Thank you for your patience and wonderful support during my ultra-busy spell; I’ve really appreciated it. Here’s another of the prayers I’ve written recently for the book I’m currently working on: prayers for the morning and evening of every day of the year, under the title Still, Still with Thee. It speaks of our responsibility towards the environment, and I share it both as an audio file and as a written text.
The heavens extol the glory of God; the firmament testifies to his handiwork. Each day witnesses eloquently and each night communicates knowledge, without need of speech, language or any other voice. Their music pervades all the earth; the words of their mouth reach out to the furthest parts of the world.
Psalm 19:1-4
Creator God,
truly the heavens are declaring your glory,
the beauty of this verdant earth testifying beyond words to your purpose and power.
Yet, tragically, this planet also tells another story,
speaking not just of your hand,
but of ours too –
of the influence we humans have had upon it.
Where you created,
we have destroyed.
Where you have blessed,
we have cursed.
Where you have enriched,
we have plundered.
Where you have beautified,
we have despoiled.
Where you have brought order,
we have brought chaos.
Where you have bestowed life,
we have caused death.
The sky is yours
and we have polluted it.
The seas are yours,
and we have poisoned them.
The trees are yours,
and we have felled them.
The animals are yours,
and we have endangered them.
Have mercy, and remind us afresh that it is not our world, but yours,
and so, may we work for the day when it tells above all of your glory.
Amen.