Monday Prayer: Draw Us Together

At this stage, O God,
It seems almost too much to ask that
All people could work together in unity.
Unity of purpose
Unity of spirit
Unity in hope, in community, in love.

Yet, with you all things are possible.

Grant us continued faith in Your work in the world
And help us to see the small places
where your creation works together in unexpected ways.

O God of surprises, help us to hear your melody and
To understand your signals for our harmony.

Amen.

Prayer for Easter 4B

Lord,

During this Easter Season we celebrate that not only did your lay down your life for us,

but that you rose from the dead.

And it is in rising from the dead that so much was changed.

act of kindness are shown by your children to people who need human touch.

We are able to show love to others in practice and deed.

We celebrate this resurrection power that is all because of you.

Lord

A year ago tornados ripped through the lives and communities of Alabama,

Leaving in its swath a path of death and destruction.

Lord those people are still rebuilding, still healing and many are still traumatized.

Help us as the community of faith to not forget them,

to continue to reach out to help them rebuild and renew their lives.

But Lord Alabama has not been the only area hit with damaging power of nature :

there have been major disasters everywhere.

A kids soccer ball showing up on the west coast of America

reminds us that there is still lots to be done in Japan,

And it reminds us of other countries who are still recovering

and that it is taking a long time due to lack of resources.

Lord these people need our prayers, our help and our care.

Lord, these people need a Shepherd, a good shepherd.

They need one that knows them, loves  them,

 cares about them, comforts them and has compassion for them.

Lord,

Truth be known we all need you as our good Shepard.

Will you be our good Shepard?

Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Painting by Daniel Ridgeway Knight

Thursday Prayer

For all the saints who went before us

who have spoken to our hearts and touched us with your fire,

we praise you, O God.

For all the saints who live beside us

whose weaknesses and strengths are woven with our own,

we praise you, O God.

For all the saints who live beyond us

who challenge us to change the world with them,

we praise you, O God.

~Janet Morley

Wednesday Prayer: A Gardener's Springtime Prayer

 (Rainbow chard in my garden)

Here are my hands, Spirit of Earth and Space,
mysterious Wisdom within and behind everything that is
   and is promising,

Gardener ever ancient, ever new,
   who fashioned out of those colossal explosions at our beginning
   all the avenues to life, to its complexities,
   and to the communion we are destined for,
   here are my hands.


Give them the skills of a midwife
   to put good order into expectations,
   to coax along the natural forces of life and growth
      that are already within the earth,
   and to help wisely with the harvesting.


Here are my hands,
   and here are my dreams.



from A LIVELY GARDEN PRAYER BOOK by William Cleary

Tuesday Prayer...

Ah, the birds are singing and singing and singing this morning,
which reminded me of God's Eye is On the Sparrow.

So pray with the birds of spring today, and remember you are never alone.

Monday Prayer: I Cannot Plead My Love

O Lord, I cannot plead my love of thee: 
I plead thy love of me; - 

The shallow conduit hails the unfathomed sea. 


- Christina Rossetti
























































HarperCollins Book of Prayers, (1993) p. 312. 

Prayer for Easter 3B/Earth Day

Oh God,

We come celebrating your love that you have for us your children of God.

And because we are your children we know that when we pray you answer us.

We know that we can bring our needs, our troubles, our questions,

our lives, our world, our hopes and our dreams to you.

We know and believe that you listen and you care.

Creator God,

We do pray for our world that we live in

this wonderful planet you created for us to live on. 

We pray for its wellbeing because you made it and called it good.

And we pray that we do our parts as stewards to take of earth.

We are so grateful for this earth, our home.

Loving God,

We pray for those in our midst who need our prayers for their lives,

 their struggles, their healing, and their restoration.

We pray for those in our communities who are without jobs, without homes, without food, without family, without food, without means and resources and without hope.

We pray for those in our world who are living in extreme poverty, violence, abuse, slavery, and cruelty.

Faithful God,

We thank you for the resurrection of you son,

we live into the hope of the resurrection.

May your resurrection shine light in our lives.

Make your presence known to us as you did to the disciples.

Open our minds also that we may understand what you have to teach us.

And how we are to live and be.

 cross posted at revgalblogpals

We Believe

1960 Maasai Creed of East Africa

We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. He crated Man and wanted Man to be happy in the world. God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the Earth. We have known this High God in darkness, and now we know Him in the light. God promised in the book of His word, the Bible, that H would save the world and all the nations and tribes.

We believe that God made good His promised by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left His home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing the meaning of religion is love. He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, He rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies. He is Lord.

We believe that all our sins are forgiven through Him. All who have faith in Him must be sorry for their sins, be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love and share the bread together in love, to announce the Good News to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for Him. He is alive. He lives. This we believe. Amen.

Bass, Diana Butler. Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening. NY: HarperOne, 2012. 133-134.

Thursday Prayer

O Lord God
who has called us Your servants
to ventures of which we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden
and through perils unknown:
Give us faith to go out with good courage,
not knowing where we go,
but only that Your hand is leading us
and Your love supporting us. Amen.

Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 153

Found in:
Soul Weavings: A Gathering of Women's Prayers. Ed. Lyn Klug. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1996. 94.

Wednesday Prayer

"Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, and Lover of my Soul, fall afresh on me. Give me the mind of Christ so that I may know Your thoughts and dream Your dreams. Grant me vision to see things the way You see them. Fill my mouth with the Word of truth so that I may declare Your greatness to the world. I love you. Amen"

from Daily Prayer

Breathe

A moment, a pause, breathe
later, much work, all good, breathe
visits, meetings, writing, breathe
quotidian pastor, working prayer, breathe

Monday Prayer: The Cornerstone of Peace

Almighty God, the Great Thumb
we cannot evade to tie any knot:
The Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees;
the all-seeing Lord up on high who sees
even the footprints of an antelope on a rock mass here on earth.
You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call.
You are the cornerstone of peace.







In trying to determine how to attribute this prayer, I found some resources that called it a "Native American Prayer for Peace" and some that referred to it as a "Native African Prayer for Peace." Given that Africa is a continent with people from many countries and different traditions and Native Americans have many tribes that have their own unique characteristics, let us pray with the hearts of all people and all creation to the end of the pain of division, the wisdom to appreciate difference, and the ability to see Christ who is Love in all.

Prayer for Easter 2B

Resurrection God,

You are the light and you sent your son to shine your light in the darkness of this world.

Lord you know the places and times in our lives that have darkness in us.

You know the dark places and times in this world.

Lord shine your light into the darkness that we may be able to see our way again.

Resurrection God,

We marvel at the Early Church’s unity;

How they loved one another as you loved them,

How they saw to each other’s needs;

And how they cared for each other.

Lord would that we would be like that in our churches.

Empower us with Resurrection Power to be able to be that way.

Breathe your Holy Spirit on us that we too would be of one mind and heart.

Give us the peace you gave the disciples.

Resurrection God,

We admit that we are like Thomas we have our own doubts

And we too want to see and touch you.

We too have more questions than answers

And yet we want to believe.

Pour your blessing on us who have not seen and yet have come to believe.

Let your grace fall upon us all.
Amen


cross posted at revgalblogpals

Doubting Thomas by Jonathan Hilson

Love of Christ

"Love is the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mysterious of the cosmic forces. . . .Is it truly possible for humanity to continue to live and grow without asking itself how much truth and energy it is losing by neglecting its incredible power of love?"

~~Teilhard de Chardin in his essay "The Spirit of the Earth"



More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Wednesday Prayer

May we go into the day to share the love of the risen Christ
May the light of God shine on us
May the light of Christ shine in us
May the light of the Spirit shine through us
Jesus Christ is risen and has given us new life
Thanks be to God, 
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!  

Christine Sine @ Godspace

Tuesday Prayer...

Every moment
we are arriving at our own door.
Every moment we could open it.
In every moment,
we might love again the stranger who was ourself,
who knows us,
as the poem says,
by heart.
-Jon Kabat-Zinn

Monday Prayer: Thine the Amen

Thine the amen Thine the praise
Alleluias angels raise
Thine the everlasting head
Thine the breaking of the bread
Thine the glory Thine the story
Thine the harvest then the cup
Thine the vineyard then the cup is lifted up lifted up.

Thine the life eternally
Thine the promise let there be
Thine the vision Thine the tree
All the earth on bended knee
Gone the nailing gone the railing
Gone the pleading gone the cry
Gone the sighing gone the dying what was loss lifted high.

Thine the truly Thine the yes
Thine the table we the guest
Thine the mercy all from Thee
Thine the glory yet to be
Then the ringing and the singing
Then the end of all the war
Thine the living Thine the loving evermore evermore.

Thine the kingdom Thine the prize
Thine the wonder full surprise
Thine the banquet then the praise
Then the justice of Thy ways
Thine the glory Thine the story
Then the welcome to the least
Then the wonder all increasing at Thy feast at Thy feast.

Thine the glory in the night
No more dying only light
Thine the river Thine the tree
Then the Lamb eternally
Then the holy holy holyCelebration jubilee
Thine the splendor Thine the brightness only Thee only Thee. 




- Herbert Brokering

Prayer for Easter Sunday B

On this glorious Easter morn,

We praise your name and thank you for your faithfulness.

We marvel once again at the wonder of the resurrection

Of Jesus like kids finding hidden Easter eggs.

We are just as surprised as the women who came to the tomb that day.

We ask that this resurrection wipe away the tears from our eyes;

Bring hope to the hopeless,

Open the eyes of the blind,

Set the prisoners free and

Bring healing and wholeness to those who need it.

Lord we ask that this resurrection bring a revolution of justice.

May the hungry be fed,

The outcast be welcomed,

The downtrodden lifted up,

And those who are in poverty may been enriched.

Lord we ask that this resurrection bring renewal of our lives,

Restore our broken relationships,

Deepen our relationship with you,

Deepen our relationship with one another,

And empower us to bring the good news of your resurrection to others.

Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Lead Me to the Cross: A Prayer for Good Friday

Matthew 20:28
"...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Not to be served
but to serve.

The words sound
good
and holy and right.
We know, Lord,
we followers of yours,
that we are servants.

It sounds simple,
and if
we only could.
Why is it
so hard
this simple thing?

Lead me to the cross
and remind me
Oh Lord,
that my life
is lost
so I may be found.

Lead me to the cross,
and remind me.

D.G.

Our Lord of Flaked Paint

Our Lord of Flaked Paint freckling
sallow skin and emerald robes,

Our Lord of Mudpuddle Eyes
that look away in weary irritation,

no one can touch your loneliness,
God cut off from God.

You who flamed a world into being
with only words, stood

in the midst of bickering men,
fig trees dying, and sparrows

falling to the ground.
Were there days when heat and dust,

the smell of stale crowds
pushing you from place to place,

asking for one more resurrection,
food for thousands

or withered hands healed,
made you want to slash the canvas,

fly back to heaven and start fresh
on some new world far away?

Days where your head ached
from sun on sand and water,

where your throat scraped raw
from shouting Blessed are. . . to men

who would go home, forget, and return
to nail you to a piece of wood?

No one understood your stories,
could grasp that you would trade

legions of angels
for nine ungrateful lepers,

the friend who turned you in,
and never enough sleep.

Our Lord of Omnipotent Frustration
with your halo like a setting sun,

your hand is raised as if to bless me,
though I can't imagine why.

~~Jana-Lee Germaine

Christian Century, November 3, 2009.

Wednesday in Holy Week

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Tuesday Prayer

...for the journey of this week,
may we walk mindfully.
...for the suffering and little deaths all around us,
may we cry lovingly.
...for the crowds in our minds and in our lives,
may we ground ourselves truthfully.
...for the betrayal and abandonment in our world, and in our hearts,
may we confess intentionally.
...for the hope beyond all hope of resurrection,
may we wonder carefully.

amen

Monday Prayer: A Love Like That

Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says to the Earth

"You owe me."

Look
What happens
With a love like that
It lights up the whole sky

--Hafiz






May your week be wholly holy... even in the mundane activities that must be done... to celebrate resurrection. 


Remember... you are not making it happen- that resurrection...  you are sharing and receiving its grace. 


amen. 

Prayer for Palm Sunday B

God,
On this Holy day of Palm Sunday and Passion,
We have so many mixed feelings in side of us.
We remember your son’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem
With the people shouting praises and waving Palm Branches.
And we join them with our own praises and yet….
We remember too that this wonderful parade for your son, becomes
Another kind of parade before officials and the booing crowds.
And instead of the crowds singing his praises they are shouting to crucify him.
And our hearts are broken by those very shouts, and the pain and
Suffering he bore that day.
And yet we know that it is because of his choosing to enter
Jerusalem and taking the path he knew he was taking,
There is hope, grace, love and salvation for all.
And there are still many in need of hope in our world.
There are still many in need of your grace in our world.
There are still many in need of your love in our world.
And there are still many in need of salvation in our world.
Lord, enter our lives, our churches, our cities, our countries
Once again today.
Heal us, Lord.
Transform us.
Renew us.
Draw us closer to you in this journey of Holy Week,
empower us with strength and courage and
with the assurance that you are with us, world without end. Amen.

Image: Entry of Christ into Jerusalem

By: Morgner, Wilhelm, 1891-1917

From: Jean and Alexander Heard, VanderbiltDivinity Library

cross posted at revgalblogpals