Week 1 Holy Is Your Name Day 1 Stepping into the Path To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; O my God, in you I trust. Psalm 25:1 The wheel''s first path blends together foundational ideas of the faith: who God is, how he relates to us, how we relate to him, and what Christ''s followers are called to do and be in the world. The Lord''s Prayer opens with "Our Father in heaven, hallowed [or holy] be your name." When Jesus taught his disciples to begin prayer this way, he named two truths about God''s identity: God is as near and dear as a loving father, and he is also as holy and powerful as an almighty king. He''s both the creator-ruler of all things and a gentle dad--indeed, the term Jesus uses for "Father" here is more like "Daddy." The order of the diagram written here teaches the return home. My father in heaven, From you I come and to you one day I will return. As I pray this week''s path, help me to find my home in you.
Our father in heaven, holy is your name. As I reflect on the incarnation of Jesus, I ask for your gift of wisdom. Blessed are the peacemakers. For they will be called children of God. You, O God, are my true home. Amen. Day 2 Holy Is Your Name It is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:16 Early Christians saw Holy is your name as a kind of petition--a request for God to take action.
When we pray this line from Jesus'' prayer, we''re worshipping God in his utter perfection, while at the same time asking God to make the world into the kind of place where divine goodness is manifest to one and all. Our father in heaven, holy is your name. You are "father." And you are "holy." Help us to live more deeply into this dual reality-- that you are as near and trustworthy as a loving daddy; and that your very nature is flawless beyond imagining. You are, O Lord, the essence of perfection: No one is higher or better. Nothing is more sacred. You are the source and essence of all life.
You hold the universe together by your word. Even your name is pure and flawless, and you hold us, who are not those things, in your sway. Yet you are a loving parent. You give us life and teach us your ways. You are tender, protective, generous, and kind. When we stray, your whole desire is only for our good. Show us, your children, how to embrace both your fatherliness and your holiness today. Amen.
Day 3 Wisdom If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. James 1:5 In the Bible, wisdom is the spiritual gift that underlies all other spiritual gifts, the starting point and requirement for living the truly good life. "The wisdom that comes from heaven," wrote the apostle James, "is first pure; then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy" (3:17). Holy Spirit, You have promised to give us wisdom if we ask, and without holding our need against us. You don''t fault us for asking, then asking again. I need this gift today. Grant me deeper understanding in the common things, the things I do out of habit and without a second thought. May every part of my life be infused with your life--like light, like streams of waters.
Help me to rightly examine all things, to discern right from wrong, to see clearly what I should do. I need wisdom in ~my work ~my relationships ~how I speak to others ~how I spend and save money ~how I eat ~what I give my attention to throughout this day And it''s not just for me. In the push and shove of competing opinions, our whole community needs wisdom. Grant us insight in our thoughts and desires, so that our minds can be open, uncluttered, and vibrant. Give us your wisdom, that we may be more like you. Thank you for this gift. Amen. Day 4 Incarnation And the Word became flesh and lived among us .
John 1:14 The incarnation is one of Christianity''s wildest and deepest claims: that the creator of the universe became human in the person of Jesus Christ. God used to live around here, and we knew him, John is saying. At the beginning of a letter that bears his name, John writes that he and his friends had "seen . looked at . and touched with our hands" the presence of God on the earth (1 John 1:1). Lord Jesus, You were both God and man, together in one being. You know what it''s like to walk down a road. You know what it''s like to be hungry.
To want things you can''t have. To injure yourself, feel pain, and have to wait for healing. To miss someone. To suffer great loss, with nothing but time and prayer to heal the ache. You know what it''s like to see the world as a child, as a teenager, as an adult. Help me to remember this. There''s nothing I''m going through that you don''t understand. I don''t have any fears or hopes or pains that you can''t imagine.
You''ve been there, because you''ve been here, with us, on this earth, in all its beauty and all its brokenness. Thank you, Lord Christ, for dwelling among us then, and living with us still. Amen. Day 5 Blessed Are the Peacemakers And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. James 3:18 This Beatitude appears near last in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, yet it appears in the Prayer Wheel''s first path. Perhaps it was placed here because it brings "children of God" into the same prayer path as "Father." Tomorrow''s prayer connects "children of God" to peacemaking. For today, we speak a blessing over people whose actions bring restoration, healing, and reconciliation in our world.
Lord, You said, Blessed are the peacemakers. Help us to become peacemakers. Show us how. Where can we show up? Where can we be present where there is no peace? What conflict do we need to go toward, not run from? Where do we need to speak up for reconciliation? To whom do we need to listen? Where is our opportunity to make peace? Thank you for those who defend the poor and powerless all over the world today. Thank you for those who devote their lives to the cause of nonviolence, restoration, and healing. May they know the blessing of your comfort and refreshment. Help us all to notice in our own lives where we can invite and create peace--and nudge us to act. Amen.
Day 6 For They Will Be Called Children of God He said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 When suffering continues unabated for individuals and communities, we can become jaded. Today, we pray to become like children--at least in certain important ways. We remember that, in the incarnation, God chose to enter the world as a child--innocent, trusting, humble, and dependent. Jesus'' call to childlikeness is an invitation for us to do the same. Heavenly Father, Teach me a child''s way of living in my heart and mind today: playful open curious unguarded innocent quick to giggle delighted in the moment easily contented ready to hope--and hope big--all over again forgetful of yesterday reaching for Mommy reaching for Daddy reaching often, God-- secure in your presence believing in your goodness trusting in your strength I want to change and become little in my spirit. Teach me what that looks like. Help me to let go of the grown-up stuff I''m so prideful about, like what I think I know, especially about you.
Remake me like a child in all the right ways, that I may walk in your kingdom today. Amen. Day 7 Praying the Whole Path O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 Each week, as you prepare to pray the whole path at once on Day 7, we''ll invite you to reflect on the preceding days. This week, consider how your experience relates to the wheel''s invocation about returning home to God. How has your prayer journey this week brought you home? How were you reminded of who you are, who God is, and where you belong? God, You are holy. May your sacred presence in all people and all living things be known and revered throughout the world. You are our Father.
You care for us as the most loving mothers and fathers care for their children. May we rest today in your care. You grant wisdom to all who ask. May your wisdom guide us and shape us in all we do. We are all the work of your hand--he.