Living with Christ Morning Prayer

Living with Christ Morning Prayer 
Thursday, January 2, 2014
I am the voice of one crying out in the desert… 

Lord Jesus, 
the more I pray with John the Baptist,
the more I feel in him a kindred spirit.
Like me, sometimes he’s filled with fire,
and other times with doubt.

He reminds me that,
like him, I am not the Christ,
or Elijah, or the Prophet.

Jesus, it’s hard for me to say
I am not worthy
to untie your sandal strap.
But I know that if John isn’t,
then clearly neither am I.

And sometimes, Lord,
I very much feel like I am
a voice of one crying out in a desert.

I love my people and my culture, Lord,
and I see a great deal of good in them both,
but there are also parts of them that leave me
feeling like a outsider, a stranger, not at all at home,
and sometimes very unsure of what to do.

Strengthen me, Jesus, and all of us
who sometimes feel like a voice in the desert.
Give your Holy Spirit abundantly
to your faith community in this world.
And if we are to be voices in the desert,
help us to be like John—
preparing your way in whatever we do.
Amen.

For a prayer for today from the Orthodox Liturgy of St. Basil, see page 189 in the January issue of Living with Christ.