FORTY DAYS OF POETRY, PRAYERS, AND PENS | WEEK ONE
Welcome to this Plymouth Community Lenten Project with a goal of writing 40 prayers in 40 days. Each week during Lent we will circulate a week’s worth of prayer “prompts” and we hope that you will use these as a springboard to write your own personal prayers.
The entry for each day includes a selection of poetry from a hymn, a scriptural reference, and a prayer prompt. Spend some time with each of these sources of inspiration, and then write a prayer.
This project is intended to be an individual project – something that you do on your own time and at your own pace, under no obligation to share with others. However, if you would like to continue the conversation about prayer, you are welcome to attend the discussion on Sunday mornings at 9:45 am at Plymouth.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 – ASH WEDNESDAY
Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ (441) by Frank von Christierson
“Eternal Spirit of the living Christ,
I know not how to ask or what to say;
I only know my need, as deep as life,
and only you can teach me how to pray.”
Matthew 21:21-22 – “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”
Luke 11:1 – “He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’”
No matter how much we want to pray, we cannot pray without God’s help. So, on this first day of Lent, get out your pen and paper and tell God that you want to write 40 prayers in the next 40 days – and then ask for God’s help.
THURSDAY, MARCH 3
I Sing the Mighty Power of God (57) by Isaac Watts
“O how your wonders are displayed
where e’er I turn my eye:
if I survey the ground I tread
or gaze upon the sky!”
Genesis 1:31 - God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
When we look without seeing, we cheat ourselves out of the beauty and variety of God’s creation. Write a prayer asking God to help you see with understanding, and to enliven each of your senses.
FRIDAY, MARCH 4
Bless Now, O God, The Journey (485) by Sylvia Dunstan
“Bless now, O God, the journey,
that all your people make,
the path through noise and silence,
the way of give and take.”
1 Corinthians 12:24b-26 - But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
Churches are complicated places. Sooner or later, all of us will be hurt by the church, and sooner or later we will hurt someone in our church. Write a prayer asking God for help to be a good listener, a gentle speaker, and a forgiving friend.
SATURDAY, MARCH 5
May the Mind of Christ my Savior (450) by Kate Barclay Wilkinson
“May the mind of Christ my savior,
live in me from day to day,
by his love and power guiding
all I do or say.”
John 15:9-11 - As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
Jesus set a high bar for us every day he lived. He saw what needed to be done and he did it. He knew what needed to be said and he said it. He knew what life meant and he live it fully. Pray for help in following his example.
SUNDAY, MARCH 6
Choose a congregational song from among the ones sung on Sunday morning. Select a stanza or a phrase that resonates with you, and let it guide you into a prayer.
All hymn texts are selected from Plymouth’s hymnal Hymns of Truth and Light. Copyright information for each text may be found on the indicated page. Scripture is taken from the New Revised Standard Version.