| Night-time
Prayer
with Renée Miller
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Chant
The night descends from God’s own hand
All failures from this day are gone
Let peace like evening curtains fall
Restore your soul in heaven’s hall.
Text: Renée Miller
Music: "Jesu dulcis memoria, plainsong, Mode
2"
Hymnal 1982
Preparation
for Prayer
As you prepare for the close of this day, let all the worries
and anxieties you have carried today slip away. Bring your attention
to this moment and the presence of the Holy One around you as you
listen to the ringing of the bell.
Opening
Sentence
“Darkness is a time to enter into silence deeper than
the mere absence of words and sit quietly and still in that silence
until a word forms in the soul.”
—Renee
Miller, Fertile Soil
in a Barren Land
“Be
still and know that I am God.”
—Psalm
46:10a
A
Psalm
“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your
faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty
mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans
and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love,
O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They
feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from
the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.” —Psalm
36:5-9
A
Reading from the Bible
“No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts
it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter
may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed,
nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.
Then pay attention to how you listen.” —Luke
8:16-18a
Reflection
followed by Silence
Everything that we know, cherish, and delight in was born out of
the primal darkness. From the trees, to our children, to the choice
of our particular career, to the memories that are scratched on
the surface of our souls, to the experience of God in the silent
part of our being —all of it was conceived and grew in the
darkness before ever it was birthed in the light.
It’s
as if darkness is the endless ocean through which light must sail.
Without the darkness, there would be no possibility of sailing;
in fact, there’d be no movement whatsoever. Whenever we can
detect the periphery—the edges—of light, we see that
just beyond those edges is the great deep darkness that stretches
into eternity.
There
is no escape from that darkness. Nor should there be.” Ask
yourself, “When has the darkness in my life led me to the
light?”
Prayer
Take some moments now to offer the concerns of your heart to heaven.
Remember those who are in pain, those who are afraid, those who
are alone, those whom you love, those who are dying, and those who
are already in heaven, and pray for the needs of your own life.
(Silence)
Prayer
for Restoration from Fatigue
Gracious God, at times my life seems to be too much. Too full. Too
demanding. Too consuming. Everything feels necessary, even important,
but weariness creeps across my body and soul like storm clouds gathering
in an open sky. As my body is depleted of energy, my mind loses
interest in what normally enthuses me. My tired soul sags as if
it were a balloon losing its air. Sometimes I feel so spent that
even restorative sleep seems to elude me. Help me sort the truly
important from what only seems important. Give me courage to say
no to what drains rather than feeds me. Help me find brief moments
to sit in perfect stillness while you massage my soul. And, when
I go to my nightly sleeping place, wrap your darkness around me
like the softest cloak, so that I may sleep peacefully in your embrace.
I ask this for the sake of your love. Amen.
—from Prayers for Living
Blessing
The night has come and another day of life has passed. Heaven has
watched over you this day and will hold you this night. May you
feel the brush of God’s blessing as the shadows deepen and
your eyes close in the little death of sleep.
Closing Thought with Chant
As
you sleep this night, know that you are loved by God— boundlessly,
unconditionally, and eternally.
“Guilt has no power, shame cannot hide
All the beauty that lives inside.
Open your eyes, to realize
The wonder of your soul.”
Text: Renée Miller
Music: Thomas Pavlechko
Wellspring, Selah Publishing
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