A Prayer on the First Day of Spring

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

(by Robert Frost, from A Boy's Will)

Another Psalm 16

Shelter me, Lord God,

for you are my windbreak,

my storm cellar,

my bunker.

How many times have I said to you,

“You are my Master;

everything good in my life

has come from you.

There isn't anything

I haven't been given."

I want to live in that awareness,

like the saints who are my heroes.

Save me from the stupidity

of those who reject your goodness,

your grace.

Steer me clear of them.

You alone are my portion, my gift, my blessing.

You uphold me and mine.

You have put me where I am,

and it is a good place,

sweet surroundings.

I will bless you, Lord, for guiding me;

I will sing nightsongs to you from my heart.

I will keep my eyes on you.

I will stay in step with you.

I will be glad, and I will rejoice.

I will rest in your arms.

I will trust you to in the dark

and follow you through the valley.

For you are the way

your presence is life,

your favor is my joy.

Amen.

Perseverance Prayer

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

St. Patrick's Breastplate

Today I put on
a terrible strength
invoking the Trinity
confessing the Three
with faith in the One
as I face my Maker.

Today I put on the power
of Christ's birth and baptism,
of his hanging and burial,
His resurrection, ascension,
and descent at the Judgement.

Today I put on the power
of the order of the Cherubim,
angels' obedience,
archangels' attendance,
in hope of ascending
to my reward;
patriarchs' prayers,
prophets' predictions,
apostles precepts,
confessors' testimony,
holy virgins' innocence
and the deeds of true men.

Today I put on
the power of Heaven,
the light of the Sun,
the radiance of the Moon,
the splendour of fire,
the fierceness of lightning,
the swiftness of wind,
the depth of the sea,
the firmness of earth
and the hardness of rock.

Today I put on
God's strenghth to steer me,
God's power to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye for my vision,
God's ear for my hearing,
God's word for my speech,
God's hand to protect me,
God's pathway before me,
God's shield for my shelter,
God's angels to guard me
from ambush of devils,
from vice's allurements,
from traps of the flesh,
from all who wish ill,
whether distant or close,
alone or in hosts.

I summon these powers today
to take my part against every implacable power
that attacks my body and soul,
the chants of false prophets,
dark laws of the pagans,
false heretics' laws,
entrapments of idols,
enchantments of women
or smiths or druids,
and all knowledge that poisons
man's body or soul.

Christ guard me today
from poison, from burning,
from drowning, from hurt,
that I have my reward.


Christ beside me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,

Christ within me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me.

Christ on my right hand,
Christ on my left,

Christ where I lie,
Christ where I sit,
Christ where I rise.

Christ in the hearts of all who think of me,
Christ in the mouths of all who speak to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Today I put on
a terrible strength,
invoking the Trinity,
confessing the Three,
with faith in the One
as I face my Maker.

Yourself And Nothing Less

God, give me yourself--nothing less than
your salvation,
your holiness,
your mercy,
your kindness,
your magnanimity,
your love,
your goodness,
your purity,
your integrity,
your grace,
your glory will do for me.

I confess, Lord, that I sin,
and in so doing
I say that you are not enough for me,
that you can't be trusted,
that I must have something other than you...
but that's a lie,
and I beg your forgiveness for how often I tell it,
in Jesus' name, amen.

For Syria

Father God,
in unity with the suffering Christians of Syria,
I pray, "Enough! Enough! Enough of war in Syria."

In agreement with Gregorios III,
Melkite Greek Patriarch of Antioch and Bishop of Damascus,
I pray for peace in Syria.
I ask for comfort and strength
for those who grieve
the more than 220,000 dead.
I beg for provision and sustenance
for the 3.8 million Syrian refugees in nearby countries,
and the estimated 8 million Syrians who have been displaced within Syria.
I plead for food, medicine, medical care, beds, heat, electricity,
and other needs to be provided.

I pray for strife to cease
and peace to return.
I pray for hatred and oppression
to be overcome by love and cooperation.
I pray for my Christian brothers and sisters
(in the words of the patriarch) to be patient, strong,
always to hope and to hang on to hope and faith.
I pray for the brave and faithful pastors
who stay and serve; protect and strengthen them, Lord.
I pray for supernatural protection of churches and Christian communities in Syria.
I pray for the church around the world to awaken to their need.
I pray for leaders of the world's nations to heed the cries of the Syrian people.
Oh Lord, hear my prayer.
Amen.

(a response to Patriarch Gregorios's call to prayer; photo credit: Carole AlFarah/Aid to the Church in Need)

From the Greyness of Our Apathy

O Christ, our Morning Star,
Splendour of Light Eternal,
shining with the glory of the rainbow,
come and waken us
from the greyness of our apathy,
and renew in us your gift of hope.
Amen.

(a prayer of Bede the Venerable, by way of the Daily Prayer Blog)

Silently Now

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready my God, Thy will to see;

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

(a prayer of Clara H. Scott; photo via everystockphoto.com)

Sum and Source

Adonai, I praise you with my lips
and with my mind,
and ask that you bring my heart along,
so that I can praise you with my whole self.

I praise you for your majesty,
evident in the skies;
your artistry
evident in the clouds;
your power
evident in the storm;
your gentleness
evident in the breeze;
your beauty
evident in the trees;
your grace
evident in the fawn that feeds by the treeline;
your strength
evident in the firmness of the earth beneath it all.

I praise you Lord, Adonai,
for your greatness and your goodness,
for all splendor and majesty,
glory and power belongs to you,
and you are the sum
and the source
of all that is good, amen.

Today and Every Day

You are the peace of all things calm.
You are the place to hide from harm.
You are the light that shines in dark.
You are the heart's eternal spark.
You are the door that's open wide.
You are the guest who waits inside.
You are the stranger at the door.
You are the calling of the poor.
You are my Lord and with me still.
You are my love, keep me from ill.
You are the light, the truth, the way.
You are my Saviour this very day.

(an ancient Celtic prayer)

With 10,000 Beside

Round Us Everywhere

O Lord, seek us, O Lord, find us
In Thy patient care;
Be Thy Love before, behind us,
Round us, everywhere:

Lest the god of this world blind us,
Lest he speak us fair,
Lest he forge a chain to bind us,
Lest he bait a snare.

Turn not from us, call to mind us,
Find, embrace us, bear;
Be thy love before, behind us,
Round us everywhere. Amen.

(a prayer of Christina Rossetti)

Second Chances

A Prayer at Noon

For the brightness of the sun,
for the daily route it runs,
for the warming rays it brings
and the hope of coming Spring,
I give you thanks.

(photo via everystockphoto.com)

Memory

Abba, thank you for memory. Thank you that I can remember my way home. My wife’s name. My kids and grandkids. Thank you that I can remember yesterday...and years ago. Thank you that I can remember to pay my bills. Thank you that I remember most of my passwords. Thank you for all the things I remember without trying—so much that I don’t even realize how blessed I am to remember them. Thank you that I can remember to give you thanks. Amen.

Against Scams and Cons

God, I pray against all the scams and cons
that are employed against trusting souls,
especially those that target
and prey on senior citizens.
Stop them, Lord.
Frustrate them.
May their efforts fail
and may they repay a hundredfold
what they have stolen and wheedled
out of their victims.
And Lord, please turn to those victims,
and restore their resources
until like Job their latter state
is better than ever, in Jesus' name, amen.

For All I Need

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. Amen.

Give Me the Lowest Place

Give me the lowest place: not that I dare
Ask for that lowest place, but Thou hast died
That I might live and share
Thy glory by Thy side.

Give me the lowest place: or if for me
That lowest place too high, make one more low
Where I may sit and see
My God and love Thee so.

(a prayer by Christina Rossetti)

You Give Me Rest

Lord, your promise is true.
You give me rest.
You lift my burdens,
and carry me through.

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8, NIV).

In hope I will rise up again,
for you alone lift my head in hope.

In strength will I walk through this day,
for you alone are my shield and my buckler,
in Jesus' name, amen.

A Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Heavenly Father,
We pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering for Your Name's sake -
for those who have lost homes and possessions, family and friends simply because they profess faith in your Son, Jesus.

We pray for those who have been arrested, beaten, imprisoned, tortured beyond what we can even imagine, for the sake of Christ and the Gospel,
for the multitude of Christians who are in prison even now as we gather in the comfort of our church sanctuary.

Grant these Your grace that they may endure,
grant them courage that their faith would not waver;
may they remain true to the One who suffered and died for them.

Give them the assurance that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Give them love for their enemies that they might bless and not curse them,
that, in their suffering, they might testify of the love of Jesus for sinners.

May they rejoice that they are considered worthy to suffer for His name.
Give them joy in spite of their suffering,
and peace in spite of their pain,
knowing that a great reward awaits them.

We pray for their families,
that You would meet all their needs,
that they would not lose hope,
that their faith in You would remain strong.

We do pray for the release of these, Your children,
but until that day, may Your grace prevail and the
name of Jesus be glorified.

We ask this in the name of Your Son Jesus,
Who suffered and died for us. Amen.

(a prayer by monkatheart; photo by chidsey via everystockphoto.com)