The Litany of Generosity
Last week at the Brooklyn campus we prayed a Litany of Humility which Lancelot blogged about here. This got me thinking about praying litanies for all four of our values throughout September. A quick search revealed this beautiful prayer from "Fresh Bread and Other Stories of Spiritual Nourishment" by Joyce Rupp.
I invite you to pray these words this week as we continue to learn how to be a church that values humility, generosity, diversity and community.
Extravagantly generous God give us generous hearts to share whatever gift it is that you have given to us.
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To acknowledge you as the giver of all good gifts...
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To give without counting the cost...
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To share without expecting something in return...
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To be wise in the way of caring for ourselves and others...
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To hold all of our treasures and values with open hands...
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To have gospel priorities and to align our life, love and time in their light...
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To be gracious and unbegrudging in our giving...
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To recognize the abundance of blessings in each passing day...
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To know the freedom that comes with true extravagant generosity.
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To experience the heart of the widow giving her mite...
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To accept our talents, whether many or few, and to use them in service of the Kingdom. . .
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To grow in giving thanks for everything. . .
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To be happy with having what we need and to be wise enough to know what it is that we want and do not need. . .
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
To fall more deeply in love with the God of all generosity so that our hearts are strong enough to give away freely whatever is asked.
Gracious God, give us generous hearts.
Loving God, who so generously lavishes our lives with goodness, create in our hearts a deep center of gratitude, a center that grows so strong in its thanksgiving that sharing freely of our treasures becomes the norm and the pattern of our existence. Remind us often of how much you cherish us, of how abundantly you have offered gifts to us, especially in the hours of our greatest need. May we always be grateful for your reaching into our lives with surprises of joy, growth, and unearned love. Amen.