Loving Father,
I come into the stillness and quietness of your Presence to begin the day with you,
so that I may take with me a quiet serenity which will last me throughout this day's life.
I have come to find WISDOM so that I may not make any foolish mistakes.
I have come to find PEACE so that nothing may worry or upset me.
I have come to find LOVE so that nothing make make me bad-tempered, bitter or unkind.
I have come to begin the day with you, continue it with you, and end it with you,
so that it may be a day in which there is nothing to regret.
Hear this my morning prayer, through Christ, my Lord and Saviour, amen.
[Lois Guinan Browne]
I come into the stillness and quietness of your Presence to begin the day with you,
so that I may take with me a quiet serenity which will last me throughout this day's life.
I have come to find WISDOM so that I may not make any foolish mistakes.
I have come to find PEACE so that nothing may worry or upset me.
I have come to find LOVE so that nothing make make me bad-tempered, bitter or unkind.
I have come to begin the day with you, continue it with you, and end it with you,
so that it may be a day in which there is nothing to regret.
Hear this my morning prayer, through Christ, my Lord and Saviour, amen.
[Lois Guinan Browne]
Quiet Day of Prayer Herolds Bay
Be still and rest in the Lord, wait for him and patiently lean yourself upon Him. [Psalm 37:7]
WISDOM:
"Forsake not wisdom, and she will keep, defend, and protect you; love her, and she will guard you. Prize wisdom highly and exalt her, and she will exalt and promote you; she will bring you to honor when you embrace her. She shall give to your head a wreath of gracefulness, a crown of beauty and glory will she deliver to you. When you walk, your steps shall not be hampered, your path will be clear and open, and when you run, you shall not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, and do not let go, for she is your life. Keep my words in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh." [from Proverbs 4]
PEACE:
"Do not fret or have anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your wants known to God. And God's peace shall be yours ..." [Philippians 4:6]
LOVE:
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us ... And we know (understand, recognize and are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe and put faith in and rely on the love God cherishes for us. God is love ... We love Him, because He first loved us ..." [from 1 John 10-19]
"Forsake not wisdom, and she will keep, defend, and protect you; love her, and she will guard you. Prize wisdom highly and exalt her, and she will exalt and promote you; she will bring you to honor when you embrace her. She shall give to your head a wreath of gracefulness, a crown of beauty and glory will she deliver to you. When you walk, your steps shall not be hampered, your path will be clear and open, and when you run, you shall not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, and do not let go, for she is your life. Keep my words in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh." [from Proverbs 4]
PEACE:
"Do not fret or have anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your wants known to God. And God's peace shall be yours ..." [Philippians 4:6]
LOVE:
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us ... And we know (understand, recognize and are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe and put faith in and rely on the love God cherishes for us. God is love ... We love Him, because He first loved us ..." [from 1 John 10-19]
I recently spent a Quiet Day of Prayer at Herold's Bay, near George. The day started at the little church which is located across the road from the sea and appropriately called Stella Maris (Star of the Sea). There is a notice that welcomes you as you enter: "You have come into this House of God. Whoever you are, He welcomes you, with your joys and sorrows, your hopes and disappointments. Please respect this place and enjoy its silence. If you are a believer, come and pray. If you are searching, take time to think and reflect. If you are in doubt, ask for light. If you are in pain, ask for courage and strength. If you are joyful, give thanks."
After reading the handout and scripture references given for the day's reflection, I eagerly started my walk up to the wooden cross at the top of the hill. I have only been there once before, around Easter time with a dear friend. As we got to the foot of the cross, we stopped to place our hands on it and pray, and then noticed that it was exactly 3pm on a Friday! I wondered how God was going to speak to me today, and I determined to be alert and watchful for the different messages that I might receive. En route up, I encountered a lady who was part of our group, and she gave me a warm hug and whispered "Thank you" into my ear. I wondered what I had done to be blessed with such an unexpected and loving hug!
Then it was time to make my way back down the hill. As I re-entered the narrow path leading down the hill there was a praying mantis sitting in the middle of the pathway with its little hands raised in prayer, as if to applaud my time spent in prayer! En route down I passed a small shrine with a photograph of a young lady whose ashes were buried there. A reminder that one day we must leave everything behind, so don’t take life so seriously. Keep your primary focus on things godly and eternal, and not on temporary pleasures and pains, highs and lows, successes and failures. This was echoed in a message on a noticeboard at the bottom: “He who makes no mistakes, never makes anything. Courage germinates faith. And the converse is also true: Faith germinates courage. May we walk the path of life with courage and faith. And may we know the love of God as per the beautiful prayer of St Paul:
It was an overcast day. As I neared the foot of the cross, the sky opened up and the sun broke through, right behind the cross, like a blessing of sun light / the Son's light. On my previous visit, somebody had written some words on the ground which carried great meaning to me at the time. So I knelt down and with some difficulty scratched the words "God is our refuge" into the hard earth, hoping that they would be a meaningful message to later visitors. I went and sat at the edge of the cliffs with large ocean waves crashing beneath, and allowed the stillness and peace of God to saturate my soul. "Be still and rest in the Lord, wait for him and patiently lean yourself upon Him. [Psalm 37:7] As we manage to let go of all the worldly things that consume our hearts and minds, we enter the peace of God that is beyond this world.
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