I recently read a charming and helpful book on prayer called May It Be So by Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson. Besides talking about their own prayer life, they offer 40 short prayers for 40 days. Here are just four of them. May they bring sustenance to your own prayer life as they did mine.
1) May those I love know it unquestioningly.
God loves us unconditionally. Would that those we love know the same about us. I pray that my love is shown by my actions.
Read more of Rick’s lifetime spiritual journey in his latest book, Prayer Works.
2) May I offer help more readily and joyfully than I offer critique.
A fellow church choir member said to me the other day, “I’ve decided that if I’m not being paid to judge, I won’t judge.” And she’s a courtroom judge by profession! Words of criticism rarely reach their intended goal. No wonder Jesus said, “Judge not lest you be judged.”
3) May the fear of being afraid never keep me from facing the things I am afraid of.
Fear can sneak up on you, sometimes in the most innocent of garb. A tiger disguised as a pussycat. To be afraid is perfectly natural. To pray through the fear is heroic. As the old saying goes, Courage is fear that has said its prayers.
4) May I be surrounded by loved ones who remind me who I am when I forget. I will forget.
The best mirror for ourselves is not a selfie taken on our phones. It’s in the looks of love from those we love. I would be nothing, a nobody, without my church, my friends, my family, my loved ones. Their reminders of who I am is my lifeblood.
