Knots

Lord,

Please help me to see situations in the light that you want me to see them.

Help me to not mistake one thing for another simply out of convenience. 

Help me to see which decisions give You glory and to then carry out and live according to Your will.  Help me not to slip through the cracks of my mind that lead to my own will. 

When my tie myself all in knots because I am worried if I have done the right thing, help me to turn to You for answers.

Amen

Forgotten Ones

Lord,

Please help me to never forget the people whom the world views as little and worth forgetting.

Even when backed into a corner and given the choice between that which is simple, easy, and glorious in the eyes of the world, help me to remember that there are so many people who need nothing more a generous human contact.

When the weather beats down upon the world's forgotten ones, please help me to not act as the world does.  Not in this matter and in so many others.

Amen

Trampled Gems

Lord,

Let me not walk by someone who has been trampled underfoot

and mistake that person for what he or she truly is: my brother or sister in your love.

It is too easy to accidentally or somewhat purposely turn my eyes to things other than You.  When I do, I fail to notice the gems around me.  Let me never crush them, accidentally, purposely, or by sins of omission.

Amen

Seeing What's Hiding

Lord,

Help me to see the good that sometimes hides.  Give me eyes to see it, for it is so much easier to sink into sadness than to always look for the good in others and the good you have placed within me.  Help me to turn the leaves over to see it and be willing to stir up my mind to never settle for sadness when You mean for me to see something else.

Help me to remember that I am a sinner and never better than anyone else.

Help me to learn how to reach out, even when it hurts.  Help me to also respect other people's space.

Lord,

Purge from me all those things that keep me from clinging to You, trusting You, and seeing You in others.  Purge from me all those things that keep me from treating everyone as if they were You.

Help me to see that no one is a waste of time because everyone was created by You, and You seek everyone to choose to be near You.

Amen

Teach Me to Make Time

Lord,

When I am surrounded with too many tasks to complete, let me peek through to see You.

Bridge the gaps I have between what it takes to follow You and where I currently am, for I fall often.

Help me to understand your what it means to love.  Your fullness of love is such a mystery to me.

Help me to look deeper into people and into situations than just the surface.  So many times the heart of an issue or the heart of a person's pain is found at the very center.  Help me to make time to see it.

And when life gets prickly, as it always does from time to time, help me to embrace You and to embrace others.  Help me not to shout out, "Don't touch me!  You or I might get hurt."

Amen

Catch Me

Lord,

Catch me when I fall.

For I fall often.  Help me to learn from my failings.

But when I fall again, help me to always look to You for answers, strength, wisdom, and patience.

Lord,

Help me to stop to see those things and people around me that I would have otherwise overlooked.

And when temptation seeks me out, help me to fly away from it to cling to You.

Amen

False Weariness

Lord,

Please help my body to be calm, even as there is movement all around me.  And, if it be Your will that my body not be calm and continue jerking, them give me the patience, focus, and mental and physical stamina to function.

Let me see your Light, especially when I am tempted to see only the darkness around me.

Help me to have steady hands when the time is right for steady hands.

Lord,

Help me to stay awake today and to do your work.  Help me to see You all around me so that I am not tempted to focus on myself when I should be focused on doing your work for others.

Help me to look for You even when I don't immediately see You.

Help me to be your humble servant, Lord, for I am always so very tempted to be my own servant.  Sometimes I feel battered when I serve You.  Help me to see that this is nothing more than a temptation to turn from you and not true weariness.  It is an illusion that I must see for what it is.

Thank you for this day, my Lord and my God, lover of my soul.

Amen

Caffeine

Lord,

Help me to see both the positive and negative sides to things so that I might rejoice in the positive and plan for the plans B, C, and D that are sometimes needed when things don't go as planned.

Help me to stay awake and see You today since this is the first business day that I have to abstain from caffeine yet be on an increased dose of medication that makes me tired.

Help me to also notice those things and people who need an answered prayer.  Help me discern those things I am able to do to help others yet still enable me to take some time for myself. 

Help me to not over-extend myself or become anxious over life.  Help me to trust in You.

Amen

Open Eyes

Lord,

Help me keep my eyes open today.

Help me keep them open so that I can work.  Open so I can drive.  Open so I can enjoy the company of a friend.  Most importantly, though, open so I can see You.

Oh yes, open so that I can prepare for my sleep-deprived EEG tomorrow too!

Amen!

Distraction

Dear Lord,

Please help me to sleep even though I still see your colors everywhere.  I'm seeing your colors to the point of distraction.

Help me to see what I am supposed to see and then reflect upon seeing You in others.

Lord, 

Help me to always point to You, even when my knee-jerk reaction is to think that You are stripping me bare. 

Sometimes life seems like it doesn't make sense, but I need You to remind me that I must always point to You.

Amen

Reaching for You

Lord,

Help me to be steady today.  I ask for even handedness as I work and drive and speak (and take pictures).

Breathe on me, that I might let kindness flow through my hands and words and spirit.

Let me steal from St. Francis and ask that you make me an instrument of your peace.

For where there is peace, there is mercy.  Your mercy.

Let me see You, Lord.  I know You listen and hear.  Let me listen and hear what others say and not just what I think they are saying.  In listening to others, let me reach for you.  Let me reach for understanding.

Amen

You Are Near!

Lord,

Show me how to always be near you, even when it seems that I would be burned.

Lord,

Teach me how to see You all around me, especially when I want to keep my head down and forget to look up, to look around, to look to my sides, for You are near. 

You are near!

You are all around me, even in the parking lot. 

Your majesty inspires me.  Lord, teach me to always let it inspire me.

Lord,

Even when times look dark and dreadful, tap me on the shoulder and help me to see through my own cloudiness until I see You.

For it is only when I see You around me that I will strive to see You in others.

Amen