“There is blindness all around. Only very few can see. Many are like birds trapped in a net, only few escape and achieve liberation.” - Buddha

“What did that speaker whisper to the cloud that tears streamed from its eye like wine from wineskins?” - Rumi

“Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” - Psalm

Today I feel neither sorrow, fear nor regret.
Thank You for your forgiveness and peace.
There is freedom in Your fetter.
There is shelter in Your wings.
There is hope in Your sorrow.
Whispered tears feed the earth
causing it to blossom and grow.
You restore me with sadness as well.
Please continue to redeem my life.
Teach me to be an agent of grace on the earth.
Guide my actions with loving kindness.
And please bless the works of my hands.
Thank You for Your providence.
Thank You for the breath of a peaceful morning.
Thank You for the loving people You’ve scattered through my life.
I pray that You remember their kindness to Your servant 
and bless them according to Your riches.
       I love You.
       Amen. 

“If one pursues his own happiness, while causing no harm to other living beings who also strive to live happily, he will reap a wholesome harvest.” - Buddha

“Beware! Don’t celebrate this fickle world. O slave to change, don’t act as if you’re free.” - Rumi

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” -Psalm

Father, please teach me to delight in Your ways.
Please help me to live a harmless life.
Please guide my actions and speech to kindness.
Reconnect me with Your grace moment by moment.

   I am too experienced with destroying.
   I am too adept at harming.
   I am too practiced at hurting self.

Your love is a beacon to the islands.
Your grace is the wind pushing us forward.
Your mercy is the cure for all wounds.

   Bring revival to Your people.
   Bring redemption to the broken.
   Bring community to the lost and scattered.

Let Your will envelope the earth.
       Amen. 

“This craving, this clinging, overpowers the man caught in it, and his sorrows multiply like prairie grass fed by rain.” - Buddha

“For lions to break the battle lines is easy. True Lion is he who breaks the lines of selfhood.” - Rumi

“When you were dead in your sins […] God made you alive in Christ.” - The Apostle Paul

Father, thank You for Your mercy and grace.
Attach my identity to the fulfillment of Your will.
Reconcile my life to Your ways.
Please redeem my career.
Please redeem my finances.
Please renew Your vision within me.
I rely on Your providence.
Please show me the right way.
Please help me to fulfill Your vision in my life.
     I trust You to take care of my needs.
     I trust You to bless the work of my hands.
     Thank You for Your faithfulness.
     Thank You for Your loving kindness. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”

       Thank You for Your many blessings.
       I love You. Amen. 

“Shun anger, let go of pride, break out of every shackle. Whoever is not tied to possessions, clinging neither to body nor mind, is never in bondage.” - Buddha

“O Lord, you sprinkle on the cleansing water so that this world [on fire] becomes all light.” - Rumi

“… clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” - The Apostle Paul

In some ways I am seeking justification.
I am still tied to my possessions.
I still place value in these objects which fulfill my desires.
Musical instruments. Art supplies. Tools and outdoor equipment.
Material wealth. Status.
      You reveal my inner ways.
      Redeem my desires and pride.
      Make the abundance You’ve provided
        an avenue to
          Your will in my life.
Transform my world, ablaze, to Your light. 
Make me holy like You.
     I need Your indwelling spirit each moment.
     Help me breathe with Your breath.
       Amen. 

“To the extent that a fool knows his foolishness, he may be deemed wise. A fool who considers himself wise is indeed a fool.” - Buddha

“He saw his own reflection as his foe, and so he drew his sword against himself. How many an evil that you see in others is your own nature which you see in them!” - Rumi

“These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” - The Apostle Paul

Father, in this space of obedience, teach me grace and kindness. Please continue to provide all my needs according to Your riches. I rely on Your providence.
     I know I often act rashly with a fool’s spirit.
     I am familiar with my pride.
     Make these parts of me wholesome and useful to Your will.

The mallard slides easily across the surface of the lake.
A picture of peace in motion.
Below the surface, his feet create great turbulence, propelling him forward.

The sparrow leaps confidently from the ledge.
With the knowledge and confidence that God has given her wings,
she freely falls and flies through the air.

God directs their paths according to their nature.
In their obedience they gain greater freedom.

Oh foolish bird who desires the nature of a house cat.
How quickly he is devoured by his new peers!

Teach me to love my nature
and to earnestly obey Your will in my life.
I want to love those around me with sincerity and truth.
       Amen.

“There is no fire like lust, no vice like hatred, no trap like delusion, and no galloping river like craving.” - Buddha

“The evil of the wicked is a well of darkness - all who know have said this much. The worse he is, the more his well is ghastly, for justice has awarded worse for worse.” - Rumi

“Once, you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” - The Apostle Paul

On many occasions I’ve thrown myself headlong into the well of darkness and been a secret enemy of God.
     I know how my faults feed my folly.
     I know how I’ve rejected right ways.
There are still wild and wayward parts of my thoughts and my spirit.
     I still haven’t completely contained my chaos
     - Nor should I.

Father, You’ve led me to this space.
You’ve removed indecision.
You’re moving me into Your will.

     But, I’m still afraid.
     I still have cravings and desires.
     And there is still my pride.

Please redeem and forgive my flaws.
I pray You will use me to create a greater good.

     I am broken. Please fix me. 
       Amen.

“A single verse full of meaning bringing peace to the listener is worth more than a thousand verses full of empty words.” - Buddha

“From your own self, a part composed of wholes, you’ll understand the elemental states. For just as wholes have pain and suffering, so why should not their parts be pale of face?” - Rumi

“For he has rescued us from darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” - The Apostle Paul

Disquiet. Suffering. Sorrowful cycles.
Teach me the verse that brings peace to the listener.
Whisper the word that eases suffering.
Sing me David’s song on David’s harp
(that calmed the spirit of Saul.)

You have rescued me from the deep well of despair.
  A death filled life.
    The sticky shadow of depression.
You continue to redeem my life.
  The works of my hands.
    The ways I live and my restless thoughts.

Merciful Father, I am so grateful for Your loving kindness and redeeming grace.
Make me the mouthpiece for Your will upon the earth.
Make me the trumpet declaring Your ways.
Make me the machine that manufactures grace.
Make me the vehicle transporting those around me to Your light.
       Thank You for Your presence.
       Thank You for Your guidance.
       Thank You for Your providence.
       Amen.

“Like lions from the bush, form springs from spirit, or as the voice and words emerge from thought.” - Rumi

” … to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” - Isaiah

My thoughts wander and swirl.
Amidst chaos, chaotic thoughts.
Form springs from spirit.
Words spring from the heart’s overflow.
   Doubts. Uncertainties. Trouble.
   Joy. Love. Peace.
Gather me under the shelter of Your wings.
Replace my willfulness with Your divine will.
Redeem this turbulence.
Use the energy of conflict for transformation.
Make me an instrument of Your grace.

You give.
You give in the taking.
You redeem in the shaking.
You pull us from wayward paths.

I am blessed though I am troubled.
You guide so gently.
Thank You.
       Amen.

“Can there be joy and laughter when always the world is ablaze? Enshrouded in darkness should you not seek a light?” - Buddha

“See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” - Isaiah

“At night there was no light; you saw no colors, then it appeared to you through light’s opponent. There is the sight of light and then of color; you know this instantly from light’s opponent. For God created pain and grief for this, that by these opposites contentment comes.” - Rumi

Loving Father,
You teach me.
You show me.
You guide me.

All things are tools for grace in Your hands.
Take away the veils of my understanding.
Teach me to compassionately understand
   the circumstances and people around me.

I struggle.
Within the struggle: doubt.
Within the doubt: fear.
Within the fear: sorrow.
Within the sorrow: light.

We understand: there is brokenness all around us.
We weep and pray for the redemption of the world.
Radically alter this world: align it to Your perfect will.

In Your precious name,
       Amen.

“Just as the jasmine plant sheds its withered flowers. O monk, shed both lust and hatred.” - Buddha

“As long as lust is new, your faith is not; this lust’s indeed a lock upon that door.” - Rumi

“For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities….” - Isaiah

Forgive my lusts, Father.
Lust for possessions,
Lust for pleasure,
Lust for power.

Help me to love in right ways
Help me to take joy in Your many blessings
Teach me contentedness in the space You have placed me

You wholly provide my needs.
You generously surround me with loved ones.
You comfort me in times of difficulty and distress.

Redeem my passions
Renew right desires within me

I love You and am so grateful for Your mercy.
       Amen.