Reflection
How often do we worry about things unnecessarily?
We allow our imaginations to play out all sorts of negative scenarios.
“What if this happened?” “What if that happened?”
Often there is nothing we can do.
The best we can do is to hand our worries over to God and say “Thy will be done.”
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
Today’s Prayer
Preparation: Begin by stilling; then dedicating the time of prayer to God and asking God that all you think, feel and imagine are for the glory of God.
Gift: Ask for what you desire. Suggestion: To ask Jesus to help me pass my worries on to Him.
Setting: A Scripture reading to imagine you are in the scene.
Scripture
Matthew 8:23-27 WEB
When Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea,
so much that the boat was covered with the waves; but he was asleep.
The disciples came to him and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!”
He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
The men marvelled, saying,
“What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Conversation: Talk to Jesus in your own words as a friend
Final Prayer: End with a formal prayer such as the Lord’s Prayer/Our Father.
Today’s Music
Eternal Father, Strong to Save: sung by Praise and Harmony singers, written by William Whiting
Lyrics
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep,
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea!
O Christ, the Lord of hill and plain
O’er which our traffic runs amain,
by mountain pass or valley low,
Wherever Lord thy brethren go;
Protect them by Thy guiding hand
From every peril on the land.
O Spirit, Whom the Father send
To spread abroad the Firmament;
O wind of heaven, by Thy Might,
Save all who dare the eagle’s flight;
And keep them by Thy watchful care
From every peril in the air.
O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger’s hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe’er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee,
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.