Morning prayer · 1 May
Our great home
God, thank you for this universe, our great home, so vast and rich, and for all the life that fills it, life we’re part of. We praise you for the arching sky and good winds, racing clouds and stars on high, the salty sea and running water, the ancient hills, the trees, and the grass under our feet. Thank you for our senses, so we can see the brightness of morning, hear the joyful songs of love, and smell the breath of spring. Give us hearts wide open to all this joy and beauty. Don’t let us be so soaked in worry, or so darkened by strong feelings, that we walk past unseeing, even when the thornbush by the road is on fire with the glory of God. Amen.
When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place— what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
Adapted from Walter Rauschenbusch, Prayers of the Social Awakening (1910), in plain words. The verse is from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain). Drawing: Mutter.