Morning Prayers
Sunrise on the forest near Pitkin CO - my happy place (Photo by Linda Bobbitt)
A couple of weeks ago I got to spend a week at our property, a simple garage in the mountains with no electricity or running water, but the views are wonderful. I try to make the 4.5 hour drive each way at least once a year. This year I went twice, first with my mother and the second time with my son for a few days. When he left to return to work and “the real world”, I got to remain on retreat for the rest of the week. The time was not only restful but also an important spiritual re-set for me. As I prepare for the next chapter in my own life, I needed time and space to reflect on the past few years and slow down enough to allow God to speak into my soul with sighs too deep for words. I’ve found these kinds of personal retreats helpful especially at milestone times in my life. They are less of a vacation and more of a mini-sabbatical because they are both work and a break from my typical work. I need these breaks in order to feed my soul.
I’ve come to see these retreats as feasts for the soul. They allow me to explore new depths and heights in my relationship with God. But they are not enough to sustain me. I also need prayer as daily bread. If I want to be closer to God, I must make time to actually spend with God. For me, the best time is in the morning, preferably before I shower, make breakfast and get ready for the day. This is why I began a practice of morning prayer and meditation.
Originally I used prayers written by other people, but they never quite met me where I was. After getting over my anxiety about being able to pray in my own words, I simply pulled out my journal and wrote what was on my heart. I actually wrote two prayers - each at different times in my life to address whatever was stirring my soul at the time. By customizing my prayers and practices, I’ve found I’m better able to connect with God - probably because they are literally my own words. By using the same prayer each day, I spend less time trying to figure out what to say to God and more time simply allowing familiar words to rekindle my awareness of God’s presence in me. If the words go stale, I stop using them for a time. When I return, they stir my heart anew and I rejoice.
Below share the two morning prayers I’ve written along with the routine I aspire to and sometimes complete in the mornings. These prayers were written by me in collaboration with God. I simply opened my heart to God and told God I wanted to pray but wasn’t sure where to start. Holding a pen and blank paper, soon words came and I simply wrote them down. Typically words came in stanzas - sometimes they required tweaking or re-ordering so that they would hold together. Rather than simply print both prayers below, I’d like to share them one at a time and then use subsequent weeks to unpack and reflect upon each section. I don’t always go through the entire practice listed below, but I do usually do at least one of the morning prayers, and at least one of the spiritual practices.
Try praying these yourself and see how they feel. Are they comfortable for you? Do they connect with what your soul needs to say? If the answer is “no”, that is fine. These were written for me, not the world.
My hope is that these homespun prayers and the narrative accompanying them will inspire you to write your own prayer(s) and develop or re-visit your own spiritual routines so that they continue feeding your soul. If you do write your own prayers, I hope you will do so collaboratively with God.
Mourning Routine:
Lord, open my heart, soul and mind this morning and abide in me as I abide in you.
Confession & Forgiveness:
Daily Confession Holy God, I confess that I have fallen into the pit once again. I’ve focused too much on myself. Overwhelmed by eminent tasks or personal crisis, distracted by potential futures or snared by memories, I've lost sight of you, oh Lord. I am sorry!
Please forgive me. Forgive me my distractions. Forgive me for substituting my thoughts about you for actual time spent with you. Forgive me for being guided by my own understanding of your will and driven by my desire to be “successful” in my own eyes and the eyes of society, rather than trusting and surrendering to you. Forgive me for treating you as an object of devotion rather than a parent, companion, co-worker, teacher, partner, my beloved.
Lord, help me to once again put down my own agenda and trust you. Teach me to recognize your presence and to embrace our mutual relationship. Help me heed your direction. In each moment of the day, grant me boldness in following you and humility in leading others. Show me when to talk and when to listen. Show me when to teach others and when to learn from them.
Bring me back here before you, on my knees each day so that all my love and all my efforts glorify your name, not my own. May my will and actions be one with yours.
Allow me to be a unique pane of stained glass through which your light shines. When I speak, let it be your voice people hear. When I act, may it be an extension of your will. May my actions be the embodiment of the person you have made me to be. May I pour my heart and strength into your causes for your sake. May I trust you to join me to you for your glory and for the sake of the world you love. Amen
Spiritual Practices (Do as many as you feel nudged to do)
Do a brief reading from a devotional source and/or devotional Bible reading or listen to a prayer podcast, participate in morning prayers online, etc. (Anything spiritual from outside myself.)
Journal – reflect on devotion and thoughts on the new day if I feel called to do so.
Centering Prayer or other form of meditation – keep quiet and let God pray into me. (One or two 10 minute intervals using the Centering Prayer App)
Journal again if necessary to reflect on meditation or if God gives me something to write.
Morning Prayer:
Lord, I stand before you at the beginning of a new day. Thank you for bringing me here safely once again!
Help me release the thoughts of the past that hold me back, and liberate me from obsessing about potential futures which blind me from seeing you in the present moment. Meet me here and now. Help me focus on you first so the rest of the world comes into focus around you.
- Silence to let God make space in my mind and focus me on his presence -
Creation breaths with you and so do I. You breathe and my lungs are filled. I exhale and your trees inhale, giving them life and producing the oxygen for my next breath. With each breath your Spirit moves through me and I move within you. Nothing I can do can separate me from you.
- Silence to feel God breathing into me – mutual breathing- (Pay attention to each deep breath)
Thank you for your presence!
As we breath together, let your lens cover my perception like glasses so that I can see the world from your perspective: things near and far, past, present and future - all in relationship to you and your love, which pervades all dimensions of time and space.
- Silence with intentional openness to what God shows me - (Notice what comes to my attention in the here/now)
Thank you for the gift of your perspective! Now that I’ve soaked in your presence and put on your perspective, send me back into the world renewed for the sake of all the people and creatures whom you also love. Continue breathing through me so that I can bring your healing breath of love to your world with each action and every word I speak.
I look forward to your company today. You will lead me, walk beside me, and sometimes push me forward to join you in the next moment. As we journey together today, remind me of your presence often, keep me on your path and protect me from harm. AMEN
