Lord God,
let it be said of me
that I "walked with God."
Let me entertain no delusions
and seek no other plaudits
except those that come
from walking humbly with my God.
Show me your ways.
Let it be enough for me
to walk with you,
in Jesus' name,
amen.
Caedmon's Hymn, Revised
Now, Lord, I honor you, Guardian of heaven,your might as an architect, and your purpose,
your work, O father of glory,
for you, the Eternal Lord,
established each wonder from the beginning.
You, the Holy Creator,
first fashioned the heavens as a roof for the children of men.
Then, Guardian of mankind, Eternal Lord,
you adorned the middle earth,
the lands, for men.
I praise you, Almighty King of Heaven.
A Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola
O Christ Jesus,
when all is darkness
and we feel our weakness and helplessness,
give us the sense of Your presence,
Your love, and Your strength.
Help us to have perfect trust
in Your protecting love
and strengthening power,
so that nothing may frighten or worry us,
for, living close to You,
we shall see Your hand,
Your purpose, Your will through all things.
when all is darkness
and we feel our weakness and helplessness,
give us the sense of Your presence,
Your love, and Your strength.
Help us to have perfect trust
in Your protecting love
and strengthening power,
so that nothing may frighten or worry us,
for, living close to You,
we shall see Your hand,
Your purpose, Your will through all things.
With Thy Spirit, Fill Me
With thy Spirit, fill me.
Make me wholly Thine, I pray:
With thy Spirit, fill me.
Make me wholly Thine, I pray:
With thy Spirit, fill me.
The Hiding of Thy Face
(A prayer of George Macdonald)
O Father, help us to know that the hiding of Thy face is wise love. Thy love is not fond, doting and reasonless. Thy bairns must often have the frosty cold side of the hill, and set down both their bare feet among the thorns: Thy love hath eyes, and in the meantime is looking on. Our pride must have winter weather.
O Father, help us to know that the hiding of Thy face is wise love. Thy love is not fond, doting and reasonless. Thy bairns must often have the frosty cold side of the hill, and set down both their bare feet among the thorns: Thy love hath eyes, and in the meantime is looking on. Our pride must have winter weather.
Half Measures
Lord, save me from half measures.
Keep me from taking shortcuts,
like Abram with Hagar (Gen. 16),
or from trying to "help" you
with puny compromises.
Give me the courage
to dive in,
headfirst,
rather than trying to tiptoe into your presence
and promises.
Grant me a faith even greater
than Abram in Genesis 16,
and be my shield
and my very great reward,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Keep me from taking shortcuts,
like Abram with Hagar (Gen. 16),
or from trying to "help" you
with puny compromises.
Give me the courage
to dive in,
headfirst,
rather than trying to tiptoe into your presence
and promises.
Grant me a faith even greater
than Abram in Genesis 16,
and be my shield
and my very great reward,
in Jesus' name, amen.
For Open-Handedness
(A prayer of Archbishop Helder Camara)
Lord,
isn't your creation wasteful?
Fruits never equal
the seedling's abundance.
Springs scatter water.
The sun gives out
enormous light.
May your bounty teach me
greatness of heart.
May your magnificence
stop me being mean.
Seeing you a prodigal
and open-handed giver
let me give unstintingly
like a king's son
like God's own.
Lord,isn't your creation wasteful?
Fruits never equal
the seedling's abundance.
Springs scatter water.
The sun gives out
enormous light.
May your bounty teach me
greatness of heart.
May your magnificence
stop me being mean.
Seeing you a prodigal
and open-handed giver
let me give unstintingly
like a king's son
like God's own.
Make Us Dangerous
God, turn my eyes upon Jesus.
Focus me intently on him.
Make my church a dangerous church,
a church that is focused on Jesus,
a church that is constantly looking for him,
finding him,
waiting for him,
expectantly hoping,
fervently seeking him,
joyfully sharing him,
effectively serving him,
our Savior,
our King,
our Alpha and Omega,
the author and finisher of our faith,
the Lamb of God,
the Prince of Peace,
the Son of God and Son of Man,
our Jesus,
our Savior,
our King….
amen.
Focus me intently on him.
Make my church a dangerous church,
a church that is focused on Jesus,
a church that is constantly looking for him,
finding him,
waiting for him,
expectantly hoping,
fervently seeking him,
joyfully sharing him,
effectively serving him,
our Savior,
our King,
our Alpha and Omega,
the author and finisher of our faith,
the Lamb of God,
the Prince of Peace,
the Son of God and Son of Man,
our Jesus,
our Savior,
our King….
amen.
A Father's Thanks
Abba, thank you for ever drawing my children to you,
ever more deeply into your heart,
each in his or her own way.
I thank you that you are always working,
in Jesus' name, amen.
ever more deeply into your heart,
each in his or her own way.
I thank you that you are always working,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Leave Me As I Am
Abba, you are great, and greatly to be praised.
Thank you that I am not rich,
or powerful,
or influential,
for I could not handle those things.
As it is, I am too mindful of money,
so having more would surely distract me from you.
As it is, I am too controlled and controlling,
so having more power would probably
deform me more.
And, as it is, I care far too much what people think,
so being more influential would certainly
be far too dangerous--and stressful.
So leave me as I am....
except to make me more as you are,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Thank you that I am not rich,
or powerful,
or influential,
for I could not handle those things.
As it is, I am too mindful of money,
so having more would surely distract me from you.
As it is, I am too controlled and controlling,
so having more power would probably
deform me more.
And, as it is, I care far too much what people think,
so being more influential would certainly
be far too dangerous--and stressful.
So leave me as I am....
except to make me more as you are,
in Jesus' name, amen.
A Chaos of Uncalculating Love
(A prayer by George MacLeod)
It was your custom,
to go to the temple,
to the noisome temple
sometime to the scandalised temple
listening to the mumbo jumbo,
but it was your custom to go.
...
Give us grace in our changing day
to stand by the temple that is the present church,
the noisome temple
the sometime scandalised temple that is the present church,
listening sometime to what again seems mumbo jumbo.
Make it our custom to go
till the new outline of your Body for our day
becomes visible in our midst.
(George MacLeod, The Whole Earth Shall Cry Glory, p. 39)
It was your custom,to go to the temple,
to the noisome temple
sometime to the scandalised temple
listening to the mumbo jumbo,
but it was your custom to go.
...
Give us grace in our changing day
to stand by the temple that is the present church,
the noisome temple
the sometime scandalised temple that is the present church,
listening sometime to what again seems mumbo jumbo.
Make it our custom to go
till the new outline of your Body for our day
becomes visible in our midst.
(George MacLeod, The Whole Earth Shall Cry Glory, p. 39)
A Prayer of Karl Rahner
You
who are love itself,
give me
the grace of love,
give me
yourself,
so that all my days
may finally empty
into the one day
of your eternal life.
A Prayer for the Jewish People
God of our fathers,
you chose Abraham and his descendants
to bring Your name to the nations:
we are deeply saddened
by the behavior of those
who in the course of history
have caused these children of Yours to suffer
and asking Your forgiveness
we wish to commit ourselves
to genuine brotherhood
with the people of the Covenant.
A prayer of Pope John Paul II,
at the Western Wall, Jerusalem,
March 26, 2000.
you chose Abraham and his descendants
to bring Your name to the nations:
we are deeply saddened
by the behavior of those
who in the course of history
have caused these children of Yours to suffer
and asking Your forgiveness
we wish to commit ourselves
to genuine brotherhood
with the people of the Covenant.
A prayer of Pope John Paul II,
at the Western Wall, Jerusalem,
March 26, 2000.
Early Morning Prayer of Thanks
O God, early in the morning I cry to you.Help me to pray and gather my thoughts to you;
I cannot do it alone.
In me it is dark, but with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not desert me;
My courage fails me, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace;
in me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways,
but you know the way for me.
Father in Heaven, praise and thanks be to you
for the night’s rest,
Praise and thanks be to you for the new day.
Praise and thanks be to you for all your lovingkindness
and faithfulness in my past life.
You have shown me so much goodness;
let me also accept what is hard to bear from your hand.
You will not lay a heavier burden on me than I can carry.
You make all things serve for the best for your children.
Lord, whatever this day brings, your name be praised.
( A prayer by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, written in Tegel prison, Berlin)
Give Them
Lord God, give them joy.
Give them safety.
Give them laughter.
Give them beauty.
Give them intimacy.
Give them health.
Give them unity.
Give them fulness.
Give them rest.
Give them harmony.
Give them cooperation.
Give them breathtaking moments.
Give them them the making of wonderful memories.
Give them a blessed start,
a perfect honeymoon,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Give them safety.
Give them laughter.
Give them beauty.
Give them intimacy.
Give them health.
Give them unity.
Give them fulness.
Give them rest.
Give them harmony.
Give them cooperation.
Give them breathtaking moments.
Give them them the making of wonderful memories.
Give them a blessed start,
a perfect honeymoon,
in Jesus' name, amen.
How?
Lord God, tomorrow is my daughter's wedding day.
How am I supposed to "give her away?"
Can't I just keep her?
How am I supposed to "give her away?"
Can't I just keep her?