Monday, April 4

Morning has Broken (258) by Eleanor Farjeon

“Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning,
born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s recreation of the new day.”

Psalm 30:4-5

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,  
     and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;  
     his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,  
     but joy comes with the morning. 

When you first open your eyes in the morning, take a moment to listen to the sounds of the morning and to be grateful for another new day and another clean slate. Then ask God what you should do with your new day and your clean slate.

Tuesday, April 5

Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service (503) by Albert F. Bayly

“Still your children wander homeless,
still the hungry cry for bread;
still the captive longs for freedom,
still in grief we mourn our dead.”

Luke 1:51-53

He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty.      

With so much wealth in the world, why are there still people who do not have enough to eat? Why are people still enslaved by addictions? Why is there never enough affordable housing? You can bring these questions to God in prayer.

Wednesday, April 6

O How Glorious, Full of Wonder (66) by Curtis Beach 

“When we see the lights above us,
moon and stars, your power displayed,
who are we that you should love us,
creatures that your hand has made?” 

Luke 15:20 - So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.                 

What does God see in each of us that is unique and special? In your prayer, share with God what you think is unique and special about yourself and tell God about someone unique and special in your life.

 Thursday, April 7

God, Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens (67) by Catherine Cameron

“We have ventured worlds undreamed of
since the childhood of our race;
known the ecstasy of winging
through untraveled realms of space;
probed the secrets of the atom
yielding unimagined power,
facing us with life’s destruction,
or our most triumphant hour.

Romans 12:21 - Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.      

God has placed awesome responsibility in our hands. With our God-given intelligence, humans are capable of doing great good or irreversible harm. But God has also offered us wisdom, and has entrusted us with the power to make choices. In your prayer, ask God for wisdom to discern between good and evil, and ask God to guide those who hold power so that they will use it wisely.

Friday, April 8

A Cheering, Chanting, Dizzy Crowd (180) by Thomas H. Troeger

“A cheering, chanting, dizzy crowd
had stripped the green trees bare
and hailing Christ as king aloud,
waved branches in the air.
They laid their garments in the road
and spread his path with palms
and vows of lasting love bestowed
with royal hymns and psalms.”

John 12:12-13 - The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting ,‘Hosanna!’

A Mardi Gras parade is quite event. Floats move down the streets as costumed revelers throw beads and doubloons into the air. Bystanders dive for the booty as though their lives depended on it. It is easy to get caught up in the insanity – to wave your arms and shout “Over here! Over here!” Ask God for the courage to be foolish for God when the time comes.

Saturday, April 9

Be Still, My Soul (95) by Katherine von Schlegel, translated by Jane Borthwick

“Be still my soul: for God is on your side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Trust in your God, your savior and your guide,
who through all changes faithful will remain.”

Mark 4:37-39 - A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.

Psalm 46:10

‘Be still, and know that I am God!  
I am exalted among the nations,
   I am exalted in the earth.’    

Stillness can be described as soundlessness, motionlessness, noiselessness. All of these say what stillness is not – they say what is absent but not what is present. Compose a prayer asking God to help you understand what it means to be still.