Prayers For You on My Birthday

The years breeze by faster and faster it seems, and increasingly in need of more and more prayers, in my humble opinion. This year’s prayers focus on power, in respect to my yearly theme…but in a way that flips some particular powers around to be constructive instead of destructive. I focused my solutions on the beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel.

For those whose spirits are broken and weighted by pain, loss, cruelty, sickness, lack of acceptance and depression, I pray that when your spirit is low, that you are reminded of Christ when he said that the Kingdom of God is within you, that there is no human power that can take that away. Even against the pressure of these challenges, I pray the light inside you dissipate the darkness because when we all shine our light from within, the darkness has no power.

For those who suffer loss, I pray that loving arms of friends and family can fill in and make whole all your shattered pieces and give you comfort, so the power of their love outweighs the loss.

For those who feel overpowered by others, whether it be personal or institutional, I pray that you embrace justice, goodness and walk humbly with God, and celebrate the personal power that belongs to you alone, and treat others with fairness and respect, even when you are not. The strength of integrity is the greatest power against those who would try to strip you of it.

For those children of the light who are fighting for justice and righteousness, I pray that your power for good is fed and driven by love and not hate. I pray that your numbers increase and that you never feel alone in your desire for justice, and that your fight brings hope for a brighter future.

For those who choose mercy over judgement, I pray that in turn, you receive the same kind of mercy. For Jesus reminds us that God desires mercy and not sacrifice. I pray you understand the ripples of power that flow out from every simple act of mercy and kindness.

For those whose hearts are true and clean, I pray that your light shines above the rest, and I also pray that for those of you who deceive the world by pretending to be ones who are true and clean but whose hearts are full of hidden hatred, judgement and fear, I pray you are exposed for the hypocrites you are.

For those of you who work for peace, history has shown us how powerful and necessary you are for the future, even in the face of present violence, those committed to future peace lead the way to our best future. I pray for perseverance of spirit.

For those of you who, in their fight for righteousness, are attacked and persecuted by the power of those whose purpose is greedy self fulfillment, I pray that you know the power of heaven has your back. Even Jesus’ power never wavered in front of an angry mob, his quiet confidence could not be shaken, and I pray yours won’t be either.

Finally, I pray that you all choose love as the source of your power, that it be rooted in truth, faith, justice, goodness and humility. Have a great year!

Prayers for you on my Birthday

Every year, at least for the past few, I take advantage of the anniversary of my birth and offer prayers as my gift to all the other travelers on this planet, to bolster the body of humanity as it moves forward on the evolutionary road forward. The subtle difference this year, is that my prayers are not meant for everyone. This year my prayers are focused on, and dedicated to, those “children of the light” and soldiers of Christ, (for those who embrace him) for it is all of you who will save this world and keep us evolving into the future. The rest, while I continue to pray for you in a general way all year…on my special day, with my special powers, I am reserving the right to focus on those who are blessed to see and hear, devoid of illusion, fear and the need to scapegoat. And as for those of you who seem unable or unwilling to look beyond the lies, fears, vitriol and have weaponized religion to maintain a culture that is anything but the representation of the body of Christ…you made your bed, and you can lie in the false comfort that you are on the right path. As scripture tells us, only good trees produce good fruit, the truth will set us free, and it is how you treat the least among us that determines your eternal future, and my hope is that you figure it out eventually.

I pray for you to honor all the talents you’ve been given and walk down the path that fulfills your greatest purpose in life, and to keep walking despite the fear that may well up your throat, despite any overwhelming feelings of inadequacy that you may face or despite the desire to give into temptation and run in the opposite direction when it feels perilous ahead. I pray that you always have the knowledge that with God and the powers of the universe even the seemingly impossible truly is possible, and that when God is with you nothing can defeat you and that this knowledge brings you the necessary courage and fortitude to forge ahead.

The downfall of most traditional systems is that they try to insulate their body of believers from the rest of the world. Inclusion to a group that is predicated by certain beliefs and axioms will not keep purity in their body of believers. Why? because we are all of the same fabric. A true child of the light, soldier of Christ is motivated by the premise that every person is of consequence, to judge one group as dispensable runs contrary to the beauty and diversity of God’s creation. I pray that you see and hear that as long as there is breath and life there is hope for all, and as shepherds for the future, that you guard and protect the flock that surrounds you.

Once you start living in higher definition, it may become easy to judge others who live with less clarity as stupid, and that they have nothing to offer you on your journey forward. I pray you realize that everyone and everything that crosses your path is an essential element for sharing the light of truth. You will be known and appreciated by how you love, not how much you know. I pray that each moment is a gift that you can be grateful for, even those dark moments because they create opportunities to illuminate the stark contrast between light and darkness. Gratitude builds hope, and hope guides us forward.

It is often a lonely experience to see, hear and understand a truth that others do not. In many ways it is like seeing a color, or an added sense that others do not share. I pray you find each other to add support and community to your journey. While self containment is important to the development of your own unique gift, it is not necessary to be isolated to nurture it. All of us need sustenance, and communities are like oxygen to the soul.

I pray that you take time along this journey to celebrate the moments that truth and justice bring. Celebration is as much a part of evolving as is the hard work of building. I pray you have many moments where success and the fruits of your labor shine for all the world to see and bring healing, hope and encouragement to others who are not as far along on the journey as you are.

And finally, I pray that you remain constantly vigilant as new truths unfold. There is a reason that children of the light, soldiers of Christ are given only as much as we can handle at any given time (the Old Testament tells us that prophets would die if they gazed upon the Lord directly…its just too much). I pray you continue to see and hear the many dimensions of truth as they unfold and are unveiled to you and that you can revel in its ever broadening beauty and power and it gives you strength