First Person Possessive

 

Hear, O Israel:

The LORD our God,

the LORD is One.

You shall love the LORD your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your might.

           Deuteronomy 6. 4

(This verse comprises

what the Jewish people

       call Shema,

  even to this day.

It serves as a centerpiece

of morning and evening prayers,

   a twice-daily recitation.

Also as their last words

  before going to sleep at night.

This prayer is not to remind God

    of who He is,

but that we may know

                and never forget

  that He is God alone.

He is not a god among others,

             but our LORD,

      first person possessive.

And that changes everything

         about us.)

 

O LORD,

May you not be important,

nor prominent,

but preeminent in our lives

      and in what we love.

Please help us today

to love you with all our heart,

   mind, soul, and might

   in all things we encounter.

You are God.

You are our God.

Empower us to be mindful

   and live that way

          in all we do and say.

Be, Almighty One,

   the centerpiece in our

           being and doing,

the passion of our hearts.