A Prayer For Lent

As we enter this time of Lent, God may you draw near.

Come close, meet us in the most unlikely of places. Meet us in the most likely of places.

God of love—bring it to our lives, open our hearts to let love in and to let love pour out.

Open our hearts and our minds and our eyes and our ears and our whole beings to see the world differently.

Perhaps, we might have a brief moment when we see the world, all its people and the whole of creation as your Divine eyes see it—beloved, beautiful, good, holy, sacred.

May we believe this about ourselves too.

God of joy—surprise us with moments of joy that take our breath away, bring tears of gratitude to our eyes.

Moments that make our hearts skip a beat and our heads throw back in laughter.

Holy God, remind us that holy moments are all around us—in the dark and in the light, for you are the God of both the dark, the light, and the array of technicolor in between.

Train us O God, to pay attention to this beautiful, holy, hard world we live in—pay attention so we might see you in all that we do, in all those we meet, and in ourselves.

God of joy, find us here right where we are in a cloud drifting by, the warmth of the sun on our skin, the bright colors of fresh blooming flowers, the twinkle of stars against a black sky, the silver of the moon, sliding into fresh sheets.

God of joy—come near now.

Amen.