It’s Palm Sunday weekend, and there’s a glorious blue sky outside my window this morning. Georgia has just issued a shelter-in-place order. Isn’t it funny that dystopian novels never mention how beautiful the weather is? This is simply not what I expected!

I hope this week’s prayers find you healthy and doing well. Senior year for some kids has ended with school being declared over for the year in many districts, including the one I live in. My kids’ school, however, is doing a good job with distance learning and my high schoolers are in “class” until May. I plan to continue the prayers (after our “spring break” next week) through May 15, our anticipated graduation date.

A note about today’s prayer: lots of Scripture, including Psalm 118, Romans 5 and 8, and Lamentations 3. The closing prayer is from a lovely little book written by James Barrow, Jr., chaplain at The Cloister, Sea Island, Georgia. A friend gave me the book and I’m unable to find a copy online. If I do I will share it because it’s one of the most wonderful prayer books I’ve ever come across. Let’s get started.

Father,

Thank You for another week in which we can know You better. We praise You this morning:

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless You from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God and He has made His light to shine upon us...
You are my God and I will give thanks to You;
You are my God and I will extol You.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD for He is good;
For His steadfast love endures forever.

In this uncertain time, LORD, we rest in the knowledge that Your love is steadfast and enduring.

Father, we know that You can use all circumstances for good and, in fact, You have often used anxious or trying times as forges in which You shape us to look more like You. It’s hard on us, Father, but it’s harder to see our children shaped this way. Thank You for the solid foundations that You’ve helped us build for our kids over the years. Let those good foundations stand in this storm.

And then again we pray for the results of faith that Paul discussed in Romans. First we know that it’s by faith in Jesus that we have access to grace and we rejoice in the glory of God. But more, we know these troubles can develop passionate patience, and that patience forges the tempered steel of the virtue of hope. Not only in us, but chiefly now we pray for this virtue of hope to be forged in our children.

Again, Paul wrote that You would supply all of our needs according to Your riches in glory with Jesus. Show our kids what their needs are, and don’t let them be discouraged for long. Help them to see that while some events like sports are cancelled, their hard work was not for nothing but still gives You glory. Help them see that other work and events can’t take place exactly as planned but that they can still be good. And that friendships can endure separation and still be true friendships.

We pray for the individual needs in our school’s community. [insert your community’s needs here]

We are so grateful for the big and little ways we can continue to support our seniors, through drive-by birthday parties and through technology like Zoom and Google Classroom and through conference calls and blogs.

These are heavy times. We pray for the individual needs of each senior and their family. [insert your kids’ names here]

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new ever morning, so great is Your faithfulness.

I close today with a portion of a prayer that a friend gave me, written by the Chaplain of The Cloister at Sea Island, Georgia:

O, how great is Your love for me! Your grace is beyond comprehension!

Revive me, O LORD, according to Your loving kindness so that I might seek Your face.

Forgive me, Holy Trinity, for my coldness of heart and blindness to Your will. 
Give me Your power and anoint me to speak Your word with boldness and truth. Let me be Your mouth-piece, speaking Your truth in love.

I will proclaim the goodness of Your name as long as I have breath. 
Let all the world know of Your wondrous deeds, let all the world know of Your perfect love, let everyone know that You alone are the LORD.

Great is Your love for Your people. No one can understand the depth of Your love. Praise be to my God and Savior, who delivers me from the bondage of sin and death.

Praise be the name of the LORD.

Amen.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Oh, the picture above really has nothing to do with anything except that I liked it. I took it a year ago yesterday on Spring Break in Guadeloupe…where we should have been headed tomorrow but for this stupid virus. A tout à l’heure, Guadeloupe!