PrayersThotsForTheJourney - First United Methodist Church of Stoughton, MA

Lord, I pause to thank you for bringing me to this new day and for another opportunity to experience life. I thank you for the physical blessings of eyesight that I can see the beauty of your natural world around me, for ears to hear its many songs, to be able to move and have being when I know there are so many who are not as fortunate because of their lack of these gifts. I thank you for the rain that falls watering the thirsty ground because water is such a precious resource and life can't exist without it. Thank you for the sun that shines bringing light and warmth to the earth especially on cold winter days when the temperature is below freezing and the winds bite with a bitter chill. Thank you for family and friends, their companionship and love and the knowledge that I'm not on this earthly journey alone. Thank you for work to do and freedoms to enjoy, but most of all, I thank you for your abiding love and the realization that I am a child of the King of Kings. I am royalty in a world that sees me as just ordinary. Thank you for your Word that is filled with your wonderful promises and the hope that they bring. You are so good, so generous and I feel so blessed because of what you do in my life. Praise the Name of the Lord. Let every fiber of my being praise Jesus continually.

Creator God,
Of late the thunderstorms have been rolling in waves bringing life giving rain to the parched earth. Trees and flowers drink in the precious liquid and are revived as they lift their wilting forms in gratitude. However fierce these storms may be with their strong winds, vivid powerful lightnings and booming thunder, the rain from them cools the hot earth and brings times of refreshment from the searing heat and humidity of the summer season. Though the relief is only temporary from the seemingly incessant heat, it is welcome. I'm reminded the storms can be extremely dangerous and that it's best to retreat to a safe place until the storm passes. Sometimes we must find a sheltering place until the danger passes and I'm reminded that You are that place in a world fraught with danger. I'm also reminded that times of testing can be like the summer storms. It's easy to succumb to the heat of trial by becoming frustrated, discouraged, depleted, yet in the midst of the life's storms, there are those moments when we are cooled and refreshed. Just as no storms makes deserts out of green landscapes, we need storms to grow in faith and quality. Thank You for this gentle reminder, Creator of Life and Maker of Storms.

Lord, in the silence of my heart, my unspoken words are carried on wingless sound yet you hear them for I am lifted up before You in courage and strength where once I was prostrate before You in brokenness and despondency. You call me "daughter" as I stand before You and I hear you say "Do not fear. Be anxious for nothing for I Am with you always." Strangely warmed by Your Presence, my anxious struggling is gone. Peace returns. Your love fills me bringing renewal, healing and a sense of wholeness once again. How can I thank you for Your marvelous grace? There are no words to express my gratitude, but in the silence of my grateful heart You need none for You hear my thoughts loud and clear. Your Spirit intercedes with utterances unheard with the human ear. You understand me better than I understand myself and you love me as no other can. Thank you, Lord.