FORTY DAYS OF POETRY, PRAYERS, AND PENS | WEEK SEVEN
Welcome to week seven of this Plymouth Community Lenten Project. Our continuing goal is to write 40 prayers in 40 days. Each week during Lent, Plymouth is circulating a week of prayer “prompts” and we hope that you will use these as a springboard to write your own personal prayers.
The entry for each day includes a selection of poetry from a hymn, a scriptural reference, and a prayer prompt. Spend some time with each of these sources of inspiration (or with none of them if you prefer), and then write a prayer. If you would like to read some overview information and suggestions about the project, return to the main page and scroll to the bottom. In some cases, a link to the music is provided.
This project is intended to be an individual project – something that you do on your own time and at your own pace, under no obligation to share with others. However, if you would like to continue the conversation about prayer, you are welcome to attend the discussion on Sunday mornings at 9:45 AM on the third floor in the Church House.
It is our sincere hope that folks of all backgrounds who are interested in exploring prayer will participate in this project. You may be a person who identifies as a writer, or a person who, in your wildest dreams, would never identify as a writer. This project simply uses writing as a means to start a conversation with God. No special skills are required.
Monday, April 11
A Cheering, Chanting, Dizzy Crowd (180) by Thomas H. Troeger
“When day dimmed down to deepening dark
the crowd began to fade
‘til only trampled leaves and bark
were left from the parade.
Lest we be fooled because our hearts
have surged with passing praise,
remind us, God, as this week starts
where Christ has fixed his gaze.”
Matthew 16:23 - But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
Holy week has begun. The pageantry of Palm Sunday has abruptly ended. Write a prayer inviting Jesus to walk with you through Holy Week, so that you will grow in faith and understanding.
Tuesday, April 12
What Wondrous Love is This (183) by Appalachian Folk Hymn
“What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this!
That caused the Lord of bliss
to bear the heavy cross for my soul, for my soul,
to bear the heavy cross for my soul!”
1 John 4:7-9 - Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
Wondrous Love! Doesn’t that take your breath away? Doesn’t that give you goose bumps? Write a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s extravagant love, a love beyond our comprehension. And don’t forget to thank God for goose bumps.
Wednesday, April 13
Said Judas to Mary (184) by Sydney Carter
“Said Judas to Mary, “Now what will you do
with your ointment so rich and so rare?”
“I’ll pour it all over the feet of the Lord,
and I’ll wipe it away with my hair,” she said,
“I’ll wipe it away with my hair.”
Luke 7:50 - And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’
What Mary did – like so many other women in the Bible - was outrageous. It violated every rule of decorum, yet Jesus refused to condemn her. Write a prayer thanking God for the courageous women and men of the Bible who lived by faith and refused to play by the rules.
Thursday, April 14
Go to Dark Gethsemane (193) by James Montgomery
“Go to dark Gethsemane, all that feel the tempter’s power;
your Redeemer’s conflict see; watch with him one bitter hour;
turn not from his griefs away; learn from Jesus Christ to pray.”
Matthew 26:40-41 - Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’
Jesus asked his disciples to wait with him for one hour – and they failed him, falling asleep as he prayed in Gethsemane. Jesus knew what abandonment felt like. We will fail God too, many times in our lives. Let your prayer ask Jesus to teach you how to forgive others and how to forgive yourself.
Friday, April 15
When Jesus Wept (190) by William Billings
“When Jesus wept, the falling tear
in mercy flowed beyond all bound;
when Jesus groaned, a trembling fear
seized all the guilty world around.”
Matthew 27:50 - Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.
Perhaps, as Jesus died, the entire cosmos held its breath. Write a prayer to the Jesus who weeps with us and for us.
Saturday, April 16
I invite you to treat Holy Saturday as a day without prayer. Try to imagine that you do not know the end of the story. Jesus is dead – allow him to be dead. And if Jesus is dead, Christian prayer makes no sense. After 40 days of feasting on prayer, think of today as a fast and try to let the day pass without praying.
All hymn texts are selected from Plymouth’s hymnal Hymns of Truth and Light. Copyright information for each text may be found on the indicated page. Scripture is taken from the New Revised Standard Version.