Every Wednesday, we invite you to pause and pray with us. Today’s Pause & Pray is written and curated by Carine Ngoy.

Image: Clare VanderVeen, To Everything There Is A Season, 2012, photograph

Pray

Everlasting God,

We are grateful for the gift of time and the knowledge that everything has a season. Give us the strength to accept life’s cycles with compassion and grace. 

In happy moments, help us remember that joy is a blessing. In sadness, grant us comfort and peace, knowing that both happiness and grief have their purposes. 

As we pass through different seasons, whether starting a new semester, dealing with illness, getting a new job offer, relocating, or resting in your presence, remind us that you are the master of time and circumstances. Teach us to trust in your perfect timing and guide us in every transition.

Grant us wisdom so we may learn to cherish and appreciate each season in our lives with those around us, and make the most of every opportunity. Amen. 

Meditate

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NRS)

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Listen

In His Time by Diane Ball