Prayers in Worship

I take notes during the sermon. I do it because it keeps me focused.  I recommend it.  Sometimes I write a small prayer at the end.  Here are a few:

January 26:

O God, May we remember in the water and in the descending dove, That we are your beloved children. May it make a difference in our lives. Amen.

February 9

O God, Give us teh courage to step into the deep. Grant us the boldness to beleive in you. to believe in abundance, to see the possibilities. Help us to say, "if you say so, I will do it." Amen

February 16

O, God, My mind turns today to David, Penny's husband, and to Sarah Marcia'e daughter. Today, strengthen and encourage those who mourn, and may we bring them hope. Amen.

Saying our Prayers

I'm reading a book called Becoming Jesus' Prayer: Transforming your Life Through the Lord's Prayer by Bishop Gregory V Palmer, Cindy M McCalmont and Brian K Milford.

The first line in Chapter 1 says, "'Saying one's prayers is not the same as praying.'"  This is a line from Anne of Green Gables, spoken by the title character.  I was struck by the line. It's true, isn't it?

I had a pastor once who would speed through the Lord's Prayer when he led the congregation in praying it.  We asked him in a meeting one time if he could slow down a little.  "I'm just praying it as I would pray it," he replied (or something close to that).  Unfortunately, we do sometimes pray the prayer without thinking about it.  We say the prayer without praying.

Truthfully, I resented the high speed of the prayer when he led us. I didn't want to pray it that fast. What I learned is that I could pray it without saying it, and just let the prayers of others wash over me, praying with them silently. It quieted my resentment while surrounding me in the prayers of others.  I recommend that you try it.

We do sometimes take a casual approach to prayer.  "I'll pray for you," is commonly heard, but when I say it, I don't always do it. I hope God hears our prayers even when we are not very good at praying them. I hope we hear God at least a little when we aren't very good at listening.

 

Prayer Beads

I mentioned that I was (last month) involved in a class called "Reading the New Testament with Fresh Eyes." While working my way through that class, I came to realize that my prayer life has not been as intentional as it was during previous times of my life. So I decided to work to change that.

Once of the ways in the past that I have included intentional prayer time is through the use of Anglican Prayer beads. The link I've provided is where I first read about them, and where I have purchased them in the past.

I've mentioned them several times on my blog - you can find the posts (and some others that crept into the search) at this link. At that link, you'll find a post about how to make them if that is of interest to you, plus how to use them, and how I've used them.

I especially like them because using them with a particular prayer slows my mind down and centers me. When I reach the cross after one time around the beads using the prayer, my mind is centered enough for me to connect with God through my own prayers.

This is the prayer I use, called a Celtic Prayer.

Prayer

Annette (our pastor) preached about prayer a few weeks ago.  She emphasized that prayer is God's way of connecting with us. She said prayer is "the involvement of God.'  I thought the ways she spoke about prayer were illustrations of this idea:

• We are invited to pray (just see scripture for that one)
• God delights in our "asking."
• The Holy Spirit intercedes for us in our prayer - this indicates how much God wants to connect with us
• We are called to seek, find, knock - constant communion with God

Our prayers move us to grow in faith, so much so that we begin to perceive others' needs and to pray for that.  She drew a parallel here the Golden Rule.  Nothing is too small or too large to pray about - to think otherwise is to have a distorted image of God.  In fact, we learn to have the mind of God through our prayer.

It occurred to me as I listened that we judge God (and maybe the effectiveness of our prayers) by what God does in response to our prayers.  Did God answer my prayer? We answer that question through the observation of effect - did what I pray for happen?  We tell others that God said "yes" or "no" and sometimes we make excuses for God.

Maybe what we need to ask instead is whether God was present for us in prayer? We need to ask if our prayers changed us or changed our action? Are we saying "yes" to God's desire for connection? Or are we saying "no?"

 

Prayers

Call me a nerd if you like, but I like to take notes during the sermon. I keep a notebook that I take with me, and I write down my thoughts as I listen to the sermon. I find that it keeps me focused on what the pastor is saying.

For the past couple of weeks, I have added a prayer at the end of the notes.  It's not something I have ever done before, and I haven't been planning it when I've done it.

December 22:

God, grant us the courage and faith 

to know that God is for everyone 

And to share that joy with all.

December 29:

In the coming new year 

May all of us find home with God 

May we open  the doors to others 

To come home.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Inspired by Ephesians 1

O God, our God 

We come to you with gratitude in our hearts. 

You gave you son for us. 

To us. 

You take us to the mountains 

High places for you. 

 Before we even existed, 

you laid the foundations of our world, 

our lives. 

You created us from your imagination, 

Your love for us existed before we did. 

You have made us whole, 

You have made us your family. 

You have invited us to be as loving and generous as you are.

Because of the gift of your son 

We are a free people. 

Freed from penalties and punishments. 

Not just free, 

but abundantly free! 

You have provided everything for us 

and your joy in your giving is obvious. 

 In Christ we see who and what we live for. 

Christ has been with us, even before we knew of him. 

Our glorious living is part of the plan set forth in Christ, 

including the deepest heaven and all on earth. 

We thank you, o God, 

and we know this is just the beginning. 

There is an eternal life before us, 

full of praise and glory.

We lift up our lives to you our praise, 

our thanksgiving 

with sighs too deep for Words

 

Circular Experience of Love

 I'm reading the book All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas.  It is written by four authors.  Chapter 2, which I finished today, was about prayer, and was written by Sangwoo Kim.  Dr. Kim is a professor at Duke Divinity School.  I found the following paragraph to be very profound; it presented a concept of prayer I hadn't seen before:

Those who pray are incorporated into Christ, who is in unity with God the Father. We never come to God as an absolute other; instead, we find ourselves in the mysterious work of the Trinity, who is both the speaker and listener of prayer. In our voices, God the Father hears the voice of the interceding Christ.  Our prayer is not our own accomplishment but rather God's gift of grace coming through the Holy Spirit, who frees, enables, and incites us to pray. When we cannot find words for prayer, the Holy Spirit also "intercedes with sighs too deep for Human Language (Romans 8:26). So in our prayer, we not only speak but also almost overhear what the three persons of the Trinity exchange in words and sighs, and we join the circular movement of love that comes from God and returns to God. So, in our prayer, we can find the utmost hope and trust in the triune God.

I don't want to add too much to that paragraph, but want to point out to you the image of "joining the circular movement of love that comes from God and returns to God."  Have you ever experienced something like that? Doesn't it sound - well, I don't really have words for it.

I have experienced more than one time when I don't have words for prayer but have an immense need for it, and I have experienced the Holy Spirit intervening - when our younger son was born and wasn't breathing, and when the pandemic started. I can imagine that as a circular movement of love from and to God now that I read what Dr. Kim wrote.

Grace of Multiple Voices

 

At General Conference, one of the priorities was to ensure that, since we are a global church, voices from around the world are heard.  This means that delegates uses translation devices so that they can understand each other.  As a reserve, I have a translation device to use in the plenary session (FM receiver) but it doesn't work in legislative committees.  Also, there are four official languages at General Conference - English, French, Portuguese, and Swahili, but there many more spoken.  Such as Spanish, Finnish, and others I can't name.

When people stand to offer prayer - and this is done pretty often in legislative committees because the delegates pray before all votes - people are encouraged to use their own language. 

Have you exprienced a prayer in a Philipine langauge? Portuguese? Or even Spanish, and not understood it? The prayer just pours over you.

It reminds me of the idea of trusting someone to pray for you - you let go of control and rely on your trust of them and your trust of God.

That's what this feels like.  You quietly rely on the pray-er to pray and you trust in God to hear.  It's kind of a grace-filled joyful experience.

New Life

 A prayer of Confession inspired by Psalm 51:1-3, 8-12

O God, I am in need of you.

Your love and mercy are abundant

Unimaginable.

Miraculous.

Remove my sin, please, o God.

Make me clean as you created me to be

Wash me from my wrongdoings.

Only you can remove the stain.

All I can see if what I've done wrong.

It fills my vision, my heart, my life.

I have sinned against you,

I have done what is evil.

I cast down my eyes because

you are justified in not seeing me at all.

In ignoring my plea.

Open my eyes to hear your joy.

Open my heart to know your forgiveness.

Open my bones to be healed by your love.

Let me know gladness again.

Hide my sins from your sight.

Convince me that it is so.

Remove the stain of sin that has darkened my life.

Help me to start again.

Create in me a new heart,

a fresh start,

a new and right life.

Recreate me so that I am worthy

to be near you,

so that I am a righteous place

for your Holy Spirit to dwell,

so that I am not alone.

O, God,

Restore in my the assurance of salvation,

return to me the conviction of your action in my life,

so that I know you again.

Rebuild in my a willing spirit

to start new life with you.

Wespath Prayer

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to pray at the Wespath Investment Forum. It was grace for our lunch together. I didn't write out a prayer - just notes - so this represents my notes more than the actual prayer.

Creating, Loving, sustaining God....

We are grateful for all of the goodness around us. As we look outside the windows, we are grateful for the beauty of nature - the water and the sun - that you surround us with. We are grateful for the beauty around us inside this room - the people who share their expertise with us - the fellowship of each other. We are grateful for the ability to serve others - churches, donors, institutions and ministries - and we are grateful for the good they do.

Help us to be generous enough to give all it away.

Thank you for the farmers who grew and tended the food we will eat today - for those who gathered it, who transported it, who prepared it, and for those who will serve it today. May the food we share together make us strong to serve you.

In your son's name, amen.

A Prayer

 A Prayer inspired by Psalm 27

Please spend a moment in prayer.

In you, O God, we place our trust.  Please keep us in your care and in your presence.  At times the world feels like it is full of enemies; there are times when it feels like the world schemes against us.  We trust in you, O God.

Draw us close and open our eyes to your nature.  Show us which way to go.  Lead us in your truth.  Teach us your ways.  In, O God, is our salvation. 

Every day, when we open our eyes and when we fall asleep, remind us of who you are.  Help us to not forget your love and compassion.  May others be reminded of who you are by who we are.

We confess we have not loved you.  We have not followed you. Forgive us and erase our sins.  See us with your eyes of love and cover us with goodness.  In you we place our trust.  

Amen.

Academy Opening Prayer

God of generous love, God of amazing forgiveness, God of abundant grace,  Here we are, Lord. We are gathered in this place for the next 48 hours.

We gather as the community you have created us to be.

We gather as your sheep, with your as our shepherd.

We gather as imperfect beings, seeking to grow into your image.

Bless our time together with your presence. Open our eyes so that we may see how you are working among us. Open our hearts to have patience with each other, and with ourselves.

We pray for those among us who will be leading the presentations – thank you for the time they have invested for us, and for the gifts you have given to them. Bring them joy in the work they do.

We pray for the concerns on our hearts, that you will receive them and exchange them for peace.

We pray for the churches that are our families, may they work for your kingdom.

We ask, dear Lord, that this time will bring us closer to you and that through us, the world may be changed.

All this we boldly ask in your son’s name, Amen.

Prayer Thoughts

I'm reading a sermon by John Wesley called "Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount."  There are several of these sermons - the one I am currently reading is Discourse VI.  It is based on Matthew 6:1-15.  This part of the sermon on the mount speaks to doing alms and praying in such a way as to not be seen doing them.

In section two, Wesley writes:

Hypocrisy then, or insincerity, is the first thing we are to guard against in prayer.  Beware not to speak what thou does not mean.  Prayer is the lifting up of the heart to God: all words of prayer without this are mere hypocrisy.

One evening several years ago, I was in a Bible study class.  We were spending the evening talking about prayer.  I was asked to pray for our political leaders.  In general, I think this is a good thing to do, so I agreed.  I was praying, moving through layers of government, when I came to a leader whose actions and character I cannot abide.  I verbally stopped the prayer, involuntarily.  I felt as if I could not pray for this person.

I was reminded of another verse in this same section of Matthew: 5:43-45:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

So, if I combine these thoughts, I should pray for those who persecute me (this person does not persecute me, but still), and I must do it with sincerity.  How do we do that? 

That evening, I just continued, and prayed for the person who often disgusts me after confessing, in the prayer, to God, how hard it was.  Did I do it with sincerity?  I doubt it. Do I think it fulfilled Jesus' command in Matthew 5? Probably not.

So what is the answer?  I think the answer is to pray the truth.  It might be harder to do in a public prayer, but in our private prayers, we should pray about our inability to pray for a person.  To lift that up to God in truth.  I think that is sincere, and I also think that God may show us a way to prayer FOR that person, as well - either in spite of our feelings, or through them.

 

Prayer for the Church

In May, I was asked to preach at Wesley UMC in Morgantown.  As part of that, I offered the "Prayer of the Church" which is below:

Creating, loving, sustaining God, we come to you in gratitude for this community of faith.  Thank you for all the good and joy-filled ways you have walked with this congregation through its history. We pray the legacy of those who have come before us – strong in faith – may shine forth in us, as we reach out in your name to bring light to those around us.

 

We lift to you the concerns weighing heavy in our hearts this morning. (pause) 

• We pray for those who are sick, for those who need healing, and for those who cannot imagine that healing can be found. 
• 
  We pray this morning for those who are grieving loss – whether that is the loss of a loved one or a friend, or the loss of a dream or an expected future.
• We pray this morning for those seeking recovery from addiction, for those who not desire recovery, and for those who can’t imagine recovery.  We pray for those who care for them.
• We pray for those who are lonely, who are afraid, who are lost. Surround them with your grace.
• We pray this morning for the caretakers, the parents, the nurtures – give them encouragement.
• We pray for those who lead us – give them wisdom and strength.

 

This morning we lift up the joys in our lives – for laughing children, grown-ups who tell stories, smiling faces, and accomplished minds. 

 

As we leave this sanctuary, may your spirit walk with us so that our eyes are opened to those who need help – food, love, home.

 

We pray in the name of the one who taught us to pray…

 

 

Psalm 145 Collects

One of the projects I like to ask my CLM students to do is to write a collect.  A collect has a specific structure

• An address to God
• An attribute of God is named, or God’s action in scripture is briefly recalled.
• A petition is made that relates to that attribute or narrative
• The intended result of the petition is stated – often with a clause that begins with that
• A final doxology or praise is offered, often in Trinitarian form.

Below are collects inspired by Psalm 145:8-14

Verse 8: The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Loving God, you are unimaginably gracious and merciful, slow to anger and full of loyal love.  Help us to release our grudges and offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us so that your light is seen clearly through us. Through the motivation of your holy spirit and in your son's name, Amen.

Verse 9: The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.

Almighty God, in your kindness and compassion, you are good to all of us.  Grant that we may share your goodness with the world so that lives are healed, as ours have been.  In your son's loving name we pray, Amen.

Verse 10:  All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you.

O Lord, you created the world and breathed life into all of us.  Awaken in us an awareness of your presence so that all of your faithful will praise you name and offer thanks to you. Amen.

Verses 11 and 12: They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

O, our powerful and glorious God, who presence in our world brings light and grace, give us voice to sing your praise so that others may come to know you. Amen.

Verse 13: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.

Faithful, gracious God, your kingdom is everlasting.  Give us the voice to declare your good works so that all generations will know of you, and your spirit will dwell among us all.  Amen.

Verse 14: The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.

Loving God, who lifts up those who have fallen, strengthen us to recognize those who need our help and encourage us to reach out in service so that your love surrounds all of us. Give us the courage to live as your son showed us how to live, Amen.

Book Review: Dynamite Prayer

Information about the book

PIcardo, Rosario and Sue Nilson Kibbey.  Dynamite Prayer: a 28 Day Experiment.  Invite Press. Plano, Texas. 2022. (Cokesbury / Amazon)

Summary

From the back cover:

Dynamite Prayer is a daily prayer guide that will show you how to begin a practice of "breakthrough prayer," a way of raying where we ask God to en new doors and reveal new possibilities, fueled by the Spirit's power.  This 28-day adventure will take you from feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and uninspired to curious and expectant as you surrender you own preferences and ideas and courageously follow the miracles God brings into your life.

Impressions

I hesitated to write a review for this book.  Earlier, I wrote a post about feeling resentment about reading this book. I know that resentment has colored by perceptions of the book itself; it seems to me that a review I write would be impacted by that feeling. And yet, it has become my practice to record thoughts about the books I read, so here we go.  But to give you another view of the book, I will tell you that it has four stars on Goodreads and a total of 13 ratings.

A few reasons why I didn't like it (beyond, but probably influenced, by my resentment):

• The author uses the word dunamis to refer to God's power. My brain stumbled over that substitution every time I read it. In my head, I had to read God's power for the words to make any sense. It disrupted the reading.
• I don't find snippets of verses to be helpful in devotional reading. I'm much more interested in reading a longer passage to know the context that a short verse. Along with that, in one instance, the authors used a particular translation (NKJV) of the Lord's prayer passage that included the phrase "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever."  This phrase was not found in the earliest versions of Matthew: I felt like this translation was used just to have the word power in the verse - when it really wasn't there.
• Each day included a Prayer-Hold phrase and a Breakthrough Prayer - these were meant to be prayed throughout the day. There is nothing wrong with that at all, but isn't something that is natural (or fruitful) for me personally.

Now some good thoughts:

• The book lends itself well to a month (or so) of readings - each day has a routine set of devotional, prayer, and scripture, and the format could be very useful for someone who will invest the time beyond reading it (which is all I did - see again, the resentment post).
• The book is well written, and I appreciate that.
• I have heard comments from others that the authors are excellent; I think that should color what you decide to read.

Give this a go if the format and purpose sounds like something that would interest you. It is well done for the kind of book it is.

Posts about book

Picardo Dynamite

Prayer: God of all Children

 

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to provide the Gratitude Reflection (meal grace) for a Team for West Virginia Children dinner event.  Here is the prayer:

God of Creation, God of all children, we gather this evening, supported by the hope you provide to us that the work of this organization can make a difference in this community, especially in the lives of children. Help us to never forget there are children who are hungry, who are abused, who live without loving parents. Remind us of the babies suffering through addiction, and the teenagers who are parents.

Our broken hearts are filled with gratitude for all those who give of their time, their gifts, and their resources to bring healing, in all the ways it is needed, to these children.  May the work done be not only pleasing to you but also empowered by you to bring healing and change to all of us.

We give you thanks this evening for those who grew and harvested our food, for those who prepared it, and for those who will serve it. We thank you for our fellowship around these tables, and pray your blessing, o God of the universe, on the work of this team, that it may bring justice and peace.

Amen.

A Prayer of Confession

A prayer of confession  from the words of Paul to the Church at Corinth

(words from 2 Corinthians 13-11-13 in bold)

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. 

Put things in order, 

Forgive us, creating God, for even though you created us out of chaos, and lifted us from the chaos of our sin, we still choose to turn from you instead of living into the world you have for us. We choose sin over love; we choose hate over love. Help us to put things in order.

listen to my appeal, 

Forgive us, listening God, for so often we do not open our minds enough to hear anyone else. We live in the selfishness of our own lives, and we fail to love others enough to ever listen to them; to ever understand them.  Open our hearts enough to listen.

agree with one another, 

Forgive us, ever-present God, for so often we hold on to our anger and divisions so tightly that we would never think to agree with others.  We argue without thought, we choose to believe the illogical rather than admit to error.  Open our minds enough to see our own errors.

live in peace; 

Forgive us, God of everlasting peace, when we define peace as the lack of conflict.  So often we don't want to be bothered by the idea that justice and peace have to walk hand in hand.  Open our lives enough so that we can stand up for justice at the price of calm.

and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Forgive us, sustaining God, for so often we turn away from you. You are here with us, but we close our eyes and our hearts to your Word.  Help us to open our lives to your will.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

Oh, God, our God, we fail to love. We fail to hear the love offered by the saints. And we fail to be your obedient church.  Forgive us, we pray, and may it be that 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of us.

Teach us to Pray, Part 4

All of this, and then there is this kicker at the end of the passage that we might miss if we don’t pay attention.  The last verse, verse 13, says, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Have you seen the commercials for Carvana?  Carvana is a website you can visit where you search for a used car.  You can browse through 17,650 cars until you find the one you want, and then you buy it, and they deliver it to your door.  Or, if you prefer, you can pick it up – and this is the part that always floors me – you pick it up at a car vending machine.  We drove to Alabama last weekend where our younger son is in grad school, and as we drove through Nashville, I saw a carvana vending machine.  It’s a clear tower full of cars – I guess you go visit it, enter a number, and your car pops out.

Sometimes I think we consider prayer to be a carvana experience. We pray, God thinks about it, and if we are lucky, God says yes, and our wish comes true.  Like a bubblegum machine. 

Please don’t be insulted by that comparison – I know that’s not the case with everyone, and it’s not the case with anyone all the time, but I do think it is sometimes how we, in the back of our minds, think about prayer.

But this verse says that God will “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” We sometimes say that God always answers prayers, but that sometimes the answer is no.  I think God always answers prayers, and the answer is always yes.  God always provides the Holy Spirit to us.  The answer is always relationship. The answer is always presence. The answer is always love and guidance. I know that God was with Joan as she drove across four states.  I know that God was with her daughter and with the church as we all prayed.  I could see that God was present with Theo as she lived up until the day she died, and even after that.  The answer is always God.

And that is what prayer is about.  It is an invitation to come into the presence of the God who has created you – who created the universe – and to bring God everything.  To offer all of your love, your concerns, your worry, your guilt, yourself.  And God, who loves us beyond our imagination, will always answer “Yes. I am here with you.”

Lord, teach us to pray, because we need you.

Teach us to Pray, Part 3

Whether the disciples and we open our eyes enough to see ourselves in Jesus’ prayer, Jesus isn’t going to stop until all of us have a glimpse of who God is. 

In the passage we read today, after Jesus shares a prayer with the disciples, he tells them a parable. It is the story of two neighbors.  I’m going to retell it, and it make it easy to follow (I hope), I’m going to add names.  Completely made up names.  Sam – the seeker – comes to visit his friend, Fred, in the middle of the night.  Sam has been caught unprepared for visitors, and this is a serious matter in a society that values hospitality above everything.  Sam has no bread for his visitors, so he knocks on Fred’s door.  “Fred!  Fred!  I need bread!”  Fred is asleep in his house.  In Jesus’ time, asleep in the house meant that everyone was sleep on pallets around a fire – everyone all together, probably not only with the children, but also with their animals.  For Fred to get up meant that he would disturb his whole household.  So, Fred, understandably, tells Sam to go away.  That wasn’t good enough for Sam, though.  He keeps knocking, and asking, until finally Fred gets up and gives him bread – probably just to make him go away.

Please don’t hear that as a picture Jesus is painting of God, because that isn’t what he meant.  This is a parable. A parable is a form of teaching that means to lay beside.  It’s a story that is placed next to reality so that we can understand reality better.  It can be a story that says, “God is like this…” or “The kingdom of God is like…” but that’s not what this is.  This is a parable of contrast.  We see it better in what Jesus says next when he tells the disciples that parents know how to be parents – you wouldn’t give your children a snake or a scorpion if they asked for a fish or an egg.  In other words – if you, who are not God, know how to be a parent, then how much more does God know how to be the Father?  If Fred, the friend, knows how to respond to Sam, then how much more will God respond to you?

That is who God is. God is loving, compassionate, kind, and responsive. 

Lord, teach us to pray, because you are waiting for us.