Bending Angel

Prayer to Live Fully Each Day – February 23, 2020

February 23, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Heavenly Father – When I awaken tomorrow, may my heart be ever grateful for Your gift to me of another day on Earth. Just as I, because of the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus, look forward to eternal life with You, every day please help me to look forward to seeing, hearing, feeling and touching the beauty around me. To hold a young child. To embrace one I love. To hear a bird’s song or the notes of a beautiful symphony. To listen in the silence of prayer for the beat of angel wings around me. To plan at least one simple, small thing to look forward to or accomplish this day. In doing so may I receive each and every day a glimpse of the joy, pleasure and peace which await me in heaven amidst the everlasting life, light and love of Christ, Your blessed Son. Amen

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If you want to purchase for yourself or a friend a copy of Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love or Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation or Divorce, please click on here to go to Amazon.

Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 145-lawyer full-service firm in Houston, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.

Prayer for Purity of Heart – February 15, 2020

February 15, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

Heavenly Father – Please help me be with You in prayer so that I and my heart can be and become one with You. My human emotions, self-centeredness, anger, lack of forgiveness and fear do not allow me to fully invite You and Your Son, Jesus Christ, into my heart. In faith I know that Your love, if seated in my heart, will transform and purify my heart. Then I can love others as I wish to be loved. I can be at peace with my self so that I can be at peace with my neighbor. I can be Your child and walk in the peace, love and light in the footsteps of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

This prayer was inspired by the sermon given on February 12, 2017 by Stuart Bates, Rector, Saint Francis Episcopal Church-Houston.

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Prayer to Do Your Will not Ours – February 9, 2020

February 8, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

God – In our lives and in mine every day we are each faced with choices to do Your will when we would rather overlay our will on others.

In my collaborative and litigated divorce practice I witness spouses who would rather be right or control outcomes than to do the loving thing You would have them do. Spouses who are unable to trust in You to handle the consequences of letting go of control in doing what You have commanded. Being rigid and unforgiving instead of flexible and forgiving as You have treated mankind.

Sadly, I am aware of one husband who married a woman who had children by a prior marriage. So did he. Rather than treating his wife’s children like You do Yours, his love was divided. That was exemplified by him putting a partition in the shelves of the refrigerator which designated food, juices, and milk on one side for his kids and the other side for her kids. If her kids got milk from his kids’ side, there was harsh punishment always to be meted out to her kids.

When we impose rigidity and judgment on others, we imprison ourselves and others from living and loving within the rich Kingdom of Your grace.

We all have let You down and have sinned. Yet, You continue to forgive us, to be flexible and provide everyone in prayer to know and apply Your love and mercy to all people and in all things.

God, in prayer, before we act as we want in our relationships with our brothers and sisters, please help each of us to know, do and apply Your will, not ours.

Lord, let us pray to act as You in all we are and all we do, now and forever. For when we do that, Heaven descends to the Earth. We become Your love and living angels for others. Amen

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Prayer for a Cure, for Healing, and Less Fear of the Coronavirus – February 2, 2020

February 2, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

God – Across the face of the Earth, especially in China, the only thing spreading faster than fear is the Coronavirus. Reports today say that the number of persons who get infected with this deadly disease doubles every six days.

Millions are quarantined in homes and hospitals. International travel has been suspended by airlines. Even Apple has closed every store in China. Healthcare facilities and workers are exhausted. None of us know the number who will die, or the toll of economic loss which will be suffered by people, retirees who depend on savings to live, on countries and the world as a whole.

God, with the gifts You gave mankind, the polio epidemics in the mid-1950’s came to an end. The polio vaccine guaranteed to those who took it that they would never be paralyzed, placed in an Iron Lung, or quarantined from their families like me. The fear that went with polio and which spread like a West Texas wildfire in the hot winds of summer was extinguished with a few drops of medicine on a sugar cube.

God – Please illumine those who seek to find a cure for the Coronavirus.

God – Please heal those who directly and indirectly bear the hardship of the Coronavirus and lift them up and strengthen them in time of desperate need.

God – In prayer may every person know that You did not bring on Your creation a disease with which to harm or kill Your children. That You have not abandoned Your children but are ever present when Your presence is most needed. May Your love reassure us and lessen our fears in faith that You have plans for us which surely survive whatever challenges we face with the Coronavirus. Amen

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Prayer for Small Changes to Accomplish Big Things – January 26, 2020

January 26, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

God – One of the important gifts which comes with age is wisdom. Learning from the past to move in a different direction in the present to a better future–although it can be disconcerting to examine how our past acts and thinking adversely affected the life we intended to live.

God – In self-examination please help us not to dwell too much on the past we cannot change, as that robs us of the present. But, looking at the past we cannot change shows us how and why we must change to improve ourselves.

God – When we contemplate going from where we are to where we want to be, we can be overwhelmed by the enormity of the change we need to make. That fear becomes a barrier to accomplishing what we need to do. That change becomes a wall we sometimes view as impenetrable.

God – In prayer please help each of us to know that change is not a light switch. The change we need is often small. Just like the little things we have done to be where we do not want to be now. A few small credit card charges over a long time become a debt we struggle to pay. A few extra calories a day over the years becomes too much weight to carry, cause high blood pressure, breathing difficulties or make us pre-diabetic.

God – In prayer please help each of us to make small changes to accomplish big things. Just as a captain far out at sea changes the course or direction of the ship a few degrees, the vessel ends up at a far different place. We are each Your vessel in need of making small changes in direction so that we can accomplish big things.

God – Please help us spend less time on our electronic devices, so we can spend more time in the physical with those we love. Save a little more each day so we can retire more comfortably. Eat just a little less each day to claim our future health. Pledge a little more to our places of worship so that those less fortunate receive the food, clothing, and shelter they need.

God – Let us rejoice that You are our Holy compass. You have shown us the way to our final destination. Until then, please light the way for each of us to succeed in undertaking change. Please accompany us with Your unchanging love and unfailing presence. Amen

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Prayer to Watch the Cork Bob – January 18, 2020

January 19, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

God, one of the greatest blessings in my life was my Great Uncle Army Emmott.

Uncle Army was very spiritual. But, the Holy Spirit and You for him were not usually found in a church. Rather, Army experienced, found and communed with You in the beauty and wonder of nature. His church was under the canopy of the branches of towering oaks, pines, and redwoods in the forests of America. The altar for him was a fallen tree log on which he sat as he marveled at Your creation. The warmth of the Holy Spirit was felt on his skin in the crackling blaze of a campfire. The choir of angels was heard in the symphonic chirping and whistling of wild birds in the woods.

I was blessed to take Uncle Army on the last fishing trip in his life.

As we sat on the pier and fished on Tres Palacios Bay I asked him, “Uncle Army, what is your secret for successfully overcoming the daunting problems you have faced.” He sat quietly for a moment and said with conviction, “Bubba, I have gone fishing almost every Friday since I was 50 years old. Often, when I cast the rod, my heart is burdened with worry. I see no way to face or solve a problem in my family, at my office or at home. Remarkably, by doing nothing but watching the cork bob on the water’s surface, I am at peace and answers appear.”

God, few of us can go fishing every Friday and find Your peace and direction in watching the cork bob. But, we can pray every day. In prayer, when we place our heavy hearts in Your hands, and sit quietly in the full nature of Your love, the answers will surely come. Our catch will be calm wisdom. As Army knew You in nature, may we know peace in prayer with You. Amen

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Prayer to Do Special Things on Ordinary Days – January 12, 2020

January 13, 2020 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

God, recently on an ordinary day I returned home from work. Nothing remarkable had happened that day until I rolled past our plumeria on the way to my front door. On this ordinary day the plumeria gifted me with an extraordinary blossom of white petals with yellow centers.

Something flowered in me as I looked at the blossom. It was the vivid memory of my dear friend, Ivan Butterfield. More than thirty years ago on an ordinary day in Emmottville Ivan showed up unexpectedly to give me and my wife that plumeria for the yard of what I thought would be our forever home along White Oak Bayou.

Sadly, due to three floods in five years, our forever home is no more. But, when we left our home we took with us the same plumeria and along with it the memory of what Ivan did for and said to me that day.

As I thanked Ivan for the gift of the plumeria, Ivan said, “One is always expected to do special things on special occasions. But, what shows your deep love for others is doing something special for them on ordinary days.”

God, I thank You for Ivan, the plumeria, and the extraordinary lesson I learned from him and have sought to follow for more than thirty years.

God, I thank You for always being present for us on all of our ordinary days. Likewise, it is just and right that we follow Your example to do special things on ordinary days for those we love. For when we do so, we become the flowering of Your glory and grace on Earth.

God, my forever home in Emmottville and my friend, Ivan, are no more in the physical. Yet, the gift and lesson I learned from Ivan on an ordinary day lives on.

God, in our daily prayers please help us find ways to magnify Your love on the Earth by doing special things for others on ordinary days. Amen

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Prayer to Leave the Walls of the Abbey and Our Comfort Zones – January 5, 2020

January 7, 2020 by Jack Emmott 1 Comment

God – Last weekend I watched the classic, magical musical, The Sound of Music, with Julie Andrews playing the postulant, Maria, and Christopher Plummer, playing Captain Von Trapp, in the beautiful setting of Austria. There was the scene of Maria meeting with the Mother Superior after Maria had left the Von Trapp family and she not wanting to face the fact that there might be love between her and the Captain. Rather than facing the possibility of love and marriage, Maria asked Mother Superior if she could immediately take her vows to become a nun.

Rather than saying “yes”, Mother Superior replied, “The Abbey is not to be used as a place to escape. These walls were not built to shut out your problems. You must face them.”

Lord, how many of us want to stay in our comfort zones as if we were in the walls and safety of an Abbey? Rather than face uncomfortable surroundings or difficult people, we stay at home, work longer at the office or refuse to change our ways.

Lord, how many of us build walls which are much more formidable than the walls of any Abbey? Those walls keep us from dealing with problems in our families, with our friends and in our relationships with others. Loving relationships are harmed or stifled altogether by our walls of anger, resentment, lack of forgiveness, absence of compassion or inability to understand the needs of others.

Lord, please help us to leave the walls of the Abbey within ourselves and our comfort zones and step out as we are called by You to love others. Watching The Sound of Music leaves our hearts and souls dancing. We are left with the prospect that, even in the dark times of a World War, there was hope. There was love and laughter to be found. There was the light of joyful song in dealing with human struggles and difficult relationships.

Lord, with faith in You we are assured that in every problem we face that You have provided a solution for us. In prayer help us find those solutions, take down those walls which separate us from others and in doing so find You and Your love for us. Amen

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Prayer for a New Year of Peace, Beauty and Love – December 29, 2019

December 29, 2019 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

God – As I begin a New Year please help me find renewed peace, beauty and love within me. At the moment of my creation You ensouled my body with a perfect spirit. In prayer please help me reconnect with that Holy Spirit. May the last day of this year be the ending of disquietude, drama, self-consciousness and not loving myself as You do. For me to find peace in the world, I must first know and contemplate Your heavenly peace through prayer and worship. For me to see the beauty in others, I must not be blind to the beauty You created in me and all Your children. For me to know and share Your love with others, I must fully embrace the faith that the love of Your Son, Jesus, dwells in me and all Your creation. Amen.

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Prayer for Room in the Manger of My Heart for Forgiveness – December 22, 2019

December 22, 2019 by Jack Emmott Leave a Comment

God – As I wait in Advent darkness for Your Son Jesus to be placed in the manger, the manger which held forgiveness and eternal life for me and all Your children, please help me forgive myself and others for wrongs which have been committed. Not letting go of resentments separates me from You and Your peace.

In Your mercy, please help me find room in the manger of my heart for forgiveness. In forgiveness Your light and love will shine in me just as it lit the sky above the stable in Bethlehem. Amen

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