July prayer Page by Susan Kelly
Praying with The Gardner
My word is like the snow and rain that come
down from the sky to water the earth
Isaiah 55: 10
My inspiration this month comes from nature, as I see my garden take on its winter cloak of damp green and grey. It quietly soaks up the welcome rains, sheds leaves that have flamed red and gold, and lies in long shadows as the sun slips lower behind the rimu and beech trees on the north side of the garden.
After the unsettling times of the past few months, the familiar rhythms of nature are soothing, familiar. After the busyness of spring and summer, the autumn and winter changes are welcome, restful, time for taking stock, renewing, refocusing, re-tuning. In this winter garden I am reminded that Jesus the Gardener may be found walking in the early morning, unexpectedly, bringing life.
This week, fallen leaves lie wet and cold around the base of trees and under shrubs, and many branches are bare and grey. But when I stop to carefully look and listen, there is life. Blackbirds are industriously, quietly looking for food under hedges, or singing proudly from treetops at dawn, fat kereru sit munching leaves silently like statues in the apple tree, until they noisily take flight and swoop low; sparrows like watchmen wait patiently for the birdfeeder to be filled once again or jockey for position in the bird bath, while a flock of silvereyes arrive in a whirl to feed on bugs, then just as suddenly move on to the next garden, toot-tooting to the stragglers to keep up.
Amidst this, an autumn-flowering cherry blooms again – small, modest pink flowers dotted over the bare branches provide much needed colour and joy. The prunus autumnalis flowers in autumn every year, as the last leaves drop, and if you’re lucky, it flowers again in spring. It reminds me that new life can be found in unexpected places, and in God’s time.
So I invite you to spend some time this July with the Gardener, perhaps using your own garden as inspiration, but if you prefer, any other garden, large or small, even a single tree, may inspire you. I have gathered a few reflections and sources that speak to me about how the goodness of God is present in our world, even in the darkest part of the year.
Prayer Suggestions
- Find a tree that speaks to you of the rhythms of winter time, reflection, waiting, quiet growth beneath the surface, openness to change, ready for the Gardener’s touch. This
tree might be one with brave, bare branches reaching to the sky, it might be twisted, damaged by storms but still standing proud, or it might be a subtler image, an evergreen quietly, continuously dropping and sprouting new leaves. Visit your tree or take a photo to use in prayer time.
Reflect on how your tree speaks to you
Pray for those whose hearts are closed to God, or those who cling fearfully to the past and lack the courage to change, to move forward in trust.
- Take time to observe the wildlife around your home. Go for a walk at daybreak and listen to the birdsong. Hang a bird feeder or create a birdbath. Visit a nearby park. Even in the heart of a city, you will find birds.
Reflect on the beauty of God’s creatures and thank the Creator for his care of them and of yourself.
- Next time it rains, take time to listen to the rain falling, as it bounces off leaves, paths, rooves, windows, and flows down gutters, into streams.
Give thanks for the rain. Reflect on the life that flows from that gift of water.
Pray for those who are suffering drought, or those who live without access to clean water, especially those in refugee camps and places where COVID-19 is rampant.
- Plant some spring bulbs or seeds in a small pot and find a sunny spot where you can watch them start to sprout and grow.
Give thanks for the signs of growth and change in your own life. Pray for the serenity to accept the things you cannot change and the courage to change the things you can.
- Put time aside to pray with scripture, find a place to relax; imagine yourself in the story; pay attention to how you are feeling; what is God’s Word for you in this reflection? Stay with the Word a while; perhaps write or draw something of the gift you receive.
Sources:
- John 15: 1-9 My Father is the gardener
- John 20:11-18 Jesus appears to Mary Magdalen in the garden
- Matt 6:25-30 It is God who clothes the wild grass … Won’t he be all the more sure to clothe you?
- Isaiah 35: 1-10 The desert will rejoice and flowers will bloom in the wasteland
- Isaiah 55: 1-13 My word is like the snow and rain that come down from the sky to water the earth.
- John 12: 24 Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground
- Matt 13:1-23 A sower went out to sow and as he sowed, some seeds fell upon the path
Words to pray with:
