A Prayer for Perfect Soundness

Jesus, Shepherd of the sheep,
Pity my unsettled soul;
Guide and nourish me and keep,
Till Thy love shall make me whole.
Give me perfect soundness, give;
Make me steadfastly believe.

I am never at one stay,
Changing every hour I am;
But Thou art, as yesterday,
Now and evermore the same.
Constancy to me impart,
Stablish with Thy Grace my heart.

Give me faith to hold me up,
Walking over life's rough sea;
Holy, purifying hope,
Still my soul's sure anchor be.
That I may be always Thine,
Perfect me in love divine.

(Charles Wesley)

Prayer for Unity

We pray not only for ourselves but also for all who will believe in Jesus through our message.

We pray that we will all be one, just as the Father and the Son are one.

May we be in them together so that the world will believe that Jesus was sent from God.

May we glory in the Godhead and be one in headship, salvation and anointing.

We rejoice that Jesus is in us and we are in him.

May we experience such perfect unity that the world will know that the Father sent the Son.

May we understand together the depth and riches of the love of God.

Then the Father's love for the Son will be in us, and we will be in God.

Amen.

(a paraphrase of Jesus' prayer in John 17, from the Daily Prayer blog; photo courtesy of idman via everystockphoto.com)

The Coventry Litany of Reconciliation

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class,
Father Forgive.

The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own,

Father Forgive.

The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth,
Father Forgive.

Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,

Father Forgive.

Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee,

Father Forgive.

The lust which dishonours the bodies of men, women and children,

Father Forgive.

The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not in God,
Father Forgive.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

(following the bombing of the medieval Coventry Cathedral in 1940, Provost Howard had the words "Father Forgive" inscribed on the wall behind the altar of the ruins. These words are used as the response in the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation, which is prayed in the new cathedral every weekday at noon and in the ruins on Fridays)

Out of Silence

I'm starting to think
you prefer to speak
after I have managed to shut up.

A Prayer to Love Prayer

O God, give me a heart of prayer. Let prayer be easy for me. Help me see it as a joy, not labor, and a privilege, not a chore. Previous God, do as your Word promises. Make me joyful in your house of prayer!

(a prayer of Will Davis, Jr., from his book, The Power of Praying Boldly)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

On Memorial Day

In the quiet sanctuaries of our own hearts,
let each of us name and call on
the One whose power over us
is great and gentle,
firm and forgiving,
holy and healing…

You who created us,
who sustain us,
who call us to live in peace,
hear our prayer this day.

Hear our prayer for all who have died,
whose hearts and hopes are known to you alone…

Hear our prayer for those who put the welfare of others
ahead of their own
and give us hearts as generous as theirs…

Hear our prayer for those who gave their lives
in the service of others,
and accept the gift of their sacrifice…

Help us to shape and make a world
where we will lay down the arms of war
and turn our swords into ploughshares
for a harvest of justice and peace…

Comfort those who grieve the loss of their loved ones
and let your healing be the hope in our hearts...

Hear our prayer this day
and in your mercy answer us
in the name of all that is holy.

Amen.

(from the Concord Pastor blog)

Gethsemane Prayer

Lest I forget Gethsemane...

Lest I forget Thine agony...

Lest I forget Thy love for me...

Lead me to Calvary.

For Calleigh

I pray for Calleigh.
Please let her healing appear.
Soon would be good.
Now would be better.

Please heal her current infection.
Cast it out.
Banish it,
and let it never return.

Save her from being "colonized"
if that's what it's called
(I'm not even sure, but you know)
as a cystic fibrosis sufferer.

I know your ways are not my ways,
but I also believe your promise
that I can ask anything
according to your will
and it will be done.

So I ask,
knowing that your love and mercy
for your precious child, Calleigh,
is far greater than mine...
even as great as mine is.

So please let her healing appear.
Soon.
Now, even.
In Jesus' name, amen.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Psalm 61:2 Prayer

A Father's Prayer

Almighty God, my Father, make me like a tree, tall and strong and sturdy, planted in a path where my children and grandchildren may see me as I am, and know me, and yet surpass me on their way to new places and better things, in Jesus' name, amen.

May I Burn for You

God, I pray,
light these idle sticks of my life
and may I burn for you.

Consume my life, my God,
for it is yours.

I seek not a long life,
but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.

(a slightly updated prayer by Jim Elliot, martyred missionary to the indigenous people of Ecuador)

Bring Me To Your Holy Mountain

Lord, bring me today
to your holy mountain,
to Mount Zion,
to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem,
to God himself,
to Jesus,
the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people,
and to the sprinkled blood,
which graciously forgives.

(based on Isaiah 66:20, Hebrews 12:22-24; painting: Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, by David Roberts in 1842, Library of Congress)

Our Daily Bread

Give us this day our daily bread,
our daily water,
our daily sights,
our daily sounds,
our daily breaths,
our daily heartbeats,
our daily loves,
our daily laughs,
our daily highs,
our daily lows,
our daily steps,
our daily strength,
our daily faith,
our daily light,
our daily sleeping,
our daily waking,
our daily blessings,
our daily protections,
our daily provisions,
until we come at last
to our daily thanks
for another day,
in Jesus' name, amen.
our daily love,

Great Is Your Mercy

The Sinner

Lord, how I am all ague, when I seek
What I have treasur'd in my memory!
Since, if my soul make even with the week,
Each seventh note by right is due to thee.
I find there quarries of pil'd vanities,
But shreds of holiness, that dare not venture
To show their face, since cross to thy decrees:
There the circumference earth is, heav'n the centre.
In so much dregs the quintessence is small:
The spirit and good extract of my heart
Comes to about the many hundredth part.
Yet Lord restore thine image, hear my call:
And though my hard heart scarce to thee can groan,
Remember that thou once didst write in stone.

(by George Herbert)

Remind Me (A Writer's Prayer)

Lord, remind me
when inspiration fails me and writing is a slog,
that even at such times
the writing life is a life of privilege and blessing.

Remind me
when I feel overwhelmed with work
of the "dry spells" I've endured
when paying jobs were few.

Remind me
when I am tempted to do less than my best
to make every word, sentence, paragraph, and page
a holy offering to you.

Remind me
when I feel like goofing off online
that I used to hope for the joy and honor
of being a writer.

Remind me
when the bank account dwindles and the budget tightens,
that you are my provider,
not publishers, contracts, and royalties,
in Jesus' name, amen.

Make My Life a Prayer To You

Evening Prayer for Writers

If I have failed to heed your voice today,
If I have driven any of your thoughts away,
If I have written my own willful way:
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have written idle words or vain,
If I have worked for earthly gain,
If my words should bring one soul pain,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I appropriated words not mine,
If I failed to give a credit line,
If I've cast my pearls before swine,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I've failed in substance or in style,
If in anything I've stooped to guile,
If I've failed at all to win your smile,
Dear Lord, forgive!

Forgive the sins I have confessed to you,
Forgive the sins I don't know I do,
And make my writing both good and true;
All else forgive.

Amen.

(based on “An Evening Prayer,” by C. Maud Battersby)

A Prayer From Childhood

Make my life to be like a melody,
Ever sounding out the message of the Cross.

(from a hymn by John Wells)

For My Freedom

Thank you for my freedom
To love anyone and everyone,
To show grace
And have mercy
And give hospitality
And extend blessing
To one and all,
In Jesus' name, amen.