Breathe Deeply into Us

O unwearying One
who stalks us down all our days,
bring us up short, now,
and breathe deeply into us
for we come breathless to you
from fretful times and frangible relations,
our attention distracted,
our energy drained,
our intentions splintered,
our love glazed over,
our hopes unmet,
our faith frayed.

Still, we gasp to thank you
for this undeniable impulse
to thank you,
for this insistent yearning
to know you,
for this throbbing desire
to love you back;
for this quick, trembling,
sensuous sense of all your gifts
showered like rain on lives
long parched by inattention:
bread to empower our bodies,
beauty to quicken our pulse,
night to show off the stars
and put us in our awesome place,
problems to summon our talents,
love to link our lives,
laughter to nurse our wounds,
passion to shape our maybes
into a brighter day for
the whole human family;
and for this mystical, magical moment
of peace and shimmering power,
of grace and prophetic stretch,
in which you work the miracles
of gladdening our hearts yet again,
in spite of painful patches,
sobering losses, and puzzling trails;
of balming our souls with a touch of joy
because we are,
and are yours,
and you are forever;
of heeding our prayers beyond our words
in the spirit of Jesus. Amen.

Ted Loder


At the start of our community night tonight, Shannon grabbed a book of prayers off the shelf and opened up to one 'randomly'. It's amazing how much this prayer spoke to my life right now.