Oh, sinners, let’s go down, let’s go down, come on down.
Oh, sinners, let’s go down, down to the river to pray.

Human societies grow up near rivers or other sources. We need water for nourishment and survival. We need it to wash ourselves, our homes, our clothing, and other goods. It provides us with transportation routes and potential for trade. Water keeps us alive.
John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River because it was a place of cleansing. People went there to make things like new—to remove dirt and stains. They washed their bodies there and walked away feeling refreshed. When we encounter the life-giving waters of Baptism, we are cleansed of sin and made new. When we go down to the river as we pray with this week’s song, we do so aware of the grime we’ve accumulated, longing for the cleansing sweetness of new life in Christ, and trusting we will find it.

Prayer for Morning

Jesus, Sun of Righteousness, you are God’s mercy and friend of sinners. I come before you ready to turn away from the habits and compulsions that soil my dignity as a child of our Father. Cleanse my heart. Redeemer, I wade into your embrace.

Ponder Today

What can I do today to express sorrow for wading into sin and accept forgiveness?

Prayer for Evening

Jesus, Sun of Righteousness, you came to bring us healing and freedom. Help me welcome your truth and love so I may conform my life to yours and follow you to the Father. Redeemer, guide my life.

Oh, sisters, let’s go down, let’s go down, come on down.
Oh, sisters, let’s go down, down to the river to pray.

To stand on the shore of a river is to contemplate a mystery. Most of us can not really comprehend the myriad sources of a river’s water, for it bubbles up through thousands of square miles of drainages and hidden aquafers that make up a watershed, which creates the unending flow passing by our feet. Day and night the water runs, bringing life to the surrounding land.
The first psalm likens a faithful person to “a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither” (Ps 1:3). Let us go down to the river together to draw nearer to the mystery of God’s grace that brings us life.

Prayer for Morning

Creator God, whether we perceive it or not, your grace flows unendingly into our lives, inviting us to deeper union with you. Help me turn away from habits that keep me from the new life you offer. Lord, plant me near the river of your love.

Ponder Today

How can I place myself today near Jesus, who is living water?

Prayer for Evening

Creator God, you made us for communion with you and one another. Forgive me for the ways I have broken those relationships with my selfishness and ignorance. Help me grow straight and strong into the person you created me to be. Loving Father, deepen my roots in your love.

Ash Wednesday

As I went down to the river to pray, studyin’ about that good old way, and who shall wear the starry crown, good Lord, show me the way.

The River Jordan is mentioned more than 185 times in the Bible. It is an important geographic point of reference and a symbol of liberation. God led his people out of Egypt across the Jordan into the Promised Land. Jesus was baptized and began his public ministry at the Jordan.

This American folk hymn, “Down to the River to Pray,” summons  the power of a river and takes us there to pray and study the way of Jesus, who is Living Water (see John 7:38). In contemplating his baptism, we remember how our own baptisms open a way for us through the exile of sin into the abundance of God’s mercy. Our Lenten practice begins with ashes and repentance today and sets us again on the way to being made new in Christ longing and striving for heaven and a promised starry crown.

Prayer for Morning

Good Lord, aware of my sinfulness, I begin my Lenten observance today with gratitude and hope for the new life you promise. Show me your way in the weeks ahead. Jesus, Living Water, flow into my life today.

Ponder Today

What habits and dispositions hold me captive? From what do I need liberating?

Prayer for Evening

Good Lord, you call us down from the heights of our ego and selfishness to follow your way of self-sacrificial love. Grant me humility and honesty. Jesus, the Living Water, wash me clean.

Complete Lyrics
Week of Ash Wednesday
Wednesday,  February 18 – Saturday, February 21
Down to the River to Pray

Traditional

Refrain:
As I went down to the river to pray,
studyin’ about that good old way,
and who shall wear the starry crown,
good Lord, show me the way.
Oh, sisters, let’s go down,
let’s go down, come on down.
Oh, sisters, let’s go down,
down to the river to pray.
Refrain
Oh, brothers . . .
Oh, children . . .
Oh, sinners . . .