FORTY DAYS OF POETRY, PRAYERS, AND PENS | WEEK THREE
Welcome to week three 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, and then write a prayer. If you would like to read the “preface” to this project, with suggestions about how to approach the prayers, you may read it here.
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 at Plymouth – you can register for this group or come spontaneously as a walk-in.
It is my 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 uses writing as a way to start a conversation with God. No special skills are required.
Monday, March 14
Be Thou my Vision (445) by Ancient Irish, translated by Mary Byrne, versified by Eleanor H. Hull
“Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.”
Psalm 43:3-4 –
O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
God has asked us to do so little compared with what God has done for us. Think about some things you have done recently that were generous, kind, or compassionate, and thank God for giving you the vision to do these things.
Tuesday, March 15
Sing of One Who Walks Beside Us (212) by Ralph Wright
“He has offered words of comfort,
words of energy and light.
Did our hearts not blaze within us
as he broke the bread that night?”
Luke 24:30-32 - When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’
The travelers on the road to Emmaus did not recognize their fellow traveler, but they hung on every word he said, and they knew they didn’t want to let him get away. Let today’s prayer invite God into your home to join you at your table.
Wednesday March 16
O Day of Peace That Dimly Shines (519) by Carl P. Daw
“Then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb,
nor shall the fierce devour the small;
as beasts and cattle calmly graze,
a little child shall lead them all.”
Isaiah 32:16-18
Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
The effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust for ever.
My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,
in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.
War is very present with us today. More that ever, we need help remembering what real peace feels like, or looks like, or sounds like. Let today’s prayer invite God to help you to understand real peace, and to help you understand how to be a part of making it happen.
Thursday, March 17
See How the Galaxies Are Always There (365) by Jaroslav J. Vajda
“Here by our faith and hope and love we shine,
revealing by our deeds a power divine,
one almost hears God saying, ‘You are mine, you shine like stars!’”
Genesis 15:5-6 - He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
On days when everything we touch seems to go wrong, we need to remind ourselves that we belong to God and that in God’s eyes we “shine like stars.” What do you think it means to ‘shine like a star?’ What does God think it means?
Friday, March 18
In Deep Despair (453) by Psalm 130, paraphrased by Joy Patterson
“In deep despair I cry to you - O hear my voice my prayer.
If you should mark iniquities, who would stand guiltless there?”
Psalm 130:1-4
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
All of us carry a burden of guilt, deeds in our lives that we deeply regret and that are painful to recall. Tell God about that guilt, and ask God to help you carry the weight of your guilt. Ask for God’s help in forgiving yourself.
Saturday, March 19
When In Our Music God is Glorified (33) by Fred Pratt Green
“When in our music God is glorified,
and adoration leaves no room for pride,
it is as though the whole creation cried, ‘Alleluia!’”
Psalm 100:1-3
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into God’s presence with singing.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is God that made us, and we are God’s;
we are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.
Have you ever noticed that when you are singing about God, you are not thinking about yourself or your problems? Write a prayer praising God’s gift of music and thanking God for the wonder of sacred song.
Sunday, March 20
Choose a congregational song from among the ones sung on Sunday morning. Select a stanza or a phrase that resonates with you, and let it guide you into a prayer.
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.