Introduction 

Welcome to Mulberry Meditations! I’m so glad you’ve decided to join today in prayer. When we pray, we connect our heart to God’s heart, giving of our needs and praises while also receiving the grace, love, and provision of our great God. My name is Ted Goshorn, senior pastor of Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, and I’ll be guiding us through this time of prayer. 

Our prayers follow a contemplative liturgy, or pattern, in the long tradition of Christians who have utilized scripture readings, repeated refrains, and silence to commune through prayer. Together, we will hear scriptures from the daily lectionary, familiar hymn lyrics and music, and engage gradually in a time of silence, always preceded by scripture, that we may hear from God through God’s word. 

Now, I invite you to get comfortable, praying in whatever position feels natural, as we go through this time of prayer.

On this fifth Sunday of Lent, March 17, 2024, we bring ourselves expectantly before our Lord in prayer, with praise and thanksgiving, opening ourselves to give and receive, from our heart to God’s heart. 

And a special note about today’s scriptures. Our Psalm today is number 67, a special psalm in our family. Whenever we depart from our mountain cabin, we say this Psalm together. Within the Psalm, you’ll hear the word Selah twice. I’ll pause after each instance. While no one quite knows what Selah means, we definitely know it indicates a purposeful pause in the psalm. And that, in fact, is the name of our cabin. So we will pause with purpose as we read; an early ushering in to the silence that forms the center of this time of prayer. 

And so we pray:

God, come to my assistance. 

O Lord, make haste to help me. (Ps. 70:1)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen. (Gloria Patri)

May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us

    and make his face to shine upon us, Selah

2 that your way may be known upon earth,

    your saving power among all nations.

3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;

    let all the peoples praise you.

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

    for you judge the peoples with equity

    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah

5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;

    let all the peoples praise you.

6 The earth has yielded its increase;

    God, our God, has blessed us.

7 May God continue to bless us;

    let all the ends of the earth revere him. (Ps. 67)

May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, It is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed his own blood for my soul. It is well, with my soul. [UMH 377]

May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.

Hear us now, O God, as we offer our prayers for:

• Our families and all who call us friend
• Our church and all who claim your name 
• Our community, be it neighborhood, town, or city 
• Our nation and world, especially remembering those caught up in conflicts
• My needs and praises this day

O Lord, hear my prayer. 

A reading from Romans, as we prepare ourselves to hear from God through keeping silence:

“18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:18-25)

Silence 

And now we pray as Jesus taught us to pray by saying: 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. 

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever; Amen.

May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him. 

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever; Amen.

And now, may the Lord bless you and keep you: may the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: may the LORD turn his face toward you, and give you peace. 

Amen.

Subscribe by signing up for daily emails to pray each day. To learn more about Mulberry Street UMC and to give to support our work, visit mulberrymethodist.org. New prayers post daily, both as audio podcasts and blog posts, so I hope you will return often. Visit tedgoshorn.org to see written prayers and to learn more. Prayer transforms our hearts, as we seek to be evermore like Jesus.