40 Days of Prayer - Joey Lee

Recently while attending the contemplative service at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church, the morning prayer that was offered caught my ear and struck a chord in my soul.
This prayer by St. Augustine comes from Confessions, Book I, Chapter 4. The wording, as translated in Bede Griffiths, The Golden String (Templegate, 1992):

“O thou supreme, most powerful, most merciful, most just, most secret, most present, most beautiful, most mighty; most constant, and incomprehensible,

"Immutable and yet changing all things; never new and never old, yet renewing all things, and drawing such as are proud into decay though they know it not.

"Ever in action and ever quiet; heaping up yet needing nothing, upholding, filling and protecting, creating, nourishing and perfecting all things.”

Amidst the swirling events, constant news feeds, cacophony of voices and an ever lengthening to-do list, this ancient prayer stood out. It was spoken in a slow, deliberate pace. It was calming and reassuring. I have since gone back to this prayer many times.

Read it aloud. Read it silently. Read it slowly. Read it deliberately. Read it, mindful that God is listening.

The to-do list can wait.

Joey Lee
Executive Presbyter
Presbytery of San Jose