I have a place in my morning routine when I talk to God out loud as I lie in bed. And last week as I prayed, I said “Help me to remember…” and the phrase instantly brought this memory of Janice to mind.

She served as minister of Sparta United Methodist Church for five years and one of her amazing gifts was her relationship with the children of the church. In the halls she instantly knelt down to be able to talk with them on their level. She knew their names. She knew what was going in their lives.

And on Sunday morning when she was giving the children’s sermon, they scrambled quickly up to the altar to sit with her. They participated, answered questions, asked some of their own, and then at the end Janice and the children developed a prayer ending. 

She would say “let’s pray” and some child would say “Dear God” and everyone, including Janice, would echo “Dear God.” Then she would continue with a short prayer and it too was an echo prayer and the children (and the congregation) would echo each phrase of hers.

Usually at some point near the end she would say “Help us to remember…” and I can still hear the lilt of her voice. The children would echo “Help us to remember” and she would go on with the prayer.

Well, last week as I said my prayer and happened to say those words again, I thought immediately of Janice and the lilt of her voice, and smiled in thankfulness that we had had her for those five years.

I also thought how profound for me and for the children it was to say fairly constantly “Help me to remember…” because it reinforced that despite my very good intentions I do forget and that it’s a good prayer to ask God to remind me. Plus it’s reassuring to know that God will do that, without recrimination, without judgment (I would think you would remember yourself), just lovingly remind me again of whatever stumbling block I have come up against once more.

Our minds are interesting–in their darting from year to year, in their collections of memories, and in their holding carefully those things that we will need again. And that too is a gift from God.

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Help me to be bright

and in the brilliance

to do good things…

Forgive us on this day

August 6

the deaths we wrought

in Japan

We celebrate those who survived

and now work for peace

help me join them.

Amen.

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—

I am one.

There are many who have lived before me.

I know only a few of them.

—

There are many who live now

and I know a few.

—

There are many who will live

after me

and I can only imagine them.

—

Help me work and live

so that the world

is here

for them.

Amen.

—

—–Ann Freeman Price

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Help me add actions to words.

And help me pray in new ways so I can discern

where words are most relevant

and where actions are most important. Amen.

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I come to you

and find you are

within me…

Help me live my days

making time to listen..

And as I see candles

in front of me,

help me see light.

Amen.

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I wonder if I could

search for spaces…

Spaces that speak

to me of you…

Spaces where I

can breathe deeply…

Spaces that are hallowed…

May the search begin.

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that blows through the

heat and cools…

help me to breathe

and feel that

same fresh wind

in the center

of myself.

Amen.

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afternoons

evenings

and nights

Help me to know

and feel

and believe

that you are with me

in all of times…

Shrink my fears

and in their absence

help me delight.

Amen.

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I pray in the silence.

Hear me.

Help me as I merge

the silence into the

noise of the day…

And then help me

merge back to silence

in the night.

Amen.

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and energy—

Help me fill my day

and make the spaces

balance out between

business and thought

serious and silly

mundane and above that

Amen.

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