[Thought I’d share this with you: the pastoral prayer prayed at Knox Baptist Church where I preached this morning]…

Pastoral Prayer, Sunday, 22 April 2001

Thanks, for waking us to the sound of rain, the sweet fragrance of a wet garden, the dry earth drinking in replenishment. Your blessing poured out on our land…

Thank you for all the simple pleasures that we enjoy –

A mug of steaming coffee, warming cold hands; A warm bed, embracing our drowsy beings in sleep, reluctantly yielding us up to the new morning; Hot water streaming over our shoulders in the shower; The aroma of a hot dinner, promising savour to our mouths and satisfaction to our tummies; The laughter of children, squealing with delight over things that we have grown too sophisticated to enjoy; The security of home…

While we should be deliriously happy with all that we have, we carry anxieties in our hearts, things that preoccupy us and numb us to the pleasures we have – Its like holding a flower, and over time watching it wither.

What is the withered flower you are holding? Should we despair at its withering, or rejoice in the beauty and fragrance once enjoyed? Thank you for the beauty and fragrance we have enjoyed and remember…

We offer the withered stem back to its creator, We trust that new seasons bring new flowers We pray for those for whom life’s withered flowers seem overwhelming We pray for those whose lives seem to have never had flowers in bloom Thankyou God for all the pleasures we have experienced, the beautiful blooms we have held We trust you with our future, knowing that your faithfulness in the past is our guarantee of your faithfulness always.