Besides all the quick prayers, I imagine we all might find ourselves lifting to the Lord on any given day, I have gotten in the habit of setting aside at least three times a day as specific times for prayer, study, and meditation. Like many, my set times are first thing in the morning, midday, and in the evening. These set aside times aid me in being more intentional to “keep the main thing, the main thing” in my life.
One thing I have found helpful in keeping a pattern to this devotional time is to have set prayers I use during each of these devotional times. One prayer I have been using each evening is the Prayer of St. Francis, which is 481 in the United Methodist Hymnal.
It goes like this…
Lord, make me an instrument of your
peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so
much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to
eternal life. Amen.
Lately, as I finish the prayer, I have been spending some time reflecting on one of the phrases each day. I think about how I have been blessed to live into for example, seeking to understand more than to be understood and also, where there is room for me to grow. I meditate on how I might get closer to this ideal and better serve the Lord.
In seeking to be an instrument of peace, I am finding new peace, that peace that is beyond our understanding. I pray as you seek ways to grow in the time you spend with God in whatever way is right for you on your journey that you, too, will find fresh blessings.
Shalom,Pastor Peggy