Echo Prayers

By Arlo J. Nau

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 3, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450027601

Book preview

Contents

FIRST DAY

GOOD NIGHT

BIG/LITTLE THINGS

CONFESSION & FORGIVENESS

WORK & WORSHIP

THE TREE OF THE CROSS

THINGS ABOVE

SUN, MOON & STARS

MORNING PRAYER

LAMB OF GOD

WHAT IS MAN?

DREAMS

DIVINE REST

SCIENCE & FAITH

EDUCATION

KEEPERS OF THE NIGHT

MUSIC

MOUNTAINS

MEMORY

MARRIAGE

THE CITY

CAMPFIRE MEMORIES

MELCHIZEDEK

THE BIBLE

LAW and GOSPEL

WATER/BAPTISM

HEALTH

LANGUAGE

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE LETTERS OF PAUL

BEAUTIFUL WORDS

DIVINE EXTRAVAGANCE

THEODICY

UNITY IN DIVERSITY

OUR NATION’S LEADERS

TIME

ARTISTS

REST

SYMBIOSIS

TRAVELERS

SPRING

SUMMER

AUTUMN

WINTER

COME UNTO ME

GODLY GREED

AGING

FAILURE, Ph.D.

AFTER THE STORM

THE ANOMALIES OF RELIGIOUS FAITH

UNDERSTATED TRUTH

PREMONITIONS

DAILY BREAD

PARABLES

TECHNOLOGY

THE CHURCH

A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY-SIZED GOD

HEAVEN

WORSHIP

CHURCH BELLS

NEW YEAR

EPIPHANY

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR’S BIRTHDAY

THE TRANSFIGURATION

ST. VALENTINE’S DAY

PRESIDENTS’ DAY

ASH WEDNESDAY

PALM SUNDAY

MAUNDY THURSDAY

GOOD FRIDAY

EASTER BECAUSE CHRIST ROSE

ASCENSION DAY

PENTECOST

CINCO de MAYO

MOTHERS’ DAY

FATHERS’ DAY

MEMORIAL DAY

INDEPENDENCE DAY

LABOR DAY

RAMADAN

YOM KIPPUR

THANKSGIVING DAY

VETERANS’ DAY

ALL SAINTS DAY

CHRISTMAS

NEW YEAR’S EVE

DEDICATION

To the still unidentified friend who long ago

encouraged me to write my adaptations of

John Baillie’s Private Prayers.

INTRODUCTION

Honor to whom honor is due: In 1937, Dr. John Baillie, 1886-1960, internationally acclaimed theologian, Systematics professor at the University of Edinburgh, Chaplain to the Queen of Scotland, Moderator of the Church of Scotland, and one of the first Presidents of the World Council of Churches, published a small devotional book entitled A DIARY OF PRIVATE PRAYER. It soon became a classic, translated into 20 different languages. Along with millions of other readers, this booklet served me faithfully as my primary inspirational resource throughout my high school, college and seminary years.

Relish the devotional delicacy of one of Dr. Baillie’s prayers:

I praise Thee for the life that stirs within me:

I praise Thee for the bright and beautiful world

    into which I go:

I praise Thee for earth and sea and sky,

  for scudding cloud and singing bird:

I praise Thee for the work that Thou hast given me do:

I praise Thee for all that Thou hast given me to fill

  my leisure hours:

I praise Thee for my friends:

I praise Thee for music and books and good company

  and all pure pleasures.

O Thou who Thyself art everlasting Mercy, give me a

  tender heart today towards all—

      Those to whom the morning light brings less joy than it

            brings to me:

      Those in whom the pulse of life grows weak:

      Those who must lie abed through all the sunny hours:

      The blind, who are shut off from the light of day:

      The overworked, who have no joy of leisure:

      The unemployed, who have no joy of labour:

      The bereaved, whose hearts and homes are desolate:

      And grant Thy mercy on them all.*

What a delight!

By the time I entered the ordained ministry, however, Dr. Baillie’s prayers had become somewhat dated, replete with Old English terminology, yet without losing any of their charm or devotional potency. Since he had invited his readers’ additions and alterations by leaving a blank page after each day’s offering I gladly accepted the challenge to edit out the anachronisms and some of his more private and personal comments while simultaneously adapting the content to more public use. The ultimate result has been my echo prayers reflecting his original diary.

This volume of ECHO PRAYERS, then, attempts to image Dr. Baillie’s format, tone, poetic style, and theological perspective. My one month’s-worth of sixty-four morning and evening prayers, plus an additional set of twenty-six petitions offered under the title HOLIDAYS & HOLY DAYS, however, are designed to be more general, topical, and contemporary. His blank page ruse is continued, only now with you, the current reader, in mind.

Dr. Baillie’s book, most recently reprinted in 1996 by Simon & Schuster, is still inexpensively obtainable via the Internet. I encourage the reader to purchase a copy. Its literate qualities remain unsurpassed. Its deep, personal, spiritual intent, so evident even between the lines, is inescapable. Both he and I have labored at the pleasure of the Spirit. Please pray along with us.

Prayer, to me, consists primarily of relaxed, intimate conversation with my loving Lord. It is always respectful, but does occasionally permit some humor and even minor argument. The topics of my prayers naturally range widely and are drawn from a lifetime of experience and use.

God is listening.

Arlo J. Nau, Th.D.

Phoenix, AZ. USA

January, 2010

*Excerpt from Dr. Baillie’s morning prayer for the seventh day of the month,

A DIARY OF PRIVATE PRAYER, page 33.

INVOCATION

LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER

In the morning

And in the evening

By night or day

Awake or asleep

At home or abroad

In private and in public

In sickness and health

In sorrow and joy

On earth and in heaven

In time and in eternity

LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER

Amen

ECHO PRAYERS

FIRST DAY

The evening and the morning were the first day"

Genesis 1:5

Each day, O Creator, begins with the twitter of the morning’s first bird. What does it mean?

Are You calling us, O Lord?

Giving us the assurance of a new day?

Providing a resurgence of energy?

Supporting us with Your presence?

Opening our eyes to new potential for service?

Holding up our arms—like Moses’—with Your strength?

Washing away dullness and lethargy?

Brushing aside needless distraction?

We are ready, O God—

Lead us where You would have us go:

Remind us that helping others is serving You:

Teach us that the cereal of life is Love:

That the engine that powers our existence is Hope:

That the energy which fuels all Hope is Faith:

Teach us to see needs as opportunities:

Problems as challenges:

Successes as occasions for thanksgiving:

Lord, live in us, through us, and beside us

all this day.

O God, You blessed the first day of creation, organizing, stabilizing, brightening the prospects for life. But did you foresee the mess we creatures would make of it—waste, destruction, fighting over the remnants of Your bounty? Forgive us, Lord. Remind us that Jesus, Your Son, recreated everything when it began to dawn on that first day of the first Easter week, heralding again a whole new world of hope and joy. Now Your mercies are new every morning.

To You alone the praise. Amen.

Lord, teach us to pray

ECHO PRAYERS

GOOD NIGHT

Now the day is over,

Night is drawing nigh,

Shadows of the evening

Steal across the sky.

Jesus, give the weary

Calm and sweet repose:

With Thy tend’rest blessings

May my eyelids close.

The evening and the morning were the first day

Genesis 1:5

Thank you, God of peace, for starting the biblical day in the evening, when the pressure is off, when the breezes cool, and the stars come out to play. You gently close the eyelids of the sun and cause the moon to smile upon the earth. You make our rest a preparation for the next day’s opportunities instead of a collapse from yesterday’s responsibilities. Thank you, too, for making physical rest compulsory so we don’t kill ourselves attempting to beat the clock, or the competition. Relax us with the comforts of home and family. Quiet our minds with thoughts belonging to Your peace.

Darkness is another of Your gifts, O God. It narrows our vision to the close at hand, to things oft forgotten or taken for granted—the love of our children home from school, the safety afforded by street lights, the profound pleasure of knowing when the dinner dishes are done. Darkness, like black flowers, adds dimension to the bouquet of experience. Memories thrive. Dreams reify. Plans correlate. One awakes with confusing thoughts clarified. As Shakespeare said: "Sleep knits up the raveled sleeve of care." Or, as the Psalmist adds: "Tears may endure for a night, but joy returns with the morning."

We thank You, therefore, Lord, for such rhythms of life that help us maintain our balance. Awake or asleep, we praise You.