Tag Archives: Saint Francis of Assisi

Rote prayers

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As believers of Christ we have freedom to pray with words that come from our heart and to pray scripture to the Lord. But what about rote prayers?

 

The word ‘rote’ entails learning something by repetition usually without comprehension or understanding. We could learn our math tables by rote and not really understand how to calculate the price of groceries without a calculator. We could say The Pledge of Allegiance or the beginning of the Gettysburg Address or even memorize vast portions of scripture verses, but if we don’t understand what we’re saying or believe it, what’s the value? Does that seem like a good way to converse with God?

 

But memorizing something doesn’t have to make it worthless. Memorization is one way of committing a truth to heart. You might have memorized your wedding vows and probably remember at least some portion of them yet today. Repetition doesn’t make perfect but it makes things permanent. Repeating a memorized truth helps to embed it into our daily life.

 

I’ve known folks who say the same words at every meal to give thanks to God for their food. While you might not follow that ‘rote’ routine, do you think God minds if they’re a sincere expression of the heart? Likewise, if written prayers composed by others speak the truth in our hearts, we shouldn’t be afraid to use them in our prayer life.

 

Martin Luther recommended praying the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments in a personalized way. Many find praying the 23rd Psalm draws them closer to God and expresses what their own words fail to say. So can other written prayers. Consider committing some of these prayers to memory or adapt them to fit your conversational style:

 

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. (Attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi)

 

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Your spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. (Attributed to Mother Teresa; adapted)

 

And have we ever really outgrown our childhood prayer?
“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep: May God guard me through the night And wake me with the morning light. Amen.” (Traditional)

 
One of my favorite rote prayers comes from the musical Godspell:
“Lord help me to see you more clearly, love you more dearly, follow you more nearly, day by day.”

 

Memorizing rote prayers or even scripture doesn’t make you holy. But it might help you draw closer to God, which is the purpose of all prayer.

Be blessed.

 

Peacemakers are teachable and moldable

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Years ago, iconic former speaker of the house, Sam Rayburn, made an astute observation (paraphrased): “(Anyone) can kick over a barn door. It takes a carpenter to build one.”

What truth that offers for us today. Anyone can rail against something or someone, ridicule them, and point out every negative aspect of another position. But it takes a peacemaker, a skilled craftsman, to build something positive and lasting. I don’t know if Rayburn considered the double entendre of his use of the word carpenter. Jesus, of course, grew up as a skilled carpenter. And he is still crafting and sculpting his followers with his creative and purposeful skills. In fact, he gave us his own Spirit to live in us to guide us, convict us, comfort us, and intercede for us.

The question is, are we willing participants in this process? Or are we resistive materials in his hands? Do we tend to, like wayward and stubborn sheep, go our own way or do we listen to and follow our master’s voice? The bible describes us like clay in the potters hand. Are we moldable and able to be shaped according to his purpose, or do we have our ambitions set on being a certain type of vessel, quite apart from his design?

The many versions of the Christian prayer attributed to 13th century Saint Francis of Assisi speak to this. Some versions mention being an instrument of God’s peace; others a vessel:

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, the truth;
Where there is doubt, the faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Being an instrument or vessel that conveys God’s peace requires the surrender of our lesser ambitions and desires for God’s greater will. It requires attuning our mind and heart to his loving voice, and to being an eager disciple of his teaching. And in doing so, to let his light actively shine into the lives of others. Choose today to be a vessel of God’s peace and truth, his unending love and amazing grace. Let the master carpenter mold you into his likeness so you can carry his peace to others.

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” 1 Samuel 12:23