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Pause

The Lord your God is with you.

God’s Spirit goes before you as you listen, think, and respond.

Listen

Let the kindness of the Lord our God be over us. Make the work of our hands last. Make the work of our hands last!

Psalm 90:17

Think

In a religious community that counted on God’s tangible presence in their daily actions, a morning prayer or psalm such as this was spoken as a way of beginning the day ahead. As hands prepared to watch sheep or make bread or care for children, this prayer was shared with God. In some ways it is easy to understand why the workers would end with the phrase, “make the work of our hands last,” because what they were doing was truly the way they survived.

So, how do we, “workers,” benefit from this prayer? The work of our hands is everything we do! And in everything, we need to remind ourselves of God’s kindness, God’s gifts of a life, a day, our ability to learn, of living in a world that is changing.

And in addition to remembering God’s gifts, we pray that we might also offer a gift. We pray that how we live brings about God’s vision and that our love helps deliver a world that reflects God’s kindness. So we say the prayer to remind ourselves, and in the reminding we also challenge ourselves.

Gina Yeager-Buckley

Pray

Oh God, there is a day ahead or a day just finished. Whatever this day brings, help me live it with purpose. I want to make the things that happen today make a difference to you and to your world. I want the things I learn, the conversations I have, the challenges I face to shift me and help me grow as your disciple. Amen.

Go

Taking today’s moments into your breath, your heart, your hands and feet,

live what you hear from God today,

and tomorrow.