The Lord will open to you his good treasury the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands;
Deuteronomy 28:12
Good morning, Prayer Team!
For favorable weather, an abundance of the fruits of the earth and for temperate seasons, let us pray to the Lord.
Many times I have been asked what we should be thinking about during the petitions offered at the Divine Liturgy. I hope these short reflections on “praying the Divine Liturgy” are giving you some concrete ideas of what to pray for during the Liturgy. So, a natural question which follows the question of what to think about during the petitions is how to stay focused. One thing that I have found helpful when it comes to maintaining focus is to have a “slideshow” of the petitions playing in my mind. So, on this petition for favorable weather, abundance of the fruits of the earth and for temperate seasons, some of the “slides” that have passed through my mind have included these images:
~people in a third world country, travelling to find water
~news reports of floods
~news accounts of natural disasters when they happen
~the farmer in the Midwest taking care of his crops
~the family hiking in the mountains
There are many others. The point of the “slideshow” exercise is that when I’m praying this petition and others, I try to visualize the people I am praying for. Even if I don’t know their names, I am made aware of their struggles via news reports and my own life experience learning about the climate around the world and the struggles of those who live in various climates.
As we pray this petition, we should pray for adequate rain for places that get too much or too little of this precious commodity. This is also a good time to pray for our environment and for our conservation of our natural resources. Like the other petitions, this one is so rich with material that you could have a different “slide” for each Liturgy and not run out of possibilities for many Liturgies.
Thank You Lord for creating the beautiful world in which we live, for the natural resources we enjoy, for the sun and its warmth. Help us Lord to be good stewards of our environment and our resources. Send Your Divine help upon those who find themselves without adequate water that they may have adequate and clean water. And strengthen anyone who is struggling to recover from natural disasters. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
+Fr. Stavros
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