Dean Alan Jones of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco has noted that there are only two prayers: ‘Help’ and ‘Thank-you’.  Everything else is just a footnote or variation and expansion on the basic theme  - whether it is praise, adoration, confession, supplication or thanksgiving. The following is adapted from Dean Jones’ writing on these two players.

I believe that the essence of those two prayers ‘Help’ and ‘Thank you’ can in turn be summed up by ‘O God’ depending on how you speak that phrase.  ‘O God!!!’ which could be followed by ‘what was I thinking’ or ‘what were they thinking’ or ‘what were you thinking, God’.  Or ‘O God!!!’ which could be followed by ‘isn’t this wonderful’ or ‘aren’t you wonderful’.    These true prayers probably should always be followed by exclamation marks. 

Whether it is ‘Help’ or ‘Thank you’, to pray is to strive to place ourselves more closely in right relationship with God and with God’s creation.  We need our God-given imagination to apprehend what that right relationship is or can be.  The poet Mary Oliver tells us that the world gives us an invitation to right relationship through our imagination every day: 

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

The world offers itself to your imagination,

Calls you like the wild geese,

Harsh and exciting,

Over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

 

We can pray morning and evening these two prayers – Help and Thanks

 

In the morning, let us pray Help for the day ahead:

Gracious and loving God help us to open our imaginations to all that you are offering us.  Help us to imagine and see the path to our right place in the family of things - in God’s family – in our lives as God’s children, in our parishes and especially in our work today for the part of God’s kingdom.   In silence let us open our hearts and minds and bodies and souls and imaginations to the help that God offers us.  Amen.

 

In the evening, we offer a Prayer of Thanks for the day that is ending. Let us pause and reflect on where we have been this day.  Let us reflect on where we have had difficulty in opening our imagination to see where that right relationship could be? Let us reflect on where we have opened our imagination to what the right relationship with God is. Let us reflect on where we have seen but not followed the path of right relationship.   Let us reflect on where we have moved to be more in right relationship with God and God’s creation.

 

Let us pray.  Gracious God, we thank you for all that you have given us this day. ‘Thank you’ for all that you will continue to give us this night.  Tomorrow, help us to continue to seek the right relationship that God intends for us as God’s Children and God’s Church. Amen.