Pray the Scripture - Jeremiah
This is a prayer project that a group I belong to has started recently. For those who have come here via the project I apologise for repeating myself - for anyone else - this is a weekly prayer and meditation based on a piece of scripture with the intention of finding how God is trying to speak to us or guide us in our lives. So if you have fifteen minutes or so to do a bit of reading and inwardly digesting...
Opening Prayer
Here I am Lord,
Listening
Speak to me
within my heart and soul.
I am listening.
Scripture
Jeremiah 15:16-19 (New King James Version)
Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,
As waters that fail?
The LORD Reassures Jeremiah
Therefore thus says the LORD:
“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall stand before Me;
If you take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
Reflection
When you called me I was intrigued; when you spoke to me I was captivated; when I felt you I became yours. You are all and everything to me. A consuming love that feeds my heart and soul, and directs my mind.
My thoughts are not my own. Your Will is mine. I shout your praises from the rooftops but no-one listens, I tell my good fortune to my friends but they turn away. Why do they not see through my eyes? Their ignorance is beyond my understanding. I am tormented by you; I am tormented by them. You send me to those I cannot bear to be with, and yet I cannot bear to be alone.
Is it envy that makes them this way? That cannot see the beauty in your words. Is it disbelief that makes me a scapegoat for their displeasure? Is love meant to be this hard, this painful, this joyless? What exactly do you want me to do? Am I bound to fail? Will failing mean losing you?
Would it be better if we had never met?
How could I have said that?
You are all I have. There is no going back to before. Your words are like honey; sweet, soothing, restoring my poor spirit, which is nothing without you.
I will live with my faults; I will live with theirs; trying to convince them of your mercy and goodness. I will find those who will listen, and bring them to you. I will be your word in the streets and houses of this place.
And I will return at the end of each day to the comfort of your heart and your arms.
Contemplation
‘Turn to me’
When you make ‘that’ connection with God - you know it.
It’s first love all over again; it is the Eureka moment of your life,
it all makes sense.
But then what do you do? Because like any Good News
you want to tell others; like anyone finding true love you want others to have what you have found;
like anyone who sees the truth you want others to see the lies.
But they don’t – not all of them. Suddenly, it is you who is the misfit; you who is upsetting the applecart;
you who is acting out of the ordinary.
And, it seems, God is not always there to back you up.
Faith is not easy; being a voice is not easy.
Take time now to think about a time when you felt your faith made you unpopular; when it would be have been easier to simply blend in; to go along with the crowd. Watch what happened from as many angles as possible. Try to see every side of the story; especially try to see God’s side. Discuss it with Him. If you gave in – don’t worry about it – think about how you may deal with a similar event in the future. If you kept to your beliefs, think about where that strength came from and give thanks for it.
This is all in the past so there is not need for regret—simply find a sign, a message that will help you today and thank God for it.
Closing Prayer
May the blessing of the Sacred Three
The Father who gave us the Word
The Son who is the Word
The Spirit who opens the Word within us
Be with us today and evermore.
Amen
wordinthehand2008
Opening Prayer
Here I am Lord,
Listening
Speak to me
within my heart and soul.
I am listening.
Scripture
Jeremiah 15:16-19 (New King James Version)
Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,
As waters that fail?
The LORD Reassures Jeremiah
Therefore thus says the LORD:
“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall stand before Me;
If you take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
Reflection
When you called me I was intrigued; when you spoke to me I was captivated; when I felt you I became yours. You are all and everything to me. A consuming love that feeds my heart and soul, and directs my mind.
My thoughts are not my own. Your Will is mine. I shout your praises from the rooftops but no-one listens, I tell my good fortune to my friends but they turn away. Why do they not see through my eyes? Their ignorance is beyond my understanding. I am tormented by you; I am tormented by them. You send me to those I cannot bear to be with, and yet I cannot bear to be alone.
Is it envy that makes them this way? That cannot see the beauty in your words. Is it disbelief that makes me a scapegoat for their displeasure? Is love meant to be this hard, this painful, this joyless? What exactly do you want me to do? Am I bound to fail? Will failing mean losing you?
Would it be better if we had never met?
How could I have said that?
You are all I have. There is no going back to before. Your words are like honey; sweet, soothing, restoring my poor spirit, which is nothing without you.
I will live with my faults; I will live with theirs; trying to convince them of your mercy and goodness. I will find those who will listen, and bring them to you. I will be your word in the streets and houses of this place.
And I will return at the end of each day to the comfort of your heart and your arms.
Contemplation
‘Turn to me’
When you make ‘that’ connection with God - you know it.
It’s first love all over again; it is the Eureka moment of your life,
it all makes sense.
But then what do you do? Because like any Good News
you want to tell others; like anyone finding true love you want others to have what you have found;
like anyone who sees the truth you want others to see the lies.
But they don’t – not all of them. Suddenly, it is you who is the misfit; you who is upsetting the applecart;
you who is acting out of the ordinary.
And, it seems, God is not always there to back you up.
Faith is not easy; being a voice is not easy.
Take time now to think about a time when you felt your faith made you unpopular; when it would be have been easier to simply blend in; to go along with the crowd. Watch what happened from as many angles as possible. Try to see every side of the story; especially try to see God’s side. Discuss it with Him. If you gave in – don’t worry about it – think about how you may deal with a similar event in the future. If you kept to your beliefs, think about where that strength came from and give thanks for it.
This is all in the past so there is not need for regret—simply find a sign, a message that will help you today and thank God for it.
Closing Prayer
May the blessing of the Sacred Three
The Father who gave us the Word
The Son who is the Word
The Spirit who opens the Word within us
Be with us today and evermore.
Amen
wordinthehand2008
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