Daily Prayer

February 10, 2022

A daily prayer from the New England Conference

The clergy and laity of the New England Conference are sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions.

1 Corinthians 15: 17-18: If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished.” Psalm 1: “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.” Holy and (sometimes) frustrating God, There are times when my faith has felt futile, My prayers unheard. But I keep coming back to you, because that simply can’t be true. I look up at the snow-covered tree limbs, Branches that look like they’re holding hands, keeping each other strong and tall, And I know that you are there. There is a prayer in the trees. I look down at the snow-covered ground, Raised where the chipmunks have burrowed their tunnels, finding their stashes of sustenance, And I know that you are there. There is a prayer in the earth. I look across the ice-covered lake, With fish and life teeming beneath the solid surface, And I know that you are there. There is a prayer in the water. I look at the painter’s palate-covered sky of orange, pink, and purple, With birds of blue, red, and black flitting about and soaring high, And I know that you are there. There is a prayer in the sky. And so, I pray. I pray with the trees, the chipmunks, the fish, the birds, the water, the earth and the sky. I sing of the fire you have lit within my soul, the warmth that fuels my compassion for another. I sing of your breath that fills my lungs with the Holy Spirit who inspires my love of neighbor. I sing your praise because you have kept your promises and stand beside me, even when my faith waivers, especially when it all feels futile. I stand before an empty tomb and all fear is gone – the answer to my prayer. Submitted by Rev. Angela Rotherham, Wayne UMC, Bartlett Memorial UMC and Many Waters DCOM.