Lord, protect them. All of them.
From bullies. Of all ages.
From predators.
From oppressors,
manipulators,
abusers,
and users,
in Jesus' name, amen.
A Thief's Prayer
Remember me when you feel like blessing someone.
Remember me when you're handing out strength for the day,
rest for the night,
hope for tomorrow.
Remember me when I forget you are near.
Remember me when the crowd presses in on me.
Remember me when others find fault,
and demand what I cannot give.
Remember when I'm stricken with fear,
and peace eludes me,
and I forget that you are in control.
Remember me, too, when cloudy skies clear,
and all seems well with the world.
Remember me, Lord.
Remember me, in Jesus' name, amen.
(photo by Mika Korhonen via unsplash.com)
All of Us are Taxed
some of us owe,
some of us await a refund,
some of us have no income to tax.
But all of us are taxed,
by war,
by violence,
by anxiety,
by deathliness.
And Caesar never gives any deep tax relief.
We render to Caesar . . .
to some it feels like a grab,
to some it is clearly a war tax,
to some – some few –
it is a way to contribute to the common good.
In any case we are haunted
by what we render to Caesar,
by what we might render to you,
by the way we invest our wealth and our lives,
when what you ask is an “easy yoke”:
to do justice
to love mercy
to walk humbly with you.
Give us courage for your easy burden, so to live untaxed lives. Amen.
(a prayer by Walter Brueggemann, from his book, Prayers for a Privileged People; photo by Shutterbug75 via pixabay.com)
For Purity of Heart
To Get Some Pleasure Out of Life
And also something to digest;
Give me a healthy body, Lord,
With sense to keep it at its best.
Give me a healthy mind, Good Lord,
To keep the good and pure in sight,
Which seeing sin, is not appalled
But finds a way to set it right.
Give me a mind that is not bored,
That does not whimper, whine, or sigh;
Don't let me worry overmuch
About the fussy thing called "I."
Give me a sense of humor, Lord,
Give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some pleasure out of life
And pass it on to other folk.
(prayer hanging in a cathedral at Chester, England,
shared by E. Stanley Jones in The Way to Power and Poise;
photo by Vita Strawberrika via unsplash.com).
Like a Mill
Lord God, make me like a mill beside a flowing stream.
Let living water flow through me.
Let your mighty power be harnessed and channeled
and focused as it flows through my life.
Let it flow out of me to bless and benefit all those around me,
the whole community, rich and poor, big and small,
those I know and those I don't, those I like and those I don't,
making us all healthier and better, in Jesus' name, amen.
On Easter Monday
Lord Jesus, here on Easter Monday, let me not succumb to the lazy thought that Easter and your resurrection are in my rear-view mirror, for you are alive evermore, and you are in me and with me today and tomorrow and forevermore. Let me live and walk, sleep and wake, eat and drink in the awareness of your constant nowness. Amen.
By Your Magnificent and Radiant Resurrection
It is only right,
with all the powers of our heart and mind, to praise You Father
and Your Only-begotten Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ:
Dear Father, by Your wondrous
condescension of loving-kindness toward us,
Your servants, You gave up Your Son.
Dear Jesus You paid the debt of Adam
for us to the Eternal Father by
Your Blood poured forth in loving-kindness.
You cleared away the darkness of sin
By Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection.
You broke the bonds of death
and rose from the grave as a Conqueror.
You reconciled heaven and earth.
Our life had no hope of eternal happiness
before You redeemed us.
Your Resurrection has washed away our sins,
restored our innocence and brought us joy.
How inestimable is the tenderness
of Your love!
(Saint Gregory the Great's Easter Prayer; photo by Pisit Heng via unsplash.com)
On Silent Saturday
Rest you well, beloved Jesus,
Caesar’s Lord and Israel’s King,
In the brooding of the Spirit,
In the darkness of the spring.
(N. T. Wright, from The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is)
On Good Friday
Am I a stone, and not a sheep,
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross,
To number drop by drop Thy blood's slow loss,
And yet not weep?
Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved;
Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,
A horror of great darkness at broad noon--
I, only I.
Yet give not o'er,
But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more
And smite a rock.
(by Christina Rossetti)
On Maundy Thursday
Lord, wash,
not my feet only,
but also
my hands
and
my head.
And
my heart.
And
my mind.
And
my life.
Amen.
(based on John 13:9).
On Holy Wednesday
I confess to You my sins. They are many, and You know them all. For each and every one of them you suffered the agony of the cross and shed your precious blood that I may be cleansed and made acceptable in your sight. Thank you for the forgiveness and cleansing that is mine. Thank you that none of the sins of yesterday cling to me. Humbly I come, grateful for your mercy. Daily let me fulfill the tasks and duties to which You have called me with joy, confessing you as my Lord and Savior, and being of service to my neighbor.
Grant that your suffering and death, proclaimed for the salvation of mankind, may by the power of the Holy Spirit awaken in many a deeper love to You. O Lord, have mercy upon me and all sinful mankind, and create in me and all that seek you a clean heart, holy desires, and an undying love. Hear my prayer, gracious Redeemer. Amen.
(borrowed and revised from http://scotkinnaman.com; photo of Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona, Arizona, by Josh Ekstein)
Long Have I Loved You
Long have I loved you,
But not nearly as long or as much
As your great love deserves.
Each day I have left
Let me love and serve you
With more passion and zeal
Than the 23,741 (or so)
that have gone before.
Amen.
On Holy Monday
God of love,My prayer is simple:
Your son, Jesus, suffered and died for me.
I know only
that I cannot have real strength
unless I rely on you.
I cannot feel protected
from my many weaknesses
until I turn to you
for forgiveness and your unalterable love.
Help me to share this
strength, protection and love with others.
(from One Prayer a Day for Lent)
Fool's Prayer
O Lord,Be merciful to me, a fool!
No pity, Lord,
could change the heart
From red with wrong
to white as wool;
The rod must heal
the sin: but Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
'Tis not by guilt the onward sweep
Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay;
‘Tis by our follies that so long
We hold the earth from heaven away.
These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
Go crushing blossoms without end;
These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
Among the heart-strings of a friend.
The ill-timed truth we might have kept–
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
The word we had not sense to say–
Who knows how grandly it had rung!
Our faults no tenderness should ask.
The chastening stripes must cleanse them all;
But for our blunders — oh, in shame
Before the eyes of heaven we fall.
Earth bears no balsam for mistakes;
Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
That did his will; but Thou, O Lord,
Be merciful to me, a fool!
(from a poem by Edward Rowland Sill)
From a Hill I Know
When shall I come unto the healing waters?
Lifting my heart, I cry to Thee my prayer.
Spirit of peace, my Comforter and Healer,
In whom my springs are found, let my soul meet Thee there.
From a hill I know,
Healing waters flow;
O rise, Emmanuel's tide,
And my soul overflow.
Wash from my hands the dust of earthly striving,
Take from my mind the stress of secret fear;
Cleanse Thou the wounds from all but Thee far hidden,
And when the waters flow let my healing appear.
Light, life and love are in that healing fountain;
All I require to cleanse me and restore;
Flow through my soul, redeem its desert places,
And make a garden there for the Lord I adore.
(a hymn of General Albert Orsborn of The Salvation Army)
For Baseball
for outfields of green
and the crack of the ball on a wooden bat.
For pitchers with eccentric windups,
for stolen bases
and diving catches.
For double plays
and double steals,
bunts and brushbacks,
squeeze plays and home runs.
For "cold beer here!" and ballpark franks.
For the seventh inning stretch.
For day games and night games.
For OBPs and ERAs,
pickoff plays and headfirst slides,
for opening days and hope springing eternal.
Amen.
My Soul Waits
My soul waits on you, Lord. I wait on you, as a servant waits to be called, as a dog looks to the master. I wait on you, to hear your voice, to be guided by your will even in what I pray, to follow in step with you. Please guide my praying, my thinking, my sleeping, my waking, my planning, my writing, my speaking, my reading, my eating and drinking, and direct me in all I do to the fulfilling of your purpose, for you are all and in all, in Jesus' name, amen.
(photo by Ulysse Pointcheval via unsplash.com)
Sighs Too Deep
Holy Spirit, thank you that
when my heart is overwhelmed,
when I have no words,
you intercede on my behalf with sighs too deep for words.
(photo by Noah Silliman, via unsplash.com)
Free
that the Son has set me free;
I am free indeed.
I am free to laugh,
free to dance,
free to sing,
free to follow you,
free to walk in the light,
free to say no,
free to say yes,
free to go,
free to stay,
free to say "I'm sorry,"
free to say "I love you,"
free to forgive,
free to trust,
free to work,
free to rest,
free to relax,
free indeed.
Thank you, in Jesus' name, amen.
(photo by Sammie Chaffin via unsplash.com)
Beneath Your Cross
Beneath your cross, Lord Jesus, I pledge to take my stand—
The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day.
O safe and happy shelter! O refuge tried and sweet!
O trysting place where Heaven’s love and Heaven’s justice meet!
As to the exiled patriarch that wondrous dream was giv’n,
So seems your cross, O Lord, to me— a ladder up to Heav’n.
Not so, O Lord, not this the boon I ask from you;
But for your strength to do the work you've given me to do.
No faithful servant one who seeks for rest before,
Who faints before the day is done, and the evening work is o’er.
I ask a living faith within me to abide;
I ask you for a holy heart, and a spirit purified;
Two willing hands to serve, a patient mind to bear,
And hallowed, earnest lips to speak for you, Lord, everywhere.
(from the hymn, "Beneath the Cross of Jesus," by Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane, slightly revised and updated; photo by Jametlene Reskp via unsplash.com)
In Sore Need of Bright Courage and Stout Faith
Strengthen us for any struggle, Lord.
Temper this wind to the lamb that is shorn.
If the crocus bloom, can Johnny-jump-up be far behind?
Make us patient, but well-prepared.
Amen.
(from the book, The Farmer Gives Thanks; photo by Mission Pilot via unsplash.com)
Winds of March
Who but Thee, O Lord, who slept in the hinder part of the ship and commanded us to be not fearful.
And told the storm: be still.
Give us that same great faith, O God, as we come into the new spring.
Bless our plows, and our harrows too.
Let our grass seed fall on good ground, rot naturally in the moist earth, and live again in the warmth of the sun.
Bless every suckling on this place, our Father.
Strengthen the mothers, and spread their tender spirit of love and sacrifice into the hearts of men the world around.
We saw the wild geese in echelon flying, O God, and we are thankful.
Amen.
(from the book, The Farmer Gives Thanks; photo via everystockphoto.com)
For Spring
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
For blue of stream and blue of sky;
For pleasant shade of branches high;
For fragrant air and cooling breeze;
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
(by Ralph Waldo Emerson; photo by ROverhate via pixabay.com)
For My Son on His Birthday
gone are the days
when my little boy
could climb into my lap
and melt my heart with a smile.
Gone--long gone!--are the nights
when I could read him a book
and smile with joy
at his plea for more
or sing him a lullaby
without knowing he could do it far better.
But oh, what a son he still is today.
Oh, Lord, how you've blessed me,
not only with a son,
but with such a son,
such a husband,
such a father,
and such a friend as he is.
And though I know it is selfish
to ask more when you have given so much already,
I ask.
Lord, I ask.
Please make his every dream come true.
Please.
Please continue making him like Enoch, who walked with you,
like Noah, who found grace in your sight,
like Abraham, who walked by faith,
like Joseph, a dreamer and doer,
like Moses, who walked on holy ground,
like his namesake Aaron, who led your people into your presence,
like Caleb and Joshua, who saw with eyes of faith,
like Elijah, who received food from your hand,
like Elisha, who was given a double portion,
like David, who danced before you, a man after your own heart,
like Jehoshaphat, who trusted in you,
like Hosea, who forgave largely,
like John, a beloved disciple,
like Barnabas, a mentor and encourager.
Make him more than anything, like Jesus, lover of souls.
Bless him, Lord, on his birthday,
and every day to come,
as you have so blessed me with him,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Breastplate
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.
(a prayer attributed to St. Patrick; photo by rgohery via pixabay.com)
For Women Who Have Taught, Pastored, Inspired, and Led Me
(photo by Belinda Fewings via unsplash.com)
I Renew
By the love that never ceased to hold me,
By the blood which Thou didst shed for me,
Whilst Thy presence and Thy power enfold me,
I renew my covenant with Thee.
Amen.
(a prayer by Salvationist hymnwriter Will Brand; photo by Samuel Martins via unsplash.com)
From an Autograph
Lord, thank you for instructing me and teaching me in the way which I should go. Please continue to keep your eye on me (drawn from Psalm 32:8).
Dull Imaginings
that we have imagined true humanness,
after the Enlightenment model,
to mean being successful,
having it all together,
knowing all the answers,
never making mistakes,
striding through the world as though we owned it.
(a prayer of N. T. Wright, from The Challenge of Jesus, p. 193; photo by Amazos7 via pixabay.com).
Teach Me
Teach me your ways, Lord.
Teach me your Word.
Teach me your wit.
Teach me your winsomeness.
Teach me your wiles.
Teach me your will.
Teach me your wealth of creativity,
resources,
variety,
and beauty.
Teach me your wonders,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Praise Belongs to You
Praise belongs to you, Lord,
Mighty God,
Transcendent,
Righteous,
Merciful,
and Just.
I praise you for being a mighty fortress,
a kind, forgiving Father,
a gentle, nursing mother,
a friend,
a king,
a warrior,
a shepherd,
a rose of Sharon,
a morning star,
a sun, and shield, a shelter,
all that I need, and all I aspire to be.
Amen.
(photo by Damian Markutt via unsplash.com)
The Canaan of Your Perfect Love
Which shall from age to age endure,
Whose word, when Heaven and earth shall pass,
Remains and stands forever sure,
That I your mercy may proclaim,
That all humanity truth may see,
Hallow your great and glorious name,
And perfect holiness in me.
Purge from me every sinful blot;
My idols all be cast aside;
Cleanse me from every sinful thought,
From all the filth of self and pride.
Give me a new, a perfect heart,
From doubt and fear and sorrow free;
The mind that is in Christ impart
And let my thoughts unblemished be.
O that I now, from sin released,
Your word may to the utmost prove,
Enter into your promised rest,
The Canaan of your perfect love. Amen.
(a hymn by Charles Wesley, slightly revised; photo by Dyana Wing So via unsplash.com)
Mozart's Laudate Dominum
English translation:
Praise the Lord, all nations;
Praise Him, all people.
For He has bestowed
His mercy upon us,
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and forever,
and for generations of generations.
Amen.
Love and Hate
to love what I ought to love,
to praise what delights you most,
to value what is precious in your sight,
and to hate what is offensive to you. Amen.
(a prayer by Thomas à Kempis; photo illustration by Brett Jordan via unsplash.com)
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