
Help me to be
Open
Honest
Real
To you
With you
For you.
Help me to be
Open
Honest
Real
To others
With others
For others.
Help me to be
Open
Honest
Real
To me
With me
For me.
In my desire to do so
I may glimpse you today.

Ewan Kelly

Wednesday 23 March

Ever present God,
be with us in our isolation,
be close to us in our distancing,
be healing in our sickness,
be joy in our sadness,
be light in our darkness,
be wisdom in our confusion,
be all that is familiar when
all is unfamiliar,
that I may speak of your goodness
to a troubled world.

Lincoln Cathedral

Tuesday 22 March

‘Ideas hang on me like outsize clothes into which I still have to grow. My mind lags behind my intuition … [which] means that my mind … must sometimes work overtime in order to seize the various premonitions by their coat-tails. A host of concrete ideas keep clamouring for concrete formulation. I must stop and listen to myself, sound my own depths, eat well and sleep properly if I am to keep my balance … but alas, the emphasis these days is on speed, not on rest.’ Lord teach me to be still.

Etty Hillesum

Monday 21 March

God,
You know that the only way
we’ll turn to you
is when we have exhausted
all of our resources
And even then,
we’ll have a go at you
railing at injustice
questioning your omnipotence

And still you wait
to gather us up
and soothe us
You sit with us
as we grieve our loss of control
You support us
as we seek to centre ourselves
You strengthen us
as we discover new ways
to be disciples
who listen
to your beloved Son
God may we be fast learners
so that we can lead others
into your light and love this day.

Liz Crumlish

Sunday 20 March
The Third Sunday of Lent

Jesus our brother,
who followed the necessary path
and was broken on our behalf.
May we neither cling to our pain
where it is futile,
nor refuse to embrace the cost
when it is required of us:
that in losing ourselves for your sake
we may be brought to new life. Amen.

Janet Morley, All Desires Known

This sequence of daily readings or prayers for the third week of Lent was compiled by Rev Dr Michael Paterson using materials written by him and drawn from a variety of sources. You can download a printable version of the week’s sequence at this link.