Tuesday Prayer...

The storm is passing over,
and yet there is devastation in its wake...
and in the wake
the waters surge
the power is out
branches from proud strong trees
are scattered...
for all those
still in harm's way,
we pray.
for all those
assessing loss,
we pray.
for all those
who have been rendered homeless,
or more homeless because of the storm
we pray.

we pray
for recovery, for hope, for help, for healing.

in awe
we pray,
amen.

Monday Prayer: The Life that Gives Life

Holy Spirit, the life that gives life. 
You are the cause of all movement;
You are the breath of all creatures;
You are the salve that purifies our souls;
You are the ointment that heals our wounds;
You are the fire that warms our hearts;
You are the light that guides our feet.
Let all the world praise you. 

- Hildegard of Bingen

Prayer for Reformation Sunday

God you are our safe place to hide.

You are our mighty fortress.

You are our ever present help in time of need.

We can and do turn to you in the midst of our troubles.

And Lord our world is full of difficulties.

Lord we may feel afraid, but it does not overcome us

Because we know we can put our trust in you.

 

Your love and grace are like streams of water in the desert.

Your joy comes splashing down upon us.

Your refresh and renew us like rain coming down on the earth.

Bring your water of life to those who are thirsty

 and living in a dry and weary land.

 

Where there are wars, bring your peace.

Where there is starvation, fill the empty bellies.

Where there is despair, bring your hope.

Where there is animosity, bring your reconciliation.

Where there is abuse, bring your tender mercies,

Where there is poverty, bring your charity.

Where there is illness, bring your healing.

Where there is grief, bring your gentleness.

Where there is injustice, bring your justice.

 

Lord you are mighty fortress, our strong deliverer.

In you we put our trust and release ourselves into your hands.

Amen.

 

cross posted at revgalblogpals

A Prayer for God's Love

Isaiah 12:1-3
In that day, you will say:
"I will praise you, LORD.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my defense;
and God has become my salvation.”
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.

Mark 5:19  Jesus...said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

We pray to you on behalf of those who fear your anger but doubt your love.  We pray for those who are hiding from you, becoming a shadow of what they could be.  Find those who are lost and wandering, unsure of their direction, of their source, of their destination.  May the good news of your love and your grace ripple throughout our families and our friendships and our workplaces and our churches. Give renewed joy to those who have walked with you for years, and allow them to tell their stories, once again, with renewed wonder.  May your mercy amaze us.  May your love become spectacular, for yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen

Prayer for Peace...everywhere

This prayer for peace is said in more than forty languages, wherever it is noon, all around the world.  You are invited to join in. 

Tuesday Prayer

I come in the little things

Says the Lord

                                                                  -Evelyn Underwood, WomanPrayers

Monday Prayer: For those who struggle to speak

October 22 is International Stuttering Awareness Day.


God of speech and silence,

On this day, we pray for our brothers and sisters around the world whose speech is slowed, whose stream of thought struggles to pour forth, who are silent for fear of humiliation, frustration, and exhaustion.

We pray for the voices we do not hear because we do not wait for thoughts, sentences, words of wisdom to be finished, but instead plow forward.

We pray for those who have undergone painful treatments and long therapies. We give you thanks for those people who have the skills to work with those who stutter, those whose speech is halting, those whose sentences waver in the wind.

On this day, may the memory of your servant Moses fill our hearts and minds. May we remember that when it mattered, he spoke bravely, not through Aaron, not to Pharaoh, but directly to You.

Grant the peace of being heard by You to all those who seek it on this day and every day.

Amen.

Prayer for Proper 24B/Ordinary 29B/Pentecost 21

Creator God,

We praise you,

We love,

We thank you.

When we look at all you have created it catches our breath

And we find ourselves in awe of you.

We find ourselves wondering how can such a God care about each one of us?

And yet you do.

And because you care for all of your creation including each one of us, we can bring to you our needs, our cares, our hurts, our frustrations, our joys, our hopes, our dreams and our celebrations.

Caring God,

We bring before you those in our midst who are suffering, praying for your loving presence, knowing that you too know what it is like to suffer.

We pray for those who are grieving for your comfort as you know what is like to grieve.

We pray for those who are worried because they have no work, no food, no shelter, Relieve their fears as they find work, have shelter, and have food to eat.

Loving God,

You sent your son Jesus to be servant of all and to set free many people.

You also call us to be servants.

Lord, it is not easy to serve in a world that values power, being number one and winning at any cost.

You have set the model for us to live as servants through your son,

Encourage us, teach us, and inspire us to lives of service for you.

Set those free from the chains that bind them by the power of your love.

Amen

cross posted at revgalblogpals

Breathe on Me

Breathe on me,
O Wind of God...
Blow sin's distraction from my mind,

Breathe on me,
O Wind of God,
Whisper wisdom from Your heart.

Blow soft--or strong,
O Breath of Life,
Scatter the debris of selfish pain.

Breath of Heaven,
Dance with me,
Fresh and clean and full of rain.

In Your hands,
Ruach Divine,
May freedom come...
And songs of joy.

DG

I wrote this little prayer poem after preparing a series of sermons on Ezekiel 37, the vision of the "valley of dry bones."  Didn't realize just how dry I felt myself.  Praying today for those of you who, like me, may be longing for the life that comes from God's "breath."

Thursday Prayer

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellow men

throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger.

Give them through our hands this day their daily bread,

and by our understanding love, give peace and joy.

Mother Teresa

 

Peace and Healing Prayers here.

Monday Prayer: Disturb Us

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And push us into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.


- Attributed to Sir Francis Drake

Prayer for Proper 23B/Ordinary 28B/Pentecost 20

Merciful Lord,


You are so gracious to us
And we thank you for that.

Strengthen us as we live

Out our lives as your disciples.

Empower this your church to

Embody your love in our

witness and in our missions.

Build up your compassion in us

For those we know in need

and those we do not know in need.

Hear and answer the cry of the needy, Lord

And do not turn away from them.

Lead and guide those who govern the nations

With wisdom and justice.

Help us to heed your call to help the needy,

Those who are ill, in distress and grief.

In your mercy and love

Hear our prayers.


cross posted to revgalsblogpals

the same but different

"Here they were...the same people they had always been, but also not the same, because something had happened: Love was among them."  (The Passage, p. 630)

Come among us again this day, O God of Love, that we may be transformed from the inside out. Amen.

Prayer Thought

"To pray, I think, does not mean to think about God in contrast to thinking about other things, or to spend time with God instead of spending time with other people. Rather, it means to think and live in the presence of God. As soon as we begin to divide our thoughts about God and thoughts about people and events, we remove God from our daily life and put him into a pious little niche where we can think pious thoughts and

experience pious feelings. ... Although it is important and even indispensable for the spiritual life to set apart time for God and God alone, prayer can only become unceasing prayer when all our thoughts -- beautiful or ugly, high or low, proud or shameful, sorrowful or joyful -- can be thought in the presence of God. ... Thus, converting our unceasing thinking into unceasing prayer moves us from a self-centered monologue to a God-centered dialogue."

-Henri Nouwen, Clowning in Rome

Overwhelm Us

Overwhelm us with wonder, Lord:

That our souls might rest in awe. 

Five loaves and two fish

are never enough

until you start 

giving it away.

Dear God, 

Remind me to

share 

whatever 

is in my basket

today.

You will do the rest. 

Amen.

Monday Prayer: Resting

Lord,
teach me to rest in you.
Teach me to see the sky
and to think of nothing else
but the joy of it.
Teach me to look
at field and flower
and be soothed
by colors and seasons.
Teach me to close my eyes
and to rest
in the Love that has supported me
all my days.
Teach me, Lord,
to rest in you.


- Frank Topping

World Communion Sunday 2012

Lord as we gather around this wonderful meal everywhere

And in every place; bless us all your children.

As we eat this bread and drink this cup linking arms around the world,

pour your grace into us all.

Grace us with your presence as we quietly and loudly pray to you.

May we see in each other your light, your love and you.

May it not matter our differences, our names, our languages,

our looks, and our way of doing things.

May what matter today and everyday be that we are one in you.

 

And as we pray many we call to mind our brothers and sisters

who are unable to be with us today whether in body or spirit.

May you bring comfort to those who are grieving, lonely,

 heartbroken, ill or broken of spirit.

May you strengthen those whose lives feel shattered,

don’t make sense, in crisis, and experiencing  loss.

May you say the healing word to those who need it.

May you bring the human touch of love to those who have not been touched.

May you love the unloved through us.

May you shine your light into those whose world is covered in darkness.

May you use us your children to feed the hungry, clothe the ones who need clothes,

give a cup of water to those who are thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and those in prison.

May lives be awakened to you Lord, to your love, and to your kingdom whose door is always open to all.

 

 

artwork for the Presbyterian Church(USA) world communion resources

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

Thy will be done

Surrender me to thee,

O Lord,

surrender me to thee.

Monday Prayer: Love Divine

Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee:
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.


- Charles Wesley