Upper Room Ministries
Write Your Own Psalm Prayer
TAKE SOME TIME to be still, and ask the Spirit of God where you are on the journey of faith. Perhaps today feels like a mountaintop time. Maybe concern for a sick family member or friend is uppermost in your mind. Maybe some situation of injustice disturbs you, loss of a friend or job saddens you, or being let down by a person or organization has angered you. All of these are valid emotional responses and need to be prayed.
Begin by jotting down any words or phrases that come to mind as you consider the situation. In the case of a sick family member, you might include words and phrases like not fair, tears, unresolved issues, gratitude for (or dissatisfaction with) a physician, blame, helplessness, waiting, crying out, overwhelming fear, and longing for healing.
Choose a psalm that relates in some way to your need and allow it to become a template for your prayer. After following a few verses, you may find that your psalm takes off on its own, leaving behind the structure of the biblical psalm you started with.
- Elizabeth J. Canham
Finding Your Voice in the Psalms
From page 18 of Finding Your Voice in the Psalms: An Invitation to Honest Prayer by Elizabeth J. Canham. Copyright © 2013 by Elizabeth J. Canham. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionTry going through today’s exercise with a Psalm. Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureAnd not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5, NRSV
This Week: pray for those recovering from addiction. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
Bernardino of Siena (May 20).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Prayer for an Unbelieving Child
Father God, thank you for your unconditional love
for each of your children.
I pray today especially for my child
who says he doesn’t believe in you.
Lord, help my child struggling with cynicism and despair.
I believe that doubt is part of the faith journey.
Please send a sensitive soul to encourage my child–
someone who will say words to gently point
this one I love so much toward you.
Loving God, I lift up __________ to you.
Though it is difficult, I release my child to you,
trusting you to continue to work in his life.
Help me to let go and trust
that the seeds of faith I helped to plant will take root
and that my child will grow in the sunlight of your love.
Thank you, dear God, for hearing and acting.
I am grateful that you love this child
much more than I ever could,
and that though I must let go, you never will. Amen.
- Mary Lou Redding
Prayers for Life’s Ordinary & Extraordinary Moments
From page 17 of Prayers for Life’s Ordinary and Extraordinary Moments,, compiled and edited by Mary Lou Redding. Copyright © 2012 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionPray today’s prayer. Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureTherefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2, NRSV
This Week: pray for those recovering from addiction. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
Bernardino of Siena (May 20).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
The Art of Obedience
In her book Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, Madeleine L’Engle writes about Mary, the mother of Jesus – a woman who, like Harriet Powers [an emancipated slave and quiltmaker], knew what it meant to proclaim the good news with the creative means she had at hand. For Mary, proclamation came not only in the form of a song that we have come to know as the Magnificat; it also came in her own being, in giving her own self, her own body, to bear God into the world. …
In the creative process, being obedient to the work, as L’Engle describes, calls us to trust that the work knows more than we ourselves know. Exerting too much control over the process can damage the work and us as well. Artful obedience requires intention and discernment. It requires attention to the demands of the work, to its rhythms and needs, and to the mystery that lies at its heart.
-Jan L. Richardson
In the Sanctuary of Women
From pages 252-253 of In the Sanctuary of Women: A Companion for Reflection & Prayer by Jan L. Richardson. Copyright © 2010 by Jan L. Richardson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionWhat role does obedience play in your faith formation? Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureOut of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
Psalm 8:2, NRSV
This Week: pray for those recovering from addiction. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
Bernardino of Siena (May 20).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Never-Ending Circles
SOMETIMES, these years, I dream:
Let the stitchers piece a million quilts
for all the children of the earth,
who can watch the patterned magic from beneath a wooden frame.
Sweeps of simple muslin
would become golden canopies
where a child from any land could see
a galaxy of buttercups
where a filigree of stitches would create
small parades of lambs and lions,
dove-wing silhouettes,
and circles of never-ending circles
with a pansy in each one.
A whold world could be created
on the underside of quilts.
—Cecily Jones, “The Underside of Quilts”
-Weavings, May/June/July 2013
From “The Underside of Quilts” by Cecily Jones, SL, page 12 in Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, May/June/July 2013. Copyright © 2013 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionWhat does today’s poem say to you? Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureLORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
Psalm 8:1, NRSV
This Week: pray for those recovering from addiction. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
Bernardino of Siena (May 20).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
A Holy Calling
OUR HOLY CALLING [asks us] to live with an open-handed, open-hearted generosity and abandon, holding tightly to that which comes from God and willingly letting everything else go.
–Martha Highsmith, Disciplines 2012
From The Upper Room Disciplines 2012: A Book of Daily Devotions. Copyright © 2011 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book. Or join the conversation at http://books.upperroom.org/blog/.
Today’s QuestionDescribe God’s calling for your life. Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureDoes not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?
Proverbs 8:1, NRSV
This Week: pray for those recovering from addiction. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
Bernardino of Siena (May 20).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
The Gift of Each Day
OUR LEFT-BRAIN DOMINANT culture, always in a hurry, perpetuates the modern perception of insufficient time. Instead of living in sync with nature’s slower rhythms, we measure time in minutes and seconds, burning the midnight oil rather than sleeping under the light of the moon. We worry things will fall apart should we slow down. …
By hurrying, we get ahead of ourselves and begin to live into the worries and “”what ifs”" of tomorrow. However, the here and now remains all we have with which to make something beautiful of our life for God. Each sterling moment presents the raw material of our days. If we miss the present moment by rushing through the day, we cannot recapture it. The gift of each day is often squandered in a hurry.
- Karla M. Kincannon
Creativity and Divine Surprise
From pages 84-85 of Creativity and Divine Surprise: Finding the Place of Your Resurrection by Karla M. Kincannon. Copyright © 2005 by Karla M. Kincannon. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionDo you find it easy or difficult to slow down? Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureBut the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
John 14:26, NRSV
This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John the Silent. (May 13).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Waiting
WAITING HAS YET another rhythm. This is the rhythm of the duration of the process, a journey which has a beginning, middle, and end. In each of our lives, God is gestated and born over and over again. And each time there is a birthing, there has been a journeying process, an inner pilgrimage with a map all its own. … Not only is the waiting different at the start of a journey than at the end, but the identity of the pilgrim – the way we view ourselves and what we are about – changes along with the shifting landscapes. …
The waiting can be very hard. In part, this is because the waiting is for<.em> something, not simply an end in itself. What is hidden wants to come to light. What is gestating wants to be born. And we press forward in anticipation, longing to know, to touch, to hold, to see, to name.
In the classic spirituality of Ignatius Loyola, this longing – the desire of the human heart – is seen as both a prerequisite for and the central dynamic of the life in God. In Ignatius’s view it is our deepest desires that point us toward the ultimate object of our longings – toward God and the fulfillment of our hearts. - Weavings, Vol. II, no. 1 (Jan/February 1987) From Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, January/February 1987. Copyright © 1987 The Upper Room, pages 20-22. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book. What part does waiting play in your spiritual growth? Share your thoughts. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below. Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org. This week we remember: (Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library) Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
John 14:16, NRSV
John the Silent. (May 13).
Waiting
WAITING HAS YET another rhythm. This is the rhythm of the duration of the process, a journey which has a beginning, middle, and end. In each of our lives, God is gestated and born over and over again. And each time there is a birthing, there has been a journeying process, an inner pilgrimage with a map all its own. … Not only is the waiting different at the start of a journey than at the end, but the identity of the pilgrim – the way we view ourselves and what we are about – changes along with the shifting landscapes. …
The waiting can be very hard. In part, this is because the waiting is for<.em> something, not simply an end in itself. What is hidden wants to come to light. What is gestating wants to be born. And we press forward in anticipation, longing to know, to touch, to hold, to see, to name.
In the classic spirituality of Ignatius Loyola, this longing – the desire of the human heart – is seen as both a prerequisite for and the central dynamic of the life in God. In Ignatius’s view it is our deepest desires that point us toward the ultimate object of our longings – toward God and the fulfillment of our hearts. - Weavings, Vol. II, no. 1 (Jan/February 1987) From Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, January/February 1987. Copyright © 1987 The Upper Room, pages 20-22. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book. What part does waiting play in your spiritual growth? Share your thoughts. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below. Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org. This week we remember: (Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library) Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
John 14:16, NRSV
John the Silent. (May 13).
Lord, Make Us Like the Wind
MAKE US LIKE THE WIND – ever-moving and ever moving others. And with joy we will dance with the leaves. In submission we will linger in the shade, cooling the skin of those scorched by the sun’s heat. In awe we will pause and be still enough to hover over creation, admiring your world and waiting for your command. And when you move us, we will fly with more strength, reminding people that you are present even in times when you may seem invisible. Breathe into our souls, Lord, and make us like the wind, like your Holy Spirit – in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
–Ciona D. Rouse
- Edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua
Africana Worship Book, Year A
From page 31 of The Africana Worship Book: Year A, edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua. Copyright © 2006 by Discipleship Resources. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionPray today’s prayer. Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureBut Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.”
Acts 2:14, NRSV
This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John the Silent. (May 13).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Love God and Neighbor
JESUS COMMANDS US to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. I understand now the best way to do that is by listening. When we stop talking, arguing, and judging, we begin to hear. We hear God’s voice of love for us, and can only respond in love. It has become clear to me, and, hopefully, to those students: listening is the first step towards peace in our world.
- Weavings, May/June/July 2013
From “Beads of Prayer, Beads of Peace” by Kristen E. Vincent, in Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, May/June/July 2013 (theme: Diversity). Copyright © 2013 by The Upper Room. Used by permission. [NOTE: Watch for Kristen E. Vincent's book A Bead and a Prayer: A Beginner's Guide to Protestant Prayer Beads, coming from Upper Room Books in August. You can preorder at Amazon.com.] http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionDo you use a prayer practice that is similar to that of another religion? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture…it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ–if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:16-17, NRSV
This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John the Silent. (May 13).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
A Blessing
MAY YOU SEE the glory of God in sun and sky;
may you hear the Creator’s song in bird and breeze;
and may the grace of Christ’s Spirit course through you,
body and soul.
—Sam Hamilton-Poore, Earth Gospel
- Sam Hamilton-Poore
Earth Gospel
From page 33 of Earth Gospel: A Guide to Prayer for God’s Creation by Sam Hamilton-Poore. Copyright © 2008 by Sam Hamilton-Poore. All rights reserved. used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionSay today’s blessing for yourself and for someone else. Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureFor all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
Romans 8:14, NRSV
This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John the Silent. (May 13).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
The Spiritual Life
JESUS’ LIFE didn’t go well. He didn’t reach his earning potential. He didn’t have the respect of his colleagues. His friends weren’t loyal. His life wasn’t long. He didn’t meet his soul mate. And he wasn’t understood by his mother. Yet I think I deserve all those things because I am spiritual.
—Hugh Prather, quoted in Secrets of a Good Life
- Secrets of a Good Life
From Spiritual Notes to Myself, page 7, by Hugh Prather; found on page 108 of Secrets of a Good Life As Told by Saints and Sinners, compiled and introduced by Kathleen Stephens. Copyright © 2005 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionWhat does today’s excerpt say to you? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture2:12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
Acts 2:12, NRSV
This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John the Silent. (May 13).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
The Shepherd’s Voice
IMAGINE A WATERING HOLE in a primitive place where nomadic shepherds gather to water their flocks. The shepherds come from the hillsides with their sheep, and the flocks mingle together. From our vantage point it is impossible to tell one from another. The shepherds enjoy this rare moment of fellowship, telling stories, sharing food and drink. Finally, the time comes to depart. A shepherd stands, takes his staff in hand, and speaks. He speaks a word, or perhaps he speaks the names he has given to the individual sheep. The sheep that belong to the shepherd cock their heads to one side and begin to move out and away from the others and follow the familiar voice.
Jesus paints a similar picture in the Gospel of John (chapter 10, verses 1-10). The shepherd calls the sheep by name, and the shepherd leads them out. The sheep follow because they know the shepherd’s voice. When I read this passage, I always ask, “How will they know the shepherd’s voice?” And how will we know the Shepherd’s voice? How will we discern the voice of the Good Shepeherd from all the other voices that threaten to drown out Jesus’ voice? …
Gentle Shepherd, in moments of quiet and stillness we hear you call our name and prepare to follolw where you lead. Amen.
- Ken Edwards
Disciplines 2014
From “The Shepherd’s Voice,” readings for May 5-11, 2014 by Ken Edwards, in The Upper Room Disciplines 2014: A Book of Daily Devotions. Copyright © 2013 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
“http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book. Or join the conversation at http://books.upperroom.org/blog/.
Pray today’s prayer. Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureWhen the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
Acts 2:1-3, NRSV
This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John the Silent. (May 13).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
To Face the New Day
HAVING LIVED WITH HIV for nearly two decades, I have had my share of struggles: a bout with pneumonia, loss of weight and muscle mass, extreme fatigue, depression, and losing nearly 3,000 of my friends to HIV/AIDS.
On my good days, I greet the morning with a smile, give thanks to God for another beautiful day, and go on living life to its fullest.
But the bad days make it hard to accept living with AIDS. On those days I start with a simple prayer: “God, you know how hard it is for me today. I need your help.” As soon as I feel God’s arms around me, I remember Psalm 23. Then I am able to climb out of bed singing my favorite hymn, “Then sings my soul, … how great thou art!” …
God, let me feel your loving arms holding me today. And make that so for all those who suffer. Amen.
- Dave Daniels
Prayers for Encouragement
From “The Good and the Bad,”by Dave Daniels, in Prayers for Encouragement: Hope for Persons Living with HIV and AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis, and Other Serious Diseases. Copyright © 2007 by Upper Room Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
“http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Share your prayers for people living with serious diseases like HIV, AIDS, cancer, malaria, tuberculosis, and others. Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Revelation 17:25-26, NRSV
This Week: pray for single mothers. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John of Avila. (May 10).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
My Opportunity
“YOU DON’T KNOW ME, CHELSEY,” my friend said with tears running down her face. In the school library, she opened up to me and told me that her stepfather was being mean to her.
I knew that something bad had been happening in her home life, something that had broken her heart; but she had held in all her feelings and appeared to be fine on the outside. I was shocked. I didn’t feel that my relationship with God was strong enough to offer more than a hug and my prayers, but I did pray for her. Later, I wrote down Psalm 13 and tried to relate it to her life I gave the note to her, hoping it would help.
Looking back, I regret that I didn’t do more to help her. But I know that God brought her into my life for a reason and that I could do my part by praying. I believe that God let me hear part of her story so I could share a bit of my faith with her.”
- Chelsey Smith, age 16
devozine
From devozine, the devotional lifestyle magazine for teens, May/June 2013. Copyright © 2013 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission. For more information, see www.devozine.org. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionDo you know someone who is in a difficult situation and needs help? How might you share your faith with this person while being sensitive to that person’s needs? Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureThe glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 17:22-23, NRSV
This Week: pray for single mothers. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John of Avila. (May 10).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Surrender
SURRENDER BEGINS with a deliberate and definite decision to hand our will and life over to God. It continues as a daily process during which we seek (and sometimes struggle) to find and do God’s will. Rather than turning us into passive spectators of life, surrender empowers us to live more responsibly and creatively than ever before.
- Trevor Hudson
One Day at a Time: Discovering the Freedom of 12-Step Spirituality
From p. 31 of One Day at a Time: Discovering the Freedom of 12-Step Spirituality by Trevor Hudson. Copyright (c) 2007 by Trevor Hudson. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionHow do you describe surrender in your spiritual journey? Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureThe one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Revelation 22:20, NRSV
This Week: pray for single mothers. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John of Avila. (May 10).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Plant Me in Righteousness
O GOD, I SURRENDER TO YOU THE HABITS and sins that, like frost, chill my soul and cause your life-giving energy to cease its flow in me. Uproot me from the weed patches of evil wherein I have chosen to sink my roots. Plant me instead in your field of righteousness.
- Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job
A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God
From A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, by Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job Copyright (c) 2003 by the authors. Published by Upper Room Books(R). All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionPray today’s prayer. Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureI am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Revelation 22:13, NRSV
This Week: pray for single mothers. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John of Avila. (May 10).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
A Response to Suffering
CAREGIVING is a deeply ingrained human response to suffering. We want to ease pain, to restore calm and peace to those in need. But caregiving takes a toll. . . . It is hard to listen to others when the pains and troubles of our own lives are clamoring for attention.
But if we learn to listen to our own needs and wants, that listening can free us to learn to become truly present to the inner deep and fragile beauty of those under our care. Then even the most mundane and repetitive caregiving tasks can become a means for us to grow.
- Henri Nouwen
A Spirituality of Caregiving
From pages 26-27 of A Spirituality of Caregiving by Henri J. M. Nouwen, edited by John S. Mogabgab. Copyright © 2011 by The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionIs there something you can do to aid a caregiver today? Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureLight dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
Psalm 92:11, NRSV
This Week: pray for single mothers. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John of Avila. (May 10).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Return to Prayer
WHAT WOULD MY LIFE be like if I just stopped praying altogether? I mean, what if God promised me that things would stay the same regardless of whether I prayed or not: would I still continue to pray? That’s a hard question. But I’ve thought about it because on a whole other level I’m a little curious about why some of us feel compelled to pray, even when our scales of belief are tipped toward the negative.
But even with a sporadic prayer life, I can’t imagine a life without prayer, without some effort to reach for God with all the cares and worries I drag with me wherever I go, and without some effort to invite God to speak to me in the times when I am sensible enough to just be quiet. Plus there’s a side of me that doesn’t really know how to express my love for God without prayer in my life. I’m not sure when or how I started feeling this way, but somewhere along the line, I’ve discovered that when I do pray, I am reminded of who God is and who I am. It’s hard to pray for anything without at some point naming God as one who is capable of all things.
- Enuma Okoro
Reluctant Pilgrim
From page 95 of Reluctant Pilgrim: A Moody, Somehwat Self-Indulgent Introvert’s Search for Spiritual Community. Copyright © 2010 by Enuma Okoro. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s QuestionWhen have you stopped praying? What made you return to prayer? Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureThe LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
Psalm 92:1, NRSV
This Week: pray for single mothers. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John of Avila. (May 10).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Helping Others Grow
FOR YEARS my “bucket list” included enrolling in the Master Gardener program supported by Purdue University in my home state of Indiana. Not until I paid my registration fee, bought the necessary tools, and attended my first meeting did I learn the depth of the curriculum.
This serious business involved much more than trading tips on where to plant perennials or how to eradicate beetles. To earn my “badge” as a Master Gardener, I would have to study the contents of a thick 3-ring binder, agree to apply my new knowledge not just to my own backyard but also to a public green space, and abide by the group’s mission statement. The wording of the latter surprised me. The statement didn’t ask me to help others grow plants; instead, it asked me to “help others grow.” …
I have often heard sermlons that use gardening as a metaphor for propagating our faith. …
As followers of Christ we study God’s word and apply it in our everyday lives. But our responsibility doesn’t stop there. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we assume an obligation to pass our faith on to others. We accept as our mission the charge “to help others grow.”
- Holly G. Miller
Disciplines 2013
From the reading for April 6 by Holly G. Miller, page 122 of The Upper Room Disciplines 2013: A Book of Daily Devotions. Copyright © 2012 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Disciplines 2013 is only $4.00 now—a real bargain. Order your copy today.
Today’s QuestionWhat does your “bucket list” include? How can you help others grow?
Been intending to dig deeper into the rich soil of God’s word? Share your thoughts.
Today’s ScriptureThey said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:11, NRSV
This Week: pray for single mothers. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.
Did You Know?Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.
Saints, Inc.:This week we remember:
John of Avila. (May 10).
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2013, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
 | Sharing the Light of Christ since 1884 |