Last Friday I was leading the (Women's) World Day of Prayer at the local sheltered housing.  Here it is still very much a women's event and rather unsurprisingly it is assumed that the women ministers will take part.

The material was produced by women in South Africa and was an interesting blend of styles.  However I was stunned, in the most positive sense possible, by the prayer of praise - it is truly amazing: profound, beautiful, funny, simple, complex, sincere.  I cannot find a copyright statement for it, but if you do use it, please acknowledge it as being from the Signs of the Times 2006 service.  Enjoy!

All you BIG things, praise the Lord!

Drackensberg and Table Mountains, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, Yellow-wood, Oak and Baobab trees

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you TINY things, praise the Lord!

Busy red ants and lurking ticks, wriggling tadpoles and pestering mosquitoes.

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you SHARP things praise the Lord!

Cactus thorns and prickly pears, aloe leaves and high-heeled shoes

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you SOFT things praise the Lord!

Golden ripe mangoes, sponges and moss, babies’ skin, cuddly toys and porridge

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you SWEET things, praise the Lord!

Apples, peaches, and blueberry jam, young people’s dreams and old peoples’ good wishes

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you SWIFT things, praise the Lord!

Lightning and swallows flitting through the sky, traffic on motorways and speeding ambulances

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you SLOW things, praise the Lord!

Huge big elephants and bony old cows, tortoises, snails and patients on crutches

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you loud things, praise the Lord!

Thunder, midnight drums and taxis, hail and rain on aluminium roofs

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you QUIET things, praise the Lord!

A gentle breeze in the midday heat, sleeping babies and fish in the sea, women who care and suffer and weep.

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you SPIRITUAL things, praise the Lord!

Uplifting music and singing psalms, Bible studies and gospel praise, preaching the Word and receiving God’s gifts

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

All you CREATED things, praise the Lord!

Our planet earth and its orbiting moon, our galaxy with its systems of suns, all the universe – both known and unknown

 

Praise the Lord and bless his name!

 

O Lord, we worship You with out voice and with our silence for You are worthy of praise and adoration!