Hallelujah,
send the glory!
Hallelujah,
amen!
Hallelujah,
send the glory,
revive us again!
My Psalm 115
Not to me, O LORD, not to mine,
but to your great name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.
I know there are some
who question your presence,
your reality, even.
But I know you
not only as a God in heaven,
but as an ever-present,
sovereign
King.
I'd much rather serve you
than the gods of other men:
silver and gold,
status and success,
fortune and fame...
security or safety,
comfort or choice,
or busyness,
or happiness,
or.....
Save me from their allure,
for it is so easy to be among those
who trust in such things.
But I will trust in you, LORD—
you are my help and shield.
Remember me and bless me:
bless the house of Aaron,
bless the house of Aubrey,
bless those who fear you, LORD—
small and great alike.
Grant godly increase,
to both me and my children,
natural and spiritual.
May we be blessed by our LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
may we extol you, LORD,
both now and forevermore.
Praise the LORD.
Amen.
Constant Prayer
I need Thee,
O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee.
O, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.
O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee.
O, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.
Travelers' Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for successful travel,
for safe travel,
for returning us home,
for the home we return to,
for the children
and grandchildren we come home to,
for the work we return to,
for the church
and the friends
and the community
we return to,
in Jesus' name, amen.
A Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
O Lord and Master of my life, give me not the spirit of laziness,
despair,
lust of power,
and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of sobriety,
humility,
patience
and love
to Thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own transgressions
and not to judge my brother,
for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen.
(A prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, 305-373)
Baby Thanks
Abba, thank you for baby smiles
and baby laughs,
for baby sneezes
and baby burps,
and baby hiccups,
and baby snores,
and even for baby tears,
in Jesus' name,
amen.
My Psalm 114
When Israel came out of Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
Judah became your sanctuary,
Israel your dominion.
The sea looked and fled,
the Jordan turned back;
the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
How often have you provided me
with such deliverance,
and established me
with such kindness,
and I have quickly moved on
to my next need,
my next request,
my next demand,
and have not trembled at the presence of the Lord,
nor given appropriate thanks
to the One who turned the rock
into a pool,
the hard rock
into springs of water?
the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
Judah became your sanctuary,
Israel your dominion.
The sea looked and fled,
the Jordan turned back;
the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
How often have you provided me
with such deliverance,
and established me
with such kindness,
and I have quickly moved on
to my next need, my next request,
my next demand,
and have not trembled at the presence of the Lord,
nor given appropriate thanks
to the One who turned the rock
into a pool,
the hard rock
into springs of water?
Ash Wednesday Prayer
Father in Heaven, the light of your truth bestows sight
to the darkness of sinful eyes.
May this season of repentance
bring us the blessing of Your forgiveness
and the gift of Your light.
Grant this through Christ our Lord,
amen.
A Prayer of St. Augustine
I beg of You, my God, let me know You and love You
so that I may be happy in You.
And though I cannot do this fully in this life,
yet let me improve from day to day
till I may do so to the full.
Let me know You more and more in this life,
that I may know You perfectly in heaven.
Let me know You more and more here,
so that I may love you perfectly there,
so that my joy may be great in itself here,
and complete in heaven with You.
O Truthful God, let me receive the happiness of heaven
which You promise so that my joy may be full.
In the meantime,
let my mind think of it,
let my tongue talk of it,
let my heart long for it,
let my mouth speak of it,
let my soul hunger after it,
let my flesh thirst after it,
let my whole being desire it,
until such time as I may enter through death into the joy of my Lord,
there to continue forever, world without end.
Amen.
Allies Prayer
When everything else is gone, I've still got you.
When everything else is wrong,
You pull me through.
When everything else is gone,
Jesus, I've got you.
Valentine
Like summer snow
floating from a sun-filled sky,
draping airy-white on flowered fields,
Your love astonished me.
No frilly show,
no assorted-chocolate pledge,
no candy hearts or silver kisses
disclosed your care for me;
But unsparing,
cross-bearing,
thorn-wearing love
that opened hands and feet and side
to spill your heart for me,
To recreate,
inundate my longing soul
with giving, holding, accepting,
enfolding love for me.
floating from a sun-filled sky,
draping airy-white on flowered fields,
Your love astonished me.
No frilly show,
no assorted-chocolate pledge,
no candy hearts or silver kisses
disclosed your care for me;
But unsparing,
cross-bearing, thorn-wearing love
that opened hands and feet and side
to spill your heart for me,
To recreate,
inundate my longing soul
with giving, holding, accepting,
enfolding love for me.
A Pastor's Prayer
Lord God Adonai, my precious Abba,
you know how grateful I am
for the church you have given me
as my family
and as my flock.
How I thank you
for my coworkers in the Gospel,
such faithful, diligent,
giving, growing servants
and beautiful brothers and sisters.
I ask you, glorious Father, give your people the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they may know you better. I pray also that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened, that they may know the hope to which you have called them, the riches of your glorious inheritance in the saints, and your incomparably great power for all who believe, in Jesus' name, amen.
(Based on Ephesians 1:17-19)
My Psalm 113
I praise you, LORD. Your humblest servant,
I praise your very name, LORD,
both now and forevermore.
I will praise your name
from the rising of the sun
to the place where it sets.
I will exalt you, LORD,
wherever I am,
I will sing of your glory
at the top of my lungs.
Who is like you, LORD my God,
you who sit enthroned on high,
who are so exalted you must stoop
to consider the heavens...
and yet you even stoop so far
as to watch over me here on earth!
You raise the poor from the dust
and lift the needy from the trash heap;
you seat them with princes,
and even make them princes themselves.
You grant children to the barren,
families to the lonely,
community to the outcast,
because you are good,
and utterly, infinitely worthy
of praise.
Amen.
At Thy Feet I Bow, Adoring
At Thy feet I bow, adoring, Bending lower, lower still;
Giving up my all to follow,
Just to do my Master's will.
Answered Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for answered prayer:
For a flight out of New York,
for helpful ticket agents,
for your gracious timing,
for a ride home from the airport,
for bringing us home,
for safety
and health
and comfort
and American coffee
and even for the snow.
Amen.
Traveling Mercies
Lord God,
please please please please
let our flight to Cincinnati
leave tonite.
Please.
Amen.
please please please please
let our flight to Cincinnati
leave tonite.
Please.
Amen.
Providence Prayer
Abba, thank you that on this sojourn
of thousands of miles
and multiple flights
and buses
and train,
of dozens of pilgrims
and scores of meals
we haven't missed a flight
or lost a bag
or gotten lost
or suffered a theft
or even gotten sick.
Thank you for safety,
comfort,
cleanliness,
kindness,
and all the things
that could have gone wrong
and inconvenienced us even slightly,
but didn't.
Your great kindness
has been a great blessing.
Amen.
(photo is of women baking bread at a restaurant in Cairo)
of thousands of miles
and multiple flights
and buses
and train,
of dozens of pilgrims
and scores of meals
we haven't missed a flight
or lost a bag
or gotten lost
or suffered a theft
or even gotten sick.
Thank you for safety,
comfort,
cleanliness,
kindness,
and all the things
that could have gone wrong
and inconvenienced us even slightly,
but didn't.
Your great kindness
has been a great blessing.
Amen.
(photo is of women baking bread at a restaurant in Cairo)
Nile Prayer
Lord God Adonai,
make my life a Nile River
of blessing
and supply
and fruitfulness
from you.
Save me from the Sahara
of living independently of you,
in Jesus' name, amen.
make my life a Nile River
of blessing
and supply
and fruitfulness
from you.
Save me from the Sahara
of living independently of you,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Thanks in Amman
Thank you, Lord, for safe travel,
for successful connections,
for arrived luggage,
fir the replenishment of food
and sleep
and prayer,
amen.
for successful connections,
for arrived luggage,
fir the replenishment of food
and sleep
and prayer,
amen.
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