By Rev. Matt Norman

The following is a prayer that I wrote recently, and I continue to pray personally and use in the various ministries in which we are involved in Spain and Europe. The prayer emerged from a conversation with the leadership team of a ministry called Mosaic that Michelle and I helped start in the Barcelona area. Mosaic is a ministry that seeks to offer a safe place for those who have questions about God, faith, life and how we can live our faith practically. At the core of Mosaic is the belief that God is ministering in the world and that each and every one of us is called to discern how God is present and to respond. Mosaic is structured to help those who participate to develop theological discernment and enable and encourage each person to practice his or her ability to respond to God in their everyday lives. 

The Beauty of the Lord Our God Is with Us:

In faith, we know that the beauty of the Lord our God is with us.

We seek glimpses of you as we roam about the neighborhood. 

We seek glimpses of you as we listen to news reports from places not so far.

We dispose ourselves to your encounter. 

We risk ourselves to your encounter. 

We commit ourselves to that which we do not know fully. 

We welcome you and the transformation that will occur. 

Give us eyes to see and ears to hear. 

Psalm 100:1-5: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. 

1 Chronicles 16:28-29: Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in holy splendor

With all our being, we wait for the Lord! 

We rise and prepare for the day; we journey forward in hope.

We wait for the Lord in anticipation while continuing onward faithfully.

Our hope rests in the Lord! 

We practice an active receptivity, and a receptive activity.
And when we realize you are here—before us, behind us, with us—we take off our shoes.

Out of the depths of covid we have cried to you.

Out of the depths of war we now cry to you.

With our whole hearts we have praised and questioned you.

O Lord, you hear our voices.

You go before us into the future. 

We will trust in the Lord. 

We will hope in the Lord.

Psalm 27: 13-14: I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. 

Lord, you have always given bread for the coming day; help us to do likewise. Lord, you have always given strength for the coming day; help us to give likewise. Lord, you have always given peace for the coming day; help us to be a people of peace. Lord, you have always gone before us into the coming day; help us to follow as your people, help us to be present. 

We believe these things will continue God, for you are faithful. 

We believe Lord. Help our unbelief. Amen. 

Rev. Matt Norman is a CBF field personnel in Barcelona, Spain. 

This prayer appears in the 2022-2023 edition of Prayers of the People, the annual prayer guide of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, edited by Rev. Meg Lacy Vega. Download the digital version or order free print copies ofPrayers of the People 25 http://www.cbf.net/pray