Let Your Precious Life Be In Me

My only confidence, my love and my hope, my honor, my adornment! Your life has been nothing other than love, meekness, and humility.

Let your precious life be in me; let your virtuous life be my life. Let me be one spirit, body, and soul with you so that I may live in you and you in me; rather than I myself, may you live in me. Let me acknowledge you and love you so that I may walk as you have walked. As you are my light, so shine in me; as you are my life, so live in me; as you are my faith, so adorn me; as you are my joy, so be pleased with me; as I am your dwelling, so dwell in me. Let me be your instrument so that my body, soul, and mind are holy. Amen.

(from the book Amish Prayers, compiled by Beverly Lewis)

Lift

I come to this day, Lord,
and lift my empty cup
to the overflowing fountain
of your strength and sufficiency.
You are more than enough
for all I need this day.

(photo via everystockphoto.com)

Unnecessary Things

O God, teach me how to dispense with unnecessary things.

(a prayer by Toyohiko Kagawa; photo via everystockphoto.com)

I Surrender the Illusion of Control

Lord, before ever I was conceived,
you set the stars in the sky,
and the planets in their orbits.

Before ever I was born,
you kept this earth spinning through eons of time,
and never forgot or skipped a single season.

Before ever I opened my eyes,
your eyes were on your servants.
Before ever I could speak,
you spoke.

Before ever I could walk,
you walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the Garden.
Before ever I had accomplished a thing,
you accomplished the "impossible."

So, Lord, I leave it all to you.
I surrender my stupid illusion that I am in control,
that I need to make things happen,
that "if it's going to be, it's up to me."

I pray, "Thy will be done."
I pray, "Be it unto me according to Thy word."
I pray, "have Thine own way,"
in me and mine,
in this day and the next,
in what I succeed in accomplishing
and in what I fail to accomplish.

I leave everything to you, Sovereign King,
as I did before I ever existed,
in Jesus' name, amen.

(photo via everystockphoto.com)

A House Blessing for Any Occasion

Pass Me Not, Revised



My PRV (personal revised version):

Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry:
While on others you are calling,
Let ME not pass YOU by.

(I've sung this hymn many times but long ago realized I have no fear of the Savior passing me by...the far greater likelihood is that I will miss HIM. Thus, my PRV)

To Me and Through Me

Speak to me,
Speak through me,
that I may
only say
what you will
just until
all are filled
and you are thrilled.

A Speaker's Prayer


Father, let my speaking today
be like apples of gold 
in settings of silver, 
in Jesus' name, 
amen.

(based on Proverbs 25:11)

On a Day of Travel

Lord Jesus,
be my vanguard,
rear guard,
and constant companion
as I travel.
Amen.

Priorities

Today, O Lord--
let me put right before interest;
let me put others before self;
let me put the things of the Spirit before the things of the body;
let me put the attainment of noble ends above the enjoyment of present pleasures;
let me put principle above reputation;
let me put Thee before all else.
Amen.

(a prayer of John Baillie in A Diary of Private Prayer, Day 14, Morning; photo via everystockphoto.com)

Let There Be Peace

Let there be peace, Lord,
and let it be yours...

Let there be peace
between husbands and wives...

Let there be peace
between parents and children...

Let there be peace
between sisters and brothers...

Let there be peace
between neighbors and friends...

Let there be peace
in the streets of our cities...

Let there be peace
when positions are argued...

Let there be peace
when we speak from our faith...

Let there be peace
among those of differing colors and creeds...

Let there be peace
between immigrants and natives...

Let there be peace
among brothers and sisters in Christ...

Let there be peace
when we're tired and angry...

Let there be peace
when patience is scarce...

Let there be peace
in times of confusion...

Let there be peace
in the nation we love...

Let there be peace
in the service of justice...

Let there be peace
among the world's nations...

Let there be peace
between us and creation...

And let there be peace
in me, Lord...

Let there be peace
in my thoughts, words and deeds...

Let there be peace
between me and my neighbor...

Let there be peace
within my own being...

Let there be peace
in my heart and my soul...

Let there be peace, Lord,
between you and me...

Let there be peace, Lord,
and let it be yours,
the peace that comes only
from you and your word...

Amen.

(prayer and illustration from A Concord Pastor Comments)

Back-to-School Prayer

Lord I pray for our school age kids and grandkids.

Grant them peace and a peaceful learning environment.

Protect them from the temptations of the evil one.

Help them with friends that build them up and not tear them down.

Open their minds to wisdom that they might discern truth.

Encourage them with the caring of teachers and friends.

Bring to their mind daily how much they are loved by you.

And in all this bless them to enjoy learning new things.

Amen

(from the Daily Prayer Blog; photo via everystockphoto.com)

God Who Answers

Gracious God who answers prayer,
thank you,
from the bottom of my heart,
for so fully
and wonderfully
answering prayer
for my grandkids.
You are kind,
and I am grateful,
in Jesus' name,
amen.

Pure Heart Prayer

My prayer today for my kids and my grandkids, from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad.

A Writer's Technology

Thank you, God, for the technology that makes my job easier:
for the qwerty keyboard,
computers and screens,
word processors and printers,
websites and wifi,
downloadable documents
and searchable databases.
Thank you for cell phones
and the ability to silence them.
Thank you for electricity and iTunes
and paper and ink,
in Jesus' name, amen.

Keep Me Reasonably Sweet

Lord, Thou knowest better than I myself
that I am growing older and will someday be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.
Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all;
but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains;
they are increasing,
and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I dare not ask for improved memory,
but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet,
for a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places
and talents in unexpected people;
and give, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.

Amen.

(author unknown; photo via everystockphoto.com)

God of the Open Ear

O God of the open ear,
Teach me to live by prayer
as well as by providence,
for myself, soul, body, children, family, church;

Give me a heart frameable to thy will;
so might I live in prayer,
and hounour thee,
being kept from evil, known and unknown.

Help me to see the sin that accompanies all I do,
and the good I can distil from everything.
Let me know that the work of prayer is to bring
my will to thine,
and that without this it is folly to pray;

When I try to bring thy will to mine it is
to command Christ,
to be above him, and wiser than he:
this is my sin and pride.

I can only succeed when I pray
according to thy precept and promise,
and to be done with as it pleases thee,
according to thy sovereign will.

When thou commandest me to pray
for pardon, peace, brokenness,
it is because thou wilt give me the thing promised,
for thy glory,
as well as for my good.

Help me not only to desire small things
but with holy boldness to desire great things
for thy people, for myself,
that they and I might live to show thy glory.

Teach me
that it is wisdom for me to pray for all I have,
out of love, willingly, not of necessity;
that I may come to thee at any time,
to lay open my needs acceptably to thee;
that my great sin lies in my not keeping
the savour of thy ways;
that the remembrance of this truth is one way
to the sense of thy presence;
that there is no wrath like the wrath of being
governed by my own lusts for my own ends.

(from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers, edited by Arthur Bennett)

For Release From Prison

Gracious God, thank you for the welcome news of Pastor Yat Michael Ruot and Pastor Peter Yein Reith being released at last from their Sudanese jail. Thank you for all those who prayed and advocated (and agitated) for them.

Please continue to watch over them. Prevent further persecution or arrest. Preserve their lives and protect their families. And let their faithfulness witness to the power of the Spirit who is in them, in Jesus' name, amen.

Overwhelming

God, give me the grace
to handle my overwhelming blessings.
Amen.

Integrity and Honesty

My prayer today for my kids and my grandkids, from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad:


(Please feel free to share this prayer with others using the Twitter, Facebook, and other buttons below. You can also subscribe to this blog in your blog reader or enter your email address at top right to receive posts via email)

Morning Offering

My God, I give you this day.

I offer You, now, all of the good
that I shall do, and I promise to accept,
for love of You,
all of the difficulty that I shall meet.

Help me to conduct myself during this day
in a manner pleasing to you.

Amen.

(a prayer of St. Francis de Sales)