To Be Marked by Prayerfulness
A Prayer of Christina Rossetti
O God the Holy GhostWho art light unto thine elect
Evermore enlighten us.
Thou who art fire of love
Evermore enkindle us.
Thou who art Lord and Giver of Life,
Evermore live in us.
Thou who bestowest sevenfold grace,
Evermore replenish us.
As the wind is thy symbol,
So forward our goings.
As the dove, so launch us heavenwards.
As water, so purify our spirits.
As a cloud, so abate our temptations.
As dew, so revive our languor.
As fire, so purge our dross.
(a prayer of Christina Rossetti)
Saturday Psalm #20
God of Israel, keep me safe from all harm.
Send me help from your sanctuary
and strengthen me from Jerusalem.
Lord, remember all my gifts
and look favorably on the offerings I bring.
Lord, grant your heart's desire for me
and fulfill all your plans for me.
May I scream for joy and shout your praise
when you grant me victory;
let me fly banners to honor you, my God,
for you, LORD, answer all my prayers.
I know, LORD, that you save all who call on you.
You answer from your holy heaven
and rescue by your great power.
Some boast of their own great power and ability,
but I will boast in you, my LORD and my God.
Those who trust in themselves will fall down and collapse,
but I will rise up and stand firm because I trust in you.
Give victory, O LORD!
Respond to my cry for help.
Responsibility
My prayer today for my kids and my grandkids, from the "31 Ways to Pray for Your Kids" app for iPhone and iPad (available exclusively on iTunes):
Come, King of Grace
Enlighten my heart, rule my life, and sanctify my thoughts so that they all may be reverent and pleasing to you. Surround me with your grace, that I may never be removed from it.
Come to me, Holy Trinity! Make me your dwelling and your temple. Spark in me the light of your knowledge, faith, hope, humility, patience, prayer, perseverance, and reverence. Amen.
(from the book Amish Prayers, compiled by Beverly Lewis)
Let Me Learn by Paradox
-that the way down is the way up
-that to be low is to be high
-that the broken heart is the healed heart
-that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit
-that the repenting soul is the victorious soul
-that to have nothing is to possess all
-that to bear the cross is to wear the crown
-that to give is to receive
-that the valley is the place of vision.
(from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers, edited by Arthur Bennett)
In My Behavior
Deliver me from timidity of spirit and from storminess...
from all heedlessness in my behavior, deliver me, Oh Lord.
(a prayer of Gertrude the Great)
Saturday Psalm #19
The dome of heaven declares your glory, God;
the spangled sky displays your handiwork.
Day after day they speak of you,
and nightly they show knowledge of you like a canvas revealing the artist.
Without speech or language,
without an audible voice,
they publish your praise through all the earth,
and silently shout your glory to the end of the world.
You have made the sky to house the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
and daily springs up like an athlete ready to run a race.
You send it forth every morning from the eastern horizon,
until it sinks in the western sky,
giving light and heat to everything in its path.
As the sun, so your law, O Lord: it is perfect,
giving strength to the soul:
the testimony of your Word, Lord, is sure,
making wise the simple.
Your statutes are right,
rejoicing the heart:
your commandments are pure,
enlightening the eyes.
Respect for you, Lord, is pure;
let it last for ever in my heart:
your judgments are true
and righteous altogether.
Your Word is more desirable than gold,
far more valuable than a Ft. Knox of fine gold:
your words are sweeter than honey
and tastier than the drippings from a honeycomb.
They steer me away from danger:
in keeping them there is great reward.
Lord, even your “errors” are too sophisticated for me;
let your Word convict and cleanse me from my most secret faults.
Keep me from presumption;
break the power of pride in my life;
make me upright
and keep me innocent in your sight.
Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
my strength, and my redeemer, amen.
(from Psalm 19; photo by foodmenu via everystockphoto.com)
On the Lovely Robin's Birthday
Abba, you have granted me the loveliest bride, the perfect woman for me,and I am grateful.
Thank you for hearing my heart's cry 43 years ago
and thank you for giving her in marriage to me 40 years ago.
And thank you for every day with her since then,
days that could not have been
so wonderful,
so beautiful,
so warm and loving,
without her,
in Jesus' name, amen.
How Wide is My Vista
Lord, how wide is my vista now. I am free to eat of every tree in the garden, so to speak. I am not impeded by dividing lines but can fellowship and worship and learn from and enjoy Thomas Merton (Catholic), A. W. Tozer (CMA), Henri Nouwen (Catholic), John Bevere (charismatic), Andrew Murray (Dutch Reformed), Charles Swindoll (EV Free, nondenominational), Samuel Logan Brengle (Salvation Army), Max Lucado (Church of Christ), and so many others. How blessed I have been through Episcopalian podcasts, and Catholic monasteries, and Methodist chapels, Baptist baptistries, and Church of God in Christ T.V. preachers, and so much more. How beautiful is the whole Body of Christ to me!
A Prayer for Faith
in myself,
in my ideas,
in my ingenuity.
Give me the gift of faith in you,
your ideas,
your ingenuity,
your voice,
your power,
your words, in Jesus' name, amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)