A Prayer For Growth

Lord, we would grow with you
New shoots reaching out
Hands stretched upward
Like leaves newly formed
Soaking up your light and warmth
Lord, we would grow with you

Lord, we would grow with you
In sunshine and rain
In darkness and light
In cold days and summer days
From Springtime to Winter
Lord, we would grow with you

Lord, we would grow with you
And bring forth fruit
That is pleasing to you
Fed by your living water
Giving sustenance to others
Lord, we would grow with you

-- contemporary Welsh prayer

Gandhi's Prayer for Peace

I offer you peace.
I offer you love.
I offer you friendship.
I see your beauty.
I hear your need.
I feel your feelings.
My wisdom flows
from the Highest Source.
I salute that Source in you.
Let us work together
for unity and love.

Thanks to Purpletologically Speaking for this lovely prayer by Gandhi.

Wednesday Prayer

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention,
how to fall down into the grass,
how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed,
how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?



~ from Mary Oliver's Summer Day

Tuesday Prayer

The mystics have always known that gratitude is one of the most powerful spiritual forces there is. Just like a child who asks and takes without ever thanking her parents rarely benefits from what is given, so an adult who never focuses on giving rarely receives. End your prayer time with gratitude. It is the surest way to set yourself up for continuing to invite Jesus to the head of your internal table throughout the day.

Excerpted from "Asphalt Jesus" by Eric Elnes and reprinted at beliefnet.com by permission of Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint.

You are Good

The universe yet incomplete
on the sixth day God created her

Woman

and God said to her
I shall give you

A heart full of compassion
a spirit fre to fly with the birds
a vessel to carry life into the world

Wisdom to know great truths
courage to rise out of oppression

Strength to move mountains
gentleness to kiss the earth

Passion to set the world on fire
vision to respect the earth that bore you

A playful nature to dance with the children
laughter to fill the valleys
tears to wash the pain away

Hands for laboring and loving
intuition to know the unknown
desire to be that which you were created to be

and God said to her

Woman

I have created you in my image and likeness and

You are good

Prayer for the eighth Sunday of Pentecost

Prayer for Sunday

Merciful God we praise you for your unfailing love.
We praise you for feeding our hunger for bread and for “the bread of life.”
We praise you for taking our little basket of fish and barley loaves and using it to feed others.

Lord we ask you for your care and healing touch for those who are sick.
We ask for your compassion on those who are suffering in our world.
We ask for you comfort for those who are grieving.

We thank you for your daily tender mercies.
We thank you for your daily love.
We thank you for your daily grace.

We call upon you Lord to empower us as we declare who are to a world who needs you.
We call upon you Lord to inspire us as we seek to inspire others.
We call upon you Lord to strengthen us in our own weakness.

We ask all this in your son’s name,
Amen.



cross posted at revgalblogpals and rev abi's long and winding road

Prayer For the Neighborhood

Gracious God With Us
help us be the Church in your world
by being with the people in our neighborhoods
by expanding our walls to include
the households around us
the people around us
whoever they are
let us be their good neighbors
their helpers
their friends
their companions on the way
let us be their church

Thursday Prayer

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer

Wednesday Prayer

I thought I'd share this new ~ at least to me ~ website today ~ I've found it to be quite wonderful. You can use it for a daily examen of the usual type, or you can choose one of the other options. Everything can be saved and printed; it seems just right for the way we live today, moving constantly among our computers and books and notebooks, even in our prayer lives.

Examen

Tuesday Prayer - Summer Prayer

Long warm days...
The pace of life slows...
A time for picnics and rest in the shade...

Lord,
help me to rest awhile in the cooling shade of your presence.
Slow down my restless heart and fill me with gentle compassion for all your people.

Amen.

From Appleseeds

Gloria

Glory to God, beyond all and in all,
and peace to the whole of creation.

Holy One, Sovereign Love,
all power, all compassion,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Jesus our brother, divinely begotten,
Lord and servant of all,
you embody God's gracious forgiveness:
have mercy on us;
in you, our humanity dwells with God:
receive our prayer.

For you unite us with the holy,
you teach us to lead by serving,
you lead us beyond our limitations.

Glory to you, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the Beauty that gives rise to all being.

Amen.

Rev. Melani Longoni

Prayer for Proper 11B/Ordinary 16B/Pentecost 7

Compassionate God,
You have compassion enough for all.
Lord in your mercy,
Have compassion for us.

Jesus, out of your compassion for us,
you invite us to come away with you
to a place of rest and quiet.
Help us to say yes and then
to be able to come away with you.
Lord in your mercy,
Have compassion for us.

Lord, out of your compassion you care for
Those who are harassed, helpless, and
Lost. Sometimes we feel that way ourselves
Lord in your mercy,
Have compassion for us.

Lord in your compassion teach us to follow you,
to trust you, to love you and to love as you love.
Lord in your compassion feed us who are hungry;
Physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Lord in your compassion heal us in the places we need healed.
Lord in your mercy,
Have compassion for us.

And Lord in your having compassion for us
Teach us to have compassion for others as you do.
Help us to show compassion in action the way you did.
And remind us when it is time to come away with you
for quiet and rest.
Lord in your mercy,
Have compassion for us.

cross posted at revgalblogpals and rev abi's long and winding road

A Prayer of St. Hildegarde

O budded, greening branch!
You stand as firmly rooted in your nobility
As the dawn advances.
Now rejoice and be glad.

Consider us frail ones worthy
To free us from our destructive ways.

Put forth your hand and
Raise us up. -- Hildegarde of Bingen

Thursday Prayer

Gracious God, thank you for the diversity of human beings that surround me on every side. In the ideas, in the hopes, in the dreams, and in the struggles of those who share this earthly life, let me find that through a community of human beings I am made fuller and more alive. Let the fullness given by community give me the courage to offer my own unique self with humility to the lives of others. As we all share in the life that you have so graciously given us, may we be the lights of your love to one another. Amen.

From Explore Faith

Wednesday Prayer

Dear God,

please enlarge our hearts

to love each other,

to love our neighbor,

to love our enemy as well as our friend.

~Dorothy Day

Dear Sister God

Dear Sister God,
you held me at my birth.
You sang my name, were glad to see my face.
You are my sky, my shining sun,
and in your love there's always room
to be, and grow, yet find a home,
a settled place.

Dear Sister God,
yours is the listening love
--when people meet, and trust, as sharing grows--
that murmurs yes, and yes again,
as sighs and hurts too deep for words
are hailed, embraced, accepted, heard,
and courage flows.

Dear Sister God,
in Christ your love rings true.
Directors, boards, and bosses lose their sway.
Your service frees from servitude,
draws out a love that, strong to give,
can struggle, suffer, care, and live
a better way.

Come, Sister God,
we'll make a different earth,
where all can grow, and know that life is good;
where none exploit, or win, or lose,
but sister-brother, hand in hand,
explore and tend the promised land
of personhood.

Text: Brian Wren
Tune: David Haas

Prayer for Proper 10B/Ordinary 15B/Pentecost 6

Dear God,
Thank you for this new fresh day.
We thank you for the rest from the night before.
We thank you for this day of Sabbath you have given us;
A day of rest in you,
A day of relaxation in you, and
A day of recreation in you.

We need this time with you Lord,
In the hustle and bustle of our lives.
We need this respite with you Lord,
In the tiredness of our lives.
We need this repose with you Lord,
from the tenseness of our days.
We need this leisure with you Lord,
from our overworked jobs.

So Lord,
Thank you for the Sabbath that quietens our souls
So that we may hear you.
Thank you for the Sabbath that rests us
So that we can draw near to you.
Thank you for the Sabbath that relaxes us to be able to
Open ourselves to your grace.
Thank you for your Sabbath that recreates
us in a time of play with you.
Amen.


cross posted at revgalblogpals

Lord, Take Me From Myself

"Lord, take me from myself and give me to yourself." -- Catherine of Siena

Thursday Prayer

O Lord, Creator,
Ruler of the world, Father,
I thank, thank, thank you
that you have brought me through.
How strong the pain was--
but you were stronger.
How deep the fall was--
but you were even deeper.
How dark was the night--
but you were the noonday sun in it.
You are our father,
our mother,
our brother and our friend.
Your grace has no end,
and your light no snuffer.

~~An African Prayer

Wednesday Prayer

Blessed are You,
O Lord our God,
Wellspring of all that is.

You are the sea on which we float,
You are the wind that fills our sails,
You are the storm that buffets us,
You are the calm that brings us peace.

Open our ears to hear Your word,
Open our eyes to see Your beauty,
Open our hearts to be warmed by Your love.

Free us from our lonely prisons of fear and selfishness,
And make us over, day by day,
into bearers of Your peace.

~Richard Rosenberg
World Prayers

Tuesday Prayer

Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life in the presentness of God

Fountain of life...
Pulse of life...
Breath of life...
Earth is filled with the presentness of God.

A planet filled with the presentness of God
Quivering in the forests,
vibrating in the land,
pulsating in the wilderness,
shimmering in the rivers.

Together this day, let us sense
the face of God in all creation. (Adapt.NHabel)

by Rex Hunt

What We Clean We Also Make Sacred

Beneath steel and concrete,
Beneath night's wandering shadow,
Come the eyes, voices and arms--elbows and knees--
That make buildings shine, magnifying the sun into all our faces.
The nameless, the scorned, the ignored--yet
They are the humanity who make human things work.

Mothers and children, fathers and uncles, family and family--
They come to make this city dance, the rhythm of what is just,
What is secure--the dance of strike and protest, demand and dignity.
They toil inside these glass temples--they clean them--
The truly human who now step into the streets, into our tomorrows,
And declare: Basta! Enough! What we clean, we also make sacred.

Luis J. Rodriguez (To my father, Alfonso--a janitor)

in Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! Janitor Strike in L.A
Diana Cohn, 2002 (this book is an awesome bilingual illustrated book for kids)

Throw your Heart Into the Hands of God

Embrace Holy Prayer.

Often throw your heart into the hands of God,
rest your soul in [Her] love,
and put your cares under [Her] protection.

- Saint Francis de Sales

Sunday Prayer Prophet edition

God of all,
We know you sent us out to do your work, to face rejection, to spread the good news of the Kingdom of God, to have people turn their backs on us, to be your prophets, to be laughed at, to heal the sick, to be dismissed, to travel light, sometimes broke and sometimes penniless, and sometimes rich and wealthy.

We are reminded to shake the dust off of our shoes when we are not welcome and not listened to. We are reminded that in our weakness you are strong. We are reminded that in all of this Jesus too was rejected and a scandal to many.

Lord today some of us today some of step into pulpits as your prophets in places where we have been treated less than kind, and sometimes out right rejected. Lord, pour your healing salve into the wounds we carry.

Today, some of us are so wounded from the attacks that it is hard to lift our feet to shake the dust off our shoes, pour your healing grace over us that makes Christ power perfect in our weakness.

Today, some of us feel like total failures and like giving up, pour your steadfast love into us that we may see ourselves as you see us, and not give up as you yourself did not give up. Amen

Prayer As The Holiday Weekend Begins

Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.
-- Book of Common Prayer

All I do today

May all I do today
be for the healing of the whole
May all I do today
Mend this broken world
May all I do today
Bring blessing on the Earth
May all I do today
Be for the good of all
All I do today

Jan Novotka

Wednesday Prayer

Be still and know that I am God.
[Psalm 46:10]

I weave a silence on to my lips
I weave a silence onto my mind
I weave a silence within my heart
I close my ears to distractions
I close my eyes to attractions
I close my heart to temptations

Calm me, O Lord, as you stilled the storm
Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm
Let all tumult within me cease
Enfold me Lord in your peace.


[David Adam]

(Here)