What a delight it is each year to welcome the newness and freshness of springtime. Wherever you live, whatever the climate, spring is a reminder that resurrection is possible, and renewal is wonderful. It’s enough to make a person want to pray. And what better prayers can we offer at this time of year than a springtime prayer such as the following:
1) A Poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson
For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
For blue of stream and blue of sky;
For pleasant shade of branches high;
For fragrant air and cooling breeze;
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
(From We Thank Thee by Ralph Waldo Emerson)
2) A Hymn of John Newton
Lord, afford a spring to me,
Let me feel like what I see;
Speak, and by your gracious voice,
Make my drooping soul rejoice.
On your garden deign to smile,
Raise the plants, enrich the soil;
Soon your presence will restore
Life to what seemed dead before.
(Adapted from A Hymn for Spring by John Newton)
3) My own “Spring Canticle”:
Sun and cloud, bless the Lord.
Dew and rain, bless the Lord.
Flower and weed, bless the Lord.
Breeze and bird, bless the Lord.
Mist and meadow, bless the Lord.
Sunrise and sunset, bless the Lord.
Light and darkness, bless the Lord.
Whether you welcome this new season with any or all of the above, or pen a paean of praise that is all your own, may a new season of prayer blossom in your heart and life.
