Monday
Philippians 3:1-11; Psalm 145:1-2
Praise from All Creatures
by Ted Loder
Praise be to You, O Lord,
who spins shining stars across the wondrous heavens
and stretches out the seas,
who lifts the dawn into place
and sets boundaries for night,
who awes the earth with storms
and gentles it with green,
who gives everything a season
and breathes life and love into the dust of me.
Praise be to You.
Praise in all things,
for all things:
the soft slant of sunlight,
the sweat of battle,
a song in the wilderness,
the evening breeze,
the deep breath,
the tended wound,
mercy, quietness, a friend;
for the miracles of the daily,
the mysteries of the eternal.
Praise be to You.
Praise from all creatures,
laughers and list-makers,
wonders and worriers,
poets and plodders and prophets,
the wrinkled, the newborn,
the whale, and the worm,
from all, and from me.
Praise, praise be to You
for amazing grace.
QUESTION
Can God be “found” in nature? What are examples of things of “the flesh” that Paul “counted as loss” (Philippians 3:7-8)?
Do you praise God (Psalm 145:2) as often as you should?
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness, for Your salvation in Christ, for all of the blessings You pour out upon me! Help me, dear God, please, to be more faithful and effective in proclaiming You to others, especially those who may not know You!
Tuesday
Philippians 3:12-21; Luke 1:46-55
Praise Be to You for Life
by Ted Loder
Praise be to You, O Lord, for life
and for my intense desire to live;
praise be to You for the mystery of love;
praise be to You for this day
and another chance to live and love.
Thank You, Lord,
for friends who stake their claim in my heart,
for enemies who disturb my soul and bump my ego.
Thank You, Lord,
for those who attempt beauty
rather than curse ugliness,
for those who take stands
rather than take polls,
for those who risk being right
rather than pandering to be liked,
for those who do something
rather than talking about everything.
Lord, grant me grace, then
and a portion of Your spirit
that I may so live
as to give others cause
to be thankful for me,
thankful because I have not forgotten
how to hope,
how to laugh,
how to say, “I’m sorry,”
how to forgive,
how to bind up wounds,
how to dream,
how to cry,
how to pray,
how to love when it is hard.
Praise be to You, Lord, for life;
praise be to You for another chance to live.
QUESTION
Whom has God put into your life to enable your growth in following Christ? What goal was Paul “pressing on toward” (Philippians 3:14)? What inspired the Virgin Mary’s song (Luke 1:46-55) of praise and thanksgiving?
PRAYER
Thank You, holy and precious Father, for the challenges and opportunities in my life to grow in my relationship with Jesus Christ! Help me never to grumble or complain about “misfortunes,” but to see You and Your salvation in all circumstances!
Wednesday
Philippians 4:1-9; Psalm 100
I Praise You for What Is Yet to Be
by Ted Loder
Wondrous Worker of Wonders,
I praise You, not alone for what has been,
or for what is,
but for what is yet to be,
for You are gracious beyond all telling of it.
I praise You
that out of the turbulence of my life
a kingdom is coming,
is being shaped even now
out of the slivers of loving,
my bits of trusting,
my sprigs of hoping,
my tootles of laughing,
my drips of crying,
my smidges of worshiping;
that out of my songs and struggles,
out of my griefs and triumphs,
I am gathered up and saved,
for You are gracious beyond all telling of it.
I praise You
that You turn me loose
to go with You to the edge of now and maybe,
to welcome the new,
to see my possibilities,
to accept my limits,
and yet begin living to the limit
of passion and compassion
until, released by joy,
I uncurl to other people
and Your kingdom coming,
for You are gracious beyond all telling of it
QUESTION
What are some areas of your life where God is challenging and encouraging you to grow? What are some of the ways Paul suggests we can walk faithfully with God (Philippians 4:4-8)? Why is it important to remember and note that God made us (Psalm 100:3)?
PRAYER
Thank You, my glorious Redeemer, for making me so fearfully and wonderfully! Search me, O God, and know my heart! Test me and know my anxious thoughts! See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139).
Thursday
Philippians 4:8-13; 1 Chronicles 16:28-34
I Am So Thankful to Be Alive
by Ted Loder
Praise be to You
for holding me in the womb of mystery
through all the eons of creation until now
and raising me to life
in this time and place…
I am so thankful to be alive—
eyes in love with seeing,
ears in love with hearing,
heart in love with attending,
mind in love with connecting;
eager to miss no message of grace
in the ballet of beauty
or in the camp of struggle
of this incredible life;
attentive to all the clues of love,
daringly and outlandishly
scattered for me through Jesus’ life,
overturning habit and hate;
attentive to the dreams He renews,
the wounds He heals,
the promises He nails up
for me to step out on.
I am so thankful to be alive,
thankful for those times
when the rhythms of my life
catch the cadences of Your kingdom…
when the creep of courage
allows me to dare to serve the gifts
You have put in me…
thankful for the surge of determination to accept difficulty
not as an excuse for passivity,
but as a goad to creativity,
as the door to abundant life,
and the seed of peace the world cannot take away,
as it takes away so much else.
QUESTION
What are some ways that you might “miss” or overlook God and His wonder in your everyday life? What was Paul’s “secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” (Philippians 4:12)? Why is it important to give thanks and praise to God?
PRAYER
God of wonder and glory, Your creation is awesome! Thank You, Jesus, for Your saving sacrifice and fellowship! I thirst for Your
living water—help me to continue to thirst for You, for ways to serve You and to help build Your kingdom!
Friday
Philippians 4:14-23; Psalm 95:1-7
O God of Timelessness and Time
by Ted Loder
O God of timelessness
and time,
I thank You for my time
and for those things that are yet possible
and precious in it;
a word of forgiveness,
and sometimes a song,
for my breathing…my life.
Thank You
for the honesty which marks friends
and makes laughter;
for fierce gentleness
which dares to speak the truth in love…
Thank You
for justice
which repairs the devastation of poverty;
for liberty
which extends to the captives of violence;
for healing
which binds up the broken bodied and broken hearted;
for bread broken
for all the hungry of the earth;
for good news
of love which is stronger than death;
and for peace;
for my calling…my life.
Thank You
for Your praise in my heart;
for the undeniable awareness
that the need of You is the truth of me,
and Your presence with me is the truth of You,
which sets me free
for others,
for joy,
and for You;
for Your grace…my life…forever.
QUESTION
What are some of the things you should be thanking God for? Why was Paul grateful for the Philippians’ generosity (Philippians 4:17)? Why is it important to sing to and worship the Lord?
PRAYER
Thank You, Yahweh, my Lord and Savior, for this land and its freedoms which You have provided! Forgive us for forgetting You, for taking all that You do for granted. Lord God, please bless our country, Glenkirk Church, and our leaders; help them to lead in
ways which please You!
Sources:
Ted Loder’s prayer poems are from GUERRILLAS OF GRACE, Prayers for the Battle. Published by Augsburg Books, 1981 (www.augsburgfortress.org).
