Prayer of the Day, Pentecost 16A

Yesterday I got grace at the library.  No, it wasn’t the Seminary library which knows little of grace, but the county library.  I wanted to renew Louise Penny’s “Bury Your Dead.” The attendant said someone else had it on hold.  “It’s due today, and I haven’t finished it,” I pleaded.  “You have a six – day grace period,” said the attendant.  “Thank you,” I replied, “I can finish it by then.”  I who had no standing one minute, left the library walking in grace.

This weekend we prayed for help in trusting God’s ever-present grace.

“Lord God, heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before You relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

When I taught confirmation, I had two goals.  One was to survive.  The second, was that if nothing else, the students would understand and believe that we live by God’s grace both in this time and the next.  Because, as the prayer suggests, grace is the hardest gift to receive from God.