Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Daily Devotion - Wednesday, February 4

Sharing and Learning

“I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.”

--An old hymn of God’s people (Psalm 89:1)

The world is filled with a number of ancient religions. Where I live and work, a small dot in this global village, our faith tradition is primarily Christian, but all of the world’s major religions are represented within my “dot.” This is good. There are many things we can learn from one another.

Today’s prayer comes to us from one of the smallest religious communities in the world, Shinto. Shinto is a Japanese religion, which originated in prehistoric times and has beliefs that are quite different from the monotheistic religions. Personally, I have discovered that prayers from other religious communities can be meaningful to me. This prayer is several thousand years old and is regularly prayed by Shintoists. I hope you can find some strengthening words that are a part of a religious community far different than those we are accustomed to:

“I reverently speak in the presence of the Great Parent God:
I pray that this day, the whole day, as a child of God,
I may not be taken hold of by my own desire,
But show forth the divine glory by living a life of creativeness
Which shows forth the true individual.”


Ben Keckler
02.04.09

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