Preparation for A Every Season

O God,
I find myself at the beginning of another day.
I do not know what it will bring.
Please help me to be ready for whatever it may be.

If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely.
If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly.
If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently.
If I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly.

I pray just for today, for these twenty-four hours,
for the ability to cooperate with others according to the way Jesus taught us to live.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
May these words that he taught us become more than words.

Please free my thinking and feelings and the thinking and feelings of others,
from all forms of self-will, self-centeredness, dishonesty, and deception.
Along with my brothers and sisters,
I need this freedom to make my choices today according to your desires.
Send your Spirit to inspire me in time of doubt and indecision so that, together, we can walk along your path.

Seasons come and go. As the hymn says,

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above;
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
                  –“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Chisholm

But the earth’s solstices and equinoxes aren’t the only seasons that mark our lives. The seasons change from childhood to adulthood, and from youth to middle age to old age. They change from parenthood to empty nest. From one job to another, and sometimes to unemployment or retirement. From health to sickness or vice versa. From one church family to another. From faithlessness to faith, darkness to light, sorrow to healing.

As seasons turn, our routines and priorities change, and we may forget or neglect habits of prayer and worship. At such times, however, a few short prayers can be repeated often to help us transition to a new season: