Category:

Mary saying, "Thy will be done."

12/8/2016

This morning I was out of the apartment a little after 7. I walked along the Arno, and wound my way past Santa Croce to La Badia, my favorite prayer church in Florence. I love hearing the monks and nuns sing Matins. It is all about the Holy Spirit, which is what I preciously need in order to get rid of judgments and critique, which are barriers to prayer. When I analyze what should be done, I am praying ‘My will be done,’ not ‘Thy will be done.’
On this important day in Italy, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, people were praying to Mary. Although doing so is not in my Protestant tradition, I am learning to appreciate Mary. There she is, saying ‘Thy will be done.’

Pray for light~

11/2/2016

Today it has come to me that, although there are many kinds of prayer—praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition, repentance, intercessory—there is one prayer that covers it all: Thy will be done. Not that we need to give up our particular cries for help, but I something find myself overdoing it--talking it all out with God, giving God all the details, and telling God what to do for the outcome I want.
Then, when I shut up and lift the person or situation to the light, I feel peace and I know that who and what I am praying for is feeling it, too.

Prayers answered~

8/18/2016

Prayers answered; my sister had a good report from her ophthalmologist, and Ellen is will be released from the hospital in a few days after successful brain surgery. My cousin, on the other hand, is still waiting for a kidney donation. I must remember to give thanks, and to keep praying. I don’t try to determine exactly how my prayers figure into all of this, but I’m quite certain that my rational brain has very little to do with it. It’s all in getting rid of my thoughts (judgments and fears) and opening my heart so that the channel between me and God is flowing only with love, only with Thy will be done.
Centering prayer has offered me the following understanding. What God created was good. In fact when God created humankind, it was ‘very good’. When we are very good (no judgments or fears, only love), we are at one with God and thus prayers are answered—in God’s time and in God’s way, however. Accepting this is the challenge of faith.

Intercessory prayer--Thy will be done~

3/9/2016

I thought I’d share my response to the latest question from the ‘Growing a Rule of Life’ Lenten series of the Society of St. John the Evangelist (www.ssje.org) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
How would you describe your unique ‘vocation’ in the world? My unique vocation in the world is to pray for people. I use the phrase to pray for people rather than to be an intercessor because it feels more like what I do. I don’t pray for specific outcomes; I pray that God will enter the person’s heart and guide them in the peace they long for. I pray Thy will be done, not that God will do what we humans want.
I continue to be in awe of this vocation. I know and have come to believe that it is a call from God, because NO WAY would I have every thought it up myself or followed through with it on my own.

The following wasn’t part of my public response on the SSJE site but it will help clarify. When someone puts for a specific prayer request, it usually aligns with God’s will. For example, recently a friend asked for prayers that the school make appropriate changes to her son’s educational plan. I pray Thy will be done as I visualize God in the situation. That’s the best I can do to put it into words.

Praying for people~

9/17/2015

It may be my Protestant, New England upbringing that makes me feel more at home with the term ‘praying for people’ than with ‘intercessory prayer’. That what I do, pray for people’. It is humbling, keeping me in the mystery, freeing me from judging, helping me pray ‘Thy will be done.”

There isn’t a right term. What is important is that I resonate with how I define God’s call.

Intercession...and...Thy will be done~

9/12/2015

Since my last posting three days ago I have been thinking ‘intercession’ while praying ‘the list’. I have been a little more bold with God, and that feels like a good thing. After all, God is above offending, especially when we keep our intention as honest as we can.

I have definite ideas on the outcomes that I want for a few people on the list. God can’t blame me for wanting a fifty year old teacher, mother, wife and daughter to be cured of cancer. And what about the fourteen year old who was suddenly struck with a unique brain condition that has left him with very little mobility. Of course I want healing for him. I could go on and on but I’m sure you have your own list and examples.

I know prayer makes a difference; I believe in miracles; I accept as true that we co-create with God and that God needs us in the mix. So why not join God and pray for miracles…. Always keeping in mind, Thy will be done.

Thy, not my, will be done~

8/17/2015

Although I believe that the best intercessory prayer is some version of Thy will be done (such as Here it is God), I admit that it is difficult to get myself to a place where I can let go of all my judgments that get in the way of praying with purity of heart. In other words, how to pray Thy will be done with really meaning my will be done. It is a challenge that all of us have, that even Jesus had. How to remove the human me and pray from my divine self!

Praying "Thy will...."

7/14/2015

Regular readers of my blog know that I am continually searching for ways to keep God foremost on my mind and in my actions—in other words, to pray without ceasing.

    I came across this from the writings of Amy Carmichael, a missionary in South India during the first half of the twentieth century. When we are self-centered, she tells us to name the opposite:

Untruth—Thy truth, Lord
Unkindness—Thy kindness, Lord
Un-Impatience—Thy patience, Lord
Selfishness—Thy selfishness, Lord
Roughness—Thy gentleness, Lord
Discourtesy—Thy courtesy, Lord
Resentment, inward heat, fuss—Thy sweetness, Lord, Thy calmness, They
       peacefulness.

    To keep it simple, just say, “Thy will, Lord.” In fact, it works even when my granddog wakes me up too early in morning.

Love in the midst of church conflict~

10/20/2014

In times of conflict and loss of trust, especially when the church has been draw in as an unwilling participant, we as Christians are challenged to remain open to love. How difficult it can be. For hours or even days we entirely forget about love. We want to prove our point, believing that we are the only ones with the right position. We call forth our best theological reflection, we proof text, we claim to know what Jesus would do, or at least what Jesus would want us to do.

As members, be it of a church or a theological institution, there may be words we must profess, actions we must take. And then, when all has been said and done, we are called to sit back and pray, “Thy will be done,” and believe it.

Thy kingdom come~

3/11/2014

As I walked along the beach yesterday I got thinking about The Lord’s Prayer. “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It was easy for me to feel God’s kingdom as a walked along. Let’s face it, a beautiful day on the beach, like many other beautiful walks, brings us to it. Put yourself in nature; how can it fail?

But what if I bring people into the scene? What if I have to compete, share, and negotiate with others? What if I have to give up control and surrender to others? Can God’s kingdom come then? My answer is that it has to, although admittedly it is much harder, and often pretty much impossible for me to envision it. That’s the challenge.

As I ended my walk I decided that God’s kingdom coming on earth isn’t something that I finally attain once and for all, and then there it is forever and ever. Rather God’s kingdom comes and goes. It’s up to me to let it in. It’s worth trying for repeat performances, alone along the beach as well as in all those communities of mine out there in the world.