THIRD WEEK OF LENT REFLECTION

 

Dear Lord, we are now in the holy season of Lent. We begin to realize anew that these are the days of salvation, these are the acceptable days. We know that we are all sinners. We know that sin destroys your life in us as a drought withers the leaves and chokes the life from the land, leaving an arid, dusty dessert. Help us to see, in our ordinary difficulties and duties, in the trials and temptations of every day, the best opportunity of making up for past infidelities. Every day we are so often reminded in field and wood, in sky and stream, of your own boundless generosity to us. Help us to realize that you are never outdone in generosity, and that the least thing we do for you will be rewarded, full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and flowing over. Then we shall see, in our own souls, how the desert can blossom, and the dry and wasted land can bring forth the rich, useful fruit that was expected of it from the beginning. Amen.

 

The Rural Life Prayer book

 

 

O God, deliver us from words and deeds that provoke discord, prejudice and hatred.
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O God, deliver us from suspicions and fears that stand in the way of reconciliation.
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O God, deliver us from believing and speaking lies about other peoples or nations.
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O God, deliver us from cruel indifference to the cries of the hungry and homeless.
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O God, deliver us from all that prevents us from fulfilling your promise of peace.
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Deliver us from our brokenness, we pray, O God, and by your grace

and healing presence deliver us to You.

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O Creating God, deliver us to still waters and green pastures.
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O Risen Christ, deliver us to the freedom and forgiveness we find in you.
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O Jesus, deliver us to the tough task of loving our enemies.
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O Servant of All, deliver us to joyful service in your name.
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O Holy Spirit, deliver us now and in the days to come, to the promise of a new heaven and a new earth.  Deliver us to the wholeness of justice and to the power of your peace.
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Closing Prayer

 

Charge our lives and our churches with the power of
your peace, O God. Overcome our fears and self-deceptions with the
promise of your presence. Make us signs of your generosity and justice.
Light us each day with hope, we pray, so that we may walk in your
truth and be love in your Name. 

 

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