Sacred Meditations

We cannot exist without our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, we pray that He would grant us the spirit to think and do what is right and be enabled to live according to His will. Collect for Proper 14 (the Sunday closest to August 10), from The Book of Common Prayer.

Jesus Christ came into the world not to be served but to serve. So we pray for those who follow in His steps and give themselves to serving others. “For Social Service,” from The Book of Common Prayer.

Johann Gerhard said, “The mind that rests in the Lord is at peace.” (Listen here.) We cannot find true peace of soul in earthly riches, nor in pleasure. (Listen here.) In this meditation, Gerhard explains why we cannot find peace in worldly honor either. This, again, from Gerhard’s Meditation #32. …

Because the one Church of Jesus Christ cannot continue without His help, we pray for Him to cleanse and defend her, and to protect and govern her. Collect for Proper 13 (the Sunday closest to August 3), from The Book of Common Prayer.

In this hymn by Eliza Alderson, we exalt our Lord Jesus Christ for sacrificing Himself for us, and then we pray that He would help us sacrifice ourselves for our neighbor. Here’s verse 4 of “Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us.” Source: Lutheran Service Book 851:4.

In a previous installment of Sacred Meditations, we heard from Johann Gerhard that only Jesus Christ can satisfy and fully meet the soul’s immortal desires. In this meditation Gerhard explores the folly of finding peace in earthly riches or in pleasure. Source: Sacred Meditations by Johann Gerhard, pages 181-182.

God protects all who trust in Him. Therefore, we pray that He would increase His mercy upon us so that we may pass through the things of this life and yet not lose the things of eternal life. Collect for Proper 12 (the Sunday closest to July 27), from The …

In this hymn by Eliza Alderson, we exalt our Lord Jesus Christ for sacrificing Himself for us, and then we pray that He would help us sacrifice ourselves for our neighbor. Here’s verse 3 of “Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us.” Source: Lutheran Service Book 851:3.

Johann Gerhard begins Meditation #32 of his Sacred Meditations by saying, “The mind that rests in the Lord is at peace.” Perhaps Gerhard’s insights from the early 17th century can actually help us in the early 21st century as we long and strive for genuine peace. Source: Sacred Meditations by …

God knows our needs as well as our weaknesses; therefore we ask Him to have compassion on us and give us those things for which we are unworthy to ask. Collect for Proper 11 (the Sunday closest to July 20), from The Book of Common Prayer.