Honest Gratitude

Gratitude is a difficult emotion, God.
So often I am told to thank you
for food and clothing, health and strength,
the beauty of nature, the privilege of freedom,
but I don't really feel grateful.
I go through the motions of thanks, nothing more.

Yet, when I consider,
there are many things for which I am thankful.
I thank you, Lord,
for moments of inspiration,
flashes of joy, glimpses of truth.
I thank you for the hidden strengths
that carry me through the stresses of each hour.
I thank you for peace and relaxation
at the close of a hard day's work,
for grace that surprises me now and then,
in the midst of living, and transforms it for an instant,
for the comfort and frankness and joy
of a few good friends.
I am grateful too, Lord,
that you have not abandoned me
to my own vanity, conceit and prejudice,
but have kept nagging away at the back of my mind
with hard choices, testing decisions,
the constant challenge, in all that I do,
to find my life in losing it.

Most of all, I thank you for Jesus Christ,
who opened himself to the utmost
that I might see true life in him,
fully lived out and fully died out.
For his life risen and living in me this day,
I thank you, God and rejoice.
Amen.

-J. Barrie Shepherd

Let all the World in Every Corner Ring

Let all the world in every corner sing, my God and King!
The heavens are not too high, His praise may thither fly,
The earth is not too low, His praises there may grow.
Let all the world in every corner sing, my God and King!

Let all the world in every corner sing, my God and King!
The church with psalms must shout, no door can keep them out;
But, above all, the heart must bear the longest part.
Let all the world in every corner sing, my God and King!

George Herbert 1593-1632

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

-Mary Oliver

(photo from Abbey of the Arts)

God of us all, Source of Life, Creation and Beauty, we ask your blessing upon us as we begin our Lenten journey. We have a long way to go. The cross is so far ahead of us that we can barely see it on the horizon.

And yet, we know it will come into view soon enough. Sometimes we feel tempted to avoid the difficulties of this season of Lent. Sometimes it just seems too much to endure, and we would rather find an easier path to travel. God, stay with us, we pray. Remind us that the journey is as vital as the destination and that we are not alone - you are with us.

In praise and thanksgiving, we are thankful for the deep blessings we experience in this life and for the assurance of your abiding and eternal presence with us. Bless all who are in need of your love - the grieving, the lost, the lonely, and all who suffer in mind, body or spirit. God, place your healing hand upon our woundedness, and grant us your peace, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Saturday Prayer during Lent

Father, look upon our weakness and reach out to help us with your loving power.

My dear father,
I am not asking to overcome my weakness,
but to use it in some way to glorify you.

Let me be aware of
the many ways you reach out to help me today
and let me stand in awe of the power
that you use in such loving ways.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

taken from Praying Lent 2007 Creighton University Online Ministries
FYI: They remind us that Saturdays are lighter and more upbeat than the other days as we are preparing for Sunday. They are reading from Isaiah 58, this continues in particular in Isaiah 58: 9b-14. They are also doing a self-examination regarding what true fasting is for us this Lent.

Image from Prayer Windows

The Jesus Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Psalm 16

Unnamable God, I feel you

with me at every moment.

You are my food, my drink,

my sunlight, and the air I breathe.

You are the ground I have built on

and the beauty that rejoices my heart,

I give thanks to you at all times

for lifting me from my confusion,

for teaching me in the dark

and showing me the path of life.

I have come to the center of the universe;

I rest in your perfect love.

In your presence there is fullness of joy

and blessedness forever and ever.

From A Book of Psalms,
selected and adapted from the Hebrew by Stephen Mitchell

Ash Wednesday Prayer

O God,

maker of every thing and judge of all that you have made,

from the dust of the earth you have formed us

and from the dust of death you would raise us up.

By the redemptive power of the cross,

create in us clean hearts

and put within us a new spirit,

that we may repent of our sins

and lead lives worthy of your calling;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer: Laurence H. Stookey

Picture: Eileen Dehli

A Morning Resolve

A Morning Resolve

I will try this day to live a simple, sincere and serene life, repelling promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity, and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike faith in God.

In particular I will try to be faithful in those habits of prayer, work, study, physical exercise, eating, and sleep which I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me to be right.

And as I cannot in my own strength do this, nor even with a hope of success attempt it, I look to thee, O Lord God my Father, in Jesus my Savior, and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

A Morning Resolve - from the inside cover of publication Forward Day by Day

Guide Me Into An Unclenched Moment

Gentle me,
Holy One,
into an unclenched moment,
a deep breath,
a letting go
of heavy expectancies,
of shriveling anxieties,
of dead certainties,
that, softened by the silence,
surrounded by the light,
and open to the mystery,
I may be found by wholeness,
upheld by the unfathomable,
entranced by the simple,
and filled with the joy
that is you.

(prayer from Guerillas of Grace by Ted Loder, photo from Abbey of the Arts)

Sunday Prayer

Wondrous God, Source of Life, Holy Mystery, hear our prayers. In praise and thanksgiving we gather now in mind, heart and spirit to offer up the blessings and concerns of this day.

God, we thank you for ways in which we encounter you day to day. We thank you when we see your love shining in the smile of a friend, or the sweetness of a baby’s laugh. We praise you when an embrace from a loved one reflects your love for us.

In prayer, in quiet moments captured in the midst of busy days, and in the most unexpected ways – you meet us as we are. We thank you God for these glimpses of holiness and for the sustaining power they bring to the nurture of our faith.

Strengthen us as we seek to live the faith we proclaim, and help us to bring the light of your love into the lives of everyone we meet.

Bless those for whom we have prayed aloud this morning, and those whose cares and trials are close to our hearts.

Be with all who are ill in body, mind and spirit….with the grieving and the dying. Bring strength and peace to those who are struggling with life’s troubles. Grant them the peace and courage that only you can bring, for we ask it in Jesus’ name, who taught us to pray together, singing…


Amen.

Prayer for the Holy Spirit

Come. Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful.

Come among us as wind and fire

And ignite our lives with renewed faith

Come, Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful.

Help us to grow in the life of grace

and reflect your presence in our lives.

Come, Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful.

Give us courage and faith to use our gifts

In service of the church and your people.

Come Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful.

Enable our parishes, our families, and our communities to

Respond to the challenge of the gospel.

Come Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful.

Bless the young, support the old.

Sustain all those who minister to your people.

Come, Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful

Be the wind and fire that brings new life to your church

And open our minds and hearts to your presence among us.

Come, Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful.

May our prayer help us to embrace the call you give us

To be holy people in service to God and one another.

Come, Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful.

Amen.

from the East Lewis County Catholic Community

Praise For the Good Things

Psalm 107

God of good news and new beginnings: So often we come before you on behalf of the sad and sorrowing and lost. Help us also recognize your creative, redeeming and reconciling work around us: lives changed; love kindled; bodies, minds and relationships healed; hope given to the hopeless. We praise you for all these things, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Artwork: Carl Larsson

Expressions of faith

Lord, You have always given
bread for the coming day;
and though I am poor,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
strength for the coming day;
and though I am weak,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
peace for the coming day;
and though of anxious heart,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always kept
me safe in trials;
and now, tried as I am,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always marked
the road for the coming day;
and though it may be hidden,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always lightened
this darkness of mine;
and though the night is here,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always spoken
when time was ripe;
and though you be silent now,
today I believe.

From Evening Prayer, the Northumbria Community

Thirsting for God

Listen, O Lord, to my prayers. Listen to my desire to be with you, to dwell in your house, and to let my whole being be filled with your presence. But none of this is possible without you. When you are not the one who fills me, I am soon filled with endless thoughts and concerns that divide me and tear me away from you. Even thoughts about you, good spiritual thoughts, can be little more than distractions when you are not their author.

O, Lord, thinking about you, being fascinated with theological ideas and discussions, being excited about histories of Christian spirituality and stimulated by thoughts and ideas about prayer and meditation, all of this can be as much an expression of greed as the unruly desire for food, possessions or power.

Every day I see again that only you can teach me to pray, only you can set my heart at rest, only you can let me dwell in your presence. No book, no idea, no concept or theory will ever bring me close to you unless you yourself are the one who lets these instruments become the way to you.

But Lord, let me at least remain open to your initiative; let me wait patiently and attentively for that hour when you will come and break through all the walls I have erected. Teach me, O Lord, to pray. Amen.

-From A Cry for Mercy by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Awake

Awake, awake to love and work!
The lark is in the sky
the fields are wet with diamond dew
The worlds awake to cry
their praises to the Fount of Life
Christ Jesus passes by.

Come, let your voice be one with theirs
shout with the shout of praise
See how the giant sun soars up
God's gift for all your days!
So let the love of Jesus come
and set your soul ablaze.

To give and give, and give again,
as God's own grace is free
To spend yourself nor count the cost
To serve most gloriously
the God who gave all worlds that are
and all that are to be.



Music: Morning Song Kentucky Harmony (19thC)
Words: Geoffrey Studdert-Kennedy (20thC)
Sequence: Cathouse Pandemonium, Ltd.

We plant seeds that one day will grow

It helps now and then, to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about: We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capability.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.

-Archbishop Oscar Romero

Sunday Prayer

This prayer is cross-posted on the RevGal site.

Loving God, we thank you for the blessing of this day and the gift of being here together. We thank you for this faith community and for others like it all around the globe... For church families that pull together in times of need and celebrate in times of great joy.

We thank you for bread broken together and the mission we share in the name of Jesus, who called us to live the gospel we proclaim. We thank you for the particular gifts and skills that each person brings to our community and for their willingness to share those gifts.

We pray for the needs and concerns of all those we have named aloud in this place, and for those we have not named, and for those known only to you. Bring healing where it is needed, God, and may all know the power and comfort of your presence.

Help us God to find the balance we seek in this life, between caring for others and caring for ourselves, between being a blessing and being blessed, between being and doing. Keep us focused on the source of our healing and the strength of our being – Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray saying...

prayer of thanksgiving

i thank You God for most this amazing day:

for the leaping greenly spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky;

and for everything which is natural

which is infinite

which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,

and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth

day of life and love and wings: and of the gay

great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any-

lifted from the no of all nothing-

human merely being

doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and

now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

e e cummings

Called to Proclaim the Good News

Isaiah 61:1-9

Loving, saving, liberating God: Your good news is very good news indeed -- freedom for the captive; healing for the sick of body and soul; the inbreaking of your shalom; the proclamation that you, God With Us, stand in solidarity with your creation. We thank you for the privilege of being called to share this good news with all around us. Remind us, as we seek to serve you, that we are your hands and feet and voice in any situation where we find ourselves, and hearten us with the joy and comfort of your presence. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, the one who goes before us and shows us the way. Amen.

Artwork: "Liberation," M.C. Escher

Focus

O God, you are my deepest desire,
the beginning and end of all of my heart’s yearnings.
I know I will never find true peace except in you.

Thank you for your presence in my life.
Help me to stay focused on you as I live this day.

You know my needs and desires
even before I form the words to express them,
but I bring them to you anyway.
This is who I am, and I give myself to you.

I ask your blessings on my family and friends,
especially those who are troubled.
Give me the grace to bring
your love and comfort to all I meet today.

Amen.

Arising

I rise up clothed in the strength of Christ.

I shall not be imprisoned,

I shall not be harmed;

I shall not be downtrodden.

I shall not be left alone;

I shall not be tainted,

I shall not be overwhelmed.

I go clothed in Christ's white garments;

I go free to weave Christ's patterns;

I go loved to serve Christ's weak ones;

I go armed to rout Christ's foes.

Prayer from the Community of Aiden & Hilda

Psalm 121 - A Song of Ascents

Have you asked to be invited?

Prayer Pals, at the moment this blog is still open to all readers, but beginning Tuesday, February 6th, around 8 p.m. EST, it will go "quiet," which is to say it will be available to read by invitation only.
The thought behind making it a private blog is to allow for greater privacy for prayer requests or difficult situations.
If you would like to be part of the prayer blog, you need first to be a member of the RevGalBlogPals webring, and then you need to send an e-mail to Songbird asking to be invited. It's as simple as that!
Meanwhile, scroll down to get a sense of the kind of daily postings you will see here, inviting you to prayer. Specific concerns and requests for support may be left in the comments. Many thanks to the ring members who have volunteered to post on the blog. We're all set for the moment, but I will let you know if we need further help in the future.

Most Gracious and Wondrous God, thank you for this day and for all the blessings it may hold. I thank you for the gift of faith and for the depth of the Spirit's guidance and comfort in all the ordinary and extraordinary moments of my life. Thank you God, for walking with me through every joy and every sorrow. In my life, I know I am blessed.

You call us, God, to live more lovingly, more justly, more passionately for the gospel we proclaim. Guide me today as I seek to faithfully respond to this call. And tomorrow, when I start all over again, walk beside me and show me the way. My prayer is that by your grace, I might be a blessing to someone who needs to know your love.

I pray now, most Loving God, for everyone who is hurting and in need of your healing touch today. For those who are ill, or frightened, or lonely, or sad. For those who are anxious, or desperate, or confused. For those who do not know where to turn for help and for those who show them the way to peace and healing...all of these, and all of your children, I lift up in prayer before you.

Bless us, God, your children, and send us out as agents of peace, justice and love in the name of Jesus, who calls us and walks with us and teaches us to pray together saying...

Come Away ... and rest a while.

Saturday 3rd February, 2007
Saints for the day: St Blaise; St Ansgar.
Scripture Readings for today: Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21., Ps (23). Mark 6:30-34.

From Mark 6

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”

Lord, you invite us to come away and rest with you for a while. For some, today is a day of rest called Sabbath. For some, tomorrow is a day of rest called Sabbath also. For some of us neither day is day of rest, and in some cases it feels like there is not a day of rest. We confess that we have become so used to not having that day of rest that we just neglect to take it. We think we can get along without it. Lord help us to RSVP to your invitation to come away with you to rest with you. Help us to put it in our PDA's, claendars, whatever we use to mark or note our days and times. And God then empower us to take that day away with you. Lord help us to remember that many of our members don't get time away with you like they need either. Help us to remember that many of them are going helter skelter also, and that it has become a pattern for living. God helps us to remind them that you invite us away with you for rest. Lord let us be models for them in seeking to live the life you give us and time for sabbath. Perhaps to provide opportunities for them and for us to take that sabbath time with you.

In the name of the one who called Himself "The Lord of the Sabbath"

Prayer For Heavy Hearts

Psalm 42

God of grace and comfort:

As we go about our days today, many of us carry heavy hearts. We may be anxious over the health and wellbeing of family members or friends. We may also carry with us the burdens of those who have unburdened themselves to us: private confessions; situations told to us in confidence; personal tragedies and frustrations and failings; the litanies of brokenness and heartache we lift up each week in our prayers for our faith community and for the whole world.

Sometimes it is so hard to hold all these things in our hearts, o God. Sometimes the broken hearts that need binding are our own, as we struggle to love, as we struggle to serve.

We pray, dear God, that you walk with us, as we seek to walk with you, on the path of compassion and service. Comfort us; refresh us; renew us; work in us and through us.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, the One who goes before and shows us the way. Amen.

Blessings

Jesus we ask you blessings on this place of prayer.

We ask that we Rev Gals and Pals can bring these intercessions to you in faith, and see Your hand on our lives as You continue to heal us, challenge us and bless us.

Help us create a safe place to bring prayers to - and may there be much rejoicing at the way You answer our needs.

Amen