A Daily Prayer During this COVID-19 Crisis

May 1, 2021

A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis

During these difficult days, Bishop Devadhar and members of the Extended Cabinet are sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week.

You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions.

Today’s prayer

The Branch that Bends with Clustered Fruit

Still needs the pruner’s blade To keep it close to vine and root Or else its strength will fade. The spindly, twisted, tangled coil Of branches overgrown Produces nothing from its toil But feeds itself alone. The pruners hook with gentle play Where fruitful growth is seen But like an axe will slash away The empty net of green. O God, who fills with rain and sun The grapes we press for wine Cut off the growth our fears have spun And prune us to your vine.

Eternal God, we give thanks and praise for the gift of this new day, and we lift our hearts to you as the source of our strength and inspiration. Our intercession is but a response to your ceaseless outpouring of love. O God, of light and love, author of creation, help us meet this day with courageous minds; and loving spirits. We celebrate the gift of life you have blessed us with, and gratitude swells within. Help us to experience your abiding presence, be uplifted by your joy, and empowered by your love. As we seek to fulfill our responsibilities, help us to realize that you are the one who provides all the resources with which our lives can be meaningfully sustained. We pray for a heart like Jesus. We pray for courage in all that we think, do, and say. Keep us close to the vine and root of our lives, and give us wisdom in our decisions and love in our associations. Help us to find a real and lasting solution to our social problems. “Cut off the growth our fears have spun and prune us to your vine.” Give us a world where we make no distinction between people based on gender, race, economics, nationality, culture, and religion. Nurture us to a maturity that wants for others, every healthy experience we want for ourselves. Nurture us in growth toward a more perfect expression of love to all people, in all places, at all times. Through growing wisdom, enable us to find ways to help that which makes a difference. Enable us to find ways to demonstrate the way of love through the expression of our own life. We thank you for you abiding presence as we lift our voices in praise. Amen and Amen Prayer by Rev. Dr. David V. Calhoun, Seacoast District Superintendent John 15: 1-8 "The Branch that Bends with Clustered Fruit" by Thomas H. Troger