Walter Brueggemann has a gift to bring hidden thoughts of the soul to light before God. Over the course of this fall, I wanted to share Walter Brueggemann with you every Wednesday from his book, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth. I believe his prayers, his words, are laden with wonder. The wonder of honesty. The wonder of trust. The wonder of love. The wonder of beauty.
You’re invited to join us for Wednesdays with Walter as we dive deeper in our relationships with God and with each other. [Tweet this]
Read through the poem below silently. Recite it aloud. May this become our prayer today and every day as we live a posture of listening:
We imagine you coming into the barracks with your insistent demand.
——We imagine you addressing
————the sun to “move out,”
————the sky— “let there be light,”
————the sea—“stand back.”We imagine you addressing Israel, “be my people,”
——————and the church “follow me.”We even imagine you addressing us, each of us and all of us
————with your order of the day.
We imagine… but the din of other commands,
————of old loyalties and unfinished business
——————and tired dreams
————cause us not to hear well, not to listen, not to notice,
————and your command is garbled.So come again with your mandate, with the clarity of your imperative.
We listen, because we know in deep ways that your yoke is easy
————and your burden is light.
Come among us, because we are yours, and ours is a listening mood.
Give us ears and then hands and hearts and feet for your good news.
Amen.
Father, may we have a lifestyle of listening and obeying each and every word we hear from you. Tune our ears to hear your voice and give us the courage to obey. Amen.
When do you find it hardest to hear and listen to God? When is it easiest?
Pick up a copy of Walter Brueggemann’s Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth, from Amazon, here.
