Pastoral Prayer for July 21, 2024

Our pastoral prayer this morning comes to us from Ted Loder.

Please allow his words to become your own.

O God, it is hard for me to let go,

most times,

and the squeeze I exert

garbles me and gnarls others.

So, loosen my grip a bit

on the good times,

on the moments of sunlight and star shine and joy,

that the thousand graces they scatter as they pass

may nurture growth in me

rather than turn to brittle memories.

Loosen my grip

on the grudges and grievances

I hold so closely,

that I may risk opening myself

to the spirit of forgiving and forgiveness

that changes things and resurrects dreams and courage.

Loosen​​ my grip​​ 

on my fears,

that I may be released a little into humility

and into an acceptance of ​​ my humanity.

Loosen my grip

on myself

that I may experience the freedom of someone

who knows that to believe

is to see kingdoms, find power, sense glory;

to reach out​​ 

is to know myself held;

to laugh at myself​​ 

is to be in on the joy of your grace;

to attend to each moment

is to hear the faint melody of eternity;

to dare love

is to smell the wild flowers of heaven.

Loosen my grip​​ 

on my ways and words,

on my fears and fretfulness

that letting go

into the depths of silence

and my own uncharted longings,

I may find myself held by you

and linked anew to all life

in this wild and wondrous world

you love so much,

so I may take to heart

that you have taken me to heart.

Amen.