I waited patiently upon the LORD;


he stooped to me and heard my cry.

 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;

he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God;

many shall see, and stand in awe,

and put their trust in the LORD.

-- from Psalm 40

Thursday Prayer

God of peace
These are our bodies given for you
Preserve us from violence and war
That we might preserve and protect our daughters and sons
From violence and war
Give us the courage and strength to be peacemakers
And lifebearers all the days of our lives.
Amen.

by Hondi Brasco
Bronxville, NY

Lifting Women's Voices: Prayers to Change the World. NY: Morehouse Publishing, 2009.

Wednesday Prayer

"Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine."


— Kathleen Norris

Tuesday Prayer

The power of love to change bodies is legendary, built into folklore, common sense and everyday experience. Love moves the flesh, it pushes matter around...Throughout history "tender loving care" has uniformly been recognized as a valuable element in healing.

-Larry Dossey

found in this month's Sun

Prayer of the Chalice

O Divine One,
to thee I raise my whole being, a vessel emptied of self.

Accept, O gracious God, this my emptiness,
and so fill me with thyself, thy light, they love, thy Life,
that these thy precious gifts may radiate through me
and overflow the chalice of my heart
into the hearts of all with whome I come in contact this day,
revealing unto them the beauty of thy joy and wholeness
and the serenity of thy peace which nothing can destroy.

Sufi tradition

Sunday Prayer

Holy and Gracious God
we give you thanks for
life
home
community
family
and all the blessings that come our way
because You love us.

God, bless us with your love.

Creator God
in the chaos of this world
hunger
dis-ease
sickness
poverty of mind, body, spirit
help us to be your hands and heart
restoring order to creation.

God, bless us with your love.

Mother God
nurture those who weep, comfort
pain
sorrow
loss
despair
fear
with strong arms sustain us
walk with us in darkness.

God, bless us with your love.

Father God
nurture those who seek violoence
abusing
land
body
spirit
by your Holy Spirit may all people
come to know your peace.

God, bless us with you love.

Brother Christ
hear us when we call out to you
blind
deaf
sushing
oppressing
known and unknown
help us name our fears
and be healed.

God bless us this day with your love.

Sister Spirit
lift us up on angels wings
fill our
hearts
minds
spirits
bodies
with hope
that we might respond to God's call
and be the hands and heart of Christ
in this broken world.

God bless us with your love
this day
and every
day.
Amen.

Thursday Prayer

Eternal wellspring of peace--
may we be drenched with the longing for peace
that we may give ourselves over
as the earth to the rain, to the dew,
until peace overflows our lives
as living waters overflow the seas.

Marcia Falk, The Book of Blessings
(Beacon, 1996)

Wednesday (Night) Prayer

Day is done, Lord...

Autumn's evening chill shivers,
turning leaves and me
to season's change...

The shiver shakes awake the fall within
and I seek pardon
for any early frost upon my heart...

For this day's noontime warmth,
October hues and simple joys
I give you praise...

Into your sacred heart and holy arms
I hand those who lean on me
and all who care for me...

Day is done, Lord...

May this night's moon
shine bright peace on all
'til the sun shall rise again...


~ Father Austin Fleming,
who blogs as A Concord Pastor
(Prayer Here.)

Enlarge Your Desires

Why God should ask us to pray, when God knows what we need before we ask, may perplex us if we do not realize that our Lord and God does not want to know what we want (for God cannot fail to know it) but wants us rather to exercise our desire through our prayers, so that we may be able to receive what God is preparing to give us. God's gift is very great indeed, but our capacity is too small and limited to receive it. That is why we are told: Enlarge your desires, do not bear the yoke with unbelievers.

The deeper our faith, the stronger our hope, the greater our desire, the larger will be our capacity to receive that gift, which is very great indeed.....In this faith, hope and love we pray always with unwearied desire. Howeve, at set times and seasons we also pray to God in words, so that by these signs we may instruct ourselves and mark the progress we have made in our desire, and spur ourselves on to deepen it. The more fervent the desire, the more worthy will be its fruit. When the Apostle tells us: Pray without ceasing, he means this: Desire unceasingly that life of happiness which is nothing if not eternal, and ask it of the one who is able to give it.

From a letter to Proba by St. Augustine

Sunday Prayer

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 I am 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,m
Today I believe.

Lord, You have always spoken
When time was ripe,
And though You be silent now,
Today I believe.

From the Celtic Daily Prayer: A Northumbrian Office 1994 MarshallPickering, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

Abide With Me

I went to a funeral where we sang "Abide With Me" on Wednesday. I'd forgotten how beautiful and reassuring this song is. So enjoy:

Wednesday Prayer

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.



from Dream Work by Mary Oliver
published by Atlantic Monthly Press
© Mary Oliver

Tuesday Prayer

Evoking the presence of the great compassion, let us fill our hearts with our own compassion - towards ourselves and towards all living beings.

Let us pray that all living beings realise that they are all brothers and sisters, all nourished from the same source of life.

source

Earthen Vessels

For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.

For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—"I believed, and so I spoke"—we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence.

Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:5-15

Sunday Prayer

God.
Oh my God, where are you?
I am lost and so alone.
Hear my prayer.

God.
Oh my. God? Where am I?
Alone? Forgotten?
Abandoned....

God.
My hope. My only hope.
Hear my cry, my plea
Hear my prayer.

God.
In you I put my trust.
In you I lay my life.
You. My prayer.

God.
Help me to love
You, neighbor, self.
Help me...you.

God.
Naked, vulnerable
hoping, more than
hope in you.

God.
This day, yesterday
tomorrow, always
hear my prayer.

Amen.

Cross posted on RevGalsBlogPals and Seeking Authentic Voice.

Forgiveness

Wednesday Prayer

O God who brought me
from the rest of last night
to the new light of this day ~
Bring me in the new light of this day
to the guiding light of the eternal.
Lead me O God
on the journey of justice ~
Guide me O God
on the pathways of peace ~
Renew me O God
by the wellsprings of grace ~
Today, tonight, and forever.

~ from J. Philip Newell's Celtic Prayers from Iona
Image: Iona Sunrise, July 2006

Prayer for Anxiety

Dear Lord, I need you now because I am full of stress and anxiety. Reading your Word brings comfort, as I ask you to come and take my heavy burdens. I take each burden, one by one, and lay them at your feet. Please carry them for me so that I don't have to. Replace them with your humble and gentle yoke so that I will find rest for my soul today. I receive your gift of peace of mind and heart. Thank you that I can lie down tonight in peace and sleep. I know that you, Lord, will keep me safe. I am not afraid because you are always with me. Please keep me daily, Lord, in your perfect peace. Amen.

Found here.

Sunday Prayer

Gracious God, through all the trials and turmoil of life
through storms
dangers
fears
endings
sadness
brokeness
loss
illness
at the time of death
hold us in your embrace, sustain us with your grace

Loving God, through times of great joy in life
through births
growth
new seasons
rebirth
beginnings
recovery
health
wholeness
healing of mind, body, or spirit
hold us in your embrace, sustain us with your grace

God of our mothers and fathers
God of bread and wine
God of morning and night
God of water, sun, earth, air
God of all
We give you thanks for all the gifts of life.

God of all
Bless our lives
bless those we love
our pets
animals of kinds
all creatures
great and small
Help us to care for the earth, your own creation.

We ask this through the great love
of your son, our brother,
the vine, the branches,
the cup, the hand
our savior.

Amen.

Cross-posted at RevGalsBlog Pals and Seeking Authentic Voice

Sweet Prayer for Thursday

Gentle Jesu,
Mary's son,
Be Thine the wounds
that heal our wounding.

~~Saint Godric of Finchale (1065-1170)
English hermit